Posts Tagged ‘food pairings’
Octavin and Gahier tasting (4/4): Savagnins
Arbois 2011, Zest de Savagnin, Domaine de l’Octavin ($50.48, Les Importations du Moine, 6 bottles/case)
100% organically and biodyamically farmed Savagnin from 70-year-old vines grown in the Les Nouvelles vineyard. Macerated on the skins for three months, making this an orange wine, then matured in old barrels for around ten months. 12.9% ABV.
Complex nose of orange peel, floor wax, faint pine needles, sawed wood, peach and lemon, among other things. Smooth and round on the attack and surface though a strong acidic undercurrent quickly makes itself felt. Richly flavoured if a little monolithic for the now (of all the wines in the tasting, this is the one I most wished had been carafed), the fruit wrapped around a mineral core. Textured more like a red wine, with light tannins coming out on the long finish. Better balanced, more complete and fresher than many orange wines. Fascinating if a bit elemental; the future looks promising though. (Buy again? Gritting my teeth at the price but yes.)
Arbois 2005, Vin jaune, Domaine Michel Gahier ($71.00/620 ml, Primavin, NLA)
100% Savagnin. Matured sous voile (under a yeast veil) in old oak barrels for more than six years. 13.5% ABV.
Lightly oxidized nose of straw, apple and dried pear, developing nori and pastry notes as the wine breathes. A marvel in the mouth: so fresh and delicate yet also so present, focused and balanced. The fruit is pure, the acidity bracing. Threads of caramel, vanilla and nuts intertwine on the minutes-long finish. Obviously oxidized but not at all fino-like. Such a buoyant wine – each sip just carries you along. A synergistic match with 36-month-old Comté and walnut bread. In short, one of the best vin jaunes I’ve tasted and easily the most delicious. As remarkable as it is now, Gahier says it needs another ten to 20 years to develop fully. (Buy again? As nearly everyone at the tasting said: yes, price be damned.)
Milan’s 2003 Les Baux-de-Provence
Les Baux-de-Provence 2003, Domaine Milan, Domaine Henri Milan ($25.80, 12229371)
This cuvée, with a slightly different mix of grape varieties, was the AOC Coteaux d’Aix Les Baux de Provence “La Tuilière Vieille” from 1986 to 1998 and has been the Vin de table de France “Le Vallon” since 2007. Organically farmed Grenache (80%), Syrah (10%), Cinsault (5%) and Mourvèdre (5%). Manually harvested. The grapes are vinified together. Whole cluster fermentation with indigenous yeasts. Matured around 12 months in old barrels. 13% ABV.
Evolved to the eye: medium maroon with as much brown as red at the rim. Complex nose of Chinese dried plums, candied raspberries, sandalwood, dried tobacco leaf and faint barley sugar. Medium-bodied and smooth-surfaced, with soft, resolved tannins and coursing acidity. The clean, silky fruit fades to reveal slate, old wood and spice that last through the faintly astringent finish. On opening the bottle, I wondered whether the wine was over the hill but it freshened, sweetened and opened up after an hour. Not a knockout but definitely enjoyable. At or maybe a little past its peak: drink in the next year and carafe an hour ahead of time, putting the carafe in the fridge for the last 20 minutes. Note too that a glass served from a bottle that had been opened, sampled, recorked and left standing for 24 hours was more brown than red and tasted oxidized, desiccated and fruitless. (Buy again? A highly drinkable, decade-old wine offered at a very fair price? Sure.)
A passable match for moussaka, though the tomato put a damper on the wine’s fruit. A better pairing would be well-done red meat – a beef daube made with white wine, say – or pork or rabbit grilled with herbes de Provence.
