Posts Tagged ‘food pairings’
A seamless wine, a bottle as memorable as it is affordable
Rioja 2003, Viña Gravonia, R. López de Heredia ($25.95, 11667927)
100% Viura from old vines. Manually harvested, gently destemmed and immediately crushed. The must is transferred into 60-hectolitre oak vats, where it ferments spontaneously. Matured in 225-litre American oak barrels for four years, with racking twice a year. Unfiltered but fined with egg whites before bottling. 13% ABV.
Complex, faintly oxidized bouquet evocative of beeswax, dandelion flowers, stone, old wood, caramel, yellow fruit, quince and almonds. Round, even weighty on the palate yet also fresh, thanks in no small part to the soft but omnipresent acidity. Smooth minerals and honey flavour the fruit. A Fino-like note surfaces momentarily, then is sweetened and subsumed in dried apricot and orange peel on the long finish. A seamless wine, a bottle as memorable as it is affordable. (Buy again? Definitely and soon because there’s very little left at the SAQ.)
Made an intriguing and gratifying match for oysters on the half shell, especially small sweet Caraquets with a few drops of lemon juice. Would also love to try it with some good jamón.
Bringing the food to the wine
Had a rib steak in my shopping bag when I happened upon this new arrival. My recipe for bringing the two together is after the jump.
Bandol 2009, Domaine de Souviou ($28.45, 12108377)
100% Mourvèdre. Picked by hand and destemmed. Fermentation takes place at 28 to 30ºC and maceration lasts 15 to 28 days, depending on the vintage. There are two pumpovers and one punchdown a day. The wine is matured in oak barrels. 14% ABV.
Complex aromatics: sun-baked earth, garrigue, pencil shavings, black raspberry, plum, faint new leather and black pepper, hint of kirschy alcohol. On the palate, the wine seems introverted. It’s a silky-textured middleweight, well balanced and finely structured, but the tannins are very tight. Very dry and savoury, not at all fruity. The long, mildly astringent finish has a leather note. Unsmiling when first opened, it smoothed, rounded, deepened and even sweetened with time in a carafe. Still, the rigid tannins indicate it needs a few more years to reach maturity. (Buy again? Sure.)
Unorthodox Greek
I originally intended to pair this wine with a roasted prime rib of beef but, after scoring a taste in an SAQ outlet, opted instead for pan-roasted lamb shoulder, a near perfect match. The recipe came from Marcella Hazan and, to mark her passing earlier today, I’ve included it after the jump.
Nemea 2005, Réserve, Parparoussis ($34.50, 11900493)
100% Agiorgitiko. Manually harvested. Fermentation in stainless steel tanks typically lasts 20 days with up to two weeks’ maceration. Matured in 70% new French oak barrels for 12 months. 13% ABV.
Fascinating, multifaceted bouquet of pomegranate, dried cherry, turned earth, herbs (tarragon?), blood and nut skins. The fruit – sour cherry, above all – is ripe and present but, contrary to expectations, far from dominant. In fact the wine is medium-bodied, supple and quite dry, not to mention savoury, bright with acidity, structured by fine resolved tannins and nuanced by overtones of underbrush and a coppery tang. A caramel thread runs throughout and is joined by faint cocoa husks on the long finish. Surprising in its exoticism but also in its restraint and elegance. Parparoussis studied wine-making in Dijon and, while you wouldn’t mistake this wine for a Burgundy, you can definitely see the influence. (Buy again? Yes.)
It is increasingly clear that the Greek wine scene is one of the most dynamic and exciting on the planet.
Cultured Vulture
Have lately had little time to drink and even less time to write, but I wanted to flag today’s release at the SAQ of a wine I and many others enjoyed last November, when it was available as a private import from oenopole. The intervening nine months have done it nothing but good and, once again, it has proved to be a fantastic match for lamb, this time a stew with vinegar and green beans (recipe after the jump). Quantities appear to be limited, so fast action is advised.
Aglianico del Vulture 2009, Antelio, Camerlengo ($23.35, 11951961)
100% Aglianico from organically farmed 30-year-old vines. Manually harvested in late October and early November. Fermented with native yeasts, macerated 25 days and matured in a 50-hl Slavonian oak botte. Unfiltered and unfined. Lightly sulphured at bottling for stability during transportation. 13% ABV.
