Posts Tagged ‘oenopole’
Cultured Vulture
Have lately had little time to drink and even less time to write, but I wanted to flag today’s release at the SAQ of a wine I and many others enjoyed last November, when it was available as a private import from oenopole. The intervening nine months have done it nothing but good and, once again, it has proved to be a fantastic match for lamb, this time a stew with vinegar and green beans (recipe after the jump). Quantities appear to be limited, so fast action is advised.
Aglianico del Vulture 2009, Antelio, Camerlengo ($23.35, 11951961)
100% Aglianico from organically farmed 30-year-old vines. Manually harvested in late October and early November. Fermented with native yeasts, macerated 25 days and matured in a 50-hl Slavonian oak botte. Unfiltered and unfined. Lightly sulphured at bottling for stability during transportation. 13% ABV.
Alluring nose: black cherry, graphite, hints of balsam, spice and flowers. Medium-bodied. The silky, sweet-cored fruit is brightened by acidity and velveted by lightly rustic tannins. Chewing brings a tooth-coating astringency and reveals a mineral substrate. The savoury finish lasts longer than you’d expect. A here-and-now wine: not particularly deep but remarkably fresh, pure and satisfying, more so than other Aglianicos in the price range, which often seem coarse, unbalanced and untamed, like gorillas in sports jackets. (Buy again? In multiples.)
Le génie de la Loire
In honour of Bastille Day (because these beauties could only have come from France), notes from a recent tasting of Loire wines chosen by Sam with a connoisseur’s eye. Most were private imports, a few were importations valise and, as far as I know, none are currently available in Quebec.
PRELUDE
Vouvray 2008, Brut, Méthode traditionnel, Philippe Foreau (Clos Naudin)
100% Chenin Blanc. 13% ABV. The 2011 can be found at the SAQ for $30.
Limpid gold. Tiny bubbles and not tons of them. Yellow fruit, lemon blossom and toast against a chalky background. Dry and minerally with a nipping acidity and effervescence. Long, toasted brioche finish. Impeccable.
FLIGHT 1
Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine 2010, Clisson, Domaine de la Pépière
100% Melon de Bourgogne. The estate is represented in Quebec by Vinealis.
Closed nose: faint lemon, pear and chalk. Dry, extracted and dimensional. Trenchant acidity. As much about minerals as fruit. Long, saline finish. Great presence. Austere bordering on severe but oh, so pure and beautiful. My wine of the flight.
Sancerre 2001, Clos de Beaujeu, Gérard Boulay
100% Sauvignon Blanc. 12.5% ABV. Represented in Quebec by Rézin.
Intriguing bouquet: overripe white peach, crystalline minerals and, as one taster noted, a suggestion of mushroom. Dry. Minerally more than fruity – faint citrus and gun smoke. A not off-putting acrid note surfaces on the long finish. Tasting double-blind, I didn’t peg this as either a Sauvignon Blanc or – due to its vibrancy and tension – a 12-year-old wine.
Saumur 2009, La Charpentrie, Domaine du Collier
100% old-vine Chenin Blanc. 13% ABV. Represented in Quebec by oenopole.
Rich nose: peach and some tropical fruit, honey, sour white flowers. Silky and rich with a touch of residual sugar. Brisk acidity provides welcome cut, faint herbs and chalky minerals welcome complexity. Immaculate, authentic and delicious though not particularly deep, at least at this point in its probably long life.
FLIGHT 2
Bourgueil 1993, Busardières, Domaine de la Chevalerie
100% biodynamically farmed Cabernet Franc. 12.5% ABV. Represented in Quebec by La QV.
Delicate but complex: ash, spice, ripe but not jammy boysenberry, humus and hummus, slate and stems. Smooth and supple with fully resolved, velvety tannins and bright acidity. Seemed a bit thin next to the Chinon. On its own, however, complete and surprisingly vibrant at 20 years of age.
