Posts Tagged ‘La QV’
MWG April Jura tastings: report (1/6)
Though sparkling wines have been made in the Jura for decades, the Crémant du Jura AOC was created only in 1995. Styles range from bone dry to off-dry and from fresh to quite oxidized. Some pink crémant is made. The permitted grape varieties are Chardonnay, Savagnin, Poulsard, Trousseau and Pinot Noir. White crémant is at least half Chardonnay, rosé crémant at least half Pinot Noir or Poulsard. To my mind, these are among the best – and best value – sparklers outside Champagne.
Crémant du Jura 2008, Brut, Rolet Père et Fils ($21.45, 10653380)
Haven’t found any technical information on the 2008. The 2007 was a blend (Chardonnay, with Savagnin and Poulsard making up about 45%) that spent 32 months sur lattes (bottled and stacked with thin strips of wood – think laths – laid between the bottles to stabilize the stacks and minimize damage in the event a bottle explodes).
Flowers, quartz dust, lemon. Very fine bead. Bright fruit (green apple, pear) balances the high acid. Soft effervescence. Long leesy/sourish finish. Pure and refreshing. Great as an aperitif or for sipping on the deck. (Buy again? Sure.)
Crémant du Jura, Jean Bourdy ($27.00, La QV)
The estate has been organic “since the start” (quoting Jean-François Bourdy), which in this case means since the 15th century, biodynamic since 2006. 100% Chardonnay.
The very model of a crémant du Jura. Floral, lemony nose with a hint of toast and nuts. Light, fine bead. Dry. Fruit and brioche shot through with minerals and racy acidity. Clean, softly effervescent finish. Lovely on its own but perhaps even better with food. (Buy again? Yep.)
Crémant du Jura, BBF, André et Mireille Tissot ($33.54, Les Vins Alain Bélanger)
The BBF stands for blanc de blancs élevé en fût. Three-quarters of this 100% biodynamic Chardonnay crémant spends a year in barrels. After blending, it is aged another 52 months sur lattes before disgorgement. Extra brut, with no dosage.
A shade or two darker than the other wines: yellow, verging on gold, with fine, long-lasting bubbles. Complex nose with hints of puff pastry, vanilla cream, dried banana and caramel. Winey texture. Fruit (browning apple), straw and mineral flavours are lifted by bright acidity and tingling effervescence. Very dry, despite the richness. The long, bitter-edged finish has a lingering floral note. The wine’s size and savour make it better suited as an accompaniment to food than as an aperitif. Considering that many champagnes would pale in comparison, it delivers great QPR. (Buy again? As soon as I can lay my hands on some, which will probably be in December, when the next shipment arrives.)
A quartet of naturals
Among the many attractions of SAT’s Foodlab is the short, constantly changing selection of natural wines, most of them available by the glass. (Among the few downsides of SAT’s Foodlab is the stemware: heavy and small, meaning the glasses are filled nearly to the brim and allow no room for the wine’s bouquet to develop.) We ordered four to accompany this week’s excellent Russian Easter menu, the high points of which were a clear borscht, a coulibiac of halibut and salmon and the dessert, a slice of dry, cardamom-perfumed cake and a slice of a pressed cheese obelisk garnished with candied fruit and almonds.
Bourgogne Aligoté 2010, François Mikulski (c. $25, Vini-Vins)
100% Aligoté from two Meursault parcels planted in 1929 and 1948. Initially muted (possibly the fault of the glasses). The nose’s white peach, quartz and hint of lemon are joined by green fruit (gooseberry?) in the mouth. Acid-bright but not sharp; indeed, it sits softly on the palate. Finishes on a faintly lactic, ashy, leafy note. Not profound but wonderfully drinkable.
Burgenland 2009, Blauburgunder, Meinklang ($25.30, La QV)
100% biodynamically farmed Blauburgunder (aka Pinot Noir). Extroverted nose: berries, beet, cola, earth and smoke. Medium-bodied (13%) and intensely flavoured, the ripe fruit sharing the stage with spices, slate and dried wood. Fluid texture. Light, firm tannins turn astringent on the finish. A vibrant Pinot Noir, not at all Burgundian yet very true to the grape. A winner.
