Archive for the ‘Tasting notes’ Category
Mapping Rias Baixas
Rias Baixas 2011, O Rosal, Santiago Ruiz ($23.40, 11899605)
Though run by the Ruiz family, the estate is owned by Bodegas LAN, itself now owned by Portuguese giant Sogrape. The whimsical label is a reproduction of a hand-drawn map that Ruiz’s daughter sent to guests to show them the way to the winery for her wedding. This is a blend of Albariño (70%), Louriero (15%), Caiño Blanco (10%) and Treixadura and Godello (5%) from the 38 ha O Rosal vineyard. The grapes are macerated on their skins during a slow, soft pressing. The juice is allowed to settle and clarify for 15 to 20 hours and then is fermented at 16 to 17ºC in stainless steel tanks for around two weeks. 13% ABV.
Fresh nose: lime and grapefruit zest, East Asian fruit (lychee? loquat?), faint spice and chalk dust. There are two layers to this wine. The upper layer is soft and silky, with pale sweet fruit (Asian pear) and a rainwater minerality. The lower layer is denser and drier, the fruit more citrusy, the acidity providing some bite and the stoney minerals showing a bitter edge. The upper layer makes a beguiling first impression but fades by the finish, leaving only the sterner lower layer and prompting another sip to sweeten the palate. Obviously, a fine aperitif wine but with enough savour and stuffing to accompany simply prepared seafood (like my grilled spot prawns). (Buy again? Yes, though maybe not in preference to Gomariz’s benchmark – if less winey – Alvarinho.)
MWG May 16th tasting (3/5): Hatzidakis cubed
A native of Crete who worked for Boutari, Haridimos Hatzidakis founded his eponymous estate in 1996, starting with vines owned by his wife’s family. The vineyards surrounding the canava are certified organic, a rare occurrence on the island, and the vines are trained into the traditional basket or nest shape, which offers some protection from the wind and sun and helps conserve precious moisture. Like all vines on phylloxera-free Santorini, they are ungrafted.
Santorini 2011, Assyrtiko, Domaine Hatzidakis ($21.95, 11901171)
Assyrtiko (90%), Aidani (5%) and Athiri (5%), which, oddly enough, is the exactly the same blend as Argyros’s Atlantis. No maceration. After clarification, the must is fermented at 18ºC with selected dry yeasts. Matured on the lees for 40 days. Aged in stainless steal tanks. Lightly filtered and dosed with sulphur dioxide before bottling. Around 50,000 bottles made. 13.5% ABV.
Minerals on steroids, lemon and a whiff of turpentine. Smooth on entry but with some bite on exit. A mouthful of lemon with the pith, chalk, quartz and trippy acid. Long, saline finish. (Buy again? Automatically.)
Santorini 2011, Assyrtiko, Cuvée No. 15, Domaine Hatzidakis ($28.95, 11901189)
100% organically farmed Assyrtiko. Macerated on the skin for for 12 hours. The must is then separated from the grapes, clarified and fermented with indigenous yeasts at 18°C. Maturated on the lees in stainless steel tanks for eight months. Bottled manually, unfiltered with only a small amount of sulphur. 2,700 bottles made. 14.5% ABV.
Minerals and lemon again but with a candied edge. Not bone dry on the attack. The mid-palate is laden with extract, polished stones and firm acidity. A dry astringency and a bitter note creep in on the finish along with the expected sea spray. Long, long, long. Wow-worthy. (Buy again? Imperatively.)
Santorini 2009, Cuvée spéciale nº 15, Domaine Hatzidakis ($28.15 in 2011, oenopole, NLA)
100% organically farmed Assyrtiko. Wine-making is similar to that for the 2011. 14% ABV if I’m remembering correctly.
While the 2011s were silver-gold with pale green glints, this was tending more toward gold-bronze. Striking, magnetic nose of preserved lemon, dried pine needles, oxidized honey and more. Dry and complex in the mouth, dense but saved from heaviness by the firm acidity and general savour. Layer after layer of bitter minerals. The finish is long and, yes, saline. Impressive. (Buy again? Gladly.)
