Posts Tagged ‘Organic’
Terroir or not terroir?
Cheverny 2014, Envol, Domaine des Huards ($19.95, 12748278)
A blend of Gamay (50%), Pinot Noir (42%) and Cabernet Franc (8%) from biodynamically farmed vines. Manually harvested. The fruit is placed directly into tanks for alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts. Halfway through fermentation, the grapes are pressed. Undergoes full malolactic fermentation. Matured several months in tanks. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV.
Reductive at first, then sweet red berries with hints of sandalwood and slate. Supple, pure and nicely tart. The ripe red fruit sits on slate and is appealingly streaked with green. The slender tannins become a little more prominent on the lip-smacking finish. A refreshing easy-drinker best served cool, this could well be my go-to red this summer. (Buy again? Done!)
Cheverny 2014, Le Pressoir, Domaine Des Huards ($24.00, 11154021)
An 80-20 blend of Pinot Noir and Gamay from biodynamically farmed vines. The grapes are transferred to the vats without pumping. Alcoholic fermentation – with native yeasts – takes place at temperatures up to 30ºC and lasts about a week. The wine is then gently pressed, racked, allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation, oxygenated and racked again with bottling taking place in April or May. The only non-grape product added is small amounts of sulphur dioxide. Reducing sugar: 2.0 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV.
“Salty-savoury” nose of red fruit, mincemeat and some flinty minerals. Light and juicy in the mouth. Supply structured with tart acidity and fine tannins. Finishes with a cranberry-mineral tang. Probably the best Pressoir since the legendary 2006, though it still doesn’t have the full-on Pinot character that made the earlier wine such a delight. (Buy again? Yes.)
Beamsville Bench 2013, Pinot Noir, Hidden Bench ($35.50, 12582984)
This is the Estate bottling. 100% Pinot Noir from three parcels. Manually harvested. Cold-soaked for five days. Fermented with indigenous yeasts with manual punch-downs three to four times a day. The fermented, free-run juice was gravity fed directly into barrels and the skins were pressed in a basket press. Maturation in French oak barrels lasted around 16 months. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. Reducing sugar: 1.9 g/l. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Le Maître de Chai.
Your typical Pinot mix of red berries, cola and red beet along with oak, sweet spice and a faint chemical note that one taster likened to epoxy. Richer than the Pressoir. Tighter too, with firm tannins and sustained acidity. The fruit is forward though not to excess. Oak flavours dominate – some might say spoil – the finish for now but the wine is young. Pitched between Burgundy and New World, this is suave if a little pricey (too bad it’s not under $30). If you wanted to pick nits, you might note that, however well made, it seems a bit anonymous, doesn’t display terroir in the way that many red Burgundies or even the two Huards do. Then again, that may be why the estate’s flagship line is dubbed the Terroir Series. (Buy again? A bottle to cellar for a year or two to see if the wine digests the oak.)
MWG March 31st tasting: flight 4 of 6
Anticlimax
Quincy 2013, Siam, Domaine de la Commanderie ($18.95, 12748219)
100% Sauvignon Blanc from vines at least 15 years old. Mechanically harvested. The must is cold-settled for 8 to 10 hours. Fermented in temperature-controlled (18-20°C) tanks with regular stirring. Matured 10 months on the less. Sees only stainless steel until bottling. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Balthazard.
An echt Sauvignon Blanc nose of gosseberry, flint and kiwi segues into dessicated coconut and unripe pineapple or, as one taster put it, “umbrella drink zone.” In the piehole, it’s medium weight and citrusy with crisp-bordering-on-mordant acidity that’s softened by the rich, extracted texture (the must reportedly spends some time on the skins). The honey note adds interest but the kind of dazzling minerality found in some Loire Sauvignon Blancs is absent here. A decent but unexciting wine that doesn’t quite live up to the hype (three Hachette stars, for example), though it may well show better with food. (Buy again? Meh.)
