Posts Tagged ‘biodynamic’
Le génie de la Loire
In honour of Bastille Day (because these beauties could only have come from France), notes from a recent tasting of Loire wines chosen by Sam with a connoisseur’s eye. Most were private imports, a few were importations valise and, as far as I know, none are currently available in Quebec.
PRELUDE
Vouvray 2008, Brut, Méthode traditionnel, Philippe Foreau (Clos Naudin)
100% Chenin Blanc. 13% ABV. The 2011 can be found at the SAQ for $30.
Limpid gold. Tiny bubbles and not tons of them. Yellow fruit, lemon blossom and toast against a chalky background. Dry and minerally with a nipping acidity and effervescence. Long, toasted brioche finish. Impeccable.
FLIGHT 1
Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine 2010, Clisson, Domaine de la Pépière
100% Melon de Bourgogne. The estate is represented in Quebec by Vinealis.
Closed nose: faint lemon, pear and chalk. Dry, extracted and dimensional. Trenchant acidity. As much about minerals as fruit. Long, saline finish. Great presence. Austere bordering on severe but oh, so pure and beautiful. My wine of the flight.
Sancerre 2001, Clos de Beaujeu, Gérard Boulay
100% Sauvignon Blanc. 12.5% ABV. Represented in Quebec by Rézin.
Intriguing bouquet: overripe white peach, crystalline minerals and, as one taster noted, a suggestion of mushroom. Dry. Minerally more than fruity – faint citrus and gun smoke. A not off-putting acrid note surfaces on the long finish. Tasting double-blind, I didn’t peg this as either a Sauvignon Blanc or – due to its vibrancy and tension – a 12-year-old wine.
Saumur 2009, La Charpentrie, Domaine du Collier
100% old-vine Chenin Blanc. 13% ABV. Represented in Quebec by oenopole.
Rich nose: peach and some tropical fruit, honey, sour white flowers. Silky and rich with a touch of residual sugar. Brisk acidity provides welcome cut, faint herbs and chalky minerals welcome complexity. Immaculate, authentic and delicious though not particularly deep, at least at this point in its probably long life.
FLIGHT 2
Bourgueil 1993, Busardières, Domaine de la Chevalerie
100% biodynamically farmed Cabernet Franc. 12.5% ABV. Represented in Quebec by La QV.
Delicate but complex: ash, spice, ripe but not jammy boysenberry, humus and hummus, slate and stems. Smooth and supple with fully resolved, velvety tannins and bright acidity. Seemed a bit thin next to the Chinon. On its own, however, complete and surprisingly vibrant at 20 years of age.
Chinon 2005, Domaine Les Roches (Alain and Jérome Lenoir)
100% Cabernet Franc. 12.5% ABV. Represented in Quebec by Glou. This bottle cost around $25.
Initially closed, the nose became more complex and perfumed over the course of the evening. Elderberry liqueur, floral overtones, a hint of meat, some old wood and the faintest note of bacon and new leather. Concentrated, even chewy, yet silky and not heavy. Layers of rich fruit and dark minerals structured by fine, firm tannins and energizing acidity. Long, lightly astringent finish. Superb. My wine of the flight and Cab Franc of the night.
Saumur-Champigny 2008, Clos Rougeard
100% Cabernet Franc. 12.5% ABV. Last I heard, the estate was represented in Quebec by Réserve & Sélection.
Darker, meatier with a hint of fresh tomato, background slate, sawed wood. Tighter than a drum: structured more than fruity and the élevage is showing. You can see that the wine is perfectly proportioned, that the fruit is pure, ripe and deep, that the use of the barrel is masterful. You can also see that the wine needs – at a minimum – another decade to open up. Tasted 24 hours later, the tail end of the bottle had hardly budged.
FLIGHT 3
Chinon 2009, Coteau de Noiré, Philippe Alliet
100% Cabernet Franc. 13% ABV. Represented in Quebec by Le Maître de Chai. The 2010 is sold at the SAQ Signature for $46.
Young, unresolved nose: choco-cherry, sawed wood, dill, ash. Smooth, dapper, restrained. Fine albeit tight tannins. The clean, ripe fruit – showing some tobacco but not a hint of greenness – is deepened by dark minerals and subtle wood. A delicate astringency velvets the long finish. Good potential. Revisit in five years.
Saumur 2009, La Charpentrie, Domaine du Collier
100% Cabernet Franc. 13% ABV. Represented in Quebec by oenopole.
