Posts Tagged ‘Champagne’
MWG November 22nd tasting (1/5): Two French sparklers
A tasting of 15 wines, including five from the November 22nd Cellier release and one importation valise. We began with two French sparklers.
Champagne grand cru, Réserve, H. Billiot ($49.75, 11818220)
75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay from up to 18 grand cru vineyards in Ambonnay. Usually a blend of three vintages. Fermented in stainless steel tanks. Does not undergo malolactic fermentation. Unfiltered. 13% ABV.
Browning apple and bread crust. Softly effervescent. Dry but rich, with a ripe-sweet fruit core (yellow apple and dried apricot) and plenty of acidity. A suggestion of brown sugar joins the minerals on the finish. Not bad though more complexity, tension and, well, dazzle would be welcome. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Vouvray mousseux 2010, Brut, Domaine Vincent Carême ($21.70, 11633591)
100% Chenin Blanc. The estate has been farming organically since 2002 and either has recently received organic certification or is about to. Made using the traditional method, with only yeast added for the second fermentation. Zero dosage. 13% ABV.
Complex and appealing nose: sour apple, lees, yeast, barley sugar, a hint of kerosene. Fine, sharp effervescence. The abundant acidity is checked by the faint residual sugar. Not a lot of flavour depth but a crystal-like structural depth. A minerally, faintly bitter streak that one taster described as burnt match lingers through the finish. Earlier bottles of this have shown better; the current shipment is just off the boat and may need a few weeks to settle down. (Buy again? Sure.)
MWG November 9th tasting: report (3/5)
Crémant de Loire 2004, Extra Brut, Quadrille, Langlois-Chateau ($28.40, 11791670)
A quadrille is an 18th-century dance involving four couples. Here it refers to the four grape varieties used – Chenin Blanc (50%), Chardonnay (30%), Cabernet Franc (15%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (5%) – and the four Saumur vineyards where the grapes are grown. Manually harvested. Pneumatically pressed. Each vineyard’s produce is vinified separately in temperature-controlled vats and subsequently blended. Made using the traditional method. Matured on the lees for four years. The champagne house Bollinger has owned Langlois-Chateau (spelled sans circumflex, TYVM) since 1973. 12.5% ABV.
Initially odd nose – wet dog and honeysuckle – segues into more appealing sour apple and yeast. Clean and bright on the palate. Straightfowardly fruity but very dry. Fine effervesence and crisp acidity lighten the fairly rich texture. Lingering minerals. Well fashioned, even elegant, if a little short on personality. (Buy again? Maybe, though equally interesting and more characterful sparklers can be found for less.)
Champagne grand cru, Blanc de Blancs, Réserve Brut, De Sousa ($69.25, 11797369)
100% Chardonnay from the Avise, Cramant, Le Mesnil sur Oger, Chouilly and Oger grand cru vineyards. A blend of two or three vintages with a minimum of 25% barrel-aged vin de réserve. Made entirely from tête de cuvée juice (the first out of the press). Vinified in temperature-controlled metal vats. Unchaptalized. 12.5% ABV.
Barley sugar, browning apple, hints of buttered toast. Quite rich and full, with faint oxidized fruit and honey notes. The round bubbles provide lift and ripe acidity keeps things taut. Underpinning crystals and chalk add complexity. Long, tasty finish. (Buy again? Maybe, though equally interesting Champagnes can be found for less.)
oenopole trade tasting (1/4): Jacques Lassaigne
In the run-up to the Salon des vins d’importation privée, oenopole held a couple of trade tastings led by their visiting winemakers and was kind enough to offer non-trade me a seat. Unfortunately, Arianna Occhipinti and Elena Pantaleoni (La Stoppa) were detained by hurricane Sandy, though they did make it to town in time for the various other activities.
The tasting began with three champagnes from the house of Jacques Lassaigne and presented by Jacques’s son and the current winemaker, Emmanuel. Planted to Chardonnay and a little Pinot Noir, the approximately five-hectare estate is located in Montgeux, a chalky hill in the southernmost part of the appellation. A small quantity of grapes is also purchased. All the grapes are organically farmed and the wine-making is as natural as possible. Disgorgement is performed monthly, surely one of the reasons why all the wines taste fresh.
