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Truly: Devil Proof
By Kristof Gillese
Wine is used for celebration. Wine is used in commiseration. Wine is sometimes even used in dedication… but what a special wine when it is used in the creation of new memories.
“Don’t horde your special bottles for special occasions; USE them to create special occasions!” is how my father puts it.
The Devil Proof Malbec from winemaker Jesse Katz in California’s Alexander Valley is one of those wines. I can honestly remember every single bottle that I’ve opened; I can remember the company, what the day or evening was like, some of the conversation- but most of all I remember what I felt. I remember that sensation of unabashed joy at sharing a treasured bit of time with people who meant the world to me and the wine that stilled conversation and brought even bigger smiles to our faces.
I toasted one of my best friends on the birth of his daughter with Devil Proof.
I rejoiced with another friend as she opened the doors of her first business.
And I think now, having spoken with Jesse many times and having gotten to know him a bit… I think that as much as the accolades from renowned critics means; the stellar scores from Parker and so on (Robert Parker has called this “the finest Malbec I’ve ever tasted from California.“) I think that whilst he enjoys those things it is when he knows that a customer has appreciated his craft that his many years of toil over this project reach a zenith.
Perhaps it is Jesse’s genuine humility that has most profoundly struck me about him as a craftsman and business owner. Here is a man who has broken bread with some of the greatest winemakers, viticulturists and winery owners that the world has perhaps ever seen. He has sweated with them in the fields, crouched with them in the cellars and laughed with them late in the evening with his bottles standing (rightfully so) proudly beside their own.
And now, looking back over several years, I see that perfection truly is in the details. When one regards Jesse Katz honing his craft on the canvas that is Devil Proof, one must simply look at the details to understand that this is a craftsman coming into his own… soil samples and soil analysis don’t create great wines – but they are tools to help a great winemaker, a great viticulturist. Working the soil-pits, taking a hand in pruning, being first in the vineyard when harvest is near; to know that THIS is the right day for harvest.
This level of perfectionism, of obsessive-compulsive disorder, is what brings any work of art to the next level. This is what has elevated an Alexander Valley Malbec from relative obscurity to become one of the most highly regarded new wines from all of California. And rightfully so.
It takes 10,000 hours to master any craft, it’s said.
By my calculations Jesse has accumulated more than enough hours, sweat through more summers in the field, trudged up and down vineyard lines enough years, bled in the cold as he pruned the vines so they could be “just-so” and every person working that day did exactly the same. This is the stamp of craftsmanship and to those living a life of mediocrity it must seem madness, and to those yearning to put their own stamp on life it must seem genius.
But to me, it’s just my friend Jesse. And this is what he loves… he loves his land; his little parcel of California just north of Santa Rosa. He more than loves it; he respects it and this must be at the heart of all great farming. The best beef, the best carrots, the best honey, the best wine… all coming from a place where someone stands to show how much they respect their place, their land. In legalese, we know that “Devil Proof” means to prove something impossible.
Well then this must surely be impossible: to love the land so much that one would sacrifice one’s self for it. You and I, I think we all, must surely care for the land. No one can distance themselves from it and say that they live apart from the land as our parents tried to do… so many of them coming from “the farm” and wanting to be more – wanting to be more grandiose than a farmer’s son or daughter. And along comes Jesse who wants, more than anything, that his children should grow to be farmers and proud of it. That in this world of Kardashians and Biebers a man who walks with giants yearns for nothing more than his children to have their feet planted firmly on the ground.
Truly: Devil Proof.
Yet enough has been said about the 2013 release of Devil Proof, which is sold out, to warrant me putting attention elsewhere. Please watch my video review on the 2013 Aperture “red blend”; an under-recognized, skilful blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Franc which wowed with it’s finesse and concentration. And with harvest just coming to a close in California – stay tuned for more news on the cutting edge of American winemaking: the 2014 Devil Proof Malbec which is only days away from release!
– Kristof Gillese: Trained chef, certified wine steward and proud journalist. To chef Kristof it is the story that takes priority: to tell the tale of common people accomplishing uncommon goals. In the world of wine these tales are prolific. It is chef Kristof’s privilege to have worked with, and/or told the story of, luminaries such as Pierre-Henry Gagey of Maison Jadot, Nik Weis of St Urbans-Hof, Ray Signorello of Signorello Estates and Ezra Cipes of Summerhill Pyramid Winery; leaders in the industry. With almost three decades of experience working with the magical synergy between food and wine, chef Kristof is proud to share the stories of these amazing stewards of the land. These articles showcase a respect for the balance between our current mercantile economy and the-now-in-vogue ancestral farming methods/biodynamics/organic farming principles. All articles are written with a profound reverence for the family aspect to winery culture as, to this writers understanding, nothing has ever had a more far-reaching effect than the love and devotion for a parent to a child. All great wineries are built by parents for their children and grandchildren and it is because of this that chef Kristof writes.
You can read more of his rants-on-wine including full portfolio reviews, interviews with winemakers and notes from the illustrious #WineTastingCircle on his website www.TheChefandTheGrape.com and his blog www.AStudentofWine.blogspot.com.
Twitter: AStudentofWine and on Facebook: TheChefandTheGrape