Posts Tagged ‘California’
Pink wave
Four rosés that have hit the SAQ’s shelves just in time for our spate of summery weather. All but the Bonny Doon are from the May 2nd Cellier New Arrivals release.
Patrimonio 2011, Osé, Domaine d’E Croce, Yves Leccia ($22.95, 11900821)
100% Nielluccio. A saignée method rosé. The juice is “bled” from the red wine vat after 12 hours’ maceration, cold-settled for 24 hours, then fined. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks at 18ºC and lasts 15 to 20 days. The wine is not allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation. Matured six months in stainless steel tanks. Lightly filtered before bottling. 13.5% ABV.
Bold medium pink. Wafting nose of red berries, nectarine, minerals and above all maquis. Silky bordering on dense. Bright but not sweet fruit, some mineral depth and a lingering savoury finish with a saline note. My pour came from a bottle that had been open about 24 hours, yet the wine was still fresh and vibrant (it reportedly had a carbon dioxide tingle on opening but not when I got around to tasting it). To my palate, the winner of the four. Though it screams vin de terrasse, it also has the wherewithal to accompany tapas and grilled chicken. (Buy again? Yes.)
Vin Gris de Cigare 2012, Central Coast, Bonny Doon Vineyard ($22.75, 10262979)
Grenache (62%), Mourvèdre (17%), Roussanne (9%), Grenache Blanc (6%) and Cinsault (6%). 12.5% ABV according to the winemaker, 13.5% according to SAQ.com. Screwcapped.
A true gris: as pale grey/tan as it is pink. On both the nose and the palate, lots of minerals and garrigue but not much fruit. As close to bone dry as a rosé gets. Good weight and length. Truer to its Rhône/Provence model than some earlier vintages. If nit-picking, you could say it’s a little short on charm. Still, it’s likely the best pink wine in the SAQ’s regular catalogue. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Vin Gris d’Amador 2011, Sierra Foothills, Terre Rouge ($22.95, 11629710)
Mourvèdre (61%), Grenache (35%) and Syrah (4%). The name notwithstanding, this is a saignée method rosé made from juice “bled” from the red wine vats early in the maceration stage. Vinification is in used French oak barrels. 13.5% ABV.
Dark salmon pink. The most fragrant of the four: red berries, spice, dried herbs. Winey and mouth-filling but avoiding heaviness due to the acidity and held-in-check fruit. Long, savoury, even a little heady. This was the favourite of the wine advisor pouring the sample, who also speculated that, were it served in an opaque glass, most tasters would guess it was a red wine. More a food wine than a sipper. I’d pair it with something like grilled pork chops. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Marsannay rosé 2011, Domaine Bruno Clair ($23.30, 10916485)
100% Pinot Noir. One-third of the grapes are pressed on arrival at the winery; the remainder are whole cluster-macerated for up to 72 hours before being pressed. The musts are then blended and transferred to stainless steel tanks for 20 to 30 days’ fermentation at 18 to 20ºC. Matured 12 months in stainless steel tanks. 12.5% ABV.
While earlier vintages of this have often been exquisite, the 2011 is anything but. It’s like the life has been sucked out of it. The fruit – strawberry, I’d guess – is dessicated and oxidized. With nothing to counterbalance it, the acid makes the wine taste sharp. And then there’s the faint acrid note on the finish. Could be an off bottle but, if so, it’s reportedly not the only one. (Buy again? Nope.)
MWG March 21st tasting (3/6): Rhône-ish
Viognier 2010, Santa Ynez Valley, Zaca Mesa Winery ($20.20, 11882547)
100% Viognier. Began fermenting in stainless steel vats. Halfway through it was transferred to neutral French oak barrels for maturation. Not allowed to undergo malolatic fermentaion. 13.5% ABV.
Faint tropical fruit, peach/nectarine, honeysuckle, dried earth and straw. Dense and mouthfilling but with surprisingly high acidity for a Viognier. As minerally as it is fruity. Long though a little alcoholic on the finish. Unobjectionable but also unmemorable. (Buy again? Probably not.)
