Archive for the ‘Tasting notes’ Category
Not so cat-like
Savennières 2012, Domaine des Baumard ($31.00, 12202021)
100% Chenin Blanc from vines averaging 35 years old. Manually harvested in several passes. The whole clusters are direct-pressed in a pneumatic press. Lengthy fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Nine months’ maturation on the fine lees also in stainless steel tanks. Screwcapped. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Vintrinsec.
Ash and lemon at first, then pear, honey and “something pencil erasery.” Medium-bodied and satin-textured. The sweet fruit is overtoned with oyster liqueur, dusted with minerals and carried on a stream of bright acidity. A touch of quinine colours the bitterish finish. Pleasant if a little short on oomph and dazzle; Guiberteau’s similarly priced 2013 Saumur “Clos de Guichaux” ($29.65, 11461099) delivers more bang for the buck. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Savennières 2013, Clos de Saint-Yves, Domaine des Baumard ($33.75, 12797272)
100% Chenin Blanc from vines averaging 35 years old. Harvesting and vinification are identical to the estate bottling. Screwcapped. Reducing sugar: 5.6 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Vintrinsec.
Seashells, quince and citrus but quite subtle, even closed. With time, lime, linden, beeswax, “stewed fruit” and “tulip” scents appear. In the mouth, it’s richer and more dimensional than its flight mate, albeit somewhat inscrutable. The lightly honeyed fruit is pure and minerally, the acidity fluent. Swirling and chewing reveal an incipient layered depth. The long finish again sounds a bitter/quinine note. Savennières have a reputation for being closed and even rebarbative in their youth, so this is a bit more typical of the appellation though still without the expected austerity or need to age for a decade. Approachable now, probably better in five years. Setting questions of typicity aside, it’s a lovely bottle of Chenin. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG March 31st tasting: flight 3 of 6
Anticlimax
Quincy 2013, Siam, Domaine de la Commanderie ($18.95, 12748219)
100% Sauvignon Blanc from vines at least 15 years old. Mechanically harvested. The must is cold-settled for 8 to 10 hours. Fermented in temperature-controlled (18-20°C) tanks with regular stirring. Matured 10 months on the less. Sees only stainless steel until bottling. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Balthazard.
An echt Sauvignon Blanc nose of gosseberry, flint and kiwi segues into dessicated coconut and unripe pineapple or, as one taster put it, “umbrella drink zone.” In the piehole, it’s medium weight and citrusy with crisp-bordering-on-mordant acidity that’s softened by the rich, extracted texture (the must reportedly spends some time on the skins). The honey note adds interest but the kind of dazzling minerality found in some Loire Sauvignon Blancs is absent here. A decent but unexciting wine that doesn’t quite live up to the hype (three Hachette stars, for example), though it may well show better with food. (Buy again? Meh.)
Montsant 2014, Vespres Blanc, Josep Grau Viticultor ($26.45, 12782177)
Grenache Blanc (90%) and Sauvignon Blanc (10%) from organically farmed vines averaging 32 years old. The manually harvested grapes are pressed for 12 hours. The resulting must is transferred to 2,000-litre oak casks for fermentation with indigenous yeasts and five months’ maturation on the lees. Reducing sugar: <1.2 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Vintrinsec.
Odd nose, described variously as “faintly acrid,” “banana medicine” and “tea tree oil.” The strangeness continues in the mouth, where the wine’s initial (apparent) sweetness is countered by bright acidity and contradicted by a dry finish with a light touch of astringency that has me thinking of alum. And yet a taster rightly sums up the wine as “very flat.” Add the lingering note of dishwasher detergent and you’ve got a bottle best avoided. Could ours have been off? (Buy again? Based on this showing, no.)
MWG March 31st tasting: flight 2 of 6
Fizzle
Crémant du Jura 2011, Délire des Lyres, Zéro, Les Chais du Vieux Bourg ($31.95, 12814221)
Based in Arlay but with additional vineyards in Poligny, L’Étoile and Château-Chalon, the four-hectare estate was founded in 2003 by former architect Ludwig Bindernagel and Nathalie Eigenschenck. All work in the vineyard is done manually. While not officially organic, the estate does not use insecticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers and expects to obtain biodynamic certification in a few years. This traditional method, undosed sparkler is made 100% from Chardonnay grapes (per the SAQ; some claim it contains 10% Savagnin) from 30-year-old vines. The individual parcels are vinified separately. The grapes are manually harvested, pressed in a wooden press and fermented in large oak barrels. The resulting wine is given extended maturation on its lees. Added sulphur: 3 g/hl. Reducing sugar: 1.5 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Ward et associés.
