The Four Virtues of Wine
At PROJECT M, there are specific attributes that we want our Willamette Valley Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Sparkling Rosé, and Pinot Noir to possess. We refer to these as the four virtues. They serve as the guidebook for the grape varieties and vineyards we work with and our winemaking methods.
This blog post defines the four virtues: Purity, Precision, Transparency, and Elegance. We also discuss how a virtue might be expressed differently depending on the wine. Transparency, for instance, will manifest itself differently in Chardonnay than in Riesling.
Purity
Our working definition of Purity isn't a reference to the wine's composition. At PROJECT M, Purity is a sensory quality. It refers to flavors that are clear and unsullied. For a wine to be Pure, the various elements of the wine have to work together in moderation. We often refer to the Goldilocks Principle, where everything needs to be just right.
At PROJECT M, each wine reflects the perspective of winemaker Jerry D. Murray. Purity is subjective and dependent on many variables. While Jerry believes that the Anicca Willamette Valley Chardonnay can be rather pure after aging in oak barrels for ten months, the same treatment applied to the Schlüssel Riesling would be anything but Pure.
“With some wines, we accept the challenge of maintaining Precision while also displaying other attributes, such as opulence or plushness, which can counter the virtue. ”
Purity is not counter to complexity; it isn't synonymous with simple. For some, complexity is the product of the presence of a multitude of flavors. Imagine a wine stuffed with flavors crumpled like pieces of paper. No one note is fully expressed.
At PROJECT M, we pursue a version of complexity where the wine is layered with flat sheets; each flavor is fully expressed without competition. Purity yields nuance.
Purity also suggests a degree of drinkability. Some Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs dazzle on the first taste but soon tire the palate. A Pure wine becomes more intriguing as the glass or bottle empties.
Precision
At PROJECT M, Precision is considered Purity applied to a wine's shape and mouthfeel instead of flavors. A precise wine is focused; it enters the mouth with a clearly defined edge. The surface of a Precise wine can be smooth, or it can be ornate with well-defined features. Precise wines move across the palate and have long, beam-like finishes.
With some wines, we accept the challenge of maintaining Precision while also displaying other attributes, such as opulence or plushness, which can counter the virtue.
Our Anicca Chardonnay and, to a lesser extent, the Astria Pinot Blanc are wines we intentioanally head in stylistic directions that sacrifice some Precision for more generous textures.
Rieslings, such as Schlüssel, are naturally inclined toward Precision. Our approach to making them is to make sure the edge is polished, free of burrs and barbs.
Our approach to our Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs, through carefully timed picks and thoughtful extraction, is to create wines of defined shapes whose surfaces are finely etched or polished smooth. In this sense, we often think of ourselves more as sculptors or potters than chefs.
We employ filtration in pursuit of Precision. Over the years, we have found that the edges of unfiltered wines are often obscured. Filtration brings the wine's shape into sharp focus and clarifies where wines begin and end.
Transparency
Though we do like to make optically clear wines, this isn't what we mean by Transparent. Transparency relates to the story the wine is telling. Every wine, no matter the grape or the region it grows in, tells a story. That story is always told in three chapters: People, Place, and Time. A Transparent Wine tells true stories in each of those chapters.
The climax of a wine's story can happen in any chapter. We've discussed the role of the winemaker's vision for Chardonnay in previous blog posts. We assert that outstanding Chardonnay demands a well-developed storyline in the People chapter. However, they must also Transparently reflect the season and place in which they were grown.
Our Acclara Sparkling Rosé, on the other hand, is intended to provide a user experience. In this case we set an objective, infinitely drinkable, and work back words from place and season to meet that objective. The chapters on Place and Time, though true, are concise. This wine is about what we do.
Riesling and Pinot Noir don't like stories with extensive people chapters. They don't readily accept the winemaker's input. To be sure, both of these grapes will transparently communicate the winemaker's influence. Winemakers with insufficient restraint or lack of skill will make wines with "look what they did to me" narratives in the People Chapter. Skilled winemakers create wines with "we did this together" narratives.
Pinot Noir and Riesling are renowned for their Transparency regarding Place and Time. Pinot Noir's high degree of Transparency of Place and its clear announcement of bullish winemaking has given rise to the cultures that surround it. Pinot Noir enjoys a global culture of collaboration precisely because where it comes from matters considerably more than who makes it.
At PROJECT M, we don't deny the ability of wines to reflect their place of origin. Though we believe great wines Transparently reflect their place of origin, we do not think doing so is the purpose of a wine. In our view, the Transparency of place is a tool we use to achieve our objective: to create things of beauty.
The Transparency of Time relates to when, the season, a grape was grown and when it was harvested. Climate change is making this Transparency a liability in some cases; as vintages become more extreme, so do the wines made from them.
Wines also tell the story of when a grape was picked. Wines from the same vineyard, made by the same winemaker but picked even a few days apart, will yield different wines. Riesling and Pinot Noir are exceptionally transparent in this regard, but so are Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc.
Elegance
PROJECT M thinks of Elegance as an energetic state rather than a reflection of dimensions. For us, Elegance isn't a reference to a wine being light, as opposed to heavy. It refers to a wine that embodies more feminine than masculine energy. It is graceful.
We want to make wines that wear a dress. Some vineyards, vintages, and grapes demand that we sew bigger dresses than others, but they are always attempts at capturing the beauty of the feminine. Our Chardonnays require dresses that are better equipped to accommodate hips and shoulders than our Riesling, for instance.
An elegant wine has everything needed to be complete and nothing more. Elegance is the opposite of boisterous or garish. Elegant wines don't yell or wave their arms. They speak articulately in conversational tones without sarcasm or condescension. They don't compete for attention; they attract it.
What we call the Virtues are terms commonly used to describe wines. While others may share our thoughts, our goal isn't to define these terms objectively. Our goal was to give our customers, present and future, a better understanding of the frameworks our perspective is built upon.