Chinon 2005, Domaine Les Roches (Alain and Jérome Lenoir)
100% Cabernet Franc. 12.5% ABV. Represented in Quebec by Glou. This bottle cost around $25.
Initially closed, the nose became more complex and perfumed over the course of the evening. Elderberry liqueur, floral overtones, a hint of meat, some old wood and the faintest note of bacon and new leather. Concentrated, even chewy, yet silky and not heavy. Layers of rich fruit and dark minerals structured by fine, firm tannins and energizing acidity. Long, lightly astringent finish. Superb. My wine of the flight and Cab Franc of the night.
Saumur-Champigny 2008, Clos Rougeard
100% Cabernet Franc. 12.5% ABV. Last I heard, the estate was represented in Quebec by Réserve & Sélection.
Darker, meatier with a hint of fresh tomato, background slate, sawed wood. Tighter than a drum: structured more than fruity and the élevage is showing. You can see that the wine is perfectly proportioned, that the fruit is pure, ripe and deep, that the use of the barrel is masterful. You can also see that the wine needs – at a minimum – another decade to open up. Tasted 24 hours later, the tail end of the bottle had hardly budged.
FLIGHT 3
Chinon 2009, Coteau de Noiré, Philippe Alliet
100% Cabernet Franc. 13% ABV. Represented in Quebec by Le Maître de Chai. The 2010 is sold at the SAQ Signature for $46.
Young, unresolved nose: choco-cherry, sawed wood, dill, ash. Smooth, dapper, restrained. Fine albeit tight tannins. The clean, ripe fruit – showing some tobacco but not a hint of greenness – is deepened by dark minerals and subtle wood. A delicate astringency velvets the long finish. Good potential. Revisit in five years.
Saumur 2009, La Charpentrie, Domaine du Collier
100% Cabernet Franc. 13% ABV. Represented in Quebec by oenopole.
Plummy (a sign of the hot vintage?) and slatey. Round, rich and balanced. The tannins and acidity are fruit-cloaked but there’s plenty of underlying structure. Lightly yet pervasively astringent. The élevage shows on the long finish. While its potential is obvious, this is another case of a bottle too young.
Chinon 2009, La Croix Boisée, Domaine Bernard Baudry
100% Cabernet Franc, aged in barrel, not filtered or fined. 13.5% ABV. Represented in Quebec by Balthazard.
So closed on the nose: wood, wet slate and not much else. Closed on the palate, too. Ripe, even liqueurish fruit, old wood, minerals. Sleek tannins. Rich, complete and in need of time, much time.
POSTLUDE
Vouvray moelleux 1986, Clos du Bourg, Domaine Huet
100% biodynamically farmed Chenin Blanc. 12% ABV. The 2007 runs $50.50 at the SAQ.
Amazing nose: dried pear, wax, straw, honey, turbinado sugar… Intense on the palate yet also elegant, reserved and nuanced. Neither dry nor sweet. Brilliant acidity. Chewing reveals all kinds of complexity. Spice, chalk, quartz, caramel, candied pineapple are only some of the flavours. A crème brûlée note lingers through the long finish. Astonishingly young and fresh. Wine of the tasting for most people around the table.
Côteaux du Loir 2009, Les Giroflées, Domaine Bellivière
A 100% biodynamically farmed Pineau d’Aunis rosé. 13.5% ABV. Represented in Quebec by Le Maître de Chai but I’m not sure they bring this wine in (our bottle was purchased at Flatiron Wines and Spirits in New York City).
Strawberry, wax, quartz on the nose. Smooth and quaffable. Off-dry. A basket of fresh berry fruit with just enough acidity and a touch of peppery spice. Simple but charming. Flavourwise, it made a fine pairing for pâte sucrée bars filled with a thin layer of pastry cream and topped with fresh raspberries and a rhubarb marshmallow, though in the best of all possible worlds the pastries would have been a little less sweet.