Cour-Cheverny 2009, La Porte Dorée, Domaine Philippe Tessier (c. $28, Vini-Vins)
100% Romorantin from 40- to 90-year-old vines; 85% is aged ten months in demi-muids and barriques. Dry but lightly honeyed. Round, supple and fluid. Acid blossoms on the deliciously sourish finish. Minerals galore and a preserved lemon aftertaste. Pure, clean, long. A beauty.
Colli Piacentini 2010, Dinavolino, Azienda Agricola Denavolo ($27.04, Primavin)
Hazy bronze to the eye. Wafting nose of honey-candied yellow fruit, spice and a whiff of musk (not knowing anything about the wine, I wrote “Malvasian,” so it’s true to type). Quite intense on the attack – fruity, grapey, semi-sweet – it downshifts radically on the mid-palate, fading and drying to rainwater and minerals with a hint of tannins. Intriguing.
Quebec agent Primavin provides the following information on the wine, which is penned by the owner-winemaker, Giulio Armani, who is also the winemaker at La Stoppa:
Located at 500 m high, the vineyard DENAVOLO, named after the mountain upper the cellar and the locality where the vineyard is planted, spreads over 3 hectares in the Colli Piacentini area.
The vines are grown on limestone soil, the climate is hot and dry, but at this altitude, the temperature fluctuations between night and day are more than 10°C, explaining that freshness and minerality in the wines.
We only use local grapes : 25% Malvasia di Aromatica Candia, 25% Ortrugo, 25% Marsanne grapes and another not identified yet.
DINAVOLO and DINAVOLINO are produced as if they were red wines, the grapes are de-stemmed, crushed and then stay several months in skin maceration to release in the wine all the aromatic and phenolic components which are in the skin. The wines present a beautiful orange colour, a mineral and lightly flowerish nose, the mouth is well-structured with tannins and a good length.
The main difference between both cuvée comes from the location of the grapes in the vineyard. To produce DINAVOLINO, I selected grapes only located in the downer part of the hill, those grapes keep more acidity and the wine produced is completely different, freshner, younger and more aromatic.
MWG February 9th tasting: report (4/4)
Domaine Lemaire Fournier was a 30-hectare estate located in Vernou sur Brenne, close to Vouvray. In 2003, the estate was in its second year of conversion to organic farming. The wines were made with native yeasts and abjuring enzymes, chaptalization, deacidification, fining, added nutrients, tartric stabilization and sulphur. The estate’s remaining stocks of wine are being liquidated, which explains the reasonable prices.
We tasted the three wines on their own and then with four cheeses.
Vouvray 2003, Tartemains, Domaine Lemaire Fournier ($27.15, La QV)
Honey nose, brown sugar palate. Notes of beeswax, yellow apple, golden raisins. Medium-bodied, medium sweet. Soft texture despite the underpinning acidity. Lengthy finish with a hint of bitterness. Delicious, especially with the Tome de Savoie. (Buy again? Yes.)
Vouvray 2004, Demi-sec, Domaine Lemaire Fournier ($21.30, La QV)
Complex nose: apple, honey, herbs, fall leaves. Light, cidery and dryish on the palate, the residual sugar just taking the edge off the acid. Lingering cedary finish. Tasty and refreshing, the kind of versatile wine you could serve as an aperitif, with fish or pork dishes or with cheese (soft bloomy rinds, aged Gouda, mild blues). (Buy again? Sure.)
Vouvray 2003, Réveilleries, Domaine Lemaire Fournier ($27.15, La QV)
Oxidized and spritzy. Browned apple and a cheesy, volatile note. Odd, sour/bitter finish. An off bottle, as confirmed by a taster familiar with the wine, though not undrinkable. Strangely, it achieved a kind of synergy with the Bleu bénédictin. (Buy again? As a believer in second chances, yes.)
