Posts Tagged ‘Quebec’
Fun
Québec 2016, Bonbonbulles, Les Pervenches (ca. $21)
This pet-nat (ancestral method sparkler) is a blend of Zweigelt, Frontenac and Chardonnay from organically farmed vines. 10.5% ABV. During its short window of availability, it could be purchased at the winery, at a few area food stores specializing in local products (e.g. Dans la côte, Fromagerie Hamel) and through the Quebec agent, La QV.
Slightly hazy strawberry pink. Wafting nose of straw, cherry, cranberry, “hibiscus kambucha,” hints of yeast and lees and a whiff of volatile acidity. Light and dry in the mouth, with fine, persistent bubbles, zingy acidity and ethereal fruit. The leesy kambucha note lasts into the sweet-tart finish. Fun and refreshing. Jambon de Bayonne really brings out the fruit. (Buy again? Def.)
MWG August 11th tasting: flight 6 of 9
Irrepressible
Moonlighting from his daytime gig at Rézin, the irrepressible Steve Beauséjour returned to the Mo’ Wine Group in August to lead another of his sui generis wine and food tastings. It goes without saying that the assembled masses enjoyed themselves. Our tastings start at 7 p.m. and normally end between 9:30 and 10; this one finished after midnight.
While the wines weren’t really served in flights, I’ve organized them that way for reporting purposes.
Québec 2016, Seyval-Chardo, Nature SSA, Les Pervenches (ca. $19)
A private bottling of the estate’s regular Seyval-Chardonnay blend. The wine went directly from the barrel into the bottle, with no filtering, fining or added sulphur. While I don’t have the exact proportions of the grape varieties, they’re normally 80% Seyval Blanc and 20% Chardonnay from biodynamically farmed vines. Manually harvested. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Undergoes malolactic fermentation. Matured in neutral French oak barrels. 11.7% ABV. While this bottling was never retailed, the estate’s other wines are (though they usually sell out a few weeks after their release) at the winery, at a few area food stores specializing in local products (e.g. Dans la côte, Fromagerie Hamel) and through the Quebec agent, La QV.
Clean nose of lemon, chalk and mowed fields. Fresh and pristine in the mouth. Medium-bodied. The pure fruit lends some sweetness that’s immediately checked by the incisive – not harsh – acidity and dancing minerality. Gains breadth and depth as it breathes. Finishes clean, fresh and long. A bracing, super-drinkable and, yes, irrepressible wine with “lots of energy” (quoting another taster). I’d buy a case if I could. (Buy again? Please!)
MWG August 11th tasting: flight 1 of 9
Orange roughly
Québec 2016, Julep, Domaine Négondos (c. $27.00)
This orange wine isn’t even mentioned on the winery’s website while on the wider Web you’ll find more information about the label than the wine itself. The label and name wryly refer to Montreal’s iconic Gibeau Orange Julep drive-in and its signature drink. 100% Seyval Blanc from the winery’s organically farmed vineyard in Mirabel in the lower Laurentians. Manually harvested. Macerated several weeks on the skins. After pressing, the juice is fermented with indigenous yeasts. Clarified by settling. Probably unfiltered and unfined and minimally sulphured. 11.5% ABV.
“Floral” by general agreement though there is little consensus on the type of flower (dandelion, I think). Hay stubble, stone fruit and citrus (including a little bergamot?) complicate the aromatic profile. In the mouth, it’s smooth, barely medium-bodied and super dry. The light nectarine, citrus and browning apple fruit is dusted with minerals, structured by sleek acidity and ghostly tannins. The evanescing savoury/earthy finish could be longer. Not very orange (if memory serves, the 2014 was significantly more so) but a very convincing expression of Seyval. (Buy again? Yes.)
I’ve contacted the winery for more technical information and will update this post when/if I receive it.
MWG July 27th tasting: flight 7 of 7
Cidereal
Located in Franklin, Quebec, and founded in 2010, Entre Pierre et Terre is run by the husband and wife team of Loïc Chanut and Michelle Boyer. An oenologist by training, Chanut began working at La Face cachée de la pomme and for a while was a partner in Domaine des Salamandres. Production is limited to a range of still and sparkling apple and pear ciders, still fruit wine and apple-based vermouth. Cortland, Golden Russet and Macintosh are the estate’s backbone apple varieties though trials are being conducted with others, including some old northern French varieties. All the sparklers are made using the traditional method.