VDP du Gard 2010, Terre d’Argence, Domaine Mourgues du Grès ($20.25, 11874264)
Viognier and some Roussanne according to the producer. Roussanne (40%), Grenache Blanc (40%) and Viognier (20%) according to the Quebec agent. Equal parts Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc according to SAQ.com. Matured in stainless steel tanks for six months (seven months according to the agent). An unspecified fraction is vinified and matured in oak barrels, at least according to the producer. 14.5% ABV.
Minerally, faintly floral, white grapefruit, a bit burned. Rich texture but ashy, acidic and acrid. Produced grimaces all around the table. Oddly, 24 hours later, the tail end was transformed: less heavy, better balanced, nearly ashless, the muted, peach-evoking fruit displayed against a minerally backdrop, with no off flavours – not great but quite drinkable, which no one said about it the night before. (Buy again? Only because I believe in giving second chances.)
That the Zaca Mesa was unexciting wasn’t a surprise; inexpensive Viogniers almost always are. The Mourgues du Grès was another story. The Costières de Nîmes estate’s reds have long been QPR favourites of mine and many other drinkers and the other whites of theirs I’ve tasted have always been enjoyable (I liked their private import white box wine enough at a restaurant to try to convince others to go in on a case with me). But at the tasting, the Terre d’Argence was virtually undrinkable – in sharp contrast to the generally positive reviews it received from local columnists – though it did improve greatly with extended exposure to air. Again, like the Nicolas Potel in the preceding flight, ours may have been an off bottle or may have been suffering from travel shock or from being opened just before being served. But if so, how odd that the Potel and the Mourges are represented by the same agency (and one of our favourites, at that). And how unfortunate that advance carafing should be required, as most consumers just pop and pour.
MWG March 21st tasting (2/6): Contrasting Chards
Chardonnay 2011, Metallico Unoaked, Monterey, Morgan Winery ($27.10, 11896471)
A blend of Chardonnay from cool-climate vineyards in the Arroyo Seco, Santa Lucia Highlands and Monterey AVAs. Whole-cluster pressed. Cold-tank fermented. No malolactic fermentation. Matured five months in stainless steel tanks. Screwcapped (though SAQ.com says cork). 14.1% ABV.
White lemon, minerals, faint stone fruit. Citric, chalky and green apply in the mouth. Crisp acidity and a certain presence but not much follow-through. Plus somehow it simply doesn’t cohere. (Buy again? Meh, especially when you can get a great unoaky Chard for $9 less.)
Bourgogne 2010, Chardonnay Vieilles Vignes, Nicolas Potel ($21.15, 11890926)
A négociant wine made 100% Chardonnay from 50- to 65-year-old vines in 12 parcels in the villages of Meursault and Puligny Montrachet. Manually harvested. Pressed, cold-settled for 24 hours. The resulting juice is transferred to oak barrels (30% new, 40% second vintage, 20% third vintage) and stainless steel tanks (10%) for alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. Matured ten months on the lees. 12% ABV.
Nose of slightly overripe tropical fruit and maple sugar evolving into lemon and pine needles. The combination of the rich, almost fat texture, residual sugar and mild flavours prompted the descriptor “rice syrup” from one taster. Smooth acidity and decent length but ultimately flat, unrefreshing, verging on cloying. Blind, I mistook it for the Californian… (Buy again? Only for research purposes.)
A disappointing flight. As an admirer of Nicolas Potel, I had high hopes for the Burgundy, especially as it has garnered positive reviews from local bloggers and from critics as reliable as Jancis Robinson. Maybe ours was an off bottle. Or maybe it needed to breathe more (I would have been interested in tasting both wines the day after but didn’t manage to snag the tail ends).
