While they have a fair number of ‘small’ grapes in France, the number pales in comparison to that in Italy, and most of these French varietals are typically used in blends. If any of these ‘small’ grapes were being made into single varietal wines, I didn’t expect to find them in general circulation in this country. Mother Nature, in the guise of the Phylloxera scourge, wiped out most of the vineyards of France at the end of the 19th century, and with them went many of France’s lesser grape varieties, those indigenous to small pockets of its vast wine landscape. When the vineyards were replanted many of the low yield problem varieties never made the cut so to speak - the French appellation system gave the vignerons no incentive to resurrect these varieties.
I had been aware of this history for a long time, so when I first started to see the Eric Chevalier’s Fié Gris 2008 on the shelves of a few stores here in Seattle last fall, I just assumed it was a name derived from it’s specific Loire locale or from his family history, and that it was either one of the three main Loire whites, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadette, or Chenic Blanc or a proprietary blend. It popped up again a few weeks ago so I decided to investigate. Well, if Fié Gris didn’t turn out to be something special, extra special for that matter. This low yield difficult to grow grape variety was planted throughout the region before the scourge and thought to be a gone for good. Fié Gris is now believed to be an ancestor, or a cousin, of Sauvignon Blanc - hence its other name, Sauvignon Gris - and the vines that were discovered are believed to have been replanted just after the Phylloxera had taken its toll.
The vines had been growing all along on a farm in Touraine, and elsewhere, with the grapes blended into Sauvignon Blanc wines. Jacky Preys, an increasingly successful Touraine vigneron, wanted to expand his business, and so he rented a vineyard on a farm in Mareuil-sur-Cher in the early eighties, he eventually bought the acreage and that’s when he found this plot of old vines producing rosy skinned grapes with white flesh that neither he nor the previous owner could identify. He brought in the experts, and it was identified as Fié Gris - Jacky Preys story is wineterriors.com. The bottom line is that after over 15 years of study Fie Gris is back on the map, and its spreading, either from cuttings taken from Jacky Preys or the discovery of more old vines, as in the case of Eric Chevalier - there are now at least a half dozen producers in the Loire and at least one each in Burgundy and Bordeaux with several making it to our shores.
I had read a few reviews of and while I was excited, I was skeptical of some of the details, specifically the notes of ‘Jalepeño!’ 2006 was his first vintage, and the early tastings of the 2008 had it even spicier than the 2007, possibly due to lower yields. The wine was very fruity on the nose when I opened the bottle, (green apple?) although since I had chilled it a bit to long, I didn’t pick up any of the more complex nuances. As it warmed a tad I got spicy and vegetal notes, and after a little more time, I got raspberry, a hint of tropical fruit and even some rose petals - yes, raspberry and rose petals in a white wine. With my first sip, there it was fresh ‘Jalepeño’ without the heat! Was I pre-disposed, and if I had I not read the review would I have just picked up a generic ‘vegetal’? No, It was too recognizable, although with a bit of warmth it transforms into green apple with vegetal, floral and berry hints, with a touch of salt near the finish. There is plenty of spiciness and flintiness, a nice acidity and a bone dry finish in this medium weight wine with an almost chewy core. My first glass was solo, but given the ‘Jalepeño’ and spice, I decided to serve it with a improvised Chinese dish of pork and broccoli florettes – leeks, ginger, garlic, dried Sivri Aci chile, tamari, sherry, toasted sesame oil, onions, and pork stock. It went extremely well with the mildly spicy dish as if it seasoned each bite.(It also went great the next day with a lemony fresh chevre from Cypress Grove.) I think it would also do well with assertive seafood flavors and cured meats. It has been suggested that Fié Gris has a decent aging potential, and I would be very interested in laying a few bottles down. I will also be on the lookout for other producers.
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