MWG June 20th tasting (1/8): Les Compères et un confrère
Côtes du Jura 2010, Chardonnay, Les Compères, Essencia ($26.70, 11544003)
Essencia is a joint venture between Puligny-based caviste and cheesemonger Philippe Bouvret and cult winemaker Jean-François Ganevat. 100% Chardonnay (not 90% Chard and 10% Savagnin as SAQ.com claims). I haven’t found much technical information about the wine other than that the vinification is “traditional,” which in Ganevat’s case probably means organically or biodynamically farmed grapes, whole cluster alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts, no racking of the must, malolactic fermentation, maturation in large and/or small barrels, no filtering or fining and minimal use of sulphur dioxide. 12.5% ABV.
Lovely fresh nose of ripe apple, dried hay and lemon. The freshness continues onto the palate with its round, ripe-sweet fruit (more pear than apple), buoyant acitidy and crunchy minerals. The long finish brings a hint of salty hazlenut brittle. Mouth-filling yet the farthest thing from heavy, tense yet oh, so accessible. More complete than the 2005 yet equally pleasureable. (Buy again? Posthaste – this is a second shipment and there’s not a lot left.)
Côtes du Jura 2009, Tradition, Domaine Berthet-Bondet ($25.00, 11794694)
A blend of organically farmed Chardonnay and Savagnin (70-30 according to most, 80-20 according to SAQ.com). Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Matured two years sous voile, under a yeast veil, in large barrels. 13% ABV.
Textbook oxidized Jura nose: apple, silage and walnut. Medium-bodied and dry. Fine, even delicate bolts of fruit, straw, minerals and nuts unfurl and are wafted by smooth acidity. Fresher and less oxidatively full-bore than some (which is probably truer to the true traditional Jura style) but impeccably well-mannered and balanced, this would make a good introduction to non-ouillé wines as well as a fine accompaniment to Comté cheese, not to mention white fish and lobster, especially if in a creamy curry sauce. (Buy again? Sure.)
Cabernet Franc di Bolgheri
IGP Costa Toscana 2011, CiFRA, Azienda vitivinicola Duemani ($27.70, 11838415)
The estate’s entry-level wine, recently created in response to restaurateurs’ request for a less expensive wine from the estate. Biodynamically farmed Cabernet Franc, fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and matured in concrete vats. Lightly dosed with sulphur dioxide at bottling. 14% ABV.
Appealing nose of red berries, spice and faint incense. Medium-bodied with a fluid texture not unlike some of Thierry Germain‘s wines from warm years. The fruit – cherry mainly – is pure and ripe if leaner, firmer and less sweet than the Duemani’s but devoid of Loire-ish herbaceousness (there is some dried herb action going on though). The fine, astringent tannins have a ripeness and roundness that speaks of a warm climate while the refreshing acidity seems more in line with what you expect in a cool-climate wine. A bottle that might make believers out of Cab Franc skeptics. (Buy again? Sure.)
IGT Toscana 2007, Duemani, Azienda vitivinicola Duemani ($85.75, 11794310)
Biodynamically farmed Cabernet Franc. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled 30- to 40-litre oak vats with frequent punch-downs. Fermentation/maceration lasts about two weeks.. Matured at least 12 months in French barrels and tonneaux (50% new, 50% second vintage). Lightly dosed with sulphur dioxide at bottling. 14.5% ABV.
Candied fruit and umami (dried mushroom, soy sauce) on the nose along with a touch of vanilla. Full-bodied, rich and round. The mouth-filling fruit may be sweet but it’s buoyed by high acidity and firmed by a tannic framework that doesn’t really reveal itself until you chew the wine. The oak is just about resolved. The finish could be more sustained and emphatic, though tertiary flavours linger long. While there’s no denying the wine’s quality and breeding, it’s a little too over-groomed, overripe and New Worldish for me. And then there’s the price… (Buy again? No, but well-heeled fans of California reds should check it out.)
Pora! Pora! Pora!
Barbaresco 2008, Pora, Riserva, Produttori del Barbaresco ($50.50, 11214469)
(For background information on the Produttori and their wines, see last December’s Tasting with Aldo Vacca report.) 100% Nebbiolo from the Pora vineyard. Fermented with cultivated “Barolo” yeasts in temperature-controlled (30ºC) concrete and stainless steel vats. Fermentation and maceration – with regular punch-downs and pump-overs – last 28 days. Matured 36 months in large Slavonian oak barrels (though reportedly smaller than those used in earlier vintages). Bottled unfiltered and with a small dose of sulphur dioxide. Matured another eight months in bottle before release. 14% ABV.
