Cote de Brouilly and other stuff with Schramm

T

Todd Abrams

Todd Abrams
Thanks to a Cru Beaujolais thread right here on the fabulous Wine Disorder, Ken Schramm and I met up at his new meadery (under construction) for some drinks.

2009 Jean Paul Brun Cote de Brouilly is full with magnificently ripe fruit and tannin aplenty. Lots to like and obviously needs a few years. Did I catch a whiff of graphite there?

My regard for 2010 Thivin Cote de Brouilly has been established here. As much as I liked the Brun, I’m still a chump for the effortlessness of this wine. It obviously doesn’t have the potential of the Brun but it’s kind of like that seemingly simple William Carlos Williams poem about the plums that you can read a hundred times and it still moves you through its inevitability. What can I say?

Glasses were then filled with immense 2010 Domaine Durand Cornas "Premices" and aromas of blackberries, mint, and not-so-subtle notes of smoked horse poured out. Nice structure on this one.

After that came a round and fruity 2011 Durand Syrah (Collines-Rhodaniennes) that at one point smelled precisely like a salumi case in the middle of a eucalyptus forest in a fever dream.

We finished off with some Schramm’s Mead. A floral, sweet and tart cherry (Morello, I recall) brew that pleaded for some dark, dark chocolate on the side.

Looking forward to more tastings like this, especially since the meadery is roughly five minutes walking distance from my front door.
 
That would be something you should ask him. We did discuss how he kept his cherry blossoms alive during last year's devastating frost with six bags of charcoal and some maple logs. For some reason I thought of that movie with Keanu Reeves where his girlfriend's vineyard catches on fire. I'm not sure why, as Ken is a far better actor than Keanu Reeves.
 
I pretty much immediately drank two cases of Brun's 09 CdB and then immediately wished I'd bought about six.
 
originally posted by BJ:
I pretty much immediately drank two cases of Brun's 09 CdB and then immediately wished I'd bought about six.
Click to expand...

I know I go on and on about this wine, but I will also say that as good as it is now, it was electric on release. It's deeper toned now, and in my mind ready for a long slumber, even though it is great to open now too.
 
originally posted by BJ:
I pretty much immediately drank two cases of Brun's 09 CdB and then immediately wished I'd bought about six.
Click to expand...

I know I go on and on about this wine, but I will also say that as good as it is now, it was electric on release. It's deeper toned now, and in my mind ready for a long slumber, even though it is great to open now too.
 
Based on what I have learned about how things can go with licensing, all I can say for sure is that the meadery will be open some time in the next three months.

My biggest sense of the Durands was that their aromatics were incongruous with the palate impression. We were drinking out of white wine glasses at a construction site, so the whole thing left something to be desired. Todd thought the Cornas had shown very differently out of the three different glasses he'd had it out of in the past week, and I can see where that could easily have been that case. I have one more glass to try tonight, and I'll be using a bigger stem this time.

The Brun CdB was definitely still open for business as far as I could tell. It was showing a lot more skin than the Thivin, but both were enjoyable. Just after pouring, the Thivin offered a single note of cherries on the nose, but it grew and blossomed into a complex and delightful nose with a half hour or so. It was leaner and more tannic, but not short on fruit. The Brun was a compote from the start, and just kept delivering more with time. Chewy and mouth-filling. Had the final glass last night, and it did not lose anything. I wish I had bought two cases. I still have that option with the Thivin, but now that the architect's bills are coming in, the money situation is not what it was a while back.

originally posted by Florida Jim:
"Smoked horse"
. . . how hip is that?
Best, Jim
Click to expand...

See? I knew Todd's descriptions would be better.

The mead we tasted was a pilot batch of Michigan Balaton cherry. It was the #3 finisher of the six pilot recipes, but I won't get a chance to make that until later this summer. The Michigan cherry crop was a total bust last year due to 80's in March and the subsequent freeze.
 
Gak, another marca registrada name. At least, it is not a GMO. MSU says it is really a Hungarian cultivar called Bunched of Újfehértói but the trademarked name enables them to share royalties with the folks back in Érd.

So, I've read about its attributes. Which one(s) made it your preferred fruit for the melomel? (Viking Blood?)
 
Balaton has a better mouthfeel than Montmorencies, better color, and more fermentable sugar. The acidity is softer than I would like, but that is the trade off for the other properties. I would much rather have Oblascinska or Pozog, but they are not available on the scale that I would need them. North Stars are OK, but a little to one-dimensional in their acid profile. Plus, Balaton supports Amy Iezzoni and the folks at the MSU extension farm, and she does some great work with cherry cultivars that no one else is doing.

To be honest, I would really prefer Schaarbeek, but that variety is in extremely short supply. It has it all - spectacular color, fantastic acidity and, most importantly, incredibly complex flavor. You can't always get what you want.

I shy away from Viking references. The beverage has to stand on its own, and I don't need any of that baggage.
 
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