Posts Tagged ‘food pairings’
Hi-yo, Silver! It’s the lone Vernaccia!
Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2011, Rocca delle Macìe ($14.30, 00731570)
100% Vernaccia. The winemaker’s tech sheet (PDF file) appears to have been written by the marketing department and so provides no useful technical information. Likely fermented with commercial yeasts and matured in neutral containers. 13% ABV.
Engaging nose: lemon fruity and surprisingly floral. Light and fresh on the palate. What fruit there is – besides the obligatory citrus – is of the pear/quince variety. Lively acidity. Little depth and a rainwatery finish with only the faintest hint of bitter almond (often a marker for the variety). Yes, it’s industrial and, yes, you can find Vernaccias with more personality and follow-through*. Then again, it’s $14. Best as an aperitif or with light, vegetable-based first courses like fried zucchini flowers stuffed with fresh ricotta. (Buy again? If in search of an inexpensive, innocuous, dry Italian white, sure.)
*Not at the SAQ these days, though. For the time being, the Rocca delle Macìe is it. Yet Vernaccia is one of Italy’s oldest and most storied white wines. “Old-style Vernaccia was made as powerful as possible, fermented on its (golden) skins and aged in barrels for gently oxidized flavours to emerge. This was the wine Michelangelo loved. It can still be found like this, or in a modernized, pale version,” writes Hugh Johnson. Leave it to the beloved monopoly to stock only the modernized, pale version. It’s yet another reason to turn to the private import channel. This, for example, looks like it could be interesting.
Turkish QPR winner
Cappadocia 2011, Öküzgözü/Boğazkere, Kocabağ ($13.25, 10703754)
The winery is located in Uchisar district in Nevşehir province in central Anatolia (profile here). This bottling is a blend of Öküzgözü (70%) and Boğazkere (30%), with part of latter being aged in oak barrels. 13% ABV.
Initially shy nose: red berries, cherry jam, stones, old wood, faint spice. Soft and velvety on the palate. Medium-bodied. The clean fruit is juicy up front but dries and sours as it progresses through the mouth. Tannins are apparent less as structure, more as a mild astringency on the long, wood- and earth-scented finish. Needs half an hour in a carafe to unfurl. Simple but good, an honest wine that doesn’t taste manipulated or give itself airs. Paired with köfte kebabs as to the manner born. (Buy again? Yep.)
Recipe for a cheerful marriage
And a mixed marriage at that.
One of the best uses for leftover roast is in a tian, a simple Provençal preparation in which the chopped meat is combined with vegetables, aromatics and white wine and baked in a earthenware dish of the same name (recipe after the jump). I recently made one with the trimmings from our vernal equinox leg of lamb. As a believer in regional parings, I’d normally reach for a lighter-styled Provençal red. Having none on hand, I popped the cork on this: an outlander, yes, but it made a fine match.
IGT Sicilia 2010, Gaio Gaio, Calabretta ($21.90, oenopole, NLA)
100% organically farmed Nerello Mascalese grown on the north slope of Mount Etna. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Matured in stainless steel and Slavonian oak barrels (neutral, I’d guess). The wine is named after the winemaker’s father, Gaio, which also means cheerful, merry, chipper. 11.5% (!) ABV.
Pale red. Nose of red berries, obsidian dust, dried orange and a umami note (dried porcini mushrooms?). Light and flowing in the mouth, with a caressing texture, singing acidity and soft tannins. The fruit plays sweet over a ground base of dark minerals and finishes on a savoury note. Fresh and pure, a wine that almost drinks itself, a joy. The closest analogue would be one of the lighter Beaujolais crus – a Fleuri, say – except the flavours are more southern, solar, volcanic.
oenopole’s first-ever shipment of Calabretta wines arrived in March and sold out within days. Going by the quality of this bottle, it’s easy to understand why. Those who didn’t get any or enough can try it in local restaurants, hope for a second shipment and keep an eye peeled for the next vintage. Wines like this are why people turn to the private import channel.
Baux? Oui. Beau? Bof.