Primary nose: sour cherry, tarry slate and faint notes of rose and sandalwood. Perhaps a shade lighter weight than the 2007 Pora yet if anything more balanced and complete. With its silky ripe fruit, it retains Pora’s typical accessibility. But chew the wine and you’ll get a different picture, one etched – albeit finely – in tannins and minerals and hinting at hidden depths. The wine’s airframe structure, tense acidity, ideal proportions, focus and purity make it a sure bet for aging (at least a decade, probably two), not that anyone will complain if you open a bottle now. (Buy again? Absolutely.)
The wine’s already high bang for the buck is off the charts this weekend with the SAQ’s “10% off every purchase of $100 or more” promotion: two bottles will put you just over the $100 threshold and cost you $90.90, or $45.45 each. For a wine that could be the dictionary definition of a Riserva Barbaresco. For a wine that’s more classically proportioned and eminently drinkable than big name Barbarescos costing twice as much or more. That constitutes an unbeatable bargain. A QPR winner if ever there were one.
Gang of Rhônes
Daumen is a fairly new line of négociant wines from southern Rhône producer Domaine de la Vieille Julienne. The handsome labels (Côtes-du-Rhône, Lirac, Gigondas, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Principauté d’Orange) were designed by a Quebec firm.
Côtes-du-Rhône 2010, Daumen ($19.00, 11509857)
Organically farmed Grenache (60%), Syrah (30%) and Mourvèdre (6%). Unlike the label’s Lirac and Gigondas but like the VDP de la principauté d’Orange (an old-vine Cabernet Sauvignon–Merlot blend available as a private import from oenopole), the grapes come from Daumen’s own vineyards. They are also co-planted, so this is a field blend. The grapes were hand-picked, sorted, partially destemmed, fermented in temperature-controlled vats with indigenous yeasts, matured approximately 12 months in concrete vats and neutral 50-hl barrels and bottled unfiltered and unfined. Sulphur is added – and then minimally – only just before bottling. 14% ABV.
Crushed blackberry (fruit and leaves), cherry pit, old wood. Medium-bodied and dry. The fruit is held back, leaving room for dark minerals and black pepper. Freshening acidity and fine if teeth-coating tannins only add to the savour. A kirsch note chimes in on the finish. Food-friendly: a natural for a thyme and garlic-stuffed lamb shoulder of course, but also capable of accompanying a wide range of savoury dishes, including all kinds of grilled meats and vegetables. Hard to beat at the price point, provided you’re not looking for a fruit bomb. (Buy again? Yep.)
By the way, when searching for info on the wine, I noticed another cuvée from Daumen, one I’d not heard about, including from Jean-Paul himself at the MWG tasting he led: Côtes-du-Rhône 2005, La Bosse, Domaine de la Vieille Juilienne ($196.00, 11905930). What’s this? A Côtes-du-Rhône that clocks in at 16.5% and costs more than a magnum of the same estate’s 2004 Châteauneuf-du-Pape?! A query to the agent elicited the following reply: “La Bosse: A micro-parcel (lieu-dit) within the “Clavin” zone, hence CDR, which is a hill that is geologically quite different from the rest of the parcel due to the high amount of sand in the topsoil (not unlike the particularities of the parcel that yields Vieille Julienne’s Réservé in Châteauneuf-du-Pape). Over decades, the estate has noticed a marked difference in the quality of the grenache, and in exceptional vintages, like the 2005 (which is also the 100th anniversary of the domaine) makes small amounts to pay tribute to this unique parcel. CDR in name, but can put a lot of Châteauneufs to shame… 480 bottles produced.” At four bucks shy of $200 a bottle, I doubt I’ll ever taste it but I don’t doubt it’s spectacular. Heads-up, millionaires!
A Greek bearing gifts
Sideritis 2012, Les Dons de Dionysos, Parparoussis ($18.95, 11900995)
100% Sideritis (which is a grape variety as well as an herb) from purchased grapes grown near Patras in the Achaea region of the northern Peloponnese. Fermented and matured in stainless steel. 12.5% ABV.
