Posts Tagged ‘Importation valise’
Two Channing Daughters
North Fork of Long Island 2014, Rosso Fresco, Channing Daughters (US$20.00 at the winery)
Always a blend, though the grapes and percentages change from vintage to vintage. The 2014 is 39% Merlot, 21% Dornfelder, 16% Syrah 3% Lagrein, 3% Teroldego and 1% Blaufränkisch. The grapes are hand-picked, destemmed and crushed by foot. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and regular punch-downs. Matured eight months is old oak barrels. Filtered but not fined.
Red berries, graphite and a hint of barnyard. Medium-bodied. Structured more by bright acidity than the supple tannins, the juicy fruit slow fades to old wood and minerals. Overtones of sweet spice and “salted plum” linger into the finish, which seems anchored by a not unpleasant bitterness. Simple but not facile, and really quite drinkable. (Buy again? Yes, especially at the US$14 it goes for in some New York City wine shops.)
The Hamptons 2013, Blaufränkisch, Sylvanus Vineyard, Channing Daughters (US$26.00 at the winery)
A 75-25 blend of Blaufränkisch and Dornfelder from vines planted in 1999. The grapes are picked by hand, destemmed and crushed by foot. Fermented with regular punch-downs. Matured 12 months in old hogsheads, puncheons and barriques made from French and Slovenian oak. Gravity-bottled without fining or filtration. 12% ABV.
“Smells like a permanent” says one taster. “Aubergine” and “rotting leaves” add others. I also get blackberry tea, sawed wood, graphite and eventually spice. In the mouth, it’s richer, rounder and more dimensional than the Rosso Fresco. Bone dry, with sleek acidity and medium if chewy tannins. The fruit has noticeable dark cherry and mineral components, especially iron, like you sometimes get in red meat. A radicchio-like bitter streak appears on the finish. Savoury, even earthy and a bit unsmiling, this would probably be better with food. At C$33.75, the QPR seems a little off compared with its Austrian counterparts. (Buy again? Another bottle to try at the dining table.)
MWG September 8, 2016, tasting: flight 3 of 6
World class
Golden Russet Cider 2014, Cuvée Yquelon, The Old Third ($21.00 at the winery)
Made from Golden Russet apples from an orchard near the winery. The fruit is hand picked and sorted. This being a traditional method sparkler, the second fermentation takes place in the bottle. Manually riddled and disgorged. Closed with a cork. 9.5% ABV.
Yeasty nose with some lime and chalk though, surprisingly, only a hint of apple. The effervescence is subdued to the eye, soft and fine in the mouth. Dry and winey, with wafting flavours of underripe pear and “guava” (quoting another taster), ground ginger notes, bright but smooth acidity and a faint tannic bitterness on the sustained finish. Tasting double-blind, several at the table thought this was a wine, not a cider, and it’s easy to see why. (Buy again? Definitely.)
MWG September 8, 2016, tasting: flight 1 of 6
Sweet Greek
Attiki 2013, Melias, Domaine Papagiannakos
The third vintage of this wine. 100% Malagousia from dry-farmed vines rooted in limestone soil. The north-facing vineyard is located at an elevation of 100 metres in southeast Attica, not far from the Athens International Airport. An amount of must equivalent to 40% of the final wine is boiled down to concentrate it and the sugar it contains. Successive doses of fermenting unboiled must are then added. 13% ABV. Residual sugar is quoted as pushing 120 g/l. The elegant, svelte bottle holds 500 ml.
Golden to the eye. Beguiling nose redolent of green grape, peach/apricot and a touch of light honey. Sweet but not saccharine or cloying. The pineappley fruit tastes pure, fresh, uncooked. Bright acidity balances the sugar and lightens the unctuous texture. Long. A charmer with real presence. (Buy again? If only!)
I’m cheating a little here. It had been a long day and, as the wine tasted identical to the one tasted at the winery in early July, I decided just to sit back and enjoy it and not write a tasting note. Instead, I’m using the note I wrote in Greece, which will soon reappear on this blog as part of a series of reports on the trip. Our bottle was a gift from Vassilis Papagiannakos, and I wasn’t the only person around the table grateful to him for it.
