I must have been shifting cases in the deepest, darkest recesses of the Formaggio wine cellar when Isabelle Legeron, Master of Wine (who also chooses to be known as That Crazy French Woman) published her book on natural wine a few years ago. Having read it, I heartily endorse it. One aspect I found particularly intriguing is her segment on wine faults, in which she asks whether the things we have traditionally identified as such have an relevance in the brave new world of natural wine. It’s a subject that has intrigued us for years in the wine corner, where natural wines are our main focus, and where it is an inexhaustible source of fodder for debate.
It’s true that wine subjected to minimum (or zero) doses of sulfur dioxide will be more biologically active. In its absence, microfauna generated during fermentation that would have been done to death by the ubiquitous antibacterial (and antioxidant) agent live on. Their activities (not the creatures themselves) add flavor and aroma elements wine wouldn’t otherwise have, and that when these are particularly noticeable, we generally say that the wine is showing some ‘natural wine affect:’ a term we coined here, but which we have recently swapped out for the now widely adopted term: natty. The most frequently encountered are the trio reduction, oxidation, and volatile acidity.
The question of what constitutes a genuine fault in wine (as opposed to a shortcoming or a quirk) needs more facing up to. Defenders of the conventional approach need to acknowledge that it’s often something less than perfect about a wine that constitutes its chief attractive feature. Likewise, partisans of natural wine must be willing to admit that faults — truly, irredeemably bad tastes and smells – do happen, and that failure to acknowledge this erodes their standing as good faith participants in the discussion. At some point, natural affect crosses a boundary and becomes nothing more than good old-fashioned spoiled wine.
So far as I know, only the Japanese have a word for the experience of finding beauty in the imperfect and impermanent: wabi-sabi. As an exemplar of this concept, I nominate the current edition of “Red” from the Coturri winery in Glen Ellen, Califiornia. Red — we’re pouring it Friday — displays striking levels of volatile acidity (the smell may remind you of a whiff of nail polish remover) but there’s no denying it’s lively, friendly and really delicious. I can say this because, although its quirks aren’t easily ignored, they don’t rise to the level of distraction. On the contrary, they constitute a significant element of interest. If they were even a bit more assertive, I might well think otherwise.
That Crazy French Woman takes something like this position when she says of natural wines’ unconventional features: “Don’t be alarmed, as none of them are bad for you, and the best test of whether the wine is faulty or not is to ask yourself: ‘Do I like it and would I drink it?’ If the answer is ‘yes’ then go right ahead.”
-Stephen Meuse
Taste, talk, and learn about wine this week in the FKC wine corner . . .
THURSDAY, JUNE 6 3-6 PM – FODDER FOR CONVO
2016 Cantina Bolzano, Kerner, $23.95
2017 Domaine Adèle Rouzé, Quincy Blanc, $21.95
2016 Guillaume Clusel, Coteaux du Lyonnais Traboules, $23.95
FRIDAY, JUNE 7 3-6 PM – THEN GO RIGHT AHEAD
2017 Gérard Boulay, Sancerre Sybille Rosé, $25.95
2018 Domaine Dauny Sancerre “Clos du Roy,” $28.95
NV Coturri “Red” California Blend, $21.95