Posts Tagged ‘La QV’
Claude Courtois’s 2009 Quartz
Vin de France 2009, Quartz, Domaine Claude Courtois/Les Cailloux du Paradis ($28.00, 12 bottles/case, La QV)
Thought this was a second shipment of the 2008, which I so enjoyed last June, but it turns out to be the 2009, which I enjoyed even more. Popular with the province’s new-wave bistros and wine bars, this will sell out quickly, especially as it’s about 10% cheaper than the 2008.
100% Sauvignon Blanc. 12.2% ABV.
Nose of minerals and rain. Hints of citrus zest (more lime than lemon) and herby hay but no extroverted grassiness, boxwood or cat pee.
Very dry. Initial fruit quickly joined by a crystalline, citrusy sourness and a faint quinine-like bitterness. Brightly, not screechingly acidic. Long, clean, minerally finish. Subtle, pure, transparent: a watercolour, not an oil painting
So refreshing and tonic, like water from a mountain spring. What Chablis would be if it were made from Sauvignon Blanc.
Perfect with oysters Rockefeller. Almost as good with pan-seared scallops drizzled with a Meyer lemon and white wine reduction.
• • •
Domaine Claude Courtois/Les Cailloux du Paradis is in Sologne, a Loire Valley district located just south of Touraine. Courtois likes to describe himself as a winemaking peasant with a deep respect for nature. That means old-fashioned farming, with no chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides, and using atypical winemaking techniques designed to bring out the essence of the terroir. Currently 13 ha (32 acres) in size, the estate is planted mainly with Gamay (for the Nacarat cuvée); Cabernet Franc, Cot and Cabernet Sauvignon (Racines cuvée); Sauvignon Blanc (Quartz and Plume d’ange cuvées) and Pineau (Alkimya cuvée). He has got into trouble with local authorities for planting Syrah (not to mention the rumoured Barbera, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, etc.), even though historical records show that it was part of the region’s grape mix prior to the phylloxera crisis.
Wine Terroirs profile
French Facebook page run by fans (Courtois is said to be, well, if not exactly a Luddite, someone who has little time for modern technology)
The estate’s way out-of-date website
Some excellent photos of Courtois and his estate and of Olivier Cousin
Exordium for a welterweight
It had been a long day for the Pork Futures guys but they’d managed to sell their umpteen kilos of sausage, cured duck breast, beef jerky, headcheese and other goodies. The hordes had departed, only to be replaced by a crushing wave of fatigue.
A last bottle was opened, glasses filled. The guys took a sip and sat up straight, eyes open wide. “Wow!” “This is fun!” “What is this?”
What is this? A wine that can revive the dead, apparently.
The label reads:
EXORDE 2009
Vin de France
Mise en bouteille par David Caer
Clos Mathélisse
Later that evening I searched the Web, trying various combinations of the wine’s name, estate and producer. Not a single hit. How often does that happen?
The bottle was a straggler picked up at La QV’s organic market event last fall. The next day I gave Mr. La QV, Cyril Kérébel, a call. Here’s what he told me:
Clos Mathélisse is a new estate – a couple of vineyards actually – owned by David Caer. 2009 is its second vintage. Its wines are made by Régis Pichon of Domaine Ribiera, whose Grenache-Carignan blend La Vista impressed me in October. Both Clos Mathélisse and Domaine Ribiera are located in Aspiran, a commune in the Hérault département of the Languedoc. (Aspiran is also the name of a once popular but now rapidly disappearing local red grape variety still permitted in Minervois wines.)
Pichon makes natural wines from organically farmed grapes and indigenous yeasts. He destems his red wine grapes before pressing. Whether to punch down, pump over or sit tight is decided on a day-to-day basis. Fermentation and maceration typically last 15 to 25 days. The wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined. Very little sulphur is added, so the winemaker recommends that the bottles be stored at 15ºC (60ºF) or less.
Clos Mathélisse’s Exorde is 100% Cinsault. Pichon says his aim for the variety is “matière veloutée et arômes” (velvety substance and aromas), both of which Exorde has in spades. That said, it’s a vin plaisir, an easy drinker, not a vin de contemplation or a keeper for that matter.
None of us was taking notes the evening we opened the bottle. My initial memory is one of delight. I also recall the wine as being slightly cloudy to the eye and extrovertedly funky-fruity to the nose. The fruit had a wild flavour, like elderberry or wild cherry, while the tannins were raspy and light. There was also a je ne sais quoi quality quite unlike anything I’ve ever encountered in a wine, including other Cinsaults from the Languedoc.
