Posts Tagged ‘QPR winner’
Hats off to Hatzidakis
A native of Crete who worked for Boutari, Haridimos Hatzidakis founded his eponymous estate in 1996, starting with vines owned by his wife’s family. The vineyards surrounding the canava are certified organic, a rare occurrence on the island, and the vines are trained into the traditional basket or nest shape, which offers some protection from the wind and sun and helps conserve precious moisture. Like all vines on phylloxera-free Santorini, they are ungrafted.
Santorini 2012, Assyrtiko, Domaine Hatzidakis ($23.55, 11901171)
100% Assyrtiko. No maceration. After clarification, the must is fermented at 18ºC with indigenous yeasts. Matured on the lees for 40 days. Aged in stainless steal tanks. Lightly filtered and dosed with sulphur dioxide before bottling. 52,000 bottles made. 13.5% ABV. This is the estate’s entry-level bottling. For the glorious higher-end cuvées, keep an eye on oenopole‘s website.
Chalk and quartz sand, lemon peel, a faint herby/resinous note and eventually some peach. Quite weighty in the mouth yet fluid, like rainwater. Austere but intense: the extract — stuffing more than fruit — holds the coursing acidity in check, then fades, leaving a long-lingering matrix of minerals, lemon pith, powdered honey and sea salt. Carafe this 20 minutes before serving and don’t make the mistake of drinking it overly chilled. Great as an aperitif with olives, a natural with grilled fish and a knockout with oysters on the half shell. (Buy again? Try and stop me.)
So Tissot
Arbois 2011, Chardonnay, Domaine André et Mireille Tissot ($24.95, 11194701)
100% organically and biodynamically farmed Chardonnay from vines more than a quarter of a century old. Manually harvested. Pneumatically pressed. Fermented with native yeasts and matured for 12 months in oak barrels that are kept topped up so the wine doesn’t oxidize. Lightly filtered. A miniscule amount of sulphur dioxide is added at bottling. 13.5% ABV.
Pear, lemon, chalk, faint dried herbs, distant smoke. Intense on the palate, the richness cut by bracing acidty. The wine’s tension, fruit and crystalline minerality are reminiscent of Chablis but the flavours are otherwise: earthier and showing hints of oxidized butter (probably salted), white spice and something vaguely floral like chamomile or fennel pollen. The long, clean finish is tangy in that way that almost requires you to take another sip. Stupendous QPR. (Buy again? Oh, yes.)
oenopole workshop: charcuteries + uve italiane (2/3)
The workshop’s raison d’être was the second flight and its centrepiece, a long board covered with an impressive array of charcuterie made by Ségué Lepage of Le Comptoir charcuteries et vins: buttery pork liver mousse, dried sausages flavoured with fennel seed or cumin, coppa, soppressata, porchetta di testa (slices of a large rolled sausage, the Italian take on headcheese), pâté de campagne, chorizo and a couple I’m forgetting. Accompaniments included cornichons, pickled fennel and Le Comptoir’s irresistible cumin “mustard,” though the quality of the salumi was so high they seemed unnecessary, like gilt for a lily.
Sangiovese di Romagna 2011, Scabi, San Valentino ($18.00, 11019831)
The 28-hectare estate is located just inland from Rimini on Italy’s Adriatic coast. 100% Sangiovese from decade-old vines. Manually harvested, destemmed, macerated at low temperature for eight days then fermented with indigenous yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Half the wine is matured in stainless steel and half in second-fill oak barrels for six months. Sulphur is added only at bottling. 14% ABV.
Dired cherry, spice, background leather, turned earth and terracotta and a kirschy high note. Velevty texture. Fruit forward but not a bomb, thanks in part to the coursing acidity. Dark minerals and just a hint of oak add depth. Fine tannins lend an astringent edge to the finish. The best vintage of this wine to date and a definite QPR winner. (Buy again? Yep.)
> Handled the crazy delicious pork liver mousse better than any other wine in the flight. Ditto the chile-spiced sausages, probably due to its juicy fruit. Still, this food-friendly wine is arguably even better suited to fare like grilled meats and vegetables and savoury, tomato-based pasta dishes (spaghetti with meat ragu or pesto rosso, for example).
Langhe 2011, Nebbiolo, Produttori del Barbaresco ($23.10, 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. 14.5% ABV according to the label; 13.5% ABV according to the SAQ (I suspect the label is closer to the truth).
