Posts Tagged ‘Organic’
New-wave Rioja?
Rioja 2015, Tempranillo, Bodegas Moraza ($18.35, 12473825)
100% Tempranillo from organically farmed vines in three parcels with chalky-claey soil around the village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Rioja Alta. In a quest for freshness and lower-than-usual alcohol levels, the grapes are picked (by hand) earlier than at most other estates in the region. Undergoes partial carbonic maceration. Fermented in concrete tanks. Reducing sugar: 1.3 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Boires.
Spiced plum and black raspberry, turned earth, old wood, some leather in the background. On the fuller side of medium-bodied. The spicy ripe fruit seems sweet on entry, an impression that quickly fades, leaving a bone-dry mid-palate. Prominent mineral and faint lactic notes add interest, sleek acidity keeps things fresh. The tannins are stealthy, most apparent on the long finish, which is marked by a light but pervasive astringency, a note pitched between dried tree leaves and dried herbs and a lingering black pepper bite. While there’s not a lot of depth (maybe it’s a young-vine cuvée?), this is a high-quality, complex and savoury sub-$20 wine, albeit one that virtually demands food. Smooths and coheres after an hour’s breathing, so carafing isn’t a bad idea. (Buy again? Yes.)
I’d seen this recent arrival on the monopoly’s shelves but my interest wasn’t really piqued until I read Karyne Duplessis Piché’s profile of the estate in Friday’s La Presse and the companion piece about the attempts of a handful of iconoclast producers to open the Rioja appellation to a more terroir-driven approach.
A Crémant de la Loire and a Prosecco
Crémant de la Loire, Symphonie de la Désoucherie, Domaine de la Désoucherie ($26.00, private import, 6 bottles/case)
A traditional method sparkler made from a 50-50 blend of Menu Pineau (aka Arbois) and Chardonnay from Cheverny. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Mon Caviste.
Quiet nose showing hints of apple, yeast and lees and a floral note. Softly effervescent. More minerally than fruity, with brilliant acidity and an intriguing bitterness on the long finish. Not remarkably complex but very tasty and so refreshing. (Buy again? Yes.)
Prosecco, Amor, Canto alla Moraia ($29.00, private import, 6 bottles/case)
100% Glera from organically farmed vines. The estate is based in Tuscany but, per appellation rules, the grapes for this wine were grown in the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions. The grapes are direct-pressed and the juice immediately separated from the skins. After alcoholic fermentation, the wine is translated to airtight stainless steel tanks for low-temperature secondary fermentation using the Charmat method. Under three bars of pressure. Flip-top stopper. Residual sugar: 14 g/l. 11% ABV. Quebec agent: Mon Caviste.
Hazy light straw and a fine bead. Savoury nose marked by floral, jalapeño, honey and “peaty” aromas but not a lot of fruit. Light, bright and flavourful in the mouth with a fine, tickling fizz, browning apple and pear, a dusting of chalky minerals and a long, faintly sour-edged finish. Drier than the residual sugar level might lead you to believe. Fresh and appetizing. (Buy again? Yes, though I wouldn’t complain if it cost a few dollars less.)
MWG November 10, 2016, tasting: flight 8 of 9
A Pinot Blanc-Auxerrois blend
Alsace 2013, Pinot Blanc, Domaine Pfister ($31.00, private import, 6 bottles/case)
Actually a blend of Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois, probably in near equal proportion, from several small plots of 25-year-old vines on marly Osthoffen hillsides. The estate’s viticultural practices lean organic. The grapes are manually harvested. The juice from the crushed fruit is gravity-fed into stainless steel tanks for fermentation with indigenous yeasts, which can last from three to eight weeks depending on the vintage. Temperature control is limited to avoiding heat spikes. Small doses of sulphur are applied at pressing, post fermentation and at bottling. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Mon Caviste.
Dried white peach, Meyer lemon zest, white flowers. Mouth-filling, even chewy, yet also graceful. Pure-fruited yet also dry and savoury, with mineral underpinnings and crisp but rounded acidity. There’s more depth than one usually associates with this grape and good length too. Delightful if a bit pricey (a while back the wine went for around $23 at the LCBO). The estate appears to be one worth keeping an eye on. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG November 10, 2016, tasting: flight 6 of 9
Tasting champagnes with Pascal Doquet (4/4)
Champagne 2005, Premier Cru, Vertus, Pascal Doquet ($82.25, 13142551)
A new addition to the SAQ’s Doquet lineup. 100% Chardonnay from organically farmed vines from vineyards in Vertus (rich, deep clay over chalk). Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Bottled unfiltered in April 2006. Aged 125 months on lattes. Dosage (with rectified grape must): 4.5 g/l. Disgorged in September 2016. Reducing sugar: 5.5 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Straw coloured with electrum and bronze glints, tiny bubbles and persistent foam. Complex nose of fresh and fallen apples, miso ramen, lees, lemon and a corporal note. So elegant in the mouth. Acid bright on entry and quite substantial. There’s real depth and great poise. Long on flavour (minerals, apple tart, lemon) and feel. Drinking beautifully though still quite young. (Buy again? Gladly.)
