I don’t think I’ve had a wine I didn’t like from Domaine des Lampyres yet. So you’ll see me working my way through their wines on the blog. And this one is a skin-contact (aka orange) wine. So I’m doubly looking forward to it.
In the glass
It looks like an honest-to-goodness orange wine. Not one of those orange wines that seem to be afraid to admit what they are, and are trying to pass for a white wine. No, this is cloudy, and orange-ish. It’s proud to be what it is. Maybe muddy peach? Dirty apricot? Maybe a sort of faded dried apricot? None of those are quite accurate. But I like it. The nose Nothing. Nada. Zip. I wonder if perhaps it is because it was chilled, but even after leaving it for a bit to warm up, still nothing. I can’t even really imagine to smell anything.
The palate
Medium body, tart. Medium-plus acidity. A decent finish. It’s literally a mouth-watering wine, but the acidity isn’t as apparent as you might expect. It’s almost more apparent after the glass, like the tannins. They’re there, but lurking. It’s refreshing. There’s maybe some peach in terms of flavour, but I’m having trouble picking up on distinct flavours. Perhaps my sense of smell – which impacts taste – is off more than usual. (More on that in an upcoming blog post.) Or perhaps it is indeed the wine. As with the nose, I keep coming back to the wine, and no, no new flavours become evident. As I spend time with the wine, it becomes evident that this isn’t an issue. For me, this wine is all about the texture. It has a wonderful mouthfeel. Despite trying to pay attention to all the senses, I don’t quite have the words to describe it. It has presence. It has charisma.
Rating
Pretty on visuals, with Yummy-plus overall. As I noted earlier, this one is all about the mouthfeel. It’s a charismatic wine.
Sustainability
Organic, vegan. Minimal sulphites. Wild ferment.
The technical info and such
11% , 60% Macabeu, 20% Grenache Blanc, 20% Muscat de Petit Grains. £24 from Cambridge Wine Merchants