Paul Cluver winemaker answers our questions
You’ve spent a lot of time in France. What are the most valuable lessons you have learnt?
Early on in my career, I spent a season at Château Margaux in Bordeaux. I asked Paul Pontallier to tell me the three most important things that I needed to know to make good wines. He said, “It’s actually very easy. The three most important things are balance, balance and balance.”
You’ve also worked with famed consultant winemaker Michel Rolland at Château le Bon Pasteur in Bordeaux, spent time at top Sauvignon Blanc producers Henri Bourgeois and Ladoucette in Sancerre, and travelled to the Pfalz and Mosel in Germany to learn more about Riesling. But Burgundy still seems to be your favourite destination?
I was convinced that Pinot Noir could thrive in the Elgin area, so I spent a season at Domain Comte Senard in Aloxe-Corton in 1997. Ever since then, I have gone to Burgundy at least once a year because I like to keep my palate focused. Plus there’s the fact that I’ve fallen in love with the place, the lifestyle, the passion!
Do you plan to visit any New World Pinot Noir-producing regions?
I would love to visit Central Otago in New Zealand. The problem is that it’s at the arse end of the world, whereas Burgundy is so easy to get to. If you go the USA, you have to fly via Europe so it makes sense to stop en route. If you’re on business in the UK, you can easily hop on a plane and spend the weekend there.
Do you see winemaking as art or science?
If you don’t understand wine chemistry, how can you rescue something if it needs rescuing? In that sense, winemaking is a science, but the real trick is to avoid scientific intervention, if at all possible. For example, it’s only if you harvest too ripe that you have to acidify later. I think it’s crucial to have gut feel so that you can make the right decisions at the right time, like whether a particular vineyard block must be harvested immediately after a heat spell or whether it will still take its time anyway. But gut feel is not something you can learn from a book, it’s something you can only get from experience. I do a lot of things off the cuff nowadays, but only because I’ve now been here for 14 years and know why something is happening.
What was it like to become a CWG member last year?
Instead of being congratulated, the first comment I got was: “So I suppose you’ll have to make a heavily extracted red blockbuster now!” [That being the style of wine that seemed to achieve the highest prices at the annual auction.] So I’m really excited about the new selection criteria, which I believe will encourage members to be bold and to experiment in terms of terroir, cultivar and wine styles. [All wines will still be subjected to tastings by Guild members, and chemical and microbiological analysis to ensure they meet the Guild's high standards, but the final decision to include a wine in the auction now lies with the Guild member submitting the wine.]
If you were a wine, what would you be?
Actually I’d be three. It depends on my mood. But I always put it in terms of my three dessert-island wines. If I need a pick-me-up, I like Riesling. If I’m relaxed, white Burgundy or a great Chardonnay. If I’m feeling serious, red Burgundy.
