Posts Tagged ‘Piedmont’
Introverso di Langhe
Langhe 2013, Dolcetto, Silvio Grasso ($19.75, 12062081)
100% Dolcetto from 15- to 20-year-old vines. Still not listed on the producer’s website. According to the Quebec agent, the farming leans “natural” (organic fertilizers, manual weed control) and the wine is fermented and macerated on the skins for four to five days and matured for seven to eight months, all in stainless steel tanks. Sulphur use is said to be low. 14% ABV per SAQ.com, 12% per the label. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Shy nose of earth, slate, sandalwood and plum skin with hints of raw red meat and blueberry yogurt. Equally restrained in the mouth: less vibrantly fruity than the San Luigi, quite dry and savoury. Sleek acidity lends a welcome brightness. The tannins seem quite tame until you vigorously chew the wine, at which point they gain a velevty rasp and add an astringent edge to the faintly bitter finish. Not a smiling wine, which is not to say dour but rather brooding, inward-looking. Passing through a closed phase? In any case, it’s as inscrutable as the 2012 was. (Buy again? A bottle or two to cellar for a few years?)
Estroverso di Dogliani
Dogliani 2011, San Luigi, Chionetti Quinto ($19.20, 12466001)
100% Dogliani (aka Dolcetto) from vines averaging 20 to 25 years old. Manually harvested. Temperature-controlled fermentation (max 29–30°C) on the skins with indigenous yeasts and daily pump-overs lasted 10 days. The wine was racked into new tanks for malolactic fermentation and 11 months’ maturation. Saw only stainless steel until bottling. Cold stabilized but unfiltered. Around 46,000 bottles made. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Plum skin, red and black licorice, mushrooms stored in a paper bag for a couple of days. Smooth and rich, extracted but not weighty. Velvety tannins plush the beautifully pure mulberry fruit, while the fresh acidity turns a little bitey on the dry and drying finish. More upfront than profound – what depth there is is mainly mineral and those minerals are dark – but vibrant and lovely. (Buy again? Definitely.)
MWG November 24th tasting: Barbaresco v. Barolo
Barbaresco 2009, Muncagota, Produttori del Barbaresco ($56.50, 11863223)
The 3.9 ha Muncagota (formerly Moccagatta) vineyard lies east of – and thus further from the river and the warm, fertile valley floor than – the Asili and Pajè vineyards and it faces southeast, toward the cooler morning sun. 100% Nebbiolo. Fermented with cultivated “Barolo” yeasts in temperature-controlled (30ºC) concrete and stainless steel vats. Fermentation and maceration – with regular punch-downs and pump-overs – lasted 28 days. Matured 30 months in large Slavonian oak barrels. Bottled unfiltered and with a small dose of sulphur dioxide. Aged another eight months in bottle before release. 14.5% ABV. 13,333 bottles made. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Such a complex nose for a wine still in its adolescence: truffle, kirsch, plum, turned earth, drying plaster, rose, anise, slate, a whiff of tar. More primary on the palate: a full-bodied, satin-textured mouthful of ripe and chewy fruit, juicy acidity and still-tight, fine-grained tannins. Evolved flavours are just beginning to be hinted at. A faint bitterness gilds the long, heady finish. Can power and elegance be more perfectly balanced? Enjoyable now, especially with extended carafing, but only good will come from another five or ten years in the cellar. (Buy again? Oh, yes.)
Barolo 2009, San Lorenzo, Fratelli Alessandria ($66.00, 11650720)
100% Nebbiolo from a 0.8 parcel of vines averaging 25 years old and grown in the San Lorenzo vineyard in Verduno commune. Manually harvested. Fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and macerated from 12 to 15 days in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Matured six to ten months in 500-litre tonneaux, 22 to 24 months in 20- to 30-hectolire Slavonian and French oak casks and six months in the bottle. 14.5% ABV. Around 4,000 bottles made. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Intertwining threads of fresh (cherry, red currant, fern fronds) and savoury (chocolate, red miso, caramel, iodine, dried beef, old wood) aromas. The palate is dense and structured, the sweet-ripe fruit backdropped by dark minerals and tar and lasting well into the still-astringent finish. Somewhat primary and tasting like it will peak around 2020. True to the estate’s style: less flashy, even a tad more rustic than some but firmly rooted in terroir and tradition. A satisfying wine that almost begs to be consumed with food. (Buy again? Yes.)