Plummy (a sign of the hot vintage?) and slatey. Round, rich and balanced. The tannins and acidity are fruit-cloaked but there’s plenty of underlying structure. Lightly yet pervasively astringent. The élevage shows on the long finish. While its potential is obvious, this is another case of a bottle too young.
Chinon 2009, La Croix Boisée, Domaine Bernard Baudry
100% Cabernet Franc, aged in barrel, not filtered or fined. 13.5% ABV. Represented in Quebec by Balthazard.
So closed on the nose: wood, wet slate and not much else. Closed on the palate, too. Ripe, even liqueurish fruit, old wood, minerals. Sleek tannins. Rich, complete and in need of time, much time.
POSTLUDE
Vouvray moelleux 1986, Clos du Bourg, Domaine Huet
100% biodynamically farmed Chenin Blanc. 12% ABV. The 2007 runs $50.50 at the SAQ.
Amazing nose: dried pear, wax, straw, honey, turbinado sugar… Intense on the palate yet also elegant, reserved and nuanced. Neither dry nor sweet. Brilliant acidity. Chewing reveals all kinds of complexity. Spice, chalk, quartz, caramel, candied pineapple are only some of the flavours. A crème brûlée note lingers through the long finish. Astonishingly young and fresh. Wine of the tasting for most people around the table.
Côteaux du Loir 2009, Les Giroflées, Domaine Bellivière
A 100% biodynamically farmed Pineau d’Aunis rosé. 13.5% ABV. Represented in Quebec by Le Maître de Chai but I’m not sure they bring this wine in (our bottle was purchased at Flatiron Wines and Spirits in New York City).
Strawberry, wax, quartz on the nose. Smooth and quaffable. Off-dry. A basket of fresh berry fruit with just enough acidity and a touch of peppery spice. Simple but charming. Flavourwise, it made a fine pairing for pâte sucrée bars filled with a thin layer of pastry cream and topped with fresh raspberries and a rhubarb marshmallow, though in the best of all possible worlds the pastries would have been a little less sweet.
MWG June 20th tasting (7/8): Le beau et la bête
Corse Calvi 2011, Clos Culombu ($23.15, 11910368)
Nielluccio (50%), Sciacarello (30%), Syrah (10%) and Grenache (10%). Six days’ cold maceration are followed by a 26-day fermentation/maceration with punch-downs. Matured on the fine lees. 14% ABV.
Jammy red berries, vanilla and toasty oak equal one thing: strawberry Pop-Tarts. Very ripe, very sweet fruit, velvety tannins and just enough acidity to keep the wine from collapsing on itself. The oak is laid on with a trowel. So confected and cloying I couldn’t take more than two or three sips. And where’s the terroir? A real disappointment after the estate’s seductive 2010 Ribbe Rosse. An SAQ wine advisor tells me this is popular with a certain segment. If so, it’s one I’m not in. (Buy again? No way.)
Ajaccio 2010, Faustine, Domaine Comte Abbatucci ($28.85, 11930060)
Sciacarello (70%) and Nielluccio (30%) from biodynamically farmed 10- to 15-year-old vines. Macerated 40 days, fermented with ambient yeasts, matured in concrete vats. 13% ABV.
Beautiful. Subtle strawberry and cherry, garrigue (well, maquis), sawed cedar, schist. So smooth and suave, so poised and perfectly pitched. Medium-bodied and satin-textured. Alive with pure fruit, fine tannins and energizing acidity, all grounded in earth and herbs. A faint medicinal tang threads through the clean finish. The perfect antidote to the Culombu. (Buy again? In multiples.)
Cabernet Franc di Bolgheri
IGP Costa Toscana 2011, CiFRA, Azienda vitivinicola Duemani ($27.70, 11838415)
The estate’s entry-level wine, recently created in response to restaurateurs’ request for a less expensive wine from the estate. Biodynamically farmed Cabernet Franc, fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and matured in concrete vats. Lightly dosed with sulphur dioxide at bottling. 14% ABV.
Appealing nose of red berries, spice and faint incense. Medium-bodied with a fluid texture not unlike some of Thierry Germain‘s wines from warm years. The fruit – cherry mainly – is pure and ripe if leaner, firmer and less sweet than the Duemani’s but devoid of Loire-ish herbaceousness (there is some dried herb action going on though). The fine, astringent tannins have a ripeness and roundness that speaks of a warm climate while the refreshing acidity seems more in line with what you expect in a cool-climate wine. A bottle that might make believers out of Cab Franc skeptics. (Buy again? Sure.)
