Got rocks
Saumur-Champigny 2011, Domaine des Roches Neuves (Thierry Germain) ($18.80, 10689622)
100% Cabernet Franc from biodynamically farmed vines averaging 25 years old. Manually harvested and sorted. Fermented in stainless steel tanks at 16 to 22ºC (61 to 72ºF). Around a third of the must is cold-macerated for three days at 10ºC (50ºF). Matured on the lees in stainless steel tanks and wood barrels for three to four months with no added sulphur. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. 13% ABV.
Quite the nose: cherry, plum, flint, humus, sarsaparilla, flowers (violet? daffodil?) and stems. Supple, juicy and tart with an almost Burgundian texture. Very dry. The red fruit is shot through with dark minerals and framed by a fine tannic astringency. There’s a faint bitter note on the clean finish. Refreshing and food-friendly, though a shade too light to make an ideal pairing for chicken stewed in vinegar (the search continues). A better bet would be braised beef or pork in a less assertive sauce. Hamburgers and kefta kebabs might work too.
Natural bang for the buck
A recent tasting that featured Alsatian wines from Domaine Gérard Schueller and was led by oenopole’s Theo Diamantis (notes to follow) included a surprise flight of three affordable natural-leaning new arrivals. All are private imports and, as far as I know, are still available, though they probably won’t be for long.
IGT Sicilia 2011, Nero d’Avola, Tamì ($19.00, oenopole, 12 bottles/case)
Tamì started as a book, design and wine shop in Siracusa run by Arianna Occhipinti’s architect boyfriend. In 2009, the project introduced a line of négociant wines under its own label. Like the other Tamì wines, this 100% Nero d’Avola is made from organically farmed grapes using whole-cluster fermentation and indigenous yeasts. After six months’ maturation in stainless steel tanks, it is lightly filtered before bottling. 13% ABV.
Wafting nose of plum, boysenberry, spice, kirsch and a hint of horse. A lighter and more elegant take on Nero d’Avola than most. Dry and smooth. The fruit is brightened by just enough acidity and structured by soft, fleshy tannins, leaving an impression of richness unusual for a welterweight wine. By Arianna’s admission, the goal of the Tamì project is to make good, simple, natural everyday wines, and that’s a perfect description of this wine. Trattoria owners should be buying it by the case. (Buy again? Sure.)
VDP de la Principauté d’Orange 2010, Daumen ($17.00, oenopole, 12 bottles/case)
(For background on Jean-Paul Daumen, see the notes from the June 2012 MWG tasting he led.) A blend of organically farmed Cabernet Sauvignon (35%), Grenache (35%), Syrah (15%) and Merlot (15%). Unlike most of the wines in the Daumen line, the grapes come from Daumen’s own vineyards. Partially destemmed; temperature-controlled fermentation with indigenous yeasts; extended maceration; approximately 12 months’ aging in foudres and neutral barrels; no filtering or fining; sulphur added – and then minimally – only just before bottling. 13% ABV.
Sweet fruit, hint of tobacco, turned earth, kirsch, slate. Fluid with an admirable balance between fruit, acidity and weight. The tannins are fine and linear, the structure not unlike a Bordeaux’s. Long, drying finish. Tasty and delivering great QPR. (Buy again? A no-brainer.)
Barbera d’Asti 2009, Cascina ’Tavijn ($21.80, oenopole, 12 bottles/case)
100% Barbera. Manually harvested. Spontaneous fermentation. Vinified in Slavonian oak botti. The estate sometimes lightly filters and sulphurs wines to improve their stability, though I’ve found no information about this particular bottling.
Earth, animale, plum, leather. A carbon dioxide tingle on the palate quickly dissipates. Rich fruit, tart acidity and mild tannins with a rustic/raspy edge. Cherry and slate mark the finish. A country-style Barbera that’s honest, close to the land, not overpolished and all the more appealing for it. (Buy again? Absolutely.)
Lastly, a heads-up. ’Tavijn’s 2011 Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato ($24.80, oenopole, 12 bottles/case) is also available. A bottle of the 2009 opened last week at the MWG’s private import pickup party was just singing: dark purple; redolent of plum, slate and rose petal; dense yet light on its feet, with velvety tannins, soft acidity and a bitter-edged finish; pure and artless; and perfect with an excellent rabbit and hazelnut terrine from Boucherie de Paris. I’ve not tasted the 2011 but Theo says it’s every bit as good.
