Archive for September 2017
Below the veldt
Swartland 2015, Grenache Noir, Leeuwenkuil ($20.00, 13124571)
100% Grenache from old, dry-farmed, bush-trained vines. Yield was limited by reducing the crop to one bunch per shoot. Manually harvested. Alcoholic fermentation on the skins and with indigenous yeasts involved punch-downs and pump-overs. Macerated 20 days on the skins post fermentation. Transferred to 5,000-litre French oak foudres for 14 months for malolactic fermentation and maturation. Reducing sugar: 1.8 g/l. 14% ABV. Screwtop (not cork as per SAQ.com). Quebec agent: Univins.
Likeable nose of red and black raspberry (fresh and jam) dusted with black pepper. Medium-bodied (alcohol notwithstanding). Full of ripe but not heavy fruit. Soft-glow acidity and supple tannins provide just enough structure. Finishes clean and on a peppery note. Not as deep, savoury or flaring as some Rhone Grenaches but not devoid of Grenache character either. A fruit-forward crowd pleaser. I bought this bottle by mistake, thinking it was the same producer’s Cinsault, which I wanted to try with Lattucca‘s most excellent Texas-style barbecue beef brisket and ribs. While the wine was OK with the ‘cue, it’d make a better pairing with less substantial fare, like charcuterie or the winery’s suggestion of venison carpaccio. (Buy again? Maybe.)
QPR CDR
Côtes du Rhône Villages Signargues 2016, Domaine La Montagnette ($16.40, 11095949)
The grapes are grown by the estate’s owner but vinified, bottled and marketed by the small Vignerons d’Estézargues cooperative. This blend of Grenache (70%), Syrah (20%) and Carignan and Mourvèdre (together 10%) comes from vines grown in clay soil with the smooth stones typical of the former Rhône riverbed. Practices in the vineyard are semi-organic, with chemicals being used only as a last resort. The vines are gobelet-trained and the grapes are picked by hand, destemmed, lightly crushed, fermented at low temperatures and given a long (three to four weeks) maceration. After pressing, the wine is transferred to large barrels for maturation. No additives, including yeasts, except a small amount of sulphur at bottling. Unfiltered and unfined. Reducing sugar: 2.7 g/l. 14.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Delicious, Rhoney nose: red and black fruit (mainly berries), hints of black pepper, violet, spice, leather, leafmould and more. Medium-bodied. Heady but not hot, with a very fluid texture, ripe fruit and plenty of acidity. Light tannins provide an appealing rasp, dark minerals run throughout. A whiff of alcohol lifts the peppery finish while sandalwood and fruit cake linger. Other CDRs may have more depth but few offer this combination of savour, freshness, fleetness and price. A textbook, naturalistic CDR for $16.40, let alone the $14.65 it’s going for during the current promotion ($1 discount plus 750 Inspire points), this has QPR winner written all over it. (Buy again? For sure.)
Soave sia il Veneto…
Veneto 2015, Masieri, Bianco, La Biancara ($22.20, 12846741)
Founded in 1999, Angeiolino Maule’s nine-hectare estate is located in Gambellara in the foothills of the Soave region. The estate-grown Garganega and Trebbiano grapes in this 80-20 blend come from biodynamically farmed vines rooted in volcanic soil. Manually harvested. Direct pressed. Vinified in stainless steel in small batches. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. No additives except a tiny amount of sulphur at bottling. Unfiltered and unfined. Reducing sugar: <1.2 g/l. 11% ABV. Quebec agent: Labelle Bouteille.
Hazy straw yellow to the eye. Discreet, fresh nose: quartz, sand, distant white fruit and the faintest hint of asafoetida. Leaner than your typical Soave: less pear, more lemon along with some green apple and a touch of lees. Smooth, transparently integrated acidity. Lots of chalky minerals and a faint almond overtone from the mid-palate on, joined by hints of watermelon fruit, rind and seeds on the bitter-tinged finish. A subtle, nuanced wine – a pleasure to spend time with – and a QPR winner. This bottle was singing from the get-go but others have needed several minutes of breathing to find their voice, so carafing is advisable. (Buy again? Definitely.)
(Musical accompaniment and origin of the title’s pun: Così fan tutte: “Soave sia il vento” – Mozart.)
Jaune and jauneish
Vin de France 2011, 3.11, Bertin-Delatte ($38.25, private import, 6 bottles/case)
Founded in 2008, the three-hectare estate is based in Rablay-sur-Layon. This 100% Chenin Blanc is from organically farmed young vines. The grapes, which normally would have been used for the flagship L’Échalier bottling, are harvested by hand and gently pressed. Barrel-fermented and -matured. The barrels were not topped up and a veil of yeast formed on the surface, much like on a vin jaune. This one-off experiment spent five years in the barrel. Unfiltered and unfined. Sulphur is minimal. Three barrels (800 bottles) were made; that and the last two digits of the vintage explain the name. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
Typically oxidized nose of nutty yellow fruit but maybe not as complex or opulent as a good vin jaune’s. Lovely on the palate: sleek textured, lightly oxidized, clean fruited and minerally with great acidity, freshness and length. “Très chenin” and “great Chenin character” note other tasters. More than just a curiosity. (Buy again? Yes.)
Côtes du Jura 2009, Vin Jaune, Domaine Pignier ($102.10/620 ml, private import, 6 bottles/case)
Founded in the 13th century and in the hands of the Pignier family since 1794, the estate is located in the commune of Montaigu in the southern Jura. 100% Savagnin from biodynamically farmed vines rooted in clayey calcareous marl with Lias slate. Manually harvested. Fermented and matured in untopped-up oak barrels under a yeast veil for seven years. No added yeast. No chaptalization or racking. Bottled according to the lunar calendar. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
On the nose, it’s a beautiful, subtle mix of nuts, yellow fruit, straw and white minerals. In the mouth, it’s a perfect balance between the pure fruit, fine acidity and imposing minerality. Not as oxidized as some but elegant, “accessible” and “super fresh.” (Buy again? If feeling flush, yes.)
MWG July 13th tasting: flight 9 of 9
Château Landra, take three
Ventoux 2016, Pur Jus Rouge, Château Landra ($25.86, private import, 12 bottles/case)
Syrah (60%) and Grenache (30%) and Cinsualt (10%) from 45-year-old vines rooted in gravelly alluvial deposits with lots of smooth pebbles and stones. Destemmed, crushed. Fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and matured in stainless steel. Unfined and probably unfiltered. No added sulphur. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
Intriguing nose: cherry, black raspberry, “pink peppercorn,” “fresh-cut grass,” “asafoetida” (all per other tasters) and more. Medium-bodied, juicy and, alcohol notwithstanding, unhot. Packed with sweet fruit but far from a bomb. The extract and fine but present tannins give it a plush texture but the streaming acidity eliminates any possibility of heaviness. Long, clean, black pepper-dusted finish. A fresh, dry, savoury, uncomplicated red whose only drawback is that, at 14%, it’s dangerously drinkable. (Buy again? Sure.)
MWG July 13th tasting: flight 8 of 9
Brett happens 