Posts Tagged ‘Ontario’
MWG March 16th tasting: report (3/4)
Wildass Red 2008, Niagara Peninsula, Stratus ($24.00, 11601143)
A hodgepodge of a dozen or so grape varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Gamay, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Tempranillo. Complex if not particularly deep nose: black cherry, shoe leather, turned earth, leaf mould, sawed wood, volatile herbs. Smooth and fluid from start to finish. Structured but not rigid. Spicy fruit, racy acid and a slatey finish. Pure and appealing. One of the most drinkable Ontario reds I’ve tasted; too bad it doesn’t go for $20. (Buy again? Yes.)
Colli Euganei IGT 2006, Gemola, Vignalta ($43.50, 11581074)
Vignalta’s flagship wine. Mainly Merlot with some Cabernet Franc, grown in volcanic soils. Red fruit with notes of tomato paste, cola and tobacco leaf. Medium-bodied, velvet-textured. Rich but vibrant: sweet dark fruit and a touch of vanilla shaped by firm tannins and keen acidity. Long, savoury finish. Lots of class. (Buy again? Quite possibly.)
Toscana IGT 2006, Pergolaia, Caiarossa ($23.55, 11604619)
Biodynamically farmed Sangiovese (90%), Merlot (7%) and Cabernet Franc (3%). Fermented with native yeasts. Sulphur is used minimally and added only after malolactic fermentation. Aged 14 months in neutral barriques and botti. Textbook Sangiovese nose, albeit fresher than a Chianti’s: black cherry, savoury spice and terra cotta with herbaceous and graphite notes. Medium-bodied, with sweet fruit, tight, drying tannins and coursing acidity. Fairly long, tobacco-scented finish. Straightforward, nothing profound but pure and enjoyable. (Buy again? Yes.)
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2001, Vigneto St. Ercolano, Carpineto ($50.00, 11566464)
Sangiovese (85%) with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, all from a vineyard planted in 1995. Fermented in cement vats with indigenous yeasts. Matured 13 months in new French and American oak barrels. Bottled unfiltered in 2003, then cellared for five years before release. Suave nose of plum, cedar, spice and cigar box. The fruit starts smooth and silky but dries on the leathery finish. The lightly astringent tannins are mostly resolved. Not much depth or dazzle for a $50 wine. (Buy again? Unlikely.)
MWG March 16th tasting: report (2/4)
Dogliani Superiore 2007, Bricco Botti, Pecchenino ($30.50, 11605494)
100% Dolcetto. Macerated on the skins for 25 days at 28ºC, matured 24 months in large oak casks. Nose of sawed wood, black cherry, forest floor and a faint resin note that, with the cherry, had some tasters declaring “Robitussin.” Plush texture with light but firm tannins. The rich dark fruit hides the alcohol (14.5%) except on the kirschy finish. Impressive in the context of a tasting but I wonder how well it would fare at the dining table. (Buy again? Pricey and not my style, so probably not.)
Dolcetto d’Alba 2010, Fratelli Alessandria ($19.95, 11580186)
100% Dolcetto. Fermented and macerated for six to eight days in stainless steel tanks, matured in stainless steel and cement tanks. Appealing nose of red berries, spice and quartz. Leaner, suppler and fruitier than the Doglaini; purer and more refreshing, too. Raspy tannins kick in on mid-palate. Spice and minerals flavour the clean finish. Just about perfect in its low-key way. (Buy again? Already have.)
Barbera d’Alba 2008, Tre Vigne, Vietti ($25.80, 11580178)
100% Barbera from three vineyards (whence the name). Fermented in stainless steel, matured in Slovenian oak casks, French barriques and stainless steel tanks for ten months. Bottled unfiltered. Velvety cherry, slate and oak on the nose. Smooth and suave in the mouth with rich, dry fruit and soft tannins and acidity. Oaky vanilla marks the long finish. Few around the table objected to the oak but I found it distracting. Barbera doesn’t need to give itself airs. (Buy again? No thanks.)
Pinot Noir 2008, Beamsville Bench, Malivoire ($31.25, 11593614)
100% organically farmed Pinot Noir from three Beamsville vineyards. Fermented in open-top oak vats, then aged in 23% new French oak barrels for 11 months. Screwcapped. Reductive aromas – cedar and plastic – blow off, leaving an earthy nose of red berries and spice. Supple, fluid and lightly tannic, with bright acidity. Fruit is light and not very sweet but obviously ripe. Bitterish/astringent finish. A bit rustic, which only adds to the appeal. (Buy again? All that’s holding me back is the QPR.)
