Posts Tagged ‘Provence’
Classy Cassis
Cassis 2012, Clos Sainte Magdeleine ($28.50, 12206129)
A blend of Marsanne (50%), Ugni Blanc (25%), Clairette (20%) and Bourboulenc (5%) from organically farmed 20- to 30-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Destemmend and crushed before pressing, which is pneumatic. The juice is transferred by gravity to a temperature-controlled stainless steel tank, where it is chilled and clarified though settling, then fermented at 17°C. Malolactic fermentation and 14 to 18 months’ maturation follow. 12.5% ABV.
Discreet nose with hints – but only hints – of white flowers, honey, quartz, white pepper and dried herbs. Rounder and weightier than the SAQ’s only other Cassis, the Clos d’Albizzi, but still fresh and appealing, albeit in that elusive way of some northern Rhône whites. The ethereal fruit is quince-like and scattered with dried lemon zest. Sustained if unassertive acidity, a definite saline streak and a bitter-tinged finish round out the picture. Inscrutable on its own, this really needs food – bouillabaisse or grilled seabass with a squirt of lemon juice and drizzle of olive oil, for example – to show its mettle. First-rate if a little pricey (the appellation is small and demand for its wines is high). (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG March 20th tasting (3/7): Simoneized
Trying to get a definitive answer as to which grape varieties in which proportions are used to make Château Simone’s wines is an exercise in frustration. Why this should be the case for such a renowned estate is anybody’s guess.
VDP des Bouches-du-Rhône 2011, Les Grands Carmes de Simone, Château Simone ($43.50, 11822430)
A blend of Clairette, Ugni Blanc and Viognier (80%, 10% and 10% respectively according to some) from vines averaging more than 30 years old. Manually harvested. Lightly crushed, partially destemmed, pressed in a vertical hydraulic press. Matured on the lees in small oak foudres. Clarified by settling and racking. 13.5% ABV.
Fresh and charming nose marked by candied lemon, peach, pineapple, floral and mineral scents. A rich yet fleet middleweight in the mouth. Fruity but dry, with acidity providing energy, minerals depth and a faint bitter undertow intrigue – all buoyantly sustained from entry to finish. Remarkable purity and balance for what is pitched as an easy-going early drinker. (Buy again? Yes but…*)
Palette 2010, Château Simone ($57.00, 11556266)
Clairette (80% by most accounts) with small amounts of Grenache Blanc and a dash of Ugni Blanc and/or Bourboulenc and/or Muscat Blanc from vines averaging more than 50 years old. Manually harvested. Lightly crushed, partially destemmed, pressed in a vertical hydraulic press, with the press cake broken up manually. Lightly clarified by settling. Fermented 15 to 20 days in small wooden vats at 20°C with indigenous yeasts. Does not undergo malolactic fermentation. Matured 18 months in 50- to 60-hectolitre oak foudres, six of which are on the lees (no stirring), and another year in casks. 13.5% ABV.
More serious and somewhat closed nose of fired minerals, flowers and dusty lemon with a whiff of pine resin. Light on entry but gaining dimension, including weight, as it progresses through the mouth. At all times complex, layered and evolving. The kaleidoscopic if subtle flavours include white peach, quince, linden and fennel. Deceptively smooth on the surface, it’s actually quite structured, even tense, underpinned by acidity and buttressed by minerals. The texture turns waxy on the long, vaporous, honey- and nut-inflected finish. Such finesse, depth and balance point to a certain ageing potential, though it’s plenty delicious now. (Buy again? Yes.)
*Delicious as the Grands Carmes was, most around the table felt that if you are going to push the boat out, you should push it all the way out and plunk down another $14 for the magnificent Palette.
Bringing the food to the wine
Had a rib steak in my shopping bag when I happened upon this new arrival. My recipe for bringing the two together is after the jump.
Bandol 2009, Domaine de Souviou ($28.45, 12108377)
100% Mourvèdre. Picked by hand and destemmed. Fermentation takes place at 28 to 30ºC and maceration lasts 15 to 28 days, depending on the vintage. There are two pumpovers and one punchdown a day. The wine is matured in oak barrels. 14% ABV.
