Posts Tagged ‘Mid-priced’
Loire et blanc
Cheverny 2014, La Bodice, Domaine du Moulin/Hervé Villemade ($35.34, private import, 6 bottles/case)
Sauvignon Blanc (70%) and Chardonnay (30%) from organically farmed, 34-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and no chaptalization. Matured on the lees in 550- and 228-litre barrels. Unfiltered. Minimal sulphur. Residual sugar: < 2 g/l. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Rice Krispies, pear, under-ripe lemon, hints of white cardamom, arak, powdered ginger and oxidation and, eventually, white pepper and kalonji. Medium-bodied and round, dry and satin-textured. Great balance between the sleek acidity and the dense fruit and minerals. Clean, precise and long, a pleasure to drink. (Buy again? Yes, despite wishing it were under $30.)
Touraine 2014, La Tesnière, Puzelat-Bonhomme ($33.33, private import, 6 bottles/case)
Among Thierry Puzelat’s négociant wines was a line made with a friend and former apprentice at Clos du Tue-Bœuf, Pierre Olivier Bonhomme. As Pierre Olivier has bought all of Thierry’s shares in the business, future vintages will be labelled with only Bonhomme’s name. This Touraine is made from purchased, organically farmed Menu Pineau (aka Arbois, 75%) and Chenin Blanc (25%) grown in flinty clay over hard limestone near the hamlet of La Tesnière. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in 228- and 500-litre vats. Matured 12 months in barrel. Sulphur use is kept to a minimum. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Powdered ginger again, “packing tape,” apple, pear and a whiff of something funky/cidery likened by some to “citronella” and “turpentine.” Great presence in the mouth: round, minerally and smoothly acidic from the attack through the long finish, with its lingering notes of honey, white spice and a faintly medicinal/floral aroma reminiscent of crushed marigold. A bite of smoked salmon on rye brings out the fruit, which tends to apple and lemon. Complex and engaging. If only it cost a few dollars less. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG July 15th tasting: flight 2 of 8
Elian Da Ros times two
Côtes du Marmandais 2014, Le Vin est une Fête, Elian Da Ros ($21.00, 11793211)
A blend of organically and biodynamically farmed Abouriou (40%), Cabernet Franc (40%) and Merlot (20%). Manually harvested. The Merlot and Cabernet were destemmed, macerated for ten to 15 days and gently pressed. The Abouriou clusters were kept whole and vinified using semi-carbonic maceration. All fermentations are with indigenous yeasts. The wine was matured 10 months in old barrels and one month in concrete tanks. Unfined and lightly filtered before bottling in late November 2015. Sulphur is added only on bottling. 12.5% ABV. Closed with a synthetic cork. Reducing sugar: under 1.2 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Some reductive aromas on opening but nothing double-carafing doesn’t take care of. One hour after opening: plum, slate, spice, iron and cherry yogurt. In the mouth, it’s medium-bodied and round, fruity but dry, with freshening acidity, lightly raspy tannins and good energy. Tasty and throwbackable, the kind of wine that almost drinks itself. Hard to imagine a more grill-friendly red. Serve lightly chilled. (Buy again? Yes.)
Côtes du Marmandais 2012, Chante Coucou, Elian Da Ros ($31.25, 12723142)
A blend of Merlot (50%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), Malbec (20%) and Syrah (10%) from organically and biodynamically farmed vines mostly in their third decade (the Merlot vines are a bit younger). Manually harvested. The Merlot and Cabernet are destemmed, the Malbec and Syrah aren’t. The varieties are vinified separately. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and gentle punch-downs of the cap. Total maceration time: two to three weeks. Matured 24 months in barrels. Blending occurred nine months before bottling, which took place on August 25, 2015. Unfiltered and unfined. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Our first two bottles were corked (all three came from the same case), so popped and poured unfortunately. On the nose, the fruit (red currant, blackberry, cherry) takes a back seat to “citronnelle,” “green,” vanilla and slate. Rich and finely structured in the mouth, the acidity sleek, the tannins still a little tight. Fruitier and more rustic than your average Bordeaux but very much in that mould. Finishes long and clean on a wood and mineral note. Continued evolving in the glass, indicating some aging potential: cellar three to five years or carafe an hour or two before serving. (Buy again? Maybe.)
MWG April 14th tasting: flight 4 of 6
Terroir or not terroir?
