Posts Tagged ‘Glou’
New arrivals from Glou (2/5)
MunJebel Rosso 8, Azienda agricola Frank Cornelissen ($51.59, Glou, 6 bottles/case)
Nerello Mascalese from various vineyards and mostly (84%) from the 2011 vintage. The remaining 16% is 2010 that’s passed over the pulp before pressing. All grapes are destemmed. A starter cuvée is made from grapes picked a week earlier than the rest. Fermentation, with natural yeasts, is in 1,000-litre plastic vats. The post-fermentation wine is clarified by settling, then matured on its fine lees. Unfiltered and unfined. No added anything, including sulphur dioxide. 15% ABV.
Engaging “natural” nose: red plum and cherries, volcano dust, animale and unspecified funk. Intense and complex in the mouth. The pure fruit is ripe and dry, present but not oppressive, shaped by high acidity and fine tight tannins, humming with overtones of dried herbs and maquis and undertones of dark minerals. Long, savoury, astringent finish. No heat, though the alcohol may explain the glyceriny, liqueur-like texture. A wonderful, fluent, elemental wine. (Buy again? Pricey but, yes, especially since it’s $15 less than the 7.)
New arrivals from Glou (1/5)
The good guys at Glou recently held a trade tasting of some of their new arrivals.
Champagne, Brut Nature, Christophe Mignon ($55.00, Glou, 6 bottles/case)
The century-old estate has 6.5 hectares of vines (90% Pinot Meunier, 5% Pinot Noir and 5% Chardonnay) in some 30 parcels located between Le Breuil and Festigny. Viticulture is “alternative,” by which is meant semi-organic and biodynamic but with recourse to synthetic products in extreme circumstances. This blanc de noirs is 100% Pinot Meunier from 35-year-old vines. Vinified on a parcel-by-parcel basis: fermented in stainless steel and enameled steel tanks and matured on the lees for five months. Blended, bottled and aged for around 24 months before disgorging on a date determined by the lunar calendar. No dosage (also made in Extra Brut and Brut versions with 3 and 6 g cane sugar per litre respectively). Minimal sulphur dioxide. Unfiltered. 12.5% ABV.
Abundant foamy mousse. Nose dominated by leesy lemon and white fruit. Light and fruity in the mouth with a soft, super-fine effervescence and crystalline minerality. Dry, acid bright, long. A pure and refreshing winner. (Buy again? Done!)
Puligny-Montrachet 2011, Julien Altaber / Sextant (c. $65.00, Glou, NLA)
Based in Saint-Aubin, Altaber, who works for Dominique Derain, has run a négociant business on the side since 2007. He makes red and white Burgundies with grapes purchased from growers he trusts. The wines are fermented with indigenous yeasts and no chemical additives other than sulphur dioxide, which, if used at all, is done so only during racking, never at bottling. This grapes for this 100% Chardonnay come from 40-year-old vines located on a slope above the 1er crus. Only one cask was made, which is why Glou received only 60 or so bottles. 13% ABV.
Classic if closed nose: faint lemon, chalk and quartz, hints of oats and oxidized butter. Medium-bodied and dry, with clean, clear fruit, tons of minerals, tense acidity and a long buttery finish. So coherent, so beautifully balanced. An elegant wine that, while tight and taut at this stage, is full of potential. (Buy again? Def.)
MWG February 21st tasting (5/8): One of a kind
Rosso del Contadino 9, Azienda agricola Frank Cornelissen ($30.66, Glou, 12 bottles/case)
A blend of Etna-grown grapes, red and white, from the 2011 vintage: Nerello Mascalese (70%); Allicante, Minella Nera, Uva Francese and Nerello Capuccio (25%) and Inzolia (5%). The vines average 55 years old. Farming and production methods are rigorously natural. 15% ABV.
Complex nose: hibiscus, spice (especially clove), lava dust, eventually rose and “fried salmon skin.” Tangy pomegranate in the mouth, the fruit borne by light, firm tannins and lit from within by glowing acidity. Rocky minerals and a cedary/resinous note scent the drying, faintly alcoholic finish. Double-carafed about an hour before serving, this kept improving in the glass. Bolder than the Contadino 8. Would love to taste them side by side. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG February 21st tasting (4/8): Two out-there Chenins
Saumur 2011, Château Yvonne ($24.55, 10689665)
100% organically farmed Chenin Blanc. Fermented with native yeasts, matured in oak barrels, unfiltered and unfined. 13.5% ABV.
Complex if somewhat inscrutable nose: quince, spice, minerals, chalk… Rich and slightly oxidized with honey overtones. The winey texture is lightened by underlying acidity, which also balances out the welcome hint of residual sugar. The kaleidoscopic array of flavours includes spiced pear, passion fruit and pineapple. Long, burned mineral finish. Approachable now though no harm will come from a couple more years in the cellar. (Buy again? Of course.)
