Posts Tagged ‘biodynamic’
A civilized red from the Languedoc
While this made a fine pairing for hanger steak with anchovy, garlic and parsley (recipe after the jump), I couldn’t stop thinking of Patricia Wells’ roasted guinea hen stuffed with finely chopped black olives, shallots, thyme, chicken liver and bacon (see Bistro Cooking for the script).
Languedoc 2012, Campredon, Domaine Alain Chabanon ($27.15, 11909586)
Chabanon is reportedly a disciple of Alain Brumont, not that you’d ever guess it from this wine. A blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre and Grenache (50-30-20 according to some, 60-25-15 according to SAQ.com) from biodynamically and organically farmed vines averaging 23 years old. Manually harvested. Gravity-transferred to stainless steel tanks. Fermentation (with indigenous yeasts) and maceration last five weeks and entail alternating punch-downs and pump-overs. The wine is then pressed in a pneumatic press and matured ten months in stainless steel tanks. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. 12% ABV (!) per the label, 13% per SAQ.com. Quebec agent: A.O.C. & Cie Châteaux et Domaines.
Fresh and fragrant nose of dusty plum and blackberry with hints of dried herbs, licorice, game and old wood. Medium-bodied. The impressively pure, ripe-sweet fruit is soon wrapped in a gossamer astringency and bitterness. Supple tannins frame, soft acidity buoys, mineral and black olive flavours haunt. A dry, long and graceful wine that is savoury to its core. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG July 17th tasting: Cabernet Franc shoot-out
Cabernet Franc 2010, Laundry Vineyard, Lincoln Lakeshore, Tawse Winery ($35.00, 12211294)
100% Cabernet Franc . Sixty percent of the vines are more than 20 years old, making them some of the oldest Cab Franc vines on the Niagara Peninsula. Manually harvested. Matured 18 months in French oak barrels. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Importation Le Pot de Vin.
Rich nose of black raspberry, tobacco leaf, ashtray, slate, green pepper. Medium-bodied. Fruity but dry, with a creamy texture, fine, tight tannins and good acidity. Spice overtones embellish the fruit while ash and oak dominate the long finish. While there’s good material here, it’s spoiled by the cloying oak. Will that change with time? Good question, especially when the producer’s estimated shelf life for the wine is five to seven years and four have gone by. (Buy again? Only if in the mood for a wine that tries too hard.)
IGP Costa Toscana 2012, CiFRA, Azienda Vitivinicola Duemani ($30.75, 11838415)
The estate’s entry-level wine (the other Cab Franc bottling runs a cool $86). 100% Biodynamically farmed Cabernet Franc, fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and matured in concrete vats. Lightly dosed with sulphur dioxide at bottling. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: L’Enoteca di Moreno de Marche.
Striking nose: prune juice and fruit cake with a hint of menthol. In the mouth, medium-bodied, fluid, pure, clean. Devoid of herbaceousness, the fruit is ripe and sweet but the wine is dry. Round tannins, stealth acidity and a long, savoury finish complete the picture. A delicious Cabernet Franc that strikes a happy balance between Old World and New. (Buy again? Sure, though not without some grumbling about the 10% price increase over the 2011.)
MWG July 17th tasting: A rosé is a rosé is a rosé?
Côtes du Rhône 2010, Rosé, Domaine Gourt de Mautens ($73.50, private import, NLA)
The inaugural vintage of this wine. A blend of co-planted organically and biodynamically farmed Grenache Noir, Carignan, Mourvèdre and Counoise from nearly century-old vines. Very low yields (10 to 15 hl/ha). Manually harvested. Sorted on picking and in the cellar. The grapes are pressed on arrival. The must is then co-fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured ten to 18 months in stainless steel tanks and neutral demi-muids. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. The winemaker says this is essentially a blanc de noirs and can be aged up to ten or 15 years. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Soft orange-pink. Impossibly complex nose that never stops evolving: grilled peach, red currant, blood orange, white pepper, quartz, garrigue, dried flowers, roast chicken, talc. In the mouth, a dry and savoury middleweight with sustained acidity and layer upon ethereal layer of fruit and flinty minerals. Structured and tense in the manner of a fine white. An orange wine-like hint of tannin textures the long finish. Delicious even when warm. The alcohol is totally unapparent. Phenomenal. (Buy again? If the price isn’t a barrier, yes.)