Champagne, Brut, Blanc de blancs, Les vignes de Montguex, Jacques Lassaigne ($55.00, oenopole)
Always a blend of wines from two successive vintages and several parcels. The vintages here were 2008 (27%) and 2009 (73%). 15% is matured in cask. Emmanuel Lassaigne describes it as an aperitif wine, a role it performs supremely well, though it also makes a killer accompaniment for sushi.
Electrum to the eye. Pleasing nose of lemon, green melon, minerals, yeast and a lactic note. Super fine, tingly effervescence. Quite dry. Light lemon over a chalky substrate. Lingering savoury note. Clean, bright, refreshing.
Champagne 2005, Jacques Lassaigne ($105.00, oenopole)
No barrel or dosage. No sugar added during disgorging.
More golden. Richer, sweeter, winier nose redolent of yellow apple. Soft effervescence with bigger bubbles. Mouth-filling but not heavy. Comes across as less acidic and mineral-driven than the Vignes de Montguex, though that’s due to the richness of the fruit, not to any lack of minerals and acidity. Excellent balance and complexity of flavour. Broad, deep and long. Beautiful now but also capable of improving with time in the cellar. My favourite of the three.
Champagne, Extra Brut, Blanc de blancs, La Colline inspirée, Jacques Lassaigne (price to be announced but probably over $100, oenopole)
A blend of 2007 and 2008. Vinified and aged on the lees in used white Burgundy barrels. In the past this has been bottled only in magnums, though this year oenopole will have some standard 750 ml bottles.
Bronzer. Complex bouquet: golden apple, citrus, chalk, toast, brioche, a faint floral note and a hint of souring milk. The softest and fleshiest of the three. Some sweetness on the attack but dry on the finish. Oxidizing sour apples, candied citrus zest and lingering crystals. Long, round and layered. Less structured than the Millésime 2005, but no less appealing: a deluxe vin plaisir.
A very dull virtue?
Impressed by the 2002 Équilibre opened to ring in the new year, I picked up a bottle of the same producer’s rosé to share with another champagne aficionado on an evening that began with dinner at KanBai and ended with a screening of the new DVD of Lully’s Atys. The restaurant impressed; the opera blew us away (lovers of the French baroque shouldn’t hesitate); the champagne…
Champagne Brut Rosé, Tolérance, Franck Pascal ($61.50, 11552839)
Medium salmon pink. Only a single stream of bubbles, albeit an active one, in each glass. Briochy and a bit farty on opening, segues to faint red berries and turned earth. Round texture. Soft nectarine with a butterscotchy bitter note emerging on the mid-palate. The fruit fades leaving a long, minerally finish. Improves – becomes more complex and better integrated, gains strawberry and anise flavours – as it warms and breathes. Clean, pure and enjoyable, though a little more depth and dazzle would be welcome.
Based on what I’ve been able to glean from the Web, this is essentially a blanc de noirs made from a 60-40 blend of organically farmed Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir with a dollop of Chardonnay, to which a little more than 5% of still red Coteaux Champenois is added. Fermented with native yeasts, bottled unfiltered and unfined.
A grower champagne to toast the new year
The holiday selection of “affordable” champagnes at the SAQ took a quantum leap forward this year. (Champagne is arguably the world’s most overpriced wine, and affordable is here defined as bottles under $80.) Along with long-lost friends (Ayala, for example) and unexpected delights (Billecart-Salmon’s Brut Réserve in half bottles) came an impressive list of grower champagnes from producers like Larmandier-Bernier, Égly-Ouriet, E. Barnaut and Pascal Doquet, not to mention Pierre Gimonnet. A wine that appeared to slip under most local reviewers’ radar is made by Franck Pascal, a young vigneron with 4 hectares of vines in the Marne valley. On taking over the vineyard, Pascal converted to organic practices. The estate has been certified biodynamic since 2008.
Champagne 2002, Brut, Cuvée Prestige, “Équilibre”, Franck Pascal ($65.50, 11552871)
33% Pinot Meunier, 34% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay. Fermented with indigenous yeasts, dosed with organic cane sugar (4.5 g/l). Pale gold with a faint green cast, lazy bead and tiny bubbles – very attractive in a flute. Expressive nose of brioche and lees with hints of lemon, minerals, hay and barley sugar. Rich yet lithe in the mouth: the winey roundness is countered by a minerally acidic bite and persistent bitter undertow, lifted by the soft effervescence. Oxidizing pear and sour apple and a suggestion of vanilla give way to a long, creamy/quartzy finish. Elegant enough to serve as an aperitif, vibrant enough to serve with food. A compelling wine that punches above its weight.
