Posts Tagged ‘Off the beaten path’
MWG April Jura tastings: report (6/6)
The Jura counterpart to Pineau des Charentes and Floc de Gascogne, Macvin du Jura is a vin de liqueur, a sweet and powerful blend of two-thirds grape juice and one-third Marc du Jura (pomace brandy) that is aged up to 30 months in casks. Macvin comes in white, pink and red varieties (usually the first) and, despite having been around since at least the 14th century, was granted its own AOC only in 1991. Locals serve it chilled as an aperitif, with desserts or after dinner mixed with marc (usually one part Macvin to two parts marc).
Macvin du Jura, Jean Bourdy ($47.00, 3 btls/case, La QV)
A rare rosé Macvin. Strawberry, fruit cake and dried spice (caraway, clove, cinnamon). Sweetness balanced by acidity and spice. Lingers long. Excellent. (Buy again? Yes.)
Macvin Rouge, Pinot Noir, André et Mireille Tissot ($39.25, 6 btls/case, Les Vins Alain Bélanger)
Deep red. Candied cherry on steroids, spice and an undernote of dried blood. Dense, fruity sweetness lifted by acid and alcohol. Marathon finish. Fascinating. (Buy again? Yes.)
Stéphane Tissot suggests chocolate as a pairing for his red Macvin. At the tastings, it was successfully served with squares of Valrhona Guanaja bittersweet chocolate. Further research conducted a few days later found it an unbeatable match with a selection of exquisite chocolate, hazlenut, pistachio and raspberry pastries from Olivier Potier.
Definitely not the Jura except…
…for the colour, which probably qualifies as rubis or corail.
Verduno Pelaverga 2010, Comm. G.B. Burlotto ($19.35, 11599063)
100% Pelaverga Piccolo. Macerated and fermented in temperature-controlled French oak vats, with pumping over and daily racking and returning. Undergoes malolactic fermentation in stainless steel vats. Matured three months in large Slavonian and French oak casks and two months in stainless steel casks.
Light dusky ruby with brilliant scarlet glints. Lightly fragrant: black pepper, cumin, strawberry/raspberry, fresh sawdust, dried blood. Light-bodied and lightly flavoured, with raspy tannins and coursing acidity. Though there’s some sweet fruit at its core, the wine starts dry and gets drier, almost alarmingly so by the end. The long finish is woody (as distinct from oaky), hotish (14% ABV), sourish and, above all (not to mention, below, behind, in front of and on either side of all), black peppery. After that fades, a faint raspberry aftertaste.
Sweetened a little as it breathed, so probably best carafed an hour or two before serving. Also better lightly chilled to tame the heat. To my surprise, it didn’t pair well with a salume-stuffed calzone.
While the SAQ is to be applauded for expanding their and our horizons and while this is a wine that deserves respect (Burlotto’s been making it since 1800), Fratelli Alessandria’s version is the one to love.
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 March 16th tasting: report (1/4)
Sketchy notes on the first of four flights. All wines except the Falanghina are from the March 15th Cellier release.
Falanghina 2009, Taburno, Fattoria La Rivolta ($19.95, 11451851)
100% organically farmed Falanghina. Fermented at low temperatures, aged in stainless steel. Mercurial nose: chalk, lemon, minerals, flowers, then white coral, then nougat and shower curtain, then lard and banana. Light and rainwatery on entry but building as it goes along. Bright acid. Dry but full of sweet fruit. A little citrus pith on the chalky finish. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Soave Classico 2010, Prà ($19.50, 11587134)
100% Garganega. Fermented at low temperatures, aged in stainless steel. Yellow fruit with chalk, grapefruit and lime notes. Very present: weightier and fruitier than the flight’s other wines. Fruit tends toward citrus. High acidity rounded by the fruit and a little residual sugar. Bitter finish with a hint of nuttiness. A Soave very much in the mould of Pieropan’s or Imana’s basic bottlings. (Buy again? Sure.)
Roero Arneis 2010, Mauro Sebaste ($18.55, 11579986)
100% Arneis. Fermented in stainless steel, aged three to four months in the bottle. Flowery bath powder, then sweet lime, then white peach and crushed leaves; that said, it’s not what you’d call exuberantly aromatic. Dry, smooth and suave on the palate. Initial white fruit turns more acidic and bitter toward finish. Improved as it breathed, gaining crystalline mineral notes. Would make a good aperitif or accompaniment to delicate pasta and fish dishes. (Buy again? Yes.)
