High-end organic wines: how to choose them? [Selection 2021]
To choose is to give up, but when it's for the good cause you have to make the right choices!
The taste for good things is a quality, so to find the right shoe for you and wine for your glass, we are going to take stock together of the good top-of-the-range organic wines so that your cellar is a treasure, your treasure!
Premium organic wines: what is a good organic wine?
To choose a good high-end organic wine, the important thing is to know your tastes - both in terms of appellations and aromas and types of wine. But above all, it is to know what makes you happy!
Why is a wine said to be top-of-the-range?
Grands crus are a bit like the Roger Federers of wine. Elegance, prestige, mastery… Top-of-the-range wines are wines produced with particular attention. For this reason, they require more time, more precaution, precision and money. They are therefore rarer and more expensive. At Oé, we offer two prestigious wines: Le Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Le Crémant .
What gives a top-of-the-range wine is also all the history that accompanies it. The castle, the vines, the cellar are as much part of the reputation of the wine as the wine itself.
All you have to do is immerse yourself in the photos of the Château Grillet estate to succumb to its charm and understand why we talk about top-of-the-range wine. The wines of this estate are mainly produced from Viognier , a white grape variety well known in France. The exposure of the vines, the attention paid to the growth of these fruits and the mastery of vinification (in biodynamics for 10 years at Château Grillet, since 2012) make the difference between classic wines, good wines and high wines . range , very valuable and prized.
The most prestigious wines in the world are produced from Romanée Conti , a very pretty estate south of Dijon. Yes, our regions have talent and in the Côte d'Or, mustard is far from being the only queen. When we tell you that it is the most prestigious wine in the world, we are not making fun of you. In 2018, during an auction organized by Sotheby's, a bottle of Romanée Conti broke all records. Do you know how much it was sold for? €482,000! At this price, it is better to have sharp taste buds. And to show off at dinner, you can brag about knowing that your 100% Pinot Noir from Romanée Conti is biodynamic! We love pioneering winegrowers like them!
The importance of pleasure
Tastes and colors are indisputable and it's the same for wine. You may very well find an excellent wine while your neighbor does not find it to his liking. Nor are the standards the same for everyone. And yes, the clothes don't make the monk, what matters is what the wine evokes in you and the pleasure it gives you.
It is therefore not because you are with a renowned bottle that you must appreciate it, just as your favorite bottle may be unknown to the battalions!
For example, we present to you our Bugey , 100% Chardonnay produced hand in hand with Claire & Stéphane, Oé winemaker in Lhuis . This little wine by its name is so delicious.
The aromas of a good organic wine
When you taste a good organic wine , you appreciate its character . It can be sweet or aggressive , supple in the mouth or tannic , your wine can be a thousand things, but the main thing is that you like it. If its character is very discreet, poorly balanced or even overwhelmed by certain character traits (acidity, bitterness, astringency, etc.) which take up all the space, you risk being disappointed.
Tasting a wine at maturity is a good way to ensure a better experience with wine because you will discover it at its best. Fresh , fruity , vegetal and floral aromas are primary aromas so turn instead to good young wines to feel. Over time, the secondary then tertiary aromas will take over, the wine develops woody aromas , especially when aged in oak barrels, and the aromas of fresh fruit evolve into aromas of candied, dried and stewed fruit .
If you like gustatory walks, our Côtes du Rhône , which grew among truffle oaks, lavender and olive trees at Denis 's , is a sweet blend of vegetal and woody aromas .
The 5 elements that make good high-end organic wines
The key to obtaining a good organic wine is above all to put all your heart into its creation. It's nothing new, we often produce something better when we love what we do. A passionate winemaker , it's a well pampered bottle!
Premium organic wine: the terroir
A good organic wine is the soft reflection of its mirror… uh of its terroir ! Yes, the roots of the vines feed in the soil, so when the latter are well maintained, they feed the fruit with good nutrients and you can feel it when tasting the wine . To make great wines requires special attention to the soil and the environment. If the terroir is sprayed with chemical pesticides, the wine takes a hit… so we favor a good natural wine with floral notes that breathes the freshness of its vines !
Good winegrowers know the land and what it brings to the wine. Nothing is left to chance. Minerality is a sought- after feeling for white wine, it brings complexity and an additional touch. The climate, the geology and the soil are all criteria that play on the aromas of the wine.
You may have heard of a hill before . It is a sloping space located on the edges of a plateau or a small hill. When the vines are located on hillsides, they are more exposed to the sun and the rays are more concentrated. Some winegrowers also plant their vines on small terraces. In Condrieu, they are nicknamed the “ chaillées ” and marvelous top-of-the-range wines are produced on them .