MWG February 9th tasting: report (1/4)
Demands on my time mean the notes for the Mo’ Wine Group’s latest tasting will be served, like the wines, in four flights.
Sancerre 2010, Les Chailloux, Domaine Fouassier ($28.15, La QV)
100% biodynamically farmed Sauvignon Blanc from 20-year-old vines; fermented with native yeasts. Chalk and bath powder, then boxwood and jalapeño, then a hint of peanut. Light, fluid and quite dry. More minerally than fruity, and what fruit there is is of a crystalline purity. Longish finish and a lingering impression of freshness. (Buy again? Yep.)
Sancerre 2010, Terroirs, Sylvain Bailly ($22.10, 10861808)
100% Sauvignon Blanc. Textbook nose: grass, cat pee, white fruit, gunflint. Taut and vibrant, with a smooth surface, acid undertow, minerals and green fruit. Long, bright finish. A classic Sancerre and great QPR. (Buy again? Def.)
Sancerre 2010, Domaine Vacheron ($30.25, 10523892)
100% biodynamically farmed Sauvignon Blanc. Closed nose hinting at seashells, hay, green pear. The driest of the four wines. Green fruit, grapefruit and minerals, bracing acidity. Long albeit muted/soft finish. Elegant. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Sancerre 2009, Cuvée Edmond, Domaine la Moussière ($56.50, 10269273)
100% biodynamically farmed Sauvignon Blanc from 40 to 70-year-old vines. Fermented in oak casks (60% new). Pale gold (quite the contrast to the other wines’ silvery-green). Complex nose of ripe yellow fruit, kiwi, camphor, custard, lemon verbena. Round and weighty in the mouth, showing a bit of residual sugar. Just enough acid to save the wine from heaviness. Long, honeyed finish. Imposing and impressive if atypically rich for a Sancerre or even a Cuvée Edmond. (Buy again? Probably not.)
Cassoulet wines
It’s a bold claim but one I’m prepared to make: the best wines for cassoulet – and duck confit, for that matter – are traditionally styled reds from southwest France. The wines’ austere fruit doesn’t overwhelm the dish’s mellow flavours while their solid tannins and fine-edged acidity cut its inherent richness. For its part, cassoulet seems to soften the wines’ astringency and bring out their fruity sweetness. Add to that the compatibility of flavours – not surprising since the dish and the wines grew up speaking the same language – and you have a potential marriage made in heaven.
To test the claim, an authentic and rather glorious cassoulet de Toulouse (pork, duck confit, the eponymous sausage and beans purchased last summer in Tarbes) was recently paired with four such reds:
- Irouleguy 2009, Etxegaraya, Domaine Etxegaraya ($24.00, La QV), a blend of 60% old-vine Tannat and 40% Cabernet Franc, a dry, quite structured, medium-bodied wine whose red and black fruit was shot through with a leafy/stemmy greenness and buttressed by fine but astringent tannins.
- Irouleguy 2009, Cuvée Lehengoa, Domaine Etxegaraya ($25.60, La QV), which, despite being a blend of 80% Tannat (from 100 to 150-year-old vines) and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, was rounder, softer, fruitier and a touch sweeter than the Etxegaraya – to the point that I mistakenly informed the group that it was a blend of Tannat and Merlot.
- Cahors 2008, La Fage, Cosse Maisonneuve ($23.45, 10783491), 100% Malbec that spends 14 months in second vintage barrels. Somewhat young and tight but full of savoury red fruit, ripe tannins and bright acid.
- Cahors 2006, Les Laquets, Cosse Maisonneuve ($35.75, 10328587), 100% Malbec from 40-year-old and older vines, aged for 18–22 months in new and second vintage barrels. A deeper and more complete wine, finely structured and long, with layers of flavour (black cherry, licorice, balsam, iron), a velvety texture and that “fluid savour” that is the hallmark of the best Cahors.