Manzoni Bianco 2010, Fontanasanta, Vigneti delle Dolomiti, Foradori ($28.90, 11580004)
100% Manzoni Bianco, a cross of Riesling and Pinot Bianco. Aged 12 months in acacia casks. Sweaty funk on the nose and palate. Medium-bodied. Fruity but dry, with strongish acid and a bitter-edged finish. Fair length. Given the winemaker and the wine’s enthusiastic reception by critics, I was expecting more. Perhaps our bottle was slightly off? (Buy again? Only to give it a second chance.)
No need to hot-foot it to the Big Apple…
…for your obscure Italian varietal hit, Herr Doktor. Not when oenopole’s around, though you may have to wait till summer for the next shipment.
Verduno Pelaverga 2009, Fratelli Alessandria ($24.30, oenopole)
100% Pelaverga. Clear light red. Nose of dusty strawberry candies, light spice (black pepper, cumin), terra cotta, dried wood and a floral note (violets?). A savoury and very dry welterweight. Not particularly fruity, more acidic than tannic. Substrate of dried earth and mineral flavours. Hint of chocolate on the slightly raspy, sour strawberry finish. 13.5% ABV. Lovers of light, tart, savoury Italian reds tailor-made for salume shouldn’t hesitate.
We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming…
…to bring you the following public service announcement.
The dry Tokajis available at the SAQ come in two styles: fresh and bright if somewhat internationalized (see Château Pajzos) or substantial and savoury, wines to contend with (see Oremus). This new arrival falls squarely in the second group. At things stand now, there’s not much in the system; if you’re interested, don’t dawdle.
Tokaj-Hegyalja 2008, Furmint, Löcse, Béres Vineyards and Winery ($23.05, 11607490)
100% Furmint from 30-year-old vines in the Löcse vineyard. Fermented using native yeasts. Aged eight months in 30% new Hungarian oak casks. Did not undergo malolactic fermentation. Filtered before bottling.
Pale gold with a faint green cast. Subtle, complex, elusive nose: peach, ash, fern fronds, quartz. Plump and sweet-seeming at first though actually quite acidic and dry. Fruit fades to a honeyed, minerally finish with an intriguing sourness, a faint but persistent bitter almond note and a WTF?! warming/burning sensation like you get after eating a fiery goulash or chewing a peppercorn. Unique, formidable and pretty fantastic.
Paired nicely with a chicken roasted with cumin and Seville oranges. Can also see it working with pork, veal and white fish.
MWG February 9th tasting: report (2/4)
Burgenland 2008, Blaufränkisch, Szapary, Uwe Schiefer ($47.00, 11515966)
Schiefer, whose last name fortuitously means schist in German, is a former sommelier who decided to get his hands dirty. Located in south Burgenland, a cool-climate region on the Hungarian border, his up-and-coming estate is currently organic but converting to biodynamism. His approach to winemaking is minimalist; “less is more” he says. The grapes for this 100% Blaufränkisch cuvée are grown on a steep schist slope.
Restrained but complex nose of blackberries, herbs, spice (anise seed?) and slate. Burgundian – or maybe Barbarescan – mouth feel. Deeply flavoured (cherry, blackberry, black pepper, minerals) and broad but also supple and fluid. Tingly acid, fine, velvety tannins and a long, caressing finish. My wine of the night. The winemaker says it’s best at four to six years but capable of aging up to ten years. (Buy again? The price gives pause but, bucks permitting, yes.)
Frankovka modrá 2009, Južnoslovenská, Výber z hrozna / Suché, Mavín (c. $15, importation valise)
The name translates as Blaufränkisch 2009, Southern Slovakia, Selected grapes / Dry, Mavín.
Recognizably Blaufränkisch but quite different from the other two wines. Nose of berries, puff pastry and a hint of band-aid with dried blood. Red fruity in the mouth with spice and earthy/slatey notes, light tannins and an astringent finish. A bit simple, short and rustic – as the “importer” rightly pointed out, it tasted less expensive than the other two wines – but enjoyable all the same. (Buy again? At $15 or under, sure.)
