Archive for the ‘Tasting notes’ Category
Unorthodox Greek
I originally intended to pair this wine with a roasted prime rib of beef but, after scoring a taste in an SAQ outlet, opted instead for pan-roasted lamb shoulder, a near perfect match. The recipe came from Marcella Hazan and, to mark her passing earlier today, I’ve included it after the jump.
Nemea 2005, Réserve, Parparoussis ($34.50, 11900493)
100% Agiorgitiko. Manually harvested. Fermentation in stainless steel tanks typically lasts 20 days with up to two weeks’ maceration. Matured in 70% new French oak barrels for 12 months. 13% ABV.
Fascinating, multifaceted bouquet of pomegranate, dried cherry, turned earth, herbs (tarragon?), blood and nut skins. The fruit – sour cherry, above all – is ripe and present but, contrary to expectations, far from dominant. In fact the wine is medium-bodied, supple and quite dry, not to mention savoury, bright with acidity, structured by fine resolved tannins and nuanced by overtones of underbrush and a coppery tang. A caramel thread runs throughout and is joined by faint cocoa husks on the long finish. Surprising in its exoticism but also in its restraint and elegance. Parparoussis studied wine-making in Dijon and, while you wouldn’t mistake this wine for a Burgundy, you can definitely see the influence. (Buy again? Yes.)
It is increasingly clear that the Greek wine scene is one of the most dynamic and exciting on the planet.
Socks-on Barbera
Barbera d’Alba 2011, Punset ($21.80, 10985747)
100% organically farmed Barbera. Manually harvested. Destemmed, gently pressed and fermented on the skins. Matured in stainless steel tanks for several months. 14% ABV.
Thin and hollow on opening, this benefits enormously from an hour in the carafe. Cherry, terracotta, slate, fresh stripped tree bark on the nose and in the mouth. Fluid and, despite the 14%, medium-bodied. The ripe if bone-dry fruit is textured by lightly raspy tannins and piquant acidity. Finishes on a tangy, cedary/tobaccoy note. The alcohol isn’t at all apparent until the end. Not a knock-your-socks-off Barbera, but honest, well made and ultimately enjoyable. (Buy again? Sure.)
It’s better with Butteaux
Chablis 2011, Premier cru Butteaux, Domaine Pattes Loup ($39.25, 12093494)
100% organically farmed Chardonnay from the Butteaux lieu-dit in the southern part of the Montmains premier cru with argillocalcareous (clay and limestone) soil over Kimmerridgian marl (fossilized seashells). The grapes are manually harvested and gently pressed with their stems. The juice is clarified by settling for 18 hours, then transferred to used 228-litre, medium-toast barrels for alcoholic fermentation (with indigenous yeasts), malolactic fermentation and maturation. During its 15 months in barrel, the wine is kept topped up and racked once but otherwise left undisturbed. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. Annual production is about 3,500 bottles. 12.5% ABV.
The bottle my glass came from had been open for about 18 hours and the wine was reportedly better for it. Textbook nose: lemon, oats, chalk, flint, subtle oak and a faint lactic note. Take a sip and liquid minerals fill the mouth. Then the lemon kicks in, followed by a butter note and a plush finish. The purity, depth and balance are remarkable. It’s a little richer than the estate’s fine Beauregard but also more structured and tense, the ripe fruit, minerals and baby fat wrapped around a core of grippy acidity. A class act from start to finish. Approachable now but full of the kind of potential that makes you anxious to taste it in five years. (Buy again? Yes. Chardonnays of this quality at this price don’t come around often.)
Cultured Vulture
Have lately had little time to drink and even less time to write, but I wanted to flag today’s release at the SAQ of a wine I and many others enjoyed last November, when it was available as a private import from oenopole. The intervening nine months have done it nothing but good and, once again, it has proved to be a fantastic match for lamb, this time a stew with vinegar and green beans (recipe after the jump). Quantities appear to be limited, so fast action is advised.
Aglianico del Vulture 2009, Antelio, Camerlengo ($23.35, 11951961)
100% Aglianico from organically farmed 30-year-old vines. Manually harvested in late October and early November. Fermented with native yeasts, macerated 25 days and matured in a 50-hl Slavonian oak botte. Unfiltered and unfined. Lightly sulphured at bottling for stability during transportation. 13% ABV.
Alluring nose: black cherry, graphite, hints of balsam, spice and flowers. Medium-bodied. The silky, sweet-cored fruit is brightened by acidity and velveted by lightly rustic tannins. Chewing brings a tooth-coating astringency and reveals a mineral substrate. The savoury finish lasts longer than you’d expect. A here-and-now wine: not particularly deep but remarkably fresh, pure and satisfying, more so than other Aglianicos in the price range, which often seem coarse, unbalanced and untamed, like gorillas in sports jackets. (Buy again? In multiples.)