MWG November 22nd tasting (5/5): Three Zins and a Syrah
Like many North American wine lovers, I cut my teeth on California wines. I used to buy them regularly; these days, hardly ever. Part of the reason is my evolving palate. But it’s also true that the wines have changed. With a few blessed exceptions, they’ve gotten bigger, heavier, fruitier, sweeter, oakier, more alcoholic, less refreshing, less food-friendly and, oddly, less characterful. Early vintages of Ridge’s Geyserville, including some legendary ones, regularly clocked in at 13% ABV or less. Martini used to make a light, supple, relatively pale Zin as quaffable as a Beaujolais. Good luck finding wines like those these days. Anyway, when reading these notes, bear in mind that these wines aren’t really up my alley anymore. And, as the tasting showed, people with palates more receptive to the fruit-driven New World style will probably find them more interesting than I did.
Zinfandel 2009, East Bench, Dry Creek Valley, Ridge Vineyards ($29.75, 11817690)
100% Zinfandel (rare for Ridge) from dry-farmed vines planted in 2000 and 2001. Destemmed, crushed and fermented with native yeasts and twice daily pump-overs. Pressed after ten days’ maceration. Matured 13 months in American oak barrels, 20% new. Lightly sulphured at crush and during maturation. Lightly filtered at bottling. 15.2% ABV. This is Ridge’s fourth vintage of the wine.
Textbook Zin. Bramble berries, fresh fig, oak, spice, dried black tea. Rich, smooth and balanced. Fluid despite the weight. Built around an intense core of pure, unjammy fruit, with just enough acidity and tannins to avoid galumphingness. Dry, the high glycerin levels notwithstanding. Flaring finish. (Buy again? Maybe a bottle to go with grilled lamb next summer.)
Lytton Springs 2009, Dry Creek Valley, Ridge Vineyards ($42.25, 00513929)
71% Zinfandel, 23% Petite Syrah, 6% Carignane from dry-farmed vines some planted recently, others as far back as 1901. Destemmed, crushed and fermented with native yeasts and occasional pump-overs. A small amount of tartaric acid was added to a few very ripe lots. Pressed after eight days’ maceration. Matured 14 months in American oak barrels, 18% new. Lightly sulphured at crush and during maturation. Lightly fined”to moderate tannins.” Lightly filtered at bottling. 14.4% ABV.
Plum, spice and a hint of modelling clay. Similar to but deeper, broader and weightier than the East Bench. Pure, savoury fruit. Oak present but in check. Heady but not hot. Good structure and a long finish. Unfortunately, at this point it’s heavy and unrefreshing, less than the sum of its parts. Maybe time will improve things. (Buy again? Nope.)
Zinfandel 2009, Brandlin Vineyard, Mount Veeder, Peter Franus ($38.75, 00897652)
92% Zinfandel, 8% Charbono, Mourvèdre and Carignane from old, dry-farmed vines. Fermented 12 days at a relatively cool 80ºF (27ºC). Macerated 14 days before pressing. Matured 17 months in French oak barrels, 35% new. 15.5% ABV.
Blackberry and peppermint with sweet and savoury spice in the background. Smooth, satiny texture and not a lot of structure: this is mostly about the fruit, which is pure, sweet-and-sourish and given some depth by dried wood flavours. Dry, especially on the long, alcoholic – though not hot – finish. (Buy again? Only if in the mood for a full-bore Zin.)
Syrah 2009, Estate, Santa Ynez Valley, Beckmen Vineyards ($29.20, 11746941)
100% biodynamically farmed Syrah from eight different clonal selections grown in Beckman’s Purisima Mountain vineyard located in Ballard Canyon. The various lots were gently crushed and cold-soaked for two to five days. Fermented five to ten days with native yeasts and thrice daily punch-downs. Basket-pressed. Matured ten months in French oak barrels, 35% new. 14.6% ABV.
Appealing though un-Syrah-like nose: gingerbread, cassis and plum with some slate in the background. Full-bodied but fluid and fresh, due largely to its bright fruit and brisk acidity. Vanilla oak is noticeable but not cloying. To my palate, the flavours evoke a baked plum tart. Decent structure and length. While not a fan of the all-about-fruit style, I admit this has a certain charm. (Buy again? Probably not, though fans of California wines shouldn’t hesitate.)