Champagne 2005, Grand Cru, Extra Brut, Le Mesnil sur Oger, Pascal Doquet ($98.00, 11787291)
100% Chardonnay from organically farmed old vines from vineyards in Le Mesnil sur Oger (poor clay over chalk). Fermented with indigenous yeasts, 45% in oak fûts and 55% in stainless steel tanks. Underwent malolactic fermentation. Bottled unfiltered in April 2006. Aged 96 months on lattes. Dosage (with rectified grape must): 4.5 g/l. Disgorged in April 2015. Reducing sugar: 5.3 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
The colour of drying hay with white gold glints. Layered, savoury nose of oyster crackers, shrimp shells, lemon, apple, lees, flint and chalk. Rich yet very dry and not exuberantly fruity. Softer effervescence and chalkier minerals than the Vertus. Chewing reveals layers of flavour, depth and complexity. As elegant as it is delicious, this soft-spoken, finely balanced wine has class in spades. If you’re going to drop a C-note on a sparkler, it’s a definite contender. (Buy again? Yes.)
Tasting champagnes with Pascal Doquet (3/4)
Champagne, Grand Cru, Blanc de Blancs, Diapason, Pascal Doquet ($73.25, 12946063)
100% Chardonnay from organically farmed old vines in vineyards in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger (poor clay over chalk). A blend of wines from the 2006 (84%) and 2005 (16%) vintages. Vinified in a enamelled stainless steel tanks (80%) and small, neutral oak barrels (20%). Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Aged 96 months on lattes. Dosage (with rectified grape must): 4.5 g/l. Disgorged in April 2015. Reducing sugar: 5.4 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
A shade golder than the other wines in the tasting. Engaging nose of lees, yeast and subdued white fruit faintly overtoned with white spice and powdered ginger. Dry yet richer than its predecessors. The soft bubbles, sleek acidity and ideal extract confer a beguiling texture. Chalky minerals and subtle, slightly browning fruit last well into the slow-fade finish with its lingering lemon and flint notes. Balanced and complete. Suggesting resonance and harmony, the cuvée name is most appropriate. (Buy again? Yes.)
Tasting champagnes with Pascal Doquet (2/4)
Champagne, Brut, Blanc de Blancs, Horizon, Pascal Doquet ($55.00, 11528046)
100% Chardonnay from organically farmed vines rooted in old chalk and grey marl clay in vineyards in Bassuet and Bassu. A blend of wines from the 2011 and 2010 vintages (two-thirds and one-third respectively). Fermented with indigenous yeasts in enamelled stainless steel tanks. Matured on the lees for four to five months. Bottled unfiltered. Aged 30 months on lattes (the bottles are stacked on their sides with thin strips of wood – think laths – laid between them to stabilize the stacks and minimize damage in the event a bottle explodes). Dosage was with rectified concentrated must. Disgorged in September 2015. Reducing sugar: 7.0 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Also available in magnums ($119.00/1.5 L, 11787304). Quebec agent: oenopole.
Pale straw with green and gold glints, a very fine bead and not much foam. Appealing nose of cookie dough, chalk, faint lemon and a hint of honey. Clean and dry in the mouth, the flavours tending to apple and pear. Acidity and extract are in ideal proportion. There’s fair depth and complexity and a marked mineral component, especially on the long, dry finish. (Buy again? Sure.)
Champagne, Premier Cru, Blanc de Blancs, Brut Nature, Arpège, Pascal Doquet ($64.25, 12024253)
100% Chardonnay from organically farmed vines in vineyards in Vertus (deep clay over chalk), Villeneuve (clayey topsoil over chalk) and Mont-Aimé (sand and chalk). A blend of wines from the 2010 and 2011 vintages (62% and 38% respectively). Fermented and matured on the lees in tanks for four to five months with occasional stirring. Transferred to oak barrels (45%) and stainless steel tanks (55%) for an additional 11 months before bottling. Aged 30 months on lattes. Undosed. Disgorged in February 2016. Reducing sugar: 1.5 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Similar in appearance to the Horizon, though with a slightly greener cast. Complex, evolving nose: citrusy, malic and leesy gaining straw/hay, seashell and preserved lemon notes as the wine breaths. Less fruity and more minerally than its flightmate. Bone dry from start to finish. Sustained but not sharp acidity. Long, rainwatery finish with lingering chalk, flint, lemon and seashells. Lovely. (Buy again? Yes.)