Subdued but unusual nose: lemon/grapefruit, yellow apple, dried honey, camomile, quartzy sand and tree sap. Light-bodied and lightly fruity – think lemon and pear – but dry. The smooth surface doesn’t quite gloss over the coursing acidity. A surprising vein of barley sugar (the flavour, not the sweetness) runs throughout and surfaces on the saline finish, giving a salted caramel spin to the aftertaste. A sensation of heat – not from alcohol, more like you get from fresh chile or black pepper – lingers long. Fascinating. An excellent aperitif and a natural with mezze. Not a keeper, though; the next day, the wine was still tasty but had lost a lot of its individuality. (Buy again? Yes.)
Early in a late bloomer’s life
Fleurie 2011, Cuvée Spéciale, Vieilles Vignes, Domaine Chignard ($30.50, 11695135)
Gamay from a one-hectare parcel of 75- to 100-year-old vines in the Moriers vineyard on the border with Moulin-à-Vent. Traditioinal vinification, including semi-carbonic maceration, whole-cluster fermentaiton and no temperature control. The wine is matured in oak barriques (20% new), not large fûts. Also available in magnums ($62.00, 11695127). 13% ABV.
Dark garnet-purple: only the fading at the rim would keep you from thinking this is a Pommard or a northern Rhône Syrah. The muted nose hints at cherry, slate and violets. Concentrated and monolithic in the mouth, with a structure so massive it’d crush most Moulin-à-Vents. While the fruit is pure and ripe and bouyed by sappy acidity, an astringent streak robs it of sweetness. In fact, the tannins are reminsiscent of a young red Burg’s, though the wine’s weight is more Fleurie-like. The oak is noticeable, in other words not well integrated. Dimensions? Longer than broad or deep, though that may change with age. The elements are all there but the whole is disjointed and if not exactly rebarbative, not exactly engaging either. Needs time – say, five years in a cool cellar or double that for the magnum. (Buy again? Yes, though maybe not in preference to some of the private import “natural” Morgons, Fleuries and Moulin-à-Vents.)
A hexing Hexamer
Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg 2010, Riesling “Quarzit”, Weingut Hexamer ($21.65, 11885684)
As far as I know, this is the first Hexamer wine offered in Quebec and also the first product brought in by a new agent, Roland Bambach, a caterer and chef-for-hire whose wine portfolio appears to consist solely of this estate’s products. Based in Meddersheim in the Nahe region, Harald Hexamer believes wines are made in the vineyard, not the winery. This 100% Riesling comes from a plot in the Rheingrafenberg vineyard that is almost pure quartzite. The grapes are manually harvested, whole cluster pressed and fermented cold. The wine sees only stainless steel. Screwcapped. 10.5% ABV.
Beautiful wafting nose: lime zest, lemon verbena, linden blossom, quartz. Faint carbon dioxide tingle. The texture is rich, even luscious texture yet the wine is barely off-dry. Peach joins the expected citrus while piquant acidity adds a rhubarb-like tang. Long finish. Not a lot of layers here but as the fruit fades it reveals a plane of chalky quartz and leaves a faint sourness that erases any memory of residual sugar. If anything, the wine was even more impressive the next day. It may not have the dazzle of an MSR but its weight, wininess and subdued aromatics probably make it even more versatile with food. (Buy again? Definitely.)
Glou trade tasting with Guy Breton
In 1987, working as a mechanic and encouraged by his friend Marcel Lapierre, Guy Breton took over the family estate, founded in 1935, from his grandfather. At the time, the estate sold all its grapes to local cooperatives that churned out soulless industrial wines, in particular faddish Beaujolais nouveau. Joining with Lapierre, Jean Foillard and Jean-Paul Thévenet, the so-called Gang of Four, he decided not only to start making his own wines but to do so as naturally as possible.
The principles are simple. The grapes come from old vines and are harvested late. Synthetic pesticides and herbicides are avoided (the only chemicals used in the vineyard – and then lightly and on an as-needed basis – are sulphur against oidium and copper against mildew). Sorting is rigorous. Fermentation is spontaneous, using indigenous yeasts. Chaptalization is banned. Sulphur dioxide is used minimally if at all. The wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined.
