Glou trade tasting with Nicolas Vauthier
As affable as he is scruffy, Nicolas Vauthier entered the wine scene as the owner of a bar, Aux crieurs de vins, that was one of the first to specialize in natural wines. In 2008, he decided to start a négociant firm, Vini Viti Vinci, based in Avallon, near Auxerre, in northern Burgundy dedicated to making unmanipulated, terroir-driven wines with no added sulphur. He learned the basics by working with Philippe Pacalet in Beaune, who continues to advise him. Nicolas sees himself as a winemaker, not a winegrower. When I asked him if he thought he might at some point acquire his own vineyards, his reply was clear: no, never. He does, however, have a talent for sniffing out parcels with great potential. And while he’s happy when the winegrower farms organically, he doesn’t insist they do: the quality of the grapes and their expression of terroir are what matter most.
He buys the grapes à pied, on the vine, harvests them with his own pickers and transports them to his winemaking facilities. Fermentation, with native yeasts, is in old wooden foudres. Some of the reds undergo semi-carbonic maceration to bring out their fruitiness.
Though his first two vintages included AOC wines, Vauthier has decided to buck the appellation system and now labels his wines as vins de France. And speaking of the labels, their whimsical line drawings of men and women in various states of undress (to view three, click on the cuvée names below) so alarmed the SAQ that it refused to accept responsibility for the bottles in case scandalized buyers returned them. In other words, the monopoly suspects that private import customers are prudes. Go figure.
Back to the wines. The common thread is purity, freshness and not just drinkability but guzzleability (look at the alcohol levels!). Unpretentious, unadulterated, expressive of their origin, a pleasure to down: what’s not to like?
Vin de France 2011, O L’Agité, Vini Viti Vinci ($25.90. Glou, NLA)
100% Aligoté, which cannot be mentioned on the label, hence the anagram. 11% ABV.
Bright and citrusy with some chalk and quartz. Light-bodied yet intensely present. Restrained fruit, tart acidity, chalk. Long finish with an appetizing sourness. Lovely. The aperitif par excellence. (Buy? Definitely.)
Vin de France 2011, Sauvignon, Vini Viti Vinci ($27.20, Glou, 12 bottles/case)
100% Sauvignon Blanc from young vines grown in the Saint-Bris area. Manually harvested and sorted. Pressed in a vertical press, transferred by gravity into vats and Burgundy barrels for fermentation and maturation. Racked and blended the summer following the harvest. Natural clarification. Bottled using a gravity feed. No added sulphur. 12.5% ABV.
Definitely Sauvignon Blanc but not of the in-your-face variety: minerals, citrus and gooseberry, a hint of grass. Light, clean, pure: ephemerally intense with laser-like acidity and a leesy/yeasty aftertaste that Vauthier says is an artifact of the winemaking and will soon disappear. (Buy? Yes.)
Vin de France 2011, L’Adroit, Vini Viti Vinci ($27.75, Glou, 12 bottles/case)
100% Pinot Noir. 11.5% ABV.
Red berries, some of them candied, slate and dried wood. The fruit is sweet and tart, shot through with minerals and wrapped in lacy tannins that come to the fore on the finish. Lingering dried herb note. Simple in a good way: direct and to the point, a wine with no complexes. (Buy? Gladly.)
Vin de France 2011, Les Rouquins, Vini Viti Vinci ($28.30, Glou, 12 bottles/case)
100% Pinot Noir from 20-year-old vines. Manually harvested and sorted. The whole grapes are macerated for about two weeks with occasional push-downs. Pressed using a vertical press. The free run and press wines are gravity-fed into Burgundy barrels for eight months’ maturation. Naturally clarified. Bottled using a gravity feed. No added sulphur. 11.5% ABV.
Like the L’Adroit but with more spice and a fresh, herbal note. Light-bodied, more structured, less of a vin plaisir but very tasty. Vauthier says it will benefit from some time in the bottle. (Buy again? Yes.)
Vin de France 2011, Le Molomon, Vini Viti Vinci (price TBA, Glou, arriving fall 2013)
100% Pinot Noir. 11.5% ABV.
Even more closed: less fruit, more wood, more structure. Tight though fine tannins. The potential’s apparent. Du sérieux as they say around here. (Buy? Probably.)