Alluring nose: black cherry, graphite, hints of balsam, spice and flowers. Medium-bodied. The silky, sweet-cored fruit is brightened by acidity and velveted by lightly rustic tannins. Chewing brings a tooth-coating astringency and reveals a mineral substrate. The savoury finish lasts longer than you’d expect. A here-and-now wine: not particularly deep but remarkably fresh, pure and satisfying, more so than other Aglianicos in the price range, which often seem coarse, unbalanced and untamed, like gorillas in sports jackets. (Buy again? In multiples.)
Go-to Gaillac
Gaillac 2011, Peyrouzelles, Causse Marines ($18.60, 00709931)
Organically farmed Syrah (35%), Duras (30%), Braucol (aka Fer, 25%) and Jurançon Noir (5%) from 15- to 20-year-old vines. Mechanically destemmed. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and macerated in temperature-controlled fiber vats for about two weeks. After a brief settling, the wine is racked into old barrels for maturation. 14% ABV.
A bit farty and sulphurous at first – probably due to the reduction-prone Duras though nothing 30 minutes in a carafe can’t take care of – then spicy red plum and blackberry with pencil shavings, turned earth, a whiff of red meat and a hint of flowers (distant lilac?). Medium-bodied if a little heady. Smooth, silky and very dry. Your first impression is that it’s fruitier than is actually the case. There’s fruit, of course, but it’s as savoury as sweet, riddled with acidity and plushed by tannins. Earth, wood and stone persist into the finish and leave faint sour, astringent, bitter and alcoholic notes bobbing in their wake. You’ll want to drink this lightly chilled, ideally alongside herby grilled pork or, once the cool weather returns, a confit duck leg, whose fat the acidity will cut like a scalpel. (Buy again? For sure.)
Alternate Altano
Douro 2010, Organic / Biologique, Altano ($16.95, 11157097)
Altano is owned by the Symington family of Port fame. This is a 100% Touriga Nacional made from grapes grown in the estate’s three organcially farmed vineyards, planted in the 1980s, in the Vilariça Valley in the Douro Superior sub-region, near the Spanish border. After manual sorting, the grapes are fermented at 25-26ºC in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats with extended maceration and regular pump-overs. The wine is matured ten months in second-vintage French oak barrels. 12.9% ABV.
Fragrant – blackberry, blueberry and spice – at first but then shut down (or maybe my sinuses shut down). Medium-bodied and thus lighter than most Douros (which regularly clock in at 14%, 15% and even 15.5%), and all the better for it. Sweet-fruited at its core but also savoury with slate, old wood, a faint stemminess and a bitter plum pit note. The tannins are light, pervasive and just a little raspy and there’s plenty of acidity to brighten and sour the fruit. Finishes dry and surprisingly long. Nothing profound but fresh, tasty and, as the French untranslatably say, digeste. A natural with grilled pork or chicken and a definite step up from the regular Altano. Oddly, though this is a new arrival, there aren’t many bottles around. (Buy again? Yes.)
Beatus ille
Isabelle Ferrando acquired Domaine Saint-Préfert in the southern Châteauneuf du Pape AOC in 2002. Her 2007 Châteauneuf, one of the few wines I’ve ever called sexy, impressed the hell out of me. She recently began making a Côtes-du-Rhône. Not only does it bear a family resemblance to that CDP, it proved a great match for a grilled bavette seasoned with rosemary and garlic (recipe after the jump).
And in case you’re wondering, beatus ille, Latin for “happy is the man,” is the opening line of Horace’s second Epode, which “praises country life [and] the pristine joys of working one’s own land free from exploitation.”
Côtes du Rhône 2012, Beatus Ille, Domaine Saint-Préfert ($18.90, 11941631)
Grenache (85%) and Cinsault (15%) from 40- to 70-year-old vines grown in La Lionne (on the border of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC in Sorgues commune). The estate has obtained organic certification for the 2013 vintage. Fully destemmed. Matured six months in concrete vats. 14% ABV.
Seductive nose of crushed black raspberry and red cherry, herbes de Provence, faint brick dust and leather and a whiff of kirsch. In the mouth the wine is a silky-textured if heady middleweight. The peppery fruit, splintery tannins, nipping acidity and underlying dryness are wrapped in a gauzy veil of sweetness and glycerine. The long finish – lifted, not heated, by alcohol – leads to a red licorice, red currant jam aftertaste. While there’s nothing Pinot Noirish about it, I kept coming back to the descriptor Burgundian. Proof that Côtes du Rhônes don’t have to be fruit bombs or bruisers. Grenache lovers should make a beeline. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG June 20th tasting (1/8): Les Compères et un confrère
Côtes du Jura 2010, Chardonnay, Les Compères, Essencia ($26.70, 11544003)
Essencia is a joint venture between Puligny-based caviste and cheesemonger Philippe Bouvret and cult winemaker Jean-François Ganevat. 100% Chardonnay (not 90% Chard and 10% Savagnin as SAQ.com claims). I haven’t found much technical information about the wine other than that the vinification is “traditional,” which in Ganevat’s case probably means organically or biodynamically farmed grapes, whole cluster alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts, no racking of the must, malolactic fermentation, maturation in large and/or small barrels, no filtering or fining and minimal use of sulphur dioxide. 12.5% ABV.
