For those of you who haven’t heard of him, Patrick Dussert-Gerber is a well know wine writer in his native France and author of a highly respected wine guide http://www.guidedesvins.com/
One of the characteristics of Patrick’s guide is that he doesn’t give any scores to the wines and if you can wean yourself off the need to have a score given to each wine Patrick’s guide is well worth examining alongside, or even instead of, the many other guides that use the 20 point or 100 point system.
Patrick concedes that scoring wines is very fashionable but in his view it is far too simplistic a way to judge something as complex as wine which he refers to as “the blood of the land and the sky”. According to Patrick, scoring cannot possibly take in all the subtleties and nuances - the influence of the wine maker for example – not to mention any subjective bias. You might as well, he suggests, try to score the performances of actors and actresses.
When I discovered this it was music to my ears although, to be clear, I should say that Patrick Dussert-Gerber’s refusal to give scores to the wines he tastes pre-dates mine by many years. Nevertheless it was very gratifying to find a kindred spirit in so respected an authority.
Patrick’s method is to classify wines into three categories that take into account such elements as consistency of quality over several years and also the price. The categories can change over time and within each category there are some wines which are considered to be particularly noteworthy – these are marked with a *
Looking at his classifications for champagne which you’ll find on this link you’ll see that the top of the tree ( Premiers Grands Vins Classés) is not the exclusive domain of the big well-known brands, excellent though many of these undoubtedly are. There are a few grower champagnes and cooperative champagnes in the topmost category too.
Lots more to discover
What I find even more exciting is that Patrick’s selections are much more representative of the wealth of talent in Champagne that is yet to receive the recognition it deserves. In fact his Deuxièmes and Trosièmes Grands Vins Classés categories are full of names you probably will not have heard of, let alone tasted, but you should do whenever you get the chance. (after all, isn't that what we all want to find: a little gem that other people don't know about yet?)
These days most champagne lovers know that there is much more to champagne than the grandes marques - there are some superb wines amongst the grower champagnes too. However, even amongst these a sort of elite category is emerging such that there are only some 20 or 30 grower champagnes that have really caught the attention of the wine trade. Their rise in popularity is certainly due in large part to their outstanding quality, but it’s also due to the fact that they have been knocking on the door, so to speak, in export markets for many years already and now their turn has come around, but I can assure you that there are many other grower champagnes who also make superb wines but who have never had to export to survive and consequently they are playing catch up in the marketing and promotional game.
You may not have heard of them yet, but I suspect you will do in the not-too-distant future. To discover a few of them take a look at the link shown above and remember the names; for consumers they offer an insight into the diversity of champagne that you may never have suspected and for importers, they offer a chance to add some wines with real character and potential to your portfolio.
