Posts Tagged ‘biodynamic’
Les elixirs de Xavier Marchais
In late September, the Mo’ Wine Group initiated what we hope will be a near-monthly series of agency tastings, at which a representative from one of Quebec’s many wine agencies presents a selection of wines, usually private imports, from the agency’s portfolio.
Kicking off the series was one of the newest kids on the block, Deux Caves. (The agency’s name is a play on words, une cave being a cellar in French and un cave being a dumbass, an incompetent, a sucker.) The cave leading the tasting was Max Campbell, who earns an actual living pouring wine, serving tables and shucking oysters at Joe Beef and Vin Papillon; the other cave, Alexander Campbell (no relation to Max) is a Montrealer currently based in Dijon, where he’s studying oenology.
Deux Caves’s portfolio may be small for now but their focus is already clear: ultra-drinkable natural wines. In other words, right up the MWG’s alley, which is part of the reason why demand for seats at the tasting was so high that we ended up holding two sessions back to back (the promise of food, including a dish from Vin Papillon, may also have had something to do with it).
♦
We began with a white and a red from Xavier Marchais, a young winemaker based in the Anjou region. His four hectares of vines (half Chenin, half Cabernet Franc) are farmed biodynamically using a horse and manual labour. Pesticides, herbicides and other synthetic products are systematically avoided. Wine-making is non-interventionist. For the two Elixir cuvées, fermentation (with indigenous yeasts, naturally) and maturation take place in used barriques. Cellar techniques are pretty much limited to crushing and punching down by foot, manual pressing and racking. No sugar or sulphur are added. The unfiltered and unfined wines are bottled by hand and closed with a crown cap (the red’s cap reportedly allows more oxygen exchange than the white’s, which may partially explain the white’s reductive side).
Vin de France 2013, L’Elixir de Jouvence, Xavier Marchais ($28.54, private import, 12 bottles/case, NLA)
100% Chenin Blanc grown on schist. Yields in 2012 were an incredibly low 13 hl/ha (probably similar in 2013). Matured 12 months. Crown-capped. 11.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Deux Caves.
Reductive aromas on the nose and a faint spritz on the palate; carafing the wine well in advance helped to eliminate both. Engaging nose of wax, quince, lemon, minerals, honey, honeysuckle and straw/hay. Coming across as very close to the juice in the mouth. Dry, though, with zingy acidity, ethereal fruit, lots of minerals and a good, clean, tart finish. Light but vibrant and mouth-filling. The winemaker says this is young and more reduced than in other vintages. He also foresees a long life for it, predicting that the acidity will decease while the wine will become rounder and more aromatically complex. In the meantime, he suggests carafing it “violently.” (Buy again? In multiples.)
Vin de France 2013, L’Elixir de Longue Vie, Xavier Marchais ($26.87, private import, 12 bottles/case, NLA)
100% Cabernet Franc grown on schist and spilite. Yields in 2012 were 27 hl/ha (probably similar in 2013). Crown-capped. 11% ABV. Quebec agent: Deux Caves.
Exuberant nose of red fruit with floral, spice and incense overtones but no green pepper. Less exuberant than expected on the palate. Medium-bodied and satin-textured. Very dry, again with ethereal fruit. The acidity is bright and the tannins soft. A streak of slate runs throughout and is joined by spice on the long finish. The bottle at the second tasting was mushroomier than the first. The group’s resident Cab Franc hater actually enjoyed this enough to buy a couple of bottles. (Buy again? Yes.)
Mo’ Wine Group September 27th tastings: flight 1 of 3
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.)
Double Barral
Faugères 2012, Valinière, Domaine Léon Barral ($61.00, 12427052)
A 80-20 blend of Mourvèdre and Syrah from biodynamically farmed vines between 15 and 30 years old. Manually harvested. Gravity-fed into cement vats. Macerated and fermented with indigenous yeasts three to four weeks with regular manual punch-downs. Aged 24 to 36 months in oak barrels (10% new). Never racked, filtered or fined. No added sulphur. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Vini-Vins.
Complex, unplumbable nose: Médoc-like aromas with notes of spice, cherry, “burned popcorn,” hazelnutty dry-aged beef and, eventually, flowers, cedar and clay. Brooding and introverted on the palate. Full-bodied. Balanced though displaying a tight, rigid frame. Possessed of every dimension. The endless finish has a spicy note that one taster likened to tourtière and another to incense. Magnificent. A complete wine that won’t peak for a decade. (Buy again? Budget permitting, yes.)
