Archive for the ‘Tasting notes’ Category
MWG January 16th tasting (8/8): Pheasants under glass
Kartli 2011, Tavkveri, Pheasant’s Tears ($28.50, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
100% organically farmed Tavkveri, which Cyril described as being a Georgian analogue to Gamay. 12.5% ABV.
Sweet-smelling nose, the red fruit sprinkled with maple sugar and joined by notes of spice, ink and wood. Smooth and supple in the mouth, with just enough tannin to lend the wine a velours-like texture. The red cherry-like fruit has a definite tang. Fun. (Buy again? Making a point of it.)
Kakheti 2011, Saperavi, Pheasant’s Tears ($29.75, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
100% organically farmed Saperavi, another red-fleshed grape. 12.5% ABV.
Surprising nose of oysters, slate, spice and a whiff of barnyard. Approachable if tense tannins and sustained acidity give this middleweight good structure. The silky fruit takes on an earthy edge that lingers through the long finish. There’s not a lot of depth here but a really interesting surface. Seems a shade lighter than the 2010 tasted last spring. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG January 16th tasting (7/8): Bella Stella
Rosso di Montalcino 2009, Stella di Campalto ($51.75, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
The 13.5-hectare Podere S. Giuseppe estate with its 5.5 hectares of vineyards has been certified organic since 1996 and using biodynamic methods since 2002. It makes only two wines (this Rosso and a pricey Brunello), a grappa and olive oil. The grapes for this 100% Sangiovese Grosso were manually harvested, destemmed, transferred into old wooden vats (the winery uses a gravity system) and fermented with indigenous yeasts. The resulting wine was matured 21 months in 225- and 900-litre barrels and nine months in the bottle. Small amounts of sulphur may have been added throughout the wine-making process. 14% ABV.
Wafting Sangiovese nose: terracotta, dried herbs (including tobacco), cherry, a hint of anisette. Medium-bodied and satiny. The fruit is sweet, the acidity bright, the tannins fine and supple. An faint iron note emerges on the long, savory finish. Lean bordering on austere but admirably pure, and the alcohol in no way stands out. While a couple of tasters dismissed it as “crantini,” the only thing holding me back is the price. (Buy again? Thinking about it.)
MWG January 16th tasting (6/8): Beau, bon, pas cher
IGP de l’Aude 2011, Kézako?, Domaine Mâmârutá ($23.50, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
Run by 30-something Marc Castan, the 13-hectare estate, which is located in La Palme near the Mediterranean coast, is converting to organic and leans biodynamic. This cuvée is almost entirely Carignan with a dollop of Syrah. Manually harvested, fermented with native yeasts, unfiltered, unfined. Minimal added sulphur. 13.5% ABV. The name means “what’s this?” in Occitain.
Plum, spice and evanescent barnyard. Pure, fluid and refreshing. Rich but not heavy, in no small part due to the vibrant acidity. Supple tannins and good length. The quaffability quotient is almost as high as for Castan’s Coupe Soif tasted in October. (Buy again? Definitely.)
Minervois 2011, Viti vini bibi, Benjamin Taillandier ($25.00, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
Thirty-something Taillandier founded his eponymous estate in 2007. This blend is made from organically farmed Grenache (60%) Cinsault (20%) and Carignan (20%). Manually harvested, indigenous yeasts, unfiltered, unfined, with a minimal amount of sulphur added only at bottling. Vegan-compatible. 14% ABV.
Plum, spice, shoe leather, a whiff of animale. Full-bodied and smooth, with soft, juicy fruit, lowish acidity, a tannic substructure and a long slatey finish. Very popular with some around the table though I found it a bit overshadowed by the Kézako’s vibrancy. (Buy again? Sure.)
MWG January 16th tasting (5/8): Biodynamic duo
Bourgueil 2012, Diptyque dernier cri, Domaine de la Chevalerie ($22.25, La QV, 12 bottles/case)
The 38-hectare organic and biodynamic estate is located in Restigné. Each year, it makes a special cuvée for immediate drinking, dubbed Diptyque dernier cri in 2012. Like all Chevalerie wines, this is a 100% manually harvested Cabernet Franc. Fully destemmed and handled gently (no pumping). Temperature-controlled fermentation with indigenous yeasts. Matured in large neutral barrels. Unfiltered. Minimal added sulphur. 12.5% ABV.
Barnyard giving way to pepper, blackberry, slate. On the lighter side of medium-bodied. Dry but full of ripe fruit (sweet at its core), raspy but not astringent tannins and refreshing acidity. Pure and tasty, an easy-drinking vin plaisir. Serve lightly chilled. (Buy again? Yep.)