Addendum: A knowledgeable reader reports “I tried the wine twice and found it quite over the hill. Too bad. I was hoping for better!” Yet Le Journal de Montréal‘s Patrick Désy is positive, awarding the wine three out of five stars, remarking on its freshness and saying comparisons with Châteauneuf-du-Pape are not beyond the pale. The wine advisors at the SAQ store that served me the above-mentioned dead glass claimed the wine had been “magnifique” the day before. A reminder, then, that old wines, especially ones from difficult vintages (2003 was infernal across Europe), are fragile things and that bottle variation in this particular shipment may be high.
Classy Cassis
Cassis 2012, Clos Sainte Magdeleine ($28.50, 12206129)
A blend of Marsanne (50%), Ugni Blanc (25%), Clairette (20%) and Bourboulenc (5%) from organically farmed 20- to 30-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Destemmend and crushed before pressing, which is pneumatic. The juice is transferred by gravity to a temperature-controlled stainless steel tank, where it is chilled and clarified though settling, then fermented at 17°C. Malolactic fermentation and 14 to 18 months’ maturation follow. 12.5% ABV.
Discreet nose with hints – but only hints – of white flowers, honey, quartz, white pepper and dried herbs. Rounder and weightier than the SAQ’s only other Cassis, the Clos d’Albizzi, but still fresh and appealing, albeit in that elusive way of some northern Rhône whites. The ethereal fruit is quince-like and scattered with dried lemon zest. Sustained if unassertive acidity, a definite saline streak and a bitter-tinged finish round out the picture. Inscrutable on its own, this really needs food – bouillabaisse or grilled seabass with a squirt of lemon juice and drizzle of olive oil, for example – to show its mettle. First-rate if a little pricey (the appellation is small and demand for its wines is high). (Buy again? Yes.)
oenopole workshop: picnic wines (4/4)
Italians claim vin santo (aka vino santo) as their own invention. After all, they say, the name means holy wine. That no one can offer a convincing explanation of the wine’s holy connection is conveniently overlooked.
Greeks tell a different story. They claim the name is a contraction of vino di Santorini and that the style is basically copied from the Greek island’s legendary sweet wine that was first brought to the Italian peninsula by seafaring traders.
Despite the similarities – both wines are made from partially dried grapes, usually white – there are plenty of differences: different grape varieties, drying methods, maturation methods, ageing requirements and sweetness levels, with the Greek version almost always being quite sweet. The spelling of the name is also different: Italian vin santo, Greek vinsanto.
Vinsanto 1990, 20 years, Estate Argyros (NLA, though more may be on the way. When last sold at the SAQ, the price was $99 for a 500 ml bottle.)
A blend of Assyrtiko (80%), Aidani (10%) and Athiri (10%) from very old vines, some in excess of 150 years. The grapes are dried in the sun for 12 to 14 days, pressed, fermented with ambient yeasts and aged 15 years in old French oak barrels, two years in new French oak barrels and another three years in the bottle. 14% ABV.
Mahogany with orange glints. Complex nose of raisin, wet earth, nuts, orange zest, graphite and hints of vanilla and old wood. Though unctuous and sweet, not cloying due to the high acidity. The swirl of savoury fig, raisin and caramel flavours seems to last forever. There’s a category of wines with a special quality: you take a sip and time stops, the outside world disappears and, for a moment, only you and the wine exist. This falls into that select group. (Buy again? Would that I could.)
> A transporting delight with Hof Kelsten’s “Jewish biscotti,” a kind of mandelbrodt filled with walnuts and bitter chocolate and topped with a dollop of lemon-zested, sea-salted crème fraîche. The wine picked up the cookie’s walnuts and the cookie brought out the wine’s orange. Perfection.
oenopole workshop: picnic wines (3/4)
The reds were also served with three sandwiches: a Jewish-French fusion of chopped chicken liver and mousse de foies de volaille on raisin bread; open-faced corned beef garnished with red cabbage; and beef salami with chiles on a lobster roll-style hot dog bun. As is always the case at Hof Kelsten, everything – including the corned beef, salami, pickles and ballpark mustard – was made in house.