(Flight: 4/5)
Salon VIP 2014: Root day at Rézin (7/7)
Monferrato Dolcetto 2010, Bricco della Serra, Bera Vittorio e figli ($36.15, private import, 6 bottles/case)
Known primarily for its Moscato d’Asti, the estate, which has been farming organically since 1964, also makes several still wines. The 100% Dolcetto comes from decade-old vines grown in a one-hectare vineyard. Manually harvested. Fermentation with indigenous yeasts lasts 25 days, maturation on the lees 24 months; both take place in 50-hectolitre lined concrete tanks. No added anything, including, according to Steve, sulphur. Unfiltered and unfined. 13.0% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Fragrant nose of dried rose, mulberry, black cherry, sandalwood and peppery spice. Vibrant and dynamic from the first sip. The ripe fruit and raspy tannins give the wine a velvety texture while the uncommonly bright acidity keeps it fresh and dark minerals add an appealing earthiness. The finish is mouth-filling and sustained. A wine of remarkable breadth and depth, beyond what one normally associates with this grape. Indeed, you could almost fault it for being atypical – too poised, too dimensional, too accomplished for a Dolcetto. Truly one of the standouts of the event. (Buy again? I did, twice, though at the time I thought the price was $32, already more than any other Dolcetto sold at the SAQ. But even at $36 and change, I don’t regret the purchase – I’ve not been this excited about a Dolcetto since forever.)
Dolcetto is usually thought of as the quintessential weeknight pasta and pizza wine. This, however, deserves finer fare. If you’re going the pasta route, think a sauce built around long-braised lamb. Or follow Steve Beauséjour’s suggestion of roasted fowl, which put me in mind of Patricia Well’s guinea hen stuffed with olives, bacon, shallots and thyme (recipe with an accompanying purée of my own invention after the jump).
And, by the way, though our afternoon at the salon ended with visits to the La QV/Insolite and Ward & associés stands, I appear to have misplaced my tasting notes. Not to worry about the former, however, as the upcoming notes on last week’s MWG tasting will show.
MWG September 11th tasting: Barolo di culto
Barolo 2010, Paiagallo, Giovanni Canonica ($71.00, private import, NLA*)
100% organically farmed Nebbiolo from a 1.5-hectare plot in the Paiagallo vineyard, located on the hillside above the town of Barolo. Other producers use grapes from the vineyard in their blends but Canonica is the only one who makes them into a single-vineyard bottling. The grapes are manually harvested, destemmed, macerated and fermented (with indigenous yeasts and without temperature control) for 30 to 40 days in fibreglass tanks, then pressed in a vertical hand press. The resulting wine is transferred into large Slavonian oak botti for maturation. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. No sulphur is added during the winemaking and a tiny amount at bottling. 14.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Glou.
Restrained yet complex nose: red berries, gingerbread and granite dust with some rose and tar in the background. Medium-bodied but mouth-filling. Impressively pure fruit (cherry), bright acidity, firm but fine tannins. Long, intense finish with not a hint of heat. Young and primary but already dimensional and clearly full of potential. This beautiful, earthy yet suave wine has become a cult object among NYC and Boston geeks and it’s easy to see why. For a Barolo of such quality, the price is more than reasonable. (Buy again? A case if I could.)
*In Quebec, there’s a waiting list to get on the allocation list.
(Flight: 9/9)
Dolcetto misterioso
With the 2011 having garnered a rave from Dolcettoman, I’d had an eye peeled for Silvio Grasso’s 2012 Dolcetto for the better part of a year now. But I’d missed its arrival at the SAQ until the Gazette’s Bill Zacharkiw mentioned it yesterday in his must-read article on the trend toward high sugar levels in red wines (the Grasso was, rightly, listed as a wine that bucked the trend).
Technical information on the wine is in short supply. What are the estate’s farming practices? How are the grapes picked? Are they destemmed? Are the fermentation yeasts indigenous or selected? Is the wine filtered, fined or sulphured? The producer and its distributors apparently don’t think its important for the public to know.
