Archive for the ‘Tasting notes’ Category
Aglianico × 3
Irpinia 2011, Rubrato, Feudi di San Gregorio ($22.45, 12476680)
100% Aglianico. Macerated and fermented for two to three weeks in stainless steel tanks. Matured eight to ten months also in stainless steel tanks. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Italvine.
Cherry, slate, leather, spice, blackberry yogurt. Structured but medium-bodied and surprisingly fluid. The firm tannins and bright acidity are balanced by the dark, faintly juicy fruit. Volcanic minerals tinge the mid-palate and last well into the finish. Moreish though it needs an hour or two in the carafe to uncoil. Modern but in a good way. The SAQ used to stock several of Feudi’s wines and this bottling shows why it’s great to have them back. (Buy again? Done!)
Aglianico del Vulture 2009, Piano del Cerro, Vigneti del Vulture (Farnese) ($27.40, 12015470)
100% Aglianico from the Acrenza area. The grapes are gently destemmed. Maceration and fermentation in small wood vats with four manual pump-overs a day last 25 to 30 days. Matured in new oak barriques for 24 months. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: Montalvin.
Cassis liqueur, shoe leather, black olives and mocha. Full-bodied and, due to the combination of super-ripe fruit and heavy oak treatment, sweet (“the better to cover the rubber,” noted one taster). Spice and minerals are there but only if you look for them. The tannins are plush, the acidity downplayed. Creamy vanilla oak dominates the finish. Cloying and unrefreshing. The style may be popular – the Montreal allocation sold out fast and there’s very little left in the province – but it’s not one I find appealing in the slightest. (Buy again? No.)
IGP Basilicata Rosso 2012, Antelio, Camerlengo ($25.60, 11951961)
Contrary to what you’ll read on SAQ.com, this is neither a DOC wine nor the estate’s flagship (that honour falls to the eponymous Aglianico del Vulture, which is available through the private import channel). 100% organically farmed Aglianico from the Rapolla area. Manually harvested. Fermented with native yeasts and macerated for 25 days. Matured in 50-hl Slavonian oak botte. Unfiltered and unfined. Lightly sulphured at bottling to increase stability during transportation. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
With its vinegary aromas and sharp taste, the bottle at the tasting seemed off. That it was was confirmed by a pristine and delicious second bottle purchased and opened a few days later: a fragrant, medium-bodied wine whose black currant and blackberry fruit is veined with obsidian and Drum tobacco, framed by tart acidity and fine, drying tannins and sustained through the long, savoury finish. A perennial favourite in fine form in 2012. (Buy again? Done!)
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 5 of 7.
Native Sardinians
Isola dei Nuraghi 2013, Thesys, Pala ($20.40, 12476671)
A blend of 80% Bovale Sardo (which may or may not be related to Spain’s Bobal or Graciano) from 70-year-old vines and 20% Syrah from 30-year-old vines. Manually harvested. After pressing, the juice is macerated on the skins with added yeasts for 10 days. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation then ensue. Matured in new oak (Allier) barrels for three months. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Élixirs vins et spiritueux.
Meaty nose: dark red fruit, bacon, ground beef and oak. In the piehole, it’s full-bodied, rich, chewy and, notwithstanding the very ripe fruit, quite dry. The high extract, round tannins and juicy acidity make for a mouthful but a balanced and savoury one with a certain complexity. Some ash and oak surface on the sustained finish. (Buy again? Along with some beef or lamb for the grill, sure.)
Monica di Sardegna 2011, I Fiori, Pala ($15.45, 11766714)
100% Monica from vines planted 25 to 30 years ago. The grapes are pressed. The juice is macerated on the skins and with the addition of selected yeasts for five days, after which fermentation takes place, all in temperature-controlled (22-24°C) stainless steel tanks. Light clarification and transfer to underground cement tanks for six months’ maturation follow. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: Élixirs vins et spiritueux.
Unexpectedly complex nose: candied red currants, ash, Keds, roast lamb juice, menthol and turned earth. Velvety, smooth, ripe-sweet yet savoury. Fresh and supple despite the rustic tannins and slatey underlay. The clean finish brings a faint alcoholic flare. A fine candidate for an everyday red. Sure to be compatible with Mediterranean stews and braised dishes and probably more than OK with pizza. (Buy again? Sure.)
