Archive for the ‘Tasting notes’ Category
And now for something completely different
So I drop by my neighbourhood SAQ outlet yesterday to pick up a few bottles for this evening’s tasting. After helping me find them, the senior wine advisor says, “Oh! I’ve got something special for you to taste,” and disappears into the staff room.
Now, the last time I heard that line, he came back with a glass of 2009 Sassicaia. The time before, a glass of delicious vin jaune from a bottle that had been open several months. So you might say I’m expecting a treat.
He reappears and places a glass in my hand. Pale red, more like a Burgundy than, say, a Bordeaux. I swirl the glass, take a sniff and stop dead in my tracks. What the…?!
Tasters often find chocolate in the smell of a wine. Cherry, too. Throw in some vanillin (extracted from oak barrels or chips) and you may get chocolate-covered cherries or, in particularly egregious cases, Cherry Blossom. Usually it’s a component but here it’s Cherry Blossom all the way down. It’s like being on the Cherry Blossom production line. Like dying and going to Cherry Blossom heaven (or hell, as the case may be). This isn’t your metaphorical chocolate. Blindfolded, you’d guess someone was holding a bowl grated chocolate and cherry jam under your nose.
I shudder to think what the wine will taste like. I take a sip and… it isn’t disgusting. Medium-bodied, supple, fluid, sweet but not saccharine. There’s a focused fruity core, very little structure and enough acidity to avoid flabbiness. There’s chocolate too, but it’s an added layer, like oak can be on some wines. Totally disconcerting. It’s like drinking ludlab. Is it some sort of strange Banyuls?
Return of the world’s most drinkable Xinomavro: the sequel
Naoussa 2011, Jeunes Vignes de Xinomavro, Domaine Thymiopoulos ($17.50, 11607617)
An earlier version of this tasting note claimed (as I’d been told) that the wine was made using carbonic maceration. Turns out that’s wrong. Here’s the technical low-down, straight from the winemaker: “10 year old vines from Biodynamically-farmed Xynomavro (Trilofo and Fitia vineyards). Grapes are hand picked and brought to the winery in small cases. 80 % de-stemmed, 20% whole cluster pressed. Very gentle pressing. No pumping over to avoid extracting harsh tannins. Fermented with wild yeasts, maceration takes place for about one week…then aged in stainless steel tanks for about 9 months…bottled unfiltered.” 13.5% ABV.
Cherry, slate and spice. Light to medium-bodied. As smooth and flowing as ever, but this vintage also has a velvety astringency running throughout. The sweet-tart fruit is ripe and sun-drenched but light, not jammy. Darker, more minerally flavours, a faint green streak and a whiff of cherry cordial colour the tangy finish. Think Greek cru Beaujolais. Maybe the most accomplished of the 2009, 2010 and 2011 trio. A simple, joyful, food-friendly wine to buy multiple bottles – if not cases – of. But hurry: it’s already sold out at several outlets. (Buy again? Duh!)
[Edited on April 19, 2013]
A not-so-super Super Calabrian
IGT Val di Neto Rosso 2008, Gravello, Librandi ($28.45, 11297268)
A self-styled “Super Calabrian” made by the region’s highest profile estate. Gaglioppo (60%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (40%). Fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks with regular pump-overs. Aged eight months in new and second vintage French oak barrels. 14% ABV.
Dark nose that had me thinking of black olives, tar paper and cigars more than fruit, which tended toward fig and plum/prune with overtones of spice (licorice, black pepper) and some oak. Full-bodied and heady. The very ripe fruit tastes a little cooked and only holds it own against dusty slate and savoury flavours that echo the nose. The tannins, soft and chewy at first, turn stern and grippy on the long, dry finish. Impressive, yes, but only in that made-to-impress way: a wine that tries too hard, that pushes the grape to the limit instead of letting it speak for itself. It will appeal to the more-is-more crowd but it’s not my cup of tea. (Buy again? Unlikely.)
Noseworthy
Corbières 2010, Réserve, Abbotts et Delaunay ($20.20, 11956833)
The firm is based in Marseillette, about 17 km due east of Carcassonne. This is a blend of Syrah (45%), Grenache (40%) and Mourvèdre (15%) from three of Corbières’s 11 terroirs. The grapes are manually harvested then transferred to the fermenting vats without crushing or pumping. Fermentation and maceration last 15 days, after which the grapes are pressed, with the press wine being added to the free-run wine. Maturated in stainless steel tanks (60%) and oak barrels (half old and half new). 13.5% ABV.
Impressively deep, dark, fragrant nose: plum and blackberry, turned earth, background violets, bacon smoke and spice, especially licorice, and a hint of sweet oak. Full-bodied, with plump tannins and a velvety texture. The bordering-on-overripe fruit has just enough acidity to avoid jamminess. Mouth-filling and long but, in stark contrast to the nose, surprisingly flat and unexciting. Going through a phase? (Buy again? Maybe to give it a second chance and to re-experience that opulent bouquet.)
Hi-yo, Silver! It’s the lone Vernaccia!
Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2011, Rocca delle Macìe ($14.30, 00731570)
100% Vernaccia. The winemaker’s tech sheet (PDF file) appears to have been written by the marketing department and so provides no useful technical information. Likely fermented with commercial yeasts and matured in neutral containers. 13% ABV.
Engaging nose: lemon fruity and surprisingly floral. Light and fresh on the palate. What fruit there is – besides the obligatory citrus – is of the pear/quince variety. Lively acidity. Little depth and a rainwatery finish with only the faintest hint of bitter almond (often a marker for the variety). Yes, it’s industrial and, yes, you can find Vernaccias with more personality and follow-through*. Then again, it’s $14. Best as an aperitif or with light, vegetable-based first courses like fried zucchini flowers stuffed with fresh ricotta. (Buy again? If in search of an inexpensive, innocuous, dry Italian white, sure.)
*Not at the SAQ these days, though. For the time being, the Rocca delle Macìe is it. Yet Vernaccia is one of Italy’s oldest and most storied white wines. “Old-style Vernaccia was made as powerful as possible, fermented on its (golden) skins and aged in barrels for gently oxidized flavours to emerge. This was the wine Michelangelo loved. It can still be found like this, or in a modernized, pale version,” writes Hugh Johnson. Leave it to the beloved monopoly to stock only the modernized, pale version. It’s yet another reason to turn to the private import channel. This, for example, looks like it could be interesting.
Turkish QPR winner
Cappadocia 2011, Öküzgözü/Boğazkere, Kocabağ ($13.25, 10703754)
The winery is located in Uchisar district in Nevşehir province in central Anatolia (profile here). This bottling is a blend of Öküzgözü (70%) and Boğazkere (30%), with part of latter being aged in oak barrels. 13% ABV.
Initially shy nose: red berries, cherry jam, stones, old wood, faint spice. Soft and velvety on the palate. Medium-bodied. The clean fruit is juicy up front but dries and sours as it progresses through the mouth. Tannins are apparent less as structure, more as a mild astringency on the long, wood- and earth-scented finish. Needs half an hour in a carafe to unfurl. Simple but good, an honest wine that doesn’t taste manipulated or give itself airs. Paired with köfte kebabs as to the manner born. (Buy again? Yep.)
Recipe for a cheerful marriage
And a mixed marriage at that.
One of the best uses for leftover roast is in a tian, a simple Provençal preparation in which the chopped meat is combined with vegetables, aromatics and white wine and baked in a earthenware dish of the same name (recipe after the jump). I recently made one with the trimmings from our vernal equinox leg of lamb. As a believer in regional parings, I’d normally reach for a lighter-styled Provençal red. Having none on hand, I popped the cork on this: an outlander, yes, but it made a fine match.
IGT Sicilia 2010, Gaio Gaio, Calabretta ($21.90, oenopole, NLA)
100% organically farmed Nerello Mascalese grown on the north slope of Mount Etna. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Matured in stainless steel and Slavonian oak barrels (neutral, I’d guess). The wine is named after the winemaker’s father, Gaio, which also means cheerful, merry, chipper. 11.5% (!) ABV.
Pale red. Nose of red berries, obsidian dust, dried orange and a umami note (dried porcini mushrooms?). Light and flowing in the mouth, with a caressing texture, singing acidity and soft tannins. The fruit plays sweet over a ground base of dark minerals and finishes on a savoury note. Fresh and pure, a wine that almost drinks itself, a joy. The closest analogue would be one of the lighter Beaujolais crus – a Fleuri, say – except the flavours are more southern, solar, volcanic.
oenopole’s first-ever shipment of Calabretta wines arrived in March and sold out within days. Going by the quality of this bottle, it’s easy to understand why. Those who didn’t get any or enough can try it in local restaurants, hope for a second shipment and keep an eye peeled for the next vintage. Wines like this are why people turn to the private import channel.
Wildass cheek
Wildass Red 2011, VQA Niagara Penninsula, Stratus ($24.70, 11601143)
A self-styled “cheeky” proprietary blend of Cabernet Franc (31%), Merlot (28%), Cabernet Sauvignon (18%) and Syrah (11%) with a little Tannat, Petit Verdot, Tempranillo and Sangiovese thrown in for the hell of it. Aged in oak barrels (11% new) for 246 days. 14% ABV per the winery, 12.5% ABV per the LCBO and SAQ.
Exuberant, engaging nose of red fruit, pencil box (wood, graphite and eraser), spice, shoe leather. Medium bodied, fluid. The core of spicy, juicy fruit gains some slate and then milk chocolate. Zingy acidity runs throughout, as do the light but firm tannins. Dried herbs scent the savoury, mildly astringent finish. Maybe a little less wowing than the 2008, but still (and as always) a pure, tart and refreshing wine, one of the most drinkable, food-friendly reds to come out of Ontario. It’s not surprising to learn that the winemaker hails from the Loire. To Quebec’s eternal shame, it’s 25% more expensive at the SAQ than at the LCBO.
Baux? Oui. Beau? Bof.