Vin de Sologne 2010, Élément-Terre, Julien Courtois ($31.75, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
100% Gamay teinturier de Chaudenay, a red-fleshed grape once common in the Loire. The estate is run according to organic and biodynamic principles. Wine-making is non-interventionist. Matured in large oak foudres for ten to 12 months. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. 12.5% ABV. As of the 2011 vintage, the cuvée’s name is changing to Éléments.
Spicy/cedary nose of cherry, leather and eventually a hint of bacon. In the mouth, it’s an odd mix of juicy fresh cherry and old leather. Medium-bodied and supple yet somehow chewy, with light rustic tannins. There’s a candied edge to the fruit, especially on the flavourful finish, yet the wine is dry. As one taster pointed out, it’s actually quite Piedmontese in style. (Buy again? It’s a little pricey but sure.)
MWG January 16th tasting (4/8): A white red orange
Saar 2010, Orange, Weigut Orea ($24.00, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
100% organically farmed Pinot Noir vinified like a white – a blanc de noirs, in other words – which , if I understand correctly, the winemaker, Hervé Bar, considers an orange wine of sorts, not that I know how that works with a red grape. Spontaneous fermentation. Hands-off approach to the wine-making, including no chaptalization, fining or filtering and no or minimal added sulphur. 11.5% ABV. The estate has reportedly ceased making wine, Bar having followed his wife back to his native Bordeaux.
Colour somewhere between an orange wine and a rosé. People toyed with bouquet descriptors like lemon cookies and lime zest before one of them pegged it: flat champagne. The wine has a silky, caressing texture. The sweet-ripe fruit (apple, mango, mangosteen) is brightened by acidity and dried by a faint hint of tannins. There’s a certain depth and good length. Emminently quaffable, far more so than other still white Pinot Noirs you might name. Popular with many of the assembled tasters. (Buy again? Yes.)
The estate’s Rieslings are well regarded and its Chardonnay has been compared to Chablis.
MWG January 16th tasting (3/8): Rkatsiteli à l’orange
According to some estimates, Rkatsiteli is, by acreage, the third most planted vinifera grape in the world. It’s also one of the oldest. Most is grown in the countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, though it also has a toehold in North America, most famously in New York’s Finger Lakes region, where Dr. Konstantin Frank’s version has developed a minor cult following. The Frank Rkatsiteli is made in a modern, clean-as-a-whistle style, in sharp contrast to the three qvevri-fermented orange wines in this flight.
Kakheti 2011, Rkatsiteli, Pheasant’s Tears ($28.50, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
100% organically farmed Rkatsiteli. 12.5% ABV.
Yellow apple, oxidized pear, hints of spice, honeycomb, roasted poultry juices. Light yet intense and flavourful, with noticeable acidity and tannins. Long. Ultimately fruity and fresh, especially in comparison to the other two wines. (Buy again? Yes.)
Kakheti 2011, Rkatsiteli, Teleda ($30.50, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
100% organically farmed Rkatsiteli. 13.5% ABV. For background on the winery, which was founded in 2010, see here.
Oxidized butter, dried yellow fruit, dried herbs, dried flowers, hazelnut skins, whiff of sourness. Very dry and mouth-filling. Lots of flavour, including brown pear skin and apricot. There’s a core of vibrant fruit, acid galore and lingering faint tannins. The finish has a heady, almost volatile edge. A favourite of several around the table. (Buy again? Yes.)
Kakheti 2010, Rkatsiteli, Alaverdi ($40.00, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
Founded in the sixth century of the common era, the Alaverdi monastery has been making wine since at least the 11th century. The grapes for this 100% Rkatsiteli come from 40-year-old organically farmed vines. Unfiltered and unfined, with minimal added sulphur. 13% ABV.
Deep bronze as opposed to the other wines’ amber. Powerful, wild nose with notes of house paint and plaster along with more conventional apricot, minerals and herbs. Rich bordering on dense though in no way heavy. Structured by firm tannins and gleaming acidity. Very long. Fascinating. Needs food – something you might say about all the Georgians. (Buy again? Another bottle.)
MWG January 16th tasting (2/8): Brave old world
Most ampelographers and wine historians consider the South Caucasus region – and more specifically, the part occupied by modern-day Georgia – to be the birthplace of wine-making, with archeological evidence stretching back some 8,000 or 9,000 years. Although modern-styled Georgian wines can be found, the most interesting continue to be made using traditional techniques. The grapes – some of the hundreds of indigenous varieties found in Georgia – are picked and trod. The resulting must is transferred, along with the skins, ripe stems and seeds, to large qvevri, terracotta jars lined with beeswax and sunk into the cool ground, where it ferments (with indigenous yeasts) and matures. The process, from start to finish, is nicely summarized in this recent video.