Montsant 2014, Vespres Blanc, Josep Grau Viticultor ($26.45, 12782177)
Grenache Blanc (90%) and Sauvignon Blanc (10%) from organically farmed vines averaging 32 years old. The manually harvested grapes are pressed for 12 hours. The resulting must is transferred to 2,000-litre oak casks for fermentation with indigenous yeasts and five months’ maturation on the lees. Reducing sugar: <1.2 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Vintrinsec.
Odd nose, described variously as “faintly acrid,” “banana medicine” and “tea tree oil.” The strangeness continues in the mouth, where the wine’s initial (apparent) sweetness is countered by bright acidity and contradicted by a dry finish with a light touch of astringency that has me thinking of alum. And yet a taster rightly sums up the wine as “very flat.” Add the lingering note of dishwasher detergent and you’ve got a bottle best avoided. Could ours have been off? (Buy again? Based on this showing, no.)
MWG March 31st tasting: flight 2 of 6
Fizzle
Crémant du Jura 2011, Délire des Lyres, Zéro, Les Chais du Vieux Bourg ($31.95, 12814221)
Based in Arlay but with additional vineyards in Poligny, L’Étoile and Château-Chalon, the four-hectare estate was founded in 2003 by former architect Ludwig Bindernagel and Nathalie Eigenschenck. All work in the vineyard is done manually. While not officially organic, the estate does not use insecticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers and expects to obtain biodynamic certification in a few years. This traditional method, undosed sparkler is made 100% from Chardonnay grapes (per the SAQ; some claim it contains 10% Savagnin) from 30-year-old vines. The individual parcels are vinified separately. The grapes are manually harvested, pressed in a wooden press and fermented in large oak barrels. The resulting wine is given extended maturation on its lees. Added sulphur: 3 g/hl. Reducing sugar: 1.5 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Ward et associés.
Attractive nose of browning pear and apple, honey, minerals and faint yeasty brioche notes. In the mouth, it’s medium-bodied, tightly wound and very dry, with very fine bubbles producing an almost prickly sensation. Tending to apple and citrus, the mineral-dusted fruit is “less rich than the nose suggests” (quoting another taster). Despite the effervescence and bracing acidity, the wine is oddly inert on the mid-palate. Fairly long with a bitter aftertaste. A second bottle tasted three weeks later was identical. (Buy again? Maybe a bottle to cellar for a year or two to see if we caught it during a dumb phase.)
Expectations around this bottle – a naturalish, no-dosage sparkler from a new-to-us but highly regarded producer in one of our favourite wine regions and represented by one of our favourite agencies – were high. Which made its lacklustre showing all the more disappointing. Not that the wine was bad. Far from it. But no one around the tables thought it represented good value when you can get, say, Baud’s Brut Sauvage for under $24 or Tissot’s basic crémant for $28 and change.
MWG March 31st tasting: flight 1 of 6
Liracal
Lirac 2012, Jean-Paul Daumen ($29.45, 11873211)
Grenache (60%), Syrah (30%), Mourvèdre (5%), Cinsault (5%) from purchased grapes grown according to Daumen’s specifications (as of 2010, the vineyards were converting to organic farming). Like the other wines in the Daumen line, this is made in the Vieille Julienne cellars. Vinification is essentially the same for all Vieille Julienne/Daumen wines: hand-picking and repeated sorting of grapes; partial destemming; temperature-controlled fermentation with indigenous yeasts; extended maceration; approximately 12 months’ aging in foudres and neutral barrels; no filtering or fining; sulphur added – and then minimally – only just before bottling. Reducing sugar: 2.2 g/l. 14.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Brooding, evolving nose: plum, raspberry, black pepper, game, dried herbs, granite dust, pencil shavings, violets… Full-bodied, velvety and sauve, as savoury as it is fruity and very dry. Finely structured: the lightly astringent tannins are fruit-cloaked until the finish, the acidity glints against the dark fruit and minerals. Layers include spice, meat, old wood, cocoa, slate and a briny tang and last well into the persistent finish. The alcohol adds power, not heat. Enjoyable now, especially if carafed an hour or two in advance, but still a little primary. Will be interesting to revisit in five years. (Buy again? Yes.)