Langhe Dolcetto 2012, Silvio Grasso ($18.90, 12062081)
100% Dolcetto from 15 to 20-year-old vines. Not listed on the producer’s website. According to the Quebec agent, it’s fermented and macerated on the skins for four to five days and matured for seven to eight months, all in stainless steel tanks. 14% ABV per the SAQ, 13.5% per the label. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Popped and poured. Changing nose: at various times mulberry, plum, spice (cinnamon?), turned-over log, sawed wood, graphite, old books and whiffs of alcohol. Medium-bodied and very dry. The fruit takes a back seat here, leaves the driving to fine, tight tannins, tickling acidity and a fleet fluidity. An alcoholic kick – not a burn – lifts the lightly astringent finish. Sleek and savoury in a way that Dolcettos normally aren’t. Zacharkiw says “It has the high and the low end, and whatever you eat will fill out the middle.” Let’s agree it’s better with food than without. But I also found it a bit hollow on its own – until I vigorously swirled it in my mouth, that is, at which point it exploded with fruit. That and the fact that it deepened and smoothed as it breathed suggest it may be passing through a dumb phase and that, if opened now, it should be carafed or double-carafed an hour or two. A fine match for spaghetti with pesto rosso and a plate of sliced prosciutto. (Buy again? A bottle or two to continue investigating WTF is up with this wine.)
Declining Dolcetto?
Dogliani 2011, Poderi Luigi Einaudi ($19.95, LCBO 232454)
The first vintage of this wine to bear the Dogliani DOCG designation (earlier vintages were Dolcetto di Dogliani DOC). 100% Dolcetto from ten- to 70-year-old vines growing in the San Giacomo and San Luigi vineyards in the Dogliani zone. Fermented in temperature-controlled (28°C) stainless steel tanks for four or five days with regular pump-overs. Transferred to other stainless steel tanks for malolactic fermentation and eight months’ maturation with repeated rackings. Bottled in the late spring following the harvest. 13.6% ABV.
Constantly evolving nose: blackberry, red currant, earth, pencil shavings, sweet spice, hint of shoe leather and an elusive floral note. Dry, fluid and savoury, with a light but pervasive astringency, fine, velvety tannins and lively acidity (high for a Dolcetto). The sweet-tart fruit twines with slate, ink and old wood flavours and the faintly sour and bitter finish is appetizing in the extreme. On opening, this had me wondering whether it wasn’t the most enjoyable Dolcetto ever. Alas, after 15 or 20 minutes the wine began to flatten out, to lose some of the nuance and vibrancy that made it so special. An early drinker that’s getting a little long in the tooth? Whatever. It was pretty fabulous for a while. (Buy again? Will certainly try to give the 2012 a shot.)
Thanks to Dolcettoman for schlepping the bottle all the way from Ontario.
MWG February 13th tasting (4/5): Baby Barbaresco
An impromptu addition to the lineup. Having had such a positive encounter with the wine at Orange Rouge, I brought a show-and-tell bottle to the tasting room to let the others know of its arrival. “How much extra would it cost to pop the cork tonight?” came the question. “Two dollars each,” was the answer, which elicited a collective “Go for it.” And we did, right then and there.
Langhe Nebbiolo 2012, Produttori del Barbaresco ($24.40, 11383617)
100% Nebbiolo from young vines, all of which are located within the Barbaresco DOC. Fermented with selected “Barolo” yeasts at 28ºC in stainless steel tanks. Macerated on the skins for 24 days. Matured six months in very large oak barrels. No fining, light filtering, minimal sulphur dioxide. 13.5% ABV.
Fragrant nose of cherry, sandalwood, tar and a floral note. A silky middleweight with sleek acidity and edgy tannins that add a light astringency to the long, clean finish. Wood and minerals darken the bright fruit, creating a kind of chiaroscuro effect in the mouth. Remarkable purity, energy and balance. Very similar to the Orange Rouge bottles but coming across as more structured and austere, probably due to the lack of food to soften its tannins and acidity and probably meaning that the wine will benefit from a year or two in the cellar or an hour or two in a carafe. Despite the SAQ’s recent 60¢ price hike, this remains one of the great red wine bargains at the monopoly. (Buy again? By the truckload.)
MWG February 13th tasting (3/5): Three Dolcettos and an impostor
Barbera d’Alba 2008, Bric du Luv, Ca’Viola ($37.75, 11863080)
100% Barbera from vines averaging 65 years old and grown in the Bric du Luv vineyard (the SAQ says 5% of the wine is Nebbiolo but Barbera is the sole variety mentioned on the producer’s spec sheet). Macerated and fermented with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled tanks for 25 days. Matured 16 months in oak barriques and tonneaux (since 2011, 80% of the wine has been matured in large casks and the remainder in second-fill tonneaux to reduce interference from the oak and allow a better expression of terroir). Unfiltered. Around 6,600 bottles made. 14.5% ABV.