Achaïa 2012, Kalavryta, Tetramythos ($16.10, 11885457)
The estate is located in Achaea, on the Gulf of Corinth in the northern Peloponnese. This wine is made using the free-run juice from organically farmed Black of Kalavryta (Μαύρο Καλαβρυτινό) grapes, an indigenous variety once widely grown in the area but now nearly extinct. Alcoholic fermentation (with native yeasts) and nine months’ maturation are in stainless steel vats. Malolactic fermentation is prevented. Use of sulphur dioxide is kept to a bare minimum. The wine is unfined but coarsely filtered before bottling. 13% ABV.
While other bottles have often been reductive, the wine needing at least a couple of hours in a carafe to right itself, this was sweet from the get-go. Lightly candied red fruit, dark spice, slate, undergrowth and a hint of band-aid. Medium-bodied, supple, juicy and dry, with enough acidity to keep things perky. Not very tannic though a faint astringency and bitterness mark the finish. A savoury vin plaisir and a QPR winner. Drink slightly chilled. (Buy again? Yes.)
> A surprisingly good match for the chicken liver, which brought out the wine’s fruit. Excellent with the salami, unfazed by the smouldering chiles. Serviceable with the corned beef. Based on this sampling, the most picnic fare-friendly of the reds.
Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes-de-Nuits 2011, Domaine Henri Naudin-Ferrand ($27.65, 11668698)
100% Pinot Noir from vines averaging 43 years old. Manually harvested. Destemmed. Three days’ cold maceration was followed by 11 days’ alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts, punch-downs and pump-overs. Undergoes malolactic fermentation. Matured 12 months on the lees, 20% in new oak barrels. Blended and filtered before bottling. 12.5% ABV.
Classic red Burg nose: red berries, old wood, beet, minerals, forest floor and hint of new oak. A medium-bodied, silky textured delight with sweet-ripe fruit, supple tannins, bright acidity and darker mineral and wood flavours that linger through the clean finish. As elegant as in earlier vintages but even purer and fresher. (Buy again? Yes.)
> Good with the chicken liver, the berry fruit coming to the fore. Worked with the salami but not with the chiles, which killed the wine. The best of the three wines with the corned beef.
Côtes du Rhône 2011, Daumen ($21.00, 11509857)
Biodynamically and organically farmed Grenache (60%), Syrah (30%) and Mourvèdre (6%) according to the SAQ (earlier vintages have included a dollop of Cinsault) from vines averaging 60 years old. Although marketed under Jean-Paul Daumen’s négociant label, the grapes come from the estate’s own vineyards. Manually harvested, partially destemmed, fermented in temperature-controlled vats with indigenous yeasts and punch-downs for about 20 days, matured approximately 12 months in concrete vats and neutral 50-hl barrels and bottled unfiltered and unfined. Sulphur is added – and then minimally – only just before bottling. 14.5% ABV.
Heady nose of lightly stewed plum, sweet spice, black pepper, leather and graphite. A suave middleweight filled – but not packed – with sweet fruit, enlivening acidity and ripe, round tannins. Pepper and spice perfume the long finish. So fresh and drinkable, the kind of wine the QPR Winner tag was made for. (Buy again? Absolutely.)
> Didn’t sing with the chicken liver. Not bad with the salami, though the chiles did the wine no favours. Very good with the corned beef. Would really shine with grilled red meat – a lamb burger, say.
oenopole workshop: picnic wines (2/4)
The food for the workshop – variations on a sandwich theme – was prepared by Jeff Finkelstein, owner of Boulangerie Hof Kelsten. All the sandwiches were excellent and several were adaptations of ones available at the bakery. Based on this encounter, I’d say Hof Kelsten is not only the source of some of the city’s best bread (something restaurants like Brasserie T!, Joe Beef and Leméac well know) but also one of Montreal’s top sandwich spots.
In this flight, the wines were served with gravlax on a pumpernickel crisp, roasted yellow beet and labneh with fresh pumpernickel crumbs, and chicken salad on soft white sandwich bread.