Burgenland 2009, Blaufränkisch, Heinrich ($21.05, 10768478)
100% Blaufränkisch from 10 to 25-year-old vines. Fermented in stainless steel tanks, finished in oak vats and used casks. Vino-Lok closure. Straightforward and appealing. Spice, blackberries, baked earth and dried wood on the nose. Red fruit on the palate. Fluid, light and tight with an appealing astringency and lots of acid. Long, dryish, minerally finish. Delicious. (Buy again? Absolutely.)
The world’s most drinkable Xinomavro
Thirty-something Macedonian winemaker Apostolo Thymiopoulos is a rising star in Greece. Wines like this young vine cuvée – unique, full of character, food-friendly and so pound-backable – make it clear why.
Naoussa 2009, Jeunes vignes de Xinomavro, Domaine Thymiopoulos ($17.90, 11607617)
100% organically farmed Xinomavro from five to ten-year-old vines. Fermented with ambient yeasts. Bottled unfiltered (not that you’d guess from its crystalline clarity). Gem-like in the glass: limpid pale maroon with ruby glints. Beguiling nose of candied cherry, sun-baked stone and earth, garrigue-ish scents of dried oregano. Sits lightly on the palate. Sweet fruit intertwines with savoury herbs and spice (unmistakable cinnamon), is buoyed by bright acid and carried along by astringent tannins that run from start to finish. Fair length. A real treat.
The 100-odd cases of the current allocation went on sale at the SAQ earlier this week, and the bottles are flying off the shelves. If you want some, run – don’t walk – to an outlet near you.
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.
Double blind
This evening the friendly wine advisors at my regular SAQ outlet were offering small, double blind tastes of a wine – the leftovers of a bottle they’d opened for a staff tasting earlier in the day – to geeks they thought might be interested. Apparently I fall into that category. With the glass came a series of questions: (1) Is it New World or Old? (2) What country is it from? (3) What grape varieties are involved? (4) How much does a bottle cost?
My tasting note (from memory): Dark, nearly opaque maroon. Nose of red and purple fruit, a little spice and a good dose of oak. Quite rich and round on the palate, though not heavy, with good acidity, ripe tannins, supple fruit and noticeable but not overwhelming oak. A bitter note appears on the longish finish.
I was at the store about ten minutes before closing and had wines to pick up for tomorrow’s tasting, so I didn’t have time for extended reflection. My answers: (1) Because it was fruit- and oak-driven but not gallumphing, either a New World wine made in an Old World style or an Old World wine made in a New World style. (2) Italy, maybe the Veneto, due to the medium weight and that lingering bitterness. (3) No idea. Merlot? Bonarda? (4) Guessing high because of the oak treatment, around $30. (The advisors said several others had guessed Italian and almost everyone had pegged it as costing $25 to $30.)
The wine? Double Barrel 2009, Carone Wines ($55.00, 11506630), a blend of Cabernet Severnyi (92%) and Sangiovese (8%) grown in Quebec’s Lanaudière region. The wine’s name refers to the oak regime: 12 months in new American oak barrels followed by four months in new French oak barrels. Cabernet Severnyi (aka Cabernet Severny) is a Russian-developed red grape variety that, according to The Oxford Companion to Wine, “was created by pollination of a hybrid of Galan × Vitis amurensis with a pollen mixture of other hybrid forms involving both the European vine species Vitis vinifera and the famously cold-hardy Mongolian vine species Vitis amurensis.” According to the wine’s data sheet, the grapes are manually harvested as late as possible, sorted and crushed, then cold-soaked for 24 hours. Fermentation is at controlled temperatures and uses Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast “isolated from the Montalcino region of Tuscany, Italy.” The fermented must is given prolonged maceration on the skins.
I’d actually noticed the wine on the shelf a few days earlier when scouring the outlet for wines for the tasting. I’d rolled my eyes at the massive bottle, the corny name (and in English – talk about adding insult to injury), the implied oak regime and the price, and guessed it would be undrinkable. Well, I was wrong. It’s still pretentiously and unecologically packaged, badly named and oakier than I like, but undrinkable it’s not. And if I and others valuated it at about half its MSRP, only the market will say whether it’s overpriced. Certainly it’s rare (only 1,000 bottles made) and unique (Quebec-grown Sangiovese?!). While I’d never buy a bottle for myself, if the theme of tomorrow’s tasting weren’t affordable wines, a bottle would probably have made its way into the lineup.
Brett happens 