Archive for the ‘Tasting notes’ Category
Tocai, er, not Tocai
Collio 2009, Friulano, Mario Schiopetto ($25.90, 11450066)
100% Tocai Friulano. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Aged on the lees for eight months. 13% ABV.
Sour straw, orange blossom, honey, chalk and quartz. The unctuous texture has you thinking the wine will be sweet but, no, it’s actually quite dry. There’s plenty of acidity too, though the extract makes it easy to miss. The fruit is understated, the minerals aren’t. Both are subsumed in a final swell of bitterness and a faint alcoholic burn that fade into blanched almonds and pear. (Buy again? Yes, unless I can score some of Borgo San Daniele‘s peerless bottling. Yo, oenopole!)
Better at table than as an aperitif, it proved a passable match for a herb-scented stew of mussels, cranberry beans and tomatoes. A better pairing for the stew would have been a less dense, bone-dry white (a Pecorino, maybe, or an Assyrtiko). A better pairing for the wine would have been something like tagliolini tossed with prosciutto, cream, Parmesan and poppy seeds.
MWG August 16th tasting: report (5/5)
Vintage Port 1985, Graham’s ($46.38 in 1990 or thereabouts)
Surprisingly young and vibrant to the eye: some lightening at the rim but hardly any bricking. Outgoing deep and layered nose with notes of sweet black fruit, spice (licorice?) and dark chocolate. Opulent yet lithe, the texture poised between silk and velvet. More off-dry than sweet. Quite structured though the tannins are fruit-clad and beginning to soften. The depth is only hinted at until you chew the wine. The alcohol (20% ABV) adds warmth, not heat, especially to the long finish. Always harmonious and becoming more so with age, the wine is close to peaking. Should continue showing beautifully for another decade or two.
Tasted on its own and then with a beautiful old Stilton, an astounding English farmhouse cheddar and a youngish Reblochon de Savoie, all carefully selected by Yannick to go with the wine. While the group failed to reach a consensus as to the best match, the cheddar probably got the most votes.
MWG August 16th tasting: report (4/5)
It’s funny how wines you enjoy can drop off your radar for several years. That was the case for me and Fontodi, whose wines I’d always admired but hadn’t tasted for a decade. In planning this flight, I wondered whether in the intervening years the wines, especially the Flacianello, might have gone over to the Parkerized dark side like certain other Supertuscans. I needn’t have worried.
Chianti Classico 2008, Fontodi ($27.00, 00879841)
100% organically farmed Sangiovese from various Fontodi vineyards. Fermented with native yeasts in temperature-controlled tanks, then aged in French oak barrels (not many new, I’d guess) for 12 months. Average annual production: 170,000 bottles. 13.5% ABV.
The bottle at the tasting was corked. A replacement bottle wasn’t.
Heady nose of black cherry, turned earth, old wood and kirschy alcohol. Medium-bodied, smooth and velvety. The ripe fruit gives an initial impression of sweetness, yet the wine is very dry, a sensation only enhanced by the light, prevailing astringency. Structure is provided by acidity as much as tannins. Long finish: earth, tobacco and that lingering core of sweet fruit. Not a deep wine but elegant and satisfying all the same. (Buy again? Definitely.)
Chianti Classico Riserva 2008, Vigna del Sorbo, Fontodi ($52.75, 00742072)
Organically farmed Sangiovese (90%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) from 30-year-old vines in the Vinga del Sorbo vineyard. Fermented with native yeasts in temperature-controlled tanks, then aged in French oak barrels (half new) for 24 months. Average annual production: 30,000 bottles. 14% ABV.
Textbook Sangiovese nose of great depth: tobacco, black cherry, terra cotta and only a hint of oak. Medium- to full-bodied. Astoundingly pure fruit. Finely structured: the balance between ripe tannins and lightening acidity is well nigh perfect. Deep, long and possessed of the estimable quality that Paul de Cassagnac described as “fluid savour.” Impeccable. (Buy again? My Labour Day weekend 10%-off-sale purchase.)
IGT Colli Toscana Centrale 2008, Flaccianello della Pieve, Fontodi ($82.00, 11364571)
Selected lots of organically farmed Sangiovese from the estate’s top vineyards. Fermented with native yeasts in temperature-controlled tanks, then transferred to barrels for malolactic fermentation. Aged in new French oak barrels for a minimum of 18 months. Average annual production: 60,000 bottles. 14.5% ABV.