MWG June 12th tasting: Red banner
Crozes-Hermitage 2012, Et la bannière…, Matthieu Barret SARL ($37.35, private import, 6 bottles/case)
Matthieu Barret is the owner-winemaker at Domaine du Coulet, three of whose Cornases the MWG enjoyed in December 2012. The eponymous SARL is his crittertastic négociant label. This is 100% biodynamically and organically farmed Syrah, the only red grape variety allowed in the appellation. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in concrete vats with indigenous yeasts and pump-overs. The resulting wine is racked, matured for 12 months, then bottled unfiltered and unfined with a small amount of sulphur (2 g/hl), the only additive used in making the wine. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Complex, umami-rich nose: plum, oyster sauce/tamari, forest floor, hints of chocolate, smoke, Thai basil and violet. Smooth and velvety though loaded with acidity (so pure and intense is the fruit, you hardly notice). Round tannins, rumbling minerals and a long, juicy finish complete the picture. Vibrant and delicious. Not cheap but if you can find a more appealing Syrah at the price in Quebec, I’d love to hear about it. (Buy again? Yes!)
MWG June 12th tasting: Freewheeler
Vin de France 2012, Roue libre, Domaine Le Grain de Sénevé ($26.50, private import, 12 bottles/case)
Located in the Beaujolais-Villages appellation, two-hectare Domaine Le Grain de Sénevé – whose name translates as the wild mustard seed estate – began converting to organic production in 2007 and was certified organic in 2010. Like several other natural winemakers, Hervé Ravera has decided to shun the AOC straitjacket; all his wines are now vins de France. This is the estate’s unsulphured cuvée. 100% biodynamically farmed Gamay. The manually harvested whole clusters are fermented in concrete tanks with indigenous yeasts, then pressed. The wine is bottled unfiltered and unfined. 10.5% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Typical natural Gamay nose: raspberry, candied violet, minerals, distant smoke and barnyard, a whiff of reduction. A lightweight mouthful of tart, juicy fruit and slate with whispering tannins and a lip-smacking finish. Authentic, even old-fashioned in its bucking of the trend to dense, powerful Beaujolais. Eminently quaffable and refreshing, especially when served lightly chilled. (Buy again? Yep.)
MWG June 12th tasting: Crystal therapy
IGP Vin des Allobroges 2012, Schiste, Domaine des Ardoisières ($64.00, private import, 6 bottles/case)
The steep, terraced, mountain-side vineyards, formerly forest land above the village of Villard, were created in the late 1990s. From the start, all farming has been organic and biodynamic. This is a blend of four of the estate’s five white varieties: Jacquère (40%), Roussane (30%), Malvoisie (aka Pinot Gris, 20%) and Mondeuse Blanche (10%). The varieties are vinified separately. After manual harvesting, the grapes 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 for 12 months in barrels, then racked, blended, lightly filtered and bottled. Production: around 7,000 bottles. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
One of the most crystalline wines I’ve encountered. Fresh, dry, ethereal and above all pure. Intertwining scents and flavours of wax, white fruit, minerals and flowers. Exquisite tension between acidity and extract. Long saline, white spice-haunted finish. An elegantly balanced wine with every quality. Breathtaking now though the estate claims it can age for up to a decade. A knockout with Reblochon cheese. (Buy again? Oh, yes.)
MWG June 12th tasting: Craziness? Not.