Procured
Côtes de Provence 2010, Domaine du Clos de la Procure ($23.20, 10783109)
Organic. Mostly old-vine Grenache and Mourvèdre with some Cinsault, Carignan and Syrah according to the estate’s website (SAQ.com says 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre, 20% Carignan and 20% Syrah). Manually harvested. Destemmed then crushed by foot. Fermented in 1,000-litre stainless steel tanks with no added yeasts, acid or enzymes and no pumping over. Daily punch-downs for 12 to 21 days. Pressed in a manual vertical press before blending. Matured in third-vintage oak barrels for 12 to 18 months, depending on the vintage. 13.5% ABV according to the label; 14.5% according to SAQ.com.
Dusty cherry and plum, notes of dry pine forest floor, sandalwood, kirsch. In the mouth, the fruit takes a back seat to briny minerals, fine tannins and a light but a pervasive astringency, though it eventually gains presence and a sour edge. A lactic undercurrent like a suggestion of yogurt nears the surface on the peppery finish. Medium-bodied, smooth-textured, dry and if a little alcoholic, more warming than hot. A food wine best carafed for an hour or two and served lightly chilled. Given the austerity, I’m not sure it’d come out on top in a head-to-head with, say, the Revelette or Béates, but it’s representative of the appellation and made a satisfying match for a Provençal beef stew marinated and cooked in red wine, finished with sautéed mushrooms and perfumed with orange.
A bargain red from Sicily
Back in November, the Mo’ Wine Group tasted a Frappato made by Marsala-based Caruso & Minini, a decent buy at $16.65. Another of the producer’s wine showed up at Saturday’s private import pickup party and wowed everyone with its quality-price ratio. Unfortunately for Quebecers, buying it requires making a trip to Ontario.
Sicilia IGT 2010, Frappato/Nerello Mascalese, Terre di Giumara, Caruso & Minini ($13.95, LCBO 277558)
A blend of Frappato and Nerello Mascalese. Manually harvested and destemmed, then macerated and fermented at 25ºC (77ºF) in stainless steel tanks for 15-20 days. Thirty percent is aged six months in 500-litre tonneaux while the remainder spends eight months in stainless steel. 13% ABV.
Cherry, plum and some earth and spice. Medium-bodied and very dry, with ripe fruit as savoury as it is sweet, bright acidity and tannins just raspy enough to make themselves noticed. Possessed of all desired dimensions, including a nicely sustained finish. Really easy to drink. Would make an excellent pizza wine but has the wherewithal to accompany braised or grilled meats and even barbecue. If I were in the market for a crowd-pleasing party red to buy by the case, this would be on the short list.
Thanks to K for sharing this with the group.
MWG January 10th tasting (7/7): Andalusian gold
Sierra Morena, Dorado, Bodegas Gomez Nevado ($24.75, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
A fortified blend of organically farmed Arién, Palomino and Pedro Ximénez. Spends time under a yeast veil (flor) and seven years in American oak casks, where it oxidizes. The main differences between this and a sherry are the presence of Arién grapes and that it is made in the Sierra Morena mountains, about 30 km northwest of Cordoba, and not near the sea. 17% ABV.
Sherry-like nose (more Amontillado than Fino): nutty, orange peel, dried fruits. Quite dry though smooth, rich and surprisingly fresh, with none of the austerity that can make dry sherries a challenge for some palates. The near endless finish has you thinking about hazelnuts, dried apricot and golden raisins but not, in contrast to a dry sherry, brine. Remarkably pure and vibrant, this made a huge impression on the group. Can see it working with Spanish cheeses, including blues, savoury foie gras preparations, braised poultry and even barely sweetened dry cakes. (Buy again? Imperatively.)
MWG January 10th tasting (6/7): Two Italian reds
IGT Veneto 2011, Rosso Giaroni, Davide Spillare ($26.40, La QV, 12 bottles/case)
Natural. 100% organically farmed Merlot. Spontaneous fermentation in open vats for two weeks with regular punching down. Matured in 500-litre barrels for about a year. Unfiltered, unfined. No added sulphur. Vegan-compatible.
Umami nose: beef bouillon cubes, dark soy sauce, sweet spice, sawed wood. Supple, medium-bodied. The sweet red fruit has a fresh, herbaceous streak, enough acidity and light, velvety tannins. Seemed anonymous at first but developed in interesting ways over the course of an hour or two, gaining complexity, depth, breadth, personality and even allure. (Buy again? Yes.)
IGT Toscana 2007, Jassarte, Podere Guado al Melo ($35.70, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
A crazy blend of 30-odd Mediterranean and Trans-Caucasian varieties from a sustainably farmed vineyard planted in 1999 and located in the Bolgheri DOC. Manually harvested, fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, matured 24 months on the lees in small oak barrels (10% new) and at least 24 months in the bottle.
