St Laurent

We haven't been to the Czech Republic on this journey. Today, we cure that oversight with a trip to the region of Moravia in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic. Today, we're drinking red wine from a grape known as St Laurent that is found mostly in east central Europe. Were we not in Moravia today, we might find ourselves in Austria.

We know that the wine "industry" in Moravia dates back to at least the 9th century. There is strong evidence that wine was often excahnged by royalty to celebrate any of the many births in royal families. And in smaller skirmishes not violent enough to be categorized as wars, the losers often ended the battles by offering up wine to the winners.

The production of wine grew steadily through the end of the 16th Century, but the Thirty Years War destroyed almost all of the planted vineyards. Regrown after that, they once again flourished until the late 19th century when the phylloxera came to Moravia. With the importation of phylloxera-resistant rootstock, the Czech were again able to grow wine grapes.

Today, we sit near the banks of the River Dyje, also known as Thaya. Sitting near the midpoint of where the Danube flows between Prague and Vienna, the areas near where the river flows through Southern Moravia have a silty soil with natural irrigation. It's excellent for growing St Laurent, a progeny of Pinot Noir and some other grape, likely a bit more tannic, but not yet identified.

Upon opening a bottle, it is reminiscent of Pinot Noir, but neither quite Burgundian nor from the western US, nor New Zealand. While the nose is characterized by particularly bright red cherry, the color is noticeably darker than Pinot Noir and a bit fuller bodied, but it has the same style of aromatic characteristics (when drinking aromatic red wines, the wine will show better if you enjoy it from a glass designed for such a wine with a narrower lip and fuller bowl). 

On the palate, the first thing we notice is medium to dark fruit, raspberry and blackberry. But, as the wine moves back on the palate, we get hints of fresh tobacco as well as chocolate and baking spices. A bit less bright than the dessert, this reminds us of a black forest cake. Do not, however, drink this wine with a sweet dessert. It will be a horrible clash. Instead, pair this wine with rich flavors. Consider the likes of duck confit encircled by mushroom risotto.






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