It’s something else: visiting a winemaker as a critic who compares wines and winemakers. And being invited by my daughter-in-law (as a surprise for Davy’s birthday) to visit a local winery with the family, a winemaker who doesn’t know about our passion.
Domain Cuvelier, formerly known as Cubiz, is in Limburg, Belgium. We were welcomed by Yves Cuvelier, who does the actual winemaking and the tours, regularly supplemented and/or corrected by his wife, and co-owner, Miet. She takes care of administration and marketing. And then there’s also Yves’ brother Patrick who runs the vineyard.
Even though I’ve spent a lot of time at vineyards and know several winemakers, it’s still a treat to get the complete story and the classic process explained by such an enthusiastic winemaker. Yves can easily fill a week, talking about the types of grapes, pruning, harvesting, treatment of the grapes, the evolution of the wine in barrels, the manipulation of still wine to sparkling wine… He can keep you entertained about corks, bottles and muselettes all afternoon, if you ask him nicely.
But, in general, he limits himself to what is most relevant for him, for Domain Cuvelier and for the guests. Under the motto: “there are books for all the rest…”, here’s what I registered.
Yves is a nice guy, with a mind of his own. He refuses to conform to the general rules and more often than not he wanders off the beaten track. The family Cuvelier is in fact a fruit-growing company, like so many in Haspengouw, and Yves knows what the rules are, and how much room for interpretation there is.
It’s not up to me to explain the possibilities, but if Cuvelier can make a better or more original wine by capitalizing on the little blank space in the legal texts, rest assured that he will. And he’ll gladly accept the consequence that this might not appeal to everybody.
Winemakers who prefer to make a smaller volume of original wines, who see a guaranteed denomination of origin as a limit to creativity… Those can be the most interesting ones. Of course, you have to taste a lot to be able to evaluate whether this mindset offers any added value, or whether it’s just a kind of stubbornness that leads nowhere… But don’t worry, we can do the tasting for you!
For example: a Flemish winemaker who produces monocépage Grüner Veltliner, will probably be mentally deranged… or indeed very aware of the possibilities. I can assure you that this is the case with Yves. The awareness of the possibilities, I mean. Because you should know that you cannot decide something like this at breakfast and taste the first results in the evening. It takes at least five years to find the correct vines, plant them and cultivate them before you can harvest enough grapes to start production. And we can now taste the wines of grapes that were harvested in 2018, because only now (since last year, to be exact) the wine is ready to drink. So, what do we say to that? Respect! That’s what we say. Unfortunately, we could not taste the Veltliner anymore, but I happen to know someone who has this wine at home. Luc, anytime is fine by me to discover this wine! Just let me know.
And that may well be the disadvantage of Cuveliers’ way of working. Small numbers of interesting wine don’t last long, let alone if a sommelier buys the whole production of a specific wine to offer it exclusively in his restaurant, with their own label and everything…
But anyway, we had the chance to taste several wines and the verdict was positive, no doubt!
The BizBarr (more name variations are coming your way) is an oaked, mono Chardonnay, who can take on any of his French nephews. I’m a little ABC myself, but my taste-companions could appreciate the notions of oak and the slightly acidic finale. I promise I will give it a second chance at our bar (where we do the tastings).
There’s also the BizNoir, from Pinot Noir. A surprise! Because this is a mature, yet elegant red wine which could easily, and perhaps slightly chilled, be the star of the summer of 2022. If you have a wine-climate fridge, store it with the white wines at 9° or so. If, for some reason, you don’t have such a tool, drop it in your fridge an hour before opening. That should give a comparable result. Not chilled? Not a problem! Even then the BizNoir will charm, but he’s at his best when he’s “cool”!
We’ve also tasted three sparkling wines, and all three of them were interesting wines with their own story, which Yves will be happy to tell you on your visit.
My favorite was the Blanc de Biz, once more a stylish name, and the experienced sparkling wine drinker will already know that I’ve just countered myself. You see: a Blanc de Blanc, as they call it in the Champagne region, or anywhere else, is a sparkling monocépage of Chardonnay. And yes, the Blanc de Biz is Cuveliers’ version of that…
In my defense: a normal wine, a still wine as we wine snobs say, and a sparkling wine are two different products that follow a different process after the pressing of the grapes, before they end up in your glass. The creamy style, so characteristic for still, oaked Chardonnay, is nowhere to be found in the sparkling version where we taste apple and quince, in a perfectly balanced, dry aperitif wine for the not so casual occasions. But don’t hesitate to pair it with your favorite lobster!
The other sparkling wines were the CuBiz (the classical Cuvelier) and the Cuvée Emma (rosé, named after Yves and Miet’s daughter). You should really discover these yourself!
Just for my own interest, and Davy’s, I also have a PinotBiz 2020 at home, waiting for the next tasting at the bar. Exclusively, because only a few bottles are still available… It’s a blend of Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc, which is not coming back any time soon. On the other hand, with Yves you never know… We’ll keep you informed.
So… You like wine? You’re thirsty for some wine information and interesting wines? You don’t mind coming to Limburg to discover some prospering wines? Send an email to Miet for a date (with her husband) and you will have a great time. Or fill in the contact page on their website.
And say hi from us.
Not coming to Jesseren in the next year or so? Any time soon (but don’t wait up for it) we will taste the wines again and evaluate them thoroughly. We’ll let you know what tertiary aromas we have discovered (or made up) and what we would suggest to pair with them.
De wijnproever (the wine taster, but we like it better in Flemish).
PS: the styling of the labels is also very well done and, most of all, recognisable. Does nothing for the wine, but it’s important on the commercial level!
Contact : https://www.cubiz.be