Unlike the bottle tasted at the private import show, ours initially had a skunky smell that Cyril associated with mercaptan. That quickly blew off leaving an unfathomably complex nose (plum, wood, fresh herbs, graphite, smoke, nuts, chocolate and more). Smooth and fluid in the mouth with a silky texture. Dry though the fruit is sweetly ripe in the manner of warm-climate reds. There’s a Bordeaux-like balance between extract, tannins and acidity. Not particularly deep or Italian-tasting but broad, long and dapper. (Buy again? Possibly.)
MWG January 10th tasting (5/7): Three easy-drinking southern European reds
Vino de la tierra de Castilla 2011, Bobal, Pedro Calabuig/Bodegas de Levante ($15.00, La QV, 12 bottles/case)
100% organically farmed old-vine Bobal. 12.5% ABV.
Spicy red plum and black raspberry, pepper, fresh ground beef, slate. Medium-bodied with a slightly velvety texture, supple, finely astringent tannins and brisk acidity. Earthy yet not without a certain elegance. Perhaps a tad less rich than the 2010 but every bit as drinkable. Food-friendly and excellent bang for the buck; the weekday wine par excellence. (Buy again? Multiples.)
Côtes du Rhône 2010, Petit Jo, Domaine de la Roche Buissière ($20.00, La QV, 12 bottles/case)
Natural. The estate has been certified organic (Ecocert) since 1980. All the wines are made with manually harvested grapes, fermented with indigenous yeasts, unfiltered, unfined. They contain no added sulphur and are vegan-friendly. The Petit Jo is a blend of Grenache (70%) and Syrah (30%). Nearly three-quarters of the wine is vinified like most Beaujolais, i.e. using carbonic maceration, to maximize the fruitiness. 13.5% ABV.
Attractive nose of fig, grape, turned earth, violet. Clean, sweet-and-sour fruit, a fluid texture, light tannins and bright acidity add up to a lip-smacking vin plaisir. Throw-backable in that tart and juicy way we love. (Buy again? Definitely.)
Côtes du Rhône 2010, Le Claux, Domaine de la Roche Buissière ($29.30, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
Natural. This 13.5% ABV wine is 100% Grenache, which surprises me since it has a very fresh, Syrah-like nose.
Red berries, animale, dried rose. More substantial and polished than the Petit Jo. Intensely fruity but dry. Peppery (like all good Grenache) with gleaming acidity, a fine if tight structure and good length. Perhaps a little on the pricey side but very satisfying. (Buy again? Yep.)
MWG January 10th tasting (4/7): Two Pinot Noirs
Beaune 2010, Lulunne, Château Genot-Boulanger ($36.50, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
100% Pinot Noir from 40-year-old vines. The estate practises lutte raisonnée (manual weed control, organic fertilizers, etc.) and has been experimenting with organic “treatments” since 2007. The grapes are destemmed, macerated 15 to 20 days in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, pneumatically pressed and fermented with indigenous yeasts. Matured eight to ten months in barrels, 20% new. 13% ABV.
Classic red Burgundy nose: red berries, beet, wood, background spice and forest floor and a whiff of barnyard. Medium-bodied. Fluid. Intensely flavoured with fine astringent tannins and bright acidity. Dry, especially on the finish. Pure, clean, droit. Accessible now but will probably benefit from a year or two in the cellar, though it’s not a long-keeper. Would be a good addition to a restaurant wine list. (Buy again? A bottle at this price; a case if it were $5–10 less.)
Pinot Noir 2011, Willamette Valley, Montinore Estate ($30.25, La QV, 12 bottles/case)
100% biodynamically farmed Pinot Noir from various vineyards. Spent ten months in French and Hungarian oak barrels, 20% new. 13% ABV.
Red berries, slate, faint flowers and, with time, spice. Supple and medium-bodied. Ripe but shy fruit, minerals and a little smoky wood. It’s more astringent than outright tannic and is marked by an acidic streak. Fresh, alive and not without appeal if not exactly full of charm, at least at this young stage. The farthest thing from the West Coast cherry Coke-style of Pinot Noir. More of a food wine (cedar-planked salmon!) than a tasting wine. A recently opened bottle of the 2010, which at this stage of its life tasted very similar to the 2011, had evolved into a fragrant, silky-fruited wine. (Buy again? A bit pricey but sure.)
