What are organic wines for us? They are something slightly better than a Christmas gift. What are new organic wines? They are more exciting than a very anticipated Christmas gift!
What is it all about? I have received a small batch of new organic wines from an importer called Dudley Craig Wines (they have a retail arm called Wine Sensations) and happy to report on our findings.
They specialised on organic and natural wines from South of France (including Languedoc, Provence and other parts i.e. south-west), but also Loire, mostly unknown to British consumer Jura and some examples from Austria and Burgundy. Please do not think of Jura as a reference to whisky here, as this is what you can get if you copy this name to Google, it is a small but established appellation in the eastern part of France, right on the border with Switzerland.
Let’s start with this potentially confusing one.
Domaine Jean Bourdy Cotes du Jura 2009 at 12.5% (we did like its freshness due to a lower alcohol content).
When you actually read the label you learn that it has been aged for 4 years in oak before bottling. That is surprising. Such a fresh wine and aged for so long?!
Let’s check what kind of blend it is. It is made of 34% Pinot, 33% Poulsard and 33% Trousseau. The latter two do not say much to me (not a lot of Jura experience before, so need to have a look at the local grapes).
My reading goes further and I find out that they recommend to uncork the bottle 3 to 4 hours before tasting! What? That is way too much don’t you think?
One thing that I am certain about is that you definitely need to chill it a bit.
My first reaction to this wine was – oh gosh it is too thin and too simple.
After a first half hour it started to play better – it is still all about red fruit but with a generous amount of floral, herbal and forest fruit character.
Imagine having a picnic with your friend. Summer is in a full swing. There is a forest nearby and you have some rustic but amazingly tasty produce laid on a retro table cloth.. this wine is perfect for that.
It is too light to match with something more substantial than a light picnic nibble, but being more chilled it can complement your fish dish too. Think of salmon or trout as the wine has enough acidity to cut through fat and also enough power to match these fishy flavours.
We had it with pork and sweet potato in a tarragon and Canary islands marinade. It was delicious. The wine was slightly subdued but complemented to a delicate pork well.
I just cannot taste any oak in this wine at all. Would you say 4 years are gone to a complete waste?
I also haven’t seen any organic certificates for this one, so no organic rating, but it is a light and round red wine that can compare to Burgundy should it be of a more character.
Update from Wine Sensations: this producer is completely organic! They have been certified Agriculture Biologique-certified organic since 2002 and Demeter-certified biodynamic since 2006. They don’t make a big deal of it, but they are absolutely dedicated to organic and biodynamic production.
Saint Jean du Barroux L’Argile 2007
This wine is made in Provence from red Grenache, Syrah, Carignan and Cinsault.
Much more alcoholic than the previous one at 15% abv and is indeed certified organic.
The producer is quite active on social media, which is rather unusual. You can tweet to them @stjeandubarroux
I found the wine strong and alcoholic, yet at the same time very smooth and mellow, which is an unusual contrast.
It expresses of glorious ripe red and black fruit, has a very pleasant acidity (which is there but not as a kicker). Its oakiness gives a gentle touch of vanilla, cloves and something herbaceous and spicy (rosemary, liquorice).
It is wonderful to find a passionate organic winemaking production from a rather warm region of Provence that is normally famous for rose or exceptionally rich Bandol wines.
This is an elegant yet powerful example – I found it very good. It would be slightly better (or dare I call it exceptional) with less alcohol strength.
28/35
Le Mas de l’Ecriture L’Emotion 2010
This wine is made of Syrah 35%, Grenache 20%, Carignan 30% and Cinsault 15% and back to an high but approachable levels of 14% abv.
This blend appears to be deep and quite dense in colour. This powerful red wine has a very robust blend of red grape varieties and the first thing you notice is the mouth coating sensation of black fruit.
Further on, it opens up to a more refreshing red fruit character.
This could be a very jammy wine, but instead it is more fresh than expected. Yet I will not agree with the winemaker who stated on the bottle that it is fresh. It still has a sweet character and some further sweet spice to it (think liquorice and cloves).
Overall these three wines are a pleasant addition to the UK’s new organic wines’ scene – France is definitely making efforts to appeal to a discerning wine drinker by producing more organic wines that represent their regions well.
If you are interested in exploring more and discovering some other wines represented by this importer, they also have a retail arm, just head on to Wine Sensations.
For more examples of fantastic organic wines you can buy in the UK please head on to our top list – The Best Organic Wines.
Cheers!
Disclaimer: These organic red wines were provided by DC Wines, a supplier of a wide range of organic wines. IBlameTheWine.com accepts an opportunity to try new organic wines, but reserves the right to publish the review, or to dismiss it as irrelevant. Please contact for more information.