MWG May 11th tasting: report (3/5)
Sierra Foothills 2010, Vin Gris d’Amador, Terre Rouge ($22.10, 11629710)
Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah, though neither the estate’s website nor the wine’s Quebec rep say in what proportions. This is a saignée method rose, meaning the juice is “bled” from the red wine tanks. Matured in used French oak barrels, like the estate’s white wines.
Dark red-orange-pink. Caramel, dried herbs, spice, nectarine, crab apple. Heavy, cloyingly sweet fruit, insufficient acidity and little depth. Several people around the table were drop-jawed at Phaneuf’s rave (“Sec, minéral, à la fois délicat et persistant et doté d’un très bel équilibre d’ensemble. Bravo !“). (Buy again? Nope.)
Tavel 2011, La Dame Rousse, Domaine de la Mordorée ($24.80, 11629664)
Perhaps the biggest name in the appellation. Grenache (60%), Cinsault (10%), Mourvèdre (10%), Syrah (10%), Bourboulenc (5%) and Clairette (5%) from 40-year-old vines. Cold-macerated for 48 hours before pressing.
Deep pink bordering on light red. Classic Tavel nose of peach/nectarine, strawberry and garrigue. Dense, winey texture. Dry. The fruit sits heavily on the palate. One-dimensional and unrefreshing. Hot finish (14.5% ABV). (Buy again? For Tavel lovers only, i.e. not for me.)
Coteaux du Languedoc 2011, Prestige, Château Puech-Haut ($19.35, 11629891)
Grenache and Cinsault, fermented and matured in stainless steel. Packaged in a frosted bottle with an embossed seal and glass stopper; a few liked the look, others declared it tacky.
Very pale, almost white. Light nectarine and minerals on the nose. More flavourful than expected, with light, pure fruit and refreshing acidity. Alcohol flares a little on the finish. The best of the bunch, which is not saying much. (Buy again? Probably not.)
Bandol 2010, Mas de la Rouvière ($23.10, 11657403)
The estate has been converting to organic farming since 2006. Mourvèdre (40%), Grenache (30%) and Cinsault (30%). Fermented at controlled temperatures for around 30 days.
Intriguing nose of nectarine with herbal (celery, green pepper) notes. Ripe but not heavy fruit. Some minerality. Fair acidity. Falls flat on the finish. Drinkable is about the best you can say for it. (Buy again? No.)
To go by these four Cellier picks, the SAQ is maintaining its dismal track record with rosés. It doesn’t have to be this way. There are fine pink wines being made in France, Spain and even California, but the only way Quebecers can buy them is on a private import basis. Speaking of which…
Corse Calvi 2011, Fiumeseccu rosé, Domaine Alzipratu ($22.05, 12 btls/case, oenopole)
A blend of saignée and directly pressed juice, mostly Sciacarello though a little Nielluccio may also have made its way into the mix.
Tried this at the April Pork Futures event and immediately knew it would be one of the best rosés – if not the best – that I’ll taste this year. It’s true to the house style: light, refreshing, food- and terrace-friendly, with notes of pink grapefruit and nectarine, a whiff of garrigue and vibrant acidity. The 2011 also struck me as the most minerally Fiumeseccu to date.
MWG February 9th tasting: report (3/4)
Petite Sirah 2008, Russian River Valley, Foppiano Vineyards ($24.00, 00611780)
100% Petite Sirah (aka Durif). Aged in oak barrels, 30% new. Dark, spicy plum nose. A velvety mass of inky, tarry fruit in the mouth. Some astringency and heat (15.2% ABV) on the chocolate and oak-inflected finish. Became a bit characatured – one-noteish, fruit-bombish, more harshly tannic – as it breathed. (Buy again? Unlikely.)
Petite Sirah 2008, Napa Valley, Girard Winery ($34.00, 11604061)
89% old-vine Petite Sirah, 8% Zinfandel, 2% Mourvèdre and 1% Grenache. Fresh and lilting nose of raspberry and spice with a hint of chocolate. Upfront fruit saved from facileness by darker undertones, chewy tannins and structuring oak. Long but could use more zing on the finish. (Buy again? If I were a bigger fan of New World wines, probably.)