Complex aromatics: sun-baked earth, garrigue, pencil shavings, black raspberry, plum, faint new leather and black pepper, hint of kirschy alcohol. On the palate, the wine seems introverted. It’s a silky-textured middleweight, well balanced and finely structured, but the tannins are very tight. Very dry and savoury, not at all fruity. The long, mildly astringent finish has a leather note. Unsmiling when first opened, it smoothed, rounded, deepened and even sweetened with time in a carafe. Still, the rigid tannins indicate it needs a few more years to reach maturity. (Buy again? Sure.)
MWG June 20th tasting (4/8): A $55 rosé lives up to the hype
Palette 2012, Château Simone ($55.00, 11657489)
The SAQ lists the varieites as Grenache (50%), Mourvèdre (30%) and Cinsault (20%). The château’s website says Grenache (45%), Mourvèdre (30%), Cinsault (5%) and “secondary varieties” (20%) including Syrah, Castets, Manosquin, Carignan and assorted Muscats, though it’s not clear whether they’re talking about the vines in the vineyard or the grapes in the blend (I suspect the latter). Manually harvested and sorted in the field and again in the winery. Lightly crushed and partially destemmed. Pressed using a vertical hydraulic press. The press juice is blended with some saignée juice, usually in a 2:1 ratio. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Matured on the fine lees in small oak barrels. 13.5% ABV.
Deep orange-pink bordering on red. Slow to open but eventually offering a prismatic array of aromas: dusty herbs, spice chest, raspberry, cherry, yellow stone fruit, mandarin orange, flowers, hints of earth and smoke. Round and winey yet buoyant, fruity yet dry. Savouried by garrigue, minerals, threads of powdered ginger, saffron and licorice. Primary at first but revealing layer after layer as it breathes. Possessed of every dimension, in particular volume, not to mention balance and finesse. A favourite of nearly everyone around the table, this was the only bottle drained of the 14 in the tasting. As it was still developing after two hours in the glass, it will surely benefit from a year or two in the cellar. That said, the cork is as long and sound as a first growth Bordeaux’s, lending credence to claims that the wine is capable of aging a decade or longer. The very definition of a vin gastronomique and able to stand comparison with the finest reds and whites in the same price range. The world’s best still rosé? (Buy again? Yes (gulp).)
If you’re thinking about taking the plunge, the SAQ is offering 10% off all rosés, beers and coolers this Saturday and Sunday, June 29 and 30.
MWG May 16th tasting (2/5): Pink Bandol
Bandol 2011, Moulin des Costes, Domaine Bunan ($22.75, 11937974)
Organically farmed Cinsault (40%), Mouvèdre (35%) and Grenache (25%). Manually harvested. Directly pressed. The grape varieties are separately fermented in stainless steel vats for about two weeks. The wines are blended at the end of January and bottled in March. 14% ABV.
Spicy red grapefruit, nectarine and a little garrigue. Fairly dense and round. Quite dry. Minerals upfront, the fruit more in the background. Long, bitter-edged finish. Savoury and dimensional, a food wine, not a sipper. (Buy again? Yes.)
Bandol 2011, Cuvée India, Dupéré Barrera ($24.95, 11900805)
The first vintage of the pink version of this wine. Mourvèdre (60%) and Cinsault (40%). Manually harvested and sorted. The Mourvèdre is macerated one hour and then “bled” from the vat. The Cinsault is directly pressed. Fermented at low temperature. Matured seven months in stainless steel tanks. No malo, so filtered before bottling to prevent spontaneous malolactic fermentation in the flask. 13% ABV.
Minerals, dried herbs, subdued fruit and a whiff of alcohol. Fruitier and sweet-spicier than the other two rosés but in every other aspect lighter, rainwatery even. For several people around the table, this was the wine of the flight, but I found it one-dimenional. (Buy again? Probably not, especially given the price.)
