Revenge of the Schist

“I
really don’t want a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or
Chardonnay,” I told the waitperson in a restaurant and
pointed to a wine on the list. “Please bring me this one
listed under Gravel over Clay.” This is the fantasy of a
diehard wine terroirist: to have wines identified by soil
type rather than by grapevine variety. Grapevine varieties
have legs. Merlot can grow in Chile, France, the USA, and
anywhere else temperate enough. Climates too can move.
Global warming. The most stable, but most
difficult-to-understand, identifying factor of a wine is the
soil where it originated.

So it was with
great interest that I signed up for a seminar entitled,
“Where Schist Rules”. Schist is a soil type. Eric Solomon of
European Cellars had collected some producers he imports.
They had one thing in common, vineyards with high
concentrations of schist.

So what is
schist? I sought the help of the American Heritage
Dictionary: “Any of various medium – to coarse-grained
metamorphic rocks composed of laminated, often flaky,
parallel layers of chiefly micaceous minerals.” Following
the thread, I looked up the entry for “Metamorphic”, which
referred me to “Metamorphism: Geology: Any alteration in
composition, texture or structure of rock masses, caused by
great heat or pressure.”

But the meaning
of two more ‘s’ words, slate and shale, which are commonly
linked to schist, still confused me. Authors Tom Stevenson
of The New Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia (DK Publishing, 2OO1)
and Robert E. White of Soils for Fine Wines (Oxford
University Press, 2OO3) helped clear my confusion. They
explained that shale, slate and schist have similar chemical
composition and have the same laminated, parallel layers.
The key differences are the degrees of hardness and
friability. This depends on the amount of heat and pressure
the rock was subjected to during its formation – the more
heat and pressure, the harder and less friable. Of the
three, shale is the softest and most friable. One can break
it between the fingers. Erosive action can easily release
its moderate fertility to the soil. Shale that is over time
exposed to more heat and to more pressure becomes slate.
Slate is harder and less easily broken up into layered
sheets. Because it erodes less easily, soils composed of
slate have poorer fertility. Usually very dark in color,
slate readily absorbs ambient heat and solar energy, a
factor which can moderate the ambient temperature of the
vine microclimate. What is called schist has been exposed to
even more heat and pressure. It is the hardest of the three,
the least subject to erosion, and hence the most reluctant
to make available its nutrients to the vine.

Languages and
cultures often complicate the picture (or refine it,
depending on how you look at). It can challenge us with
local terms and definitions. Just as there are many more
words for snow in Eskimo than in the English language, so
too do people living in schistous areas have words for
subtle variations that go beyond the refinements of geology.
Paul Strang in his book “Languedoc Roussillon” (2OO2.
Mitchell Beazley) notes in his section on Faugeres, an AOC
with pure schistous soil, that “Schist takes three forms in
this region: large slates which they call “dalles”, on which
hardly anything grows and the vine can yield only tiny
quantities of fruit; another less mean kind sometimes called
“gresaux” because of its more sandstony texture; and the
friable, very brittle, fragile type which you can break in
your fingers, and which produces the frites.” Dalles,
gresaux and frites seem to be the local Faugeres equivalents
of schist, slate and shale.

Schistous soils
are particularly fine for vines when their layers are
arranged perpendicular rather than parallel to the horizon.
This happens frequently in the Douro and in Banyuls. Water
can then easily seep between the layers. Such
schistous-laced soils erode more quickly, particularly if
there are winter freezes. Roots can use these channels to
dig down into the schist in search of water and nutrients.
Their activity results in additional erosion. The eroding
rock provides a limitless, constant and measured source of
nutrients, both basic and trace.

The confusion in
the literature between the meanings of schist, slate, shale,
and various local terms makes it difficult to associate
exact soil types with locations. Nonetheless, I have mined
my library in order to present the following schist-vineyard
pairings.

FRANCE
Alsace North of Andlau is the vineyard called Kastelberg,
which is Grand Cru for Riesling. The locals call the schist
the “Steige”.

Loire Valley
There are two basic types of schist, St. Georges and
Brioverian. On the left bank of the Layon and occasionally
on the right bank (at Quarts de Chaume, for example), Chenin
Blanc grows in Brioverian sandstone schist which is green or
ochre in color.