Tasting champagnes with Pascal Doquet (1/4)
In the run-up to the holidays, oenopole invited a number of wine critics, journalists, restaurateurs, sommeliers and bloggers, including me, to a tasting of champagnes from the house of Doquet. The tasting was led by the soft-spoken if loquacious owner-winemaker Pascal Doquet.
Based in Vertus, Pascal has been a winemaker since 1982. After taking the helm of the family estate (Doquet-Jeanmarie at the time), he bought out his sisters’ shares in the estate and created – with his wife Laure – Champagne Pascal Doquet in 2004. Comprising a little under nine hectares of vines, the estate has been certified organic since 2007. Pascal describes his approach to wine-growing as sustainable. The life of the soil is a primary concern, as evidenced by his careful application of homemade compost, avoidance of chemical weed-killers, use of lightweight straddle tractors and manual working of the topsoil around the vine rows.
In the cellar, pressing – always with a pneumatic press – is adapted to the characteristics of each vintage. Only the juice from the first two pressings is used. Fermentation is with indigenous yeasts. After alcoholic and malolactic fermentation, the wines are matured on their lees for, on average, four or five months, then naturally clarified and sometimes lightly filtered before bottling, which happens in spring for the non-vintage cuvées and in late summer or early fall for the vintage cuvées. Dosage is done with concentrated grape must, which Pascal feels is closer to the grape’s natural sugar. The wines tend to be shipped six to 12 months after disgorging.
The tasting began with the house’s rosé.
Champagne, Rosé, Brut, Premiers crus de la Côte des blancs, Pascal Doquet ($66.75, 12024296)
A blend of Chardonnay (85%) and Pinot Noir (15%) from vineyards around the village of Vertus. The soil is mostly deep clay over chalk. The grapes are entirely destemmed. The colour comes from briefly macerating the juice on the skins. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks. Matured 12 months on the lees in large barrels and 24 months in the bottle. Unfiltered. Disgorged in February 2014. Dosage was 6 or 7 g/l, which Pascal intends to lower to 5 g/l in the future. Reducing sugar: 7 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Salmon-orange with a fine bead and head. Yeasty nose of red berries, hard candies and hints of chalk and resinous herbs. In the mouth, it’s fruity yet delicate, ripe-sweet yet fundamentally dry. The effervescence is soft and structuring. Bright acidity swells on the mid-palate. Turns even direr on the long finish with its lingering fruit and mineral flavours. Not a throat-grabber but elegant, refreshing and delicious. (Buy? Yes.)
Austro-Hungarian
Somló 2015, Somlowhite, Meinklang ($24.55, private import, 12 bottles/case)
A blend of Hárslevelü (50%), Juhfark (20%), Olaszrizling (20%) and Furmint (10%) from organically and biodynamically farmed vines grown at the base of the Somló (pronounced shom-low) volcano in southwest Hungary, not far from the Austrian border. The region’s basalt is weathered and topped with loess and light sand deposits, producing a fertile soil. The winemaking – which takes place at the estate’s Burgenland winery on the Austrian side of the border – is non-interventionist, with no additions except, possibly, a tiny squirt of sulphur at bottling. Screwcapped. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV.
Complex nose: chalky minerals, white peach, lemon/lime zest, quince, gooseberry, straw. A sip reveals a wine with a slightly oily texture, spiced quince, apple and pear flavours, a soft buzz of acidity, threads of minerals and herbs and a white peppery sensation of spicy heat. It’s quite dry, especially on the long finish with its intriguing sour/bitter edge. The bottle opened at home seemed a tad less fiery – though no less enjoyable – than the sample tasted at the Salon des vins d’importation privée. Great with cabbage rolls made from fermented cabbage and Hungarian sausage. (Buy again? Gladly.)
Meinklang makes affordably priced natural wines that are always stable, always clean and always loveable. The estate is one of the most ecological and sustainable in the world. Its packaging is fun. Why, then, are this and the other wines in the line (Grüner Veltliner, Blaufränkisch, Blauburgunder, Zweigelt, Saint Laurent, etc.) not available at the SAQ?
By the way, also poured at the Salon VIP were two Meinklang wines aged in 900-litre concrete eggs: Konkret white (Traminer, I think) and red (Sankt Laurent). Amazing, especially the red. The good news is that La QV say they’re going to start bringing in some of the higher-end Meinklang bottlings, including the Konkret cuvées, some of the stunning monovarietal Hungarian whites and oddities like the Graupert (“unkempt”) Pinot Gris and Zweigelt, which are made from grapes from unpruned, untrained vines.
