This was a perfectly reasonable question
posed at a talk I had been asked to present to a group of local businessmen and
women. There are a few obvious answers
of a more nebulous nature; market forces, quality of the vintage - general sort
of background information. Then there is
what goes on that we don’t see and therefore perhaps do not appreciate both in
terms of physical effort and, less easy to define, philosophy, if that doesn’t
sound too poncy. The best way I can
illustrate that is to reproduce a modest chunk of a newsletter that arrived in
the middle of December summarising the challenges of 2014 in one vineyard.
“At the end of August, I met a fellow
winemaker at a supplier we both use. He
was all tanned: his face looked calm, he was clearly in good shape. He said, “Hi Christophe, how are you? Did you see the vines? Not ripe and plenty of rot; I just got back
from 3 weeks’ vacation and it’s a disaster, it’s sickening.” I replied “Me? No vacation, we worked all summer like crazy:
pruning bunches, reducing leaf cover and everything is ripe and healthy.” In his eyes there was a blank stare and I
could see him getting mad; he replied, “The cemetery is full of people like
you.” He turned and walked away.
It is certainly hard to accept for others,
but I cannot bear not doing everything possible to obtain the best wines. In my case it’s more a state of mind, it is a
philosophy of life and it is called a job well done. Never give up, care for every detail, even
when they have no immediate effect, constantly question what you are doing and
always believe there is a better way, without losing sight of the core values
of our winery, based on truly sustainable agriculture. This implies never forgiving oneself for
mistakes and making every effort to correct them. Of course this is a little strange in these
times when people say we have to take it easy, but one can never change! My motivation in life is the quest for excellence.”
Illustrate this with 2011 when the climate
threw many obstacles at him. Forward
growth in spring, rain when not required, not enough warmth here then excessive
heat there, grey rot - contained - then “sour” rot - also beaten off - uneven
ripening, forensic selection of individual grapes at the press house… you name
it, Christophe dealt with it all. The
result? “This was a superb vintage for
whites and rosés and a very good one for reds.
Of course, because of all the sorting the harvest was small, but this is
the price of quality.” We opened a
bottle of his “simple” 2011 Côtes du Rhône a couple of weeks ago (purely in the
interests of research and quality control, you understand) and were amazed at
its depth and style. I wonder how well
his indolent neighbour performed….
That, my friends, is why some wines can and
should command higher prices than others.
Now, who is this driven man who seldom rests and whose perfectionism
sends his neighbours bonkers? It is
Christophe Délorme of the Domaine de la Mordorée with holdings in Lirac, Tavel
and Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Southern Rhône, whose wines, as our regulars
will know, we have been banging on about for years. Christophe’s reputation is very highly
regarded worldwide and his wines, even his least expensive are all on
allocation, but we have been able to amass an extensive collection of current
and past vintages, particularly reds, for you to tap into.
These are hardly day-to-day, budget
hoovering - they are much too special for that - but now you know why. Nor, however, are they crazy prices if you
look at what you pay for even modest Claret or Burgundy, so if you want
something for the weekend, sir, a birthday bottle, or you’ve had a shitty week,
worked like stink and damn it, you deserve a treat, Domaine de la Mordorée will
see you right and put a great, big smile right across your face.
Domaine de la Mordoree - Available Wines
2013 Cotes du Rhone Rouge - please enquire
2012 Cotes du Rhone Rouge - please enquire
2012 Lirac Rouge "La Dame Rousse" - please enquire
2011 Lirac Rouge "La Dame Rousse" - please enquire
2012 Lirac Rouge "Cuvee de la Reine des Bois" - please enquire
2011 Lirac Rouge "Cuvee de la Reine des Bois" - please enquire
2009 Lirac Rouge "Cuvee de la Reine des Bois" - please enquire
2012 Chateauneuf du Pape "Cuvee de la Reine des Bois" - please enquire