Cherry, underbrush, slate, old wood, hints of truffle and kirsch. Smooth and silky, with clean fruit, bright acidity and fine, supple tannins. Underlying minerals give depth. Good length and beautiful balance. As predicted, this has come together in the months since it first appeared on the SAQ’s shelves. Unbeatable QPR. (Buy again? Of course.)
> Best with the very fresh-tasting pâté de campagne and coppa. It also played interestingly with the spice in the cumin saucisson, whose saltiness brought out the wine’s fruit.
Cerasuolo di Vittoria 2010, Classico, Azienda Agricola COS ($33.75, 11577391)
Biodynamically farmed Nero d’Avola (60%) and Frappato (40%) from 25-year-old vines. Temperature-controlled fermentation with indigenous yeasts in concrete vats. Aged in barrels for 18 to 24 months. Bottled unfiltered. 13% ABV.
Beautiful wafting nose: dried cherry and cranberry, garrigue, sun-baked earth, air-dried beef. Medium-bodied with a silky, almost Burgundian texture. The fruit, as savoury as sweet, glows with a soft acidity. Slatey minerals and fine but lightly raspy tannins add texture and interest. Long and, above all, remarkably fresh. (Buy again? Yes, despite the 15% price increase from last year’s 2009.)
> Probably the most versatile wine of the bunch. Didn’t clash with anything, was relatively unfazed by the chile-flavoured sausages but went especially well with the fennel sausage.
Barolo 2009, Serralunga, Principiano Ferdinando ($39.75, 11387301)
Principiano’s entry-level Barolo. 100% Nebbiolo grapes from 3.5 hectares of young vines. The hand-picked, crushed grapes ferment with indigenous yeasts and no added sulfur for about a month. Matured 24 months in 20- and 40-hectolitre barrels and then in bottle. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. Vegan-compatible. Annual production: about 20,000 bottles. 14% ABV.
Cherry, a bit candied (PEZ if you must know), mowed field, old wood, iron dust, hint of vanilla and violet. Medium-bodied. Richly flavoured but fresh, a mouthful of satiny fruit with soft spicy overtones, lacy if drying tannins and sleek acidity. Elegant, complete, a pleasure to drink. A second bottle opened two days later came across as a little less special (bottle variation? different context?) but still attention-worthy. Not a long ager though it won’t suffer – and may well benefit – from a year or two in the cellar. Another QPR winner. (Buy again? Yes.)
> Achieved synergy with the superb prochetta di testa. Surprisingly good with the liver pâté. Handled the cumin and fennel sausages with aplomb though the coppa let more of the wine come through.
Barolo 2008, Fratelli Alessandria ($41.25, 11797094)
100% Nebbiolo from six vineyards. Manually harvested. Fermented and macerated from 12 to 15 days in temperature-controlled tanks. Matured 32 to 34 months in large Slavonian and French oak casks, two months in stainless steel tanks and six or more months in the bottle. 14% ABV.
A nose more tertiary than the Principiano’s: coffee and cherry with hints of chocolate, licorice, raw meat, truffle, fresh herbs, tomato. The richest and roundest of the Nebbiolos though still medium-bodied. Savoury fruit, plush, firm tannins, chugging acidity and a long, vaporous finish. In contrast to the nose, still a bit primary on the palate, though far from inaccessible. (Buy again? Yes.)
> Worked best with the mildly flavoured dried sausages, the porchetta di testa and the cured meats. The chile-spiced sausages brought out the tannins and the liver mousse give it a faintly metallic taste. Would probably be more at home with a rabbit and mushroom ragu served over pappardelle and showered with Parmesan.
The wines’ lively acidity and savoury character meant they all paired well with these fatty, salty foods. For me, the most unexpected aspect of the tasting was seeing how the different Nebbiolos worked – or didn’t – with a given charcuterie, in particular the pork liver mousse. That said, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the higher-end wines were a bit out of place, that, however convincingly, they were slumming a little. A fascinating exercise, then, but one I’d love to repeat with more rustic wines, like certain Barberas, Dolcettos, Pelavergas and Ruchès.