MWG May 16th tasting (2/5): Pink Bandol
Bandol 2011, Moulin des Costes, Domaine Bunan ($22.75, 11937974)
Organically farmed Cinsault (40%), Mouvèdre (35%) and Grenache (25%). Manually harvested. Directly pressed. The grape varieties are separately fermented in stainless steel vats for about two weeks. The wines are blended at the end of January and bottled in March. 14% ABV.
Spicy red grapefruit, nectarine and a little garrigue. Fairly dense and round. Quite dry. Minerals upfront, the fruit more in the background. Long, bitter-edged finish. Savoury and dimensional, a food wine, not a sipper. (Buy again? Yes.)
Bandol 2011, Cuvée India, Dupéré Barrera ($24.95, 11900805)
The first vintage of the pink version of this wine. Mourvèdre (60%) and Cinsault (40%). Manually harvested and sorted. The Mourvèdre is macerated one hour and then “bled” from the vat. The Cinsault is directly pressed. Fermented at low temperature. Matured seven months in stainless steel tanks. No malo, so filtered before bottling to prevent spontaneous malolactic fermentation in the flask. 13% ABV.
Minerals, dried herbs, subdued fruit and a whiff of alcohol. Fruitier and sweet-spicier than the other two rosés but in every other aspect lighter, rainwatery even. For several people around the table, this was the wine of the flight, but I found it one-dimenional. (Buy again? Probably not, especially given the price.)
Bandol 2011, La Bastide Blanche ($23.95, 11945317)
Biodynamically farmed Mourvèdre (60%), Cinsault (20%) and Grenache (20%). Manually harvested. The Mourvèdre is directly pressed, the Cinsault and Grenache are given a 24-hour maceration on the skins. The varieties are fermented separately with indigenous yeast in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. The decision whether to allow malolactic fermentation is made on a parcel-by-parcel basis. Matured between five and ten months before bottling. 13.5% ABV.
Relatively closed nose of stone fruit, red berries, dusty herbs, minerals and a hint of pork/ham juice. Rich, smooth and dry but also fruity (blood orange!) and acid-bright. Some depth and good length, again with a lingering faint bitterness. Appetizing. (Buy again? Sure.)
A flight that didn’t push many tasters’ buttons. “I like rosés but these just don’t do it for me,” said one representative of the majority. As a longtime fan of Bandol rosés, I found them appealing. I suspect part of the problem for some is their austerity: like many Chiantis, these are wines that need food to show themselves at their best. They’ll also benefit from another year or two of bottle age.
MWG May 16th tasting (1/5): ABCs
ABCs = A British Columbia sparkler.
Brut, Méthode traditionnelle, Okanagan Valley, Blue Mountain ($28.30, 11881907)
Pinot Noir (57%), Chardonnay (37%) and Pinot Gris (6%). Manually harvested and sorted. Each variety is whole-cluster pressed and fermented separately. The wines are then blended, re-inoculated with yeast for secondary fermentation and aged on the lees for 24 months before disgorging, followed by another six to nine months after disgorging. Retails for $23.90 at the winery. 12.5% ABV.
Leesy lemon and apple. Thick foam and tons of tiny bubbles. The pure, clean fruit shows some residual sugar on the attack and turns sourish, dry and a little toasty by the finish. Sugar levels aside, a soft, glyceriny undercurrent runs throughout – like mild honey I thought at first before settling on almond syrup. Also, the wine starts out like a sparkler but, the bubbles notwithstanding, ends up tasting like a still wine. Odd but not unpleasantly so. The initial sweetness makes it better as an aperitif than a food wine methinks, though the weight and texture might argue otherwise. (Buy again? Could be pushed to by national pride and the wine’s curiosity value, but better crémants and cavas can be had for several dollars less.)
oenopole’s Greek spring workshop (6/6)
Italians claim vin santo (aka vino santo) as their own invention. After all, they say, the name means holy wine. That no one can offer a convincing explanation of the wine’s holy connection is conveniently overlooked. Greeks tell a different story. They claim the name is a contraction of vino di Santorini and that the style is basically copied from the Greek island’s legendary sweet wine that was first brought to the Italian peninsula by seafaring traders.