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 4 of 7.
Petite Arvine × 3
Valais 2013, Petite Arvine, Nobles Cépages, Charles Bonvin ($38.00, 11339915)
Bonvin is the oldest estate in the Valais region. This 100% Petite Arvine is manually harvested and gently pressed. Fermentation and maturation take place in stainless steel tanks, with regular stirring of the lees. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: AOC & Cie.
Limestone, citron, whiff of herbs (or maybe it’s the rumoured rhubarb compote). Medium-bodied. Light and clear, the fruit tends to citrus with stone fruit overtones. Grippy acidity and tons of minerals structure while a touch of residual sugar and faint spritz round and lift. Long, clean, appetizingly saline finish. Elegant and complex, tense yet balanced, the most interesting of the three. (Buy again? Yes.)
Valais 2013, Petite Arvine, Grand Métral, Provins ($34.75, 11194963)
Founded in 1930, the Provins cooperative is Switzerland’s largest wine producer and the Grand Métral is their upscale line of wines meant for consuming young. This 100% Petite Arvine is fermented in temperature-controlled tanks. 14.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Sélections Fréchette.
Nose not unlike the Bonvin’s – lemon and quartz – though fruiter and displaying honey, floral and ramen-like umami notes. In the mouth, it’s rounder and richer, more glyceriney, though similarly possessed of high acidity that’s balanced by a little residual sugar and the fruit. Again, lots of minerals and a faintly saline finish. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Valais 2012, Petite Arvine, Valais d’Or, Maurice Gay ($33.50, 12319991)
No technical info on this wine that I could find other than that it’s 100% Petite Arvine. The grapes may come from the estate’s vineyards or they may be purchased. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: SAQ.
Rich nose of cantaloupe, sweat and candied lemon. Still rounder and denser yet also – surprisingly – more rainwatery. Less acidic too. The fruit occupies the centre stage, the minerals the background. Ends on a salted caramel note. More immediate than the Bonvin but with little of the latter’s tesnion, elegance or nuance. (Buy again? Probably not though several other tasters said they would.)
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 3 of 7.
Lucid and solar
In the late 1970s, his youthful obsession with race car driving behind him, Marco De Bartoli returned to the family estate and set out to save Marsala wine from the quantity-over-quality mindset that had tarnished if not destroyed its once sterling reputation. To say he succeeded would be an understatement, as his terroir-driven, Grillo-only Marsalas are widely viewed as exceptional and peerless. In the mid-1980s, De Bartoli expanded his operations to the island of Pantelleria, renowned for its sweet Muscats. In the mid-1990s, his sons came on board, leading to the production of dry reds and whites made from local grape varieties. While the farming has always been organic, it is only now being certified as such.
We tasted two of the dry whites. A third, the 2013 Zibibbo (Muscat of Alexandria) “Pietranera,” didn’t make it out of the SAQ warehouse in time. The Marsalas we hope to taste before long, the good news being that at least one of them will soon be available at the SAQ Signature stores.
IGT Terre Siciliane 2013, Vignaverde, Marco De Bartoli ($29.35, private import, 12 bottles/case)
This is the first vintage of the wine. 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. 100% Grillo from organically farmed 18-year-old vines grown in the Samperi vineyard. Manually harvested. Gently pressed. The must is chilled and clarified by settling for 48 hours. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled 50-hectolitre stainless steel tanks. Matured on the lees for six months also in stainless steel tanks. 11.5% ABV. 15,000 bottles made. Quebec agent: oneopole.
Minerals, preserved lemon peel and a hint of mango, gaining sweat and quartz notes as it breathes. Medium-bodied but possessing a certain weight and roundness. The ripe-sweet fruit is dusted with minerals and checked by sourish acidity. A saline thread runs through the long finish. So smooth and solar you could be forgiven for not immediately noticing its complexity and depth. (Buy again? Gladly.)
IGT Terre Siciliane 2013, Lucido, Marco De Bartoli ($21.85, private import, 12 bottles/case)
100% Catarratto Lucido from organically farmed 11-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Gently pressed. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Matured on the lees for seven months also in stainless steel tanks. 11.5% ABV. 10,000 bottles made. Quebec agent: oneopole.