MWG August 12th tasting: flight 8 of 8
Kung Fu Guy and company
Prince Edward County 2011, Zweigelt, Pasha’s Elixir, Norman Hardie ($23.00 at the winery)
Not a lot of technical info to be found for this wine. May be a special bottling for Fat Pasha restaurant in Toronto. May also be the last vintage. Possibly 100% Zweigelt. Manually harvested. Vinified with minimal intervention, extended maceration and indigenous yeasts. 10.9% ABV.
Clean nose: inky, spicy blackberry, distant mint and wood. Light- to medium-bodied. Dark fruited, with decent acidity, supple tannins and a mineral vein. The cedary overtones were surprising, the vinegary edge off-putting, though the wine did improve somewhat in the glass. I’d been looking forward to tasting this because, earlier this spring, a half bottle of Zweigelt – in all likelihood the County bottling – given by the winery to a friend for his helping with last fall’s harvest was effin’ delicious. But no one around the table was impressed by this and several were downright dismissive, one dubbing it “Kung Fu Guy: the Kung Fu Girl of red wines.” (Buy again? No.)
Niagara Peninsula 2014, Cabernet Franc, Unfiltered, Norman Hardie ($30.00 at the winery)
100% Cabernet Franc. Manually harvested. Given extended maceration on the skins with daily or more frequent pump-overs. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and regular punch-downs. 12.2% ABV.
Volatile acidity on the nose, along with whiffs of green herbs, dehydrated beef and, quoting other tasters, “roasted red peppers,” “beet like borscht” and “cheap makeup.” Medium-bodied, velvety textured. Decent fruit-acid balance but where are the tannins? Fair length. Meh. (Buy again? Only to check whether ours was an off bottle.)
Prince Edward County 2010, Cabernet Franc, Northfield, Grange of Prince Edward ($35.00 at the winery)
100% Cabernet Franc from 10-year-old estate vines. Manually picked and sorted. Primary fermentation in stainless steel tanks lasted 28 days. Matured 24 months in neutral French oak barrels. Residual sugar: 4 g/l. 13.5% ABV.
Odd nose that eventually settled into plum and beef sukiyaki. Medium-bodied with a lush texture. The core of sweet dark fruit is wrapped in wood and minerals, structured by sustained acidity and light but firm tannins. The fairly long finish brings faint spice and vegetal notes. Not only the best of the trio, it also improved considerably in the glass. (Buy again? Maybe.)
I’ve long felt that Cabernet Franc is the red grape Ontario does best but this flight has me reassessing that position. All three reds, especially the Hardie Cab Franc, were a big disappointment – foul-smelling, disjointed, simple – though the Grange did come around as it breathed. Still, as someone noted, why pay $30 or $35 for OK or worse when the Loire delivers juicy/minerallly deliciousness for $10 or $15 less or tremendous depth, complexity and refinement for about the same price.
MWG August 12th tasting: flight 6 of 8
MWG September 11th tasting: A classic Vranec?
We took a short break from Glou wines to spend some time with a bottle a member had purchased in New York City.
Tikveš 2011, Vranec, Classic, Stobi (US$13, importation valise)
The winery is located in the centre of the country, near the Strobi archeological site, from whence it takes its name. Local and international varieties are used to make four lines of wine: premium, classic, elite and traditional. This 100% Vranac (Vranec in Macedonian) comes from estate-grown grapes. Fermented in stainless steel tanks, matured in very large oak barrels and reportedly vegan-friendly, which may mean it wasn’t fined. The winery boasts of using less sulphur than many competitors. 14.5% ABV.
“Smells like selected yeasts,” were the first words out of sommelier Jack Jacob’s mouth. Other aromas included cedar, cherry and, oddly enough, blackberry yogurt. In the mouth, the wine was full-bodied, dense and coarse. Recalling dark berries and plum, the fruit was rough-framed by rustic tannins and buoyed by soft acidity. Spice notes turned cedary on the heady finish. One-dimensional, this “odd man out,” as one taster put it, was not done any favours by being tasted in the company of such beautiful natural wines that, it should be noted, run two, three or even four times its price. In another context, say alongside a weeknight meat pie, kebabs, stew or casserole (musaka, for example), it might well prove more satisfying. (Buy again? Maybe.)