The resulting wines are full of character – they’ve got guts, as Hugh Johnson puts it – and are unlike any other. Like Jura wines, they aren’t to everyone’s taste and even those of us who are fascinated by them may find themselves forced to abandon their usual appreciation criteria and descriptors, taken out of their comfort zone and questioning what it is they want from a wine. It’s a brave new old world and one we’re glad to have the opportunity to explore.
Kakheti 2011, Mtsvane, Pheasant’s Tears ($31,00, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
100% organically farmed Mtsvane. 12.5% ABV.
Candied peach, “scrambled egg sticking to the skillet,” a lactic whiff of cheese or whey. Fruity but dry. The sleek acidity comes out on the long finish, where it’s joined by a faintly tannic rasp and a hint of oxidation. Intriguing. (Buy again? Yes, maybe to serve with the grilled trout stuffed with green onion, lemon and tarragon from The Georgian Feast.)
Chardakhi 2011, Chinuri, Iago’s Wine ($35.20, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
Chardakhi is a village located in Kartli province near the ancient city of Mtskheta, about 20 km north of Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi. This 100% organically farmed Chinuri clocks in at 14% ABV. See this Alice Feiring blog post for background on the 2009.
Unfortunately, ours was an off bottle, though you could still tell this is rich, powerful orange wine with structure and dimension. (Buy again? Yes.)
Kakheti 2011, Chinuri, Pheasant’s Tears ($27.25, NLA)
100% organically farmed Chinuri. 12% ABV. A last-minute replacement for the off Chardakhi.
Constantly evolving nose marked by dried dill and pine resin. Medium-bodied, dry and crisp. The flavour is an odd but not unpleasant combination of fresh rainwater and oxidized fruit (pear and citrus?). A bit tannic on the finish, though fundamentally fleet. Not much changed from a year ago. (Buy again? Moot but I’m glad I have another bottle left.)
MWG January 16th tasting (1/8): Loureiro like we like it
La QV’s Cyril Kérébel joined the Mo’ Wine Group for a private import tasting centred around the agency’s newly arrived Georgian wines. We wet our whistles with a Portuguese white.
Vinho verde 2012, Branco, Quinta da Palmirinha ($21.75, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
If the estate, which is located in Gatão in the northern Porto district, has a website, I’ve not found it. The owner/winemaker is Fernando de Magalhães Pinto de Paiva. In any case, this 100% biodynamically farmed Loureiro is manually harvested, fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured 12 months. It sees only stainless steel until bottling. Unfiltered and unfined, with no added sulphur (total sulphites: 76 mg/L). Vegan-compatible. 12% ABV.
Attractive nose: chalk, lemon/lime zest, distant meadow flowers, faint hint of ash. Smooth, almost caressing, on the surface but intense at its core, alive with soft-edged yet coursing acidity. Pleasingly broad and long; deep enough too. The fruitiness makes you think there’s some residual sugar on the finish, though in fact the wine is very dry. Similar wines can be had at the SAQ but none quite this charming and delicious. (Buy again? Yes.)
Would love to taste the estate’s red vinho verde, though it looks like I’d have to cross the pond to do so.
Bodacious Barbera
While I normally shy away from oaked Barberas, The Gazette‘s Bill Zacharkiw recently waxed so positive about Braida’s 2011 Montebruna that when I ran across a bottle marked down 15% at the Marché Jean-Talon SAQ store, I put it in my basket. It wasn’t until I got home that I noticed my bottle was from the 2010 vintage.
Barbera d’Asti 2010, Montebruna, Braida ($26.05 before markdown, 11863311)
100% Barbera from the Montebruna vineyard in Rocchetta Tanaro. Fermented in stainless steel tanks for two weeks. Matured 12 months in large (up to 55 hl) oak barrels. 14.5% ABV. On the label, the letters of the cuvée’s name aren’t solid but rather composed of the names of the various parcels acquired by the estate to form the vineyard.
Cherry, fruit and pit, hints of tobacco, spice, slate, faint vanilla. Rich texture. Soft, plush tannins. Buoyant acidity. The spotlit fruit is ripe, fresh and juicy, with an appealing sour edge. Oak is held in check, adding a layer, if not depth, but not weighing the wine down. Good follow-through and lingering earth and spice flavours. In that select group of wines that capture the soul of the Barbera grape. I’d love to try an unoaked version. (Buy again? Yes but…)
I drank half the bottle and transferred the rest into a clean half-bottle, which I corked and refrigerated. The next day, the wine was much less interesting. The fruit had lost some of its vibrancy and the sweet vanilla oak was much more present. So buy again? You’ll probably have a hard time finding a bottle of the 2010. The 2011 appears to be widely available, however. But how will it compare? On the one hand, it’s Zacharkiw-approved; on the other, according to SAQ.com it clocks in at a hair-raising 15.5% ABV (2011 was a very hot vintage in Piedmont). You pays your money and you takes your chances.
