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Or les Quartre Oubliés, of course, of the forgotten four grapes that are also allowed in Champagnes.
With a minute 0,3% of plantation left for Arbane, Pinot Blanc (Blanc Vrai), Pinot Gris (Fromenteau) and Petit Meslier among the masses of regular (?) stuff in the Champagne, there’s a niche hence worth studying.
Voltis isn’t there yet. Would that be for Insiders only? Then Floreal, Artaban en Vidoc may be too far off… And in the mean time the CIVC has started crossbreeding. unsure about that period the Top 3, Arbane, Meslier, and Gouais. #party
Fun to do research when there is so little to go on, comprends?
By now, I have the plantation of the FF down to the m2 per village/commune/hamlet. And some fifty-odd wine makers that have cuvées with a modicum of FF.
Next up, I’ll have to find a way to dynamically link this data to 3D layered cépage+geology maps (what is grown where, which soils are underneath, etc.). And comb through the legislation and regulations regarding the FF, including where it may or may not be planted in the designated Champs bubbly region – or where extension might be worthwhile or preferable v.v. the Top 3 cépages, given soil and other terroir preferences.
As one side of a rather complicated equasion.
Side Two would be to figure out in-depth what the soils do to the grapes and their typical aromatics, what impact of globbel warming on those two factors.
Add side Three; wich producers are where, what do they do with taste, what may the future bring them and what will they bring for the future, what are the economics of the FF, etc.
Closing out with side Four on formal phenology, on agronomic comportment (yes), yield, et al.
Four sides that are interrelated, as part of a cube almost oh well we’ll see. Side five would take us to an overall appreciation, of course.
Yes we’d also have to dive into what Gemischter Satz (as per here) would be called in French. If the Alsace/Elzas has it, ‘Paris’ would probably deem it necessary that even there, there should be a French word for it and not GS, right? Just read that Austrian wines claimed trademark on GS since 2009, but the Germans will have broken that or how otherwise are there so many overly hip wines with that label from the latter?
This could of course be deployed to leverage the varying-disease-proneness of the variants?
Or is complantation the answer? Yes complantation is the answer. Errm.
Besides, ahead of serious treatment on Side Two: Perseval-Farge, the renown maker of Chamery with 10% FF planted for the cuvée Les Goulats, has the following on Taste: The Arbanne [sic; ed.] reveals olfactions of mandarin, bergamot, and juniper while the Petit Meslier evokes light notes of lime and violet. Finally, the nose of the Fromenteau [Pinot Gris; ed.] suggest aromas of dried fruits and smoked aromas.
All this to be turned into … I don’t know haven’t given it much thought yet – a QO Cahier or Dossier or a lengthy article / -series, booklet, whatever. The Full View on the FF. Or, title-wise: ‘Status of the QuO’ but that is obvious.
First, the data, the research. Then, the write-up. Onto: filling the gaps and networking with official bodies possibly interested. Etc.
And all of that in the greater realm of this (In Dutch but you or Google Translate will get it)…
[Once and for all: one will not partake in the overly commoner sabler! (in Dutch)]
