Posts Tagged ‘Rhône’
Morel ambiguity
Based in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Domaine Pierre-Henri Morel – no website that I could find – is a recent joint venture between Morel and Michel Chapoutier, for whom Morel works as commercial director. The wines are made at Chapoutier’s facilities but Morel is responsible for all wine-making decisions.
Côtes du Rhône Villages Signargues 2011, Pierre Henri Morel ($19.25, 1233249)
Another of those blends whose composition nobody seems to agree on. The bottle’s back label says Grenache and Syrah, while an official looking technical information sheet says mostly Grenache with some Syrah. SAQ.com claims it’s 70% Syrah and 30% Grenache but the wine tastes more like 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah. Various US and UK vendors refer to Grenache, Syrah and Mouvèdre, often in a proportion of 50-25-25. The Quebec agent doesn’t even list Morel on its website and doesn’t include wine lists or technical information for any of the producers it does list. Whatever. The wine is reportedly fermented in concrete vats with daily pump-overs for three to four weeks and matured in concrete vats for 12 months. 14.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Clos des vignes.
Appealing nose: spiced plum and black cherry with hay loft, graphite and smoke notes, evolving toward raspberry liqueur. A heady, silk-textured, bone-dry middleweight. The peppery, tangy fruit, rasping acidity and fine mesh of tannins are the main show, while a mild astringency and flaring heat mark the finish. Carafe an hour before serving and drink at cool room temperature (20-30 minutes in the fridge on these warm summer evenings) to temper the heat. (Buy again? Sure.)
MWG June 12th tasting: Red banner
Crozes-Hermitage 2012, Et la bannière…, Matthieu Barret SARL ($37.35, private import, 6 bottles/case)
Matthieu Barret is the owner-winemaker at Domaine du Coulet, three of whose Cornases the MWG enjoyed in December 2012. The eponymous SARL is his crittertastic négociant label. This is 100% biodynamically and organically farmed Syrah, the only red grape variety allowed in the appellation. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in concrete vats with indigenous yeasts and pump-overs. The resulting wine is racked, matured for 12 months, then bottled unfiltered and unfined with a small amount of sulphur (2 g/hl), the only additive used in making the wine. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Complex, umami-rich nose: plum, oyster sauce/tamari, forest floor, hints of chocolate, smoke, Thai basil and violet. Smooth and velvety though loaded with acidity (so pure and intense is the fruit, you hardly notice). Round tannins, rumbling minerals and a long, juicy finish complete the picture. Vibrant and delicious. Not cheap but if you can find a more appealing Syrah at the price in Quebec, I’d love to hear about it. (Buy again? Yes!)
MWG June 12th tasting: A natural CDR
Côtes-du-Rhône 2011, Le Claux, Domaine La Roche Buissière ($36.65, private import, 6 bottles/case)
The 18-hectare estate is located northeast of Vaison-La-Romaine and has been farmed organically since 1980. This is a blend of Grenache (90%) and Syrah (10%) from 50-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Fermented with indigenous yeasts. Unfiltered and unfined. No additives were used in making the wine, including sulphur. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Black raspberry and spice – black pepper above all – with hints of olive, garrigue and licorice. A medium-bodied, juicy mouthful. Fine tannins texture the silky ripe fruit while bright acidity lifts the mid-palate and enlivens the clean, mineral-shaded finish. A bit overshadowed by its more outgoing companions but, on its own terms, really quite enjoyable. (Buy again? Sure, though I wish it were under $30.)
oenopole workshop: picnic wines (3/4)
The reds were also served with three sandwiches: a Jewish-French fusion of chopped chicken liver and mousse de foies de volaille on raisin bread; open-faced corned beef garnished with red cabbage; and beef salami with chiles on a lobster roll-style hot dog bun. As is always the case at Hof Kelsten, everything – including the corned beef, salami, pickles and ballpark mustard – was made in house.
Achaïa 2012, Kalavryta, Tetramythos ($16.10, 11885457)
The estate is located in Achaea, on the Gulf of Corinth in the northern Peloponnese. This wine is made using the free-run juice from organically farmed Black of Kalavryta (Μαύρο Καλαβρυτινό) grapes, an indigenous variety once widely grown in the area but now nearly extinct. Alcoholic fermentation (with native yeasts) and nine months’ maturation are in stainless steel vats. Malolactic fermentation is prevented. Use of sulphur dioxide is kept to a bare minimum. The wine is unfined but coarsely filtered before bottling. 13% ABV.