Vin de France 2011, Et pis, neuneuil !, Vini Viti Vinci (price TBA, Glou, arriving fall 2013)
100% Pinot Noir. 11% ABV.
Charming nose, a bit candied, with a crushed-leaf-like freshness. Rich and spicy, almost meaty, the fruit somehow deeper and more savoury than the other Pinots’. Beautifully structured. Fine, firm tannins give a lightly astringent edge to the long finish. (Buy again? Definitely.)
High QQ
Crémant d’Alsace 2010, Zéro Dosage, Domaine Barmès Buecher ($23.10, 10985851)
Biodynamically farmed Pinot Auxerrois (42%), Pinot Gris (36%), Chardonnay (13%) and Pinot blanc (8%). No dosage. 13% ABV.
Abundant foam dissipates, leaving tiny bubbles in a few twisting, fast-rising streams. Subtle nose: brioche dough, lemon, hints of spice and white flowers. Softly effervescent on the palate, dry and complex, even layered. Here the fruit – lemon peel and pith, candied citron, sour green apple – is wrapped around a core of quartz and chalk. There’s just enough extract to balance the tart acidity. A yeasty note marks the long finish. The quaffability quotient* is off the charts – you can’t resist going back for another sip. The best vintage yet? (Buy again? In multiples.)
*My translation of coefficient de torchabilité, which was François Barmès’s favourite metric, or so it seemed at the MWG tasting he led a few months before his untimely death.
Alzipratu’s 2011 Fiumeseccu rouge
Corse Calvi 2011, Cuvée Fiumeseccu, Domaine d’Alzipratu ($19.45, 11095658)
Organically farmed Nielluccio (60%) and Sciacarello (40%) from ten- to 30-year old vines. Destemmed, macerated eight to 12 days and fermented with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled tanks, matured one year in concrete tanks. Lightly filtered before bottling. 13.5% ABV.
Dusty cherry and plum, dried herbs, sun-baked fields. In weight and texture, closer to a Chianti than, say, a Côtes-du-Rhône. Savoury elements – minerals, herbs, spice, fine if astringent tannins, piquant acidity, alcohol – are wrapped around a sweet core of fruit, which sours ever so slightly as it flows into the drying finish. So fresh and drinkable though, at this early stage, best given 30 minutes to an hour in a carafe. With its French and Italian roots, this is uncommonly versatile with food, especially of the Mediterranean variety. (Buy again? A no brainer.)
Munch on this
Alsace 2009, Grand cru Muenchberg, Riesling, Domaine Ostertag ($49.00, 00739821)
100% biodynamically farmed Riesling from 30- to 60-year-old vines. Manually harvested. The whole clusters were pneumatically pressed. Alcoholic fermentation, with indigenous yeasts, lasted several months. Underwent full malolactic fermentation. Matured in stainless steel tanks for about six months. 14% ABV. This is the last vintage with the interlinked-ring label; the 2010 is marketed under three different but thematically related labels.
A complex nose of white fruit, lemon and lime zest, chalk, flint and a hint of spruce resin or petrol is followed by a mouth full of citrus, pear and crystalline minerals buoyed by racy acid. The finish goes on and on. So pure, precise, balanced and dimensional. As always in a restrained style (quite the feat at 14%) but achingly beautiful. Approachable now, probably better in five, maybe even ten years. Would make a fabulous match for now-in-season Gaspé lobster or, if you can still find some, fresh snow crab. Not many bottles left in the system, so act fast. (Buy again? Oh yes.)
Bret Brothers happen
Besides making wine from their organically farmed La Soufrandière vineyards, the brothers Bret run a négociant business that sees them buying grapes, which they harvest themselves, and making wines sold under the Bret Brothers label.
Mâcon-Chardonnay 2011, Bret Brothers ($27.20, 11900098)
The Chardonnay in the name refers not to the grape but to the village after which the variety was named (AOC regulationas also allow red and rosé Mâcon-Chardonnay to be made from Gamay and Pinot Noir). This, however, is 100% Chardonnay from 30-year-old vines rooted in limey clay soil. Manually harvested, whole-bunch pressed, fermented with indigenous yeasts. Fermentation and maturation last 11 months and take place in stainless steel tanks (90%) and 228-litre oak barrels (10%). 12.5% ABV.