Bandol 2011, La Bastide Blanche ($23.95, 11945317)
Biodynamically farmed Mourvèdre (60%), Cinsault (20%) and Grenache (20%). Manually harvested. The Mourvèdre is directly pressed, the Cinsault and Grenache are given a 24-hour maceration on the skins. The varieties are fermented separately with indigenous yeast in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. The decision whether to allow malolactic fermentation is made on a parcel-by-parcel basis. Matured between five and ten months before bottling. 13.5% ABV.
Relatively closed nose of stone fruit, red berries, dusty herbs, minerals and a hint of pork/ham juice. Rich, smooth and dry but also fruity (blood orange!) and acid-bright. Some depth and good length, again with a lingering faint bitterness. Appetizing. (Buy again? Sure.)
A flight that didn’t push many tasters’ buttons. “I like rosés but these just don’t do it for me,” said one representative of the majority. As a longtime fan of Bandol rosés, I found them appealing. I suspect part of the problem for some is their austerity: like many Chiantis, these are wines that need food to show themselves at their best. They’ll also benefit from another year or two of bottle age.
Baux? Oui. Beau? Bof.
Les Baux-de-Provence 2005, Château Romanin ($29.95, 10273361)
Like all Baux-de-Provence estates, Romanin is biodynamic. A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Mourvèdre (proportions unspecified by the estate or agent; SAQ.com says 30-30-20-10). The grapes are sorted, destemmed and crushed. Fermentation and maceration take place in stainless steel and wood vats, involve daily punch-downs and pump-overs and last ten to 21 days. Maturation is in similar vessels. 13% ABV.
Deep and alluring bouquet of sweet blackberry and plum with hints of turned earth, terracotta, tree bark, strawberry, garrigue. There’s also a Bordeaux-ish cassis and graphite thing going on. Dense yet fluid on the palate. Shot through with dark minerals and brightened by high acidity, the ripe fruit soon loses its sweetness and gets lost in the formidable structure. The tannins appear soft and resolved at first but assert themselves on the long, astringent, drying finish. Lingering aftertaste of tobacco and licorice. Austere and even a little forbidding, this softened and sweetened some with exposure to air, so carafing an hour beforehand is probably a good idea. And maybe that’s a sign it will benefit from a few more years in the cellar. Still, it doesn’t quite come together in the way you expect a $30 bottle to. Not bad but, relative to earlier vintages, a disappointment. A hunk of red meat (think roasted leg of lamb à la provençale) will show it in the best possible light.
MWG February 21st tasting (3/8): Two Mediterranean whites
Bandol 2011, Domaine La Suffrene ($22.85, 11903491)
The estate was created in 1996. This is the first of its wines to be offered at the SAQ. A 50–50 blend of Clairette and Ugni Blanc from vines averaging 35 to 40 years old. Manually harvested. To increase flavour extraction, the crushed grapes are kept on their skins for 12 hours at 8ºC before pressing (aka maceration pelliculaire). After clarification by settling, the juice is fermented in stainless steel vats for around 15 days at around 19ºC, then racked into other vats for fining and maturation. Filtered before bottling. 13% ABV.
Smells like Provence: preserved lemon, acacia blossom, herbs, pear and mineral. Dry in the mouth with a winey verging on unctuous texture, though the acidity and restraint prevent any heaviness. Flavours tend to garrigue and a faint, pithy bitterness. What fruit there is fades on finish leaving ashy minerals. Not a throat-grabber by any means but classic and elegant. Am anxious to try the estate’s red and pink wines. (Buy again? Sure.)
Corse Figari 2011, Clos Canarelli ($39.25, 11794660)
100% biodynamically farmed Vermintinu (aka Vermintino) from vines planted in 1997. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Allowed to undergo partial malolactic fermentation. Aged mostly in large foudres as well as some old neutral barrels. Lightly filtered before bottling. 13.5% ABV. As far as I can tell, the estate doesn’t have a website; for background, see The Vine Route profile.