Green dream
IGT Terre Siciliane 2014, Vignaverde, Marco De Bartoli ($26.90, 12755152)
This is the second vintage of the wine and the first vintage sold at the SAQ (the 2013 was available through the private import channel). 100% Grillo from organically farmed 20-year-old vines grown in the Samperi vineyard. Manually harvested and gently pressed, the grapes were picked earlier than is the case for the fruit used to make the estate’s Marsalas and oak-aged Grillo (late August as opposed to early September), the idea being to produce a fresher wine. The must was chilled and clarified by settling for 48 hours, then fermented with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled 50 hl stainless steel tanks. Matured on the lees for six months, also in stainless steel tanks. Sulphur use is kept to a minimum. 11.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oneopole.
Wafting nose of honey-dipped apple, lemon peel (pith included), sour pineapple and chalk dust. Medium-bodied, smooth and fluid. The flavours are gorgeous and unassertive – this is a wine drawn in pastels – a cross between a lemon and an apple, say, with some pear notes chiming in on the finish. A mineral underlay adds savour while delicate acidity keeps everything fresh. Limestone, chamomile and the faintest hint of anise linger long. So suave and drinkable, a beaut. (Buy again? If only I could but it’s virtually gone from the island.)
As an accompaniment, the winery suggests “whole wheat pasta dishes, sea bass rolls [or] Sicilian truffle from Hyblaean Mountains,” all of which sound good to me. That said, this seemingly mild-mannered wine proved the best pairing yet for a darkly flavourful Sicilian rabbit stew whose ingredients include onion, celery, parsnip, olive oil, bay, pine nuts, golden raisins, garlic, fennel seed, vinegar, sugar and chocolate. Go figure
Sangiovese purissimo
Chianti Classico 2013, Riecine ($28.25, 00134833)
100% Sangiovese from organically farmed grapes averaging 25 years old and rooted in limestone and clay in a 450-500 m high vineyard located near Siena. The estate is converting to biodynamic farming. Manually harvested. The destemmed grapes were placed in shallow bins, crushed by foot, then transferred to open-top vats and cement tanks for 40 days’ maceration and fermentation with indigenous yeasts. The grapes were pressed and the wine was transferred to a mix of cement tanks, used casks and big wooden barrels for 18 months’ maturation during which the wine is racked every four months. Residual sugar (per the winery): < 0.5 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Balthazard.
Lovely nose: cherry, terracotta, leather, pencil shavings, blond tobacco. In the mouth, medium-bodied, very dry and nicely balanced, restrained but not austere. The ripe-sweet fruit is remarkably pure, aglow with acidity. Sleek tannins coat the teeth and gums with a light, lingering astringency. There’s some mineral depth (more may come with time) and a long spicy finish. That the wine blossomed when chewed and was best three hours after carafing indicates a certain development potential. (That said, a glass from a bottle opened 24 hours earlier was faintly oxidized and considerably less charming.) It may not be an archetypical Chianti – the weight and texture are positively Burgundian while the fruit, so direct in its expression, seems closer to a fine Brunello’s – but if you’re a Sangiovese fan, you don’t want to miss this elegant wine. (Buy again? Absolutely.)
Odds and ends
The tasting technically ended with the preceding flight. But, as noted earlier, Steve is irrepressible. So when the Chocalán prompted someone to inquire about the reds from a Chilean producer in Rézin’s portfolio, Steve excused himself and reappeared a few minutes later with a bottle of one of those reds as well as a couple of newly arrived private imports.