Complex albeit closed nose of leather, mint, red fruit, black pepper and precision-dosed oak with tar and herb notes. Medium- to full-bodied. Primary but approachable. The sweet fruit is tethered by a mineral astringency. The texture is fluid despite the taut tannins and deep-running acidity. Beautiful structure and layers of flavour that reveal themselves as the wine breathes. A whiff of ash on the long, long finish. The tension – between power and restraint, between superficial allure and hinted-at depth – is something to behold. (Buy again? If I had the budget, yes.)
MWG August 16th tasting: report (3/5)
A flight of three Morgons from leading “natural” producers. In all cases, the grapes are organically or biodynamically farmed, the wine-making is non-interventionist, only indigenous yeasts are used and the wines are bottled without filtering or fining and with no or minimal sulphur dioxide.
Morgon 2010, Nature, M. Lapierre ($29.30, Rézin, NLA)
Wet stones, berries, sap and eventually leaf mould. Bright acid; light but intense fruit; fine, silky tannins. Supple and pure, the wine slips through the mouth, leaving a scent of minerals, raspberries and flowers. (Buy again? Sure.)
Morgon 2010, Côte du Py, Jean Foillard ($33.75, Rézin, NLA)
Beautiful, fresh nose of red berries with hints of spice and forest floor. Slightly weightier and more richly textured than the Lapierre. The tannins seem light until the minerally finish; in fact, however delicately, this is a structured and layered wine. Morgon at its purest and most seductive. (Buy again? Absolutely.)
Morgon 2009, Vieilles Vignes, Georges Descombes ($30.25, Rézin)
Deeper, darker nose: black cherry, dried wood, slate, faint pepper. Smooth and suave with rich fruit, a fine-grained texture and underlying tannins that turn assertive on the kirschy finish. True to the vintage, a substantial wine light on nothing except, perhaps, charm, though that may come with time. A good candidate for cellaring. (Buy again? A couple of bottles to lay down and forget about for a decade.)
MWG August 16th tasting: report (2/5)
Next up, a flight of characterful organic/biodynamic Loire whites.
Fiefs Vendéens 2010, Les Clous, Domaine Saint-Nicolas ($19.50, 11688787)
Biodynamically farmed Chardonnay (45%), Chenin Blanc (45%) and Grolleau Gris (10%). Aged eight months, 80% in tank and 20% in oak barrels. 12.5% ABV.
Honey, apricot, pear, cardamom and a faint oxidative note. Fairly light-bodied despite the dense texture. More minerally than fruity on the attack. Turns lemony about halfway through, when the acidity also kicks in. Dry, quartzy finish. The bottle at the tasting seemed simpler – but no less likeable – than other bottles I’ve had of this. (Buy again? Yes.)
Touraine 2010, Cendrillon, Domaine de la Garrelière ($21.30, 10211397)
The estate’s website provides no information other than a picture of the label. A blend of biodynamically farmed Sauvignon Blanc (80%) and Chenin Blanc (20%); some retailers claim the junior partner isn’t Chenin Blanc but Chardonnay. A small fraction of the wine is reportedly barrel-aged; again, it’s not clear what percentage or which grape variety (my guess is the Chenin). The cuvée’s name, French for Cinderella, refers to the winegrower’s practice of spraying the vines with a preparation of crystallized ashes made from burned vine clippings. 14% ABV.
Strong ash (!), faint lemon, pine needles. Dry and pure. The density of fruit is cut by firm acidity. Flavours tend to minerals and herbs, which turn bitter on the long finish. Leaves an overriding impression of austerity, which has its own appeal. (Buy again? Yes.)
Saumur 2010, Clos de Guichaux, Domaine Guiberteau ($24.25, 11461099)
100% Chenin Blanc from vines planted in 2003. Only sulphur, copper and plant-based decoctions are used in the vineyard; no sugar, commercial yeasts, enzymes or stabilizers are used in the winery. Lightly filtered after fermentation, then transferred to second, third and fourth vintage barrels for ten months’ aging on lees. Bottled with a minimum of sulphur dioxide. 13.5% ABV.
Spice, pear, quartz. Substantial and mouth-filling. Honeyed yellow stone fruit with an oxidative note and an acidic undertow. Long. Burnished and beautiful, the least eccentric wine of the flight. (Buy again? Yes.)
