Posts Tagged ‘Affordable’
Odd mix
Chianti Classico 2011, Castello d’Albola ($20.00, 11472337)
Sangiovese with 5% Canaiolo. Manually harvested. Macerated and fermented on the skins. Matured 12 months in Slavonian oak barrels. Reducing sugar: 2.1 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Mosaiq.
Fragrant nose: black cherry, kirsch, terracotta, dried mushrooms, leather and a little black spice. Medium- to full-bodied. The fruit is ripe and upfront – while this isn’t a bomb, it’s definitely fruit-driven – with sandalwood joining the juicy cherry and a lactic note chiming in toward the end. Supple if drying tannins, typically bright acidity and a respectably long finish marked by notes of Cherry Blossom and tobacco leaf, an odd mix if ever there were one. Carafing two or three hours mutes the oak so, if like me, you don’t enjoy heavily made-up wines, you might want to do that. On the other hand, you could always plunk down $2 more for a bottle of San Fabiano. (Buy again? Probably not, given the competition.)
Sehr guter Zweiglet
Burgenland 2013, Zweigelt, Heideboden, Weingut Pittnauer ($20.30, 12677115)
100% biodynamically and organically farmed Zweigelt. Fermented with indigenous yeasts (thee only addition is a little sulphur at bottling). Matured 12 months in netural oak barrels. Reducing sugar: 4.3 g/l. 13.5% ABV. Screwcapped. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Spicy meatloaf, slate, dried cherries and an earthy-mushroomy note. Medium-bodied, fundamentally supple and quite dry. Layered, with the sweet-tart fruit on the surface and minerals, earth and wood below. The tannins are light and raspy, the acidity bright and nippy. Long-steeped blackcurrant tea – tannic astringency and all – colours the sustained finish. Suave but with an appealingly rustic edge, this seems a little primary at present, though I’m sure it would make a great pairing for a hearty stew. Would rank this alongside the more elegant Meinklang as one of the best Zweigelts I’ve tasted. (Buy again? For sure, though only a few bottles are left in the system.)
Three Arbois reds
Arbois 2012, Poulsard de l’Ami Karl, Domaine de la Pinte ($24.25, 12616515)
100% biodynamically and organically farmed Poulsard from a single vineyard planted nearly 40 years ago. Manually harvested. Destemmed. Maceration and fermentation, with indigenous yeasts and daily pump-overs, take place in tanks. Matured in 50-hl oak barrels for eight or nine months. Lightly filtered before bottling. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Raisonnance.
Fragrant nose of red berries, sweet spice, cedar and slate. Light- to medium-bodied, silky textured, wonderfully fresh, fluid and alive. The pale cherry-cranberry fruit is bright with acidity and deepened by a savoury, woodsy substrate. Chewing reveals fine, tight tannins, showing the wine to be more structured than first appears. Long, spicy finish. Bordering on magical – even New World fans and self-proclaimed Poulsard haters gave it a thumbs-up. Serve lightly chilled. (Buy again? Done and done again!)
Arbois 2011, Trousseau Grevillière, Domaine Daniel Dugois ($24.55, 12210419)
100% Trousseau from vines planted in the one-hectare Grevillière lieu-dit in the 1950s. Manually harvested. 100% destemmed. The lightly crushed grapes are cold-macerated then fermented with indigenous yeasts for around 18 days. Matured in large oak barrels for 18 months. Lightly filtered before bottling. Reducing sugar: 1.7 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Symbiose.
Jammy red berries and crushed leaves. Round, extracted and mouth-filling. The fruit, which tastes stewed, is structured only a little by the streaming acidity and soft tannins. Decent length but heavy for a Jura red, lacking detail and devoid of excitement. Some drinkers report it needs a few years in the cellar or many hours in a carafe to start strutting its stuff; maybe that explains it. (Buy again? A bottle to age and see what gives?)