Petite Sirah 2007, Napa Valley, Stags’ Leap Winery ($56.00, 00349910)
More than three-quarters Petite Sirah blended with homeopathic amounts of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Pelousin and Viognier. Aged 18 months in American oak barrels. Evolving nose: chocolate napoleons then hazelnut then plum and cordovan leather. Less dense and fruit-driven than the Girard and Foppiano. Powerful – structure and tannins galore – yet civilized, even elegant. Long, herby/woody finish with lingering slate notes. Needs a decade or maybe two. (Buy again? Yes.)
Petite Sirah 2009, Green Truck, Mendocino County, Red Truck Wines ($16.35, 10985966)
Made from organically farmed grapes (79% Petite Sirah, 21% Merlot) though fermented with commercial yeasts. Sees only stainless steel up to bottling. Wood, plum, ink. Surprisingly rich and velvety, the sweet fruit underpinned by tannins and brightened by acidity. Pure, uncomplicated, easy-drinking and relatively low alcohol (13.5%). A great barbecue wine. (Buy again? Sure.)
True to their New World selves, all the Petite Sirahs were built around a core of sweet fruit. The big disappointment for me was the Foppiano. I’d picked it over other candidates at the price point because a decade or two ago, back when I used to buy the occasional bottle for personal consumption, it was made in a lighter, Pinot Noirish style.
MWG sixth anniversary tasting: report
December 8, 2011, was the Mo’ Wine Group’s sixth anniversary. We celebrated on the following day because it was a Friday and the evening risked being a long one. Hewing to tradition, the tasting featured several bubblies and some silliness.
A QUEBEC SPARKLER
Bubulle 2009, Méthode traditionnelle, Les Pervenches ($30.00, La QV)
Consistent with the bottle sampled earlier in the day. This was served double-blind to the group, with no information provided about origin, composition or cost. Everyone liked it. No one guessed it was made in Quebec and most pegged its price as being in the $30 to $40 range. (Buy again? Definitely.)
FOUR POL ROGERS
Champagne, Brut, Pure, Extra Cuvée de Réserve, Pol Roger ($67.00, 11043487)
1/3 each Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. Undosed. Clean, pure, elegant: brioche, minerals, hint of lemon. Fine bead. Bone dry. Crisp fruit fades fast though a pleasing sourness and minerals linger. Enjoyable on its own but simple-seeming in retrospect. (Buy again? Probably not when it’s pushing $70.)
Champagne 2000, Brut, Extra Cuvée de Réserve, Pol Roger ($88.50, 10663123)
60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay. Initial funkiness blew off leaving a classic champagne nose of browning apple, minerals, white meat, toast and eventually sesame. Pure fruit with a honeyed, oxidized note. Relatively high residual sugar, though far from sweet or even off-dry. Long, bready finish with a lingering sourness. Though I found myself longing for a little more complexity and depth, this generous and delicious wine was popular with many around the table. If I ever open another bottle, it’ll be to serve with something rich, like foie gras au torchon or sweetbreads in cream. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Champagne 2000, Brut, Blanc de Blancs, Extra Cuvée de Réserve, Pol Roger ($94.75, 10663166)
100% Chardonnay, of course. A hint of rubber recedes leaving a refined nose of brioche, lemon and sour apple. Pure and clean, light and buoyant, multifaceted: a crystalline complexity. White-fruity on the attack, dry and minerally on the long finish. Elegance in a glass. In my mind’s palate, I kept “tasting” this for days after the event. (Buy again? If I’m feeling flush, yes.)
Champagne 1999, Brut, Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, Pol Roger ($208.25, 00892166)
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Impossibly layered and complex nose: apple, lemon, brioche, minerals and so much more. Soft yet persistent effervescence. Smooth and rich from start to finish. Pure fruit. Just enough sweetness to round the acidity. Breadth, depth, length and any other dimension you might name. Nothing exaggerated, everything in place. A beautiful and complete wine. (Buy again? I should be so lucky.)