Cheverny 2014, Envol, Domaine des Huards ($19.95, 12748278)
A blend of Gamay (50%), Pinot Noir (42%) and Cabernet Franc (8%) from biodynamically farmed vines. Manually harvested. The fruit is placed directly into tanks for alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts. Halfway through fermentation, the grapes are pressed. Undergoes full malolactic fermentation. Matured several months in tanks. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV.
Reductive at first, then sweet red berries with hints of sandalwood and slate. Supple, pure and nicely tart. The ripe red fruit sits on slate and is appealingly streaked with green. The slender tannins become a little more prominent on the lip-smacking finish. A refreshing easy-drinker best served cool, this could well be my go-to red this summer. (Buy again? Done!)
Cheverny 2014, Le Pressoir, Domaine Des Huards ($24.00, 11154021)
An 80-20 blend of Pinot Noir and Gamay from biodynamically farmed vines. The grapes are transferred to the vats without pumping. Alcoholic fermentation – with native yeasts – takes place at temperatures up to 30ºC and lasts about a week. The wine is then gently pressed, racked, allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation, oxygenated and racked again with bottling taking place in April or May. The only non-grape product added is small amounts of sulphur dioxide. Reducing sugar: 2.0 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV.
“Salty-savoury” nose of red fruit, mincemeat and some flinty minerals. Light and juicy in the mouth. Supply structured with tart acidity and fine tannins. Finishes with a cranberry-mineral tang. Probably the best Pressoir since the legendary 2006, though it still doesn’t have the full-on Pinot character that made the earlier wine such a delight. (Buy again? Yes.)
Beamsville Bench 2013, Pinot Noir, Hidden Bench ($35.50, 12582984)
This is the Estate bottling. 100% Pinot Noir from three parcels. Manually harvested. Cold-soaked for five days. Fermented with indigenous yeasts with manual punch-downs three to four times a day. The fermented, free-run juice was gravity fed directly into barrels and the skins were pressed in a basket press. Maturation in French oak barrels lasted around 16 months. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. Reducing sugar: 1.9 g/l. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Le Maître de Chai.
Your typical Pinot mix of red berries, cola and red beet along with oak, sweet spice and a faint chemical note that one taster likened to epoxy. Richer than the Pressoir. Tighter too, with firm tannins and sustained acidity. The fruit is forward though not to excess. Oak flavours dominate – some might say spoil – the finish for now but the wine is young. Pitched between Burgundy and New World, this is suave if a little pricey (too bad it’s not under $30). If you wanted to pick nits, you might note that, however well made, it seems a bit anonymous, doesn’t display terroir in the way that many red Burgundies or even the two Huards do. Then again, that may be why the estate’s flagship line is dubbed the Terroir Series. (Buy again? A bottle to cellar for a year or two to see if the wine digests the oak.)
MWG March 31st tasting: flight 4 of 6
Not so cat-like
Savennières 2012, Domaine des Baumard ($31.00, 12202021)
100% Chenin Blanc from vines averaging 35 years old. Manually harvested in several passes. The whole clusters are direct-pressed in a pneumatic press. Lengthy fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Nine months’ maturation on the fine lees also in stainless steel tanks. Screwcapped. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Vintrinsec.
Ash and lemon at first, then pear, honey and “something pencil erasery.” Medium-bodied and satin-textured. The sweet fruit is overtoned with oyster liqueur, dusted with minerals and carried on a stream of bright acidity. A touch of quinine colours the bitterish finish. Pleasant if a little short on oomph and dazzle; Guiberteau’s similarly priced 2013 Saumur “Clos de Guichaux” ($29.65, 11461099) delivers more bang for the buck. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Savennières 2013, Clos de Saint-Yves, Domaine des Baumard ($33.75, 12797272)
100% Chenin Blanc from vines averaging 35 years old. Harvesting and vinification are identical to the estate bottling. Screwcapped. Reducing sugar: 5.6 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Vintrinsec.
