There is one thing that you should know about me-I love Formula One. I have watched it for years. I follow several drivers but my two favorites are Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon. I do have to say that Esteban is the one I root for every time and I have followed him since he drove for Racing Point. I was so happy for him when he got his drive with Renault and was even more happy for him when Alpine signed him to a long-term contract. But the most excited I have been for him was this last race in Hungary, where he placed first. So, in honor of this awesome result, I chose a French wine for this week.
French wine can get complicated. There are laws for every step of wine production-from the actual vineyard itself to getting it to the consumer. The wine labels can also generate confusion and do not always convey the quality of what’s in the bottle. The terms Grand Cru, Cru and Vin de France do have meaning. Grand Cru represents the best quality vineyards, Cru vineyards are still good but maybe they are in a location that is a little less than ideal. Vin de France is wine that is made from vineyards that don’t have a vineyard designation or the wine’s production methods fall outside of the rules. This is the category where you can find some good French wines at prices that won’t break the bank.
The Little James’ Basket Press “Jeune Solera” is one of those wines. It has a Vin de France designation because of the unique method that the winemaker uses to blend his wine. The winemaker, Louis Barruol, uses a solera method to blend its 100% Grenache wines. Starting with the 1999 vintage, the wine is blended together after each year. So, what this means is that 1999, 2000, 2001, etc. are all found in the blend of the current year’s wine. As a result, there is no vintage designation but there is a year that the wine was bottled. This means that this 2019 bottle has wine from the years 1999-2018 in the blend. The history of this winery is also fascinating, having been in the family since 1570.
The wine is Grenache, through and through. It is full-bodied but vibrant and complex due to the solera blending. The flavors of raisin, dark berries, cherries, strawberries and gingerbread are the initial flavors that hit the palate. Towards the finish are anise, pepper and tomato leaf. The tannins are a little above medium but are smooth, as opposed to gritty. The alcohol is high (14.5% abv) and contributes to the spicy kick in the finish.
While I chose to drink this solo, it would go great with grilled meats, braises and stews. I would also suspect that it could go well with tomato based dishes, due to the tomato leaf quality mentioned earlier.
So, here’s to you Esteban Ocon! The win was well deserved and the wine was greatly enjoyed. Hopefully, there will be more celebrations to come.