Breton markets five wines: Marylou, a Beaujolais-Villages named after his daughter; a generic Morgon; a Morgon Vieilles Vignes; P’tit Max, a Morgon from very old vines; and the most recent addition to the lineup, a Régnié. All are made using carbonic maceration, the length of which depends on the wine and the year, pressed in an old wooden vertical press and matured either in epoxy tanks or, for the old-vine cuvées, in used Burgundy barrels. A minute amount of sulphur dioxide is added at bottling.
Once again, I was struck by the resemblence of the wines to the winemaker. Honest, approachable, down-to-earth, easy to get along with. I’d gone to the tasting thinking I’d stay for an hour and ended up spending more than three. The wines – especially the Vieilles vignes, which got better with every sip – were part of the reason, of course, but so was the company.
Morgon 2010, Guy Breton ($26.45, Glou, 12 bottles/case)
100% Gamay from 35-year-old vines. 12.5% ABV.
Lean and supple. The fruit is ripe but this is as savoury as fruity, with underlying minerals and black pepper overtones. Smooth acidity and good length. (Buy? Sure.)
Régnié 2011, Guy Breton ($30.15, Glou, 12 bottles/case)
100% Gamay, half from 100-year-old vines, half from 35-year-old vines. Spent five months in barrels. 12% ABV.
Fresh and pure with a hint of spice. Burgundy-like texture. Silky fruit, perfectly dosed acidity and a light but tight grip. The finish is long and slatey. Straightforward and elegant; if Beaujolais crus were clothes, this would be a simple black dress and a string of pearls. (Buy? Yes.)
Morgon 2011, Vieilles vignes, Guy Breton ($78.50/1500 ml, Glou, 6 bottles/case)
100% Gamay from vines averaging 80 years old. Spent seven months in barrels. 12.7% ABV.
Grapey, rich, floral note. Richer, fleshier, more masculine. The fruit is ripe but not sweet, deep-rooted in earth and slate and balanced by glowing acidity. Long. So drinkable. Breton says this is more ageable than the 2010. Absolutely classic Morgon if less tannic than some. (Buy? A must for Beaujolais lovers.)
Morgon 2011, P’tit Max, Guy Breton ($36.05, Glou, 12 bottles/case)
Don’t let the petit fool you: this is Breton’s most serious cuvée, the one that bears his nickname (his dad was Max, so everyone calls him petit Max). The early vintages were denied AOC status. 100% Gamay from century-old vines. Spent 12 months in barrels. 12.5% ABV.
Rich and deep but not very expressive nose with a bit of élèvage showing. The densest and, for now, least giving of the quartet. Liqueurish core of fruit against a backdrop of herbs and slate. Bright acidity. Long, minerally finish. (Buy? To lay down for a decade.)
Qupé doll
Syrah 2011, Central Coast, Qupé Wine Cellars ($25.30, 00866335)
Mostly or entirely Syrah from various vineyards, mostly cool-climate, between Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara. A third of the bunches are left whole. All the grapes are given 24 to 48 hours’ cold maceration, followed by fermentaiton in open vats with two punch-downs a day. After 15 days, the wine is transferred into oak barrels (20 to 25% new), where it spends 18 months. Fined with egg whites before bottling. 13.5% ABV.
Enticing, savoury, juicy nose with a candied edge: boysenberry, strawberry, spice, dried herbs, faint leather and sandalwood. Medium-bodied and silky textured. Not fruit-driven (the ripe fruit is definitely there but it’s only one in a complex of flavours that includes dark minerals, wood, spice and earth) and not what you’d call a structured wine, though there are some fine tannins and coursing acidity. An appealing astringent sourness marks the finish, a little like you can get on Sangioveses, along with a lingering black olive note. Definitely New World and not plumbing great depths but varietally correct and ultimately enjoyable. I sometimes dismiss Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noirs with an “I can’t believe it’s not Syrah.” Well, while this isn’t an “I can’t believe it’s not Pinot Noir,” it’s a step in that direction. (Buy again? Sure, though there’s not a lot left in the system.)
Brett happens 
Privateimportize the SAQ!
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Every few months there’s a wave of talk about privatizing the SAQ. Regardless of your feelings on the subject (I see at least as many downs as ups and suspect the idea is dead in the water because the unions won’t stand for it), if it ever happens, it won’t be soon.
In the meantime, here’s a modest proposal that would go some way toward assuaging those who disparage the monopoly’s purportedly pathetic selection: privateimportize the SAQ.
How would it work?
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Written by carswell
June 11, 2013 at 20:04
Posted in Commentary
Tagged with SAQ