It will soon be two years since I drank the last "La Nerthe" and, of course, wrote about it. It was a 1990. Now it's the 99's turn. No, I'm not a Nerthe fan, I'm a Nerthe marked. I think I have written this before. "La Nerthe" belongs to me (and I to it), because it is the first wine I ever noticed. But I was far from being of drinking age then. It was always served on feast days and at the rare family celebrations. Not for me, of course. I was only allowed to watch with my syrup, to marvel at what the grown-ups drank while the little ones waited for the Christ Child. No wonder, I still associate "La Nerthe" with the feelings of being given presents and celebrating.
That's why I like drinking "La Nerthe", even today. It brings back a piece of memory, a piece of my past life, whenever and wherever I have the wine in my glass. And that is good! For me and for the wine. Now that the empty bottle stands next to me, I seriously ask myself the question: how many memories, experiences, feelings, stories are in the wines? Something for each and every one, but always something different. So it happens that every wine is something different for those who drink it. A different wine, although - materially speaking - the same.
Perhaps we should pay more attention to what is in the wine and what is in ourselves when we drink wine. Perhaps we should take seriously what slumbers inside us and comes out when we drink wine. In any case, it is more serious and probably also more interesting than what there is to say about sensory all sorts of things. This is not a statement against serious wine tasters who try to objectify, to simply beam away such "scrambles". This is a statement for the feelings that a wine needs if we are ever to love it. That is why I love "La Nerthe" and am anything but objective in my drinking. Probably as always!
N.B. The "La Nerthe" 1999 has (according to the discussion on www.cellartracker.com): " a big nose of spices, earth, cherry, musk and a touch of lilac; a medium body and a hearty, good intensity of sweet and dry cherries. Chestnut and mahogany at first, then distinct earth, mineral and nicely balanced acidity... great length...." Another opinion, from a different group but of the same wine: "Fully developed and broad on the nose. Lots of strawberry, some mushrooms and corn (!). Powerful and elegant with crystal clear purity. Also sweet and sour elements that lead the blind tasters to Piedmont. On the palate, the wine is precise, with beautiful fruit, powerful yet with a cool elegance that is fantastic for a Southern Rhone wine..." (translated freely from English)