Exactly what you expect from a Mâcon. Soft nose of yellow fruit with hints of flowers, dried hay, spice and chalk. Round and mouthfilling, not bone dry. The clean fruit is pooled on a chalky substrate. Decent finish. A little more acidity would brighten the picture and cut the fat. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Pouilly-Fuissé 2011, Terres de Fuissé, Bret Brothers ($39.25, 10788882)
100% Chardonnay. A blend of grapes from two plots, one 70 years old (limey soil) and the other 40 (shallow, pebbly soil). Manually havested, whole-bunch pressed, fermented with indigenous yeasts. Fermentation and maturation last 11 months and take place in 228-litre oak barrels. 12.5% ABV.
Less outgoing nose. The fruit, which is whiter, is on equal footing with ashy oak and minerals and if there’s a hint of anything it’s acacia blossom. In the mouth, the wine is more intense in every way: tighter, tauter, tenser and all the better for it. While far from integrated, the oak doesn’t mask. The fruit is as present as the Mâcon’s but leaner, drier, more faceted. The minerals are more crystalline while the acidity borders on racy. Your interest is sustained through the long finish. Ideally this should be cellared for a year or two. (Buy again? Yes, despite a price that seems about $5 too high.)
When my samples were poured, the bottles had been open the better part of a day. The pourer, who’d tasted them on opening but not after, said the Mâcon-Chardonnay had struck him as a good buy while he wasn’t convinced the Pouilly-Fuissé was worth the extra outlay – the exact opposite of my conclusion. Make of that what you will.
MWG April 13th tasting (5/5): Napa seconds
A trio of Cabernet Sauvignons, all arguably Napa Valley equivalents of a second wine.
Napanook 2009, Napa Valley, Dominus Estate ($61.00, 11650439)
Dry-farmed Cabernet Sauvignon (87%), Petit Verdot (8%) and Cabernet Franc (5%) selected for its more accessible, earlier maturing characteristics. Manually harvested. Fermented on a lot-by-lot basis with gentle pump-overs. Vertical low-pressure pressing followed by racking into French oak barrels (20% new) for 18 months’ maturation. Fined with egg whites. 14.5% ABV.
Odd nose: smoke, sea salt, background red and black fruit, eventually red meat. Rich and sleek. The fruit is pure and beautiful but doesn’t have much to say.The tannins are less prominent than expected. Balance and dimension – breadth, depth and length – it’s got, up to a point. So, in its way impeccable but also faceless, a little like those Bordeaux blend Tuscans that taste like they could have been made anywhere. Let’s give it the benefit of the doubt and saying it’s passing through a phase. (Buy again? Well…)
Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Le Petit Vice, Napa Valley, Vice Versa Wines ($60.00, 11089725)
The winery’s owner, Patrice Breton, hails from Quebec. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Manually harvested. Destemmed. Fermented on the skins in stainless steel tanks for 25 days and cold-soaked for five days. Matured 23 months in 100% French oak barrels (80% new). Unfiltered and unfined. 15.3% ABV.
Red currant jam, a hint of dill and quite a bit of pickle (high volatile acidity). Started out odd, with plastic overtones marring the fruit. In time, the wine came around: the fruit clean and ripe, brightened by a fresh current of acidity, darkened by a tannic undertow, nicely framed by minerals, with the oak an element, not a looming presence. The sustained finish is kirschy but not hot. The big boy of the three. (Buy again? Well…)
Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, Napa Valley, Stags’ Leap Winery ($49.25, 00962837)
100% Cabernet Sauvignon according to the SAQ. The winery’s useless website provides zero technical information about its products. 13.9% ABV.
