The Dirt on Dirt
Terroir. It is a word bandied about by wine snoots everywhere. It has no easy conceptual translation in English ("land" is the direct translation my Oxford French-English dictionary lists), and means different things to different people. Perhaps that is part of its charm; a word which is ambiguously defined can be used for any number of purposes.
Since everyone offers their own definition, here is mine. To me, it is the sense that a particular food product (though usually applied to wine, it can apply equally well to cheeses and any number of other things) can only exist in that form in that one space. If you moved a Burgundy vigneron and all his vines to Oregon, he wouldn't be making Burgundy. Which one would be better is a matter of taste, but what you were drinking would be distinctly unBurgundian.
Some say that it is whatever Nature inherently gives to the wine. But what about the microclimate formed by the walls surrounding a clos? It has an effect, in some cases a staggering one, and that is obviously a human factor.
Is it real? I'm willing to believe it. In one of the wine classes I took, we had a whole lecture on terroir. Our teacher offered us an experiment. First we had a Burgundy from a particular vineyard, made by a particular producer. Then a second Burgundy, different vineyard, different producer. Finally, a third which we tasted blind. Her challenge to us: which of the first two was it most like? It was easy to tell that it tasted much more similar to the first. The answer: it was the second producer, but the first vineyard. (This, of course, is part of the difficulty in understanding Burgundy; many vineyards are farmed by multiple vignerons)
But whatever people say about terroir, few deny that the impact of the soil on a vine is tremendous. So who better to write a book on terroir than a geologist, a former oil explorer for Shell? You can imagine I was thus intrigued to read Terroir by James Wilson.
This book is full of interesting material. Is there a difference between First Growth and Second Growth Bordeaux, given that the 1855 Classification which created those terms was based on the selling history over time? As it turns out, yes. First Growths have underlying geography which differs from most Second Growths. And the Seconds that many consider worthy of First Growth status share that geography. There really is an explanation for why one Burgundian vineyard can be a Grand Cru, and one a few feet away can be a Premier Cru. For each of the significant French regions, Wilson provides you with information about the geologic and cultural history of the land, the appelations and the grapes they comprise, and a host of other things both trivial and significant.
But this wealth of information does not make for thrilling reading. Wilson was a geologist for most of his career, and his writing can be as dry as Bordeaux gravel. Not to a full-time wine professional, perhaps, and certainly not for other wine-loving geologists, but for folks like me, this book is a tough read.
An example: plucked from a random spread.
As to the "why" of the high quality of this small area of Grands Crus, the seismic geologic profile illustrates its "potential for greatness" [how the Cru status is applied in Burgundy]. First, we have a near-perfect soil, blended from a blue-ribbon recipe of White Oolite, Prémeaux marly limestone, Calcaire a entroques, and thickened by the Ostrea acuminata marl. Second, the topsoil and pebble layer are spread at an average thickness of about 4 feet (over a meter) on a gently sloping bedrock disleveled by only very minor faulting.Much of the book is not like this. You'll learn a fair amount about European history as well as the top makers of various appelations and the signature flavors of the wines they produce. But much of the writing is like this, and for those of us who do not keep a geologic timetable in our head, those parts can be hard going.
Still, one can't argue with the geekiness of the book (meant in a good way). If you really want to understand what goes into your favorite French wines, this book will give you a good idea. If you want an overview of Burgundy, however, you may find this book too onerous to read.
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