Poiré mousseux, Entre Pierre et Terre ($19.95, 12120579)
A pear cider made from mid-season fruit. The juice takes several weeks to ferment. Matured and sparkled in the bottle for a minimum of nine months. Sulphur use is limited to a small shot at disgorging. Reducing sugar: 27 g/l. 7% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Applesauce, pear compote and hay stubble. Fine effervescence. The flavour is clearly though not intensely pear, with a bit of white pepper adding intrigue. Clean and verging on off-dry but drying on the finish. While it’s a tad sweeter than I remember earlier bottles being, it’s still a pleasant sipper. (Buy again? Sure.)
Cidre mousseux, Entre Pierre et Terre ($18.90, 11957043)
The apples for this cider are harvested over two months, then pressed together. The juice is concentrated by exposure to the cold of winter. Primary and secondary fermentation (the latter in bottles on lattes) last a minimum of 10 months. Reducing sugar: 18 g/l. 7.6% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
A nose more subtle than the poiré’s: green pear and apple. Dryish and elegant in the mouth, the effervescence understated. A mineral streak joins the savoury fruit joined while smooth acidity keeps things lively. Clean finishes. (Buy again? Sure.)
Cidre à la canneberge, Entre Pierre et Terre ($16.25, 12030291)
Cranberries are macerated in the cider before bottling. The bottles spend at least nine months on lattes before disgorging. 8% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Fresh and baked apple, wild red berries and a hint of cheese. Clean and not especially fruity. Dry with bright, even trenchant acidity. A faint saline undertow lasts well into the long finish. Somewhat to my surprise, the most complex and nuanced of the trio. Would make an excellent Thanksgiving aperitif and could probably continue right on through the meal. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG July 27th tasting: flight 1 of 7
Barrel’s worth
Located in Mirabel in the lower Laurentians and founded in 1993, Vignoble Négondos is one of Quebec’s more interesting producers of wines made from hybrid grapes. The winery is certified organic and has adopted a non-interventionist approach in the cellar: spontaneous fermentations, gravity feeds, clarification by settling, minimal if any filtration, and so on. The result is honest and enjoyable wines for which few if any excuses need be made. The winery’s most celebrated – and hard to procure – product is Julep, a world-class Seyval Blanc orange wine whose label and name wryly refer to Montreal’s iconic Gibeau Orange Julep drive-in and its signature drink.
Négondos wines can be purchased at the winery. A limited selection can be found in a few local food stores; contact the winery for details. Our bottles came from Loco and Dans la Côte respectively. Note that the prices vary depending on who’s doing the markup.
As usual, the wines were served double-blind to everyone except me. A few hints were provided: the wines were close-to identical blends from the same producer, the main difference being that one was matured in stainless steel tanks and the other in oak barrels.
Québec 2016, Suroît, Vignoble Négondos ($18.00-$20.00)
A blend of organically farmed Maréchal Foch, St. Croix, Frontenac and Marquette. The manually harvested grapes are fermented with indigenous yeasts at high temperatures. Sees only stainless steel until bottling. 12% ABV.
On first sniff, the Suroît’s nose prompts one taster to declare the wine “Ontarian.” My note reads: unsubtle gush of plum, almond, red meat, earth and eventually sweet spice. In the mouth, it’s fruity but dry, with an earthy backdrop. Light tannins and bright acidity provide a kind of balance and the finish is clean. That said, relief from the juicy onslaught and most especially nuance are in short supply. Probably best thought of as a food wine. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Québec 2015, Chesnaie, Vignoble Négondos ($20.00-$22.00)
This is the Suroît but with six months’ barrel ageing. 12% ABV.
“Wait. This can’t be Ontarian. Now I’m confused,” says the aforementioned taster. A nose far more complex and subtle: wafting plum with dill, spice, wood and “black tea” notes. In the mouth, it’s deeper, smoother and more fluid. Fine acidity and tannins structure the layered fruit, which takes on a savoury, even minerally edge that lasts through the credible finish. The difference between the two wines is astounding (a glass of the Chesnaie served double-blind a few days earlier had me guessing Austria or northern Italy) though how much of that is due to vintage and how much to barrel-ageing is a subject for future research. (Buy again? Yes indeed.)
MWG May 18th tasting: flight 4 of 6
All’s well that gins well
Gin Sauvage, Cirka ($46.50, private import, 3 bottles/case)
Made in Montreal from non-GMO Quebec-grown corn and more than 30 boreal forest botanicals. A pot still and custom botanicals basket are used. 44% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Nose dominated by the expected juniper and coriander aromas but faceted by a complex of floral, herbaceous, spice and fruit notes. Smooth and silky, mouth-filling and long, with little alcoholic burn even when drunk neat at room temperature. Subtle, elegant and involving. Just lovely. (Buy again? Done!)