Despite the similarities – both wines are made from partially dried grapes, usually white – there are plenty of differences: different grape varieties, drying methods, maturation methods, aging requirements and sweetness levels, with the Greek version almost always being quite sweet. The spelling of the name is also different: Italian vin santo, Greek vinsanto.
Vinsanto, 20 years, Domaine Argyros (NLA. When last sold at the SAQ, the price was north of $100 for a 500 ml bottle.)
A blend of Assyrtico (80%), Aidani (10%) and Athiri (10%) from very old vines, some in excess of 150 years. The grapes are dried in the sun for 12 to 14 days, pressed, fermented with ambient yeasts and aged 17 years in French oak barrels and another three years in the bottle. 14% ABV.
Clear brown with orange glints. Complex, fresh and lifting nose of raisin, fig, caramel and orange peel. Rich and dense in the mouth, sweet but, due to the huge acidity, not saccharine or heavy. The mouth-filling flavours echo the nose and have a savoury edge. Astoundingly long. Big yet a sipper, not exactly subtle yet a vin de contemplation. Impressive in so many ways. (Buy again? If the budget permitted…)
oenopole’s Greek spring workshop (5/6)
The last two wines of the tasting were served without food.
IGP Letrini 2008, Domaine Mercouri ($19.75, 11885537)
Refosco (80%) and Mavrodaphne (20%). Fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel vats. Matured 10 to 12 months in French oak barrels, 40% new. 13% ABV.
Red fruit and a herby almost ferny greenness. Swirling brings out an iodide note. It’s like standing in a seaside raspberry patch. Medium-bodied and dry, the fruit ripe but held in check. Dark minerals, light velvety tannins and bright acidity round out the picture. The savoury finish leaves an impression of purity and freshness. Even better than the bottle tasted back in March. (Buy again? Yes.)
> A wine this elegant and balanced is by definition food-friendly. At the tasting, I had no trouble imagining it as an accompaniment to a veal or pork roast or stew.
And speaking of revisiting Greek wines tasted back in March, I recently opened a second bottle of the Achaïa 2011, Kalavryta, Domaine Tetramythos ($15.45, 11885457). Though I popped the cork a few hours in advance in case it was still in that “weird reductive phase,” I needn’t have bothered: on the nose and in the mouth, the wine was clean, pure and savoury, a pleasure to drink and a fine pairing for pork chops in a sage-flecked tomato sauce.
oenopole’s Greek spring workshop (4/6)
Served with veal tartare studded with cranberries and made almost fiery by shallots.
Naoussa 2011, Jeunes Vignes de Xinomavro, Domaine Thymiopoulos ($17.50, 11607617)
100% biodynamically farmed Xinomavro from ten-year-old vines. Manually harvested. 80% destemmed, 20% whole cluster pressed. Very gentle pressing. Fermented with indigenous yeasts with no pump-overs. Macerated about one week, then aged nine months in stainless steel tanks. Bottled unfiltered. 13.5% ABV.
My affection for this wine is well documented (see here, here and here) and this encounter only confirmed the love. Cherry and fired minerals with sappy/stemmy, dried herb and licorice notes. Medium-bodied and fluid. Dry yet remarkably fresh. As minerally as fruity with a cranberry-like tang. So drinkable – there really is a Beaujolais cru-like quality to the wine. Joy. (Buy again? By the case.)
> A pitch-perfect pairing. The tartare’s mild meatiness backdropped the wine’s fruit, the respective mineralities echoed each other, the “cranberry” and cranberries sang a duet and the briny capers presented no issues thanks to the wine’s acidity, savour and low tannins. Genius.
oenopole’s Greek spring workshop (3/6)
Served with scallop ceviche garnished with mandarin sections, green apple, citrus zest and, surprisingly, a drizzle of simple syrup.
Santorini 2011, Estate, Domaine Argyros ($22.95, 11901091)
100% Assyrtiko from old vines (average age: 150 years). Fermented with selected yeasts. Matured six months in stainless steel tanks (80%) and new 500-litre French oak barrels (20%). 13.2% ABV.
