Red Rivière
Fronsac 2006, Château de la Rivière ($29.95, 11588348)
Merlot (83%), Cabernet Sauvignon (7%), Cabernet Franc (5%) and Malbec (5%). Alcoholic fermentation and maceration lasted four weeks and took place in temperature-controlled concrete and stainless steel vats. Malolactic fermentation took place in new barrels. Matured 15 months in French oak barrels, 40% new (with six months on the lees) and 60% second or third passage. 13% ABV.
Primary nose dominated by ripe cassis and blackberry with spice, cedar, dark earth and oak in the background. Denser and heavier than expected but saved by juicy acidity. The sweet, ripe, even a bit brambly fruit is shot through with firm, chewy tannins that still need a year or two to resolve but give the long finish a velvety texture. (Buy again? Fans of big Merlot-based Bordeaux needn’t hesitate but I wouldn’t buy this in preference to a more refreshing and digeste wine like the organic Côtes de Francs from Château du Puy.)
It comes as a shock to realize that this is the first bottle of Château de la Rivière I’ve tasted in over a decade. While I wouldn’t call the 2006 parkerized, compared with my memory of its more appealingly austere and nuanced siblings from the 1980s and ’90s, it does strike me as a step in that bigger-is-better direction.
Hard to read
Meursault 2011, Domaine François Mikulski ($53.00, 11436070)
100% Chardonnay, organically farmed though not certified as such. The grapes come from several estate-owned parcels in various climats and are fully destemmed, gently pressed, clarified by settling and separately fermented and matured before blending. Fermentation is with indigenous yeasts and lasts about two weeks. Racked into French oak barrels (<15% new) for malolactic fermentation and 10 to 12 months’ maturation. Fined before bottling. 12.8% ABV.
Attractive if monolithic nose: lemon, flint, faint cut hay. Taut, acidic and limestoney in the mouth, full of citrus and green apple. Some salinity and a white pepper note mark the long, clean finish. Concentrated more than rich (not a hint of butter), this starts and ends strong but is oddly uneventful in between. I’ve nothing but respect for Mikulski’s wines, so I’m guessing it’s in a closed-down phase. If that’s due to travel shock, a couple of months should be enough time for the wine to find its footing, though it probably won’t peak for another four or five years. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Beatus ille
Isabelle Ferrando acquired Domaine Saint-Préfert in the southern Châteauneuf du Pape AOC in 2002. Her 2007 Châteauneuf, one of the few wines I’ve ever called sexy, impressed the hell out of me. She recently began making a Côtes-du-Rhône. Not only does it bear a family resemblance to that CDP, it proved a great match for a grilled bavette seasoned with rosemary and garlic (recipe after the jump).
And in case you’re wondering, beatus ille, Latin for “happy is the man,” is the opening line of Horace’s second Epode, which “praises country life [and] the pristine joys of working one’s own land free from exploitation.”
Côtes du Rhône 2012, Beatus Ille, Domaine Saint-Préfert ($18.90, 11941631)
Grenache (85%) and Cinsault (15%) from 40- to 70-year-old vines grown in La Lionne (on the border of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC in Sorgues commune). The estate has obtained organic certification for the 2013 vintage. Fully destemmed. Matured six months in concrete vats. 14% ABV.
Seductive nose of crushed black raspberry and red cherry, herbes de Provence, faint brick dust and leather and a whiff of kirsch. In the mouth the wine is a silky-textured if heady middleweight. The peppery fruit, splintery tannins, nipping acidity and underlying dryness are wrapped in a gauzy veil of sweetness and glycerine. The long finish – lifted, not heated, by alcohol – leads to a red licorice, red currant jam aftertaste. While there’s nothing Pinot Noirish about it, I kept coming back to the descriptor Burgundian. Proof that Côtes du Rhônes don’t have to be fruit bombs or bruisers. Grenache lovers should make a beeline. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG June 20th tasting (8/8): Two savoury reds
Dâo 2008, Reserva, Àlvaro Castro ($25.20, 11902106)
Touriga Nacional (65%) and Tinta Roriz (35%). Fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. Transferred to old French oak barrels for 14 months for malolactic fermentation and maturation. 13% ABV.
Coffee, plum, blackberry, spice, background herbs. Smooth, rich and dry – the fruit is ripe but not sweet or heavy. Fine-grained tannins, firm acidity, some subtle slate and a long finish. Remarkably balanced and pure. Perhaps a shade less impressive than its white sibling, this is still one of the most elegant red Dâos I’ve tasted. Sr. Castro’s got talent. (Buy again? Yes.)
Faro 2010, Rosso, Azienda Agricola Bonavita ($37.50, oenopole, NLA though found on resto wine lists)
Faro is a DOC located between Messina and Mount Etna on Sicily’s northeast coast. This is a blend of organically farmed Nerello Mascalese (60%), Nerello Cappuccio (30%) and Nocera (10%) from six- to 50-year-old vines. Manually harvested. The winemaking is non-interventionist: spontaneous fermentation, no additives, long maceration with manual punch-downs, gentle pressing in a basket press. Matured 16 months in neutral oak botti and four months in the bottle. 13.5% ABV.