Pascal’s Tolérance champagne rosé (a two-vintage blend of Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir with a dollop of Chardonnay) is also available at the SAQ.
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.
A bargain blanc de blancs
After oenopole’s Aurélia and Alexis encountered this wine in Paris, they set out in search of the producer. It’s easy to see why: a grower champagne and a textbook blanc de blancs, made from organically farmed grapes and sold for a song – what’s not to like?
It is, in fact, the next-to-cheapest champagne – and the least expensive blanc de blancs – at the SAQ. Based in Vertus, in the south of the region, Doquet grows all the grapes that go into his wines. His 15-hectare estate has been certified organic since 2008.
Champagne, Brut, Blanc de Blancs, Pascal Doquet ($44.75, 11528046)
Pale straw with greenish glints. Appealing nose of apple and citrus with hints of chalk and brioche. Crisp and elegant in the mouth, remarkable more for its texture than its depth: on the lighter side of medium-bodied, very dry with a caressing effervescence. Clean minerally finish. A deluxe aperitif but substantial enough to serve with, say, freshwater fish or even sushi. I’m stocking up for the holidays.
A bouquet of bubblies from La QV
Notes from an informal tasting of some of the sparklers represented by La QV. The champagnes are sold at the SAQ; the others can be ordered through the agency.
Bubulle 2009, Méthode traditionnelle, Les Pervenches ($30.00, 12 bottles per case)
2/3 Chardonnay, 1/3 Seyval. Made from biodyanmically farmed grapes grown near Farnham in the Eastern Townships. Produced using the champagne method and with zero dosage. The owners have been making a few cases of sparkling wine for several years now (the 2008 was 100% Chardonnay) but this is the first vintage sold to the public. Only a half dozen or so cases have been released due to a purely aesthetic problem with the other bottles, namely the lees sticking to the side of the bottle instead of sliding into the neck for removal during disgorging. Encouraged by our and others’ assurances that such a superficial blemish wouldn’t prevent us from buying bottles, the winemaker said he may decide to offer the lees-streaked bottles for sale in the new year.
Crystal-clear with a slight green cast and a very fine bead. Appealing nose of brioche and lemon with subtle mineral and floral notes. Soft bubbles. Fruity but bone dry. Bright, clean and long with a gooseberry note (the Seyval?) coming out on the finish. Like the estate’s still Chardonnays, a delicious wine that can easily stand comparison with similarly priced wines from around the world. 12% abv.
Foule Bulles, Clos Saragnat ($15, 12 bottles per case)
This sparkling cider is made from fruit farmed organically near Frelighsburg. Several varieties of apple are pressed to make the base cider but fresh plum juice is used for the dosage. Rusty pink to the eye (due partly to the apple varieties and partly to intentional oxidation of the raw fruit). Nose of sweet apple and, yep, yellow plum. Fruity but with an appealing sourness. Fine bubbles. Long drying finish. 9% abv. As they say around here, original.
Vin mousseux de qualité 2004, Domaine de la Chappe ($22, 6 bottles per case)
Based in the Tonnerre AOC, located northeast of Chablis, Domaine de la Chappe has been organic-converting-to-biodynamic since the early naughts. Chardonnay (80%) and Pinot Noir (20%). Colour bordering on pale pink. Intriguing nose with hints of red berries and roasted coffee. Fine bubbles, soft effervescence. Flavourful with a woody edge. Good finish, with sourish fruit giving way to faint walnut flavours. Unusual and enjoyable.
Cava 2009, Brut nature, Cellers de Can Suriol del Castell de Grabuac ($20.75, 12 bottles per case)
Organically farmed Macabeu (30%), Xarel.lo (30%) and Parellada (30%). Lemon zest and quartz. Fine bead. Fruity and floral on the attack yet very dry. Tastes “white.” Lingering bread flavours. Clean, elegant and refreshing. 11.5% abv.
Champagne, Grand cru, Blanc de Noirs, E. Barnaut ($46.25, 11152958)
100% sustainably farmed Pinot Noir. Brioche, white fruit, lemon, oxidized apple. Less dry than the preceding. Denser, too, but lifted by the bubbles and acid. Long. Not incredibly complex or deep but tasty and good QPR. 12.0% abv.
