Posts Tagged ‘Mo’ Wine Group’
MWG July 17th tasting: Syrah shoot-out
Syrah 2010, Okanagan Valley, Le Vieux Pin ($54.00, 12178674)
Mostly Syrah from vines between five and 11 years old grown in two Okanagan sub-appellations. As is often the case in Côte-Rôtie, a dollop (around 2%) of Viognier is added prior to fermentation. Matured 17 months in French oak barrels, 20% new. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Les vins Alain Bélanger.
On the nose and in the mouth, predicated around a core of sweet fruit and overtoned with spice, meat, graphite and oak. The medium weight, lean tannins and sleek acidity prompted on taster to describe the wine as “linear,” with all that implies in terms of flow and depth. Elegant for a New World Syrah, though I’d like it even better with less oak. Still quite young at this point, so a few more years in the bottle may digest the wood and deepen the fruit. The New World aficionados around the table preferred this to the Côte-Rôtie. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Côte-Rôtie 2012, Nature, Jean-Michel Stephan ($72.75, 11953616)
Last year the “nature” on the label was blacked out with a magic marker; this year it isn’t. A blend of Syrah (90% or 80% depending on whom you believe) and Viognier (10% or 20%) from organically farmed vines between 15 and 45 years old. Half of the Syrah – a clone (some would say a separate variety) known locally as Sérine – underwent semi-carbonic maceration. The Viognier was macerated on the skins for 15 hours, then destemmed and pressed. Alcoholic fermentation (with regular pump-overs for the first two weeks) took place at 15°C for five days, then at 31°C until complete. Matured 18 months in Burgundy barrels ranging from two to six years old. Unfiltered and unfined. No added sulphur. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Glou.
An echt-Syrah nose of violets, black pepper, red berries, animale. Sits suppley on the palate yet is intensely present. The remarkably pure and fresh fresh fruit is supported by a framework of fine tannins, carried on unfurling skeins of silky acid and sustained well into the long, aromatic finish. Time in the cellar will surely reveal more depth but, for drinking here and now, this is a joy, albeit an expensive one. (Buy again? Budget permitting, yes.)
MWG July 17th tasting: Cabernet Franc shoot-out
Cabernet Franc 2010, Laundry Vineyard, Lincoln Lakeshore, Tawse Winery ($35.00, 12211294)
100% Cabernet Franc . Sixty percent of the vines are more than 20 years old, making them some of the oldest Cab Franc vines on the Niagara Peninsula. Manually harvested. Matured 18 months in French oak barrels. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Importation Le Pot de Vin.
Rich nose of black raspberry, tobacco leaf, ashtray, slate, green pepper. Medium-bodied. Fruity but dry, with a creamy texture, fine, tight tannins and good acidity. Spice overtones embellish the fruit while ash and oak dominate the long finish. While there’s good material here, it’s spoiled by the cloying oak. Will that change with time? Good question, especially when the producer’s estimated shelf life for the wine is five to seven years and four have gone by. (Buy again? Only if in the mood for a wine that tries too hard.)
IGP Costa Toscana 2012, CiFRA, Azienda Vitivinicola Duemani ($30.75, 11838415)
The estate’s entry-level wine (the other Cab Franc bottling runs a cool $86). 100% Biodynamically farmed Cabernet Franc, fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and matured in concrete vats. Lightly dosed with sulphur dioxide at bottling. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: L’Enoteca di Moreno de Marche.
Striking nose: prune juice and fruit cake with a hint of menthol. In the mouth, medium-bodied, fluid, pure, clean. Devoid of herbaceousness, the fruit is ripe and sweet but the wine is dry. Round tannins, stealth acidity and a long, savoury finish complete the picture. A delicious Cabernet Franc that strikes a happy balance between Old World and New. (Buy again? Sure, though not without some grumbling about the 10% price increase over the 2011.)
MWG July 17th tasting: EGBB shoot-out
EGBB = easy-going Bordeaux blend.