Savennières 2009, Les Vieux Clos, Nicolas Joly ($39.25, 10985878)
100% biodynamically farmed Chenin Blanc from 20-year-old vines in four parcels. Non-interventionist approach in the cellar involving long fermentation with native yeasts and aging in old oak barrels. 15% ABV.
Complex, faintly oxidized nose of silage, dried peach, dried herbs and alcohol (which isn’t to say it smelled hot). Structured, massive and somewhat monolithic but balanced in its big-boned way. Not fruity though there’s tons of extract, acidity and minerals. Long, saline, licorice-tinged finish. A wine to contend with. Revisit in five, ten, maybe 15 years (if drinking now, carafe up to 24 hours in advance). (Buy again? If in the mood for a powerhouse, yes.)
MWG August 16th tasting: report (1/5)
If the MWG’s August tasting had a theme, it was, in three of the flights, wines whose full appeal might not be immediately obvious and, within each flight, bottles at a range of price points. Also, many of the the bottles were from highly regarded producers. And since the people who’d signed up for the event weren’t allergic to whites, half of the wines were that colour. To go by the post-tasting comments, it was one of the most satisfying and enjoyable lineups in the group’s history.
First up, a flight of MSR Kabinetts. The wines, like all the others served, were double-decanted shortly before the tasting began.
Riesling Kabinett 2010, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Ürzig Würzgarten, Mönchhof ($24.80, 11034804)
8.5% ABV. White flowers, minerals, chalk, green apple. Somewhat sweet on the attack; dries out a bit as it goes along. Lemon-lime, pear, white grapefruit and clover intertwine with slatey minerals. Tingly acid and a faint carbon dioxide spritz provide lift. Good balance and length. Clean as a whistle and enjoyable as all get-out if a little simple-seeming next to the Prüm and Müller. (Buy again? Sure.)
Riesling Kabinett 2008, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Joh. Jos. Prüm ($35.75, 11182284)
8% ABV. Strong sulphur slowly dissipates, leaving a soft bouquet of lemon and quartz that somehow smells dry. More serious and drier tasting than the Mönchhof: light but deeper and more layered, with lime, apple, rainwater and a kaleidoscopic array of minerals that lasts through the long finish. Ends on a briny note that one taster dubbed “sea mist.” Tightly wound and barely loosening in the hour or so it was open, but the potential is tangible. (Buy again? Yes, to lay down for at least five years.)
Riesling Kabinett 2010, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Scharzhofberger, Egon Müller ($52.00, 11170435)
10% ABV. Complex and surprisingly open nose of lime blossom and minerals with hints of jalapeño and camomile. Beautifully balanced and integrated, intense yet ethereally light. The fruit is delicate, less citrusy and more white peachy than the others, the minerality crystalline. The sweetness seems natural, organic. Remarkably pure and precise – nothing superfluous. While it’s easy to be beguiled by the surface, there’s also an underlying tension that augurs well for the future. An exquisite wine on a plane so rarefied you’re almost forced to use abstract descriptors. (Buy again? Price is the only possible barrier.)
Backroom Burgundies
Quick tastes of two recent arrivals, both available at the SAQ.
The Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes-de Nuits 2009, Domaine Henri Naudin-Ferrand ($24.55, 11668698) is the bottle I’d buy, at least for opening now. Lovely “pinoting” nose of red berries, beet, forest floor and, oddly for a 12.5% wine, alcohol (the bottle my glass was poured from was too warm). In the mouth, it’s a medium-weight easy drinker, with supple tannins, ripe fruit, dark minerals and a clean finish. Acid freaks might dock it a point for relatively low acidity, but that’s the vintage speaking and it in no way affects the wine’s pleasure quotient.
The Chorey-les-Beaune 2010, Tollot-Beaut & fils ($34.25, 11473209) is more earthbound and primary, less nuanced. All the components – ripe fruit, acidity, tannins, oak – are in place and in balance but need more time to knit together. Breadth and length the wine also has; depth I’m less sure of, though that could come with aging. 13% ABV.
Wednesday evening apéro at La QV
For the last couple of summers, La QV’s Wednesday evening apéros have made midweeks something to look forward to. The most recent iteration – the last until mid-September – featured smoked Sockeye salmon and a vibrant Vouvray sec.
Vouvray 2010, Sec, Domaine François Pinon ($25.00, La QV)
100% Chenin Blanc (the estate has been converting to organic agriculture since 2003 and expected to certified organic in 2011). Fermented with native yeasts and minimal intervention. Filtered before bottling in order to minimize the use of sulphur. 13% ABV.