Seashells, quince and citrus but quite subtle, even closed. With time, lime, linden, beeswax, “stewed fruit” and “tulip” scents appear. In the mouth, it’s richer and more dimensional than its flight mate, albeit somewhat inscrutable. The lightly honeyed fruit is pure and minerally, the acidity fluent. Swirling and chewing reveal an incipient layered depth. The long finish again sounds a bitter/quinine note. Savennières have a reputation for being closed and even rebarbative in their youth, so this is a bit more typical of the appellation though still without the expected austerity or need to age for a decade. Approachable now, probably better in five years. Setting questions of typicity aside, it’s a lovely bottle of Chenin. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG March 31st tasting: flight 3 of 6
Fizzle
Crémant du Jura 2011, Délire des Lyres, Zéro, Les Chais du Vieux Bourg ($31.95, 12814221)
Based in Arlay but with additional vineyards in Poligny, L’Étoile and Château-Chalon, the four-hectare estate was founded in 2003 by former architect Ludwig Bindernagel and Nathalie Eigenschenck. All work in the vineyard is done manually. While not officially organic, the estate does not use insecticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers and expects to obtain biodynamic certification in a few years. This traditional method, undosed sparkler is made 100% from Chardonnay grapes (per the SAQ; some claim it contains 10% Savagnin) from 30-year-old vines. The individual parcels are vinified separately. The grapes are manually harvested, pressed in a wooden press and fermented in large oak barrels. The resulting wine is given extended maturation on its lees. Added sulphur: 3 g/hl. Reducing sugar: 1.5 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Ward et associés.
Attractive nose of browning pear and apple, honey, minerals and faint yeasty brioche notes. In the mouth, it’s medium-bodied, tightly wound and very dry, with very fine bubbles producing an almost prickly sensation. Tending to apple and citrus, the mineral-dusted fruit is “less rich than the nose suggests” (quoting another taster). Despite the effervescence and bracing acidity, the wine is oddly inert on the mid-palate. Fairly long with a bitter aftertaste. A second bottle tasted three weeks later was identical. (Buy again? Maybe a bottle to cellar for a year or two to see if we caught it during a dumb phase.)
Expectations around this bottle – a naturalish, no-dosage sparkler from a new-to-us but highly regarded producer in one of our favourite wine regions and represented by one of our favourite agencies – were high. Which made its lacklustre showing all the more disappointing. Not that the wine was bad. Far from it. But no one around the tables thought it represented good value when you can get, say, Baud’s Brut Sauvage for under $24 or Tissot’s basic crémant for $28 and change.
MWG March 31st tasting: flight 1 of 6
Odds and ends
The tasting technically ended with the preceding flight. But, as noted earlier, Steve is irrepressible. So when the Chocalán prompted someone to inquire about the reds from a Chilean producer in Rézin’s portfolio, Steve excused himself and reappeared a few minutes later with a bottle of one of those reds as well as a couple of newly arrived private imports.
Named after one of Montreal’s more dynamic young chefs, the Valle del Maule 2013, Cuvée Charles-Antoine, Louis-Antoine Luyt ($73.15/1500 ml, private import, 6 bottles/case) is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (55%) and Carignan (45%) from 70-year-old vines growing in the commune of Cauquenes. The grape varieties were vinified separately and matured five months in stainless steel tanks. 15% ABV. The complex nose of cassis, plum and savoury herbs comes with a musky/horsey note. In the mouth, the wine is rich and glyceriny yet fluid, heady but not hot. Finely structured by firm but far from rigid tannins and bright acidity, the ripe-sweet fruit is overtoned with red pepper and spice while the finish is long, clean and minerally. (Buy again? Sure.)
The Bordeaux 2014, Château de Bellevue ($28.72, private import, 6 bottles/case) is 100% Sauvignon Gris from a 1.5 ha plot of organically farmed vines averaging 35 years old and grown in the Lussac Saint-Émilion appellation. The manually harvested grapes were directly pressed. The must was fermented with indigenous yeasts and occasionally stirred during maturation on the lees. The unfiltered wine was bottled in early March 2015. 13% ABV. Classy nose of ripe white fruit with honey and anise notes. Lively and refreshing in the mouth, the fruit remarkably clean and pure. Minerals and citrus mark the long finish. A delight. (Buy again? Yes.)