In the event, all the wines worked well and, on its own, any one of them would have made a satisfactory match. That said, the consensus around the table was nearly universal: from a pairing standpoint, the best of the bunch was the Etxegaraya, whose austerity, astringency and flavours – especially that herbaceousness – meshed beautifully with the dish.
Earlier tests support this finding, with standouts being a Madiran from Château Aydie, an organic Irouleguy from Domaine Illaria, the Fronton cuvée Don Quichotte from Domaine Le Roc and a Canon-Fronsac from Château Grand-Renouil. Further testing is planned, though likely not for another year.
MWG January 12th tasting: report
In reaction to the excesses of the holiday season, the Mo’ Wine Group’s January tasting traditionally focuses on affordable wines. This year was no exception. All bottles but one were purchased at the SAQ, and most are still available.
THE WHITES
Vinho Verde 2009, Loureiro, Quinta do Ameal ($18.30, 11459992)
100% organically farmed Loureiro. Floral and grapey in a Muscat kind of way; chalky, too. Light and fruity in the mouth, the slight residual sugar balanced by high acidity. Faint tingle, though whether from carbon dioxide or acid I can’t say. Minerally finish. (Buy again? Probably not, when the more compelling Deu La Deu is available at about the same price.)
Rueda 2009, Nosis, Buil&Giné ($18.95, 10860928)
100% Verdejo. Muted nose of dried lemon peel, wax and gooseberry. Fairly dense and oily though with enough acid to keep it from feeling heavy. Lemony, quartzy flavours and some residual sugar up front, dries and turns minerally as it progresses through the mouth. Lingers long. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Bourgogne Vézelay 2010, La Châtelaine, Domaine la Cadette ($22.05, 11094621)
100% organically farmed Chardonnay. 80% spends time in vats, 20% in barrels. Lemon, green apple and ashes on the nose. Green apple and oats on the palate. Bright acid. Seems disjointed and turns unpleasantly sour and lactic on the mid-palate. In view of the wine’s previous vintages and the embrace of the 2010 by the city’s more clued-in restaurateurs and wine advisors (it was reportedly the third biggest seller during the holidays at the Jean Talon Market SAQ), ours was probably an off bottle. (Buy again? To see what gives, yes.)
Alto Adige 2010, Kerner, Abbazia di Novacella ($22.95, 11451974)
100% Kerner. Fermented using natural yeasts. Sees only stainless steel. Floral, green grape, spice, quartz dust. Weighty in the mouth. Initial residual sugar. Fruity attack fades by mid-palate. High acid. A bit short and alcoholic (13.9% ABV). (Buy again? Maybe.)
Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh sec 2008, Château Montus ($23.55, 11017625)
100% Petit Courbu from 15-year-old vines. Honeyed pear. Dense, rich, quite dry. Strong acid. Lemon zest on very long finish. Tasty. (Buy again? Yes.)
Saumur 2010, Château Yvonne ($25.55, 10689665)
100% organically farmed Chenin Blanc. Fermented with native yeasts, matured in new barrels, unfiltered and unfined. Quince, quinine, chestnut honey. Medium-bodied and very acidic. Complex but giving the impression that there’s more in store. Long mineral-packed finish. Not as memorably out-there as some earlier vintages but still a fine bottle of Chenin. (Buy again? Yes.)
THE REDS
Burgenland Qualitätswein 2009, Zweigelt, Zantho ($15.90, 10790384)
100% Blauer Zweigelt. Fermented in stainless steel tanks; matured 95% in stainless steel tanks, 5% in used barriques. Farty, candied red fruit, graphite, dried herbs. Rustic, a bit jammy and one-noteish, despite some coffee and slate undertones. Drinkable but not delivering much excitement. (Buy again? Probably not.)