Attractive nose of browning pear and apple, honey, minerals and faint yeasty brioche notes. In the mouth, it’s medium-bodied, tightly wound and very dry, with very fine bubbles producing an almost prickly sensation. Tending to apple and citrus, the mineral-dusted fruit is “less rich than the nose suggests” (quoting another taster). Despite the effervescence and bracing acidity, the wine is oddly inert on the mid-palate. Fairly long with a bitter aftertaste. A second bottle tasted three weeks later was identical. (Buy again? Maybe a bottle to cellar for a year or two to see if we caught it during a dumb phase.)
Expectations around this bottle – a naturalish, no-dosage sparkler from a new-to-us but highly regarded producer in one of our favourite wine regions and represented by one of our favourite agencies – were high. Which made its lacklustre showing all the more disappointing. Not that the wine was bad. Far from it. But no one around the tables thought it represented good value when you can get, say, Baud’s Brut Sauvage for under $24 or Tissot’s basic crémant for $28 and change.
MWG March 31st tasting: flight 1 of 6
Liracal
Lirac 2012, Jean-Paul Daumen ($29.45, 11873211)
Grenache (60%), Syrah (30%), Mourvèdre (5%), Cinsault (5%) from purchased grapes grown according to Daumen’s specifications (as of 2010, the vineyards were converting to organic farming). Like the other wines in the Daumen line, this is made in the Vieille Julienne cellars. Vinification is essentially the same for all Vieille Julienne/Daumen wines: hand-picking and repeated sorting of grapes; partial destemming; temperature-controlled fermentation with indigenous yeasts; extended maceration; approximately 12 months’ aging in foudres and neutral barrels; no filtering or fining; sulphur added – and then minimally – only just before bottling. Reducing sugar: 2.2 g/l. 14.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Brooding, evolving nose: plum, raspberry, black pepper, game, dried herbs, granite dust, pencil shavings, violets… Full-bodied, velvety and sauve, as savoury as it is fruity and very dry. Finely structured: the lightly astringent tannins are fruit-cloaked until the finish, the acidity glints against the dark fruit and minerals. Layers include spice, meat, old wood, cocoa, slate and a briny tang and last well into the persistent finish. The alcohol adds power, not heat. Enjoyable now, especially if carafed an hour or two in advance, but still a little primary. Will be interesting to revisit in five years. (Buy again? Yes.)
Not for contemplating
Côtes de Provence 2015, Rosé, Domaine Houchart ($17.50, 11686503)
Grenache (35%), Syrah (25%), Cinsault (20%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (15%) from vines rooted in clay and limestone. Most of the fruit was harvested mechanically. The varieties were vinified separately. Ninety percent of the fruit was direct pressed (pneumatic press); the remainder underwent cold maceration (10°C) for 12 to 24 hours. The chilled must was allowed to settle, then fermented in temperature-controlled (18°C) stainless steel vats for 12 to 24 days. After blending, the wine was bottled and closed with a screwcap. Reducing sugar: 4.4 g/l. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Franc-Vins.
Pickled nectarine, strawberry, sun-baked quartz, a whiff of garrigue. Vibrant, glyceriny fruit dominates from entry through mid-palate, then gives way to more mineral, saline and savoury flavours. Bright acidity brings freshness. A red berry/cherry note and some sotto voce orange sound as the finish fades to a faintly bitter aftertaste. So far, so good. Unfortunately, the perceived sugar levels – the SAQ figure seems so low as to have one questioning its accuracy – make this a bit cloying after a glass or two. One of those wines that are pleasant enough to sip but that you don’t want to think too much about when drinking. (Buy again? While waiting for the 2015 Alzipratu to show up, maybe.)
The evening before, friends and I found Tempier’s 2014 Bandol rosé to be a glorious, synergistic pairing for Chez Tante Paulette’s chicken bouillabaisse. The following evening with the leftovers, this was an interactionless meh.