Complex, wafting nose of red cherry, faint rubber, cut wood, dried herbs, dried ink and eventually cheese. Medium-bodied and fluid but with a dense core of ripe, balsamic- and anise-accented red fruit. Tannins and acidity are firm, though more deep-running than upfront. The bitter-edged finish is long and savoury. A pleasure to drink, this would make an interesting ringer in a flight of terroir-driven Etna wines; I suspect it would come across as rounder and earthier but no less fresh or delicious. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG June 20th tasting (7/8): Le beau et la bête
Corse Calvi 2011, Clos Culombu ($23.15, 11910368)
Nielluccio (50%), Sciacarello (30%), Syrah (10%) and Grenache (10%). Six days’ cold maceration are followed by a 26-day fermentation/maceration with punch-downs. Matured on the fine lees. 14% ABV.
Jammy red berries, vanilla and toasty oak equal one thing: strawberry Pop-Tarts. Very ripe, very sweet fruit, velvety tannins and just enough acidity to keep the wine from collapsing on itself. The oak is laid on with a trowel. So confected and cloying I couldn’t take more than two or three sips. And where’s the terroir? A real disappointment after the estate’s seductive 2010 Ribbe Rosse. An SAQ wine advisor tells me this is popular with a certain segment. If so, it’s one I’m not in. (Buy again? No way.)
Ajaccio 2010, Faustine, Domaine Comte Abbatucci ($28.85, 11930060)
Sciacarello (70%) and Nielluccio (30%) from biodynamically farmed 10- to 15-year-old vines. Macerated 40 days, fermented with ambient yeasts, matured in concrete vats. 13% ABV.
Beautiful. Subtle strawberry and cherry, garrigue (well, maquis), sawed cedar, schist. So smooth and suave, so poised and perfectly pitched. Medium-bodied and satin-textured. Alive with pure fruit, fine tannins and energizing acidity, all grounded in earth and herbs. A faint medicinal tang threads through the clean finish. The perfect antidote to the Culombu. (Buy again? In multiples.)
MWG June 20th tasting (6/8): An organic Negroamaro
Vino da tavola 2010, Anne, Azienda Agricola Biologica Natalino del Prete ($20.10, oenopole, NLA)
The winery is located in San Donaci in Puglia, the heel of the Italian boot, and has been certified organic since 1994. 100% Negroamaro from 70-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Fermented in termperature-controlled tanks with indigenous yeasts. Unfiltered, unfined, unsulphured.
Dark berries and plum (but not, praise be, prune) with overtones of dried earth, rubber, herbs, cedar and tomato. Round and smooth until you chew, then astringent with tooth-coating tannins. Earthy yet fresh, packed with ripe fruit and juicy acidity. Black pepper, minerals and olive emerge on the finish. The alcohol (14% or 15% if I’m remembering correctly) adds warmth, not heat. Rustic and authentic: the kind of appealing, old-fashioned, terroir-driven wine that internationalization is making an endangered species. (Buy again? Yes.)
We’d intended to taste this alongside Natalino del Prete’s even more affordable Salice Salentino ($17.35, oenopole, now also NLA) but that bottle and a Sicilian rosé were AWOL.
MWG June 20th tasting (5/8): Valle d’Aosta v. Vallée de l’Isère
Valle d’Aosta 2011, Torrette, Les Crêtes ($21.30, 11951987)
Petit Rouge (70%) with Mayolet, Tinturier and Cornalin making up the remaining 30%; the estate is converting to organic farming. Manually harvested. Fermented at 28ºC in stainless steel tanks for eight days. Matured in stainless steel barrels for eight months. 13.5% ABV.
Cherry, old wood, obsidian dust, faint flowers (violets?) and a whiff of cheese. Medium-bodied but dense with ripe fruit that’s lifted by grippy acidity and firmed by soft tannins. Earth and animal notes lend the finish a rustic edge. Easy to like and a favourite of several around the table. (Buy again? Sure.)
Vin de Savoie 2011, Arbin, Mondeuse, Domaine Louis Magnin ($27.50, 10783272)
100% Mondeuse from vines averaging 35 years old and grown in various parcels in Arbin commune. Manually harvested. Fully destemmed. Fermented eight days in stainless steel tanks with once-daily pump-overs. Matured 12 months in stainelss steel tanks on the fine lees. 12.5% ABV.
Initial tomato-meat sauce eventually turns more to red berries, cassis, stones and pepper. Smooth and supple on the palate with fleshy fruit, bright acidity and round tannins (and not a lot of ’em). Cherry pits on the finish. Not much depth but considerable juicy appeal. (Buy again? While it’s a little pricey, sure.)