Faugères 2012, Jadis, Domaine Léon Barral ($42.00, 12427010)
A blend of Carignan (50%), Syrah (40%) and Grenache (10%) from biodynamically farmed 30- to 60-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Gravity-fed into cement vats. Macerated and fermented with indigenous yeasts three to four weeks with regular manual punch-downs. Aged 24 to 36 months in oak barrels (10% new). Never racked, filtered or fined. No added sulphur. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Vini-Vins.
Deep and savoury nose of slate, graphite, plum and dried beef. In the mouth, it’s juicy yet dry, tight yet beautifully balanced. The dark fruit, redolent of spice, is set on slate, structured with tingly tannins and acidity. The long finish strikes a peppery note. Such purity, precision and just plain deliciousness. It may be a baby but it’s a gorgeous one. (Buy again? Done!)
Both wines were carafed and poured back into their bottles at 4 p.m. We tasted them at about 9:30. I kept my glasses and returned to them after everyone had left and I’d finished straightening up the room, at 11 p.m., i.e. seven hours later. Only then were they really beginning to sing.
MWG October 8th tasting: flight 5 of 7
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
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 clay
Domaine des Ardoisières is one of the up-and-comingest estates in the Savoie if not all of France. Its steep, terraced, mountain-side vineyards, formerly forest land above the village of Villard, were created in the late 1990s.
IGP Vin des Allobroges 2012, Argile blanc, Domaine des Ardoisières ($38.20, private import, 6 bottles/case, NLA)
Organically and biodynamically farmed Jacquère (40%), Chardonnay (40%) and Mondeuse Blanche (20%). The varieties are vinified separately. After manual harvesting and sorting, the whole clusters are lightly pressed. The musts are chilled, clarified by settling and transferred to third- to fifth-fill barrels for alcoholic fermentation using indigenous yeasts. Malolactic fermentation is not systematic. The wine is matured nine months (two-thirds in tanks, one-third in thrid- to fifth-fill barrels), then racked, blended, lightly filtered and bottled. Annual production: 10,000-15,000 bottles. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Fresh and bracing nose of white minerals (think limestone, talc), spice, pear and apple. Direct and to the point on the palate. Ethereal despite its weight of extract. A mouth-filling matrix of quartz and flint lightly infused with lemony fruit and taut with acidity. The long, clean, faintly saline finish draws you back for another sip. A delight. (Buy again? Yes.)
IGP Vin des Allobroges 2012, Argile rouge, Domaine des Ardoisières ($47.35, private import, 6 bottles/case)
Organically and biodynamically farmed Gamay (80%) and Persan (20%). The varieties are vinified separately. After manual harvesting and sorting, the whole clusters are placed in open vats for alcoholic fermentation using indigenous yeasts. After two to three weeks’ maceration, the grapes are pressed and the must is transferred to vats for malolactic fermentation. The wine is then matured nine months in three- to five-year-old barrels, racked, blended, lightly filtered and bottled. Annual production: around 5,000 bottles. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
An explosion of red berries and dark minerals with hints of peppery spice and flowers (violet?). Light- to medium-bodied. Lithe, fresh and pure, pure, pure. Lifted by lip-smacking acidity and structured by light, velvety tannins, the tart and juicy fruit lasts well into the long finish, where it’s joined by undertones of dark earth, ferrous minerals and game. A truly memorable alpine red with a definite wild side. Pricey but I kept tasting it on my mind’s palate for days after the tasting – hard to put a price on that. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG July 16th tasting: flight 2 of 6.
Pithon alert!
Pardon the interruption but there’s not a lot of this left in the system and it’s something fans of the style shouldn’t miss.
IGP Côtes Catalanes 2014, Mon P’tit Pithon, Domaine Olivier Pithon ($20.10, 12574811)
Grenache (50%), Syrah (25%) and Mourvèdre (25%) from organically and biodynamically farmed young vines. The whole clusters are fermented with indigenous yeasts. Matured in oak foudres and stainless steel tanks. Lightly filtered and sulphured at bottling. Reducing sugar: 2.4 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Ward & associés.
Lilting nose of red berries with hints of graphite, fresh herbs, Asian spice, animale. In the mouth, it’s a fluid and supple welterweight: dry, savoury and clean. The fruit is carried on a stream of acidity and ruffled by lacy tannins. Finishes on a lightly astringent peppery note. Ultra-drinkable, as befits a self-styled vin de soif. Too structured and sun-drenched to be dubbed a Roussillon Beaujo and yet, and yet… Drink lightly chilled. Killer with grilled sausages. (Buy again? Done!)
