Talking terroir

WINE:What makes a wine unique? The combination of soil and climate – and some TLC provided by the winemakers, of course

TALK TO ANY French winemaker, and within a few minutes he or she will mention the word "terroir". Translated directly into English it means soil, but in wine terms it stands for a whole lot more. Terroir in a broader sense includes not only the soil, but the local mesoclimate, and wider microclimate of an area. The French (backed up by their European colleagues, and EU wine law) argue that each region, each commune, even each single vineyard produces a unique wine that cannot be reproduced anywhere else. Therefore a Sancerre, made from the Sauvignon grape, will bear a recognisable imprint of the unique soil and climate of the area. And within the Sancerre region, the silex flint soils produce a very different wine to those from the nearby marl soils known locally as "terres blanches". Wine writer Andrew Jefford ( The New France, Mitchell Beazley) translates terroir as "a sense of place". Nicolas Joly, controversial high priest of biodynamic wine ( What is Biodynamic Wine?, Clairview Press) goes much further, arguing that the interaction between all forms of life in a given area come together to create a single authentic wine that expresses the terroir. These wines will be "true" and "authentic". Joly says: "Until the end of the 1950s, not all wines were good, far from it, but almost all of them were authentic. Today one could almost feel a nostalgia for the bad, real wine. Instead we get good but essentially soulless wine by means of technology's thousand artificial measures."

The more extreme French and other Europeans winemakers would have you believe that the winemaker has little to do with it (tellingly, there is no word for winemaker in French); that he is merely the custodian of a process over which he has little control. Others, mainly the New World, beg to differ. Malcolm Gluck ( The Great Wine Swindle, Gibson Square) says: "Terroir is the first refuge of a scoundrel trying to sell you wine."

Talk to an Aussie winemaker, and you are more likely to be given details of the clone of vine, the picking times, the strain of yeast, and type of oak used in making the wine. The details are technical, and more credit is given to the winemaker and his tools rather than the soil. Some of these producers go out of their way to minimise any differences created by soil and climate.

As many European wines come from one limited area, and Australians happily blend across regional boundaries (and even national borders if they were permitted), each side has an axe to grind. In recent years, the polar positions have become much more blurred. The French have come to realise that it is not enough to let the wine make itself; you need to have competent winemaking, too. And the Australians have started to make more noise about their own special vineyards, and the very different styles of wine they make.

Each argument has some validity. Few would seriously argue that the winemaker (and viticulturist) does not play a decisive role in the style and quality of any wine. If they didn’t, every wine made in the same vineyard would taste the same, and it patently doesn’t. Yet you only need to taste the very different wines of one Burgundian, Mosel or Rhône producer, each made in an identical fashion, from vineyards separated by only a few hundred metres, to be convinced that terroir is key, too. To wine lovers, it is this unique imprint that makes wine stand out from every other drink, and provides us with endless topics to debate at length over a few glasses.

Rosemount Estate Show Reserve Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2002, Australia, 13.5%, €22.95There is no stronger argument in favour of terroir than Coonawarra in South Australia. This long very narrow cigar-shaped strip of thin red clay soil is responsible for some of the most delicious and distinctive Cabernet Sauvignon in Australia. A couple of hundred yards away from the main road, and the soil changes dramatically. So too do the wines. Proper Coonawarra Cabernet has a delicious slightly leafy lead-pencil edge and a wonderful purity of blackcurrant fruit. The others just taste like your average Aussie Cab. The Rosemount Cab has pure Coonawarra flavours of blackcurrant and cigar-box. There is an added bonus, too; at seven years of age, it is also showing a very attractive soft easy maturity. If you ever wondered what an older bottle of wine tastes like, this is your opportunity. Stockists:Molloy's Liquor Stores; JC's, Swords; Joyce's, Knocknacara and Athenry; Centra, Bishopstown, Fermoy, Athboy, Raheen; Costcutter, Ballybofey; Londis, Roscommon; Super Valu, Donegal, Macroom, Buncrana, Churchtown, Castlebar, Duleek and Charleville; Fine Wines, Limerick; Lynch's Off Licence, Glanmire; Boggan's, Wexford ; Divilly's Ballinasloe; the Dew Drop, Athboy.

