Alt Nautral wine with a dope label 2015 Hirotake Ooka Cornas (France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas)

WINE TALK
21

I completely agree with Alan. I’ll add what is probably the biggest issue with producers who use extremely little or no SO2: lack of microbial stability. I find that to be a far more widespread issue than oxidation, which is quite preventable without SO2 with appropriate winemaking and handling techniques. At this point, I can usually tell when a winemaker is in the low/no SO2 camp upon tasting the wine, and that isn’t a good thing. Some people like Lapierre seem to have gotten quite good at it, but even he has had problems in ripe vintages (I’ve seen multiple bad bottles from 2009 and 2015). I recognize that there are other exceptions, but even among them, consistency isn’t there, and you never know when you’re going to get a bottle that’s been overwhelmed by issues with brett or malolactic bacteria. I think this style of winemaking is irresponsible to the consumer.

22

Also, as great as SS bottlings can be, keeping them cool will improve your chances of a good bottle, but there’s no guarantee.

23

Alan,

Co2 itself isn’t an oxygen scavenger but in the actual fermentation process yeast consume oxygen and one of the biproducts is co2.

I don’t know the success of it but if a bottle does a mini petillant process at the end it would reduce the oxygen I believe.

24

I have had the '15 of this 2x this year. Once blind and another pop and pour.

No issues with CO2 and both were two of the more pristine Ooka bottlings I’ve had. Both bottles were served from decanters (but not decanted for any time prior to serving). I don’t think either bottle made it more than 90min before being entirely consumed.

I loved both bottles.

25

Should be seeing Thierry soon at the villa. Will ask him to pull some corks on the more mature SS. Will let him know your thoughts.

[snort.gif]

26

this is the culprit. bizot is successful at sans soufre because he only uses new wood which thus avoids problems concerning sanitation.

27

Never had the wine, but that label is dope indeed!

28

Maybe alt natural dope with a wine label next time?

29

So he’s lost 3 out of 5 crops because of not treating his vines?

30

lost all of one, lost 60% of another and don’t know the story behind the last. ha

31

Kind of the “anti-vaxxer” of the wine world…

32

it’s weird cause he’s a chemistry major. So I guess it’d be the same as doctors advocating for anti vaxx.

33

Yeah. I get wanting to be organic, and try to do as little as necessary in terms of treatments, but what’s the point if you get little or no crop? I guess you can be so purist that you don’t want to even make wine from something that isn’t “perfect” in your eyes.

34

That is weird!

35

They are young vines planted on a plot left fallow and as I understand it just north of Reynard purchased from Allemand?

36

Yea. Don’t know if it’s near Reynard tho. Thought that was mostly still foliage

37

Interesting guy:

His winery is more of a cave than a winery. Carved out of the side of a mountain, it’s intensely humid and moist, some barrels even have mushrooms growing on them.

– Thirst Wine Merchants

Like other natural wines, Mr. Ooka’s showed certain imperfections and idiosyncracies. Some of them seemed a bit volatile, with funky flavors and aromas that are usually suppressed in more technically polished wines.

Because of their lack of typicity, the wines of Domaine de la Grande Colline sometimes fail to qualify for the use of the appellation in which the grapes were grown.

– New York Times, May 2013
[Given the rusticness of some Cornas, it’s quite something if these didn’t qualify for the appellation.]

“To make wine without chemicals, you have to be patient,” Mr. Ooka said. In keeping with the natural philosophy, he lets fermentation happen spontaneously, avoiding the addition of industrial yeasts. As a result, some wines stop and start; his 2010 Saint-Péray was only completing its fermentation this spring.

– New York Times
[Fermentation still going on two and a half years after the harvest? You have to wonder what else was going on in the must in the meantime!]

38

The cornas is different John. His only domaine wine I think. So fit the two releases he has had they’ve been labeled cornas

39

Strange business plan.

40

Thanks for the clarification. Neither of the articles were clear about that.

Still, some weird things going on there. Particularly the St. Peray fermentation continuing for two and a half years. Perhaps that was the malo and the reporter didn’t grasp that.