Arbois 2013, Poulsard, Jacques Puffeney ($31.50, private import, 12 bottles/case)
100% organically farmed Poulsard from several different parcels in Montigny and Arbois. Manually harvested. Fermented in vats with indigenous yeasts for 15 to 20 days, then racked into neutral foudres for malolactic fermentation. Matured in barrels for around two years. Unfiltered and unfined. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Vini-Vins.
Closed nose, somewhat slatey and offering up an unusual aroma one taster described as “cold poutine.” Slowly develops minty raspberry and cedar shake notes. Similarly closed and unexpressive in the mouth. Light- to medium-bodied. The fruit is lean, the acidity brisk, the tannins light and tight. Minerals and spice come out on the long finish. Classic natural Poulsard – hazy, earthy and complex – but somewhat enigmatic and austere for now. Will be interesting to revisit in a couple of years. (Buy again? Yes, especially since this is the retiring Puffeney’s next-to-last vintage.)
MWG October 8th tasting: flight 4 of 7
Two new arrivals from Ontario
VQA Prince Edward County 2011, Cabernet Franc, Select, Grange of Prince Edward ($24.95, 12711168)
100% Cabernet Franc. Made from selected lots. More wine-making information when/if I can find some. Reducing sugar: 1.9 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Bambara Selection.
Sourberry with hints of roasted beet, “cloved orange” and, eventually, slate and cedar but none of the herbaceous aromas some people object to. Medium-bodied and fundamentally supple. The fruit is just ripe enough, the tannins lacy, the acidity clean and bright. Spice overtones the mid-palate, turned earth and herbs the caressing finish. Lovely, balanced, digeste. Impressed many around the table, including me, and supports my contention that Cab Franc is the red variety that Ontario does best. (Buy again? Yes.)
VQA Niagara Peninsula 2013, Gamay Noir, 13th Street Winery ($22.95, 12705631)
100% Gamay Noir. Manually harvested. The various lots were vinified separately. Sees only stainless steel until bottling. The crushed and destemmed grapes were fermented for three weeks, then pressed. The must was returned to tanks for around five months for malolactic fermentation and maturation. The lots were then blended and bottled. Reducing sugar: 2.1 g/l. 13% ABV. Goes for $19.95 at the LCBO (177824). Quebec agent: Les vins Alain Bélanger.
Striking nose: funk, dried leaves, sour cherry. Smooth and, for a Gamay, dense on the palate, a seamless package delivering admirably pure fruit, soft acidity, supple tannins and, alas, a vanilla-chocolate finish (surprisingly, the winery says the wine is unoaked). Not bad though a little overambitious, the fruit riper and the oak-like flavours heavier than need be. I cannot fathom why some critics and bloggers have said this would make a good ringer in a Beaujolais tasting – it seems another kind of beast. (Buy again? Maybe, especially at the Ontario price.)
MWG October 8th tasting: flight 3 of 7
Blancs de Provence
IGP Méditerranée 2013, Viognier Sainte-Fleur, Triennes ($22.30, 12625681)
Triennes in the project of two well-known Burgundians (Jacques Seysses of Domaine Dujac and Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée Conti) and a Paris-based friend. The estate is located in the Var, east of Aix-en-Provence, was founded in 1997 and began converting to organic farming in 2008 (the 2011 vintage of the Sainte-Fleur was the estate’s first certified organic wine). This 100% Viognier is fermented in temperature-controlled tanks and matured in tanks. Reducing sugar: 1.8 g/l. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Séguin & Robillard.