Domaine des Jougla Cuvée Signée 2005, St Chinian, France, 13.5%, €16.49Keep an eye out for the wines of Saint Chinian; this region, deep in the Languedoc, produces some great value wines. Those from the steep schist terraces have an intense aroma, a characteristic firm concentration and structure. The looser limestone soils tend to make for bigger, softer and rounder wines. Both are usually made from a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, sometimes with a little Carignan. The Jougla Cuvée, from schist soils, has a lovely taut elegance, fine tannins balanced by delicious ripe cherry fruits, which make it quite special. Try it with roast game or red meats. Stockists:Caprani's, Ashford; the Hole in the Wall, Blackhorse Avenue; Morton's of Galway; O'Neill's, Carrickmacross; the Foodhall, Portlaoise.

Soave Pieropan 2006 Calvarino, Italy, 12.5%, €24.99Nino Pieropan is one of the true greats. I featured the basic Soave as a wine of the week last year. The Calvarino, from a single vineyard high up in the hills on volcanic tufa-rich basalt soils is made in a very similar manner, but tastes entirely different. It is an extraordinary wine capable of ageing for a decade or more – I recently tasted a sublime 1996. To me it is certainly the greatest Soave, and one of the great Italian white wines. The 2006 is a hugely complex wine with intense citrus peel, green apples and a whack of grippy, steely minerals. But each time you go back it changes slightly to reveal a touch of honey, a hint of grapefruit. Buy a few bottles, drink one with a bowl of prawns, and leave the remainder to mature for a few years. Stockists:On The Grapevine, Dalkey and Booterstown; Fallon Byrne, Exchequer Street; the Wine Boutique, Ringsend.

Springfield Life from Stone Sauvignon 2008, Robertson, South Africa, 12.8%, €18.90The whole of Robertson has a pretty unique terroir, with lime soils, and huge fluctuations between day and night-time temperatures. These create perfect conditions for producing aromatic white wines, and Sauvignon in particular. However, the Life from Stone Sauvignon is produced from rocky quartz vineyards close to the river bed. The wine is one of the most pungent, mineral wines you will find, flinty, crisp and mineral; a completely different animal to its sister, the Special Cuvée Sauvignon from the same producer. Stockists:Redmond's, Ranelagh; On the Grapevine, Dalkey and Booterstown; Red Island, Skerries; Power Smullen, Lucan; The Bottle Shop, Kilmacud; Ardkeen Stores, Waterford; selected Next Door stores nationwide.

TWO UNDER TWELVE
Chanson Mâcon-Villages 2007, 13.5%, €9.99It doesn't have the class of the more expensive wines of the Mâconnais, but the Chanson Mâcon Villages certainly delivers plenty of rich ripe red apple fruits, given just enough verve by a note of citrus. A great all-rounder that will give succour in these recessionary times. Stockist:O'Briens Wine Off-licences.

d'Arenberg The Stump Jump Red GSM 2006, 14%, €10.49Like the white version a week or two ago, this punches way above its weight, with masses of delicious supple dark fruits, and a smooth rounded finish. Perfect with most red meats, or even on its own on a cold night. Stockists:McCabe's, Blackrock; Bin No9, Goatstown; Deveney's, Dundrum; Morton's, Firhouse; Cheers, Perrystown; Lilac Wines, Fairview; McHugh's, Artane and Killester; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; Gibney's, Malahide; Lord Mayor's, Swords; Red Island, Skerries; Holland's, Bray; O'Briens Off-licences; Grenham's, Ballinasloe; Morton's, Salthill; Harvest, Galway city; Burke's, Kinvara; Fahy's, Ballina; Top Class Wines, Sligo; Next Door at Myles Creek, Kilkee; Egan's Food & Wines, Portlaoise; Old Stand, Mullingar; McEntee's, Kells; Mill Wine Cellar, Maynooth.