Shy rainwatery nose with peach and floral overtones. Drier, fleeter and even more savoury than the Vignaverde, packed with rocky minerals. Acidity is sustained but not souring, while the finish is clean and appetizing. Opening, deepening, drinkable and delicious. Great QPR. (Buy again? Done!)
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 2 of 7.
Nuragus 101
Nuragus di Cagliari 2013, I Fiori, Pala ($16.70, 12391942)
100% Nuragus from 45-year-old vines growing in southern Sardinia, near Cagliari. The grapes are pressed immediately upon arriving at the winery. The resulting must is allowed to clarify by settling. Fermented in temperature-controlled (15°C) stainless steel tanks with selected yeasts, then clarified (filtered?). Matured in stainless steel vats for a few months before bottling. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Élixirs vins et spiritueux.
White flowers, white fruit and hints of hay and lemon peel. Ripe and densish on the palate. A touch of residual sugar rounds the attack but the yellow apple turns appealingly sour on the bitter-edged, acid-nippy finish. Not complex or deep but unusual, flavourful and delivering good QPR. Uses? Sip while making dinner or, as the winery suggests, serve with non-oily white fish and seafood simply prepared in the Mediterranean style. (Buy again? Sure.)
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 1 of 7.
In the pink
Two from the first wave of spring rosés to hit the SAQ’s shelves.
Alsace 2014, Pinot Noir Rosé, Alsace Willm ($17.90, 12521401)
Another wine not listed on the producer’s website and with no technical information that I’ve been able to find. 100% Pinot Noir. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Sylvestre Vins & Spiritueux.
Pretty nose of red berries. Delicate in the mouth, fruity but not sweet (or bone-dry for that matter). Lightly brightly acidic. Not much substance or length but enjoyable for its freshness, faint juiciness and ethereal ephemerality. A patio wine par excellence. (Buy again? On a hot summer’s day, sure.)
Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence 2014, Château Vignelaure ($24.70, 12374149)
Grenache (40%), Cabernet Sauvignon (30%) and Syrah (30%) from vines averaging 25 years old. Manually harvested. Saignée method after two hours’ maceration for the Grenache; direct pressing for the Cab and Syrah. The must is chilled to 10°C and allowed to settle for 48 hours. Fermented at low temperature (17°C) and matured in stainless steel tanks except for 7% of the Cab, which is aged in a 400-litre new oak barrel. Maturation on the lees with regular stirrings lasts three months. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: LBV International.
Savoury nose: minerals and garrigue up front, fruit in the background. More substantial than the Willm but also more akin to a white wine. Dry and balanced, the extract buoyed by fine acidity. Shimmering peach and pink grapefruit are on equal footing with white minerals, while a light salinity threads through the long finish. Delicious is on its own but the real vocation of this vin gastronomique is to accompany grilled seafood or bouillabaisse. Will probably rank among the top half-dozen rosés to be found at the SAQ this spring and summer. (Buy again? Yes.)
Textbook trio
Natural wine nuts Primavin hosted Piedmontese winemaker Alessandro Barosi of Cascina Corte at a series of events in Montreal this weekend. A friend and I caught up with him on Saturday evening at the always enjoyable if often noisy Le Comptoir charcuteries et vins.
The estate sits in the San Luigi hills near the village of Dogliani, a stone’s throw from the Barolo and Barbaresco appellations. The farming is rigorously organic and loosely biodynamic. Yields are kept low and all harvesting is manual. Alessandro is a firm believer that good wines are made in the vineyard, not in the cellar, so the winemaking is non-interventionist. Only indigenous yeasts and manual pump-overs are used. Extraneous flavours like new oak are avoided and the wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined. All three wines we tasted shared an authenticity, directness and purity that gave them no small appeal.
Dogliani 2013, Cascina Corte ($24.39, private import, 12 bottles/case)
100% Dolcetto from 60-year old vines. Spends 10 months in stainless steel. Quebec agent: Primavin.