IGP Peloponnese 2012, Foloi, Domaine Mercouri ($17.85, 12131471)
The wine is named after Mount Foloi, on the highlands around which the grapes grow. The 2012 is a blend of Roditis (85%) and Vigonier (15%). Low-temperature fermentation with selected yeasts. 12.5% ABV.
Mineral, floral (honeysuckle?), melon and a hint of peach stones. Smooth, fruity, even a bit superficial on entry but gaining depth, acid bite and minerality as it goes along. Floral overtones and citrus flavours colour the mid-palate and a faint astringent-like sensation textures the finish. Fragrant, flavourful and above all fresh. Probably not a keeper, this has summer sipper written all over it. (Buy again? Sure.)
> Not a particularly good match with the gravlax, the combo leaving a faint metallic and fish oil taste in the mouth. Much better with the beet and labneh (especially the mildly tangy cheese) and just dandy with the chicken salad.
Sancerre 2012, Domaine Paul Prieur et Fils ($24.50, 11953245)
100% Sauvignon Blanc from grapes grown in the estate’s three terroirs (light limestone, clayey limestone and flint). The vines average 25 to 35 years old. Manually harvested and whole cluster pressed. After 24 to 48 hours’ cold settling, the must is fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks and then matured on its lees for about seven months. 13% ABV.
Classic nose of gooseberry and gunflint with a soft floral top note. Sits lightly on the palate and yet is quite intense. The fruit’s natural sweetness notwithstanding, the wine is dry. Brisk acidity and a vein of chalky minerals run throughout and are joined by a saline note on the long finish. Remarkable purity and balance. (Buy again? Yes.)
> Good with the gravlax, very good with the beet and labneh and best with the chicken salad, whose celery and apple it picked up. One taster said the wine is a knockout with Crottin de Chavignol, a claim I have no trouble believing.
Santorini 2012, Estate Argyros ($24.60, 11901091)
100% Assyrtiko from ungrafted vines averaging 150 years old. Temperature-controlled fermentation with selected yeasts. Maturated six months, 80% in stainless steel tanks and 20% in 500-litre French oak barrels. 13.2% ABV.
Lemon, quartz, sea spray, distant smoke. Dry and oh, so minerally. The bracing acidity might be biting were it not softened by the fruit extract and sugars and rounded by the barrel. The saline finish lasts forever. “I’d drink this with everything, even on my cornflakes,” said one taster. That sounds about right. (Buy? Oh, yes.)
> Excellent with the gravlax, somewhat to my surprise (salmon and Assyrtiko, who knew?). Good with the beet and labneh, echoing the beet’s minerals. Very good with the chicken salad. The most versatile of the three wines (see “cornflakes” above). Would be killer with oysters on the half shell.
oenopole workshop: picnic wines (1/4)
Earlier this week, oenopole held another of its workshops for wine writers and bloggers. Titled Atelier pique-nique, the workshop was devoted to wines that would lend themselves to picnic-friendly sandwiches. While waiting for the hordes to assemble, we sipped a sparkler.
Brut rosé 2005, Talento Metodo Classico, Bisol ($32.00, 11612598)
100% Pinot Noir from low-yielding vineyards. Manually harvested. Prior to fermentation, the must is macerated on the skins at low temperature until it turns pink. Unlike Bisol’s renowned Prosecco, this is made like champagne, using the traditional method with the second fermentation taking place in the bottle. 12.5% ABV.
Pale coppery salmon pink, with little foam or visible bead. Nuanced nose of oxidizing apple, red berries, peach and brioche. Finely effervescent in the mouth. Dry but rounded by subtle fruit. Chalky minerals and an elusive strawberry overtone add complexity. The long finish brings a faint bitter almond note. Crisp, clean, elegant and delicious. (Buy again? Yes.)
Tasted in 2009 alongside rosé champagnes costing twice as much, the 2003 – a private import retailing for $39 – came across as somewhat stern and austere. Don’t know if it’s the different vintage or different context, but neither of those descriptors apply to the 2005. On its own, it made a fine aperitif. I can also see it working with light fare such as chicken salad or salmon tartare.
