(By Michael Tabone)
Meridiana needs no introduction with the wine consuming public. Not only are many Maltese and visitors enjoying the fruits of this 18 hectare estate in Ta Qali, here in Malta, but also wine lovers in Belgium and Norway are buying these wines at relatively top prices. Knowing how demanding the Belgian and Norwegian wine lovers are from dealings with St-Emilion producers, this could only mean a pat on the back for Roger and Mark.
Out of all the wines that Meridiana produces, my favourite has always been the Bel-Syrah. That is if you exclude the fantastic Petit Verdot that I was once privileged to taste in a private tasting. Petit Verdot represent a very small proportion of the vineyard and is used as a blending wine to spice up the labeled wines.
Out of all the various varieties that have, and are being planted in Malta, quite possibly Syrah is the grape with the best potential. Although the Cabernets (Sauvignon and Franc) are also producing some good wine, I find that so far they have produced wines that when made from high yields are too indifferent, whilst at lower yields it gives very aromatic/tannic wines however out of the ones that I have tried there were some that were physiologically unripe whilst some were what I call empty. No middle palate. Merlot, I am also not sure about. Of course time can prove me wrong but I can only go on what I have tasted up till now. Syrah on the other hand at around 40-50 hectolitres per hectare is giving real varietal and dare I say, real terroir ***Character.. Full wines with a beginning, a middle and an end.
Grenache, quite possibly could be good but this variety is very difficult to vinify in climates such as ours and although there are plantings of Grenache, I have not yet tasted one that was particularly good.
Anyway, I don’t often get to drink (as opposed to taste) Meridiana wines and today I want to tell you about a bottle of Bel that I drank recently in Gozo. I also want to use this article to tell you something about a problem with some wines called ‘Hydrogen Sulphide’
The Bel I ordered was from the 1999 vintage. The bottle was opened and given to me to taste. Jak.!!!!!!! The smell of rotten eggs and drains.!! I said that it’s OK. Most restaurants in Gozo are now decanting wine, so it was decanted. My wife wanted to send the bottle back. I told her don’t worry the smell will soon go away. The bad odour was the result of the above mentioned ‘Hydrogen Sulphide’. This ‘condition’ is the result of a deficiency in Nitrogen which Syrah, especially when grown in hot climates is very susceptible to. I don’t want to be too technical but this can happen either because of the type of yeasts used, high levels of Sulphur Dioxide, deficiency in vitamins or a combination of these. Don’t worry,,,,,,,all the above chemically sounding names are very natural, indeed essential to wine making.
Anyway, this Hydrogen Sulphide, although considered as a fault, is very volatile and with aeration (or by dropping a copper coin in the wine) it generally disappears very quickly.
Returning to my Bel in Gozo, I asked the waiter if I could have a wider necked decanter , He asked me why and I explained that the wine needs a lot of air. I transferred the wine and within a few minutes the foul smell had gone and a fantastic wine opened in our glass.
Great evolvement of flavours moving from very herbaceous aromas to generous helpings of dark ripe small summer fruit. On the mouth starting dry and restricted but again rounding off with mouthfuls of concentrated spicy, fruit. Long and chewy at the end with a slight minerally (salty) finish. A real joy which went very well with the equally spicy (cinnamon etc) rabbit stew I was eating.
As someone who prefers my wines to be of the elegant, low alcohol , fine and balanced type, I questioned myself as to why I enjoyed this dark, relatively high alcohol, slightly punchy Bel. (Forget the Sulphur Dioxide). I concluded that the answer was actually quite simple. Meridiana’s Bel is a true example of what Maltese ‘terroir’ ****has to offer and as someone who looks for more than just taste, in a wine, I was enjoying the genuity and typicity of it.
This does not mean that I am going to place a large order with Steve Rausi. (Meridiana’s distributor). In any case they never have enough to meet the demand. But I just want to say that when we taste or drink wine, we must appreciate the diversity of the stuff which is basically dependent on where the grapes are grown. Of course there are many, that would argue that the best Syrahs in the world come from the Northern Rhone. I tend to agree, in the sense that I personally prefer the finer, more elegant tannins of this part of the world. But that is an opinion based on personal preference. In reality Malta can never make a Syrah like Hermitage or Saint Joseph as the soils there are predominantly granite based with steep expositions and a nearly continental climate
( cold winters, hot summers and cool summer nights). Here the soils are limestone, sand and clay with a very Mediterranean climate. Malta can never produce a Syrah like Northern Rhone…..and the Northern Rhone can never produce a wine like Bel.
Meridiana’s mission statement is to produce wines of Maltese Character. In the case of Bel they have certainly achieved this and if this is the way that the Maltese wine industry is going to move forward, Maltese wine makers will enjoy a long and prosperous future. As I wrote in an other article on this news paper some time ago, Brand ‘Malta’ is something that we have to promote and protect and typical good quality Maltese wine is a very good way of showing our very own and unique idendity. Let’s hope that all Maltese wine makers understand this….and so should all wines producing regions.
****** ‘Terroir’ – A vineyard will take about 25 years to establish itself. Micro biological typicity, roots, method of viticulture and viniculture, know how etc. need time to develop and establish themselves. Therefore, our vineyards are still in a development mode.
Note: Not all bottles of Bel or vintages are effected by Hydrogen Sulphide. Infact it is quite rare.
|
|