Premium organic wine: the grape varieties
Granny should not grow in nettles (nor in the vines for that matter!). In any case, over time, the vines produce better grapes and therefore wines with more character and aromas .
Understanding the grape varieties , their character, their growth and their evolution is not an easy task, it is a real science. Fortunately, good winegrowers are passionate people who know and listen to their plants. They make blends to vary the pleasures and offer you red wines , white wines and rosé wines of high quality to delight your palate.
The wine-growing regions have their favorite grape varieties with which good organic wines are produced . Each region has several grands crus , top-of-the-range wines that testify to a high quality of wine. Treat yourself to our Châteauneuf-du-pape , a gem from the Rhône Valley that we are proud to offer you.
Premium organic wine: the appellations
The appellations can help you in your choices. Several criteria are taken into account for the appellations , the geographical area , the grape varieties used, the size of the plots , the vinification methods . For the grands crus , which are top-of-the- range wine appellations , every detail counts, it's a work of art. These wines are logically more expensive but you can also indulge yourself with more affordable wines. Some Vins de France are produced on plots neighboring the Grands Crus and are real gustatory marvels.
For top-of-the-range wines, we are therefore moving towards the grands crus, which are prestigious wines . These wines of great finesse are the flagship of each region in which they are produced. This appellation is used to refer to a superior quality wine. Several parameters are taken into account to designate a grand cru : rooting , the age of the vines , the amount of natural light received , the terroir …
The rarity, quality and exclusivity of these wines make them exceptional wines.
Like any good organic wine, the grand cru can be enjoyed on its own, accompanied and even cooked, it's up to you! All occasions are good to uncork a bottle of wine, have fun and delight your guests.
If you are not at all sure which wines to choose, ask your wine merchant for advice, who can make a selection of high quality wines for you.
Also discover our organic Oé wines on our website. We offer you a selection of good organic red, rosé and white wines from Provence , Côtes-du-Rhône , Languedoc Roussillon , Bordeaux , Vaucluse and the Mediterranean .
Premium organic wine: the vinification technique
What makes the difference between a good top-of-the-range organic wine and an average wine is the investment and the time spent by the winegrower during the harvest and the vinification . To make a great wine, the winemaker selects the grapes. He takes the best ones to make good premium wines and the rest are used to make other wines. He brings them back to the cellar as quickly as possible to limit oxidation .
Meet Denis, Oé winemaker in Visan in this article.
Meet Fabien, Oé winemaker in Bollène here.
In organic , biodynamic and natural viticulture , the winegrowers are very attentive to nature, they refrain from chemical pesticides and operate according to the rhythm of the seasons of the vine . From the harvest to the vinification , the winegrowers are committed to an organic farming approach to respect nature. We reap what we sow, so might as well do it well!
To be labeled organic , the winegrower has specifications that he must respect. The specifications allow good quality control, but it is then the talent of the winegrower that makes the difference in producing good organic wines .
Yes, even if you follow Paul Bocuse's VGE soup recipe to the letter (we offer you the recipe here) , it will surely not have the same taste as the one tasted by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing at the 'Elysée after having decorated Paul Bocuse with the Legion of Honor.
Organic winegrowers have certain prohibitions and restrictions to ensure more responsible production. They replace chemical pesticides with natural pesticides such as sulfur or copper , always in limited quantities. For example, our Oé winegrowers use a level of sulphites much lower than that recommended by the organic designation. The sulfite content is closer to that of biodynamic wines or natural wines .
Premium organic wine: the vintage
The vintage is the year of vinification of the wine . From one year to another, the climatic conditions are different (especially in recent years…), and this plays an important role in the development of the grapes. Some grape varieties are more resistant than others and can therefore adapt better to extreme conditions . On the other hand, for others whose skin is thinner or whose trunk is more fragile, their growth can be greatly altered and therefore make a wine less good. From year to year, therefore, the experience with your favorite wine can be quite different. You can easily find the right vintages on the internet according to grape varieties and geographical locations . That way, no more unpleasant surprises!
With the same proportions of grape varieties (for example: 40% Syrah, 30% Grenache and 20% Carignan), you will probably not have the same wine in a 2017 vintage and a 2020 vintage!
For good organic wines for laying down, pamper them in your cellar so that they continue to evolve as they age. The tertiary aromas develop, the tannic structure softens and the wine has more roundness in the mouth.