Outgoing nose of dried herbs, white fruit, a sprinkling of anise seed, a hint of dried banana and some charry ash. Not fruity but weighty on the palate. Not bone dry either, though the residual sugar is counterbalanced by acidity and a fine bitterness. Long, vaporous finish with lemon and mineral notes. Impressive, imposing, a white to contend with, the very definition of a food wine: Grill a sea bass and, just before it’s finished cooking, toss some dried thyme sprigs soaked in Pernod onto the coals under the fish. Serve with a squirt of lemon and a drizzle of fragrant olive oil. You’re welcome. (Buy again? Yes, with sea bass in hand.)
Procured
Côtes de Provence 2010, Domaine du Clos de la Procure ($23.20, 10783109)
Organic. Mostly old-vine Grenache and Mourvèdre with some Cinsault, Carignan and Syrah according to the estate’s website (SAQ.com says 30% Grenache, 30% Mourvèdre, 20% Carignan and 20% Syrah). Manually harvested. Destemmed then crushed by foot. Fermented in 1,000-litre stainless steel tanks with no added yeasts, acid or enzymes and no pumping over. Daily punch-downs for 12 to 21 days. Pressed in a manual vertical press before blending. Matured in third-vintage oak barrels for 12 to 18 months, depending on the vintage. 13.5% ABV according to the label; 14.5% according to SAQ.com.
Dusty cherry and plum, notes of dry pine forest floor, sandalwood, kirsch. In the mouth, the fruit takes a back seat to briny minerals, fine tannins and a light but a pervasive astringency, though it eventually gains presence and a sour edge. A lactic undercurrent like a suggestion of yogurt nears the surface on the peppery finish. Medium-bodied, smooth-textured, dry and if a little alcoholic, more warming than hot. A food wine best carafed for an hour or two and served lightly chilled. Given the austerity, I’m not sure it’d come out on top in a head-to-head with, say, the Revelette or Béates, but it’s representative of the appellation and made a satisfying match for a Provençal beef stew marinated and cooked in red wine, finished with sautéed mushrooms and perfumed with orange.
Bandol bargain
Last Tuesday at SAT Foodlab, homage was paid to Richard Olney in the most fitting way: convivially with dishes from his cookbooks and excellent Provençal wines. Olney had a special relationship with Domaine Tempier – his Lulu’s Provençal Table documents the Bandol estate’s history and the cooking of its proprietor, who was also Olney’s friend and neighbour – so, naturally, two Tempier wines were being poured on Tuesday: the legendary rosé and the red Classique. (The 2011 rosé lived up to its reputation as one of the world’s best pink wines: both ethereal and present, with depth and substance, balancing acidity, layers of peach, garrigue and minerals and a bitter flourish on the long, rainwater finish.) Also poured, were two red Bandols from Gros’Noré, including the following, newly available at the SAQ.
Bandol 2003, Domaine du Gros’Noré ($36.75, 11553938)
The Pascal family long sold its grapes to other Bandol estates, most notably Pibarnon, but began making its own wine in 1997. Mourvèdre (80%), Grenache (15%) and Cinsault (5%) from sustainably farmed 20-year-old vines. Macerated 15 days and fermented with indigenous yeasts. Spent 18 months in oak barrels. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. 14.5% ABV.
Dark, nearly from rim to rim. Deep, sweet and earthy/trufflely nose that had people oohing at first sniff. Velvety, big-boned, savoury. Ripe plum and blackberry are the dominant flavours, along with licorice, pepper, forest floor as much as garrigue, a hint of leather and a lingering smoky note. Powerful and generous. Fruit-driven but not a bomb.
Red Bandol often doesn’t peak for a decade or two but this is in a good place now. The round tannins are softer than you might expect, possibly an artifact of the 2003 vintage. Mourvèdre thrives on heat, which may explain why, in contrast to most other European wines from that infernally hot year, this is harmonious, with nothing out of whack.