A seamless wine, a bottle as memorable as it is affordable
Rioja 2003, Viña Gravonia, R. López de Heredia ($25.95, 11667927)
100% Viura from old vines. Manually harvested, gently destemmed and immediately crushed. The must is transferred into 60-hectolitre oak vats, where it ferments spontaneously. Matured in 225-litre American oak barrels for four years, with racking twice a year. Unfiltered but fined with egg whites before bottling. 13% ABV.
Complex, faintly oxidized bouquet evocative of beeswax, dandelion flowers, stone, old wood, caramel, yellow fruit, quince and almonds. Round, even weighty on the palate yet also fresh, thanks in no small part to the soft but omnipresent acidity. Smooth minerals and honey flavour the fruit. A Fino-like note surfaces momentarily, then is sweetened and subsumed in dried apricot and orange peel on the long finish. A seamless wine, a bottle as memorable as it is affordable. (Buy again? Definitely and soon because there’s very little left at the SAQ.)
Made an intriguing and gratifying match for oysters on the half shell, especially small sweet Caraquets with a few drops of lemon juice. Would also love to try it with some good jamón.
Extinct Pithon
Anjou 2007, Les Treilles, Domaine Jo Pithon ($20.70, 12052289)
100% organically farmed Chenin Blanc. 14% ABV. This is the last vintage of the wine, since the estate ceased to exist in January of 2008 (Jo Pithon went on to found a négociant-éleveur business with his stepson, Domaine Pithon-Paillé).
Honeyed nose of apple, tropical fruit (pineapple?) and faint caramel, all against a chalky backdrop. Richly textured yet fluid and very dry, the wine has a glowing intensity at its core. Full of quartz, chalk, vine sap, browning apple and peach and more than a hint of orange. The acidity runs like an underground river from attack to finish and there’s a current of pithy bitterness. A taste of dried honey threads through the long finish. Great QPR. (Buy again? Oh, yes.)
One SAQ outlet reports returns of a few bottles due to off odours but my bottle and that of a friend were pristine, on the inside at least (the outside was covered with a light dust-like substance).
It’s better with Butteaux
Chablis 2011, Premier cru Butteaux, Domaine Pattes Loup ($39.25, 12093494)
100% organically farmed Chardonnay from the Butteaux lieu-dit in the southern part of the Montmains premier cru with argillocalcareous (clay and limestone) soil over Kimmerridgian marl (fossilized seashells). The grapes are manually harvested and gently pressed with their stems. The juice is clarified by settling for 18 hours, then transferred to used 228-litre, medium-toast barrels for alcoholic fermentation (with indigenous yeasts), malolactic fermentation and maturation. During its 15 months in barrel, the wine is kept topped up and racked once but otherwise left undisturbed. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. Annual production is about 3,500 bottles. 12.5% ABV.
The bottle my glass came from had been open for about 18 hours and the wine was reportedly better for it. Textbook nose: lemon, oats, chalk, flint, subtle oak and a faint lactic note. Take a sip and liquid minerals fill the mouth. Then the lemon kicks in, followed by a butter note and a plush finish. The purity, depth and balance are remarkable. It’s a little richer than the estate’s fine Beauregard but also more structured and tense, the ripe fruit, minerals and baby fat wrapped around a core of grippy acidity. A class act from start to finish. Approachable now but full of the kind of potential that makes you anxious to taste it in five years. (Buy again? Yes. Chardonnays of this quality at this price don’t come around often.)
Cultured Vulture
Have lately had little time to drink and even less time to write, but I wanted to flag today’s release at the SAQ of a wine I and many others enjoyed last November, when it was available as a private import from oenopole. The intervening nine months have done it nothing but good and, once again, it has proved to be a fantastic match for lamb, this time a stew with vinegar and green beans (recipe after the jump). Quantities appear to be limited, so fast action is advised.
Aglianico del Vulture 2009, Antelio, Camerlengo ($23.35, 11951961)
100% Aglianico from organically farmed 30-year-old vines. Manually harvested in late October and early November. Fermented with native yeasts, macerated 25 days and matured in a 50-hl Slavonian oak botte. Unfiltered and unfined. Lightly sulphured at bottling for stability during transportation. 13% ABV.
Alluring nose: black cherry, graphite, hints of balsam, spice and flowers. Medium-bodied. The silky, sweet-cored fruit is brightened by acidity and velveted by lightly rustic tannins. Chewing brings a tooth-coating astringency and reveals a mineral substrate. The savoury finish lasts longer than you’d expect. A here-and-now wine: not particularly deep but remarkably fresh, pure and satisfying, more so than other Aglianicos in the price range, which often seem coarse, unbalanced and untamed, like gorillas in sports jackets. (Buy again? In multiples.)