VDP de l’Aveyron 2011, La Selve, Nicolas Carmarans ($32, Glou, NLA)
The former owner of a Paris wine bar, Nicolas Carmarans followed his roots back to the Aveyron region, on the Lot River in the Massif central, upstream from Cahors, to make wine in 2007. A natural approach is favoured. This 100% Chenin Blanc from 30-year-old vines is fermented (with native yeasts) in vats and matured in casks. Undergoes malolactic fermentation. If sulphur is added, it is in miniscule amounts and only at bottling. 12% ABV.
“Sharp, pear, steel,” said one taster of the intriguing nose, which also has a sour edge. “Whisky barrel,” said another of the palate, though if so it took a back seat to the oxidized – some said “rotting” – apple. There’s lots of rocky minerals and coursing acidity too. Long, dry finish. Serious and, yes, a little weird. I, of course, loved it. Was shocked to see it clocked it at 12%; I’d been expecting 14% or 15%, not because it was hot or alcoholic but because of the impression of power it gave. It all adds up to an authentically rustic Chenin unlike any other I’ve encountered. (Buy again? Oh, yes.)
MWG October 2nd tasting: report (2/2)
A Belgian transplanted to the slopes of Mount Etna, Frank Cornelissen is a natural winemaker’s natural winemaker. For background information and an explanation of why the wines’ high prices are justified, I can’t do better than link to Jamie Goode’s reports here and, more recently, here.
As some of the wines are blends of more than one vintage, Cornelissen numbers the productions of each cuvée sequentially.
I find the wines hard to describe as they’re quite unlike any other I’ve encountered and the regular descriptors don’t necessarily apply. But that uniqueness only adds to their appeal.
Rosso del Contadino 8, Azienda agricola Frank Cornelissen ($31.88, Glou)
A blend of local grapes, white and red, from the difficult 2010 vintage. 13.5% ABV.
Beautiful nose: spice, spruce, lava sand, pomegranate. Barely medium-bodied with bright acid and just enough tannins. Tingly, juicy, minerally, bittersweet, fruity (cherry and more pomegranate). Not very deep but what a surface! Am looking forward to trying this lightly chilled with a Sicilian rabbit stew. (Buy again? Yes.)
MunJebel Rosso 7, Azienda agricola Frank Cornelissen ($65.95, Glou)
Nerello Mascalese from various vineyards and the 2009 and 2010 vintages. 14% ABV.
Complex nose: funk, leather, red plum, gravel. Rocks, berries and herbs on the palate. A tense balance between acid and fruit. Tannins are there if you look for them. Gained pomegranate and slate in a way that reminded me a little of Occhipinti’s Siccangno (Nero d’Avola). An involving wine. (Buy again? Yes.)
Magma Rosso 8, Azienda agricola Frank Cornelissen ($185.90, Glou, NLA)
A super selection of usually single cru ripe Nerello Mascalese grapes, these from the 2009 vintage. 15% ABV.
All of the above plus leather, ephemeral spice, tar, mineral, funk, leather, dried meat, tea. Richer in the mouth but not heavier. An acidic undercurrent runs from start to finish. The intense core of fruit is wrapped in a complex matrix of minerals. Quite structured, though not in ways I’m accustomed to. The alcohol is not apparent. Exotic and beautiful. (Buy again? If price were no object, yes.)
MunJebel Bianco 7, Azienda agricola Frank Cornelissen ($45.50, Glou, NLA)
An “orange” wine (a white made like a red, with extended maceration on the skins) made from Carricante, Grecanico Dorato and Coda di Volpe from the 2010 vintage. 13% ABV.
Complex bouquet: initial funk then minerals, oxidized pear, hints of dried orange peel and herbs. A bit blurry on the palate. Soft texture and medium weight. Animated by an undercurrent of acidity. Straw and minerals dominate the flavour profile. Some tannins and a bitter almond note creep in on the long finish. Intriguing. (Buy again? Quite possibly.)
MWG October 2nd tasting: report (1/2)
Most members of the Mo’ Wine Group are intrigued by so-called natural wines and many are fans, so we were delighted when Glou’s Jack Jacob recently joined us to lead a tasting of private imports from two of the most radically natural winemakers around.
What is a natural wine? According to the Association des vins naturels, the basic principles of natural wine-making are organic or biodynamic farming (not necessarily certified as such), manual harvesting, fermentation with native yeasts and the avoidance both of harsh physical procedures (reverse osmosis, cross-flow filtration, flash pasteurization, thermovinification) and of additives, including sugar (an exception is made for small amounts of sulphur dioxide added as a stabilizer at bottling). As a definition, that works for me, though I’d also add that many natural winemakers say their wines are made in the vineyard more than in the cellar, which leads them to adopt a non-interventionist approach and to largely or completely avoid filtering and fining.
