Home > Wine of the Week > Domaine de l'Ecu Cuvée Ludwig Hahn NV
Domaine de l'Ecu Cuvée Ludwig Hahn NV
Every once in a while a wine comes along that completely flummoxes me. It doesn't seem to follow the normal rules, doesn't present itself in the accepted or anticipated fashion, or doesn't smell or taste the way you might expect. This sparkling wine from Guy Bossard, proprietor at Domaine de l'Ecu, is just such a wine.
Having recently spent some time chatting with a Bordeaux vigneron about
the lunacy of French wine legislation (for instance, wines that bear a French
tax stamp on the top of the capsule are not permitted to have a back label
written in English) it is always a surprise to come across a bottle that doesn't
seem to explicitly adhere to all the known rules. I have experienced it
before, especially with one or two sweet wines from the Languedoc, but this wine
is one more example. The label declares it to be a Vin Mousseux de Qualité, but
that term means little to me. A search on the internet shows one or two wine
geeks using this terminology as if it were the appellation, but having thumbed
(in an electronic fashion) through the appropriate INAO documents I have
discovered no such appellation. I have seen one merchant list
it, perhaps in despair, as a Crémant de Loire, which does I suppose convey some information to the
consumer, but it is blatantly wrong; the Crémant vineyards do not extend west of Bresseuire, long before
those travelling downriver would reach the vines of the Nantais.
What I did discover is that this
is a fascinating blend based largely on Folle Blanche, otherwise known as Gros-Plant.
At 45% of the total this is the predominant variety, blended with 25% Chardonnay, 20%
Melon de Bourgogne (the local name for the Muscadet grape) and bringing up the
rear, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Guy Bossard has been biodynamic for about as long
as anyone else, having first converted to organic viticulture in 1975 and then
biodynamism in 1986, and this is clear from the label, which not only declares
this to be a vin issu de Raisins de l'Agriculture Biodynamique, but also
reveals Ecocert and Demeter certification. How anyone manages biodynamic
or organic viticulture in the frequently damp, misty or salt-sprayed vineyards
of the Vendée is beyond me, but some clearly do achieve their goal. After manual
harvesting, the grapes are lightly pressed before first fermentation, and then
undergo a second fermentation in bottle, the méthode traditionelle. The
result is the
Domaine de l'Ecu Cuvée Ludwig Hahn, a non-vintage wine with distinctive
character and great personality. In the glass it has an an
attractive pale straw-gold colour, with a plentiful, rather fat bead. On the nose there
are yeasty notes, but these are more than matched by some delightful notes of
minerals, citrus, straw, smoke and almonds. The palate is precise, very well
defined, although it has a full presence through the midpalate it is sharp,
incisive and clearly defined. Overall very fresh and straw-grassy-nettly clean.
This is really characterful and surprisingly stylish, and whilst clearly very
different to other more familiar sparkling wines, namely Champagne, it has its
own intrinsic quality more closely related to its origins, rather than being a
pale imitation of some other wine. And for that I admire it greatly. 17/20 (8/1/07)
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