MWG June 20th tasting (4/8): A $55 rosé lives up to the hype
Palette 2012, Château Simone ($55.00, 11657489)
The SAQ lists the varieites as Grenache (50%), Mourvèdre (30%) and Cinsault (20%). The château’s website says Grenache (45%), Mourvèdre (30%), Cinsault (5%) and “secondary varieties” (20%) including Syrah, Castets, Manosquin, Carignan and assorted Muscats, though it’s not clear whether they’re talking about the vines in the vineyard or the grapes in the blend (I suspect the latter). Manually harvested and sorted in the field and again in the winery. Lightly crushed and partially destemmed. Pressed using a vertical hydraulic press. The press juice is blended with some saignée juice, usually in a 2:1 ratio. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Matured on the fine lees in small oak barrels. 13.5% ABV.
Deep orange-pink bordering on red. Slow to open but eventually offering a prismatic array of aromas: dusty herbs, spice chest, raspberry, cherry, yellow stone fruit, mandarin orange, flowers, hints of earth and smoke. Round and winey yet buoyant, fruity yet dry. Savouried by garrigue, minerals, threads of powdered ginger, saffron and licorice. Primary at first but revealing layer after layer as it breathes. Possessed of every dimension, in particular volume, not to mention balance and finesse. A favourite of nearly everyone around the table, this was the only bottle drained of the 14 in the tasting. As it was still developing after two hours in the glass, it will surely benefit from a year or two in the cellar. That said, the cork is as long and sound as a first growth Bordeaux’s, lending credence to claims that the wine is capable of aging a decade or longer. The very definition of a vin gastronomique and able to stand comparison with the finest reds and whites in the same price range. The world’s best still rosé? (Buy again? Yes (gulp).)
If you’re thinking about taking the plunge, the SAQ is offering 10% off all rosés, beers and coolers this Saturday and Sunday, June 29 and 30.
MWG June 20th tasting (3/8): Frankly pink
Ladybug rosé 2012, Niagara Peninsula, VQA, Malivoire Wine Company ($15.95, LCBO 559088)
Cabernet Franc (74%), Gamay (19%) and Pinot Noir (7%). After crushing, the grapes were left to macerate on their skins for 12 to 24 hours. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks. 13% ABV.
Pink heading toward cherry red. Engaging nose of red berries and spice. Smooth texture. Clean and fruity though with a savoury streak. Off-off-dry though with enough acidity to lightly sour the finish. A summer sipper, nothing more but also nothing less. (Buy again? At that price, sure.)
Bourgueil 2011, Équinoxe, Domaine Yannick Amirault ($20.55, 11900872)
100% organically farmed Cabernet Franc from 30-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Barrel fermented with indigenous yeasts. Matured 12 months in barrels. The winemaker suggests aging this for two to five years after bottling. 12.5% ABV.
Pale coppery pink in the bottle but pallid in the glass, a straw-coloured white with rosy glints. Faintly fruity nose (strawberry-rhubarb?) with whiffs of dried dill, seaside rocks, dried chlorine. Less spectral on the palate: dry, lightly and tartly fruity, chock-a-block with minerals and firm acidity. A bitter note chimes in on the finish. Seems to straddle the line between rosé and white. Its savour and strictness make it a food wine (I’m thinking a cool slice of seafood terrine). (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG June 20th tasting (2/8): Roussanne and Roussette
Vin de Savoie 2008, Chignin Bergeron, Domaine Louis Magnin ($28.95, 11901154)
100% Roussanne (aka Bergeron) from several parcels in Montmélian commune. Manually harvested. Gentle, slow whole-cluster pressing. The juice is allowed to clarify by settling at room temperature. Undergoes complete alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. Matured on the fine lees in stainless steel tanks. 13.5% ABV.
Acacia, chalk, pear, faint smoke. The combo of restraint and zingy acidity give it an airy texture. The pure fruit has wispy overtones of nuts and honey, the finish is long, bitter-edged and minerally. Fresh, balanced and beautiful, a draught of mountain air. (Buy again? Yes.)
Roussette de Savoie 2009, Domaine Louis Magnin ($40.50, 11901146)
100% Altesse (aka Roussette) from two parcels located in Arbin commune, one with vines 35 years old, the other with vines around 10 years old. Manually harvested. Gentle, slow whole-cluster pressing. The juice is allowed to clarify by settling at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours. Undergoes complete alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. Matured for 11 months in 500-litre oak barrels and, on the fine lees, in stainless steel tanks. Only 3,000 bottles produced each year. 14% ABV.
Maple-walnut doughnut, yellow fruit and a hint of something floral. A real mouthful. Delineated and tense almost to the point of unyielding. Thankfully not bone dry. Broad, deep, long and dense – but not heavy – with pure fruit, crunchy minerals, trenchant acidity and a pithy bitterness. The tail end of the bottle had relaxed and rounded the next day. A wine to contend with and, if you’re like me, surrender to. (Buy again? Yes.)
Brett happens 