MWG June 20th tasting (8/8): Two savoury reds
Dâo 2008, Reserva, Àlvaro Castro ($25.20, 11902106)
Touriga Nacional (65%) and Tinta Roriz (35%). Fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats. Transferred to old French oak barrels for 14 months for malolactic fermentation and maturation. 13% ABV.
Coffee, plum, blackberry, spice, background herbs. Smooth, rich and dry – the fruit is ripe but not sweet or heavy. Fine-grained tannins, firm acidity, some subtle slate and a long finish. Remarkably balanced and pure. Perhaps a shade less impressive than its white sibling, this is still one of the most elegant red Dâos I’ve tasted. Sr. Castro’s got talent. (Buy again? Yes.)
Faro 2010, Rosso, Azienda Agricola Bonavita ($37.50, oenopole, NLA though found on resto wine lists)
Faro is a DOC located between Messina and Mount Etna on Sicily’s northeast coast. This is a blend of organically farmed Nerello Mascalese (60%), Nerello Cappuccio (30%) and Nocera (10%) from six- to 50-year-old vines. Manually harvested. The winemaking is non-interventionist: spontaneous fermentation, no additives, long maceration with manual punch-downs, gentle pressing in a basket press. Matured 16 months in neutral oak botti and four months in the bottle. 13.5% ABV.
Complex, wafting nose of red cherry, faint rubber, cut wood, dried herbs, dried ink and eventually cheese. Medium-bodied and fluid but with a dense core of ripe, balsamic- and anise-accented red fruit. Tannins and acidity are firm, though more deep-running than upfront. The bitter-edged finish is long and savoury. A pleasure to drink, this would make an interesting ringer in a flight of terroir-driven Etna wines; I suspect it would come across as rounder and earthier but no less fresh or delicious. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG June 20th tasting (6/8): An organic Negroamaro
Vino da tavola 2010, Anne, Azienda Agricola Biologica Natalino del Prete ($20.10, oenopole, NLA)
The winery is located in San Donaci in Puglia, the heel of the Italian boot, and has been certified organic since 1994. 100% Negroamaro from 70-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Fermented in termperature-controlled tanks with indigenous yeasts. Unfiltered, unfined, unsulphured.
Dark berries and plum (but not, praise be, prune) with overtones of dried earth, rubber, herbs, cedar and tomato. Round and smooth until you chew, then astringent with tooth-coating tannins. Earthy yet fresh, packed with ripe fruit and juicy acidity. Black pepper, minerals and olive emerge on the finish. The alcohol (14% or 15% if I’m remembering correctly) adds warmth, not heat. Rustic and authentic: the kind of appealing, old-fashioned, terroir-driven wine that internationalization is making an endangered species. (Buy again? Yes.)
We’d intended to taste this alongside Natalino del Prete’s even more affordable Salice Salentino ($17.35, oenopole, now also NLA) but that bottle and a Sicilian rosé were AWOL.
MWG May 16th tasting (3/5): Hatzidakis cubed
A native of Crete who worked for Boutari, Haridimos Hatzidakis founded his eponymous estate in 1996, starting with vines owned by his wife’s family. The vineyards surrounding the canava are certified organic, a rare occurrence on the island, and the vines are trained into the traditional basket or nest shape, which offers some protection from the wind and sun and helps conserve precious moisture. Like all vines on phylloxera-free Santorini, they are ungrafted.
Santorini 2011, Assyrtiko, Domaine Hatzidakis ($21.95, 11901171)
Assyrtiko (90%), Aidani (5%) and Athiri (5%), which, oddly enough, is the exactly the same blend as Argyros’s Atlantis. No maceration. After clarification, the must is fermented at 18ºC with selected dry yeasts. Matured on the lees for 40 days. Aged in stainless steal tanks. Lightly filtered and dosed with sulphur dioxide before bottling. Around 50,000 bottles made. 13.5% ABV.