Lovely fresh nose of ripe apple, dried hay and lemon. The freshness continues onto the palate with its round, ripe-sweet fruit (more pear than apple), buoyant acitidy and crunchy minerals. The long finish brings a hint of salty hazlenut brittle. Mouth-filling yet the farthest thing from heavy, tense yet oh, so accessible. More complete than the 2005 yet equally pleasureable. (Buy again? Posthaste – this is a second shipment and there’s not a lot left.)
Côtes du Jura 2009, Tradition, Domaine Berthet-Bondet ($25.00, 11794694)
A blend of organically farmed Chardonnay and Savagnin (70-30 according to most, 80-20 according to SAQ.com). Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Matured two years sous voile, under a yeast veil, in large barrels. 13% ABV.
Textbook oxidized Jura nose: apple, silage and walnut. Medium-bodied and dry. Fine, even delicate bolts of fruit, straw, minerals and nuts unfurl and are wafted by smooth acidity. Fresher and less oxidatively full-bore than some (which is probably truer to the true traditional Jura style) but impeccably well-mannered and balanced, this would make a good introduction to non-ouillé wines as well as a fine accompaniment to Comté cheese, not to mention white fish and lobster, especially if in a creamy curry sauce. (Buy again? Sure.)
Gang of Rhônes
Daumen is a fairly new line of négociant wines from southern Rhône producer Domaine de la Vieille Julienne. The handsome labels (Côtes-du-Rhône, Lirac, Gigondas, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Principauté d’Orange) were designed by a Quebec firm.
Côtes-du-Rhône 2010, Daumen ($19.00, 11509857)
Organically farmed Grenache (60%), Syrah (30%) and Mourvèdre (6%). Unlike the label’s Lirac and Gigondas but like the VDP de la principauté d’Orange (an old-vine Cabernet Sauvignon–Merlot blend available as a private import from oenopole), the grapes come from Daumen’s own vineyards. They are also co-planted, so this is a field blend. The grapes were hand-picked, sorted, partially destemmed, fermented in temperature-controlled vats with indigenous yeasts, 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% ABV.
Crushed blackberry (fruit and leaves), cherry pit, old wood. Medium-bodied and dry. The fruit is held back, leaving room for dark minerals and black pepper. Freshening acidity and fine if teeth-coating tannins only add to the savour. A kirsch note chimes in on the finish. Food-friendly: a natural for a thyme and garlic-stuffed lamb shoulder of course, but also capable of accompanying a wide range of savoury dishes, including all kinds of grilled meats and vegetables. Hard to beat at the price point, provided you’re not looking for a fruit bomb. (Buy again? Yep.)
By the way, when searching for info on the wine, I noticed another cuvée from Daumen, one I’d not heard about, including from Jean-Paul himself at the MWG tasting he led: Côtes-du-Rhône 2005, La Bosse, Domaine de la Vieille Juilienne ($196.00, 11905930). What’s this? A Côtes-du-Rhône that clocks in at 16.5% and costs more than a magnum of the same estate’s 2004 Châteauneuf-du-Pape?! A query to the agent elicited the following reply: “La Bosse: A micro-parcel (lieu-dit) within the “Clavin” zone, hence CDR, which is a hill that is geologically quite different from the rest of the parcel due to the high amount of sand in the topsoil (not unlike the particularities of the parcel that yields Vieille Julienne’s Réservé in Châteauneuf-du-Pape). Over decades, the estate has noticed a marked difference in the quality of the grenache, and in exceptional vintages, like the 2005 (which is also the 100th anniversary of the domaine) makes small amounts to pay tribute to this unique parcel. CDR in name, but can put a lot of Châteauneufs to shame… 480 bottles produced.” At four bucks shy of $200 a bottle, I doubt I’ll ever taste it but I don’t doubt it’s spectacular. Heads-up, millionaires!
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.)
Brett happens 