Brett happens

La QV’s head honcho Cyril Kérébel recently led the Mo’ Wine Group in a tasting of natural wines from La QV’s and Insolite’s portfolios. We kicked things off with a tasty sparkler.

Saumur 2004, Méthode Traditionnelle Brut Non-dosé, Château La Tour Grise ($25.29, private import, 12 bottles/case)
100% Chenin Blanc from organically and biodynamically farmed vines averaging a quarter of a century old. Manually harvested. After sorting, the grapes are destemmed and pressed, with the must racked directly into the fermentation vessel. Primary fermentation, with indigenous yeasts, is stopped before all the sugar has been converted to alcohol. The wine is bottled and allowed to referment, producing the carbon dioxide that sparkles the wine. After extended ageing on the lees while stacked on lattes, the bottles are riddled, disgored and topped up but not dosed (a dosed cuvée is also made) and sealed with a cork and cage. Throughout the wine-making process, nothing is added to the wine except a small squirt of sulphur dioxide at bottling. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Browning apple, pear blossom, chalk, yeast and hints of citrus and anise. Dry and medium-bodied with a fine effervescence. The nuanced set of flavours is centred on understated fruit and an array of minerals. A leesy, saline undercurrent adds savour while a faint pithy bitterness shades the long finish. Remarkably fresh for a decade-old wine because the bottles are disgorged and topped up just before they’re shipped. A delicious, aged, natural sparkler for $25 and change. What’s not to like? (Buy again? Yes indeed.)

(Flight: 1/9)