Math problem
The problem: A wine – a delicious and rare wine at that – lists on SAQ.com for $51.25. In the store, however, it has been marked down significantly. What’s more, when purchased during yesterday’s 10%-off sale (which discount applied to the marked-down price), the figure on the sales receipt was $35.87. What, then, is the marked-down price before application of the 10% discount, which, alas, is no longer in effect?
The wine in question is Abbatucci’s 2011 BR, which awed the group at a tasting in February 2014. My note at the time:
Vin de table (2011), BR, Domaine Comte Abbatucci ($51.00, 11930123)
100% biodynamically and organically farmed Barbarossa, a red-skinned grape variety here given the blanc de noirs treatment. The first vines were planted in the 1960s. The grapes are manually harvested and pressed immediately after picking. Fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and matured in stainless steel tanks. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. 2,000 bottles made. 13% ABV. [Quebec agent: Vini-Vins.]
Initially reticent but eventually deep. Minerally and floral with hint of lemoncello and a faint herby overtone, like maquis or hops. Round yet very fresh in the mouth, the fruit structured by a crystalline minerality and enlightened by acidity. A faint, pleasing bitterness threads through the long finish. Breathtakingly pure and pristine, not to mention unique. (Buy again? Gladly.)
After opening it yesterday evening to accompany shrimp marinated in white wine, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, olive oil and puréed basil, wrapped in a basil leaf and a thin slice of prosciutto and grilled (recipe here) – an excellent pairing, by the way – I sat down to pen a new note but quickly realized I had little to add to the one above. The wine is drinking beautifully. It’s as fresh and engaging as it was 18 months ago, perhaps a tad rounder and more integrated, with the final bitterness a shade more pronounced. While yesterday’s double discount made it a rare bargain, it’s still a deal at today’s marked-down price, which by my calculation is $39.85.
Edit (2015-09-06 18:49): The MWG’s network of spies reports that the actual marked-down price at the Montreal Signature store is $41.00. The discount was therefore calculated not on the marked-down price but on the list price, which is not how it usually works: 10% of $51.25 = $5.13. $41.00 – $5.13 = $35.87.
Orange juice
Last up were COS’s two orange wines.
IGP Terre Siciliane 2012, Ramì, Azienda Agricola COS ($30.00, 12461525)
Inzolia (50%) and Grecanico (aka Garganega, 50%) from biodynamically and organically vines averaging ten years old. The grapes are manually harvested, destemmed, soft-crushed and macerated on the skins and pips for ten days. Temperature-controlled fermentation (with indigenous yeasts) and maturation take place in concrete tanks. The wine is filtered before bottling with a 2-micron filter. No sulphur is used during the wine-making but a small squirt of sulphur dioxide is added at bottling. Reducing sugar: 1.5 g/l. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Delicious nose of straw and beeswax with hints of dried apricot, sun-baked stone and spice. Smooth and full in the mouth. The muted fruit is perfumed by dried orange, blanched almond and faint powdered ginger overtones. Bright acidity and supple tannins add tension and firmness. Long, balanced and remarkably fresh. While this may not be a radical example of the category – Orange Wine 101? – on its own terms it is wholly satisfying. It may also be the most versatile cheese wine in existence. (Buy again? Definitely.)
IGP Terre Siciliane 2012, Pithos, Bianco, Azienda Agricola COS ($42.00, 12316352)
Grecianico from biodynamically and organically farmed vines averaging a bit less than 15 years old. Manually harvested. The whole-clusters are fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and matured seven months in 400-litre terracotta amphorae, which are buried up to their necks to impede oxidation. Further maturation takes place in the bottle. Unfiltered. Minimally sulphured. Reducing sugar: 1.5 g/l. 10.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
By both the winemaker’s and agent’s admission, high in volatile acidity, not that you can see it. Complex nose of straw, banana peel, white spice, almond, dried yellow fruit, crushed rocks. So suave in the mouth. Smooth textured, fluid and fresh. The fruit is understated – though you definitely taste the skins along with grapes – and lightly tinted by salted caramel. Faint tannins add structure and an intriguing astringency, particularly on the finish. Not a shouter but no less wonderful for it. (Buy again? Yes.)
Carafe these several hours in advance and don’t make the mistake of drinking them too cold; remember, they’re as akin to red wines as to whites. I usually find 14-16°C (around 60°F) about right.
MWG April 14th tasting: flight 6 of 6.