Named after one of Montreal’s more dynamic young chefs, the Valle del Maule 2013, Cuvée Charles-Antoine, Louis-Antoine Luyt ($73.15/1500 ml, private import, 6 bottles/case) is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (55%) and Carignan (45%) from 70-year-old vines growing in the commune of Cauquenes. The grape varieties were vinified separately and matured five months in stainless steel tanks. 15% ABV. The complex nose of cassis, plum and savoury herbs comes with a musky/horsey note. In the mouth, the wine is rich and glyceriny yet fluid, heady but not hot. Finely structured by firm but far from rigid tannins and bright acidity, the ripe-sweet fruit is overtoned with red pepper and spice while the finish is long, clean and minerally. (Buy again? Sure.)
The Bordeaux 2014, Château de Bellevue ($28.72, private import, 6 bottles/case) is 100% Sauvignon Gris from a 1.5 ha plot of organically farmed vines averaging 35 years old and grown in the Lussac Saint-Émilion appellation. The manually harvested grapes were directly pressed. The must was fermented with indigenous yeasts and occasionally stirred during maturation on the lees. The unfiltered wine was bottled in early March 2015. 13% ABV. Classy nose of ripe white fruit with honey and anise notes. Lively and refreshing in the mouth, the fruit remarkably clean and pure. Minerals and citrus mark the long finish. A delight. (Buy again? Yes.)
And lastly, a red from the maker of the Montlouis we enjoyed earlier in the tasting: Chinon 2014, Le Dolmen, Jaulin Plaisantin ($21.30, private import, 12 bottles/case). The fruit for this 100% Cabernet Franc comes from organically farmed vines. Manually harvested. Gently pressed, macerated, fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and matured on the fine lees for six months in concrete tanks. The only additive is a tiny squirt of sulphur (20 mg/l) at bottling. 12.5% ABV. Lovely nose of red and black berries, spice, earth and a faint herbaceousness. A sip tells you this is Chinon done in a highly drinkable style: forward fruit, bright acidity, lightly astringent tannins and a clean, minerally finish. Seems a bit hollow on the mid-palate though both Steve and I think that’s a passing phase. Lightly chilled, this will be a great summer sipper. (Buy again? A refreshing, organic, private import Chinon for a shade over $21? Yes!)
Rézin is the Quebec agent for all three wines.
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 7 of 7
Cambon bonbon
Beaujolais 2014, Château Cambon ($45.00/1500 ml, private import)
100% Gamay from organically farmed old vines in a vineyard located between Morgon and Brouilly. The grapes are manually harvested and the various parcels are vinified separately. Carbonic maceration takes place in enamel-lined tanks. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and with or without pump-overs, as decided by the winemaker. The wine is transferred to very old foudres for maturation on its lees. After settling, the cloudy part of the wine is lightly filtered. Unfined and bottled with little or no added sulphur. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Red currant, strawberry, and vine sap against a mineral backdrop. Classic if hefty for a simple Beaujolais. Deliciously ripe and juicy fruit upfront and a little earth in back. Silky texture and light but solid structure (fresh acidity, supple tannins) with just enough bite. The tangy finish leaves you thirsty for another sip. Compared with other Lapierre wines, Cambon can sometimes seem earthbound; this eminently drinkable 2014 is excellent, however, and – appellation oblige – delivers great QPR. (Buy again? Yes.)
Standard 750 ml bottles the wine can be found at the SAQ: $21.65, 12454991. Magnums are also slated to go on sale at the monopoly in September at $49.50 a shot (blame the lousy exchange rate).
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 5 of 7
Not your ordinary champers
Something of a cult producer – they’re currently accepting no new clients – Vouette et Sorbée has been making idiosyncratic champagnes since 2001. The estate is located in the village of Buxières-sur-Arce, which is geographically, geologically and maybe even spiritually closer to Chablis than to the champagne capital of Épernay.