A year or two ago, the 2010 was sold at the LCBO for $11.95.
(Flight: 7/9)
MWG July 17th tasting: Sangiovesissimo
The tasting ended with a beautiful bottle generously donated by one of the members (thanks, MG!). The wine is sold at the SAQ, sometimes through the Courrier vinicole, but our bottle was purchased in Italy.
IGT Toscana 2006, Le Pergole Torte, Montevertine (importation valise)
100% Sangioveto (aka Sangiovese) from vines growing in the two-hectare Le Pergole Torte vineyard, whose orientation is to the north-northeast and whose micro-climate is cooler than most in the area. Macerated on the skins for 25 to 30 days. Matured about 12 months in Slavonian oak barrels and about 12 months in French (Allier) oak barrels. 13% ABV if memory serves.
Unfathomably complex bouquet: cherry, spice chest, cedar, turned earth, forest floor, terra cotta, smoke, leather, a lilting floral note and the faintest hint of rubber. There’s an almost New World level of ripeness and concentration here and yet it’s also a remarkably drinkable middleweight. The energy and focus are breathtaking, the fruit pure, the minerals deep, the acidity vibrant, the tannins ripe and sleek, the finish layered and long. Savoury yet astoundingly fresh. Oh, so enjoyable now – the oak is perfectly integrated – but still not at peak and with at least another couple of decades of life ahead of it. (Buy again? If only…)
Wild thing?
A couple of weeks ago, the Pork Futures guys and I got together for an evening of baby sitting and burger grilling. Among the wines popped and poured was a bottle N had brought back from a recent trip to Greece. It left us scratching our heads. You’ll find our comments below.
Santorini 2012, Assyrtiko by Gaia – Wild Ferment, Gaia Wines (€13.00 in Athens)
100% Assyrtiko from an upland vineyard reputed to produce grapes more aromatic than those from other parts of the island. After pressing, the must is macerated on the skins for 12 hours at 10°C. About half is then transferred to stainless steel tanks and half to new 225-litre barrels (40% French oak, 40% American oak, 10% acacia). Fermentation with ambient yeasts is spontaneous; the tank batch ferments at 16 to 18°C, the barrel batches at 26 to 28°C. After fermentation is complete, selected tanks and barrels are blended and bottled. 13% ABV.
N: “Disjointed at first (website says to decant it for 1/2 hour). Makes no sense why one would oak Assyrtiko. Slightly narrow and linear (also a bit surprising for a wild yeast ferment – maybe the oak tramps it down). Much more agreeable with the potato salad and even the burger.” (Speaking of that potato salad, which truly did make a fine pairing, you’ll find the recipe after the jump.)
A: “Bizarre. Smelled funny. Not banana or butter but something vaguely off-putting. There’s a sourness to the nose, a bit like the drain of my sink. And the oak came off as cheesy. In the mouth, the wine had a unique texture – viscous. Quite nice with food though.”
Me: Ashy nose. Extract-rich but balanced. Honeyed but dry. Unexpected cantaloupe at the back of the palate. Minerals mainly take the form of salinity on the finish. Subdued acidity for a Santorini Assyrtiko. The oak isn’t heavy but seems beside the point. Less crystalline, rounder, smoother, softer-focused and, paradoxically, tamer than my go-to Santorinis like the Hatzidakis. On its own terms, not bad. But not what I’m looking for in an Assyrtiko.
Gaia is represented in Quebec by Le Marchand de Vin. At the Printemps grec tasting in May, one of the agency’s sales reps was pouring the 2013 vintage of the wine, which he implied may be showing up at the SAQ for around $24. My sketchy note reads: “Nose: Mineral, a bit farty, lemon, white grapefruit. Mouth: Clean and snappy. Fruit and white flowers on finish. Only a bit of an acid bite. The wood is discreet. ‘Sweet’ up front but very dry on the finish. Buy again? Maybe.”
Brett happens 