A crystalline nose, if that makes sense; it’s like breathing quartz along with whiffs of lemon, kelp and volcano. In the mouth, not a lot of fruit per se but plenty of extract to take the edge off the coursing acidity. Above, below and around all are minerals, here fine and delicate. The long finish has a salted lemon note. Such balance, elegance and sense of place are rare at this price point. (Buy again? Imperatively.)
> You wouldn’t think a wine this savoury and acidic would work with a sweet dish but wow! It blasts through the sugar, dances with the mollusc, does acrobatics with the lime zest. Grilled fish, grilled octopus and fried squid, not to mention oysters on the half shell, make less unconventional but equally delicious pairings.
oenopole’s Greek spring workshop (2/6)
The second dish was albacore sashimi.
Vin de pays de Markopoulo 2012, Savatiano, Domaine Papagiannakos ($15.90, 11097451)
100% Savatiano. Manually harvested. Fermented with selected yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Matured on the lees for three months. Filtered before bottling. 12.5% ABV.
Candied sour lemon, overtones of tropical fruit (mango, banana, papaya), dried hay in the background. Fruity, almost sweet, on entry, though make no mistake: this is a dry wine. The clean flavours evoke lemon and quartz. The extract balances the solid acidity. A faint bitterness lingers after the fruit fades. Not profound but delivering real bang for the buck. (Buy again? Yes.)
> The wine was synergistic with the cilantro and cucumber garnish. It amped up the fishiness of the albacore (not unpleasantly so) while the fish brought out its fruit. oenopole also suggests squid stuffed with spinach and feta and/or shrimp sautéed with garlic and parsley and served with lemon wedges. It’s all good.
oenopole’s Greek spring workshop (1/6)
A group of wine and food geeks, several of them writers or bloggers, were recently invited to oenopole world headquarters for a second wine and food workshop, titled printemps grec. The wines this time around were entirely Greek but the food most definitely wasn’t, the idea being to see how Greek wines work with non-Greek dishes. Guest chef Noam Arieh Gedalof, formerly of The French Laundry and Kaizen, turned out a succession of beautiful small plates, a feat made all the more impressive by the HQ’s complete lack of a kitchen.
While waiting for the tasting proper to being, we were offered glasses of a sparkler.
Amalia Brut, Méthode traditionnelle, Domaine Tselepos ($23.00, 11901103)
Formerly available only on a private-import basis, this 100% Moschofilero traditional method sparkler will go on sale at the SAQ on September 26 and not a moment too soon. 12% ABV.
Light straw-yellow with fine persistent bubbles. Fleet yet present on the palate, pure and quite dry. The fruit tends to lemon and is accompanied by a crystalline minerality and a telltale hint of Moschofilero’s floral aromatics. The acidity and effervescence keep things lively. The clean finish brings a faint saline note. Can hold its own against any cava or crémant at the price point. (Buy again? Can’t wait.)
The first dish was a lightly dressed salad of mixed greens, planed root vegetables and herbs.
Mantinia 2012, Moschofilero, Domaine Tselepos ($17.85, 11097485)
100% Moschofilero. The grapes are macerated eight hours at 10ºC, then pneumatically pressed. Fermentation with selected yeasts and in stainless steel vats is at 12ºC and lasts 20 days with regular stirring. 12% ABV.
Lightly fragrant nose – grapey and floral (honeysuckle?) with white mineral notes – evocative of Muscat and Gewurztramner. Dry and bright in the mouth with an appealing tautness. The fruit is citrusy (lemon, white grapefruit) and, again, the finish is clean and faintly salt-crystally. Straightforward and fresh, this makes an excellent aperitif but also has enough heft to go with food. (Buy again? Yes.)
> The wine’s acidity handled the vinaigrette with aplomb. The root vegetables brought out the wine’s minerality, the bitter radicchio its sweetness and fruit. The fresh mint leaf achieved a surprising synergy. Theo Diamantis mentioned that the first local non-Greek restaurant to put the wine on its list was Toqué!, where chef Normand Laprise paired it with wild asparagus, a combination I intend to put to the test now that local asparagus season is upon us.
And speaking of printemps grec wine and food pairings, oenopole and SAT Foodlab are joining forces this evening for a Nuit greque au Labo culinaire with four visiting winemakers. If last year’s event is anything to go by, it should be epic.
Brett happens 