The upsides of natural wines include their individuality and a juicy tartness that, in the best examples, seems very close to the fruit and terroir. Many also have a rustic appeal – a sense of not taking themselves too seriously – that their more polished and manipulated counterparts lack. Downsides include greater bottle-to-bottle variability, the ever-present possibility of reductive notes on opening (which is why as a rule it’s a good idea to carafe natural wines an hour or two before drinking), the need to store the bottles at cool temperatures (ideally 14ºC/57ºF or less) and, for some drinkers and some wines, their cloudy appearance and funky bouquets.
Anyway, back to our tasting, which begin in the Loire.
Hailing from Brittany, Olivier Lemasson entered the wine world as a caviste (retail wine seller). After encountering natural wines, he headed for Morgon, where he trained under pioneering winemaker Marcel Lapierre, first picking grapes, then tending the vines and working in the cellar. He eventually ended up as a winemaker in the Touraine and, with Domaine du Moulin‘s Hervé Villemade, founded Les Vins Contés as a négociant business. Four years later, Villemade split, leaving the business to Lemasson.
Lemasson gets his fruit from three hectares of vines that he tends and from local and not so local growers, whose grapes he and his team harvest and bring back to his cellar. All the grapes are organic and the wines will soon be certified as such.
After harvesting, the whole bunches are placed in large wood vats and allowed to undergo carbonic maceration with no cap-punching or pumping-over. Maceration lasts between ten and 30 days, depending on the wine. The wines are unfiltered and unsulphured.
Finding his wines refused AOC status due to their atypicité, Lemasson decided to embrace the Vin de pays (now Vin de France) denomination, which gives him the freedom to make wines as he sees fit.
For a nicely illustrated report on a recent visit to Lemasson’s operation, see the Wine Terroirs blog.
Vin de France 2011, Bois sans soif, O. Lemasson/Les Vins Contés ($26.55, Glou)
A 50-50 blend of Menu Pineau and Romorantin from 20- to 60-year-old vines. 12% ABV.
Closed nose: chalk, straw and lees. Crunchy pear and apple fruit with a lemonade-like acidity. Long, lemony rainwater finish. A vin de soif if ever there were one. (Buy again? It’s a bit pricey for what it delivers but sure.)
Cour-Cheverny 2011, Les Rosiers, O. Lemasson/Les Vins Contés ($26.55, Glou, NLA)
100% Romorantin from 40-year-old vines. Matured 12 months in old oak barrels. 12% ABV.
Soft-spoken nose of honey, wax and apple. A bit cidery at first but blossoming into a richly flavoured mouthful of apple, lemon and chalk. Intense acidity. Long, crystalline finish with a hint of hazelnut. Intriguing and delicious. A standout. (Buy again? Would if it weren’t sold out.)
Vin de France 2011, Coup de brosse, O. Lemasson/Les Vins Contés ($22.00, Glou)
2011 is the first vintage of this wine, which is the fruit of a partnership between Lemasson, Glou’s Martin Labelle and Jérôme Dupras. Gamay (90%) and Pinot Noir (10%). 11.8% ABV.
Green bell pepper and chile, horsehair and earth wrapped around a core of raspberry. On the lighter side of medium-bodied. Juicy and acidic. The fruit starts sweet but sours and gains a slatey/earthy edge. Tart finish. (Buy again? Sure.)
Vin de France 2011, Le P’tit Rouquin, O. Lemasson/Les Vins Contés ($20.58, Glou, NLA)
Gamay from 20- to 60-year-old vines. 11.5% ABV.
Black cherry with notes of red meat, earth, slate, bell pepper and eventually a floral perfume. Light-bodied. As minerally as it is fruity. Bright acidity. Not a lot of depth but refreshing, i.e. another vin de soif. (Buy again? If in the mood for a light pound-backer, sure.)
Vin de France 2011, Gama-Sutra, O. Lemasson/Les Vins Contés ($27.40, Glou)
Gamay from ungrafted 100-year-old vines. 13% ABV.
Ashy, horsehair, slate/graphite, “clay and mud,” “tout le Fesitval de St-Tite dans un verre,” eventually red berries. Soft, fruity and sweet-tart on the palate. Faint tannins give astringency as much as structure. Peppery finish. Moreish. Several tasters’ wine of the flight if not the night. (Buy again? Yes.)
Vin de France 2011, Cheville de Fer, O. Lemasson/Les Vins Contés ($26.55, Glou),
Côt (Loire’s name for Malbec) from 50- to 100-year-old vines. Matured 12 months in old oak barrels. 12% ABV.