IGP Pays de l’Hérault 2010, Exorde, Clos Mathélisse ($21.30, La QV)
100% organically farmed Cinsault. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Bottled unfiltered and unfined with very little added sulphur. Nearly the entire (very small) production is exported to Switzerland and Canada. A first bottle seemed out of character: Red fruit, herbal, hint of rubber. Light rustic tannins. Bright acid but moody, a bit red-vermouthy, not recognizably the same wine as from earlier bottles. A second bottle showed much better: a gush of bright fruit and raspy tannins, with earthy herbal overtones and a pomegranate-like tang – the proverbial “wine that puts a smile on your face.” Surprisingly, three or four hours after being uncorked, the tail-end of the first bottle had righted itself and was drinking beautifully. Such are the vagaries of natural wines… (Buy again? For sure.)
Menetou-Salon 2010, Domaine Philippe Gilbert ($26.50, 11154988)
100% biodynamically farmed Pinot Noir from 20-year-old vines. Natural winemaking. Bottled unfiltered with minimal sulphur. Exuberant red berries: ça pinote. Light but richening as it breathes. Ripe fruit, bright acid, fine, supple tannins. Good balance and length. A rectilinear but very pure expression of the grape variety. (Buy again? Yes.)
Toro 2009, Crianza, Bodega Viña Bajoz ($13.35, 10856195)
100% Tinta de Toro (aka Tempranillo). Crianzas must be aged for 24 months, with no less than 6 months barrel-aging. Plum, stinky feet, spice, a whiff of alcohol. Rich, ripe, fluid. Raspberry, cocoa, a hint of “high” meat. Some structure. A little alcohol and tannic astringency on the dried herby finish. Good, especially at the price, though not a wine for contemplation. (Buy again? Sure.)
Nemea 2008, Agiorgitiko, Driopi, Domaine Tselepos ($19.75, 10701311)
100% Agiorgitiko from 40-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Fermented in stainless steel vats with selected yeasts. Matured in 40% new oak barrels. Menthol, plum, tobacco. Fresh and juicy in the mouth, with leather and spice deepening the sweet fruit flavours. Good acid, plump tannins and a slatey finish. The ripe, round fruit speaks of a southern wine. (Buy again? Yes, especially when it’s grilling season again.)
Douro 2008, Quinta de la Rosa ($20.30, 00928473)
Traditional port varieties, mainly Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca and Tinta Roriz from 20- to 30-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Fermented in small stainless steel vats, then matured in French oak casks for 12 months before being minimally filtered and bottled. Volatile, spicy nose. Rich, vaporous, alcoholic (14.2% ABV). A mass of spicy/herby fruit. Good acid and plump tannins. Long, flowing finish. Intense but also a little plodding. (Buy again? Not sure.)
IGT Maremma Toscana 2009, Sinarra, La Fattoria di Magliano ($21.65, 11191447)
95% Sangiovese, 5% Petit Verdot. Manually harvested. Sees no oak. Bottled unfiltered. Typical Tuscan nose: leather, dust, dried cherry. Rich yet supple and fluid. The drying tannins are also true to the Tuscan type. Balanced, structured, long. Modern but quite enjoyable. (Buy again? Yes.)
Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence 2009, Château Revelette ($18.45, 10259737)
Organically farmed Syrah (55%), Cabernet Sauvignon (34%) and Grenache (11%) from 25-year-old vines. The constituent grape varieties are vinified separately. A fraction of the Grenache and Cabernet are aged in fifth-year barrels. Leather upfront. Spice, black fruit in background. Rich, dense and strucutred but not heavy. Lots of acid. Tarry tannins. Long, savoury, posh. (Buy again? Definitely.)
Fronton 2008, Cuvée Don Quichotte, Domaine Le Roc ($18.80, 10675327)
Négrette (60%) and Syrah (40%). Varieties are vinified separately. The grapes are crushed, as the winemakers feel this enhances the bouquet and softens the tannins. Matured in vats and barrels. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. Wild red and black fruit with floral and animale notes. Dense fruit but fluid and bright. Supple tannins. Hints of licorice and dark chocolate on the longish finish. Perhaps showing less personality than in earlier vintages but still delivering good QPR. (Buy again? Yes.)