Les Baux-de-Provence 2005, Château Romanin ($29.95, 10273361)
Like all Baux-de-Provence estates, Romanin is biodynamic. A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Mourvèdre (proportions unspecified by the estate or agent; SAQ.com says 30-30-20-10). The grapes are sorted, destemmed and crushed. Fermentation and maceration take place in stainless steel and wood vats, involve daily punch-downs and pump-overs and last ten to 21 days. Maturation is in similar vessels. 13% ABV.
Deep and alluring bouquet of sweet blackberry and plum with hints of turned earth, terracotta, tree bark, strawberry, garrigue. There’s also a Bordeaux-ish cassis and graphite thing going on. Dense yet fluid on the palate. Shot through with dark minerals and brightened by high acidity, the ripe fruit soon loses its sweetness and gets lost in the formidable structure. The tannins appear soft and resolved at first but assert themselves on the long, astringent, drying finish. Lingering aftertaste of tobacco and licorice. Austere and even a little forbidding, this softened and sweetened some with exposure to air, so carafing an hour beforehand is probably a good idea. And maybe that’s a sign it will benefit from a few more years in the cellar. Still, it doesn’t quite come together in the way you expect a $30 bottle to. Not bad but, relative to earlier vintages, a disappointment. A hunk of red meat (think roasted leg of lamb à la provençale) will show it in the best possible light.
We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming…
…to bring you the following public service announcement.
Snow crab season officially opened in the Gaspé last week and the crustacean is now on sale at Montreal fishmongers, usually as cooked sections but sometimes whole and live. Though I got my sections yesterday at Nouveau Falero on Parc, the freshest, tastiest and least water-logged are usually found at the Délices de la Mer stall at Jean Talon Market. The sweet, delicate flesh is best savoured as is, unspoiled by so much as a drop of lemon juice or a dip in melted butter. For the quickest, easiest access to the meat, set aside the lobster crackers and pick up a pair of sturdy kitchen shears. The perfect accompaniment? Glass after glass of a less than bone-dry white. For example…
Vinho Verde 2011, Loureiro, Quinta de Gomariz ($15.30, 11895233)
100% Loureiro from 11-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Fermented five to seven days with native yeasts. Not allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation. Matured off the lees for two months. Sees only stainless steel. Filtered before bottling. 11.5% ABV.
Fresh and appealing nose of white grapefruit, lime, white sand, faint flowers and powdered honeycomb. Soft-textured and ever so slightly sprtizy. A flash of ripe grape and citrus on the attack quickly turns dry and gains some bitter pith that crescendos through the mouth. Crunchy minerals and tangy acid outlast the fruit on the long, rainwatery finish. The sour, bitter, quartzy aftertaste forces you back for another sip to get that momentary flash of sweet fruit, starting the cycle anew. Long but not broad or deep. A fresh, pure, thirst-slaking delight.
While this would make an excellent aperitif or summer sipper, it proved very good with the snow crab, whose sweet flesh surprisingly brought out the wine’s sweetness and increased its weight. That said, Gomariz’s more powerful Alvarinho would probably make an even better match. And, of course, as Hugh Johnson says, “crab and Riesling are part of the Creator’s plan.”
MWG March 8th tasting (3/5): Two Greeks, a Turk and a Galician walk into a wine bar…
IGP Letrini 2008, Domaine Mercouri ($19.75, 11885537)
Located on the western coast of the Peloponnese peninsula near the village of Korakochori, the estate is the second oldest modern-day producer in Greece (after Boutari). This is a blend of sustainably farmed Refosco (80%) and Mavrodaphne (20%); the Refosco vines were first brought to the estate from Friuli in the 19th century. Fermented with neutral yeasts in stainless steel vats. Undergoes malolactic fermentation. Matured 10 to 12 months in French oak barrels, 40% new. 13% ABV.
Spicy wild berries, dried wood, herbs. Medium-bodied, like all the wines in this flight. Very dry. Juicy but not cloyingly so. Acid bright with tight tannins and a bitter-edged finish. A suave wine that is more upfront than deep but definitely easy-drinking and food friendly. Plus it hits that “in the mood for a winey red” spot. (Buy again? Yes.)