Cirka’s Terroir vodka ($43.50, 13012414) is available online via SAQ.com.
MWG July 15th tasting: flight 8 of 8
Fluid and energetic, juicy and tart
Quebec 2015, Pinot Noir, Les Pervenches
100% Pinot Noir from biodynamically farmed, estate-grown wines. The grapes were destemmed, crushed, macerated several days and fermented with indigenous yeasts. The wine was transferred to plastic vats for eight or nine months’ maturation, then siphoned into bottles without filtering, fining or adding sulphur. Ours was one of only 12 bottles made. The rest of the wine was used in the estate’s ultra-chuggable Zweigelt-Pinot Noir blend. 11.5% ABV.
Complex if not effusively Pinot Noirish nose: “cinq épices” (quoting another taster), lees, “raspberry vinegar,” thread of green, “dried mushroom,” cedar. Fluid and energetic, a light-bodied mouthful of ethereal raspberry and rhubarb fruit, delicate but raspy tannins, electric acidity and a mineral backbone that last well into the nicely sustained finish. Pure, refreshing and tonic. Once again, Les Prevenches proves that authentic and delicious vinifera wines can be made in Quebec. (Buy again? If only…)
Cheverny 2015, Domaine du Moulin/Hervé Villemade ($26.46, private import, 12 bottles/case)
Pinot Noir (60%) and Gamay (40%) from organically farmed vines averaging between eight and 37 years old and rooted in sandy clay with flint. Manually harvested. Macerated on the skins for 15 days. Whole-cluster fermentation is with indigenous yeasts and no chaptalization. Matured in wood vats. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Cherry and raspberry upfront, ink and slate in the background with cedar and spice overtones. In the mouth, it’s on the lighter side of medium-bodied. Juicy and tart, it flows like a stream over smooth stones. A faint astringency textures the clean finish. Another dangerously drinkable wine and a delight with Boucherie Lawrence’s headcheese terrine. (Buy again? Oh, yes.)
MWG July 15th tasting: flight 3 of 8
Thinking globally, drinking locally
The MWG’s early March tasting was led by the irrepressible Steve Beauséjour, who daylights as a sales rep of Rézin. To say he outdid himself would be an understatement.
We got things rolling with a stupendous dry white served double-blind from a labelless bottle.
The bouquet is a kaleidoscope of seashells, citrus, oats, limestone, bread, a hint of nuts and more. On the palate, it’s a mouth-watering mix of saline minerals, restrained fruit and trenchant acidity, dazzlingly pure and so dry, especially on the long finish. As bracing and engaging a white as I’ve encountered in a coon’s age.
I happened to be sitting next to two French expats, both of them Loire lovers, and all three of us had the same initial reaction: a faintly oxidized Chenin Blanc from a top Loire producer. As we spent more time with the wine and listened to Steve, doubts began to creep in. “Un chablis peut-être,” hazarded one of the français. Other tasters guessed the Jura, Italy, Austria and South Africa. All were shot down.
“Maybe it’s from Laval,” quipped a taster, throwing up his hands. (Île Jésus’s improbable Château Taillefer-Lafon has become something of a meme for the group.)
“You’re getting warm,” said Steve to the astonishment of everyone.
The wine? A special bottling of Québec 2014, Chardonnay, Les Rosiers, Les Pervenches, the regular bottling of which retailed for $25 during the few weeks it was available. This 100% Chardonnay is made from fruit from organically and biodynamically farmed vines grown near Farnham. The grapes are manually harvested and sorted, vinified naturally (indigenous yeasts, no additives, minimal intervention) and matured in casks. The 24 bottles of this special bottling were filled with wine drawn directly from the cask after one year’s maturation. In contrast to the regular cuvée, the wine is unfined, unfiltered and unsulphured.
If I’ve tasted a better Canadian Chardonnay, I don’t recall it. Truly world-class.
MWG March 12th tasting: flight 1 of 7
Two sweet meads
Hydromel, Cuvée de la Diable, Ferme Apicole Desrochers ($19.95/375 ml, 10291008)
An off-dry mead made near Mont-Laurier in the Upper Laurentians from a selection of organic honey (spring, fall and buckwheat) and aged in oak casks for three years. The raw honey is mixed with water. The resulting honey water is decanted to eliminate impurities and transferred into stainless steel tanks for fermentation at ambient temperature for three to six weeks. Fermentation is stopped naturally by the alcohol and winter cold. The mead is then matured on the lees for six to 12 months before being transferred to oak casks for two and a half to five years’ aging. Selected casks are blended and bottled. Residual sugar: 80 g /l. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV. The product is named after the nearby Diable River, la [rivière du] Diable in French (if it were named after the devil, it would be Cuvée du diable).
