Vin Doux Naturel

The most famous fortified wines of the world, port, sherry, and madeira, developed through war and trade, but the lesser known fortified wines of France emerged much earlier as a tribute to the sweet wines of the ancient Greeks and Romans. These wines are called Vins Doux Naturels, which is rather misleading as it means naturally sweet wines: the sweetness is anything but natural as it comes from fortifying the wine rather than from residual sugar. Vins Doux Naturels are made in the south of France, particularly the Rhône and Roussillon. They are something of an endangered species, but are richly expressive of France's wine-drinking history.

origins

Vins Doux Naturels date as far back as the thirteenth century, when in the late 1200s a Montpellier student called Arnaud de Villeneuve perfected the art of distillation discovered by the Islamic world a few centuries before. This allowed this part of Catalan France to replicate the sweet wines of the Greeks and Romans by fortifying the wine during fermentation, and today Roussillon (which borders Cataluyna in Spain) is still the main area for French fortified wine.

styles

There are two grapes used for the production of Vins Doux Naturels: Grenache and Muscat. The Grenache wines were traditionally made in a deliberately oxidised manner called rancio. These oxidative aromas can make a Vin Doux Naturel seem like a red sherry, and differentiate the wines from the much fruiter, more forward aromas of port. Muscat wines retain the fresh, grapey aromas of the grape and its naturally high acidity.

how they're made

Fortification takes place when the grape must has reached 6% ABV, fortifying the wine to around 15-16%, lower than port and most sherries. The Muscats are generally not aged for a long time, but can be macerated on their skins to add extra flavour and colour. The Grenache wines can be aged for years in mixture of old oak barrels and large glass jars (called bonbonnes, or demi-johns in Victorian English) to form very developed, mature aromas.

the appellations

The Rhône has two distinct appellations for Vins Doux Naturels: Rasteau, where it is increasingly rare and being replaced by unfortifed dry red wine, and Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise. The Muscat grape has been grown in this small town since the days of Julius Caesar, and it is perhaps these wines that most replicate those of the Romans: sweet, white, rich, but with a floral delicacy.

It's Roussillon where the most famous fortified wines are made. The most common is Muscat de Rivesaltes, which is sold the spring after the harvest. Its counterpart is plain Rivesaltes which can be made from a variety of grapes including Muscat, different colours of the Grenache family, and the local Maccabéo (like many Roussillon grapes also grown in north-east Spain). This undergoes a longer ageing, which can take part in a range of vessels according to the producer and the style. In my research for this post, I touched two bottles of Rivesaltes from 1931 and 1946 (both priced at around $180).

Although inland Maury is another historic town in Roussillon, the most renowned appellation is Banyuls, a seaside town on the Mediterranean. These are Grenache-dominant wines, where tannins and flavour come from shrivelling the grapes on the vine and from leaving the wine in contact with the skins weeks after fortification. At their best, the wines are aged for twenty to thirty years before release when they will develop characteristic rancio aromas, but the modern trend is to release them young and fruity.

tasting

 

Domaine de Durban Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise 2012 (375ml; $17)

Not quite as delicate as other Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise I have previously tasted, but nevertheless with pleasing floral aromas of acacia and honeysuckle, with quite pronounced aromas of cooked apples and poached pears and peaches. A very strong ginger, nutmeg feel on the palate made the wine more aggressive than I would have liked, but with the body and sweetness to stand up to a fruity dessert. ✪✪✪✪

Cornets & Cie Banyuls Rimage 2012 (375ml; $20)

The most interesting aspect of tasting this wine was to see how it differed from port. It was nowhere near as fruity as a ruby, nor as rich and developed as, say, a LBV. It was also not as spicily alcoholic (at 16% rather than 20% ABV) and the wine was a lot oakier and smokier than most ports. There were clear similarities though, with dried strawberry and cranberry aromas, and grainy, coarse tannins. Still young - older Banyuls is more interesting and distinctive. ✪✪✪✪