Öküzgözü 2010, Terra, Kayra ($15.30, 11885625)
100% Öküzgözü (“ox eye”). Grown in the province of Elazığ, in east central Anatolia. This bottling is part of the producer’s Terra line, which focuses on wines made from indigenous varieties. 13.5% ABV.
Pleasant if simple nose of slate and candied cassis. Soft textured. Full of plum and fruit cake flavours and powdery tannins, with lots of acidity and a credible finish. Not a wow for anyone around the table but unusual and kind of fun. (Buy again? On a whim, sure, especially if planning to eat lahmacun.)
Valdeorras 2010, Gaba Do Xil, Telmo Rodriguez ($17.25, 11861771)
100% Mencia, a mix of purchased grapes and the estate’s own; unlike most Mencia we see these days, this isn’t from Bierzo but nearby Galicia. Manually harvested. Native yeasts. 13 % ABV.
Candied cherry, swimming pool and graphite. Smooth and silky on the palate. More acidic than tannic. Umami-ish set of flavours dominated by dried plum and soy sauce, including the salt. Long astringent and drying finish. Seemed short on fruit. Suffering from travel shock? (Buy again? Maybe.)
Achaïa 2011, Kalavryta, Domaine Tetramythos ($15.45, 11885457)
The estate is located in Achaea, on the Gulf of Corinth in the northern Peloponnese. Farming is certified organic with an eye on biodynamic. This wine is made using the free-run must from Black of Kalavryta (Μαύρο Καλαβρυτινό) grapes, an indigenous variety once widely grown in the area but now nearly extinct. Tetramythos has 1.4 hectares of the vines and is the sole remaining producer. 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 and tiny minimum. The wine is unfined but coarsely filtered before bottling. Average annual production is 9,000 bottles. Recommended pairings feature tomato in one form or another: baked tuna in tomato sauce (tuna used to be common in the gulf); baked stuffed tomatoes; or rabbit or cock, browned and braised in red wine with tomato paste being added toward the end and finished by adding parboiled hylopites (square egg noodles) to the sauce and cooking them until done. 13.5% ABV.
Odd-bordering-on-unappetizing nose of ketchup, old leather, black pepper and animale. Smooth and juicy in the mouth, however, with supple tannins, bright acidity, clear flavours and a sustained finish. The MWG member who took the tail end of the bottle home with him reports that the next day the “offensive funkiness” had gone and the wine was “very tasty.” The Quebec agent reports the same thing: the wine is currently in a “weird reductive phase” and needs to be carafed the better part of a day to rectify itself. Will do. (Buy again? Yes.)
Branco impressionante
Dão Reserva 2011, Quinta da Pellada/Álvaro de Castro ($21.25, 11895364)
Encruzado (60%), Cercial (35%) and Bical (5%). Fermented in small batches for two months, followed by maturation, with stirring of the lees, and bottling. More specific technical info is hard to come by, but I suspect this sees no wood. 13% ABV. SAQ.com says its closure is a screwcap but, of course, it’s a cork (I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a Portuguese wine closed with anything but).
Understated and elegant, becoming more expressive as it warms: grape, cut apple, distant mangosteen, a whiff of limestone and camphor. On the palate, it’s dry and faintly waxy, savoury yet fresh: lemon juice and a veritable matrix of minerals with great acidic backbone. There’s a bitter, almost astringent undertow from the attack through the long finish. With the exception of wines from the north of the country, Portuguese whites are often soft. This is anything but. Its tension, minerality and texture are remarkable, akin to those found in some of the better whites from Italy and southern France. For best results, drink it at several degrees warmer than fridge temperature and consider carafing it an hour or two in advance. While it made an acceptable match for Ottolenghi and Tamimi’s excellent roasted chicken with lemon and Jerusalem artichokes, I suspect it will really shine alongside simply prepared seafood.
Verging on Vinho Verde
Vinho regional Minho 2011, Alvarinho, Quinta de Gomariz ($20.20, 11895225)
Despite being a young estate (2005 was its first vintage), Quinta de Gomariz has come to be regarded as one of the region’s top producers. This cuvée is 100% Alvarinho from 11-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and matured in stainless steel for seven to ten days and two months respectively. Not allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation. Fined and filtered before bottling. 12.5% ABV.