And lastly, a red from the maker of the Montlouis we enjoyed earlier in the tasting: Chinon 2014, Le Dolmen, Jaulin Plaisantin ($21.30, private import, 12 bottles/case). The fruit for this 100% Cabernet Franc comes from organically farmed vines. Manually harvested. Gently pressed, macerated, fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and matured on the fine lees for six months in concrete tanks. The only additive is a tiny squirt of sulphur (20 mg/l) at bottling. 12.5% ABV. Lovely nose of red and black berries, spice, earth and a faint herbaceousness. A sip tells you this is Chinon done in a highly drinkable style: forward fruit, bright acidity, lightly astringent tannins and a clean, minerally finish. Seems a bit hollow on the mid-palate though both Steve and I think that’s a passing phase. Lightly chilled, this will be a great summer sipper. (Buy again? A refreshing, organic, private import Chinon for a shade over $21? Yes!)
Rézin is the Quebec agent for all three wines.
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 7 of 7
In a glass darkly
Valle del Maipo 2004, Gran Reserva Blend, Viña Chocalán (NLA)
Our bottle came from Steve’s cellar; the 2011 is currently available at the SAQ ($30.25, 11447588). A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (30%), Malbec (24%), Merlot (15%), Syrah (13%), Petit Verdot (10%) and Cabernet Franc (8%) from vines averaging seven years old and grown in chalky soil. Manually harvested. Destemmed. The whole grapes were cold macerated for five days. The juice was then fermented with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled (28°C) stainless steel tanks. Matured 14 months in French oak barrels. Lightly filtered and fined before bottling. Residual sugar (per the winery): 1.8 g/l. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: LCC/Clos des Vignes.
Powerful nose of roasted coffee, resiny dried herbs, “asphalt shingles” (per another taster), leather, plum and a hint of “something decomposing.” Less punishing in the mouth than the nose might lead you to expect. Full-bodied, velvety, very dry and, in its way, balanced: heady but not hot and impressively structured, the mass well shaped by round, firm tannins and surprisingly vibrant acidity. Tertiary flavours are beginning to dominate the dark fruit, which nonetheless persists through the long chocolate- and eucalyptus-inflected finish. Really needs a hunk of grilled red meat. (Buy again? Not my style but if it were, sure.)
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 6 of 7
Cambon bonbon
Beaujolais 2014, Château Cambon ($45.00/1500 ml, private import)
100% Gamay from organically farmed old vines in a vineyard located between Morgon and Brouilly. The grapes are manually harvested and the various parcels are vinified separately. Carbonic maceration takes place in enamel-lined tanks. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and with or without pump-overs, as decided by the winemaker. The wine is transferred to very old foudres for maturation on its lees. After settling, the cloudy part of the wine is lightly filtered. Unfined and bottled with little or no added sulphur. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Red currant, strawberry, and vine sap against a mineral backdrop. Classic if hefty for a simple Beaujolais. Deliciously ripe and juicy fruit upfront and a little earth in back. Silky texture and light but solid structure (fresh acidity, supple tannins) with just enough bite. The tangy finish leaves you thirsty for another sip. Compared with other Lapierre wines, Cambon can sometimes seem earthbound; this eminently drinkable 2014 is excellent, however, and – appellation oblige – delivers great QPR. (Buy again? Yes.)
Standard 750 ml bottles the wine can be found at the SAQ: $21.65, 12454991. Magnums are also slated to go on sale at the monopoly in September at $49.50 a shot (blame the lousy exchange rate).
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 5 of 7
Only a little cray
Montlouis 2014, Le Petit Cray, Jaulin Plaisantin ($31.60, private import, 6 bottles/case)
The estate’s name is the conjoined family names of its two owner-partners. Chinon and Montlouis are made and 2011 was the first vintage. The fruit for this 100% Chenin Blanc comes from organically farmed vines averaging 50 years old. Manually harvested. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Matured in neutral 600-litre oak barrels. Lightly filtered before bottling. No additives except a small squirt of sulphur dioxide at bottling. Residual sugar: 2 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Attractive nose exhibiting a range of fruit aromas described variously as membrillo, “mango” and “guava jelly” along with chalk and honey. Smooth and round in the mouth with the faintest touch of carbon dioxide spritz. So ripe the attack seems off-dry though the wine is actually quite dry. That said, the fruit is more subdued than on the nose, tending to apple and pear, and joined by threads of lemon verbena and white minerals. While mild, the acidity is sufficient to do the trick. The finish is long and clean. Lovely with a last slice of raw scallop dusted with Madagascar pepper and quite compatible with the sheep milk cheeses. Well made and enjoyable, this is still a youngster albeit a very approachable one; if I were a restaurateur, I’d be offering it by the glass. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 3 of 7
Brett happens 