Montsant 2007, Vall del Calas, Celler de Capçanes ($22.75, 10858297)
65% Merlot, 30% Garnacha, 5% Tempranillo. All three varieties are vinified separately. Fermented with native yeasts. Spends 13 months with new, one- and two-year French oak barrels. Bottled unfined and lightly filtered. Blackberry and black cherry, pepper and gravel. A silky texture and open structure. Rich, ripe fruit along with some wood and chocolate. Fairly long, inky/minerally finish. Seemed quite young. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Todos sobre mi bobal
The vineyards of southeast Spain are rife with Bobal – in 2004, 89,000 ha (220,000 acres) were under cultivation, mainly in Valencia, Alicante and Utiel-Requena – though most of the harvest is made into bulk wine (industrially produced, shipped in tankers, sold anonymously in jugs and boxes). Rightly convinced that the grape deserves a less lowly fate, some winemakers have begun producing blended and mono-varietal red and rosé Bobal cuvées. This one is from Castilla-La Mancha, whose weather locals describe as nine months of winter and three months of hell and where Bobal’s tolerance of climatic extremes and tendency to produce relatively high acid, low alcohol wines are a boon.
Vino de la tierra de Castilla 2010, Bobal, Pedro Calabuig/Bodegas de Levante ($16.20, La QV)
Organically farmed old-vine Bobal. Dusty red berries, hints of spice, pepper and fresh mint. More silky than velvety, more acidic than tannic. Bright sweet fruit upfront, turning darker and drier as it passes through the mouth. Tart, slatey finish. As wapiti says, “simple and beautiful.” I’d also add that it’s refreshing, food-friendly and delivers great QPR, the very model of an easy-drinking weeknight red. 13% ABV. All that and a cool label, too.
Speaking of food, if you’ve ever scratched your head at red wine as a suggested pairing for seafood paella, grab a bottle of this: the tart fruit, low tannins and reasonable alcohol level make it a near perfect match.
Plug bobal into the saq.com search engine and you’ll get two wines back: a Bobal/Shiraz (!) blend and a rosé. Am also pretty sure I’ve seen Mustiguillo’s Mestizaje (60% Bobal) on the monopoly’s shelves. Have yet to try any of them but now I’m curious.
A star(t)ling Pinot Noir
Renowned for its Sauvignon Blancs, Sancerre is also the source of the Loire’s best Pinot Noirs.
Sancerre 2006, L’Étourneau, Domaine Fouassier ($29.75, La QV)
100% biodynamically farmed Pinot Noir from 25- to 45-year-old vines. Manually harvested, fermented with indigenous yeasts, aged in oak barrels for 12 months. Nose of beet and red berries but also surprising baked earth, leather and dried herbs. Pure, fluid, medium-bodied (13% ABV) yet substantial. Initial sweet fruit submarines under the fine, tight tannins, racy acidity and minerals, then partially resurfaces, adding berry and cola notes to the faintly sour and astringent, flinty finish. Delicious now but – as the tail-end revisited the next day implies – smoother, suaver, more Pinoty with another two to four years in the bottle.
Hat tip to wapiti for the find and the flinty.
Ribiera’s 2010 Causse Toujours
IGP Pays de l’Hérault 2010, “Causse Toujours”, Domaine Ribiera ($23.30, 12 bottles/case, La QV)
IGP? Indication géographique protégée, the French version of the Europe-wide term replacing the national vin de pays. As of the 2009 vintage, VDPs are no more. See Jamie Goode’s article for the back story.
This particular IGP is 40% Grenache, 40% Cinsault and 20% Syrah, all from organically farmed, ten-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Destemmed, pumped over, racked and returned (délestage). Aged eight months in vats and demi-muids. No sulphur added, so should be stored at 15ºC (60ºF) or under.
Fragrant nose: black plum and grape, sun-baked earth, sweet spice, dried herbs and flowers (peony?). Supple, medium weight, texture verging on velvety. Rich, pure dark fruit with high-toned kirsch and deeper gamey notes. Sinewy tannins. The sweet fruit fades on the finish, leaving inky minerals, bitter herbs and a light, tooth-coating astringency. The high alcohol (14.5% abv) is felt, not tasted. A more conventional wine than, say, Clos Mathélisse’s Exorde (which Pichon also makes) but loveable for its purity, fluid savour and appealing combination of lightness and intensity.