Somewhereness 2013: Cave Spring Cellars
Located in Jordan, Cave Spring Cellars has been at the forefront of Ontario viticulture for more than a quarter century. It was one of the first wineries to focus on vinifera grapes and to demonstrate that Riesling was a star variety for the Niagara Peninsula. Today, more than 80% of the grapes used in its wines come from estate- and family-owned vineyards. Cave Spring also deserves kudos for packaging its wines in six-bottle cases and for providing detailed technical information on its products, something you can’t take for granted in the Yours-to-discover province (that said, it would be good to know more about the agricultural practices and if/how the wines are fined and filtered).
Riesling 2011, Niagara Peninsula VQA, Cave Spring Cellars ($18.35, 10745532)
100% Riesling from vineyards throughout the region. Cool-temperature fermentation with selected yeasts took place in stainless steel tanks and lasted four weeks. Fermentation was artificially stopped by chilling to leave a little residual sugar (19.5 g/L) in the wine. 11.5% ABV.
Appealing nose of apple candy, quartz and lime. Soft on the attack, fluid and pure. The tight acidity is balanced by a faint sweetness. Not a lot of follow-through, especially compared with the higher-end bottlings, but good in a summer sipper kind of way. (Buy again? Sure, especially at the $14.95 Ontario price.)
Riesling 2011, Dolomite, Niagara Escarpment VQA, Cave Spring Cellars ($18.35*, Trianon, 6 bottles/case)
100% Riesling, mostly from the Cave Spring Vineyard in Beamsville Bench. Cool-fermented in stainless steel tanks with selected yeasts. 15 g/L residual sugar. 11.5% ABV. The dolomite moniker refers to the dolomitic limestone found in the escarpment’s benchland vineyards.
Quartz dust, green apple, lime, a floral note and a hint of petrol. Smooth, with just enough residual sugar to take the edge off the vibrant acidity. Clean, minerally finish. A step up from the Niagara Peninsula cuvée. (Buy again? Sure, especially at the $16.95 Ontario price.)
Riesling 2010, CSV, Beamsville Bench VQA, Cave Spring Cellars ($31.25*, Trianon, 6 bottles/case)
100% Riesling from 35- to 40-year-old vines, the two oldest blocks of the variety in the Cave Spring Vineyard. Cool-temperature fermentation with selected yeasts took place in stainless steel tanks and lasted four weeks. Fermentation was artificially stopped by chilling to leave a little residual sugar (12.5 g/L) in the wine. 11.5% ABV.
The most minerally of the three Rieslings. Lots of lemon/lime, some green apple and stone fruit, notes of meadow flowers and fresh hay. A mouth-filling middleweight whose ripe fruit seems structured by bright acidity and a matrix of chalky minerals that lingers through the long finish. (Buy again? Yes, especially at the $29.95 Ontario price.)
Pinot Noir 2011, Dolomite, Niagara Escarpment VQA, Cave Spring Cellars ($21.40*, Trianon, 6 bottles/case)
100% Pinot Noir, 70% from Beamsville Bench and 30% from Twenty Mile Bench. The crushed grapes were macerated seven days, then pressed and transferred to French and Hungarian oak barrels (25% new) for 13 months’ ageing. 13% ABV.
Red berries, spice and stem. Satin-textured, medium-bodied. Supple tannins and a vein of slate thread through clean, ripe fruit that’s buoyed by smooth acidity and sweetened with a dollop of vanilla oak. The finish is nicely sustained. A drink-now wine. (Buy again? Yes, especially at the $17.95 Ontario price).
Cabernet Franc 2011, Dolomite, Niagara Escarpment VQA, Cave Spring Cellars ($21.40*, Trianon, 6 bottles/case)
100% Cabernet Franc grown on the Beamsville Bench. The crushed grapes were macerated in tank for 12 days, after which a third of the partially fermented must was transferred into barrels to finish fermentation. The remainder finished fermentation in tank before being pressed and transferred to barrels. Both lots spent a total of 16 months in French, old Hungarian and American oak barrels (30% new). 14.5% ABV.
Rich aromas and flavours of ripe red fruit, cedar, spice, tobacco but no greenness. This finely structured Cabernet Franc has a velvety texture, fine tannins, balanced acidity and a long, clean finish. The oak is discreet, even more so than in the Pinot Noir, and the alcohol doesn’t show at all. Impressive, especially at the price. (Buy again? Yes. Note, too, that the Quebec price compares favourably with Ontario’s $21.95).
*The Quebec private import prices may not include GST or QST (I’ve sent a query to the agent and will update as soon as I receive a reply). If they don’t, add 14%.
Brett happens 