MWG April 17th tasting (4/6): The Greek, the Beauj’ and the Funky
Naoussa 2012, Jeunes vignes de Xinomavro, Domaine Thymiopoulos ($18.70, 12212220)
100% biodynamically farmed Xinomavro from ten-year-old vines. Manually harvested. 80% destemmed, 20% whole cluster pressed. Very gentle pressing. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and no pump-overs. Macerated about one week, then matured nine months in stainless steel tanks. Bottled unfiltered. 13.5% ABV.
A bit stinky on opening, as sometimes happens with this wine. That quickly blew off, leaving a charming nose of slate, candied red berries and spice. Denser than some earlier vintages but still fresh and supple, the fruit pure, the acidity bright and the tannins light and just a little raspy. Dried herbs, spice and minerals add savour. Finishes clean and tangy. Yet another winner from Thymiopoulos. (Buy again? In multiples.)
Morgon 2012, Marcel Lapierre ($30.50, Rézin, NLA)
This was the “nature” bottling available through the private import channel, not the filtered and more heavily sulphured SAQ bottling. 100% organically farmed Gamay from 60-year-old vines. Manually harvested late in the season. Whole-cluster fermentation with indigenous yeasts at low temperatures lasts ten to 20 days. Matured nine months on the fine lees in old Burgundy oak barrels. Bottled unfiltered, unfined and with minimal sulphur. 12.5% ABV.
Cherry, stones, vine sap and faint spice. Silky fruit, bright acidity, supple tannins and that Lapierre trick of being both etherial and intense. Slow-fade finish with lingering scents of minerals, berries and flowers. Classic and delicious. I’m guessing this will peak in two to three years. (Buy again? Yes.)
Vino da tavola 2011, Rosso frizzante, Sottobosco, Ca’ de Noci ($24.00, Ward & associés, NLA)
A blend of organically farmed Lambrusco Grasparossa (30%), Lambrusco di Montericco (30%), Malbo Gentile (20%) and Sgavetta (20%) from ten-year-old vines. Manually harvested. The grapes are macerated for around ten days on their skins and fermented with indigenous yeasts. Refermentation in the bottle (to produce the sparkle) is also natural. Unfiltered and unfined. 11% ABV.
Popped and poured. The wildly funky nose elicited all kinds of reactions, including the descriptor fetid. The miasma lifted some as the wine breathed, allowing hints of slate and red and black fruit to emerge. (A taster who had previously encountered the wine said ours was an unusually stinky bottle.) In the mouth, it’s bone dry, tart and astringent. The light fizz adds a mild creaminess that polishes, if only a little, the coarse texture. Surprisingly mouth-filling fruit and earthy flavours last well into the finish. Despite everything, good enough to make you think a cleaner bottle might have a genuine rustic appeal. (Buy again? With my fingers crossed.)
The common thread in this flight was wines that would work with charcuterie. Our cured meats came in the form of duck prosciutto and pork and duck rillettes from Pork Futures and a gifted dry sausage whose provenance I don’t recall. While all three wines proved up to the task, I found the Naoussa best with the prosciutto, the Morgon best with the fatty, mild rillettes and the Sottobosco best with the prosciutto and the dark flavoured sausage.
MWG March 20th tasting (2/7): Flat whites?
Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2012, Panizzi ($20.90, 12102821)
100% Vernaccia. Sees only stainless steel until bottling. Gently crushed, no maceration. Fermented in temperature-controlled (18°C) tanks. Transferred to other tanks for five months’ maturation. 13% ABV.
Straw, chalk and quartz, eventually offering up faint stone fruit and lemon. Clean and intense. Starts dry but sweetens as it goes along. Possessed of a certain richness – largely extract – that’s balanced by acidity. Long, minerally finish with a telltale bitter almond note. A second bottle showed better at table. The best Vernaccia sold at the SAQ in a coon’s age, though less accomplished than the private import Barzaghi tasted last year. (Buy again? Sure.)