Redolent of red berries and cherries, supple and juicy with smooth tannins and acidity, a dark mineral substrate and a lingering bitter almond finish. Not as rustic or in-your-face as some but undeniably a pleasure to drink. (Buy again? Sure.)
Langhe Barbera 2012, Cascina Corte ($29.34, private import, 12 bottles/case)
100% Barbera from 10-year-old vines. Matured six months in large neutral oak barrels. Quebec agent: Primavin.
Berries again but darker ones along with some slate and hints of licorice and spice. Medium-bodied and juicy, the wine is lit up by brilliant acidity. Tannins are sotto voce, not that the wine needs more of them: the excitement here is the fruit that rings clear as a bell. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water. Our favourite of the three, a real coup de cœur for both of us. (Buy again? Oh, yes.)
Langhe Nebbiolo 2011, Cascina Corte ($35.32, private import, 6 bottles/case)
100% Nebbiolo from 10-year-old vines. Matured 24 months in large neutral oak barrels and two years in the bottle. Quebec agent: Primavin.
Closed and ungiving at first but soon opening up Classic Nebbiolo nose of cherry, turned earth, violet, dried rose petal, the faintest hint of tar. Medium-bodied and far more structured than the other two – taut with airframe tannins, tense with acidity. Once again the fruit is naturally sweet and remarkably bright and clear. Finishes clean and long. A delight. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG February 18th tasting: Impeccable and, more importantly, delicious
Madeira, 10 years, Malmsey, Blandy’s ($50.00, 10896701)
100% Malmsey (aka Malvasia). The grapes were pressed and the must transferred to temperature-controlled (18-21°C) stainless steel tanks for fermentation with indigenous yeasts. After two days or so grape brandy was added, arresting fermentation and leaving a significant amount of residual sugar in the wine. The wine was then transferred to seasoned American oak barrels for 10 year’s ageing, during which period the barrels were gradually moved from the warmer top floors of the lodge to the cooler middle and ground floors. Meanwhile the wine was racked repeatedly. 3.6 g/l residual sugar. 19% ABV. Quebec agent: Les Sélections François Frechette.
Astoundingly complex bouquet of dates, dried fig, chocolate, candied nuts, old wood, leather and more, smelling deep and old yet also fresh. Unfurls across the palate: dense but not heavy, sweet but not saccharine. The texture is satiny despite the bright acidity. The mouth-filling flavours are as multifaceted as the aromas, with toffee, dried fruit and nuts dominating. Alcohol warms but doesn’t flame the long, long nougaty finish with its dried orange peel overtones. Impeccable and, more importantly, delicious. (Buy again? Yes.)
(Flight: 5/5)
MWG February 18th tasting: Clos du Rouge Gorge rouge
A transplant from the Loire Valley, Cyril Fahl owns and farms a number of parcels around the village of Latour-de-France in the Côtes Catalanes region of the Roussillon, inland from the Mediterranean coast and just north of the Spanish border. The area forms the historic boundary between France and Catalonia and lies on the geologic frontier between Corbières and the foothills of the Pyrenees. Fahl’s hillside vineyards, which face north and east, are biodynamically farmed, worked by hand or horse and planted to local varieties (his reds don’t qualify for the AOC because they don’t contain Syrah or Mourvèdre, neither of which is native to the region). The winemaking is non-interventionist, even minimalist. As a result, the terroir is there for the tasting.
IGP Côtes Catalanes 2013, Cuvée du Patron, Clos du Rouge Gorge ($30.25, private import, NLA)
A blend of Grenache and Cinsault. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in 500-litre wooden barrels. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Reduced, sulphurous nose that eventually gives up some red fruit and earth notes (so carafe it a couple of hours before serving, all right?). No funk in the mouth, though, just pure, rich yet ethereal fruit on a frame of silky smooth acidity and supple tannins that turn a little raspy on the clean finish. Straightforward and eminently drinkable, this would be the perfect everyday red if only it were a few dollars cheaper. (Buy again? Sure.)