Quartz dust and faint peach filigreed with honeysuckle, smoked salt and garrigue. Bordering on unctuous in the mouth, where it proves more of a fruit cocktail, albeit a dry and alcoholic one that’s freshened by smooth acidity and backdropped by sun-baked stones. A faint bitterness threads through the long finish. Not bad for an inexpensive Viognier – no one’s going to mistake it for a Condrieu – and pleasant enough to drink but not really memorable and not the bargain that the red is. Might well show better at the dining table than it does at the tasting table. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Bandol 2014, Domaine du Gros’Noré ($30.75, 12206989)
Despite what you’ll read on SAQ.com and on the Quebec agent’s website, this is a 70-30 blend of Ugni Blanc (aka Trebbiano) and Clairette from sustainably farmed vines averaging 30 years old. The must is macerated on the skins for 24 hours, then fermented at low temperatures with indigenous yeasts. Sees only stainless steel until bottling. Unfiltered and unfined. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Shy nose of quartz, wet ash, earth and white flowers. The rich texture is balanced by a steady stream of underlying acidity. Somewhat neutral in flavour yet somehow savoury and mouth-filling. Stones and lemon pith haunt the long finish. While this will never be an exuberant wine, it is a baby at this point and, as a second bottle showed, it doesn’t stop evolving for hours after opening. Definitely a food wine: I thought sea bass with pesto might make a good match but that second bottle was transporting with the winemaker’s recommended pairing of grilled mussels with rosemary, my recipe for which you’ll find after the jump. (Buy again? Done!)
MWG October 8th tasting: flight 2 of 7
Trocken und korken
Rheinhessen 2014, Riesling, Trocken, Weingut Keller ($27.45, 10558446)
100% Riesling. Manually harvested. The must gets around 20 hours of skin contact. Cool-temperature fermentation with indigenous yeasts takes place in stainless steel tanks and lasts two months. Matured on the lees with no stirring in stainless steel tanks for four months. Reducing sugar: 4.1 g/l. 11.5% ABV (12% per SAQ.com). Quebec agent: Valmonti.
Developing, minerally nose that turns a little perfumy, is shaded by lemon-lime-grapefruit and “vanilla ice cream” aromas and eventually gains green melon notes. Faintly spritzy in the mouth. Full of ripe fruit and minerals. Bright – not sharp – with acidity, showing some depth (age will bring more) and possessed of an appealing sour edge. Dry but not austerely so. Finishes long and clean. While this didn’t appear to push the assembled tasters’ buttons, I liked its focus and balance. Would make an excellent pairing for trout and other freshwater fish (all the better if there’s some bacon present) or a simple roast chicken, not to mention herb-inflected southeast Asian cuisine. (Buy again? A bottle to take to Nhu Y, for sure, and maybe a couple more for the cellar.)
Nahe 2014, Riesling, Trocken, Vulkangestein, Weingut Schäfer-Fröhlich ($29.50, 12721454)
12% ABV. Quebec agent: Avant-Garde.
Corked. Which was a shame because you could tell this is, if anything, even finer than the Keller.
MWG October 8th tasting: flight 1 of 7
The mayor of Dogliani
Trim, dapper and personable, Piedmont winemaker Nicola Chionetti was in town a few weeks ago. His youthful appearance notwithstanding, Nicola served a five-year term as mayor of Dogliani, a Langhe village whose surrounding vineyards are generally considered a top source for Dolcetto wine. In fact, Dogliani was the first of the only two Dolcetto appellations to have been granted the exalted DOCG status and the appellation’s identification with the grape is so complete that its denominated wines may be identified simply as Dogliani instead of Dolcetto di Dogliani.
One of the two or three leading Dogliani estates, Chionetti was founded in 1912 by Nicola’s great grandfather, Giuseppe. The name of Quinto, Nicola’s grandfather, continues to feature on the estate’s labels: Azienda Agricola Chionetti Quinto e Figlio. While farming techniques have always been sustainable, the estate is officially converting to organic practice. Its 16 hectares of vineyards produce around 85,000 bottles of wine in a normal year. Only three wines are widely marketed: the Dogliani DOCGs San Luigi and Briccolero and a Langhe Nebbiolo.