North Fork of Long Island 2010, First Crush Red, Bedell Cellars ($25.30, 11040180)
Merlot (76%) and Cabernet Franc (24%) from young vines. Manually harvested. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Vinified and matured in stainless steel tanks at low temperatures.13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: ???.
Black cherry cordial, cassis and a hint of graphite and a candied note that led one taster to remark “sports card bubble gum.” In the mouth, it’s a smooth-textured middleweight that somehow also manages to be light-bodied. Juicy, bordering-on-overripe fruit, light dusty tannins, sufficient acidity. The noticeable residual sugar weighs on the palate and rules out refreshment. A wine for people who don’t care much for wine? (Buy again? Nope.)
Côtes du Marmandais 2012, Le vin est une fête, Elian Da Ros ($20.65, 11793211)
A blend of organically farmed Merlot (60%), Cabernet Franc (20%) and Abouriou (20%). Manually harvested. The Merlot and Cabernet are destemmed, macerated for ten to 15 days and gently pressed. The Abouriou clusters are kept whole and vinified using semi-carbonic maceration. All fermentations are with indigenous yeasts. The wine is matured 14 months in old barrels. Unfined and lightly filtered before bottling. Sulphur is added only on bottling. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Closed, initially funky nose showing lots of Bordeaux qualities – pencil shavings and cigar box, for example – but also exuberantly un-Bordeaux-like fruit along with some black pepper, red meat and a vegetal edge. The young, lightly raspy, appealingly rustic tannins notwithstanding, a fundamentally supple, silky-textured wine. The fruit – so pure and juicy – shines bright against a backdrop of dark minerals and lasts well into the tart finish. True to its name, this fresh and lively wine is a celebration of wine-making and wine-drinking. Drink slightly chilled. (Buy again? In multiples.)
MWG July 17th tasting: A rosé is a rosé is a rosé?
Côtes du Rhône 2010, Rosé, Domaine Gourt de Mautens ($73.50, private import, NLA)
The inaugural vintage of this wine. A blend of co-planted organically and biodynamically farmed Grenache Noir, Carignan, Mourvèdre and Counoise from nearly century-old vines. Very low yields (10 to 15 hl/ha). Manually harvested. Sorted on picking and in the cellar. The grapes are pressed on arrival. The must is then co-fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured ten to 18 months in stainless steel tanks and neutral demi-muids. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. The winemaker says this is essentially a blanc de noirs and can be aged up to ten or 15 years. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Soft orange-pink. Impossibly complex nose that never stops evolving: grilled peach, red currant, blood orange, white pepper, quartz, garrigue, dried flowers, roast chicken, talc. In the mouth, a dry and savoury middleweight with sustained acidity and layer upon ethereal layer of fruit and flinty minerals. Structured and tense in the manner of a fine white. An orange wine-like hint of tannin textures the long finish. Delicious even when warm. The alcohol is totally unapparent. Phenomenal. (Buy again? If the price isn’t a barrier, yes.)
MWG July 17th tasting: Marsanne shoot-out
Saint-Joseph 2011, Les Granilites, M. Chapoutier ($39.25, 11873018)
100% Marsanne from organically framed vines. Manually harvested. The whole clusters are pressed, with the must going directly into vats, where it is chilled and clarified by settling for 48 hours. It is then racked into 600-litre fûts and fermented with indigenous yeasts. Matured ten months in fûts with stirring of the lees for the first two months. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Vins Philippe Dandurand.
Complex nose: honey, white spices, wax, pear, lychee, minerals and a whiff of cheese. On the palate, it’s rich, dry and mouth-filling, weighty but balanced , possessed of a satiny texture. There’s a suggestion of spiced pear and peach though, as with its flightmate, the fruit flavours are elusive. Long and complete. If the wine has a downside, it’s that it’s not particularly refreshing. That said, it might prove the perfect accompaniment to a dish like scallops or langoustines in curry cream. (Buy again? If in the market for a 100% Marsanne, sure.)