Minerals on steroids, lemon and a whiff of turpentine. Smooth on entry but with some bite on exit. A mouthful of lemon with the pith, chalk, quartz and trippy acid. Long, saline finish. (Buy again? Automatically.)
Santorini 2011, Assyrtiko, Cuvée No. 15, Domaine Hatzidakis ($28.95, 11901189)
100% organically farmed Assyrtiko. Macerated on the skin for for 12 hours. The must is then separated from the grapes, clarified and fermented with indigenous yeasts at 18°C. Maturated on the lees in stainless steel tanks for eight months. Bottled manually, unfiltered with only a small amount of sulphur. 2,700 bottles made. 14.5% ABV.
Minerals and lemon again but with a candied edge. Not bone dry on the attack. The mid-palate is laden with extract, polished stones and firm acidity. A dry astringency and a bitter note creep in on the finish along with the expected sea spray. Long, long, long. Wow-worthy. (Buy again? Imperatively.)
Santorini 2009, Cuvée spéciale nº 15, Domaine Hatzidakis ($28.15 in 2011, oenopole, NLA)
100% organically farmed Assyrtiko. Wine-making is similar to that for the 2011. 14% ABV if I’m remembering correctly.
While the 2011s were silver-gold with pale green glints, this was tending more toward gold-bronze. Striking, magnetic nose of preserved lemon, dried pine needles, oxidized honey and more. Dry and complex in the mouth, dense but saved from heaviness by the firm acidity and general savour. Layer after layer of bitter minerals. The finish is long and, yes, saline. Impressive. (Buy again? Gladly.)
oenopole’s Greek spring workshop (6/6)
Italians claim vin santo (aka vino santo) as their own invention. After all, they say, the name means holy wine. That no one can offer a convincing explanation of the wine’s holy connection is conveniently overlooked. Greeks tell a different story. They claim the name is a contraction of vino di Santorini and that the style is basically copied from the Greek island’s legendary sweet wine that was first brought to the Italian peninsula by seafaring traders.
Despite the similarities – both wines are made from partially dried grapes, usually white – there are plenty of differences: different grape varieties, drying methods, maturation methods, aging requirements and sweetness levels, with the Greek version almost always being quite sweet. The spelling of the name is also different: Italian vin santo, Greek vinsanto.
Vinsanto, 20 years, Domaine Argyros (NLA. When last sold at the SAQ, the price was north of $100 for a 500 ml bottle.)
A blend of Assyrtico (80%), Aidani (10%) and Athiri (10%) from very old vines, some in excess of 150 years. The grapes are dried in the sun for 12 to 14 days, pressed, fermented with ambient yeasts and aged 17 years in French oak barrels and another three years in the bottle. 14% ABV.
Clear brown with orange glints. Complex, fresh and lifting nose of raisin, fig, caramel and orange peel. Rich and dense in the mouth, sweet but, due to the huge acidity, not saccharine or heavy. The mouth-filling flavours echo the nose and have a savoury edge. Astoundingly long. Big yet a sipper, not exactly subtle yet a vin de contemplation. Impressive in so many ways. (Buy again? If the budget permitted…)
oenopole’s Greek spring workshop (5/6)
The last two wines of the tasting were served without food.
IGP Letrini 2008, Domaine Mercouri ($19.75, 11885537)
Refosco (80%) and Mavrodaphne (20%). Fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel vats. Matured 10 to 12 months in French oak barrels, 40% new. 13% ABV.
Red fruit and a herby almost ferny greenness. Swirling brings out an iodide note. It’s like standing in a seaside raspberry patch. Medium-bodied and dry, the fruit ripe but held in check. Dark minerals, light velvety tannins and bright acidity round out the picture. The savoury finish leaves an impression of purity and freshness. Even better than the bottle tasted back in March. (Buy again? Yes.)