IGT Toscana 2007, Duemani, Azienda vitivinicola Duemani ($85.75, 11794310)
Biodynamically farmed Cabernet Franc. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled 30- to 40-litre oak vats with frequent punch-downs. Fermentation/maceration lasts about two weeks.. Matured at least 12 months in French barrels and tonneaux (50% new, 50% second vintage). Lightly dosed with sulphur dioxide at bottling. 14.5% ABV.
Candied fruit and umami (dried mushroom, soy sauce) on the nose along with a touch of vanilla. Full-bodied, rich and round. The mouth-filling fruit may be sweet but it’s buoyed by high acidity and firmed by a tannic framework that doesn’t really reveal itself until you chew the wine. The oak is just about resolved. The finish could be more sustained and emphatic, though tertiary flavours linger long. While there’s no denying the wine’s quality and breeding, it’s a little too over-groomed, overripe and New Worldish for me. And then there’s the price… (Buy again? No, but well-heeled fans of California reds should check it out.)
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.
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.)
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.
oenopole’s Greek spring workshop (4/6)
Served with veal tartare studded with cranberries and made almost fiery by shallots.
Naoussa 2011, Jeunes Vignes de Xinomavro, Domaine Thymiopoulos ($17.50, 11607617)
100% biodynamically farmed Xinomavro from ten-year-old vines. Manually harvested. 80% destemmed, 20% whole cluster pressed. Very gentle pressing. Fermented with indigenous yeasts with no pump-overs. Macerated about one week, then aged nine months in stainless steel tanks. Bottled unfiltered. 13.5% ABV.
My affection for this wine is well documented (see here, here and here) and this encounter only confirmed the love. Cherry and fired minerals with sappy/stemmy, dried herb and licorice notes. Medium-bodied and fluid. Dry yet remarkably fresh. As minerally as fruity with a cranberry-like tang. So drinkable – there really is a Beaujolais cru-like quality to the wine. Joy. (Buy again? By the case.)
> A pitch-perfect pairing. The tartare’s mild meatiness backdropped the wine’s fruit, the respective mineralities echoed each other, the “cranberry” and cranberries sang a duet and the briny capers presented no issues thanks to the wine’s acidity, savour and low tannins. Genius.
New arrivals from Glou (5/5)
Located near Templeton in the Paso Robles AVA, AmByth Estate acquired its land in 2001 and planted its first vines in 2004. With daytime temperatures reaching 100ºF (38ºC) or higher in the summer, the owners wisely decided to focus on southern European grape varieties. As hot as it gets at midday, cool Pacific winds bring the night temperatures down to around 50ºF (10ºC), helping to preserve the grapes’ acid balance and prevent overripeness. The estate is certified organic and biodynamic and its 20 acres (8 ha) of vineyards and olive groves are dry-farmed. Winemaking uses natural yeasts and no added anything, except sulphur (no sulphur in the 2012s). The wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined. The estate has begun experimenting with amphoras. Total annual wine production is around 1,000 cases.
Red Table Wine 2011, Paso Robles, AmByth Estate ($34.55, Glou, 6 bottles/case)
Having only small quantities of fruit in frosty springed 2011, the estate decided to concoct a one-off table wine from lots that didn’t make it into the regular cuvées. A crazy blend of Grenache (20%), Mourvèdre (19%), Sangiovese (19%), Tempranillo (18%), Grenache Blanc (10%), Counoise (7%), Syrah (5%) and Marsanne (2%), all from estate vineyards. 14 ppm sulphur was added. 138 cases were made; as of this posting, Glou has only one left. 13.3% ABV.
Savoury nose of red and black fruit (a bit Chambord-like), hay stubble, ink. Medium-bodied with good acidity, slender yet pleasantly raspy tannins and clean fruit, neither candied nor heavy. Tastes of the earth. Very drinkable. (Buy again? Yes but…)
Adamo 2009, Paso Robles, AmByth Estate ($47.00, Glou, 6 bottles/case)
Grenache (59%) Mourvèdre (17%), Syrah (13%) and Counoise (11%). Lightly stomped with the stems. Part of the GSM was fermented in a new French oak barrel, part in a neutral barrel; all was given two weeks’ maceration. The remaining GSM and the Cournoise were open-top fermented with regular punch-downs. 90 cases made. 13% ABV.