Northern White 2011, Washington State, Rôtie Cellars ($33.00, 12115462)
100% Marsanne. Slow, cool (13°C) alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts. Malolactic fermentation is not completed. Sees only stainless steel until bottling. 13.9% ABV. Quebec agent: Insolite.
Inscrutable nose of minerals and ash. Middleweight and balanced but lean and not exactly characterful, the firm acidity notwithstanding. Flavours? Saline with hints of pear and white peach and a faint oxidized honey note. “A lot of surface but doesn’t stick around very long,” noted one taster. The tail-end – tellingly about a quarter of the bottle was left at the end of the tasting – had lost all personality the next day. (Buy again? Probably not.)
MWG July 17th tasting: Pinot Gris shoot-out
Except for a pink singleton in the middle, the rest of the tasting was a series of two-bottle flights in which a New World wine was pitched against a similar and similarly priced Old World wine. First up were a couple of affordable Pinot Grises.
Pinot Gris 2012, Willamette Valley, Elk Cove Vineyards ($26.10, 11640011)
100% Pinot Gris from vines three to 27 years old grown in various northern Willamette Valley vineyards. Manually harvested, whole-cluster pressed. Fermented at low temperatures in stainless steel tanks. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Vintrinsec.
Appealing nose of pear, chalk and wax. Fruity but not to excess, with bright acidity and a hint of residual sugar. A saline undercurrent threads into the long, dry finish. Pure and vibrant – an easy-drinker with no complexes. (Buy again? Sure.)
Alsace Pinot Gris 2012, Les Princes Abbés, Domaines Schlumberger ($22.85, 00913897)
100% Pinot Gris from estate grown grapes, mostly from the Schimberg lieu-dit. The grapes are manually harvested and pneumatically pressed. The must is clarified by settling, then fermented in large temperature-controlled barrels for one to four months. Maturation on the fine lees lasts six to eight months. 13.45% ABV. Quebec agent: Les Vins La Rochelle.
A more savoury nose: less fruity, more minerally, with hints of herbs and smoke. Smoother and drier on the palate, the texture slightly more viscous, the acid less bright. The wine’s weight notwithstanding, there’s not a lot of depth here. Clean, rainwatery finish. Not bad but, compared with the Elk Cove (not to mention Scheuller’s electrifying Pinot Grises), a bit of a wallflower. (Buy again? Maybe.)
MWG July 17th tasting: Lip-stingers?
A word of Occitan/French origin, piquepoul is usually translated as “lip-stinger.” The grape variety is reportedly so named due to its high acidity.
Languedoc 2013, Picpoul de Pinet, Château Saint-Martin de la Garrigue ($19.15, 11460045)
100% Piquepoul Blanc from vines averaging 25 years old. The grapes are picked late in the season, pressed, macerated ten hours on the skins, then cold settled and racked into the fermentation vessels. The slow, temperature-controlled fermentation is followed by four-months’ maturation on the fine lees in stainless steel tanks. 14.5% ABV according to SAQ.com, 15% (!) according to the label. Quebec agent: Bergeron-les-vins.
Lemon, quartz and chalk, hints of honey and paraffin. Very dry but fruity, with lots of extract. Electric acidity keeps things fresh. An herbal/floral note – think lemon verbena – perfumes the mid-palate while minerals come to the fore on the bitter-tinged, lightly saline finish. Surprisingly cool, with no alcohol apparent on the nose or palate. Puts the lie to the old saw that Picpoul is the Muscadet of the Midi. Would make a fine pairing for grilled fish and shellfish but is also substantial enough to accompany a local specialty, encornets à la sétoise (aïoli not optional). (Buy again? For sure.)
