Archive for July 2014
MWG June 12th tasting: A natural CDR
Côtes-du-Rhône 2011, Le Claux, Domaine La Roche Buissière ($36.65, private import, 6 bottles/case)
The 18-hectare estate is located northeast of Vaison-La-Romaine and has been farmed organically since 1980. This is a blend of Grenache (90%) and Syrah (10%) from 50-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Unfiltered and unfined. No additives were used in making the wine, including sulphur. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Black raspberry and spice – black pepper above all – with hints of olive, garrigue and licorice. A medium-bodied, juicy mouthful. Fine tannins texture the silky ripe fruit while bright acidity lifts the mid-palate and enlivens the clean, mineral-shaded finish. A bit overshadowed by its more outgoing companions but, on its own terms, really quite enjoyable. (Buy again? Sure, though I wish it were under $30.)
MWG June 12th tasting: Balearic warbler
Sistema Vinari was created on a lark in 2010 to make wines not to sell but to share with friends and trade with other local winemakers. 2012 is its first commercial vintage. The estate specializes in local grape varieties, though it does allow a little Monastrell and Syrah into the mix, and favours a non-interventionist approach. The wines’ names and minimalist labels are provisional. The only listed distributors are on Majorca, in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia, in Australia and here in Quebec.
Vi de la terra de Mallorca 2012, Château Paquita, Sistema Vinari ($33.00, private import, 6 bottles/case)
This blend is made from organically farmed (but uncertified as such) Callet (40%), Manto Negro (40%), Monastrell (aka Mourvèdre, 15%), Syrah (5%). The grapes are manually harvested and fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks. Alcoholic fermentation of the Callet and Manto Negro lasts 20 to 25 days and is temperature-controlled (26°C or less). The Monastrell and Syrah undergo carbonic maceration. The wine is matured for six months in fifth-fill 500-litre oak barrels and refined three months in stainless steel tanks. Bottled unfiltered, unfined and with no added sulphur and aged in the bottle for five months before release. Total production: 4,500 regular bottles and 90 magnums. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Deep and engaging nose of peppery plum and raspberry with accents of cinnamon, leaf, graphite, smoke and leather. Medium-bodied and velours-textured. The spicy fruit – dominant but not heavy, structured by round tannins, brightened by sustained acidity, deepened by coal and old wood notes – lasts through the long, clean finish. This elegant, savoury, food-friendly wine is a real find. (Buy again? With pleasure.)
MWG June 12th tasting: Terrano fortunato
A member of the Refosco family, Terrano is an ancient grape variety grown mainly around the northeastern Adriatic in Croatia, Slovenia and a sliver of Italy that includes Trieste, whose basic red wine it makes.
IGT Venezia Giulia 2010, Terrano, Benjamin Zidarich ($34.85, private import, 6 bottles/case)
100% Terrano. While the estate isn’t certified organic, it uses no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides in its vineyards. The grapes for this wine where manually harvested, crushed and macerated on their skins in open vats for four weeks, with four punch-downs a day and no temperature control. Alcoholic fermentation was spontaneous, with ambient yeasts. The wine was transferred to large oak barrels for malolactic fermentation, then to a mix of medium and large Slavonian oak barrels for approximately 20 months’ maturation. Bottled unfiltered, unfined and with a small dose of sulphur. Total production: 4,000 bottles. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Earthy, spicy, red fruit and peonies. Exuberantly fruity, even juicy, but dry: a middleweight with incisive acidity, velvety tannins, a slatey substrate and great purity. Vibrant right to the end of the faintly saline finish. Though delightful, our bottle should have been cooler (say, 16-17°C), like the one at Le printemps dézippé, where it was one of the standout reds. (Buy again? Done!)
In La Terra Fortunata, Fred Plotkin writes that Terrano “is a versatile wine that pairs with many foods from the Tirestine and Carso kitchens, including cevapcici (ground meat patties), pork products, cheeses, potatoes, cabbage, and fruit. The most famous pairing is one of the simplest: the Terrano and ovi duri (hard-boiled eggs) that one can consume in any buffet in Trieste.”
Brett happens 