VDP de L’Hérault 2012, L’In, Mas Conscience ($29.50, private import, 6 bottles/case)
The cuvée’s name, L’In, is a play on the estate’s name; it stands for l’inconscience (craziness, madness), a reference to the folly of making dry white wines in the hot Languedoc. This, the estate’s only white, is a blend of organically and biodynamically farmed Grenache Blanc (50%), Rolle (24%), Roussanne (24%) and Viognier (2%). The grapes are harvested by hand, typically in late August to ensure a degree of freshness. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Allowed to undergo malolatic fermentation. Filtered before bottling. Use of sulphur is minimized. Around 500 cases are produced. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Honeyed white fruit and white flowers, chalk and fresh hay. Weighty and dry, even a bit alkaline, but still quite fresh. As much about minerals as fruit. Long finish. Less complete and transporting than some top Languedoc-Roussillon whites (Clos du Rouge Gorge and Mas de Daumas Gassac, for example) though, in its defence, they cost considerably more. Probably best thought of as a food wine. Would go well with dishes like scallops with asparagus, orange and thyme, sea bass baked in a salt crust, and rabbit and preserved lemon tagine. (Buy again? Sure.)
MWG June 12th tasting: Hi yo, Silvaner!
Rheinhessen 2012, Grüner Sylvaner, Trocken, Battenfeld-Spanier ($26.60, private import, 6 bottles/case)
The 28-hectare estate is located in Hohen-Sülzen near Worms and has been organic since 1993, began working biodynamically in 2005 and is now a member of La Renaissance des appellations. This 100% Grüner Sylvaner (aka Silvaner and Sylvaner) is fermented with indigenous yeasts and sees only stainless steel until bottling. Screwcapped. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Flinty minerals, lime zest, apple, grass, hints of smoke and ash. Clean and dry (especially on the finish), tense with acidity. The fruit is shot through with minerals and gains an appealing sour note and hazelnut-skin bitterness. Long. In contrast to some Sylvaners, there’s nothing rustic about this wonderfully tonic wine. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG June 12th tasting: Return of an old friend
Cour-Cheverny 2010, Domaine des Huards ($21.65, private import, 12 bottles/case)
100% Romorantin from 35-year-old organically and biodynamically farmed vines. Manually harvested, lightly pressed, fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured on the lees for six months. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Sour wax, yellow apple, straw, chalk and a touch of honey. Medium-bodied. Smooth, even a little waxy on the surface but with a acidic lemony core. Pear and minerals last well into the long, clean, bone-dry finish. Pure and intense, fresh and savoury: a delight. Can be aged up to a decade. (I successfully cellared several bottles of the 2001, for example. It probably peaked around 2007 though the last of my bottles, uncorked in 2012, was glorious for 15 or 20 minutes after opening and then quickly expired.) This used to be a staple at the SAQ and will be returning to the monopoly next year, likely in the form of the 2011. (Buy again? Absolutely.)
Un Côtes de Francs franc de goût
Bordeaux Côtes de Francs 2008, Château le Puy ($27.35, 00709469)
The estate makes several wines. This, the only one brought into Quebec, is the Emilien bottling, though that description appears nowhere on the front label. A blend of biodynamically and organically farmed Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carménère (85%, 14% and 1% respectively in typical vintages) from 50-year-old vines. The grapes are fully destemmed. Fermentation in open, temperature-controlled vats with indigenous yeasts and no chaptalization lasts two to four weeks. Matured 24 months, 60% of the time in large foudres and 40% of the time in third- to fifth-fill oak casks. Bottled unfiltered. 12.5% ABV. Also available in 500 ml bottles ($18.70, 00896399). Quebec agent: A.O.C. & cie Châteaux et Domaines.
Wafting nose of cassis and red fruit with faint herbs, spice and mushroom, a pianissimo floral note and, unlike some bottles, not a hint of barnyard. Medium-bodied and smooth textured. The bright fruit and supple tannins flow to the clean finish on a long stream of soft acidity. Less compelling than the 2005? If so, only a little. With all its elements integrated, this civilized, honest, eminently drinkable wine is approachable now but balanced and alive enough to continue developing for at least another five or maybe even ten years. Probably not the first choice for a grilled T-bone (look to Argentina for that), this would accompany braised meats, grilled veal chops or meat pies to perfection. It also made a synergistic match with za’atar hummus, picking up on the earthy, citrus and herb flavours in a most surprising way. (Buy again? Sure.)
Brett happens 