Elegant, textbook Cab nose: cassis and blackberry with an underlay of oak and graphite and hints of mint, green pepper and cedar. Smooth and rich with pure dark fruit, bright acidity and resolved tannins. Good length. The QPR winner of the trio. (Buy again? Well…)
Well, what? Assuming you’re not allergic to the fruit-forward style, all three wines are enjoyable. But they’re also somewhat short on personality, not to mention wow factor (the same criticism has been levelled at Bordeaux second wines, let us note). That said, the real issue here – as so often is the case with California wines – is bang for the buck: the least expensive bottle was $50 and the other two cost 20% more, for wines that most people around the table liked but didn’t get excited about. Buy again? If you’re a fan of Cal Cabs and money isn’t an issue, sure. My $60 will be going toward two or three bottles of more characterful, alive, versatile and exciting wines, many of them natural, from the Jura, the Loire, the Languedoc, Galicia, Dão, Sicily, Puglia, the Peloponnese, Austria…
MWG April 13th tasting (4/5): Twixt Old World and New
Syrah 2009, Syrocco, Domaine des Ouleb Thaleb ($20.60, 11375561)
A joint venture between Crozes-Hermitage-based winemaker Alain Graillot and Morocco’s largest wine producer, Thalvin. This 100% young-vine Syrah is made with grapes grown mainly in vineyards near the winery, which is located between Rabat and Casablanca and about 40 km inland from Morocco’s Atlantic coast. The vineyards are manually weeded and ploughed and no herbicides and fungicides are used. In 2009, the grapes were fully destemmed and fermented in closed concrete vats with daily pump-overs. Total maceration time was ten days. The wine then spent seven and a half months in tanks followed by seven and half months in French oak barrels (50% new, 50% second vintage). Lightly filtered before bottling. 13.5% ABV.
Rich, berries, smoke, sweat, hint of animale, eventually cola. Velvety and liqueur-ish, the ripe almost sweet fruit saved from bombdom by the tonic acidity, soft if puckery tannins and savoury edge. Slow-fade finish. Not as pure, complex or deep as Graillot’s Rhône Syrahs but enjoyable in its own right. The best wine from this project to date. (Buy again? Sure.)
Syrah 2010, No. 2, Central Victoria, Graillot Australia ($41.50, 11844815)
A joint venture between Alain Graillot and Bidbendum’s Robert Walters. Two cuvées are made – this second wine and the flagship Graillot Syrah – and 2010 was the first vintage of each. Both are 100% Syrah from organically farmed (though not certified as such) ten-year-old vines. The winemaking is identical for both cuvées: mostly destemmed but about 10% whole bunches; fermented in small open tanks with native yeasts; aged in a mix of old and new oak barrels. The batches for the cuvées are selected on a barrel by barrel basis and, as it turned out, in 2010 the oakiest batches went into the second wine (still only about 10% new oak). Screwcapped. 13% ABV.
“Wet rubber-clad dog” was one taster’s description of the initially dominant smell (probably related to screwed-up screwcapping). I also got plum, bacon, pepper and tomato sauce. Rich, dense and intense but still more Syrah- than Shiraz-like. The ripe fruit is structured with round tannins and welcome acidity. A minerally substrate grounds and deepens the wine. Long finish with faint chocolate notes. Ready to go. (Buy again? Not at the current asking price.)
Syrah 2009, Le Pousseur, Central Coast, Bonny Doon ($26.80, 10961016)
100% Syrah made from purchased grapes grown in three Central Coast vineyards. Each vineyard’s production is manually harvested and fermented separately. Indigenous yeasts. Maturation in French oak barrels. Both tartaric acid and sulphur dioxide are added. Screwcapped. 13.5% ABV.
Rich and savoury nose: red meat, leather, dusty minerals, plum, background oak and a whiff of alcohol. Plush yet fluid. Full of ripe fruit but not a bomb. Fine tannins and juicy acidity. It all adds up to a vin plaisir, albeit a slightly pricey one. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Syrah 2009, Les Côtes de l’Ouest, California, Terre Rouge ($23.20, 00897124)
98% Syrah, about 60% coming from a Sierra foothills vineyard and the rest from various mountain sites, and 2% Viognier. The grapes were lightly crushed, co-fermented in large tanks with regular pump-overs. Matured 17 months in French oak barrels (20% new). 14.5% ABV.
Herbs, earth, blackberry liqueur with a red meat note. Pure and, despite the high alcohol, balanced. There’s a certain depth of flavour (though not of structure), a vein of slatey minerals and a clean, lightly astringent finish. The most Rhône-ish of the bunch. If this were under $20, it’d be a certifiable QPR winner. (Buy again? Sure.)
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.
Brett happens 