It was interesting to compare the wine with Tempier’s beautiful 2010 “Cuvée classique,” a leaner, sleeker, tighter Bandol with a more Médoc-like structure. By its side, the Gros’Noré seemed warmer, more rustic and artless, a friendly sheepdog to the Tempier’s aloof greyhound. It would be a great bottle to open for drinkers who think they like only New World wines. And it made a fine pairing for Foodlab’s garlicky roasted stuffed lamb shoulder served with mashed potatoes and celery root.
Most of the bottles of Gros’Noré currently available at the SAQ are the 2007 ($33.75, 10884583). Only a few cases of the 2003 are to be found and, if my experience is anything to go by, you’ll have to ask the clerk to fetch you bottles from the back. With this weekend’s 10% discount, the price drops to $33.07, a bargain for a mature Bandol from a top producer.
MWG May 11th tasting: report (3/5)
Sierra Foothills 2010, Vin Gris d’Amador, Terre Rouge ($22.10, 11629710)
Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah, though neither the estate’s website nor the wine’s Quebec rep say in what proportions. This is a saignée method rose, meaning the juice is “bled” from the red wine tanks. Matured in used French oak barrels, like the estate’s white wines.
Dark red-orange-pink. Caramel, dried herbs, spice, nectarine, crab apple. Heavy, cloyingly sweet fruit, insufficient acidity and little depth. Several people around the table were drop-jawed at Phaneuf’s rave (“Sec, minéral, à la fois délicat et persistant et doté d’un très bel équilibre d’ensemble. Bravo !“). (Buy again? Nope.)
Tavel 2011, La Dame Rousse, Domaine de la Mordorée ($24.80, 11629664)
Perhaps the biggest name in the appellation. Grenache (60%), Cinsault (10%), Mourvèdre (10%), Syrah (10%), Bourboulenc (5%) and Clairette (5%) from 40-year-old vines. Cold-macerated for 48 hours before pressing.
Deep pink bordering on light red. Classic Tavel nose of peach/nectarine, strawberry and garrigue. Dense, winey texture. Dry. The fruit sits heavily on the palate. One-dimensional and unrefreshing. Hot finish (14.5% ABV). (Buy again? For Tavel lovers only, i.e. not for me.)
Coteaux du Languedoc 2011, Prestige, Château Puech-Haut ($19.35, 11629891)
Grenache and Cinsault, fermented and matured in stainless steel. Packaged in a frosted bottle with an embossed seal and glass stopper; a few liked the look, others declared it tacky.
Very pale, almost white. Light nectarine and minerals on the nose. More flavourful than expected, with light, pure fruit and refreshing acidity. Alcohol flares a little on the finish. The best of the bunch, which is not saying much. (Buy again? Probably not.)
Bandol 2010, Mas de la Rouvière ($23.10, 11657403)
The estate has been converting to organic farming since 2006. Mourvèdre (40%), Grenache (30%) and Cinsault (30%). Fermented at controlled temperatures for around 30 days.
Intriguing nose of nectarine with herbal (celery, green pepper) notes. Ripe but not heavy fruit. Some minerality. Fair acidity. Falls flat on the finish. Drinkable is about the best you can say for it. (Buy again? No.)
To go by these four Cellier picks, the SAQ is maintaining its dismal track record with rosés. It doesn’t have to be this way. There are fine pink wines being made in France, Spain and even California, but the only way Quebecers can buy them is on a private import basis. Speaking of which…
Corse Calvi 2011, Fiumeseccu rosé, Domaine Alzipratu ($22.05, 12 btls/case, oenopole)
A blend of saignée and directly pressed juice, mostly Sciacarello though a little Nielluccio may also have made its way into the mix.
Tried this at the April Pork Futures event and immediately knew it would be one of the best rosés – if not the best – that I’ll taste this year. It’s true to the house style: light, refreshing, food- and terrace-friendly, with notes of pink grapefruit and nectarine, a whiff of garrigue and vibrant acidity. The 2011 also struck me as the most minerally Fiumeseccu to date.
Brett happens 