A few days later I asked the Pork Futures boys for their impressions. “Ripe fruit with a note higher up on the palate, something mineral or medicinal but not green (fennel? mint?), and a silky texture,” said one. “Light-bodied, like a Pinot, maybe with some Beaujolais hints. Not overly ripe. A super-fun wine that puts a smile on your face,” said the other.
The bad news was that La QV had sold out of the wine when I inquired in November. The good news is that a small second shipment is slated to arrive on a private-import basis in early February. Price should be $20.50 a bottle, 12 bottles per case. Carpe diem.
Be there or be square
The 2010 edition of Raspipav‘s Salon des vins d’importation privée, the city’s most enjoyable wine show, is taking place this Sunday and Monday, November 14 and 15, at the Marché Bonsecours in Old Montreal. The doors are open to the general public from noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday. $15 gets you admission, a tasting glass and a few coupons you use to pay for the wines you taste. Additional coupons are available for purchase, though in practice few booths charge for tastes if they see that you’re serious about wine appreciation.
More than 500 wines, none of them available at the SAQ, will be poured. A pride of visiting winemakers will also be on hand to present their products and answer questions.
Several agencies have events with winemakers planned in the days before and after the salon. For example, on Sunday evening, La QV will be holding what looks like a fun and affordable cocktail dînatoire with Spanish and French winemakers in their new space on Beaubien. Rézin is organizing several events, including a dinner on Thursday featuring some of the delightful wines of Gaillac’s Domaine de la Causse Marines at Les Trois Petits Bouchons. And oenopole is hosting François Barmès of the biodynamic Alsatian estate Barmès-Buecher for a “six à sec” at Le Comptoir Charcuteries et Vins on Monday and a $90 (taxes included) four-course, six-wine meal at Au Cinquième Péché on Tuesday.
Chez La QV
Newly ensconced in an office cum salon de dégustation on Beaubien just east of St-Laurent, La QV hosted a tasting last week at which it and three other up-and-coming agencies presented a number of their wines, all available on a private-import basis. I’ve linked to the websites of the agencies that have them; for the other agencies’ contact info, see the Raspipav site. The prices are for individuals (restaurants pay slightly less) and include sales taxes.
Mâcon-Villages 2007, Domaine Rijckaert ($23.50, 12 bottles/case)
100% Chardonnay. Chalk and quartz, oats and a lactic note. Rich and smooth with a long, acid-tingly finish. Not particularly deep but flavourful and pure. Good QPR.
Côtes du Rhône 2009, Le Petit Piolas, Domaine la Fourmente ($17.50, 12 bottles/case)
75% Grenache, 25% Syrah, organically farmed. Winey/grapey nose: red fruit with hints of garrigue and milk chocolate. Medium-bodied, supple. Pure fruit and spice flavours, soft tannins. A CDR in the Beaujolais mould. Great everyday wine; if I owned a restaurant, this would be on its wine list.
Côteaux d’Aix en Provence 2006, Les Béatines, Domaine des Béates ($21, 12 bottles/case)
Grenache Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignan, organically farmed. Lovely nose redolent of plum, spice and kirsch, gaining inky, mineral and tea notes with time in the glass. Suave and savoury, a core of sweet fruit wrapped in fine tannins. Shows some heat on the finish (14%).
Coteaux du Languedoc 2008, La Vista, Domaine Ribiera ($26.50, 6 bottles/case)
2/3 Grenache, 1/3 Carignan, organically farmed, indigenous yeasts. Dark fruit with notes of leather, violet and animale. Medium-bodied. Pure fuit. Round tannins. Long, bitter-edged finish. A bit austere but very appealing. The Carignan seems dominant, the wine coming across a little like a lighter version of Rouge Gorge’s eponymous cuvée. My red of the evening.
MON CAVISTE, CÖTÉ VIGNES
VDP des Côteaux de Peyrac 2008, Tersande blanc, Domaine des Homs ($20.98, 12 bottles/case)
100% Chardonnay, organically farmed. Quartz and spice with hints of lemon and dried herbs. Unctuous but kept from heaviness by strong acid. Clean. Flavour tending toward preserved lemon but avoiding tropical fruit. Long, dry finish.
VDP des Côteaux de Payrac 2008, Tersande rosé, Domaine des Homs ($20.53, 12 bottles/case)
A saignée method rosé made from organically farmed Grenache. Appealing nose of spice and strawberry. Fruitiness kept in check by acid and dryness. Minerally finish. Goes down easily. Lovely in its simple, unpretentious way.