Candied plum and black currant, tarry slate and a haze of vanilla. Dense and weighty with a velvety texture, very ripe, very clean fruit, smooth acidity, polished tannins, an inky streak and a long, oak-sweetened finish. Impressive in its concentrated way but not very soulful or refreshing. More is less. (Buy again? Unlikely.)
Dolcetto d’Alba 2012, Augenta, Pelissero ($21.75, 10856793)
100% Dolcetto from 35-year-old vines in the Augenta vineyard. The grapes are macerated and fermented ten to 12 days in temperature-controlled casks with cold-decantation into stainless steel vats. Maturation in 50-hectolitre oak barrels lasts six to seven months. 13.5% ABV.
Brett, then cherry and plum, earth and old wood. In the mouth it’s a very dry middleweight showing dark fruit, sleek acidity and supple tannins. The bitter-edged finish is spoiled by an intrusion of oak, not heavy like the Ca’Viola’s but unintegrated, artificial and out of place for such an otherwise straightforward wine. Could use more depth and personality. (Buy again? Meh.)
Dolcetto d’Alba 2012, Fratelli Alessandria ($20.30, 11580186)
100% Dolcetto from vines averaging 18 years old and grown in various vineyards in the Verduno commune. Manually harvested. Fermented in temperature-controlled (26-28°C) stainless steel tanks for six to eight days. Matured six to eight months in stainless steel and cement tanks and another two months in bottle. Around 8,000 bottles made. 13% ABV.
Graphite dust, red berries, black tea and a floral note. Medium-bodied. Very dry yet intensely fruity. Carried along on a smooth-flowing, slate-bottomed stream of acidity with airframe tannins lightly rasping the finish and a taste of anise lingering long after you swallow. A classic Dolcetto d’Alba and the best vintage of this wine I’ve tasted. (Buy again? Yes.)
Dolcetto di Dogliani 2011, Briccolero, Quinto Chionetti ($22.15, 12131112)
100% Dolcetto from the Dogliani DOCG. Manually harvested. Temperature-controlled (28-30°C) fermentation on the skins with indigenous yeasts and daily pump-overs lasts 14 days. The wine is racked into new tanks for malolactic fermentation and 11 months’ maturation. Sees only stainless steel until bottling. Cold stabilized but unfiltered. Around 38,000 bottles made. 14% ABV.
Fresh, fragrant nose of dark berries, earth and hints of kirsch, flowers, horse sweat, spice. Mouth-filling but fleet. The fruit is up-front, pure and very intense at its core. Rustic tannins add textural interest, while acidity sharpens the long finish. Young, vigorous, even a little feisty, and lots of fun to drink. (Buy again? Done!)
The Barbera was supposed to be Ca’Viola’s 2010 Dolcetto d’Alba “Barturot” ($24.95, 11838431), but I distractedly grabbed the Bric du Luv, which has an identical capsule and a very similar label and was in the cubbyhole under the display bottle of the Barturot. Only when the bottle was unbagged at the end of the flight was the mistake revealed, though it was clear from the first sniff and taste that the Bric du Luv was a different animal from the three other wines.
Sultry Nebbiolo
Langhe Nebbiolo 2011, Prinsìot, Fratelli Alessandria ($28.45, 12131104)
100% Nebbiolo from ten-year-old vines grown in the Verduno commune. The temperature-controlled (27-28°C) fermentation is with indigenous yeasts and lasts six to nine days. The wine then spends 12 months in large French and Slavonian oak botti, two to three months in oak casks and two months in the bottle. 14.5% ABV.
The 14.5% nearly scared me off but I’m glad it didn’t. Heady nose – if the alcohol stands out anywhere it’s here – of cherry, plum and spice with some distant notes of rose, tar and wood. A sip shows the wine to be a middleweight. There may be more concentration and richness than usual but it’s not at the expense of focus or freshness. The fruit is intense and sweet, even a little cordial-like. Bright acidity cuts the glycerinish texture. Finely astringent tannins add welcome grit and dryness. A faint earthiness colours the finish, which, somewhat surprisingly, stays cool though to the end. Better balanced than I expected it would be. Though not a shrinking violet, it remains true to type: this isn’t a Barolo wannabe. (Buy again? If in the mood for a sultry Nebbiolo to accompany a deep-flavoured dish like osso buco with porcini, yes.)
Brett happens 