Steve Slatcher wrote:If eucalyptus leaves are responsible for the eucalyptus notes in some Australian wines, could the garrigue notes in wine from South France be due to bits of garrigue vegetation? And do these flavours count as terroir?
http://www.winenous.co.uk/wp/archives/3927
Eucalyptus trees spew out an oil into the air that settles onto the skin of the grapes and imparts a minty/eucalyptus character to the wine.
That's pretty well known.
In the MimbresVlly AVA, there is a lot of sagebrush & chamisa. They (according to DarrellCorti) expell into the air certain oils that settles
on the Paola d'Andrea Vnyd grapes and gives many of the reds there a distinct pungent sage & chamisa flavor.
I would suspect the garrigue plants (rosemary, lavender, thyme,etc) similarly emit oils that do the same for SouthernRhone wines.
Is it part of the terroir?? Why of course, it is. It's just a reflection of the climate & soils of that particular vnyd, and the ambient oils are all
part and parcel of that. You take down the eucalyptus trees (as did ClarkeSwanson) and..voila...the terroir is changed and no more eucalyptus
notes in the wines. You add a ton of Nitrogen fertilizer or sheep $hit to the soil...you've modified the terroir and it will be reflected
in the character of the wines (if it's PinotNoir/Nebbiolo/Riesling/CabernetSauvignon...grapes we've been told by certain "authorities" reflect their terroir more
than any other varieties). But, obviously, that's part&parcel of the terroir.
SeanThackery's winery is right in the heart of a eucalyptus grove in Bolinas. I often find distinct menthol/eucalyptus notes in his wines. Is that
part of the terroir?? Friggin'
no, it's not a reflection of the vnyd from which the grapes came from. It's an external/winemaker addition
of eucalyptus. And we know that winemaker additions are not part of terroir.
So.....to you original question, Steve....is the eucalyptus/garrigue/sage part of terroir??? To tell the truth, I, personally, don't really care if it is or not.
It's not a question I find worth arguing over. How many angels dance on the head of a pin?? Something I don't really care about.
However, if you're one who worships at the altar of terroir...one who deems the highest calling of any wine is to reflect the terroir of the grape's
vnyd...then the "correct" answer to your question is of life or death urgency. Alas...I think that those folks who worship at the altar of terroir
are worshiping a false god.
Tom (being a bit curmudgeonly on a slow Sun morning)