Green dream
IGT Terre Siciliane 2014, Vignaverde, Marco De Bartoli ($26.90, 12755152)
This is the second vintage of the wine and the first vintage sold at the SAQ (the 2013 was available through the private import channel). 100% Grillo from organically farmed 20-year-old vines grown in the Samperi vineyard. Manually harvested and gently pressed, the grapes were picked earlier than is the case for the fruit used to make the estate’s Marsalas and oak-aged Grillo (late August as opposed to early September), the idea being to produce a fresher wine. The must was chilled and clarified by settling for 48 hours, then fermented with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled 50 hl stainless steel tanks. Matured on the lees for six months, also in stainless steel tanks. Sulphur use is kept to a minimum. 11.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oneopole.
Wafting nose of honey-dipped apple, lemon peel (pith included), sour pineapple and chalk dust. Medium-bodied, smooth and fluid. The flavours are gorgeous and unassertive – this is a wine drawn in pastels – a cross between a lemon and an apple, say, with some pear notes chiming in on the finish. A mineral underlay adds savour while delicate acidity keeps everything fresh. Limestone, chamomile and the faintest hint of anise linger long. So suave and drinkable, a beaut. (Buy again? If only I could but it’s virtually gone from the island.)
As an accompaniment, the winery suggests “whole wheat pasta dishes, sea bass rolls [or] Sicilian truffle from Hyblaean Mountains,” all of which sound good to me. That said, this seemingly mild-mannered wine proved the best pairing yet for a darkly flavourful Sicilian rabbit stew whose ingredients include onion, celery, parsnip, olive oil, bay, pine nuts, golden raisins, garlic, fennel seed, vinegar, sugar and chocolate. Go figure
Sangiovese purissimo
Chianti Classico 2013, Riecine ($28.25, 00134833)
100% Sangiovese from organically farmed grapes averaging 25 years old and rooted in limestone and clay in a 450-500 m high vineyard located near Siena. The estate is converting to biodynamic farming. Manually harvested. The destemmed grapes were placed in shallow bins, crushed by foot, then transferred to open-top vats and cement tanks for 40 days’ maceration and fermentation with indigenous yeasts. The grapes were pressed and the wine was transferred to a mix of cement tanks, used casks and big wooden barrels for 18 months’ maturation during which the wine is racked every four months. Residual sugar (per the winery): < 0.5 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Balthazard.
Lovely nose: cherry, terracotta, leather, pencil shavings, blond tobacco. In the mouth, medium-bodied, very dry and nicely balanced, restrained but not austere. The ripe-sweet fruit is remarkably pure, aglow with acidity. Sleek tannins coat the teeth and gums with a light, lingering astringency. There’s some mineral depth (more may come with time) and a long spicy finish. That the wine blossomed when chewed and was best three hours after carafing indicates a certain development potential. (That said, a glass from a bottle opened 24 hours earlier was faintly oxidized and considerably less charming.) It may not be an archetypical Chianti – the weight and texture are positively Burgundian while the fruit, so direct in its expression, seems closer to a fine Brunello’s – but if you’re a Sangiovese fan, you don’t want to miss this elegant wine. (Buy again? Absolutely.)
Odds and ends
The tasting technically ended with the preceding flight. But, as noted earlier, Steve is irrepressible. So when the Chocalán prompted someone to inquire about the reds from a Chilean producer in Rézin’s portfolio, Steve excused himself and reappeared a few minutes later with a bottle of one of those reds as well as a couple of newly arrived private imports.
Named after one of Montreal’s more dynamic young chefs, the Valle del Maule 2013, Cuvée Charles-Antoine, Louis-Antoine Luyt ($73.15/1500 ml, private import, 6 bottles/case) is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (55%) and Carignan (45%) from 70-year-old vines growing in the commune of Cauquenes. The grape varieties were vinified separately and matured five months in stainless steel tanks. 15% ABV. The complex nose of cassis, plum and savoury herbs comes with a musky/horsey note. In the mouth, the wine is rich and glyceriny yet fluid, heady but not hot. Finely structured by firm but far from rigid tannins and bright acidity, the ripe-sweet fruit is overtoned with red pepper and spice while the finish is long, clean and minerally. (Buy again? Sure.)