The winemaking for the two Dolcettos is nearly identical: manual harvesting, destemming, soft pressing, fermentation and maceration on the skins and with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks (29-30°C), maturation for around 11 months in stainless steel tanks, cold-stabilization and no filtering. The differences are the vineyards’ soils (clayey in San Luigi, more calcareous in Briccolero), the vines’ average ages (25 years old versus 45), yields (6,000 kg/ha versus 5,000), the typical length of maceration (10 days versus 14) and the usual alcohol level (13% versus 14). In a good vintage, the San Luigi can age up to 15 years, the Briccolero 20-25.
Among the activities slated during Nicola’s visit was a commented tasting and feast of a lunch at Hostaria for a large table of sommeliers, restaurateurs and wine writers, among whose company I was flattered to be included. Many thanks to oenopole for the opportunity to spend time with an artisan whose wines I have always enjoyed.
All told, we tasted six wines, two of which are currently available at the SAQ. You’ll find my notes after the jump.
Here now and how!
This may be yet another of the select group of SAQ wines sold only at the Atwater outlet and not listed on SAQ.com*. I picked up my bottle on Friday. Calling a few minutes ago to reserve a couple more, I was told they have 150 in stock.
Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine 2014, Amphibolite, Domaines Landron ($21.50, 12741084)
100% Melon de Bourgogne from organically and biodynamically farmed vines between 23 and 40 years old. The soil in the 7.5 ha vineyard is mainly decomposing amphibolite, whence the cuvée’s name. Yields were abnormally low in 2014: 37 hl/ha vs. the usual 45 hl/ha. The grapes were manually harvested and whole-cluster pressed. The must was chilled and allowed to clarify by settling. Fermentation with indigenous yeasts and no chaptalization took place in temperature-controlled, glass-lined cement tanks, with sulphur dioxide being added at the end to prevent malolactic fermentation. The wine was matured on the lees for four months, then cold-stabilized and gravity-bottled. Unfiltered and unfined. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
The nose of wet stones, gooseberry and ash only hints at the transfixingly vibrant mouthful to come: intertwining green fruit, crunchy minerals, lip-smacking acidity and salinity that’s off the charts. Ends long and clean with lingering bitter almond and bitter lemon notes. The kind of wine where one sip demands another and the bottle is empty before you know it. Not a keeper – even the winemaker says so – but killer here and now with Trésors du large on the half shell adorned with only a squirt of lemon and a grind of black pepper. (Buy again? Done!)
*Mystery solved: the wine was part of the October 8th natural wines release and should have been embargoed until then. In other words, Atwater jumped the gun. At 9 a.m. on Friday, October 9, bottles can be found in 74 stores across Quebec.
White and red Macedonians
Tikveš Winery is said to be the largest wine producer in not only the Republic of Macedonia but the entire Balkans. The Tikveš plain gives the wine region its name; Bela Voda is a small area within it notable for its Mediterranean climate and clay soils. Both wines are from the winery’s flagship “Terroir” line. Due to heavy rains, no Terroir wines will be made in the 2014 vintage.
For a winery whose website makes a big deal about wine education, the lack of technical information on these wines is surprising. What’s more, the Quebec agent’s website has been AWOL for more than a year. Could we be talking about unorganic wines made with selected yeasts and subjected to manipulation in the winery, including fining and filtering? No telling but I’d guess yes.
Tikveš 2013, Bela Voda, Tikveš Winery ($27.10, 12510657)
A 50-50 blend of Chardonnay and Belan (which may be Plavai or Grenache Blanc, which the winery bottles as a varietal, or something else entirely). Matured in French oak barrels. Reducing sugar: 2 g/l. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Les vins Horizon.
Ash, lemon, chalk, a hint of vanilla butter and an intriguing if faintly acrid floral note that put me in mind of narcissus and daffodils. A mouthful of ripe but fundamentally savoury and dry fruit. The bright acidity, vein of minerals and layered flavours are as unexpected as they are welcome. A long saline finish completes the picture. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Tikveš 2012, Bela Voda, Tikveš Winery ($27.10, 12510121)
A 50-50 blend of Plavec (aka Plavac Mali) and Vranec. Matured in French oak barrels. Reducing sugar: 4.1 g/l. 14.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Les vins Horizon.
