I was in a state of shock when this bottle was pulled out during a recent tasting. First, there was surprising youthfulness and the wine is ageing incredibly gracefully showing decades younger than it actually is. Then, there’s the incredible story behind it.
This is one of those special treats that comes along only a few times a year and—to my recollection—it’s the oldest wine ever offered on SommSelect. At this stage, it isn’t about the technicalities of a wine anymore. What I’m looking for in 72-year-old (!) dessert wine is freshness, quality, and, let’s be transparent here, bragging rights to a dwindling piece of history. This wine is all of that, and it’s all I could do not to take a few bottles for my own selfish hoarding. That said, I have to extend the same rule to you: Only one bottle per person. We were only able to secure a couple cases and they will disappear lightning quick. [*NOTE: This wine has been carbon-dated to verify age and local French authorities confirmed provenance. Also, for those who miss out on today’s offer, don’t fret—I have something else up my sleeve coming soon…]
There was a Southern French tradition during the 19th and 20th centuries (mostly fizzling out around the 1980s) that saw many small family producers crafting fortified wines (i.e. sweet wines fortified like Port with the addition of grape spirit, a.k.a. brandy) aged for absurd amounts of time in barrel. These wines were typically sold to merchants or enjoyed in chic Parisian restaurants, but the winemakers usually held a barrel or two back for special occasions: A family member’s birthday, an anniversary, a get-together; whatever or whenever it was, the winemaker would only bottle what was needed. When these vins doux naturel (fortified sweet) wines fell from the grace of popularity, most winemakers, well, left the barrels where they were.
At the turn of the 21st century, a young couple named Phillipe and Sandrine Gayral (who own the largest collection of vin doux naturel wines from the 1900s), started scouring the countryside of Rivesaltes, Banyuls, and Maury in search of these “forgotten barrels.” They would meet with the families, who would then point them to their one or two remaining foudres containing vin doux naturel wines from decades past. Assuming nobody cared about the wine, some estates were ecstatic when Phillipe and Sandrine offered to buy the barrels and bottle them for resale; others, however, took years to convince. And then, there were some estates that would tell them the barrel in question was from another local producer, bought by a friend of a friend long ago—so they would have to follow whatever breadcrumb trail remained. Today’s wine is from Château Prieuré du Monastir del Camp—a defunct monastery that hasn’t made wine since the 1970s.
As legend has it, the monastery, located on the outskirts of Passa (translates to “place of passage”) was founded by Charlemagne in 785 when he and his exhausted army of Franks were returning from war. Battle fatigued, they were in desperate search of water until one of his soldiers sunk his sword into a dried up riverbed and—whoosh—water erupted out. Charlemagne declared the site sacred and to express his gratitude, asked for a monastery camp (hence “Monastir del Camp”) to be erected. Whether you believe the legend or not, that’s entirely up to you, but the story of the wine itself cannot be argued.
Southern France’s
vin doux naturel (VDN) was first made in 13th century when
‘mutage’ was discovered. Simply, this is a process where a neutral spirit is added to prematurely kill yeast and suspend fermentation, leaving a concentrated and sweet wine with elevated alcohol (essentially the same practice used to make Port wines). This 1945 Rivesaltes is mostly Grenache Noir with small amounts of other local varieties. Prior to bottling in 2014 without any additions or treatment, it sat in oak barrels for almost 70 years. It shows a dark hickory core with caramel and brick orange reflections on the rim. The nose greets you with preserved red plum, mulled orange, stewed cherry, wilted rose, honey, and a slight medicinal-spice exchange. On the palate, the fruit takes a more candied profile, while introducing notes of almond and mixed berry pie, but the wine somehow shows invigorating youth and lifted acidity that would push me into the ‘60s and ‘70s if tasting it blind. It has withstood the test of time, meaning there is no rush to drink this—it will last another three decades (if not a century). Enjoy in Port glasses around cellar temperature and, since it’s fortified, keep in mind it will last a couple months after opening. If you want to pair it with something, stay away from sweet desserts; instead, contrast it with something savory, like some Roquefort cheese or, if you’re really feeling decadent, seared foie gras. On the ‘after-dinner’ side, an almond cake like the attached would make a nice complement. Cheers!