White grapefruit and nectarine dusted with chalk and white pepper. In the mouth, there’s a faint spritzy tingle and a hint of sweetness on the attack that’s quickly soured by acidity. The effect is fresh and lightly fruity, like biting into a chilled green grape. A rainwatery mid-palate leads to a citrusy finish with more white pepper and lingering green apple. Simple but pure and lovely. This went well enough with grilled squid but is really waiting for snow crab season, the crustacean either served plain or dressed in a light herb vinaigrette. Can also see it working with simple Cantonese seafood dishes like fish steamed with ginger and green onions or shimp and scallop kow (stir-fried with bamboo shoots, black mushrooms and snow peas).
MWG February 21st tasting (8/8): A vibrant macvin
Macvin du Jura, Domaine de Montbourgeau ($31.25, 11785624)
A vin de liqueur made from Chardonnay and a little Poulsard. The grapes are pneumatically pressed. The resulting must is prevented from fermenting by adding Marc du Jura (pomace brandy), the final ratio being about 1/3 marc to 2/3 must. The Macvin is then matured three years in oak barrels and 230-litre pièces. 17% ABV.
Irrepressibly frangrant nose of caraway, honey, wax, candied orange peel, multigrain bread, rye berries, hazelnuts. Dense, smooth and sweet but not heavy or cloying thanks to the lively acidity and exuberant fruit. Long and pure. The very model of a macvin. (Buy again? Absolutely, especially since Macvins show up at the SAQ only once in a blue moon.)
The estate recommends serving it chilled (around 9-10ºC/50ºF) as an aperitif, alongside a first course of melon or cake au jambon (savoury ham cake) or with dessert (caramel ice cream or a chocolate pear tart). I’ve also enjoyed white Macvins with not overly sweet nut-based desserts. Some Jurassiens take it after dinner mixed with marc (usually one part Macvin to two parts marc).
MWG February 21st tasting (3/8): Two Mediterranean whites
Bandol 2011, Domaine La Suffrene ($22.85, 11903491)
The estate was created in 1996. This is the first of its wines to be offered at the SAQ. A 50–50 blend of Clairette and Ugni Blanc from vines averaging 35 to 40 years old. Manually harvested. To increase flavour extraction, the crushed grapes are kept on their skins for 12 hours at 8ºC before pressing (aka maceration pelliculaire). After clarification by settling, the juice is fermented in stainless steel vats for around 15 days at around 19ºC, then racked into other vats for fining and maturation. Filtered before bottling. 13% ABV.
Smells like Provence: preserved lemon, acacia blossom, herbs, pear and mineral. Dry in the mouth with a winey verging on unctuous texture, though the acidity and restraint prevent any heaviness. Flavours tend to garrigue and a faint, pithy bitterness. What fruit there is fades on finish leaving ashy minerals. Not a throat-grabber by any means but classic and elegant. Am anxious to try the estate’s red and pink wines. (Buy again? Sure.)
Corse Figari 2011, Clos Canarelli ($39.25, 11794660)
100% biodynamically farmed Vermintinu (aka Vermintino) from vines planted in 1997. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Allowed to undergo partial malolactic fermentation. Aged mostly in large foudres as well as some old neutral barrels. Lightly filtered before bottling. 13.5% ABV. As far as I can tell, the estate doesn’t have a website; for background, see The Vine Route profile.
Outgoing nose of dried herbs, white fruit, a sprinkling of anise seed, a hint of dried banana and some charry ash. Not fruity but weighty on the palate. Not bone dry either, though the residual sugar is counterbalanced by acidity and a fine bitterness. Long, vaporous finish with lemon and mineral notes. Impressive, imposing, a white to contend with, the very definition of a food wine: Grill a sea bass and, just before it’s finished cooking, toss some dried thyme sprigs soaked in Pernod onto the coals under the fish. Serve with a squirt of lemon and a drizzle of fragrant olive oil. You’re welcome. (Buy again? Yes, with sea bass in hand.)
Brett happens 