The Bordeaux 2014, Château de Bellevue ($28.72, private import, 6 bottles/case) is 100% Sauvignon Gris from a 1.5 ha plot of organically farmed vines averaging 35 years old and grown in the Lussac Saint-Émilion appellation. The manually harvested grapes were directly pressed. The must was fermented with indigenous yeasts and occasionally stirred during maturation on the lees. The unfiltered wine was bottled in early March 2015. 13% ABV. Classy nose of ripe white fruit with honey and anise notes. Lively and refreshing in the mouth, the fruit remarkably clean and pure. Minerals and citrus mark the long finish. A delight. (Buy again? Yes.)
And lastly, a red from the maker of the Montlouis we enjoyed earlier in the tasting: Chinon 2014, Le Dolmen, Jaulin Plaisantin ($21.30, private import, 12 bottles/case). The fruit for this 100% Cabernet Franc comes from organically farmed vines. Manually harvested. Gently pressed, macerated, fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and matured on the fine lees for six months in concrete tanks. The only additive is a tiny squirt of sulphur (20 mg/l) at bottling. 12.5% ABV. Lovely nose of red and black berries, spice, earth and a faint herbaceousness. A sip tells you this is Chinon done in a highly drinkable style: forward fruit, bright acidity, lightly astringent tannins and a clean, minerally finish. Seems a bit hollow on the mid-palate though both Steve and I think that’s a passing phase. Lightly chilled, this will be a great summer sipper. (Buy again? A refreshing, organic, private import Chinon for a shade over $21? Yes!)
Rézin is the Quebec agent for all three wines.
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 7 of 7
In a glass darkly
Valle del Maipo 2004, Gran Reserva Blend, Viña Chocalán (NLA)
Our bottle came from Steve’s cellar; the 2011 is currently available at the SAQ ($30.25, 11447588). A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (30%), Malbec (24%), Merlot (15%), Syrah (13%), Petit Verdot (10%) and Cabernet Franc (8%) from vines averaging seven years old and grown in chalky soil. Manually harvested. Destemmed. The whole grapes were cold macerated for five days. The juice was then fermented with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled (28°C) stainless steel tanks. Matured 14 months in French oak barrels. Lightly filtered and fined before bottling. Residual sugar (per the winery): 1.8 g/l. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: LCC/Clos des Vignes.
Powerful nose of roasted coffee, resiny dried herbs, “asphalt shingles” (per another taster), leather, plum and a hint of “something decomposing.” Less punishing in the mouth than the nose might lead you to expect. Full-bodied, velvety, very dry and, in its way, balanced: heady but not hot and impressively structured, the mass well shaped by round, firm tannins and surprisingly vibrant acidity. Tertiary flavours are beginning to dominate the dark fruit, which nonetheless persists through the long chocolate- and eucalyptus-inflected finish. Really needs a hunk of grilled red meat. (Buy again? Not my style but if it were, sure.)
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 6 of 7
Cambon bonbon
Beaujolais 2014, Château Cambon ($45.00/1500 ml, private import)
100% Gamay from organically farmed old vines in a vineyard located between Morgon and Brouilly. The grapes are manually harvested and the various parcels are vinified separately. Carbonic maceration takes place in enamel-lined tanks. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and with or without pump-overs, as decided by the winemaker. The wine is transferred to very old foudres for maturation on its lees. After settling, the cloudy part of the wine is lightly filtered. Unfined and bottled with little or no added sulphur. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Red currant, strawberry, and vine sap against a mineral backdrop. Classic if hefty for a simple Beaujolais. Deliciously ripe and juicy fruit upfront and a little earth in back. Silky texture and light but solid structure (fresh acidity, supple tannins) with just enough bite. The tangy finish leaves you thirsty for another sip. Compared with other Lapierre wines, Cambon can sometimes seem earthbound; this eminently drinkable 2014 is excellent, however, and – appellation oblige – delivers great QPR. (Buy again? Yes.)
Standard 750 ml bottles the wine can be found at the SAQ: $21.65, 12454991. Magnums are also slated to go on sale at the monopoly in September at $49.50 a shot (blame the lousy exchange rate).
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 5 of 7
Brett happens 