MWG July 18th tasting (2/5): Three pink Pinot Noirs
Sancerre rosé 2012, La Louée, Sylvain Bailly ($22.00, 12052246)
100% Pinot Noir from vines averaging 15 to 30 years old. The grapes are pressed with no preceding maceration. The must is chilled and clarified by allowing large particles to settle out for 24 to 48 hours. Alcoholic fermentation lasts two weeks and takes place in temperature-controlled vats. The wine is matured on its fine lees, racked, cold stabilized and lightly filtered before being bottled in the spring following the harvest. 13.5% ABV.
Pale coppery pink. Minerals, cherry and peach on the nose. Fresh and light in the mouth, with a bell-like clarity: sweet and tangy strawberry, crushed minerals, bright acidity and a clean finish. A vin plaisir if ever there were one, a pure delight. (Buy again? Absolutely.)
Vireton Rosé 2012, Willamette Valley, Archery Summit (US$24.00, importation valise)
100% Pinot Noir from five estate-owned vineyards. A saignée method rosé: the still-pink juice is “bled” from the red wine vat after a short maceration on the skins. Fermented in neutral oak barrels. 13.5% ABV if I’m remembering correctly.
Bright pink bordering on scarlet. Cherry again but sterner and stonier with a hint of something green (watermelon rind? rhubarb?). Quite intense: mouth-filling fruit, coursing acidity (softened by a hint of residual sugar) and even some tannins. The finish is drier and a little less juicy – a good thing. Substantial enough to serve with grilled salmon or even Thanksgiving turkey. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Sancerre rosé 2012, Vincent Pinard ($30.00, 11804178)
100% organically farmed Pinot Noir from vines averaging ten years old. Manually harvested. The uncrushed grapes are pneumatically pressed. The resulting must is fermented and matured entirely in stainless steel tanks. 13% ABV.
Medium pink with a grey cast. Muted nose, mainly chalk and strawberry. Dry, clean and tasty enough but also a bit flat, even monotone and not remarkably fresh. In fact, the pleasure quotient is pretty low. Could well show better at the dining table but on its own and at that price… (Buy again? No.)
MWG July 18th tasting (1/5): Swiss quartet
Valais 2011, Fendant de Sierre, Domaines Rouvinez ($19.95, 11598538)
100% Chasselas. Vinified in tanks. Matured on the fine lees. 12% ABV.
White flowers, flint, faint lemon. Light- to medium-bodied. Slight residual sugar and spritziness at first. Clean and bright if a bit hollow on the mid-palate. A fresh mint note scents the dry, bitter-edged finish. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Neuchâtel 2011, Auvernier, Domaine de Montmollin ($20.95, 00721233)
100% Chasselas from vineyards located near the village of Auvernier. No winemaking information found. 11.5% ABV.
Similar to the Fendant though showing some pear and a hint of ash. Dry and just a little spritzy. The pure fruit and bright acidity intertwine with bitter quartz on the finish. Simple but fresh and lovely. (Buy again? Yes.)
La Côte 2010, Doral, Expression, Uvavins-Cave de la Côte ($23.25, 11885609)
100% Doral, a relatively new cross between Chardonnay and Chasselas. Uvavins is a large growers’ cooperative. No winemaking information found. 12.9% ABV.
Slightly oxidized sour apple. Clean and rich with ripe fruit, just a hint of sugar, soft acidity, faint chalky minerals, a honeyed note and some hay and straw on the solid finish. (Buy again? Sure.)
Valais 2011, Petite Arvine, Château Lichten/Domaines Rouvinez ($34.75, 10867599)
100% Petite Arvine from 20-year-old vines. Vinified in tanks. Prevented from undergoing malolactic fermentation. Matured on the fine lees. 13.5% ABV.
Quartz, lemon, mountain air, faint apricot, rhubarb and apple. Smooth and rich on entry, with a winey, almost creamy texture. Somehow both present and ephemeral, the fruit is carried over smooth stones on a gurgling stream of acidity. A faint bitterness surfaces on the long, lightly sour and saline finish. Such poise and balance. Unique and delicious. (Buy again? Done!)
Moon landing
Cuvée de la Luna 2009, California, Valley of the Moon ($25.60, 11306136)
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (86%), Merlot (8%), Malbec (5%) and Cabernet Franc (1%) from vineyards in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma Mountain and Dry Creek Valley. Fermented in stainless steel. Matured 24 months in French, American and Hungarian oak barrels. 14% ABV.
