Where the aroma overtakes the alcohol.
TRADITIONALLY MADE BY ADDING ALCOHOL to fresh, unfermented grape juice, the cartagène of Languedoc has never enjoyed the reputation of the Pineau des Charentes or other mistelles, as such apéritifs are known in France. Nonetheless, its producers sought to obtain a protected designation of origin, which meant that it had to be more precisely characterized and its method of production codified. At the request of the manufacturers, Jean-Claude Boulet and his colleagues at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) Pech Rouge-Narbonne station studied the importance of the grapes used and the conditions of maturation.
In mistelles the fermentation of grape juice is blocked by the addition of brandy (equal to one quarter of the volume, hence the name cartagène). The strong concentration of alcohol (at least 16%) prevents the microorganisms that normally bring about the alcoholic fermentation of grape juice into wine from developing.
Yet the taste of alcohol in young mistelles is too strong, almost like pure brandy. To obtain a more pleasing result, producers favor a slow and limited oxidation of the polyphenols (molecules containing benzene groups in which several carbon atoms are bonded with hydroxyl groups, themselves composed of an oxygen atom linked to a hydrogen atom), tannins, and other molecules extracted from the grape during the short period of maceration (or steeping) that follows pressing. This oxidation process resembles the one responsible for the softening of tannins in wines and results from reactions with the small quantity of oxygen that is inevitably present in fermentation vats.
To study the oxidation of cartagènes, the INRA oenologists made sample batches of the apéritif in a cellar laboratory using three grapes: Syrah, Grenache, and Cinsaut. There were ten carefully controlled phases of production: removing the stalks from the grapes; macerating the skins in the grape juice for four hours at room temperature; pressing; fining; leaving the wine to settle for two to three days at a temperature of 5°C (41°F); racking, or drawing off clear wine from the sediment; adding high-quality white brandy to the wine; storing the mixture for a month; a further round of clarification; and, finally, aging the wine in a stainless steel vat or an oak barrel that used to contain cognac. The INRA team avoided sulfiting (the addition of sulfur dioxide, often used in wines to kill microorganisms or to take advantage of its antioxidant properties) and included a maceration step to extract the most aromatic molecules and polyphenols from the skins. Finally, the researchers compared other cartagènes produced by Languedoc wine growers from (white) Bourboulenc and (red) Alicante grapes with the laboratory batches.
Useful Aging
The cartagènes produced in the lab were subjected to physical and chemical analysis and sampled by a tasting jury after different maturation periods. The oxidation of certain initial molecules was obvious: The color of the liquid—white if made from white grapes, red if from red grapes—gradually became uniform. Chemical analysis showed that the polyphenols and tannins were a bit more abundant in casks than in vats. Despite the use of old barrels that had previously contained brandy, exchanges still occurred between the cartagène and the wood, yielding various polyphenols.
During the testing phase, the tasters did not notice these various polyphenol concentrations. By contrast, they were very sensitive to the differences between young and aged batches. In cartagènes held for only six months, the one made from Syrah was appreciated for its fine red color and its fruity, nonoxidative character; the ones made from Grenache and Cinsaut were less colored and less aromatic, displaying no perceptible differences associated with the mode of maturation. In all three cases the alcohol was very much in evidence, indeed harsh. Yet after fifteen months no difference could be detected between batches made from Cinsaut that had been aged in casks and those aged in vats; the difference was small in the case of Grenache but larger in the case of Syrah. All three types were sufficiently oxidized.
Were the judges’ findings reliable? The Narbonne biochemists confirmed first the general coherence of their responses, but they observed that the tasters fell into three groups: members of the INRA station, none of them experts on cartagènes; producers’ representatives; and people who gave atypical responses. Discarding the “bad” tasters of the last group, they arranged for another tasting at which the cartagènes served were younger. Once again the results of the initial tasting were confirmed, but this time no difference was perceived between cartagènes of the same age, whether they were aged in vats or in casks.
On this round of tasting the Syrah seemed to yield a fruity and agreeable drink more rapidly than the other groups; the cartagènes made from Cinsaut and Grenache acquired a distinctive style only through limited oxidation of polyphenols and other oxidizable molecules, but for this reason they surpassed the Syrah cartagènes in aromatic power. In all three cases aging for at least a year was found to be indispensable. A longer aging period would increase production costs, but whether it would further improve quality remains to be demonstrated.