Red and black berries, lightly candied, along with some dusty garrigue notes. Soft-textured, pure and, for a Southern Californian, restrained, an impression only heightened by the bright acidity and sinewy tannins. Long, lightly astringent finish. Not a lot of depth but a really enjoyable surface. Ready to go. (Buy again? Yes but…)
With their lean fruit, strong acidity, reasonable alcohol levels, overall poise and great savour, these are some of the freshest, food-friendliest, most non-palate-clobbering (digeste, as the French succinctly say) Rhône-style wines from the New World I’ve tasted. Why the “yes buts” then? In a word, QPR, which is low relative to the wines’ Old World counterparts. But that’s true for many Californians these days, let alone micro-production natural wines from artisanal producers. Relative to other Golden State wines, they’re not overpriced (e.g. $47 Adamo vs. $49 Cigare Volant).
MWG April 18th tasting (8/9): Corsican hat trick
Vin de Corse–Figari 2010, Clos Canarelli ($36.75, 11794521)
A blend of biodynamically farmed Niellucciu (80%), Syrah (15%) and Sciaccarellu (5%) from 13-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Fully destemmed. Fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and matured in large foudres for 14 to 18 months with daily punch-downs during fermentation. Unfiltered and unfined. 13.5% ABV.
Brooding nose of maquis, ink, red and black fruit, black tea and bitter chocolate. Dense but not heavy, redolent of dark plum and spice, with bedrock minerals and a gamey note. Firm round tannins, fluent acidity and a long, savoury finish round out the ideally proportioned package. Impressive if a little monolithic at this stage in its development. Stick it in a cellar for five or ten years or carafe several hours if serving now. (Buy again? Definitely.)
Patrimonio 2010, Domaine d’E Croce, Yves Leccia ($30.00, 10783213)
Nielluciu (90%) and Grenache (10%) from 20- to 40-year-old vines in the E Croce lieu-dit. Manually harvested, sorted by clusters, destemmed and crushed. Fermented in stainless steel tanks at 25 to 30ºC with daily pump-overs. After 12 to 15 days, the grapes are pressed and the free run and press juices are blended. Matured at least 12 months in stainless steel tanks. Lightly filtered before bottling. 13.5% ABV.
A less intense and opaque red-purple than the other two wines in the flight. Appealing if odd nose of red and black berries, fresh raw kidney and hints of sandalwood and licorice. Medium-bodied with a fluid texture. The ripe fruit is structured by fine tannins and smooth acidity and has some earthy/minerally depth. Clean finish. Fully accessible now, this suave wine is reputed to improve with up to a decade or two of age; given its purity and balance, that claim doesn’t seem outlandish. (Buy again? Yes.)
Vin de Corse–Calvi 2010, Ribbe Rosse, Clos Culombu ($38.00, 11910376)
A 50-50 blend of Sciaccarellu and Niellucciu. Long (40 days) fermenation and maceration in 500-litre oak barrels. 14.5% ABV.
Complex and beguiling. A fine savoury mouthful of pure, sweet-cored red fruit with overtones of maquis, dried earth and spice. Bright acidity adds freshness, puckery tannins push the silky texture toward satin and the long finish brings a charry note. The alcohol is not apparent. Surprisingly accessible though clearly cellar-worthy. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG April 18th tasting (5/9): Cheverny rouge
Cheverny 2011, Le Pressoir, Michel Gendrier ($19.85, 11154021)
A blend of biodynamically farmed Pinot Noir (80%) and Gamay (20%). The grapes are transferred to the vats without pumping. Alcoholic fermentation – with native yeasts – takes place at temperatures up to 30ºC and lasts about a week. The wine is then gently pressed, racked, allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation, oxygenated and racked again in December with bottling taking place in April or May. The only non-grape product added is small amounts of sulphur dioxide. 12.5% ABV.
Perfumy nose. Flavours tending to red cherry, earth, minerals and a touch of stemmy greenness. Barely medium-bodied. The fruit is clean and tart, the tannins slender, the finish tangy. Pleasant enough but a little short on depth and breadth, especially compared with the memorable 2006. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Cheverny 2010, Domaine Maison Père & Fils ($17.50, 11463801)
Pinot Noir (60%), Gamay (30%) and Malbec/Côt (10%). The grapes are sorted and destemmed. Fermented with native yeasts at 25-28ºC. Matured in tanks for 10 months. 12% ABV.
Odd but not unappealing nose of black currant, guava, baking spice and a little blood. Smooth and light, with silky tannins. The fruit tastes riper and sweeter than the Pressoir’s. Simple and well made but not a wine for thinking about. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Brett happens 