Champagne 2011, Cuvée Fidèle, Vouette et Sorbée ($76.73, private import, 6 bottles/case)
A blanc de noirs. 100% Pinot Noir from organically and biodynamically farmed vines rooted in Kimmeridgian marl. The manually harvested grapes are gently pressed. The free-run juice is transferred to 400-litre oak casks for fermentation (with indigenous yeasts) and maturation. Undergoes malolactic fermentation. Indigenous yeasts are used for primary and secondary fermentation. The wine is aged on its lees on lattes (stacked in piles with small pieces of wood inserted between the bottles to prevent them from moving) and riddled on racks. This is nearly all 2011 except for a dollop of reserve wines. Sulphur dioxide is added to the incoming grapes but not at bottling. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Extremely complex nose: miso, black pepper, “apples on the floor of the orchard” (quoting another taster), roasted white meat, barley sugar and more as the wine breathes. Dry and intense on the palate. The effervescence is light and fine but also very insistent. The remarkably pure fruit tends to red berries and apples, is grounded in chalky minerals and coloured by spice and umami notes. Lively acidity adds tension that relaxes only on the long finish with its lingering spice and brioche flavours. Not so much a vin plaisir as a vin de contemplation and quite unlike any other champagne I’ve tasted. Next time I’ll carafe it a couple of hours before serving. (Buy again? Yes.)
Champagne 2012, Saignée de Sorbée, Vouette et Sorbée ($124.85, private import, 6 bottles/case)
A rosé champagne. 100% Pinot Noir from organically and biodyamically farmed vines averaging 22 years old. More than three-quarters of the vines are planted on Kimmeridgian hillsides, the remainder in fragmented Portlandian limestone. Manually harvested. Made using the saignée method with extended carbonic maceration. Vinified in 400-litre oak casks. Undergoes malolactic fermentation. Indigenous yeasts are used for primary and secondary fermentation. The wine is aged on its lees on lattes and riddled on racks. Sulphur dioxide is added only to the incoming grapes. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Strawberry carpels, miso, cooked rhubarb, pastry cream, apple peel and more. In the piehole, the wine is weighty but not heavy, textured by a fine, soft bead and mouth-watering acidity. Once again the fruit is as savoury as sweet and intertwined with minerals. Pink grapefruit, including the pith, is joined by spice and umami notes on the long finish. Continues evolving in the glass; I suspect this, too, would benefit from an hour or two in the carafe. Complex and fascinating, a rosé to contend with. (Buy again? When my boat comes in…)
These showed much better than the 2007s that the group tasted in December 2010. Or maybe our palates have evolved. In fact, at one point during the tasting, I found myself wondering whether the adage about vin jaune didn’t also apply here: you don’t appreciate it until your third encounter.
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 4 of 7
Only a little cray
Montlouis 2014, Le Petit Cray, Jaulin Plaisantin ($31.60, private import, 6 bottles/case)
The estate’s name is the conjoined family names of its two owner-partners. Chinon and Montlouis are made and 2011 was the first vintage. The fruit for this 100% Chenin Blanc comes from organically farmed vines averaging 50 years old. Manually harvested. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Matured in neutral 600-litre oak barrels. Lightly filtered before bottling. No additives except a small squirt of sulphur dioxide at bottling. Residual sugar: 2 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Attractive nose exhibiting a range of fruit aromas described variously as membrillo, “mango” and “guava jelly” along with chalk and honey. Smooth and round in the mouth with the faintest touch of carbon dioxide spritz. So ripe the attack seems off-dry though the wine is actually quite dry. That said, the fruit is more subdued than on the nose, tending to apple and pear, and joined by threads of lemon verbena and white minerals. While mild, the acidity is sufficient to do the trick. The finish is long and clean. Lovely with a last slice of raw scallop dusted with Madagascar pepper and quite compatible with the sheep milk cheeses. Well made and enjoyable, this is still a youngster albeit a very approachable one; if I were a restaurateur, I’d be offering it by the glass. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 3 of 7
Brett happens 