Thank you… What about in France?
And I really appreciate all your insight, time and help.
Not so conversant w/ the French situation, Jonathan. Perhaps Mondeuse Blanche, Duereza, maybe Gringet??
Tom
I wonder what the numbers are on Cesar?
Try reading this article and explore the site’s grape profiles. Maybe it will get you back on track:
Ok, It’s Rhone, not Bordeaux - Chatus…
Michael
I love Godello but this is reinforces my point. Godello sells for about $20/btl except for those made by Raul Perez and maybe one or two others I am unaware of.
Many grapes have been almost lost and come back to find some commercial success and increased planting. I expect more will follow. But which of those would be considered more “valuable” than Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo, or Syrah? I love Sangrantino and it was down to a small acreage before staging a small comeback but with few exceptions the wine sells for less than $100/btl and many much less.
The OP wants a grape that was thought to be extinct in the 1800s and rediscovered in the 1950s. This would imply that it somehow survived phylloxera on its own. Add in that it makes such a distinctive wines that it’s now valued would indicate either that the grapes would have been cared for and not lost or that before they were lost they were not prized. The one possible scenario for this is that they were very susceptible to fungal diseases and therefore only rarely produced wine of quality thus they disappeared before the use of copper became common. This troubles me as if they were only able to produce quality fruit in perfect years one expects that a few farmers would still keep a small patch of vines for when the conditions are right.
Hi, Brian… this is really interesting. I love the idea that the grape somehow survived phylloxera on it’s own. What would the price or value be a for a grape like this in 1950.
I read this interesting article about a grape in Japan called Ruby Roman grapes…costing $910 a bunch; $30 per grape. Is that extremely excessive?
I’ve also been reading about the grape, Carmenere… and article calling it, “The Lost Grape of Bordeaux.” The article says that it went extinct in France in the 19th century, but then was rediscovered in Chile just recently.
Is that a grape that I could use? Especially, in that this story takes place in 1955… The idea that I’m trying to achieve is that this grape was extinct everywhere, but that this particular man saved it. I know that I could make up a grape (as it’s for a movie); but it would be great to find something that’s real.
Jonathan, I love your concept, and I definitely can see it being played out a couple of different ways.
I think Carmenere never experienced a total absence from France, but I could be wrong - I will happily defer to the Bordeaux experts on that issue!
As far as “truth is stranger than fiction”, you might wish to read the story of this estate in France. You see, it begins with a bear tamer…
Does it have to be French?
What you are talking about stretches the bounds of realism. The answer to your question is that no grape that is supposedly extinct would also be very expensive, for all the reasons alluded to above. Even a very obscure wine has, at most, a sort of geeky, anorak’s appeal unless it is also from a top producer. The thing that makes wine valuable is the reputation of the producer who made it and the land upon which it was grown. The only situation in which I can see some singular wine from an unknown grape commanding a very premium price is if it was produced by a top producer. Even then, as has been mentioned above, it would likely be denied the appellation and have to be sold essentially as table wine. That might not have been the case in all French regions in the 1960s though. Even so, with wine grapes rare does not equate to valuable, and in reality it is hard to imagine a believable scenario in which it does. But again, I suppose that is the point of fiction, to somehow fill in that story. However, if your question indicates a desire to hew close to the realistic you may find that difficult.
What you are talking about in Japan is an entirely different thing where fruit is itself fetishized. That is not in any way related to wine, but has everything to do with Japan’s prizing of fruit. Exotic, super-premium fruit is apparently a big deal in Japan and a prized category of gift.