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Finesse is that which appeals to the intellect or the senses. A feeling, a taste, or a perfume can be exquisite or vulgar, delicate or heavy, subtle or crude. If a wine is heavy, powerful, or vulgar, its character is obvious straight away. No study is required nor is there any refinement. It does not appeal to your discernment, and there is no interchange between the ideas and the senses. This is a pity, as there is no greater joy for the amateur than to contemplate the wine that he is served, to feel it evolve in the glass and then in the mouth and finally to recognize the perfect harmony it accords with food. Is it not already an immense pleasure to watch the slow evolution of the wine over a period of time, to leave it to mature in the cellar and then finally to taste it when it reaches its apogee? What stimulates our attention and our reflexion therefore is the finesse of wine. |
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The terroir of Pichon Longueville Lalande (PLL) permits the expression of this finesse thanks to the conjunction of the soil, sub-soil, grape varieties and rootstock. The first particularity of PLL is its percentage of Merlot (35% of the surface under vine) which is very high for a Pauillac. The second particularity is the existence in the vineyard of PLL of 11 hectares situated in the commune of Saint Julien on a magnificent gravel slope facing south. The use of the most traditional working methods both in the vineyard and in the cellar : such as the pruning by hand, the bending and tying-up, the reasoning behind manuring, the treatments and cultural practices, the aging in barrel, the racking by candle, and the fining by egg whites, combined with the most modern techniques enables us to perfect the profile of the wine we are looking for. The task of the vinifier is to ensure that the wine is both balanced and enduring without being either heavy or tiring the senses. Wine should present a silky touch to the mouth and have aromas that are complex without being heady. Its length should be delicate and caressing with an aromatic persistence that is both refined and pleasurable. Finally, it is a question of showing to advantage, indeed of revealing the positive qualities of the finesse of wine by presenting them in their best light. This comes from the conjunction of a good tasting environment, by motivating the interest of the tasters in what they are drinking and in the harmonious matching of food to the wine which accompanies it. The finesse of a wine is that characteristic which provokes the awakening of the senses and the intellect and allows us to perceive its underlying qualities. That which is fine is neither massive nor crude. That which is crude can be beautiful in its simplicity, in its natural state. But finesse, refinement supplements raw beauty. Wine is the vinifier's interpretation of the terroir. It is the result of his conception, of his understanding of the vine and the soil. The finesse of wine is the complement which man brings to the terroir to enoble it. After all, is it not said of great wines that they are fine wines ? |
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