IGP Côtes Catalanes 2013, Jeunes vignes, Clos du Rouge Gorge ($38.00, private import, NLA)
100% Grenache from 30-year-old vines in a single parcel with gneiss subsoil. Manually harvested, trod by foot, vinified with indigenous yeasts in wooden vats for three months, matured eight months in stainless steel. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Cherry cough drop, slate, hints of violet and dill. Medium- to full-bodied, smooth, supple, dry. A delicious mouthful of ripe-sweet spicy fruit, silky tannins and bright acidity. Longer and deeper than the Cuvée du Patron, cooler and more satiny that your typical Rhône Grenache. Lip-smackingly good. (Buy again? Yes.)
IGP Côtes Catalanes 2012, Vieilles vignes, Clos du Rouge Gorge ($55.75, private import, NLA)
A blend of Carignan (80%) and Grenache (20%) from 50- to 100-year-old vines rooted in gneiss. After light foot-treading, the whole bunches are transferred to wooden vats for low-temperature fermentation with no punch-downs or pump-overs. Matured 12 months in 500-litre barrels and old casks. Unfiltered and bottled by gravity. Total sulphur dioxide is less than 20 mg/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Fragrant, terroir-redolent nose of raspberry, turned earth and wood with earthy and floral overtones and the promise of much more. Dense but not weighty. The fruit is profound – “soulless dark” to quote one taster, like the eidos of black currant juice – and perfectly balanced by the round/soft tannins and sleek acidity. Smoky minerals inhabit the long, savoury finish. The wonder is how it manages to be both immediate and remote, both upfront and enigmatic. The sweet spot of the flight. (Buy again? Imperatively.)
IGP Côtes Catalanes 2012, Ubac, Clos du Rouge Gorge ($93.75, private import, NLA)
100% Cinsault from a single parcel of 40-year-old vines. The gneiss slope is steep and faces due north. Extremely low yields (c. 15 hl/ha). The whole berries are macerated for 10 days, then foot-trod and transferred with the stems to wooden vats for fermentation. Matured 20 months in Austrian demi-muids. Bottled by gravity. Total sulphur dioxide around 20 mg/l. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Brooding, profound, turning more fragrant as it breathed: raspberry cordial, turned earth, garrigue.
Fluid yet dry and velvety tannined. Young, so primary and closed, but hinting at great depth. The dark fruit is both savoury and sweet-tart, while the mineral substrate is most apparent on the minutes-long finish. Absolutely gorgeous: du grand vin as they say around here. Probably won’t peak for another 10 to 15 years. (Buy again? If the price isn’t prohibitive, go for it!)
Demand for the Jeunes vignes is high (so much so that oenopole requires that purchasers also buy a case of the Vieilles vignes). One of the reasons is that restaurateurs find it hard to convince customers to lay down a C-note and change – what the VV will run you in a resto – for a vin de pays, however amazing. And while the MWG has been buying the white, JV and VV since they first became available in Quebec, the JV – largely because of its price – has always elicited the most interest. Yet this flight, our first time tasting the reds side by side, showed the VV to be the real QPR winner, combining some of the JV’s fruity appeal with much of the Ubac’s complexity and depth.
(Flight: 4/5)
An OK wine at an OK price
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2013, La Cuvée dell’Abate, Zaccagnini ($18.30, 908954)
Another wine not listed on the producer’s website, this looks like it could be a Quebec-only bottling. 100% Montepulciano from vines between 20 and 25 years old. Manually harvested in several passes. Macerated on the skins for 15 days and fermented (both alcoholic and malolactic) in temperature-controlled (28-30C) stainless steel tanks. Matured in 1,000-litre oak barrels (90%) and second-fill oak casks for around six months. Aged three months in the bottle before release. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Balthazard.
Red and black berries, turned earth, terracotta and a hint of black licorice. Medium-bodied and well balanced. Dry but not austere thanks to the ripe sweet fruit (cherry) and thread of oaky vanilla. The smooth surface is supported but undisturbed by soft acidity and light tannins. Gauzy minerals and a faint astringency, most obvious on the finish, add savour. Not the kind of wine that has you sitting up and taking notice but drinkable all the same, an “OK wine at an OK price” as one Cellartracker user concluded about the 2010. That said, it’s the best pairing yet for one of my winter staples: pork shoulder stewed with onions, garlic, tomatoes, while wine, chile and black-eyed peas (grazie, Marcella). (Buy again? Sure.)
Brett happens 