Complex nose of flowers, caramelized white fruit, honey, dusty beeswax, a touch of vanilla and more than a hint of cheese. Smooth, even buttery texture. Not particularly sweet. Possessed of a certain heft but far from heavy, thanks in no small part to the sustained acidity. Long finish with citrus and nougat notes. (Buy again? Sure.)
Hydromel, Or d’âge, Ferme Apicole Desrochers ($76.75, 12644145)
To make this sweet honey wine, the best barrels of the Cuvée de la Diable are given extended aging (between eight and 18 years) under a flor-like veil in oak casks that are not topped up. Unfiltered and unfined. Reducing sugar: > 60 g/l. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV.
Astoundingly complex nose of dried honey, spice (especially cinnamon), dried flowers, aged pine, faint nuts and more. In the mouth, it’s semi-sweet, spicy and ultra-refined, infinitely more layered than the Cuvée de la Diable, with great balance between extract and acidity. The complex flavours are dominated by caramel and dried pear. An intriguing bitter thread emerges on the mid-palate and wends its way through the long, dry finish. Unique, disorienting, fascinating and ultimately convincing. Excellent with blue cheese. (Buy again? Definitely.)
As usual at MWG tastings, the wines were served double-blind and it was interesting to see people’s reactions to this flight unlike any other. Within seconds of taking their first sniff of the Cuvée de la Diable, two of the more critical tasters declared it to be a mead and did so with a frown on their faces. Their initial reaction on tasting the wine was hardly more positive. Other tasters were less vocal, uncertain what to make of it. The grumbling died down as more time was spent with the mead and turned positive, even enthusiastic, as people moved on to the Or d’âge and tasted both meads with cheese. In the end, the consensus was that, while both were impressive, the Or d’âge was exceptional, a world-class if unusual product and the solution to the sticky problem of what made-in-Quebec gift to take when visiting out-of-province wine lovers.
MWG November 12th tasting: flight 6 of 6
Three lighter reds
Württemburg 2014, Trollinger, Without All, Weingut Knauss ($28.00, private import, NLA)
100% Trollinger from organically farmed though uncertified vines. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. No added anything, whence the “without all.” Unfiltered and unfined. 9.5% ABV. Screwcapped. Quebec agent: Ward & associés.
A bit spritzy and reduced at first, then sour berries, slate and developing clay and animale notes. Light and fluid on the palate. Airframe tannins and bright acidity provide some structure and faint minerals some depth but this is mainly about the pure fruit. Lip-smacking, sweet and sour finish. Light-bodied almost to the point of lacking substance and yet refreshing and ultra-drinkable, this ethereal wine was a hit with several around the table, despite its high price. (Buy again? Gladly.)
Côtes du Forez 2014, La Volcanique, Cave Verdier-Logel ($21.80, private import, 12 bottles/case)
Based in Marcilly-le-Châtel, the certified organic 17-hectare estate grows Gamay and a little Pinot Gris and Viognier. This cuvée is 100% Gamay from old vines rooted in basalt soil. Manually harvested. Macerated 21 days at around 20°C. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Lightly filtered (earth filters) before bottling. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Sappy in the way of a good Beaujolais, though the red berries are a little candied and shot through with some greenness. Supple and tasty. Juicy fruit and sustained acidity play against a schisty backdrop while the tannins turn a little bitey on the sustained finish. Finely balanced yet appealingly rustic. To my surprise, this didn’t create the same sensation that the 2013 did (different contexts?). (Buy again? Yes.)
Quebec 2012, Pinot Noir Réserve, Domaine les Brome ($26.00, 12685879)
100% Pinot Noir according to the winery’s website (SAQ.com says the wine contains 7% Maréchal Foch). Macerated and fermented in stainless steel tanks. Matured 12 months in oak barrels. Reducing sugar: 1.9%. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Univins.
A nose that tasters described as “electrical fire,” “cordite” and simply “weird.” Reactions to the taste were similar, “copper penny” being the one I noted. The not very pinot-ish fruit is brightened by good acidity but deflated by saggy tannins and muddied by extraneous flavours. Odd-tasting finish. I’m hoping ours was an off bottle. (Buy again? Unlikely.)
This flight was built around the Trollinger and the other two wines were chosen in the hope that they might be close to its light body. Neither was. In fact, I’ve encountered only one wine recently that is: Domaine de la Pinte’s 2012 Arbois “Poulsard de l’ami Karl,” which we tasted back in October.
MWG November 12th tasting: flight 4 of 6
Brett happens 