Lemasson

J

Joel Stewart

Joel Stewart
2008 Lemasson, Sois Mignon, Vdt (Loire) - Puns seem to be breeding themselves? Tart nose - apples, flint, nuts....with some subtle attractive musk notes underneath....then mandarin orange, lime zest. Some CO2 on the pour and, as well, first sips, which mingle perfectly well with near-piercing acidity. They actually bring up vinho verde memories (refreshing lemon, slightly salty mineral, a touch of quinine). Later, the palate shows a subtle vein of appley, mangoesque fruit, but it's really more the thought of it, rather than the "it" itself. A suggested ripeness. The finish also lengthens the more the wine is in the glass. Me likey. Zippy, in between light and mid-weight; served well chilled, it could rock paired with oysters, fresh or fried, but it does have the potential to be enjoyed and observed over time. $20. (Note: day 2 - still holding, but more generically vin naturel.)
 
This is sauvignon blanc? Sounds fun and am glad it worked out. (I was quickly frightened away from opening my wallet for Lemasson after only a few funky bottles)
 
Scott - Yes. And heck, I don't even know if "Sois Mignon" is "real" French, but once I figured out the vintage printed on the label I felt slightly smug about figuring out the grape.

Rahsaan...there is also a pinot offering in the same price range that I want to try....just too hot here still to warrant knee-jerk red wine purchases. And, provenance prevails, of course.
 
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Another myth bites the dust.
Click to expand...

Well, when you think of it, it's hard to imagine such a polite and interdependant culture having to wait for the Portuguese to give them a word to help grease the wheels, eh?

On the other hand, the whole world can thank Portugal for helping influence the birth of Ukiyo-e...and, in turn, the Impressionist period. Back when Japan had cut itself off from the rest of the world, the woodblock prints (which Vincent, Monet, et al, collected) hadn't been created yet. Pre-Ukiyo-e prints are much much flatter...rather primitive in appearance, compared to the sophisticated, implied depth one sees in Ukiyo-e.

Japan did trade with one country during the shut out period: Portugal. Portugal had access to the developments of modern perspective happening at the time in Europe. Drawings and (maybe) paintings from Europe made their way into Japanese artists' hands through the only port open to trade, Nagasaki. Local artists incorporated the newly developed perspective lessons and correspondingly, depth within the picture plane developed....leading to the Ukiyo-e prints we recognize as being "so Japanese" today. That the Impressionists were attracted to such prints in the first place has at least as much to do with recognizing something vaguely familiar within that "foreign" style, as it does discovering something so seemingly "new" altogether, in fact. Of course, the anti-salon artists were hungry for different subject matter too...and the beauty of the commonplace, prevalent in those Ukiyo-e, was just the ticket as well.

Phew, I feel better now.
 
originally posted by Joel Stewart:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Another myth bites the dust.
Click to expand...

Well, when you think of it, it's hard to imagine such a polite and interdependant culture having to wait for the Portuguese to give them a word to help grease the wheels, eh?

On the other hand, the whole world can thank Portugal for helping influence the birth of Ukiyo-e...and, in turn, the Impressionist period. Back when Japan had cut itself off from the rest of the world, the woodblock prints (which Vincent, Monet, et al, collected) hadn't been created yet. Pre-Ukiyo-e prints are much much flatter...rather primitive in appearance, compared to the sophisticated, implied depth one sees in Ukiyo-e.

Japan did trade with one country during the shut out period: Portugal. Portugal had access to the developments of modern perspective happening at the time in Europe. Drawings and (maybe) paintings from Europe made their way into Japanese artists' hands through the only port open to trade, Nagasaki. Local artists incorporated the newly developed perspective lessons and correspondingly, depth within the picture plane developed....leading to the Ukiyo-e prints we recognize as being "so Japanese" today. That the Impressionists were attracted to such prints in the first place has at least as much to do with recognizing something vaguely familiar within that "foreign" style, as it does discovering something so seemingly "new" altogether, in fact. Of course, the anti-salon artists were hungry for different subject matter too...and the beauty of the commonplace, prevalent in those Ukiyo-e, was just the ticket as well.

Phew, I feel better now.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've always (well, since studying Japanese art in college) been fascinated by how that recognition worked. Just foreign enough, on both sides.
 
That's cool about the woodblocks, Joel. But bum rap (butbumrap) that Portugal, out of all the major European powers, was the weakest in the "fine" arts (though quite exhuberant in the decorative).

It never crossed my mind that the Japanese lacked a word for thank you; they probably had as many as the Eskimos for ice. If arigato had descended from obrigado, I would have ascribed it to novelty rather than anything else.
 
originally posted by JBrennan:
The Dutch also had a trading center in Japan from the 1600s onward.
Click to expand...

Apparently, the players involved had to walk on a crucifix to get the trading status. Thus showing they weren't missionaries. Other delegations from other countries were offered the same opportunity and declined, or so I think (subject to being corrected).

There is a rather large painting in the Tokyo National Museum at Ueno Park of Dutch folk about to walk on a crucifix.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:
originally posted by Joel Stewart:
originally posted by Oswaldo Costa:
Another myth bites the dust.
Click to expand...

Well, when you think of it, it's hard to imagine such a polite and interdependant culture having to wait for the Portuguese to give them a word to help grease the wheels, eh?

On the other hand, the whole world can thank Portugal for helping influence the birth of Ukiyo-e...and, in turn, the Impressionist period. Back when Japan had cut itself off from the rest of the world, the woodblock prints (which Vincent, Monet, et al, collected) hadn't been created yet. Pre-Ukiyo-e prints are much much flatter...rather primitive in appearance, compared to the sophisticated, implied depth one sees in Ukiyo-e.

Japan did trade with one country during the shut out period: Portugal. Portugal had access to the developments of modern perspective happening at the time in Europe. Drawings and (maybe) paintings from Europe made their way into Japanese artists' hands through the only port open to trade, Nagasaki. Local artists incorporated the newly developed perspective lessons and correspondingly, depth within the picture plane developed....leading to the Ukiyo-e prints we recognize as being "so Japanese" today. That the Impressionists were attracted to such prints in the first place has at least as much to do with recognizing something vaguely familiar within that "foreign" style, as it does discovering something so seemingly "new" altogether, in fact. Of course, the anti-salon artists were hungry for different subject matter too...and the beauty of the commonplace, prevalent in those Ukiyo-e, was just the ticket as well.

Phew, I feel better now.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've always (well, since studying Japanese art in college) been fascinated by how that recognition worked. Just foreign enough, on both sides.
Click to expand...

Exactly. And may help explain why a few major collectors of Impressionism are Japanese.
 
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