For background on Domaine Ribiera, see the Languedoc Wine blog.
A bouquet of bubblies from La QV
Notes from an informal tasting of some of the sparklers represented by La QV. The champagnes are sold at the SAQ; the others can be ordered through the agency.
Bubulle 2009, Méthode traditionnelle, Les Pervenches ($30.00, 12 bottles per case)
2/3 Chardonnay, 1/3 Seyval. Made from biodyanmically farmed grapes grown near Farnham in the Eastern Townships. Produced using the champagne method and with zero dosage. The owners have been making a few cases of sparkling wine for several years now (the 2008 was 100% Chardonnay) but this is the first vintage sold to the public. Only a half dozen or so cases have been released due to a purely aesthetic problem with the other bottles, namely the lees sticking to the side of the bottle instead of sliding into the neck for removal during disgorging. Encouraged by our and others’ assurances that such a superficial blemish wouldn’t prevent us from buying bottles, the winemaker said he may decide to offer the lees-streaked bottles for sale in the new year.
Crystal-clear with a slight green cast and a very fine bead. Appealing nose of brioche and lemon with subtle mineral and floral notes. Soft bubbles. Fruity but bone dry. Bright, clean and long with a gooseberry note (the Seyval?) coming out on the finish. Like the estate’s still Chardonnays, a delicious wine that can easily stand comparison with similarly priced wines from around the world. 12% abv.
Foule Bulles, Clos Saragnat ($15, 12 bottles per case)
This sparkling cider is made from fruit farmed organically near Frelighsburg. Several varieties of apple are pressed to make the base cider but fresh plum juice is used for the dosage. Rusty pink to the eye (due partly to the apple varieties and partly to intentional oxidation of the raw fruit). Nose of sweet apple and, yep, yellow plum. Fruity but with an appealing sourness. Fine bubbles. Long drying finish. 9% abv. As they say around here, original.
Vin mousseux de qualité 2004, Domaine de la Chappe ($22, 6 bottles per case)
Based in the Tonnerre AOC, located northeast of Chablis, Domaine de la Chappe has been organic-converting-to-biodynamic since the early naughts. Chardonnay (80%) and Pinot Noir (20%). Colour bordering on pale pink. Intriguing nose with hints of red berries and roasted coffee. Fine bubbles, soft effervescence. Flavourful with a woody edge. Good finish, with sourish fruit giving way to faint walnut flavours. Unusual and enjoyable.
Cava 2009, Brut nature, Cellers de Can Suriol del Castell de Grabuac ($20.75, 12 bottles per case)
Organically farmed Macabeu (30%), Xarel.lo (30%) and Parellada (30%). Lemon zest and quartz. Fine bead. Fruity and floral on the attack yet very dry. Tastes “white.” Lingering bread flavours. Clean, elegant and refreshing. 11.5% abv.
Champagne, Grand cru, Blanc de Noirs, E. Barnaut ($46.25, 11152958)
100% sustainably farmed Pinot Noir. Brioche, white fruit, lemon, oxidized apple. Less dry than the preceding. Denser, too, but lifted by the bubbles and acid. Long. Not incredibly complex or deep but tasty and good QPR. 12.0% abv.
Champagne 1996, Brut, Fleury ($97.50, 11544062)
Biodynamically farmed Pinot Noir (80%) and Chardonnay (20%). Aged under cork – not the usual crown cap – before disgorgement to allow micro-oxygenation and encourage the development of a finer effervescence. Yellow-gold to the eye. Powerful, complex nose: oxidized apple, lemon, honey and more. Rich and deep on the palate, with layers of flavour. Astoundingly fruity and winey and far from bone dry yet in no way heavy thanks to the soft effervescence and coursing acidity. Long. Assertive yet seductive, a complete wine. 12.5% abv.
Brett happens 