TN: Dupereadise...

I don’t often do TNs with a lot of stories or personal anecdotes, but I’m going to tonight. If that bores you, skip ahead to the TN.

I’ve always been one to try to find new, interesting wines from regions that may not have always been first in the minds of “collectors”, whatever that means. Part of this has been by necessity, as I’ve never made anywhere close to what many wine geeks take home, and part of it is because I’m always interested in learning, experimenting, and trying things that people who only focus on a few regions wouldn’t even bother with. There’s something about the exploration, learning, and finding things that others might have missed that has always been more important to me than points, the next “big thing”, bragging rights, or mailing lists. As such I have a pretty wide, eclectic cellar that has almost no verticals or ultra-expensive bottles, but one that is interesting to me. I was fortunate in my early wine life to find people, both in person and online, who helped direct me to things that I liked and found interesting but that weren’t outrageously priced at the time. And I also tend to like wines that have a real personality and that might even be a little wild. So I’ve always loved wines from the Languedoc and Provence, things like Mas Daumas Gassac, Tempier, Trevallon, L’Aigueliere, Barral, d’Auphilac, and others. Even though I’ve gone towards even more elegant wines as I’ve gotten older, there’s still something about this type of wine that floats my boat with the right amount of time in the cellar and a nice grilled piece of meat.

In the early 2000s, a producer called Dupere Barrera came on the scene. Their wines have always been very natural, rustic wines that get little press or fanfare, yet seem built along the lines of some of the producers I mentioned above. Kermit Lynch used to import (and still may) their Clos de la Procure, a CDP-style blend that was delicious in the '06 and '07 vintages that I sold while in the distribution business…and both of these were still going strong in 2018/19 when I had my last bottles. Another wine they produce is called Nowat, a blend of Cab, Mourvedre, Carignane and Syrah that is produced entirely by hand, with no electricity (hence, no watts), and everything is done manually with native yeasts. While I don’t think Kermit ever brought this wine into the US (all the bottles I’ve had have been through Triage in Seattle), I’ve had the luck of finding three different small auction lots, over 10 years, so I’ve been able to follow this wine since 2009. I was surprised that this odd wine still has 90 or so bottles listed on Cellar Tracker, when most of their other wines have less than a case, and after reading some of the CT notes, it appears that this was a Garagiste offer many years ago. I’m guessing people bought some there, tried a few bottles and found them really young, old school and rustic. So, they sent them off to Winebid. If any of you reading this note did that…thank you.

2004 Dupere Barrera, Nowat, Cotes du Provence - Beautiful, deep red in the glass, even after nearly 15 years in bottle. Dark, brambly berries on the nose, with leather, black pepper, smoke, earth, and a distinct cinnamon note that really accents the fruit. Initially still a little tight, after an hour of decanting it really opens up on the palate, with deep, rustic blackberry and boysenberry fruit, black pepper, cinnamon, and leather. The palate is starting to get more supple, but this wine still has structure, and might be even better in another 5 years, or more. It is aging like Gassac or old school Bordeaux, and is starting to get that complexity that only cellar aging can provide. This wine is the kind of unexpected surprise that I’ve always liked. I sensed potential the first time I tried it back in 2009, but didn’t have a track record with it. But every bottle I’ve tried has been just a little bit better…but it’s still going to take a while to hit its peak. If any of you still have some from that Garagiste offer…try one. Or better yet…send it to me. I’ll pay you the $17 I paid to Winebid . Approx…92-93.

Great note, Marshall. I have exactly one bottle and it was indeed from a Garagiste offer back in the mid 2000s. Sounds like it’s in a great drinking window.

If it was within the past two/three months it was probably mine. Funny story, I live in Hawaii and was planning to ship a bunch of my wine stored at Wine Bank…but Covid 19. As much as I hated sending it all to WineBid the other options were not viable. I’m glad you enjoyed it and I live vicariously through your note.

BTW, perfect provenance. From Garagiste to Vinfolio to Wine Bank.

Mahalo!

Greg, you can drink it now for sure, although it was best after an hour or more of decanting. I have one more and will try to save it for a bit.

And Mark, it was in one of the September auctions, so if that was you, thank you!