MWG January 10th tasting (3/7): Pheasant’s Tears
The spark for the January 10th tasting was the recent arrival of several wines from Pheasant’s Tears, a young winery (established in 2007) located south of the Greater Caucasus mountain range in the Kakheti region of eastern Georgia. In contrast to the modern-styled Georgian wines we usually see, Pheasant’s Tears wines are made using traditional Georgian techniques that stretch back many thousands of years (most wine historians consider the region to be the birthplace of wine-making). The grapes – some of the hundreds of indigenous varieties found in Georgia – are picked and trod. The resulting must is transferred, along with the skins, ripe stems and seeds, to large qvevri, clay jars (lined with organic beeswax in Pheasant’s Tears case) that have been sunk into the cool ground, where it ferments (with indigenous yeasts) and matures. No sulphur is added, yet all three wines of the wines we tasted are as stable as they come.
For more background, see this YouTube clip from Hugh Johnson’s vintage Vintage series, globe-trotting Julien Marchand’s report (the last photo is of Julien in the Pheasant’s Tears tasting room), the Wikipedia article on Georgian wine and, of course, the Pheasant’s Tears website.
Chinuri 2011, Kakheti, Pheasant’s Tears ($27.25, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
100% Chinuri. 12% ABV.
Hazy gold. Unique nose: pears in syrup, saltwater taffy, slightly rancid butter, the ground under a cedar tree. On the light side of medium-bodied. Fluid. Very dry, even savoury. Crisp acidity. Delicate flavours tending to citrus, herbs and minerals. A bitter, faintly astringent note on finish. Hard to pin down – elusive, ephemeral – and all the more interesting for it. (Buy again? Done!)
Rkatsiteli 2010, Kakheti, Pheasant’s Tears ($27.25, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
100% Rkatsiteli. 12.5% ABV.
Amber-coloured – definitely an orange wine. Bouquet of honeyed yellow fruit and spice, not unlike some late-harvest whites. The palate is totally at odds with the nose and totally unlike modern-styled Rkatsitelis I’ve tried: bone dry, medium-bodied, structured and surprisingly tannic, with fruity overtones (dried apricot?) and a walnut skin astringency. Mouth-filling and long. Unique, involving, fascinating. (Buy again? Done!)
Saperavi 2010, Kakheti, Pheasant’s Tears ($29.85, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
100% Saperavi. 12.5% ABV.
Saperavi is a red-fleshed grape, which may explain the wine’s nearly opaque black-red colour. Nose of dried blueberries, sweat, skim milk, bay leaf. Rich and earthy in the mouth but not heavy. Intensely flavoured: dark fruit, spice, slate. Grippy tannins and a lingering astringency. Less dry than, say, a Bordeaux but not in any way sweet. Great breadth and length. A wine with real presence and a dark magnetism. (Buy again? Done!)
MWG January 10th tasting (2/7): Two cool-climate whites
Sancerre 2011, Sur le Fort, Domaine Fouassier ($26.40, 12 bottles/case, La QV)
100% biodyanmically farmed Sauvignon Blanc from ten- to 20-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Destemmed. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Work in the cellar is based on the lunar calendar.
Classic Sancerre nose: gooseberry, kiwi, grapefruit, chalk and flint. Ripe and extracted though bone dry and surprisingly unfruity. Superficially soft and round but possessed of a strong acidic undercurrent. Long, extremely saline finish. Less immediately dazzling than some Sancerres, this grew on me. I suspect it’s quite food-friendly; the producer suggests Thai-style shrimp or seared tuna with sweet potatoes (!) as pairings. (Buy again? Sure.)
Chardonnay 2011, Alto Adige, Peter Zemmer ($24.50, 12 bottles/case, La QV)
100% Chardonnay. The estate’s vineyards are located on the valley floor around Cortina, one of the southernmost villages in the Alto Adige. Zemmer’s website refers to “natural” wines but doesn’t go into specifics; La QV labels the estate’s viticultural practices as raisonné (sustainable). The grapes are given a short maceration before being pressed. The resulting must is clarified by settling. Fermented with selected yeasts at 19ºC (66ºF). 13.5% ABV.
Discreet nose: pear, mineral, smoke and white flowers evolving into lemon. Medium weight, fresh and very dry. The fruit is ripe and clean but could use more oomph, more zing. Turns a little sour on the minerally finish. Not a ton of depth or character, leading one taster, a look-on-the-bright-sider, to describe it as “linear.” (Buy again? While it’s a decent wine, probably not, especially when knock-out Chards can be had for $6 less.)
Brett happens 