Les Baux-de-Provence 2005, Château Romanin ($29.95, 10273361)
Like all Baux-de-Provence estates, Romanin is biodynamic. A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Mourvèdre (proportions unspecified by the estate or agent; SAQ.com says 30-30-20-10). The grapes are sorted, destemmed and crushed. Fermentation and maceration take place in stainless steel and wood vats, involve daily punch-downs and pump-overs and last ten to 21 days. Maturation is in similar vessels. 13% ABV.
Deep and alluring bouquet of sweet blackberry and plum with hints of turned earth, terracotta, tree bark, strawberry, garrigue. There’s also a Bordeaux-ish cassis and graphite thing going on. Dense yet fluid on the palate. Shot through with dark minerals and brightened by high acidity, the ripe fruit soon loses its sweetness and gets lost in the formidable structure. The tannins appear soft and resolved at first but assert themselves on the long, astringent, drying finish. Lingering aftertaste of tobacco and licorice. Austere and even a little forbidding, this softened and sweetened some with exposure to air, so carafing an hour beforehand is probably a good idea. And maybe that’s a sign it will benefit from a few more years in the cellar. Still, it doesn’t quite come together in the way you expect a $30 bottle to. Not bad but, relative to earlier vintages, a disappointment. A hunk of red meat (think roasted leg of lamb à la provençale) will show it in the best possible light.
MWG March 21st tasting (6/6): Four “cuvées for cellaring”
Well, that’s what Cellier called them.
Pessac-Léognan 2009, Château Larrivet Haut-Brion ($50, 11378341)
The estate is distant from and unrelated to Château Haut-Brion. Michel Rolland has been hired as a consultant. This 2009 is reportedly 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot from vines averaging 25 to 30 years old. Manually harvested and sorted. Fermented on a parcel by parcel basis in temperature-controlled (30ºC) stainless steel tanks, with daily pump-overs and rack-and-returning. Macerated from three to five weeks. Transferred to French oak barrels (50% new, 50% second vintage) for malolactic fermentation and maturation, which lasts a total of 18 months. Fined with egg whites and lightly filtered before bottling. 13% ABV.
Textbook Médoc nose: cedar, graphite, plum, cassis. Rich and suave in the mouth. Upfront fruit and dark minerals smooth the underlying tannins. The sweet-ripe finish has a lingering astringency. On the one hand, a balanced, well-made wine with some apparent depth, though pretty primary for now. On the other hand, it’s modern and a bit cookie-cutter. Wine of the flight for most people around the table. (Buy again? If in the market for a $50 Bordeaux, maybe.)
Priorat 2007, Costers Vi de Guarda, Genium Celler ($45, 11896527)
A blend of 50% Carignan, 30% Grenache, 10% Merlot and 10% Syrah from nearly 100-year-old vines. A 48-hour cold soak is followed by 30-day fermentation (at 29 to 30ºC) and maceration in small stainless steel tanks. Subsequently transferred to new French oak casks for 14 months for malolactic fermentation and maturation. Bottled unfiltered. 15.5% ABV.
Complex, savoury, evolving nose: rubber, celery salt, dried salted plums, sawed wood and slate, then soy sauce and smoke, then candied red berries, cedar and Asian spice. Intense, dry and heady. Lots of character. Dense, even chewy fruit, 2×4 tannins and souring acidity. There’s breadth and length galore but not much depth, at least for now. Blackberry tea finish. Hidden by the extract, thick layer of oak and heavy structure, the alcohol is felt more than tasted. A monolithic mouthful, not for the faint of heart. (Buy again? Not my style.)
Ribera del Duero 2006, Finca Villacreces ($37, 11807547)
A blend of 95% Tinto Fino (aka Tempranillo) and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. After alcoholic fermentation, maceration and clarification, transferred to French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation and 16 months’ maturation. 14.5% ABV.
Cinders, plum, faint sawed wood. Sweet attack, darker finish. Ripe fruit, ash and slate flavours. Big but balanced, with bright acidity and fine firm tannins. Needs time to digest the oak and, one hopes, gain complexity. (Buy again? Unlikely.)
Pauillac grand cru classé 2009, Château Haut-Bages Libéral ($64.75, 11395909)
A cinquième cru classé, actually. A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot from vines averaging 35 years of age. Manually harvested. Each parcel is fermented and macerated for 18 to 24 days in concrete or stainless steel vats. Matured for 16 months in French oak barrels, 40% new. 13% ABV.
Initially closed and stinky but developing cassis, cedar and sawed wood aromas with an unexpected floral note. Fluid and relatively supple, the structure cushioned by ripe fruit. Good acidity and integrated oak. Tannins linger through the menthol-scented finish. Primary but accessible. While it could be passing through a phase, surprisingly unnuanced, unlayered and undeep for a $65 bottle. (Buy again? Unlikely.)
While this was the most popular flight of the evening, it prompted comments along the lines of “I liked the wines but can’t see myself buying any of them” and “Not that I never drop $50 or $60 on a bottle, but these didn’t deliver the bang required for those kind of bucks.” Looking back at all six flights, others wondered whether such an uninspiring lineup didn’t imply that the Cellier concept had indeed run out of steam. In any case, RIP.
Brett happens 