Champagne 1996, Brut, Fleury ($97.50, 11544062)
Biodynamically farmed Pinot Noir (80%) and Chardonnay (20%). Aged under cork – not the usual crown cap – before disgorgement to allow micro-oxygenation and encourage the development of a finer effervescence. Yellow-gold to the eye. Powerful, complex nose: oxidized apple, lemon, honey and more. Rich and deep on the palate, with layers of flavour. Astoundingly fruity and winey and far from bone dry yet in no way heavy thanks to the soft effervescence and coursing acidity. Long. Assertive yet seductive, a complete wine. 12.5% abv.
November 3rd MWG tasting: report
To staunch the flow of carping about the infrequency of updates to this site, here are some quick notes – little more than a transcription, really – on the wines in the Mo’ Wine Group’s latest tasting. With one exception, the bottles are from the November 3rd Cellier release and, for once, many of them are still available.
THREE FRENCH SPARKLERS
Montlouis, Brut non-dosé, Méthode traditionnelle, François Chidaine ($22.95, 11537049)
Yellow apple, hint of citrus peel, gaining floral and winey notes as it warmed and breathed. Tiny, soft bubbles, fruity but dry. Acid-bright and clean. Long minerally finish with a faint bitter edge. (Buy again? Yes.)
Crémant du Jura 2008, Domaine Labet Père et fils ($20.80, 11549162)
Chalkier nose showing a little oxidation. A bit enigmatic. Simple upfront, the flavours tending to lemon and quartz, but maintaining a presence, a grip, after the flavours fade. Lingering sourness. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Vouvray, Brut, Domaine Huet ($26.95, 11537022)
Oxidized apple peel with notes of honey, ash and peach. Strong bead. Rich and dense with a strong current of acidity. Fruit slow-fades to minerals on the long finish. (Buy again? Yes.)
The two Loire wines were winners: the Chidaine lighter, fresher and full of immediate appeal; the Huet richer, slower to open up, built for the long haul. The Labet (a new arrival not in the Cellier release) was good but Tissot’s crémant at about the same price is even better.
THREE CHAMPAGNES
Champagne, Terre de Vertus, Premier cru, Larmandier-Bernier ($71.00, 11528011)
A blanc de blancs (100% Chardonnay) with zero dosage. Straightforward nose (apple, yeast, hint of lemon at first) that became more complex (“cream soda,” said one taster; “dried coconut” chimed in another). Light, elegant, clean. Delicate bubbles. Quite dry and long. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Champagne, Tradition Grand cru, Brut, Égly-Ouriet ($80.00, 11538025)
Mostly Pinot Noir. Nose of apple, toast and pastry cream, initially a little anonymous but slowly gaining character. Fine bead. Initially light and elegant, almost to a fault, but gaining complexity and depth in the glass. Pure and long but none of us got Phaneuf’s “multidimensionnel … doté de ces multiples couches de saveurs qui sont la marque des grands vins.” (Buy again? Probably not.)
Champagne, Grand cru, Blanc de Noirs, E. Barnaut ($46.25, 11152958)
Classic champagne nose of bread and hazelnuts with notes of oxidized apple. Winey texture enlivened by assertive bubbles. Clean and vibrant if a little short on depth and complexity. Unlike the other two, did not improve in the glass. (Buy again? Maybe.)
All were good but none knocked our socks off. The Barnaut’s QPR isn’t bad but it lacked some of the finesse of the other two. The group was evenly split when it came to declaring a preference between the fresher Larmandier-Bernier and the richer Égly-Ouriet.
FOUR JURA WHITES
L’Étoile 2008, Domaine de Montbourgeau ($21.90, 11557541)
Chardonnay with a dash of Savagnin. Complex nose with a sourish edge: oxidized apple, “caramel nuts,” “golden raisins in marc,” “fresh figs,” silage and a whiff of cheese. Winey yet fluid, fruit balanced by minerals and acid. Long, flavourful finish. The very model of a Jura white. (Buy again? Definitely.)
Côtes du Jura 2009, Fleurs, Domaine Labet Père et Fils ($22.90, 11556952)
Chardonnay that, unlike many traditional Jura whites, is not allowed to oxidize. The result here is a fairly pure expression of the grape variety. Fruity on the attack, round in the mouth, buttressed by a welcome acidity. Good finish with lingering notes of straw, honey and spice. (Buy again? Sure.)
