Texier Wine

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Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey
The bottle label is silent on this.

I've read what appears to be conflicting information about Eric's St Alban...

1) It is said that it is made 100% of Serine;

2) It is said to be a blend; and

3) It is said to consist of Grenache and white wine.

What is an accurate description of the fruit for the St Alban?

Thanks!

. . . . . Pete
 
originally posted by Rahsaan:
The more relevant question is where the hell do you do your reading!
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Maybe from here, where it does actually say that the vineyard has syrah, grenache and white varieties. But I don't think they go in the same cuvee.
 
pete--here is a web site that you may never have heard of:

louisdressner.com

they are the u.s. importers for eric texier. their web site says the wine is 100% syrah. great web site. actually full of information. recommended.
 
How can one tell from the bottle what it is? The ones I've had taste like Grenache perhaps blended with something (although I would never have thought white wine).

. . . . . Pete
 
originally posted by Peter Creasey:

How can one tell from the bottle what it is? The ones I've had taste like Grenache perhaps blended with something (although I would never have thought white wine).

. . . . . Pete
Click to expand...

Ya know, sometimes your taste buds can play more tricks on you than a monkey on a grapevine.
 
Actually, according to Eric, the St. Alban serine isn't serine. Posted on FB:

Eric Texier shared KOT Selections's photo.
March 17 ·
Confession : after 6 vintages, we discovered that these serine are probably not serine... but something even rarer. Still waiting for DNA identification!
 
originally posted by Peter Creasey:

Keith, interesting!

No wonder there's no consensus...even the winegrower doesn't know.
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There is absolute consensus on the answers to your initial questions.
 
The label is not silent.

If serine is written on it then it is serine (though we just discovered it might be a considered extincted grape from the same family).

If Saint Julien is written on it, it has to be 100% syrah (including serine), like in Brézème or Crozes or Cornas.
Like you may know, french AOC don't claim grapes except in Alsace and few other places.

If there is no mention of Saint Julien, though grapes are coming from there, and just claim Cotes du Rhône then it has to comply With CDR AOC rules : min 40% grenache and max 15% of whites : this is "Chat Fou". 85% grenache and 15% clairette marsanne.

Who cares any way. My grandma drank Jurançon all her life long (she died last year at 98) and learnt that it was made out of Mansengs 3 or 4 years ago. And said : "on s'en fout du petit ou du gros, Jurançon restera toujours à Jurançon non?"
Something like : "Who cares about petit or gros (referring to Gros Manseng or Petit Manseng), Jurançon won't move anyway, no?"
She was born in the Pyrenees, and Jurançon was the wine made in her homeplace, by people sharing her culture and language. So grapes were her last concern, frankly. And mine too. Frankly.

Saint Julien en Saint ALban is a very specific terroir of granit and schist, right on the geological fault that spit Ardèche du Sud (limestone) and Ardeche du Nord (primary and metamorphic rocks). These granit and schist top soils were brought here by storm and heavy rains and lay on vertical marls that allow vines root to go extremely deep.
The Vallée de L'Ouveze is known for being a "conservatoire" of old ardechois varietals because Ardeche people are well known for being tough people, a bit resistant to administration and government : as protestants they were persecuted for 300 years until the french revolution.
When Aoc rules came, growers were asked to plant syrah, among others. They didn't and said they did to get AOC.
They were right.
I feel a bit like them honestly. And hope my wines from there show the same personality. And don't taste too much like syrah. I leave syrah to others. And keep St Ju and Brezeme.
Cheers
 
originally posted by Brézème:
The label is not silent.

If serine is written on it then it is serine (though we just discovered it might be a considered extincted grape from the same family).

If Saint Julien is written on it, it has to be 100% syrah (including serine), like in Brézème or Crozes or Cornas.
Like you may know, french AOC don't claim grapes except in Alsace and few other places.

If there is no mention of Saint Julien, though grapes are coming from there, and just claim Cotes du Rhône then it has to comply With CDR AOC rules : min 40% grenache and max 15% of whites : this is "Chat Fou". 85% grenache and 15% clairette marsanne.

Who cares any way. My grandma drank Jurançon all her life long (she died last year at 98) and learnt that it was made out of Mansengs 3 or 4 years ago. And said : "on s'en fout du petit ou du gros, Jurançon restera toujours à Jurançon non?"
Something like : "Who cares about petit or gros (referring to Gros Manseng or Petit Manseng), Jurançon won't move anyway, no?"
She was born in the Pyrenees, and Jurançon was the wine made in her homeplace, by people sharing her culture and language. So grapes were her last concern, frankly. And mine too. Frankly.

Saint Julien en Saint ALban is a very specific terroir of granit and schist, right on the geological fault that spit Ardèche du Sud (limestone) and Ardeche du Nord (primary and metamorphic rocks). These granit and schist top soils were brought here by storm and heavy rains and lay on vertical marls that allow vines root to go extremely deep.
The Vallée de L'Ouveze is known for being a "conservatoire" of old ardechois varietals because Ardeche people are well known for being tough people, a bit resistant to administration and government : as protestants they were persecuted for 300 years until the french revolution.
When Aoc rules came, growers were asked to plant syrah, among others. They didn't and said they did to get AOC.
They were right.
I feel a bit like them honestly. And hope my wines from there show the same personality. And don't taste too much like syrah. I leave syrah to others. And keep St Ju and Brezeme.
Cheers
Click to expand...

Thank you, Eric. Hope this horrendously destructive frost has not reached as far down as the Ardèche.
 
originally posted by Brézème: If Saint Julien is written on it, it has to be 100% syrah

hope my wines from there ... don't taste too much like syrah. I leave syrah to others. And keep St Ju and Brezeme.
Click to expand...

Eric, thanks for your on point clarification!

I have the St Julien. And you might be pleased to know that, to my palate at least, it doesn't strike me as a Syrah. As mentioned up thread, the gentle smooth profile made me think it was Grenache (perhaps blended with something). In any event, I like your St Albans a lot...and the Chat Fou also.

. . . . . Pete
 
originally posted by Peter Creasey:

originally posted by Brézème: If Saint Julien is written on it, it has to be 100% syrah

hope my wines from there ... don't taste too much like syrah. I leave syrah to others. And keep St Ju and Brezeme.
Click to expand...

Eric, thanks for your on point clarification!

I have the St Julien. And you might be pleased to know that, to my palate at least, it doesn't strike me as a Syrah. As mentioned up thread, the gentle smooth profile made me think it was Grenache (perhaps blended with something). In any event, I like your St Albans a lot...and the Chat Fou also.

. . . . . Pete
Click to expand...
I think what Eric was saying was that it really doesn't make a difference to him whether the wine tastes more like syrah or like grenache. He has found a very special site to work with that makes a compelling wine regardless what the grape varieties are.
 
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