Sour plum on horseback: that’s the nose. Rich and smooth in the mouth, though no heavier than medium-weight. Light but noticeable tannins, enlivening acidity. Chewy cherry, earth and minerals with a sweet spice note chiming in on the finish. Fun. (Buy again? Yep.)
Glou and the wines of Jean-Yves Péron at Hôtel Herman
Since 2004, Jean-Yves Péron has been making wines using fruit from very old vines (some of them pre-phylloxera) on two hectares of terraced, high-altitude vineyards in Chevaline, near Albertville. After studying oenology in Bordeaux, he trained with natural winemakers Thierry Allemand and Jean-Louis Grippat in the Rhône valley and Bruno Schueller in Alsace. Organic farming, indigenous yeasts, non-interventionist wine-making, avoidance of filtering and fining and use of little or no sulphur make these natural wines of the first rank.
Montreal-based agency Glou, which represents the estate in Quebec, recently held a tasting of Péron wines at Hôtel Herman. The prices are high but these are rare wines (the Quebec allocation of the Grande journée is 18 bottles) on a different and arguably higher plane than their compatriots. All left me feeling that I’d like to spend more than a few minutes with them.
Vin de table français 2010, Cotillon des dames, Jean-Yves Péron ($42.50, 12 btls/case)
100% Jacquère aged sous voile, i.e. under a protective layer of veil-like yeast, similar to the Jura’s vin jaune, whence the name (“women’s petticoat”). 11.5% ABV.
Cloudy, pale bronze-orange. Oxidized apple and peach, minerals, straw, faint spice. A bit tight in the mouth. Acidic, not remarkably deep but offering an appealing range of cidery flavours and a hint of salted butter. Long tangy finish. Would probably have benefited from more “airtime.”
Vin de France 2010, Les Barrieux, Jean-Yves Péron ($56.25, 6 btls/case)
Jacquère and Roussanne left to macerate on the skins, like a red wine. Matured in third-vintage barrels. 12.5% ABV.
Hazy, pale bronze. Intriguing if hard to deconstruct nose: sandstone, straw and faint pear/peach? Softer and broader on the palate than the Cotillon. The fruit is understated, yet the wine has real presence. Good balance and a long, minerally finish.
Savoie 2010, La grande journée, Jean-Yves Péron ($74.50, 6 btls/case)
100% Altesse. 13% ABV.
Medium light bronze. Less hazy than the first two wines. A nose to get lost in: pear, oxidized apple, a floral note. Bone dry and quite extracted, yet fluid and fleet. All minerals and spice with the fruit definitely in the background. Strong acidic backbone. Long. Evolving. Multidimensional. A standout.
Savoie 2010, Vers la maison rouge, Jean-Yves Péron ($28.45, 12 btls/case)
100% Mondeuse Noire. Made from grapes from less easily ripened plots. Undergoes carbonic maceration for a few days before being transferred to old barrels. 11% ABV.
Very pale, oxidized ruby; could pass for one of the Jura’s corail reds. Wafting nose of spice, light red fruit, wood, lees and eventually a hint of red meat. Almost white-like in weight and taste, with only a suggestion of red fruit and then only on the lightly peppery finish. Minerally, acidic, barely tannic. A fascinating and aptly named, red-heading wine.
VDP d’Allobrogie 2009, Champ Levat, Jean-Yves Péron ($36.35, 12 btls/case)
100% Mondeuse Noire. Carbonic maceration and fermentation each last about one week, barrel aging about one year. 11% ABV.
Fairly clear medium burgundy. Nose of dusty plum skin, spice, wood, red fruit and violet. On the lighter side of medium-bodied. Astringent yet fluid. A tightly wound ball of fine tannins and bright acid. Lingers long. Refreshing and, I suspect, versatile at table.
Savoie 2009, Côte Pelée, Jean-Yves Péron (NLA)
100% Mondeuse Noire from ancient vines. One week’s carbonic maceration followed by ten days’ to three weeks’ fermentation, depending on the vintage, and one year’s barrel aging. 12.5% ABV.
Clear, medium burgundy. Rich and young-smelling: plum, stone, wood, kirsch. Richer, smoother and more extracted than the Champ Levat. Good balance: lots of tannins and acidity though they’re cushioned by the fruit. Lingering minerally finish. Delicious.
Savoie 2010, Côte Pelée, Jean-Yves Péron ($46.90, 12 btls/case)
100% Mondeuse Noire as immediately above. 12.5% ABV.
Tighter and more primary than the 2009 but every bit as pure. The tannins may be a shade lighter but the fruit and acid are just as vibrant. Stony finish. A beauty.
Brett happens 