Plum and cherry but no cassis, a light overlay of smoky oak, hints of dark spices. Sun-ripe but dry. Plush textured. Verging on full-bodied. There’s enough acidity and tannic structure to keep things focused and dark minerals to avoid monotonality. A surprising umami note joins the excpected oak on a decent finish. An admirable restraint is showing here – this isn’t a fruit bomb – and the winemaking is textbook. Unfortunately, textbooks don’t teach you how to add soul. (Buy again? If in the mood for a $25 industrially produced New World Cabernet Sauvignon, maybe.)
Go-to Gaillac
Gaillac 2011, Peyrouzelles, Causse Marines ($18.60, 00709931)
Organically farmed Syrah (35%), Duras (30%), Braucol (aka Fer, 25%) and Jurançon Noir (5%) from 15- to 20-year-old vines. Mechanically destemmed. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and macerated in temperature-controlled fiber vats for about two weeks. After a brief settling, the wine is racked into old barrels for maturation. 14% ABV.
A bit farty and sulphurous at first – probably due to the reduction-prone Duras though nothing 30 minutes in a carafe can’t take care of – then spicy red plum and blackberry with pencil shavings, turned earth, a whiff of red meat and a hint of flowers (distant lilac?). Medium-bodied if a little heady. Smooth, silky and very dry. Your first impression is that it’s fruitier than is actually the case. There’s fruit, of course, but it’s as savoury as sweet, riddled with acidity and plushed by tannins. Earth, wood and stone persist into the finish and leave faint sour, astringent, bitter and alcoholic notes bobbing in their wake. You’ll want to drink this lightly chilled, ideally alongside herby grilled pork or, once the cool weather returns, a confit duck leg, whose fat the acidity will cut like a scalpel. (Buy again? For sure.)
A new trip down Strada provinciale 68
This showed up unannounced in 23 SAQ outlets yesterday. What’s more, in contrast to last year’s Occhipintalypse, the outlets involved have received multiple cases. While we may be looking at the first wave of an eventual wider release (the Quebec agent reports that this year’s allocation is 2,400 bottles, nearly 10% of the total production), chances are good it will fly off the shelves. You have been warned.
IGT Sicilia 2012, SP68 Rosso, Arianna Occhipinti ($25.20, 11811765)
A blend (usually 50-50, though one or two Italian sites say the 2012 is 70-30) of organically farmed Nero d’Avola and Frappato from vines averaging ten years of age. Manually harvested. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Macerated 30 days on the skins with daily pump-overs and punch-downs. Aged six months on the lees in tanks and two months in the bottle. Sees only stainless steel until bottling. Bottled unfiltered, unfined and with minimal sulphur dioxide. 12.5% ABV.
The expected cherry and berries are there but in 2012 they’re sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper and joined by earth, slate, spice (fennel seed?) and a lifting floral note. In the mouth, it’s a fresh and fluid middleweight. The fruit starts out juicy, sweet and bright but is soon darkened by minerals, souring acidity and a light tannic astringency. After the other flavours fade, a faint bitterness lingers, drawing you back for another sip to sweeten the palate and start the cycle anew. As loveable as ever and one of the food-friendliest wines in the universe. (Buy again? In multiples.)
The price has crept up $2.50 from the 2011 sold last November. Yet as a Web search shows, shops in New York City are listing the wine for US$28 and even US$30, and that’s before sales taxes, which are included in the SAQ’s price. The exchange rate may be a factor in the rise, as may Arianna’s growing renown. That said, you can bring the price down to last year’s level by reserving your bottles now and buying them on Friday through Sunday, August 2 through 4, when the SAQ is offering a 10% discount on purchases of $100 or more.
Greybeard or bore?
In Italian, grigio means grey or, of a person, grizzled. Figuratively, it also means dull, drab, dreary.
Chianti Classico Riserva 2008, Il Grigio, San Felice ($26.35, 00703363)
Also available in half bottles ($14.80, 00702100). 100% Sangiovese from various estate-owned vineyards. Fermented on the skins at 28-30ºC for close to three weeks followed by malolactic fermentation, all in stainless steel tanks. Transferred to a mix of Slavonian oak botti and fewer French oak barriques for 24 months’ maturation. 13% ABV per SAQ.com for the 750 ml bottle; 13.5% ABV per the label; 14% ABV per SAQ.com for the 375 ml bottle.
Dark nose: black cherry, plum, slate, terracotta, a whiff of fresh cut hay and overtones of cedar and kirsch. Medium-bodied. The lean fruit nearly gets lost among the other flavours, especially the tobacco, wood (as distinct from oak) and spice. The acidity is piquant, the fine tannins unresolved enough to leave a mouth-coating astringency. Chocolate, dried blood and nutmeg mingle on the drying finish. Decent enough but also earthbound, lacking dazzle, excitement. (Buy again? Meh.)
Brett happens 