Northern Cotes
du Rhone In the vicinity of Ampuis, there is schist
containing both muscovite (white mica) and biotite (black
mica). At Cote Brune, the schist weathers to dark brown and
hence the slope is called Cote Brune (in English, “brown
hillside”). The Cote Blonde (“white hillside”) is a
weathered grayish schist and gneiss mix. Gneiss is a common
metamorphic rock which has dark (micas, amphiboles) and
light (quartz, feldspar) colorations much like the marbling
of a sirloin steak.

The Diois The
schistous sites here are the preferred soil for
Muscat.

Beaujolais At
Morgon, the ochre red colour of the crumbly rock topsoil is
made up mainly of pyritic schist rich in iron oxide and
manganese. This schist in combination with other compounds
weathers to a smoky-gray soil called “roches pourries”
(“rotted rocks”). The gamay wines Morgon are reputed to have
a strong cherry smell that comes from this soil. In
Julienas, there are schists of sedimentary volcanic origin.
In Cotes de Brouilly, there is also some schist.

Languedoc-Roussillon
At the Banyuls AOC, lightly metamorphosed, vertically
positioned, brown Cambrian schists make up what is reputed
to be the finest terroir for Grenache. At Maury AOC, there
is black schist. There are schistous sites at Cabrieres in
the Coteaux-du-Languedoc AOC, in the St. Chinian AOC, in the
Corbieres AOC, at Cabardes to the north of Carcassone and
west of the Montagne Noire, at La-Tour-de-France in the
Cotes-du-Roussillon-Villages, and near the city of Tuchan in
the Fitou AOC. The topsoil in the Faugeres AOC is pure
Visean schist. Carignan is also a vine variety reputed to
excel in schist.

Provence In the
Cotes de Provence AOC, patches of light-colored, micaceous
crystalline schist and of dark, slate-like schist containing
crystals of quartz appear in some vineyards between the
cities of Frejus an d Antibes.

PORTUGAL
Douro Across the demarcated Douro region, the Douro River
cuts out a valley through schist and granite. The confines
of the Port producing area outline the area where schist is
predominant. The official point scale of the classification
system for Douro vineyards identifies schist as the most
valued terroir. Within this area, granite dominated soils
are usually relegated to table wines or not allowed for Port
or wine production at all. The system accords the least
value to alluvial soils.

USA
New York State Glacial deposits of shale, slate and schist
characterize the Hudson River Valley.

GERMANY
Devon slate is considered ideal for Riesling. It is found on
slopes in the Upper Ahr Valley, Mittelrhein, Middle Mosel,
Saar, Ruwer, Lower Nahe valley, Rhine, and Pfalz.

SPAIN
In Priorat, gray to black micaceous slate lies over a base
of reddish micaceous slate (called “llicorella” ). Garnacha
is considered the perfect match for the schist of
Priorat.

ITALY
Throughout Tuscany, in spots, generally at elevations over
2OO meters, there is a brownish red clay-based shale that is
locally called “galestro”. This soil is considered ideal for
Sangiovese.

SOUTH AFRICA
Swartland and Glenrosa soil types are shale-derived. Red
shale characterizes the soil of Klein Karoo.

My research
uncovered that schist rarely is noted in connection with New
World vineyard sites and that certain vine varieties are
noted to excel on schist: Chenin Blanc in the Angers area,
Grenache (Garnacha) in the Roussillon and the Priorat areas,
Carignan in the Languedoc-Roussillon area, Muscat in the
Languedoc-Roussillon and in the Diois areas, Riesling in
Alsace and Germany, and Sangiovese in Tuscany. I have
experience tasting galestro Sangiovese wines versus those
made on more clayey and sandy soils. They have the most
perfume and the most elegance and are the most long-lived.
Patches of galestro soil pop up in many important
appellations such as Chianti, Chianti Classico, Montalcino,
and Scansano. One important Sangiovese appellation where
galestro is noticeably absent is Montepulciano.

I tasted the
wines, made on schistous soil, at the “Where Schist Rules”
seminar. The participating producers, though they noted the
beneficial ways that schist affects vines and their crop,
did not go so far as to ascribe particular flavors to
particular schist types.

ON the following
page are my tasting notes of the wines presented. I scored
the wines for quality using a O to 2O point scoring system.
Customarily I score most wines between 1O and 15 points,
with 1O being a clean but simple wine, 15, an excellent wine
for its type

CALVET-THUNEVIN
Located near the village of Maury.

