Brett happens

Corse Calvi 2011, Clos Culombu ($23.15, 11910368)
Nielluccio (50%), Sciacarello (30%), Syrah (10%) and Grenache (10%). Six days’ cold maceration are followed by a 26-day fermentation/maceration with punch-downs. Matured on the fine lees. 14% ABV.
Jammy red berries, vanilla and toasty oak equal one thing: strawberry Pop-Tarts. Very ripe, very sweet fruit, velvety tannins and just enough acidity to keep the wine from collapsing on itself. The oak is laid on with a trowel. So confected and cloying I couldn’t take more than two or three sips. And where’s the terroir? A real disappointment after the estate’s seductive 2010 Ribbe Rosse. An SAQ wine advisor tells me this is popular with a certain segment. If so, it’s one I’m not in. (Buy again? No way.)

Ajaccio 2010, Faustine, Domaine Comte Abbatucci ($28.85, 11930060)
Sciacarello (70%) and Nielluccio (30%) from biodynamically farmed 10- to 15-year-old vines. Macerated 40 days, fermented with ambient yeasts, matured in concrete vats. 13% ABV.
Beautiful. Subtle strawberry and cherry, garrigue (well, maquis), sawed cedar, schist. So smooth and suave, so poised and perfectly pitched. Medium-bodied and satin-textured. Alive with pure fruit, fine tannins and energizing acidity, all grounded in earth and herbs. A faint medicinal tang threads through the clean finish. The perfect antidote to the Culombu. (Buy again? In multiples.)