COS and effect
The second half of the April 14th tasting was led by Giusto Occhipinti, one of the two partners of Azienda Agricola COS. Giusto’s last name contributed the O in the estate’s acronym (current partner Giambattista Cilia contributed the C, while the S comes from former partner Cirino Strano). Though the wines made by Giusto’s niece Arianna Occhipinti arguably have a higher profile these days, it was COS, founded in 1980, that showed the way, that spearheaded the revolution in winemaking in the region. (Back in 2010, when she she led a MWG tasting, Arianna herself said it was Giusto who initiated her into winemaking.)
The estate is located in Acate-Chiaramonte, outside of Vittoria in Ragusa province in southeast Sicily. Originally owing only three hectares, COS acquired the nearby Villa Fontane estate and its nine hectares of vines – which they have since expanded to 17 hectares – in 1991. In 2005, they purchased a neighbouring estate with an additional 20 hectares of vines and an 18th-century wine cellar. They renovated the wine cellar and built new winemaking facilities, with 150 in-ground amphorae, which they inaugurated in 2007.
Early experiments with then-modish international varieties led them to focus – though not exclusively – on local varieties, especially the Nero d’Avola and Frappato for their flagship Cerasuolos. The partners also adopted biodynamic practices in the early 1990s, as they consider them the best option for expressing the region’s terroirs. Clay amphorae were first introduced in the fall of 2000. Cellar practices are non-interventionist: ambient yeasts; no additives except for a small squirt of sulphur dioxide at bottling; no fining or filtering. The unusual shape of the squat bottles is inspired by an ancient flask unearthed during excavations on the property.
Our tasting began with the estate’s three entry-level wines.
IGP Terre Siciliane 2013, Il Frappato, Azienda Agricola COS ($28.20, 12461488)
100% Frappato from organically farmed vines around a dozen years old. Macerated and fermented on the skins with indigenous yeasts for 10 days. Matured 12 months in glass-lined concrete tanks. Reducing sugar: 2.3 g/l. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Fresh nose of crushed raspberry, light spice and pumice. It’s a supple wine, on the lighter side of medium-bodied, with pure sweet fruit, sustained acidity and lacy tannins. As the fruit dries and fades, background minerals come to the fore on the long, bitter-edged finish. Very elegant and drinkable. Food friendly, too (think pasta, rabbit stew or grilled tuna). (Buy again? Yes.)
IGP Terre Siciliane 2013, Nero di Lupo, Azienda Agricola COS ($29.30, 12538561)
100% Nero d’Avola from organically farmed vines around a dozen years old. Macerated and fermented on the skins with indigenous yeasts for 10 days. Matured 18 to 24 months months in terracotta amphorae and glass-lined concrete tanks. Reducing sugar: 2.3 g/l. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Reductive at first, then yielding a fresh nose of red fruit, slate and sandalwood. Medium-bodied. Supple but more structured and dimensional than the Frappato. A fundamentally dry and savoury wine, remarkable for its dark, tart fruit, mineral underlay, overall balance and lightly spicy finish. Delicious. About as far as you can get from the run-of-the-mill Nero d’Avola. I’ll drink to that. (Buy again? Yes.)
IGT Sicilia 2010, Maldafrica, Azienda Agricola COS ($31.00, 12465155)
When I asked about the origin of the name, Giusto explained that, in Italian, maldafrica is, among other things, a kind of homesickness for an exotic place. In this case, the non-Sicilian varieties were planted by a régisseur who hailed from Bordeaux. This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (45%), Merlot (45%) and Frappato (10%) from organically farmed vines around 20 years old. Fermented on the skins with indigenous yeasts in terracotta amphorae. Matured in Slavonian oak barrels and in the bottle. Reducing sugar: 1.8 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Cassis, slate, hints of tobacco, red meat, leather and spice. Medium- to full-bodied and, like every other COS wine, balanced, civilized and supple. The ripe, solar, savoury fruit is intense yet lithe, the acidity smooth, the tannins round. Work your way through the layers of flavour and you’ll find a substrate of minerals. Tobacco and cedar scent the long finish. True to both its Bordeaux and Sicilian roots, this elegant wine is the “kind of pure and racy warm-climate red that should have New World winemakers seriously questioning their modus operandi (looking at you, Napa),” to quote my note on the 2009. Unfortunately, there is very little left in Quebec. (Buy again? If the opportunity presents itself, absolutely.)
MWG April 14th tasting: flight 4 of 6.
Brett happens 