Languedoc 2013, Picpoul de Pinet, Ormarine, Maison JeanJean ($13.50, 266064)
100% Piquepoul Blanc. The grapes are pressed and macerated on the skins, then allowed to cold-settle. Enzymes are added for enhanced aromatics. Low-temperature fermentation involves selected yeasts. Screwcapped. 12.5% ABV. Maison JeanJean’s website is broken so I can’t verify, but this appears to be made by the Cave de l’Ormarine and to be very similar if not identical to their “Carte noire” bottling. Quebec agent: Sélect Vins.
Lime zest, pear and passion fruit. In the mouth, a light spritzy prickle, straightforward fruit and some creaminess. Crisp if not as vibrantly acidic or minerally as the St-Martin. Short finish and a faint buttery aftertaste. A perfectly correct, simple wine that wowed no one around the table, though a few did say they’d buy it as a cooking wine they could also drink in a pinch. (Buy again? Unlikely, especially as my go-to cooking wine runs about $3 cheaper.)
MWG June 12th tasting: A sweet, sparkling, natural Garganega
Veneto 2011, Dolce Racrei, Davide Spillare ($40.00, private import, 6 bottles/case)
100% Garganega from organically farmed (though apparently not certified as such) vines. Manually harvested and placed on wooden frames for about four months to partially raisinate. Fermented in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts for six months. The wine is then bottled unfiltered, unfined and with no added sulphur. In the spring and summer, as the cellar warms up, the wine resumes fermenting, converting some of the residual sugar into alcohol, producing carbon dioxide gas as a by-product and thereby creating the sparkle (see méthode ancestral). 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Hazy pale gold with a fine bead. Intriguing, aromatic nose: orange marzipan, brioche, pear clafoutis and a whiff of something lactic. In the mouth, it’s a softly effervescent middleweight, a tad sweeter than demi-sec but with the sugar checked by abundant acidity. Flavours? Baked apple dominates, hay field and chalk chime in. An orange wine-like hint of bitter tannins colour the finish. Odd but interesting – a great way to end a great tasting. (Buy again? Sure.)
MWG June 12th tasting: Red banner
Crozes-Hermitage 2012, Et la bannière…, Matthieu Barret SARL ($37.35, private import, 6 bottles/case)
Matthieu Barret is the owner-winemaker at Domaine du Coulet, three of whose Cornases the MWG enjoyed in December 2012. The eponymous SARL is his crittertastic négociant label. This is 100% biodynamically and organically farmed Syrah, the only red grape variety allowed in the appellation. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in concrete vats with indigenous yeasts and pump-overs. The resulting wine is racked, matured for 12 months, then bottled unfiltered and unfined with a small amount of sulphur (2 g/hl), the only additive used in making the wine. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Complex, umami-rich nose: plum, oyster sauce/tamari, forest floor, hints of chocolate, smoke, Thai basil and violet. Smooth and velvety though loaded with acidity (so pure and intense is the fruit, you hardly notice). Round tannins, rumbling minerals and a long, juicy finish complete the picture. Vibrant and delicious. Not cheap but if you can find a more appealing Syrah at the price in Quebec, I’d love to hear about it. (Buy again? Yes!)
MWG June 12th tasting: A natural CDR
Côtes-du-Rhône 2011, Le Claux, Domaine La Roche Buissière ($36.65, private import, 6 bottles/case)
The 18-hectare estate is located northeast of Vaison-La-Romaine and has been farmed organically since 1980. This is a blend of Grenache (90%) and Syrah (10%) from 50-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Unfiltered and unfined. No additives were used in making the wine, including sulphur. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Black raspberry and spice – black pepper above all – with hints of olive, garrigue and licorice. A medium-bodied, juicy mouthful. Fine tannins texture the silky ripe fruit while bright acidity lifts the mid-palate and enlivens the clean, mineral-shaded finish. A bit overshadowed by its more outgoing companions but, on its own terms, really quite enjoyable. (Buy again? Sure, though I wish it were under $30.)
Brett happens 