I think the philosophy, if that's what it is, of Rudolf Steiner is, as they say hereabouts, is meshuganah. But how you explain the excellent results of one of Steiner's most ardent and incomprehensible disciples, Nicolas Joly?
Joly, as purloined from Wine & Spirits. I think he's saying, "Alors, mon gosse, I can't deal with an Aries."
I don't. I shan't pretend to. I am not up to the task. I am, in fact, unworthy.
Yet I am indebted to the king of chiming tasting notes, Fredric Koeppel, for leaving me a bottle of Joly's Coulee de Serrant 2000 (13.5%, 100% Chenin Blanc, official grape of Chenonceau) in my fridge while he used this fallow apartment a couple of months ago. We had the wine with a pork loin, roasted simply with some rosemary and served with sweet corn -- and it was wonderful, especially complimenting the pork with the deep, layered sensations of anise and ginger and violets and all the savors of the earth, no doubt including those famous buried cow horns. Astor Wines talks about pear and such in the 2002 -- and it costs 80 bux. Eeyah! The 2000 seems to me to be no fruit salad. Something altogether more complex and deeper and more darkly mysterious. More, please.
I am drinking the remaining vapors of the bottle e'en as I type. I want more, so much more of this elixir. Lovely, lovely. Mishigass or not.
"darkly mysterious," yes, excellent. and you are truly welcome.
Posted by: Fredric Koeppel | August 05, 2008 at 11:01 AM
Let's ignore the fact that Steiner himself was a teetotaler. His ideas, however, when properly applied aren't mysticism. Not only is the evidence in the bottle, but the history of farming suggests there is something to be said about timing plantings and harvests while taking into account weather conditions and even the moon. The real trick, the one that Joly knows well, is that you have to BE in the vineyards all the time. If you aren't there to observe each plant, it is impossible to be DYNAMIC. Without getting your hands dirty, Steinerism is just a marketing ploy.
Posted by: Anthony Nicalo | August 05, 2008 at 01:13 PM
Very good points, Anthony. Your last line says it all.
So, where does all this leave Frescobaldi...?
Posted by: Strappo | August 05, 2008 at 01:48 PM
all winemakers shouyld "be in the vineyards all the time" whether they're trying to be biodynamic or not. in fact, if all winemakers did that, we wouldn't "need" biodynamics.
Posted by: Fredric Koeppel | August 05, 2008 at 04:33 PM
Gentlemen, I am proud to inform you that my producers are all rough-hewn men (and women) of the vineyard, who slave there all year so that when fall comes they can idle their time away, actively non-intervening.
Posted by: Strappo | August 05, 2008 at 04:41 PM
Never, ever, underestimate the power of an Aries--in or out of the vineyard.
Also, until Steiner got his hands on it and gave it a mystical rationale it was just called "pre-industrial agriculture."
Doesn't have the chi-chi ring of "biodynamics," does it?
Posted by: Dr. Debs | August 06, 2008 at 10:32 PM
Good point, my sweet. No, chi-chi and cha-ching...they do go together. Viz., Whole Foods.
Posted by: Strappo | August 06, 2008 at 10:34 PM