Go-to Gaillac
Gaillac 2011, Peyrouzelles, Causse Marines ($18.60, 00709931)
Organically farmed Syrah (35%), Duras (30%), Braucol (aka Fer, 25%) and Jurançon Noir (5%) from 15- to 20-year-old vines. Mechanically destemmed. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and macerated in temperature-controlled fiber vats for about two weeks. After a brief settling, the wine is racked into old barrels for maturation. 14% ABV.
A bit farty and sulphurous at first – probably due to the reduction-prone Duras though nothing 30 minutes in a carafe can’t take care of – then spicy red plum and blackberry with pencil shavings, turned earth, a whiff of red meat and a hint of flowers (distant lilac?). Medium-bodied if a little heady. Smooth, silky and very dry. Your first impression is that it’s fruitier than is actually the case. There’s fruit, of course, but it’s as savoury as sweet, riddled with acidity and plushed by tannins. Earth, wood and stone persist into the finish and leave faint sour, astringent, bitter and alcoholic notes bobbing in their wake. You’ll want to drink this lightly chilled, ideally alongside herby grilled pork or, once the cool weather returns, a confit duck leg, whose fat the acidity will cut like a scalpel. (Buy again? For sure.)
Alternate Altano
Douro 2010, Organic / Biologique, Altano ($16.95, 11157097)
Altano is owned by the Symington family of Port fame. This is a 100% Touriga Nacional made from grapes grown in the estate’s three organcially farmed vineyards, planted in the 1980s, in the Vilariça Valley in the Douro Superior sub-region, near the Spanish border. After manual sorting, the grapes are fermented at 25-26ºC in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats with extended maceration and regular pump-overs. The wine is matured ten months in second-vintage French oak barrels. 12.9% ABV.
Fragrant – blackberry, blueberry and spice – at first but then shut down (or maybe my sinuses shut down). Medium-bodied and thus lighter than most Douros (which regularly clock in at 14%, 15% and even 15.5%), and all the better for it. Sweet-fruited at its core but also savoury with slate, old wood, a faint stemminess and a bitter plum pit note. The tannins are light, pervasive and just a little raspy and there’s plenty of acidity to brighten and sour the fruit. Finishes dry and surprisingly long. Nothing profound but fresh, tasty and, as the French untranslatably say, digeste. A natural with grilled pork or chicken and a definite step up from the regular Altano. Oddly, though this is a new arrival, there aren’t many bottles around. (Buy again? Yes.)
Pora! Pora! Pora!
Barbaresco 2008, Pora, Riserva, Produttori del Barbaresco ($50.50, 11214469)
(For background information on the Produttori and their wines, see last December’s Tasting with Aldo Vacca report.) 100% Nebbiolo from the Pora vineyard. Fermented with cultivated “Barolo” yeasts in temperature-controlled (30ºC) concrete and stainless steel vats. Fermentation and maceration – with regular punch-downs and pump-overs – last 28 days. Matured 36 months in large Slavonian oak barrels (though reportedly smaller than those used in earlier vintages). Bottled unfiltered and with a small dose of sulphur dioxide. Matured another eight months in bottle before release. 14% ABV.
Primary nose: sour cherry, tarry slate and faint notes of rose and sandalwood. Perhaps a shade lighter weight than the 2007 Pora yet if anything more balanced and complete. With its silky ripe fruit, it retains Pora’s typical accessibility. But chew the wine and you’ll get a different picture, one etched – albeit finely – in tannins and minerals and hinting at hidden depths. The wine’s airframe structure, tense acidity, ideal proportions, focus and purity make it a sure bet for aging (at least a decade, probably two), not that anyone will complain if you open a bottle now. (Buy again? Absolutely.)
The wine’s already high bang for the buck is off the charts this weekend with the SAQ’s “10% off every purchase of $100 or more” promotion: two bottles will put you just over the $100 threshold and cost you $90.90, or $45.45 each. For a wine that could be the dictionary definition of a Riserva Barbaresco. For a wine that’s more classically proportioned and eminently drinkable than big name Barbarescos costing twice as much or more. That constitutes an unbeatable bargain. A QPR winner if ever there were one.
Brett happens 