This was the first time the MWG tasted a flight of champagnes from a single producer. The wines were served double-blind and at least a couple of tasters detected a family resemblance between the two 2000s (I was impressed because I don’t think I would have). The resident champagne freak later declared it the most intellectual flight in the group’s history.
RED BURGS: TWO BY TWO, OLD AND NEW
Aloxe-Corton 1er cru 1996, Les Vercots, Tollot-Beaut & Fils ($48 in 1999)
Textbook red Burgundy nose: red berries, forest floor and beet along with a hint of alcohol. Silky texture. Fine balance between fruit and acid. Initially tight tannins quickly relaxed and smoothed out. Pure and lovely. Drink now. (Buy again? Moot now but I’m glad I did.)
Gevrey-Chambertin 2009, Sérafin Père & Fils ($65.25, 11472484)
Persimmon and cinnamon with hints of cola and red berries. Smooth on entry but falls flat: a little heavy on the fruit, a little light on the acidity. Plump tannins. Totally dry. Lingering oak flavours. Am not convinced it’s passing through a phase. (Buy again? No.)
Aloxe-Corton 1er cru 2009, Les Vercots, Tollot-Beaut & Fils ($61.50, 11473575)
Red berries, ground beef, milk chocolate, minerals. Tight tannins notwithstanding, the fruit is dominating structure for now. Still, it comes across as better balanced, more complete than the 2009 Sérafin. Good finish. (Buy again? Probably not.)
Gevrey-Chambertin 1996, Sérafin Père & Fils ($48.75 in 1999)
Initial stink giving way to a dark-fruited nose with ferny notes. Rich fruit, tight acid. Tertiary flavours (leather, old wood, leaf mould). Fair length. Pleasant but could be deeper. Drink now. (Buy again? Moot but it wasn’t up to my expectations.)
At a tasting earlier this year, Oliver Guyot told us he considered the somewhat snubbed 2008 a classic red Burgundy vintage and the much touted 2009 vintage over-hyped and full of atypical, fruit-forward wines not built for the long haul. Can’t say the 2008s and 2009s I’ve tasted to date have me thinking he’s wrong.
FOUR COUNTRIES, FOUR BIG REDS
Marilyn Merlot 2006, Napa Valley, Marilyn Wines ($26.80, 11341767)
85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. 13.9% abv. Closed nose. Hints of graphite, red fruit. Medium- to full-bodied but fluid and balanced with ripe tannins and an acid bite. Fruity but not heavy. Short on follow-through. Began cracking up after an hour or so in the glass. (Buy again? Only as a gag gift, albeit a drinkable one.) ***Flipper alert: this wine is retailing for US$75 on the Marilyn Wines website.***
VDP des Bouches-du-Rhône 2007, Domaine de Trévallon ($66.25, 00728162)
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Syrah. 13% abv (hard to believe) [Edit: That’s the percentage according to SAQ.com but it’s probably for the 2006; I checked the label at a store today and it says 14%.]. Assault-by-strawberry-jam nose with a little dusty wood thrown in. Primary and monolithic. Palate so dominated by sweet fruit that it’s easy to miss the underlying structure. Long but not very appealing. Hardly budged during the two hours it was in my glass. The tail-end of the bottle showed a little better the next day: the strawberry no longer centre stage, some garrigue, cassis, ink and tobacco beginning to emerge, the acid and tannins more present. But still. (Buy again? No.)
Brunello di Montalcino 2005, Etichetta Bianca (“White Label”), Casanova di Neri ($55.75, 10961323)
100% Brunello (aka Sangiovese Grosso). 14.5% abv (not hard to believe). In 2005, this low-end bottling contains the fruit that would have gone into the high-end Cerretalto bottling, had one been made. (The 2004 Cerretalto retails for $229 at the SAQ.) Terra cotta, cherry, foliage, oak and a hint of minerals. Dense, sweet fruit. Enough acidity and tannins to save it from galumphingness but not enough to endow it with the brightness and drying finish that are the hallmarks of the best Sangioveses. Indeed, it doesn’t taste particularly Italian. Lingers long but ultimately cloys. May improve with age but, for now, it’s as unappetizing as a fruit-bomb Shiraz, a wine you wouldn’t want to serve with anything but a grilled steak, and even then… (Buy again? Nope.)