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore 2010, Il Coroncino, Fattoria Coroncino ($23.55, 11952138)
100% Verdicchio from vines in the Coroncino and Cerrete vineyards. Farming is organic, though uncertified, and no fertilizers are used. Manually harvested, gently pressed. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled (20°C) stainless steel tanks. Whether the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation is left to nature. Matured in stainless steel tanks. Minimal sulphur is added at bottling. 13.5% ABV.
Oxidized butter, flowers, yellow apple, dried lemon, ash. Rich, smooth, concentrated but not heavy. Fruit is present but Heisenbergian: when you look for it, it evanesces. Layered, with substrata of tangy acid and dusty chalk. Long, bitter-edged, moreish. A bottle consumed a couple of weeks after the tasting proved even more compelling and made a surprisingly good match for asparagus gratinéed with Parmesan cheese and topped with a fried egg. (Buy again? Yes.)
IGT Civitella d’Agliano 2012, Poggio della Costa, Sergio Mottura ($21.75, 10782309)
100% Grechetto from organically farmed vines grown in the Poggio della Costa vineyard. Soft-pressed, cold-settled, fermented in temperature-controlled (18-20°C) tanks for 15 to 25 days. Matured on the lees in tanks for five or six months. Sees only stainless steel until bottling. Screwcapped. 13.5% ABV.
Inexpressive nose of lemon and quartz dust. Bland and inexpressive in the mouth. Clean, medium-bodied, with lowish acidity, a saline finish and no personality. I quite enjoyed Mottura’s Orvietto last year but this was simply forgettable. Closed and in need of time? Let’s hope that’s the explanation. (Buy again? Only to give it a second chance.)
I had high hopes for this flight: three monovarietals from three iconic Italian white grapes made by three highly regarded producers. But all three wines fell flat at the tasting, generating little interest, with no one inquiring about availability. Did the cavas neutralize our palates? Were the planets improperly aligned? Are these wines that, like many central Italian reds, need food to show their mettle? That the two revisited after the tasting were capable of providing pleasure (especially the Coroncino) has me leaning toward the food hypothesis. Then again, I thought both made a fine aperitif on their own before I sat down to eat.
¿Creador de armonias?
Ribera del Duero 2012, Sélection Chartier ($19.95, 12246622)
Made by Bodegas Arrocal to the specifications of the self-styled créateur d’harmonies. 100% Tinta del Païs (aka Tempranillo) from 50- to 70-year-old vines. After strict sorting, the grapes are destemmed and cold-soaked. Fermentation with indigenous yeasts takes place in stainless steel vats. The wine is transferred to 75% French and 25% American oak casks (first, second and third fill in equal proportion) for ten months’ maturation. 14.5% ABV.
(The bottle my glass came from had been open for about four hours.) Fragrant nose of dark fruit, burned earth, tobacco leaf and spice, especially black pepper. In the mouth, it’s a middleweight. Fluid and fruity up front, turning more structured (lively acidity, lithe tannins), darker (shades of minerals, smoke) and drier on its way to a lightly astringent, heady – not hot – finish. Not notably deep or long but clean, tonic and, of course, food friendly. Light years away from the dense, chewy, often heavily oaked reds most wine lovers associate with the appellation, not that I’m complaining. (Buy again? Sure.)
On the bottle’s front label and on his website, Chartier recommends various food pairings for the wine, including some surprising ones like grilled porgy, dark chocolate (80% cocoa or higher) and strawberries. While none of those seems obvious to me, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt; the one time I asked him to recommend a wine pairing for a tricky dish (chicken roasted with Seville oranges and cumin), he came through with flying colours. Still, I’m pretty sure that, while waiting for strawberry season to roll around, you could get away serving this with charcoal-grilled veal or baby lamb chops.
Brett happens 