Brett happens

Soave Classico 2012, La Froscà, Gini ($26.80, 12132107)
Organically farmed Garganega from 57-year-old vines. The manually harvested grapes are soft-pressed and the must is cold-macerated on the skins. Temperature-controlled alcoholic fermentation is in a mix of stainless steel and neutral French oak casks. Does not undergo malolactic fermentation. Matured on the lees for at least eight months, partly in stainless steel tanks, partly in 228-litre “seasoned” oak barrels. Sulphur is added only at bottling. Reducing sugar: 3.4 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Bambara Selection.
Peach, lemon, quince, honey and fresh-cut hay make for a fairly appealing nose. In the mouth, however, it’s a different story. Viscous, extracted, dry, alcoholic and bitter on the finish. The relatively low acidity and lack of prominent minerals mean the wine tastes flat. Very different from the wine sampled a couple of months earlier. Even a Bambara employee who was present didn’t recognize it. Probably an off bottle, then. (Buy again? Based on this bottle, no. Based on the earlier bottle, absolutely. You pays your money and you takes your chances…)

Robola de Céphalonie 2014, Vino di Sasso, Domaine Sclavos ($25.20, 12485877)
First time at the SAQ. 100% Robola from organically farmed, ungrafted old vines grown on the Ionian island of Cephalonia. Vino di sasso means “wine of stone,” a reference to the island’s rocky cliffs and outcrops. The manually harvested grapes are directly pressed. The must is fermented at low temperatures with indigenous yeasts and matured eight months on the lees. Sees only stainless steel until bottling. Bottled unfiltered, unfined and with only a tiny squirt of sulphur dioxide. Reducing sugar: 3.9 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Wafting nose of quartz, seashells, lemon and fresh sweat with faint background herbs. Medium-bodied yet possessed of a certain fruity heft, though by no means an exuberantly fruity wine. A rich vein of minerals runs throughout and lends a salty tang to the long, bitter-edged finish. Tasty enough, especially at table alongside a sea bass, but maybe lacking the last bit of éclat found in the 2013. (Buy again? Sure.)

MWG November 12th tasting: flight 2 of 6