2005 Faugeres Jadis

Matured for more than two years in largely old barriques, Barral's 2005 Faugeres Jadis comes primarily from Carignan and Syrah. Smoky, and high-toned, it smells of cherries and plums macerated in fruit distillate, and laced with vanilla, licorice, and black pepper. Velvety in texture and viscous, with dark chocolate, prunes, roasted meat, and a tactile spiciness, this remarkably rich libation reinforces the impression of fortified, -after dinner- wine with its alcoholic warmth. High alcohol appears as well to be the cause of a slight bit of dryness in the finish, for all of this wine's enormous sweetness of fruit and sheer persistence. I'm very curious how it will age, and one ought certainly to monitor its evolution carefully for signs of alcoholic overload. Didier Barral is a tireless experimenter who forcefully espouses highly original variations on biodynamics and ideals of integrated farming and viticultural sustainability, among the most conspicuous of which is his deployment of Jersey cattle and horses as both source of fertilizer and sometime crew in managing grassy vineyards that he proudly describes as looking -like the Pampas.- (Except that some of these breezy, forest-rimmed sites are rather steep to support that analogy!). Barral is keenly absorbed in details of preserving plant and insect diversity in his soils as well as in perfecting traditional, open-armed goblet (-head-pruned-) training of all his vines, and his idealism extends to keeping one-third of his vineyard land fallow on a ten-year rotation. Barral grows Syrah on his highest and northeast-facing sites -to preserve freshness and because Syrah is like Chardonnay - it doesn't like the sun,- whereas his southern exposures permit Mourvedre to ripen already by the end of September. With one exception, even Barral's 2006 raw materials - consistently impressive and almost confectionary in ripeness - were not yet assembled when I visited him last December, so tasting notes on approximations to the eventual wines are impossible. Some of his 2007 lots had not even finished their primary fermentation at that point, yet were capable of displaying almost oceanic depths of minerality and more animal spirits than the hoofed heard wandering the estate's vine rows. Would-be clients would be wise to make plans or supplications to the deities of allocation now, in hopes of getting a small share of Barral's amazing wines. -Ripeness- here, incidentally, encompasses not only intense sweetness of fruit, but alcohol of 15% and up. Importer: Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA; tel. (510) 524-1524