WTN: Domain Alain Voge, Alberic Mazoyer and Cornas

"Alberic Mazoyer is a very intense man. That’s the first thing you notice about him. He constantly scans his environment, alert to everything around him, and he is constantly moving, even when he’s standing still. This is a man charged with energy---he puts the dynamic in biodynamic---and he pours all of that into his craft of winemaking."
http://www.violentfermentation.blogspot.com


Alain Voge Saint-Peray Harmonie 2007
Rounded, silky, herbs and fruit, with nutty undertones and a touch of honey.


Alain Voge Saint-Peray Terres Boisées 2006
Vigorous nose and flavor; fresh pear, quince; higher acids and more structure, more power; distinctly mineral notes in the tight but lingering finish.


Alain Voge Saint-Peray Fleur de Crussol 2006
From 70 year old Marsanne vines; made with frequent batonnage to enhance the flavor and intensity; rich, silky in texture, expansive on the palate; lemon/lime and honeysuckle fruits; a notable wine.


Alain Voge Saint-Joseph Les Vinsonnes 2006
14 months on oak---but no new oak, only used barrels. Spice jar wine! (And I love spice jar wine.) Fresh, coarse ground black pepper and allspice, with the perfume of violets and a whiff of black licorice. A very natural wine, freely exposing itself---call it “naked wine.” Or honest expression of terroir. Yet another reason for people to love Saint Joseph


Alain Voge Cornas Les Chailles 2006
My quickly scrawled notes say this was more like the Cote Rotie we tasted earlier. Some softer berry fruit in here---blueberries----and mild tannins for a Cornas. Cornas in a friendly and amiable mood.


Alain Voge Cornas Les Vielle Vignes 2006
Okay, now the gloves are off! This is old-style Cornas, tight to the core, stubborn to yield up its treasures, but reluctantly showing black fruit and mint; tight tannins won’t let go, and this wine will require years of aging to show what it’s got.


Alain Voge Cornas Les Vielles Fontaines 2006
The big boy. Granite soil, 80 year old vines, 2 years in barrel. But even with that time in barrel, the wood, while present, doesn’t come close to dominating. That granitic, mineral, rock-hard element is there to give it structure; the fruit and spice (but more spice than fruit) is there to add firm flesh; the tannin is noticeably there, and needs softening with time; so the oak toast is only one element. And I think this wine needs it. A wonderful combination of earth, rock, mature vines, fruit, spice, oak, acid and tannin on a big, big frame.

Thanks for the interesting notes, Hoke, and the (Thor-style) links to the excellent travelogue. I'm sorry to hear that Alain Voge is infirm, but glad to hear that the domaine is in such capable hands as those of Alberic Mazoyer. Voge, along with Marcel Juge, Clape and Verset, defined Cornas for me back in the '80s, and if Voge's wines never quite moved me the way Verset's and Clape's did and do they were still very honest expressions of Syrah and the terroir of Cornas (as I understand it). It's also good to hear that they have branched out to St. Joseph as the last Voge Cornas that I bought (the '00 VV) cost me over $40.

Keep up the good work,
Mark Lipton

Mark, I'd say Voge was in very good hands indeed.

Mazoyer is not only intense and passionate, he's also a man of encyclopedic knowledge of the area, down to the smallest detail. Standing on that hill, he was pointing out the tiniest features, and notating the variations of soils. He's totally soil oriented.

In the winery he's in the minimal intervention style. His intent is to let the vineyards speak more than the winemaker.

The variation of the three Saint-Peray was impressive; the variation of the three Cornas even more so....very much a seminar in three glasses on S-P and Cornas, to keep the original simile operative.

The Les Vinsonnes was a lovely and very drinkable wine; I'd be happy to have a stash of it. But the triple-stair-step of the Cornas was fascinating.

Keep your eye on Voge. I think the future will be very much to your liking.

the oak toast is only one element. And I think this wine needs it..

Why does the wine need oak toast?

the oak toast is only one element. And I think this wine needs it..

Why does the wine need oak toast?

Because it adds another interesting element to the complexity of the wine, helps to round out what could otherwise be too austere (although I know that's a concept foreign to you ), and tempers the granitic expression. Personal opinion, but I think this wine benefits from the----very judicious---application of toasty roundness, making it texturally more inviting.

Personal thing though: I liked it, but a touch more oak might have driven me the other way. A touch less might have captured your heart---although I think you would have been appreciative of this wine.

Because it adds another interesting element to the complexity of the wine, helps to round out what could otherwise be too austere (although I know that's a concept foreign to you ).

Indeed! Because toast and roundness seem like two different things to me. Can't you flesh out the texture of the wine without adding the flavors of the (relatively-high) toast?

Of course I understand that some people may enjoy that spicy toast and I'm sure that I've found in enjoyable in a few wines as well, but for the most part I probably wouldn't flock to such wines. (Although maybe I need to do more controlled tasting to isolate the elements).

Relatively high? No, actually it was relatively low. I tried to indicate that I thought it was subtle, a background more than a foreground thing, and not dominant at all. Just an extra note. And it wasn't obtrusive at all in the context of the wine. Daresay a bunch of people would have barely noticed it.

Mazoyer looks like Sean Penn, in your photo. As in intense.

Relatively high? No, actually it was relatively low. I tried to indicate that I thought it was subtle, a background more than a foreground thing, and not dominant at all. Just an extra note. And it wasn't obtrusive at all in the context of the wine. Daresay a bunch of people would have barely noticed it.

Ok.