Arbois 2009, Les Bruyères, Bénédictine et Stéphane Tissot ($35.75, 11542139)
100% Chardonnay. By far the most complex nose of the bunch: mushroom, turpentine, gunflint and sesame along with the expected apple and spice. Smooth and fluid on the palate, the sweet-seeming attack quickly giving way to layers of flavour and a rich fruitiness that belies the wine’s dryness. Long and balanced. A few years in the bottle will do it a world of good. (Buy again? Yes.)
Côtes du Jura 2005, Les Compères, Essencia ($25.95, 11544003)
100% Chardonnay. A bit of an oddball. Appealing if surprising nose of strawberry napoleons (fruit, puff pastry and pastry cream all there). Typically jurassien on the palate, a fruity density underpinned by refreshing acidity. Fairly long, nut-scented finish. Simple but fun. (Buy again? If looking for a white vin plaisir, sure.)
A popular flight, with just about everyone liking all the wines. Several of us considered the Montbourgeau the winner, a classic Jura white with a great QPR. The Labet was the closest to a non-Jura Chardonnay. The Tissot needs time but has potential. The Essencia was unlike any other white I’ve tasted, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
TWO LIGHTER REDS
Arbois 2009, Poulsard, Vieilles vignes, Domaine Rolet Père et Fils ($19.95, 11537090)
And now for something completely different. Pale transparent red, the Jura’s traditional corail (I’ve seen darker rosés). Double-take nose of strawberry, hay and black pepper (detractors in search of descriptors were more inclined to reach for body excretions). Light-bodied, high acid yet, oddly, intensely fruity. Tannins light but raspy. Stemmy finish. Cries out for some charcuterie. (Buy again? I just might.)
Veneto 2007, Primofiore, Giuseppe Quintarelli ($54.25, 11542518)
Take a green bell pepper, stuff it with spicy rice and meat and roast it in a tomato sauce: that’s the nose of this wine. Medium-bodied, fluid, with a perfumy mid-palate, light but firm tannins and just enough acidity. Long, spicy finish. Not particularly deep but full of character and unlike any other red I’ve encountered. (Buy again? Tempted but the price is dissuasive.)
A love-it-or-hate-it-flight. Some tasters were horrified, even outraged by the Poulsard and had trouble believing that several of us actually derived pleasure from the wine. Opinions were almost as divided by the Quintarelli, richer and spicier but still with a streak of green. I enjoyed it but not to the point that I’d fork over $54 for another bottle. (Edit: The taster who took home the tail-end of the bottle reports: “At the Thursday tasting I left the Quintarelli in my glass until the end of the evening to see if it improved – and it did, by a bit, so I brought home what was left in the bottle, and tried it the next day – the harshness and green pepper had completely blown off, and it was far softer and fruitier. Not that I would go running to drop $55 on another bottle of it, but it’s nice to know that it just really needed to sit, and wasn’t a dud Quintarelli.”)
THREE LEFT-BANK RED BORDEAUX
Haut-Médoc 2008, Château d’Agassac ($26.95, 11188336)
Textbook left-bank Bordeaux. Nose of cedar, cassis and oak with green bell pepper and black pepper notes. Good balance of fruit, acid and tannins. Pure flavours. Longish though not particularly deep. (Buy again? If looking for an everyday red Bordeaux, sure.)
Médoc 2008, Château d’Escurac ($23.80, 11194584)
Meatier and greener nose than the Agassac’s, showing some pencil lead. Tight, tannic, austere. Cedary finish. A bit flat. Doesn’t cohere.Might be better in a year or two but, on the whole, this lacks appeal. (Buy again? No.)
Saint-Julien 2008, Clos du Marquis (Château Léoville Las Cases) ($59.74, 11184520)
Nothing like earlier vintages we’ve tried. Spice, green pepper and an elusive mustiness that had us wondering whether it was corked or scalped. Disjointed and harsh in the mouth. Probably an off bottle. (Buy again? Moot.]
This flight was something of a let-down, with the potentially most interesting bottle not up to scratch. Would that I’d had the budget to go with my original idea: Clos du Marquis, Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon and Dominus.
Brett happens 