Pale gold with a green cast. Complex nose of grass, honey, spice, wax and a whack of minerals. Medium-bodied and totally dry, with a slightly waxy texture. A mouthful of pure, clean fruit and quartzy chalk charged by citrusy acidity (not surprising to read that Riesling is Pinon’s favourite non-Loire grape). Admirably broad and long. Made a fine pairing for salad of diced smoked salmon, watercress and sliced new potatoes garnished with lemony crème fraîche. Unfortunately, La QV appears to be sold out though bottles are sure to be found on the wine lists of the many local restaurants that snapped up cases. The 2010 “Silex Noir” Vouvray, a demi-sec and reportedly the cuvée that Pinon most enjoys drinking, is still available on a private import basis ($25.50, 6 bottles/case).
MWG July 13th tasting: report (5/5)
Zero de Gris 2009, Frontenac Gris, Huff Estates ($34.95/375 ml)
The winery’s first ever late harvest wine (reportedly it would be an ice wine if VQA rules admitted the grape variety). 100% Frontenac Gris picked when the outside temperature is well below 0ºC (32ºF). Fermented and aged in stainless steel. 11.5% ABV. 300 cases made.
Rich amber in the glass. Spicy, slightly resinous nose reminiscent of goldenrod honey. Medium weight. Sweet but not sacharine or syrupy. Good acidity. Clean citrus and stone fruit linger long. While lacking the kaleidocopic flavours and acidic dazzle of the best Vidal ice wines, this is a pleasant after-dinner sipper.
MWG July 13th tasting: report (4/5)
Pinot Noir 2009, VQA Prince Edward County, Casa-Dea Estates Winery ($20)
Aged 15 months in oak barrels (not new ones, I’d wager). 12.2% ABV.
“Cherry slush” (in the words of one taster) and forest floor: doesn’t really pinote. Light- to medium-bodied. Reedy tannins and tart fruit, like red currants. Flat and lacking depth, though there are some tasty minerals on the finish. Not bad but far better Pinots can be had for about the same price. (Buy again? No.)
Pinot Noir 2008, VQA Prince Edward County, Exultet Estates ($35)
The first vintage of this wine. Can’t find any technical info on the 2008 but the 2009 was aged in new oak barrels for about one year. 12.8% ABV.
Earth, berries, beet and some oak on the nose. Initially a dichotomy of fruit and oak in the mouth. Improved with breathing, gaining depth, breadth and balance and eventually holding its own against the Old Third Vineyard and the Hardie. 2008 was a tough vintage in Ontario; this medium-bodied wine was good enough that I’d be interested in tasting the 2009. (Buy again? Maybe a bottle of the 2009.)
Pinot Noir 2009, Cuvée County, VQA Prince Edward County, Rosehall Run ($22)
Made from fruit sourced from various Hillier area vineyards, including the estate’s own. Aged about one year in French oak barrels (no info on their age but probably not a high percentage of new). 12.5% ABV.
Nose of red berries and shoe leather. Smooth and simple, tasting of red berries and beet. Light, tight tannins. Good acidity and minerality. A refreshing, somewhat earthy quaffer. (Buy again? Yes.)
Pinot Noir 2009, County, Unfiltered, VQA Prince Edward County, Norman Hardie ($39)
Aged 11 months in small oak barrels, 40% new. 11.5% ABV.
Rich, Burgundian nose of earth, red berries and oak. Smooth, round, delimited. Pure fruit, a silky texture, fresh acidity and fine tannins. Sits lightly on the palate yet has substance and presence as well as an underlying stoniness. A wine with nearly everything except éclat. Pricey. (Buy again? At $25 probably; at nearly $40 probably not.)
Pinot Noir 2010, The Old Third Vineyard ($42)
Specializing exclusively in Pinot Noir, the winery planted its first vines in 2005. Total production, including a semi-sweet botrytized Pinot Noir, is under 500 cases. High density planting and severe selection keep yields low. This cuvée is fermented in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts, then racked into French oak barrels, a fraction of which are new, where it matures for about one year. Bottled unfiltered, unfined and minimally sulphured. 12.5% ABV.
Ça pinote like none of the others. A silky textured welterweight. The tart red fruit is rooted in stony bedrock, structured by fine tannins, buttressed by woody oak and present through the long finish. Has a depth and complexity that the other wines lack and a combination of elegance and earthiness evocative of Burgundy. (Buy again? Yes.)
Brett happens 