AOP Maury Ambré Louanges 1932 Chateau de L'Ou

-

 How important is the history of a wine?

Even though I always assume the challenge of trying to be impartial in my personal evaluation of a wine, I also have to confess that I barely achieve such goal as I tend to let myself seduce by all kinds of extra information which may influence my tasting. I am just too sensitive to the worlds you can build around a particular world which is a bottle of wine.

Going directly to the wine in question, the fact that it was a 1932 harvest has directly awoken in me an almost uncontrollable world of expectations.

Tasted at a recent event of Wines of Roussillon in Hamburg it came as the biggest highlight of a very eventful evening. 

Composed of Grenache Gris and Grenache Blanc it has revealed nice dried apricots, dates and some bitter almonds coated by an acidity which imposed a tremendous freshness to a wine which is over 90 years old. 

In a way, it presented itself fresher than a 2002 tasted right before.

Only having been bottled in 2022, this is a wine which has gone through some of the major events in European history inside a barrel and that is quite something. Somehow, this is a sort of experience that this specific wine has brought along with it.

The barrel aging was really well integrated without any too dominant notes or excessive oxidation. 

I have to confess that it is really hard for me to really assess this wine as its long aging has played a vital role on my perception of it.

But I can tell you that it was good. It was really good and a perfect way of finishing a fascinating travel through the distinctive character of the wines of Roussillon.

 
19/20
Country: France  
Region: Roussillon
Grapes: Grenache Gris; Grenache Blanc
18%
Winemaker: n/a

Website: www.chateau-de-lou.com

Location: Hamburg, Germany

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Marquesa da Alorna Reserva das Pedras Tinta Miúda 2019

-
Image
 Having been back in Portugal I have experienced how a different social wine culture can influence your global experience as a tourist with a special gastronomic focus. I was deeply impressed with how you could simply get reasonable and totally acceptable wine wherever you went, contrasting with most experiences that I have from northern Germany where you often get overpriced wine that I often refuse to drink.  Working at a wine shop that regularly sells wine to different restaurants, it is almost painful to see what we sell and how it is further sold after being applied the four times the price rule in what is locally seen as the only way to make it slightly profitable to sell wine.  This leads to normal guests thinking that a 25€ wine at a restaurant is a medium class wine which is, in fact,  an entrance level or even bulk wine. The price of  a 0,2l glass often goes around 6€. I do am conscious that Germany has a different life standard than Portugal, but that...
Read more

Altas Quintas Vinho de Talha 2023

-
Image
 When a product is particularly cheap Germans often use the expression "it's a fair price" to refer to it.  Being a non native German speaker, the question that often invades me is : Fair to whom? To the farmer? To the winemaker? To the transport people? To me who is selling you the bottle, to the labeling team, the marketing, the pickers, and the list could go on almost without an end. Certain is just that this expression annoys me to an unimaginable extent. The answer is quite obvious that it is fair for the customer as it gives them the feeling of saving money. This is quite common among older customers and even though I almost tend to see it as a generational thing, it still annoys me whenever a wine is described as having a fair price. Having recently been in Portugal, I came across A Talha wine shop in Sines. Strategically located close to the Arts Centre it is a more than pleasant surprise as soon as you get in. Very discreet from the outside but a guaranteed wine...
Read more

Sentiero delle Gerle 2023

-
Image
The other day I have found myself wondering which wine I needed to buy.  Even though the answer, on a first level, seemed quite obvious to me  that I did not need any more wine as my basement is considerably full and I am drinking considerably little at home these days. Still, I thought that a white Etna wine was missing in my collection as it is something that I always like to go back to. And what about an Alvarinho from Rheinessen? That can be quite an interesting thing to try and trick close friends on a coming tasting.  This confers my wine collection an almost library feeling to it.   But unlike what happens with books, at least with mine that I have an almost existential problem about getting rid off any book that has entered the premises independently whether I have read it or not,  with wines I do end up drinking them and acquiring new ones giving the feeling of a living entity to my enoteca ( I am terribly sorry about this but the feeble translatio...
Read more