2009 Les Claviers

While not fermented on the skins, Quinonero's 2009 Les Claviers - as usual, a blend of Ugni blanc with small amounts of Grenache Gris, Clairette, and Chardonnay vinified in old 400 liter barrels - could just about qualify for the (in some quarters at least) now-fashionable moniker "orange wine," having thanks to the choice of cepage, low sulfur, long (leesy) elevage, and non-filtration taken on a deep, faintly-hazy rose-gold hue. The aromas and flavors here are of toasted nuts; dried pear and apple; and veal stock in a way that calls to mind the correspondingly carnal elements that can arise with Chablis. There is a vague suggestion of root vegetables in the finish of this silken-textured, overtly leesy white that many tasters will find too earthy, while others will find it too oxidative. This would be very interesting to play around with over the coming year, though. It struck me as too singular not to want to publish a note. (The 2008 version of Quinonero's Chardonnay, Les Vargues, displayed a similarly unusual carnal cast but was marginally out of bounds in terms of characteristics I associate with microbiological activity, while a 2010 "declassified" as "A Clara" offered fascinating floral and flor-like scents as well as nutty piquancy that put me in mind of the Jura, but which I elected not to describe in further detail since the wine had to be labeled without vintage and there is no lot number to which one can refer to avoid confusion.) Pierre Quinonero's unorthodox - some would say "quirky" - wines (for more about which, consult my report in issue 183) are rendered with tiny yields and an experimental spirit, but ultimately an uncompromising vision. Quinonero's flagship Les Armieres originates with 70-year-old Carignan vines grown in a mixture of Villafranchian pebbles and volcanic basalt near Caux, and typically blended with around 10% young Syrah. "It's too warm here for Syrah," says Spanish-born Quinonero, scorning the near-fixation with this cepage on the part of the authorities, "but these were the first vines I planted when I arrived here, and I'm not about to rip them up." His unusual whites and Pinot Noir are grown on granite, schist, and Marne chalk at high elevation along the Orb not far from the northwestern edge of the Faugeres appellation. Unfortunately, this fascinating estate has no U.S. importer.