2020 Eric Texier Côtes du Rhône Saint-Julien-en-Saint-Alban Le Clau

S

Salil Benegal

Salil Benegal
A case from Chambers arrived yesterday. I managed to wait a whole three hours before opening one of the bottles of the Texier Le Clau in the box.

Yes, it's very young and primary, and will definitely benefit with time. But that's why I bought a few of these so I could open one now. And I'm glad I did given what it showed.

It is a thrilling wine. The fruit profile is darker and richer than I recall from Eric's other wines. It feels more black fruited with stronger olive/briney scents compared to the bottles of the Vieille Serine I've had, and the back end is all earthy/mineral savouriness. The structure seems to come mostly from the acidity - there's tannin here but it's very fine grained and the texture is very silky. But the acidity's more prominent and gives it a sense of vibrancy that makes each glass disappear very easily. While drinking this I was making mental comparisons to Benetiere's Côte-Rôties - it doesn't have the gamey/meaty notes I've had from those wines, but the sense of freshness, lightness, and energy is striking and I'm glad to have more in the cellar to see how this evolves. But definitely no regrets about opening this now.
 
BTW, Eric's interview with Levi back in the early teens is excellent. Just listened to it in fact.
 
originally posted by Salil Benegal:
2020 Eric Texier Côtes du Rhône Saint-Julien-en-Saint-Alban Le ClauA case from Chambers arrived yesterday. I managed to wait a whole three hours before opening one of the bottles of the Texier Le Clau in the box.

Yes, it's very young and primary, and will definitely benefit with time. But that's why I bought a few of these so I could open one now. And I'm glad I did given what it showed.

It is a thrilling wine. The fruit profile is darker and richer than I recall from Eric's other wines. It feels more black fruited with stronger olive/briney scents compared to the bottles of the Vieille Serine I've had, and the back end is all earthy/mineral savouriness. The structure seems to come mostly from the acidity - there's tannin here but it's very fine grained and the texture is very silky. But the acidity's more prominent and gives it a sense of vibrancy that makes each glass disappear very easily. While drinking this I was making mental comparisons to Benetiere's Côte-Rôties - it doesn't have the gamey/meaty notes I've had from those wines, but the sense of freshness, lightness, and energy is striking and I'm glad to have more in the cellar to see how this evolves. But definitely no regrets about opening this now.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear this went down well because a bottle we had at a restaurant late in August had way too much VA. Huge disappointment, given how fond we are of Eric's wines and how fascinated we are with this mysterious bottling.
 
Thanks for taking one for the team, Salil.

I've got a bottle of this sitting at Chambers waiting for me, and I have a magnum of the 2016 in storage. Don't know that I'm going to make it to 15 on that one....
 
Oswaldo,

Very sorry to hear that.
2020 is not the lowest VA wine that I have made, but still far to be worst (0.7% on the last lab test).
I hope we'll share a better bottle soon! (Well not to soon either, this is a vin de garde in my mind!)
 
originally posted by Brézème:
Oswaldo,

Very sorry to hear that.
2020 is not the lowest VA wine that I have made, but still far to be worst (0.7% on the last lab test).
I hope we'll share a better bottle soon! (Well not to soon either, this is a vin de garde in my mind!)
Click to expand...

Wow, 0.7% should not have been noticeable at all, I'll have to seek out another bottle, this time from Silvia and Nadir.

I still haven't opened any of the 2016 mags (waiting for your green light).
 
I'm going to ask a very uninformed question.

Is the VA quantity in the bottle stable (ie unchanging) once bottled?

Does brett quantity in the bottle potentially increase, esp with heat?

My feeling is that here in Seattle, many "natural" bottles are off by the time they are opened. Many, many volatile bottles here. I've stopped. Too many very warm "natural wine shops", no A/C over summer. And the proprietors blissfully unaware and/or inexperienced to even know difference.

This isn't directed at all toward Eric's wines, just a general question. I would imagine wine in Brazil would be subject to all sorts of rough treatment.

As far as I'm concerned these issues are just another version of new oak, ie terroir masking, and unpleasant to drink.
 
An active Brett infection is exacerbated by heat. An active acetobacter contamination will continue to pump out VA in the form of ethyl acetate.

Mark Lipton
 
My understanding, per Mark E and Eric T (please correct me if I'm misquoting) is that the level of VA with which a wine is bottled does not change over time. It may appear to increase when the primary fruit flavors decline, but the lab measurement of the VA level does not change,
 
VA is rarely due to acetobacter in seriously made wines. And if so, acetobacter being an aerobic microbe, VA barely evolves once the wine is bottled (anaerobic environment), with proper closure of course.
It often comes mostly from "Piqûre lactique" which is due to lactobacillus fermeting residual sugars on sluggish fermetations.
I get 90% of my final VA within the first weeks of fermentations.
So no more RS, no increase of VA.

One component of VA that can evolve quite a bit after bottling is acetate.
One way or an other, thru esterification and desterification.

I have seen long skin contact italian wines coming back from totally undrinkable VA tainted after bottling to fantastically complex and terroir expressive gems.
With the same total VA, of course.
 
with respect to Brett (among microbial challenges) pH affects the likelihood (or not) of increased presence. The lower the pH, the less likely the little demons are to multiply.
 
originally posted by Brézème:

One component of VA that can evolve quite a bit after bottling is acetate.
One way or an other, thru esterification and desterification.
Click to expand...

I don't understand the granularity here, but could this be a significant exception and explain (better than the waning of the fruit) why the VA in some wines appears to grow?
 
originally posted by Brézème:
I have seen long skin contact italian wines coming back from totally undrinkable VA tainted after bottling to fantastically complex and terroir expressive gems.
With the same total VA, of course.
Click to expand...

I don't know the science, but this describes Jérôme Guichard's wines for me.
 
Unreconciled with the dissonance between the bottle of 2020 Le Clau we had at EPOQ in Biarritz in August and Salil and Chambers Street's glowing write-ups, we got weself two more bottles to try in the sanctity of the home.

Alas, I am disappointed to report that the first of these, opened on a Flower (fwliw) night, was similar to the one in Biarritz: acetic notes in both aroma and taste, and some yeastiness in the finish. Marcia also felt both; far from enough to impede drinking thanks to the pretty fruit underneath (food reduced the yeastiness), but substantial enough that, if our bottle were tasted by Salil and Chambers, I cannot imagine this going undetected and unreported.

I am hoping there is more than one lot because the difference cannot, in my estimation, be put down to de gustibus. If anyone else opens theirs, please report. And if anyone swings by Lisbon, I'll happily open the other for a reality check, to be broadcast live on WDTV.

ps: I have zero wish to diss a wine by one of our favorite people, to whom we are grateful for terrific wines drunk and insights received over so many years; I am much more interested in scratching my chin and putting into play what aspects of the tasting experience go beyond individual thresholds.
 
Only one lot of 900 bottles and some magnums, Oswaldo.

Obviously a polarizing wine of mine. Not the first, not the last I guess...
 
Thanks for the original note Salil. Was equally impressed by my first bottle - very excited to let my remaining bottles rest as it felt like there's incredible material for aging.
 
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