Blackberry, cassis and fig, all a bit stewed, along with some ink and wood. Meaty and chewy in the mouth, ultra-ripe and heading into fruit bomb territory. The soft tannins and acidity do little to counter an impression of heaviness that is only augmented by the unsubtle oak. Smooth, yes, and of undoubted quality but also one-dimensional and unrefreshing. (Buy again? Doubtful.)
A bottle of the red drunk a couple of weeks earlier prompted a more favourable reaction. In fact, along with the arrival of the Ardoisières wines, it was what inspired the idea for a white/red tasting. That bottle, consumed over an evening and with food, came across as New Worldish but not to a fault: “Like a Merlot and Zinfandel cross. Flavours but not texture a bit jammy. Sweet but not cloying fruit. Velvety tannins. Soft but sufficient acidity. Mineral underlay. Mostly integrated oak. Good finish, dusted with cocoa and edged with a faint bitterness. Reminds me of the two Majorcan reds.” In any case, at the tasting, the white – far less fruit-driven and oak-dominated – was the more interesting of the two.
MWG July 16th tasting: flight 5 of 6.
White and red ABCs
Santa Barbara County 2013, Pinot Gris–Pinot Blanc, Au Bon Climat ($27.70, 12510690)
Pinot Gris (66%) from purchased grapes grown in the El Camino and Sierra Madre vineyards and Pinot Blanc (34%) from old vines grown in the estate’s Bien Nacido vineyard. Barrel-fermented. Underwent full malolactic fermentation. Matured on the lees in neutral barrels for six months. Reducing sugar: 1.7 g/l. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Smoky, slightly sour, vaguely mineral nose with yellow fruit evocative of ground cherry jam. Plump and a little lumbering in the mouth. Round, chewy and, reducing sugar levels be damned, coming across as off-dry. The impression of sweetness is countered by streaming acidity but reinforced by unignorable butterscotch flavours. Dries out a little on the long finish overtoned with white grapefruit pith. Might work better in the context of a meal, especially one featuring white meat, though even then the lack of refreshment would be a downside. (Buy again? No.)
Santa Barbara County 2013, Pinot Noir, Au Bon Climat ($31.50, 11604192)
A blend of Pinot Noir (95%, from six vineyards in the Santa Maria Valley, two vineyards in the Los Alamos Valley and one vineyard in the Santa Rita appellation) and Mondeuse (5%, from the Bien Nacido vineyard). We kept most small lots of Pinot Noir separate for the first 6 months. Matured in oak barrels. Reducing sugar: 2.2 g/l. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Red berries, cola and sweet spice on the nose. A lactic note marks the palate. Fine tannins and fluent acidity give the fruit a semblance of structure but do nothing to counter its candied edge. Finishes clean and spicy if a little short. Supple and admirably un-Syrah-like for a Santa Barbara Pinot Noir but ultimately a bit cloying. That said, the wine will probably benefit from six months in the cellar. In the States, this can often be found for well under US$20, at which price its lack of éclat might be more forgivable. (Buy again? No.)
Technical information for these wines has been hard to find. They may have been made from organically farmed grapes. They may have been fermented with indigenous yeasts. They may or may not have been filtered or fined. Neither the ABC website nor the Quebec agent’s website are particularly helpful in this regard.
While members of the group, myself included, have enjoyed Au Bon Climat wines in the past, neither of these bottles pushed our buttons. Indeed, a couple of tasters declared that both wines’ “sweetness” (more properly termed their perceived sweetness, if the residual sugar figures are to be believed) made them difficult to drink. Even those who didn’t complain weren’t excited about them. A disappointment then.
MWG July 16th tasting: flight 3 of 6.
Brett happens 