MWG March 2nd tasting: report (2/4)
Venezia Giulia IGT 2008, Red Angel on the Moonlight, Jermann ($27.35, 11035786)
Pinot Noir and possibly a dollop of Merlot. Aged a year in French oak barrels and tuns. Deep burgundy to the eye. Mint, light red berries and a hint of oak on the nose. Medium to full-bodied, dry and silky. Ripe fruit shares spotlight with slatey minerals and oak. Bitterish finish. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Pinot Noir 2009, Unfiltered, VQA Prince Edward County, Hardie Wines ($35.00, LCBO 125310)
Update (12-03-22): This wine (and two others from Hardie’s stable) has just been added to the SAQ catalogue ($38.50, 11638499).
Clear, pale ruby, almost corail. Sour cherry, beet, earth, a little spice. Light, acidic, refreshing despite some woody overtones. Sweetens as it breathes, showing more structure (minerals and fine tannins). Decent finish. (Buy again? Hard to justify from a QPR standpoint but if the price ever drops to $25, sure.)
Breganze 2009, Pinot Nero, Maculan ($18.80, 11580987)
Again, deep burgundy. Cherry – a bit candied – and a hint of smoky tar. Smooth and velvety, the juicy fruit given shape by supple tannins and soft acidity. Not particularly deep, long or Burgundian but at $19, who’s complaining? (Buy again? Sure.)
MWG March 2nd tasting: report (1/4)
While the March 1st release was one of the weakest in Cellier‘s history, it wasn’t totally devoid of interest, as these three wines show.
Thomas Bachelder, the winemaker who got Le Clos Jordanne rolling, has struck out on his own. His latest project is to make Chardonnays and, eventually, Pinot Noirs in the three regions he’s worked in – Burgundy, Oregon and Ontario – all using the same recipe. What better way to illustrate regional differences? For the 2009 Chardonnays, the recipe involved, to the extent possible, organically farmed grapes, native yeasts and 16 months’ aging in mostly neutral barrels. (Much of my information comes from newspaper articles and other blogs, as Bachelder’s website is lacking in technical details.)
Chardonnay 2009, Bourgogne, Bachelder Bourgogne ($34.00, 11584620)
Grapes sourced from vineyards in Puligny, Beaune and Saint-Aubin and vinified at Alex Gambal’s facilities. Classic Burgundian nose of chalk, minerals, lemon and oats. Dense and winey texture (millésime oblige) but with enough acidity to keep the wine taut and bright. The dry fruit (mostly citrus and stone) is shot through with minerals, and a faint lactic note fades in and out. The finish is long. The wine seems to retreat as it breathes, probably a sign that it needs another year or two in the bottle. (Buy again? Yes, but…)
Chardonnay 2009, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Bachelder Niagara ($33.75, 11584857)
Grapes from the Beamsville Bench, vinified at Southbrook. Lemon and tropical fruit. Rounder in the mouth – the fruit riper, the acid lower – than the other two wines. A hint of residual sugar adds to the New World feel. Minerals, such as they are, and a little spice emerge on the sustained finish. Friendly and likeable if, to my palate, less attention-worthy. Ready to go. (Buy again? Yes, but…)
Chardonnay 2009, Willamette Valley, Bachelder Oregon ($34.00, 11584814)
Vinified at Lemelson Vineyards. Closed nose: hints of coral and coconut. A mass of minerals surrounding a core of dense fruit (yellow and green apple above all). Lively acid. Quartzy finish with a whey – eventually butter – note. Perhaps the least immediately appealing of the three but also in ways the most intriguing. (Buy again? Yes, but…)
The wines were served blind. That several tasters unhesitatingly pegged the first as Burgundian attests to its typicity. All three had their partisans among the tasters, with fans of New World wines tending to coalesce around the Niagara even before it was unveiled.
Why the “yes, but…” then? In a word, price. For $35, a single loonie more, you can buy a bottle of Pattes Loup’s 2009 Chablis 1er cru Beauregard, a classier and far more enthralling Chardonnay. And tellingly, even without that benchmark in mind, when the tasters were asked what they’d be willing to pay for their favourite of the Bachelder Chards, most said $25.
Brett happens 