Bourgogne 2007, Domaine Paul Pernot (around $30, 6 bottles/case)
100% Pinot Noir. Sees only old wood. Light, pinoty nose: red berries with forest floor and spice notes and the faintest hint of brown sugar. Light and fluid on the palate. Structured not much more than a Morgon or Moulin-à-Vent. Bright acid and fair length. Very dry. Not a lot there but what there is is very nice indeed.
Côtes du Marmandais 2006, Terra, Clos Cavenac ($23.33, 12 bottles/case)
30% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot, 13% Malbec, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Fer Servadou and 7% Abouriou, biodynamically farmed. Complex nose with a leafy freshness: pure fruit, leather, freshly turned sod, hints of tar, cedar and animal. Medium-bodied. Round, smooth attack. Fruity mid-palate with mineral/earth undertones and mild tannins. Long, astringent finish. Bordeauxish but not a carbon copy. Enjoyable.
Mon Caviste also poured Clos Cavenac‘s 2007 Arradim ($22.58, 12 bottles/case), a blend of 70% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot and 10% Malbec. After considerable discussion, we decided the bottle was ever so slightly corked. Unfortunate because you could tell that the wine, with its soft tannins, velvety texture and pure fruit, had the makings of a easy-drinking winner.
Costières de Nîmes 2007, Cuvée Perrières, Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss ($28.29, 12 bottles/case)
Carignan (c. 40%), Grenache, Syrah and Mouvèdre, biodynamically farmed. Fresh, perfumy nose of plum, spice and fresh herbs. Sleek and elegant, structured as much by acid as by tannins. Kaleidoscopic flavour profile, with the Carignan’s earthiness and dry tannins coming out on the austere finish. A winner.
SUBLIME VINS & SPIRITUEUX
Touraine rosé 2009, Chant du Bois, Alain et Philippe Sallé ($19.95, 6 or 12 bottles/case)
100% Grolleau, farmed without chemicals or fertilizers. Natural yeasts. Peach, minerals and spice. Dry, minerally attack. Bright acid and light cherry fruit. Licorice-scented finish. Gains earthy notes with aeration. Tasty.
Touraine 2008, Sauvignon, Alain et Philippe Sallé ($20.50, 6 or 12 bottles/case)
100% Sauvignon Blanc, farmed without chemicals or fertilizers. Natural yeasts. Lime, gooseberry and minerals. Light, minerally with a fruity undercurrent and a rainwatery finish. Good though I prefer my SBs sharper and more focused.
Montello e Colli Asolani 2007, Chardonnay, Villa di Maser ($24.95, 6 bottles/case)
100% Chardonnay, farmed “eco-compatibly.” Lemon with a smoky/woody note. Light yet powerful, dry yet showing a sweet fruitiness. Flavours hard to pin down. Fruit fast-fades on the finish while bitterness lingers. Unusual, intriguing and quite different from a bottle tasted a couple of days later (tasting note to come).
Burgenland 2007, Impérial Weiss, Schloss Halbturn ($46.25, 6 bottles/case)
55% Sauvignon Blanc, 45% cask-aged Chardonnay. Green apple, boxwood, oats and a woody/oaky note. Rich and deep with acidity keeping it all fluid and balanced. Chalk and grapefruit pith linger though the long finish. Impressive, elegant and, yes, even a little imperious. My white of the evening.
LES SÉLECTIONS SOLY-LEBLANC
Côtes de Castillon rosé 2009, Château de Chainchon ($17.50, 12 bottles/case)
100% Cabernet Franc. Outgoing nose of strawberry and straw with earthy notes. Very dry and savoury. Fruity attack but mostly about minerals and tannins. Streaky acid. 13.5% alcohol and you can feel it. Unusual and interesting. More a food wine than a summer sipper.
Beaujolais-Villages 2009, Domaine de Sermezy ($19, 12 bottles/case)
Sappy raspberry and cherry, a bit simple. Supple, fruity and pure enough but not showing much depth, follow-through or personality. Vin de soif.
Saint-Joseph 2006, Jean-Luc Chaléat, Cave Saint-Désirat ($32.20, 6 bottles/case)
100% Syrah, made in lined concrete vats. Classic Syrah nose: black raspberry, smoke, tar, violets and animale with a bit of barnyard too. Pure fruit, fine tannins, good balance, silky texture, fair length. Not exactly thrilling but honest and certainly drinkable.
Saint-Joseph 2007, Septentrio, Cave Saint-Désirat ($37.45, 6 bottles/case)
100% Syrah given time in new oak casks. Classic Syrah nose again but more international, with chocolate, vanilla and smoke aromas added to the mix. Denser, more structured and more polished than the JLC, but with the oak now dominating. Good acid yet is there sufficient fruit to outlast the oak and tannins? Would be interesting to revisit in a year or two.
Brett happens 