> A wine this elegant and balanced is by definition food-friendly. At the tasting, I had no trouble imagining it as an accompaniment to a veal or pork roast or stew.
And speaking of revisiting Greek wines tasted back in March, I recently opened a second bottle of the Achaïa 2011, Kalavryta, Domaine Tetramythos ($15.45, 11885457). Though I popped the cork a few hours in advance in case it was still in that “weird reductive phase,” I needn’t have bothered: on the nose and in the mouth, the wine was clean, pure and savoury, a pleasure to drink and a fine pairing for pork chops in a sage-flecked tomato sauce.
oenopole’s Greek spring workshop (4/6)
Served with veal tartare studded with cranberries and made almost fiery by shallots.
Naoussa 2011, Jeunes Vignes de Xinomavro, Domaine Thymiopoulos ($17.50, 11607617)
100% biodynamically farmed Xinomavro from ten-year-old vines. Manually harvested. 80% destemmed, 20% whole cluster pressed. Very gentle pressing. Fermented with indigenous yeasts with no pump-overs. Macerated about one week, then aged nine months in stainless steel tanks. Bottled unfiltered. 13.5% ABV.
My affection for this wine is well documented (see here, here and here) and this encounter only confirmed the love. Cherry and fired minerals with sappy/stemmy, dried herb and licorice notes. Medium-bodied and fluid. Dry yet remarkably fresh. As minerally as fruity with a cranberry-like tang. So drinkable – there really is a Beaujolais cru-like quality to the wine. Joy. (Buy again? By the case.)
> A pitch-perfect pairing. The tartare’s mild meatiness backdropped the wine’s fruit, the respective mineralities echoed each other, the “cranberry” and cranberries sang a duet and the briny capers presented no issues thanks to the wine’s acidity, savour and low tannins. Genius.
oenopole’s Greek spring workshop (3/6)
Served with scallop ceviche garnished with mandarin sections, green apple, citrus zest and, surprisingly, a drizzle of simple syrup.
Santorini 2011, Estate, Domaine Argyros ($22.95, 11901091)
100% Assyrtiko from old vines (average age: 150 years). Fermented with selected yeasts. Matured six months in stainless steel tanks (80%) and new 500-litre French oak barrels (20%). 13.2% ABV.
A crystalline nose, if that makes sense; it’s like breathing quartz along with whiffs of lemon, kelp and volcano. In the mouth, not a lot of fruit per se but plenty of extract to take the edge off the coursing acidity. Above, below and around all are minerals, here fine and delicate. The long finish has a salted lemon note. Such balance, elegance and sense of place are rare at this price point. (Buy again? Imperatively.)
> You wouldn’t think a wine this savoury and acidic would work with a sweet dish but wow! It blasts through the sugar, dances with the mollusc, does acrobatics with the lime zest. Grilled fish, grilled octopus and fried squid, not to mention oysters on the half shell, make less unconventional but equally delicious pairings.
oenopole’s Greek spring workshop (2/6)
The second dish was albacore sashimi.
Vin de pays de Markopoulo 2012, Savatiano, Domaine Papagiannakos ($15.90, 11097451)
100% Savatiano. Manually harvested. Fermented with selected yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Matured on the lees for three months. Filtered before bottling. 12.5% ABV.
Candied sour lemon, overtones of tropical fruit (mango, banana, papaya), dried hay in the background. Fruity, almost sweet, on entry, though make no mistake: this is a dry wine. The clean flavours evoke lemon and quartz. The extract balances the solid acidity. A faint bitterness lingers after the fruit fades. Not profound but delivering real bang for the buck. (Buy again? Yes.)
> The wine was synergistic with the cilantro and cucumber garnish. It amped up the fishiness of the albacore (not unpleasantly so) while the fish brought out its fruit. oenopole also suggests squid stuffed with spinach and feta and/or shrimp sautéed with garlic and parsley and served with lemon wedges. It’s all good.
Brett happens 