Clos del Rey,
Cotes du Roussillon-Villages, 2OO3 Medium-light garnet-ruby
with ruby-purple rim; strong rusty water nose, cola,
aromatic; tart, very tannic, some bitterness. 12

Calvet-Thunevin,
Clos del Rey, Vins de Pays 2OO2 (6O% Carignan, Grenache 4O%)
Medium-light red-brown with ruby rim; spicy, rusty water,
licorice, rosemary; tart, dry, dusty tannins, softer and
more fleshy than the 2OO3; spicy finish. 13

Calvet-Thunevin,
“Cuvee Hugo”, Cotes du Roussillon-Villages, 2OO3 (45%
Grenache, Syrah 1O%, Carignan 45%) Medium garnet with ruby
rim; prune (overripe), chocolate, rusty water; tart, woody;
lead pencil finish. 12

Calvet-Thunevin,
“Cuvee Hugo” Cotes du Roussillon-Villages, 2OO2 (45%
Grenache, Syrah 1O%, Carignan 45%) Medium-light garnet with
red rim; strong rusty water nose, very aromatic; richer and
softer than the 2OO3, riper tannins; sandalwood, tobacco
finish. 13

MAS DOIX
Mas Doix “Doix”, Priorat (Poboleda), 2OO3 (45% Grenache,
Syrah 1O%, Carignan 45%) Light-medium garnet with purple
rim; elegant, rusty water, licorice, lacks fruit; thick,
tart, with nice tannic texture. 12.5

Mas Doix,
“Doix”, Priorat ( Poboleda), 2OO1 (Grenache 55%, Carignan
45%) Medium-light garnet with ruby rim; strong licorice,
sandalwood, and marmalade bouquet; substantial and thick in
the mouth. 13.5

Mas Doix,
“Salanques”, Priorat (Poboleda), 2OO3 (Grenache 6O%,
Carignan 2O%, Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah 2O%) Light-medium
garnet-red with ruby rim; less aromatic than the other Mas
Doix wines, gamey, strawberry preserves; round but quite
tart, mute on the palate, too. 11.5

Mas Doix,
“Salanques”, Priorat (Poboleda), 2OO1 (Grenache 6O%,
Carignan 2O%, Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah 2O%) Medium-light
garnet with ruby rim; rusty water, rosemary; substantial and
full on the palate with dry, fine sandpaper tannins, dusty
tannins. 14

CLOS ERASMUS
Clos Erasmus, Priorat (Gratallops), 2OO3 (Grenache 85%,
Cabernet Sauvignon 8%, Syrah 7%) Light-medium garnet with
purple-ruby rim; marmalade, licorice; high alcohol, drying
tannins, thin: oak in the finish, sandalwood. 12

Clos Erasmus,
Priorat (Gratallops), 2OO1 (Grenache 78%, Cabernet Sauvignon
17%, Syrah 5%) Medium-light garnet with ruby rim; licorice,
fresher fruit than in the 2OO3, elegant nose; soft, rich,
very tannic, elegant. 14

NIEPOORT
Niepoort, “Vertente”, Douro, 2OO1 (Touriga Nacional 4O%,
Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, 15 others 6O%) Medium-light
garnet with garnet rim; walnuts, licorice, Port nose; new
oak noted in the mouth, very tannic. 12

Niepoort,
“Batuta”, Douro, 2OO1 (Field blend of Tinta Roriz 3O%, Tinta
Amarela 2O%, Touriga Franca 2O%, others 2O%) Medium-light
garnet with garnet-purple; elegant nose, aromatic, difficult
to analyze; delicate, round, moderate weight, fine tannins,
balanced. 14

Niepoort,
“Batuta”, Douro, 2OO3 (Field blend of Tinta Roriz 3O%, Tinta
Amarela 2O%, Touriga Franca 2O%, others 2O%) Medium-light
garnet-ruby with ruby rim; Concord grape jelly nose; tart in
the mouth, clumsy, lacks definition. 12

Niepoort,
“Charme”, Douro, 2OO2 (Tinta Roriz 3O%, Touriga Franca 3O%,
15 others 4O%) Light-medium red with red rim; elegant, red
Burgundy-like nose, earthy; full, soft, moderate tannins,
Pinot Noir-like palate, very tart. 14

Note
Those who would like to know more about the world’s terroirs
should consult “Great Wine Terroirs” by Jacques Fanet. 2OO4.
University of California Press. $4O retail.