So I am in Paris right now, sitting at Lavinia wine store (bar in the 2 level) tasting some wines. I ordered a glass of Domaine Ouleb Thaleb, Tandem 2009 (100% syrah). This is Allain Graillot's JV in Morocco. The wine is so pruny, raisiny, as biting into a date. It has some earthiness, minerality and some black olive acidity that keeps it slightly fresh so that the date sweetness does not make it tiring (no peppery notes). Quite unique in my experience, But I swear it is like biting into a date.
Is this terroir or winemaking? A bit of both? Can a winemaker Say in the Rhone get a similar profile (probably they would not want to) but the question is how much winemaking influence is there?
I suppose there is no short, general or simple answer but it is my third glass of wine on an empty stomach.
"The hardest thing to attain ... is the appreciation of difference without insisting on superiority" George Saintsbury
Posts: 1084 | Location: DC Suburbs, Potomac MD. | Registered: Dec 12, 2008
In that case, it sounds like winemaking (or poor timing on harvest). I would think the hints of olive or minerals might be more indicative of terroir, but the raisiny/pruny notes are surely not terroir.
Cheers!
Posts: 2484 | Location: Seattle, WA, USA | Registered: Mar 22, 2004