Rioja Gran Reserva 2004, Prado Enea, Bodegas Muga ($50.25, 11169670)
80% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano. 14% abv. Closed nose. Next day: plum, black cherry, hints of leather, dried herbs and quartz, a bit vaporous. Balanced if a bit fruit-forward (cherry/black cherry). Glycerine-like texture. Not bone dry. Tannic astringency surges on the finish. Not particularly deep, at least at this stage. Needs time to transform into, let’s hope, a medium-bodied perfumy charmer. (Buy again? Maybe.)
A surprising and disappointing flight, as I had high expectations for the three European wines, all icons of one sort or another, and thought the Californian Merlot might have people gagging. Instead, the Merlot was far and away the most popular wine, a perfectly drinkable if anonymous red. Shockingly, anonymity was a characteristic of all these wines. The three Europeans didn’t offer up much in the way of varietal specifics and (the Muga excepted to some extent) tasted heavy, sweet, short on acid, high in alcohol, internationalized, geared to a Maryland-based wine reviewer’s palate. The Trévallon, a wine I’ve long been a fan of, was especially unfortunate: smelling and tasting of little but overripe fruit, sugar and alcohol. I was sure it had to be the Californian. Maybe all it needs is ten or 20 years in the bottle, but neither I nor anybody else at the tasting would be willing to take a chance.
The tasting done, the table was piled with an assortment of edibles, highlights of which were an outstanding venison and foie gras pâté en croûte from Boucherie de Paris and the Colli Trevigiani IGT 2007, Verduzzo, Villa di Maser ($23.50, Sublime vins & spiritueux), a powerful yet food-friendly white (bordering on bronze) that went especially well with the various cheeses.
Two new arrivals…
…at the SAQ.
Costières de Nîmes 2005, Lou Coucardié, Michel Gassier ($24.95, 11399766)
A white blend dominated by Roussanne, Grenache Blanc and Viognier. Fermented in 500-litre French oak barrels. Golden yellow. Wafting nose of sweet lemon, peach and spice with a floral note and a hint of alcohol (14% abv). Off-dry and rich yet surprisingly delicate. Savoury flavours reminiscent of dried herbs co-mingle with the expected white and yellow fruit. The undercurrent of acid surfaces on the finish. Lingering impression of dryness. A delight.
I first heard of this wine in a Chowhound post by the MWG’s namesake moh, whom it wowed as a pairing for the late Bouchonné’s gratin of Yukon Golds, boudin and tripe. Formerly available as a private import, it has just been listed – for the first time, I believe – by the SAQ.
Central Coast 2007, Le Cigare Volant, Bonny Doon ($46.75, 10253386)
Organically – and in some cases biodynamically – farmed Grenache (60%), Syrah (31%), Mourvèdre (5%) and Cinsault (4%). Medium maroon with very slight fading at the rim. Scents of bramble, garrigue, pepper and wood. Medium-bodied and fluid. The ripe but not heavy fruit is brightened by good acidity, buttressed by fine tannins. The finish is tobacco-tinged, long and a bit drying. Tastes more Old Worldish than Californian. Not profound but pure, tasty and enjoyable. Clocks in at a reasonable 13.5% ABV, too.
In 2006, Randall Grahm sold or spun off Bonny Doon’s everyday labels (most notably Big House Red) to focus on his higher-end bottlings. This is the first red Cigare Volant I’ve tasted since the change and it seems a return to form after the disappointments of the late ’90s and early naughts. Nominally an homage to Châteauneuf-du-Pape (which in the ’50s actually banned cigares volants – flying saucers – from landing in local vineyards), I’ve never found it to be a CDP ringer but rather a fine Rhône-inspired blend with its own personality.
Brett happens 