Very Volpaia
Chianti Classico 2013, Volpaia ($26.65, 10858262)
Sangiovese (90%) and Merlot (10%) from organically farmed vines. Manually harvested. Destemmed and lightly crushed. Alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts and twice-daily punch-downs in temperature controlled (80-86F) tanks lasted 14 days. The wine was then left to macerate on the skins for seven more days. After malolactic fermentation, the wine was transferred to Slavonian oak botti for 14 months’ maturation. Lightly filtered. Reducing sugar: 1.6 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Textbook Chianti nose of cherry, dried leaves, tobacco and terracotta. Medium-bodied and silky textured. Lean fruit, bright acidity, Burgundian tannins, a mineral substrate and a drying, bitter-edged finish give it an appealing austerity. Balanced and approachable. (Buy again? Sure.)
Chianti Classico 2013, Riserva, Castello di Volpaia ($36.75, 00730416)
100% Sangiovese from organically farmed vines grown in five vineyards. The grapes from each parcel are vinified separately and the best barrels are blended to make this bottling. Manually harvested. Destemmed and lightly crushed. Alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts and twice-daily punch-downs in temperature controlled (80-86F) tanks lasted 14 days. The wine was then left to macerate on the skins for seven more days. After malolactic fermentation, the wine was matured for two years, 80% in used Slavonian oak botti and French oak casks and 20% in new French oak cask, then blended and lightly filtered. Reducing sugar: 2.0 g/l. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Closed at first but eventually gorgeous: cherry, leather, sandalwood, “terracotta tiles” (per another taster). Lusher than the Volpaia though still medium-bodied. Ripe but not heavy fruit, animating acidity, wonderful minerals and real depth. Quite tannic yet balanced. The oak is discreet (more so than in some earlier vintages, if memory serves), not that I’m complaining. Very long mineral-, leather- and tobacco-scented finish. Pure and structured, rich yet austere in that way that few non-Chianti reds can be. Even better in five to 10 years. (Buy again? Oh, yes.)
MWG October 27, 2016, tasting: flight 6 of 7
Morgon, Morgon, not Morgon
Morgon 2014, Côte de Py, Jean Foillard ($41.09, private import, 12 b/c)
100% Gamay from organically farmed vines between ten and 90 years old and grown in manganese-rich schist and granite. Manually harvested. Whole-cluster fermentation lasts three to four weeks. Matured six to nine moths in used oak barrels. No additives of any kind during the wine-making. Unfiltered and unfined. A minimal amount of sulphur dioxide may be added at bottling. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Aromatic, very Gamay nose: slate, “dried leaves” (per another taster), floral notes and a whiff of earthy funkiness along with the expected red berries. Medium-bodied and satin-textured. A touch of sweet red chile savouries the lush fruit. The frame of light tannins, the illuminating acidity and a vein of dark minerals run from start through the nicely sustained finish. Accessible if somewhat monolithic at this stage, it showed best at the end of the tasting, four hours after it was opened and double-decanted. A couple of years or more in the cellar will do a world of good. (Buy again? Done!)
Morgon 2014, Cuvée Corcelette, Jean Foillard ($38.75, 12201643)
100% Gamay from organically farmed vines averaging 80 years old and grown in sandstone soil. Manually harvested. Whole-cluster fermentation lasts three to four weeks. Matured six to nine moths in used oak barrels and a single 30-hl foudre. No additives of any kind during the wine-making. Unfiltered and unfined. A minimal amount of sulphur dioxide may be added at bottling. Reducing sugar: less than 1.2 g/l. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Nose of red berries, faint spice, horse/leather: similar to the Côte de Py though a shade less complex, outgoing and airy. So fresh, pure, savoury and delicious. Ripe fruit, good structure and length, with the minerals most prominent on the finish. Perhaps a little less dense, more rustic and more open than its sibling though also sure to benefit from being left unopened for a year or three. Is there a better Beaujolais at the SAQ? (Buy again? Yes.)
After we’d finished with the Foillards, one of tasters generously offered to open a new arrival he had purchased on his way to the tasting room. I wondered whether its coming after two top Morgons might show it to disadvantage but I needn’t have worried.
Vin de France 2015, Le P’tit Poquelin, Maison B. Perraud ($22.70, 12517998)
100% Gamay from biodynamically farmed 40-year-old vines. Manually harvested. The whole clusters undergo carbonic maceration for 12 days. No additives, including sulphur. Unfiltered and unfined. Reducing sugar: 1.3 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Raisonnance.
Appealing nose: floral, slate, berries, sap. A bit of spritz on the palate (carafe the wine for hour an hour if that sort of thing bothers you). On the lighter side of medium-bodied. The sweet fruit has a sour edge and is lightly structured by fine, supple tannins and glowing acidity. Sappy, lip-smacking finish. An easy-drinker with real presence. What it lacks in dimensionality and class compared with the Foillards, it makes up for in immediate appeal. The most successful of the three vintages of this wine that I’ve tasted. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG October 27, 2016, tasting: flight 5 of 7
Brett happens 