While other bottles have often been reductive, the wine needing at least a couple of hours in a carafe to right itself, this was sweet from the get-go. Lightly candied red fruit, dark spice, slate, undergrowth and a hint of band-aid. Medium-bodied, supple, juicy and dry, with enough acidity to keep things perky. Not very tannic though a faint astringency and bitterness mark the finish. A savoury vin plaisir and a QPR winner. Drink slightly chilled. (Buy again? Yes.)
> A surprisingly good match for the chicken liver, which brought out the wine’s fruit. Excellent with the salami, unfazed by the smouldering chiles. Serviceable with the corned beef. Based on this sampling, the most picnic fare-friendly of the reds.
Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes-de-Nuits 2011, Domaine Henri Naudin-Ferrand ($27.65, 11668698)
100% Pinot Noir from vines averaging 43 years old. Manually harvested. Destemmed. Three days’ cold maceration was followed by 11 days’ alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts, punch-downs and pump-overs. Undergoes malolactic fermentation. Matured 12 months on the lees, 20% in new oak barrels. Blended and filtered before bottling. 12.5% ABV.
Classic red Burg nose: red berries, old wood, beet, minerals, forest floor and hint of new oak. A medium-bodied, silky textured delight with sweet-ripe fruit, supple tannins, bright acidity and darker mineral and wood flavours that linger through the clean finish. As elegant as in earlier vintages but even purer and fresher. (Buy again? Yes.)
> Good with the chicken liver, the berry fruit coming to the fore. Worked with the salami but not with the chiles, which killed the wine. The best of the three wines with the corned beef.
Côtes du Rhône 2011, Daumen ($21.00, 11509857)
Biodynamically and organically farmed Grenache (60%), Syrah (30%) and Mourvèdre (6%) according to the SAQ (earlier vintages have included a dollop of Cinsault) from vines averaging 60 years old. Although marketed under Jean-Paul Daumen’s négociant label, the grapes come from the estate’s own vineyards. Manually harvested, partially destemmed, fermented in temperature-controlled vats with indigenous yeasts and punch-downs for about 20 days, matured approximately 12 months in concrete vats and neutral 50-hl barrels and bottled unfiltered and unfined. Sulphur is added – and then minimally – only just before bottling. 14.5% ABV.
Heady nose of lightly stewed plum, sweet spice, black pepper, leather and graphite. A suave middleweight filled – but not packed – with sweet fruit, enlivening acidity and ripe, round tannins. Pepper and spice perfume the long finish. So fresh and drinkable, the kind of wine the QPR Winner tag was made for. (Buy again? Absolutely.)
> Didn’t sing with the chicken liver. Not bad with the salami, though the chiles did the wine no favours. Very good with the corned beef. Would really shine with grilled red meat – a lamb burger, say.
A textbook Saint-Péray
Saint-Péray 2011, Version, François Villard ($28.85, 12129080)
Marsanne (85%) and Roussanne (15%) from 20-year-old vines. Pressed directly into the fermentation vats. Low-temperature fermentation with indigenous yeasts and weekly stirrings for six months. Matured on the lees in third- to fifth-fill barrels for 11 months. 13.7% ABV.
Subdued but lovely nose of pear, quince, white flowers and hints of honey, almond and fennel. Round and weighty in the mouth, where the equally subdued fruit tends to peach and apricot, while a sustained current of acidity and bitter minerals flows just under the polished surface. The waxy texture turns chalky on the long, lightly saline finish. Far from flashy but beautifully balanced and involving. Impeccable. (Buy again? Yes.)
Beatus ille
Isabelle Ferrando acquired Domaine Saint-Préfert in the southern Châteauneuf du Pape AOC in 2002. Her 2007 Châteauneuf, one of the few wines I’ve ever called sexy, impressed the hell out of me. She recently began making a Côtes-du-Rhône. Not only does it bear a family resemblance to that CDP, it proved a great match for a grilled bavette seasoned with rosemary and garlic (recipe after the jump).
And in case you’re wondering, beatus ille, Latin for “happy is the man,” is the opening line of Horace’s second Epode, which “praises country life [and] the pristine joys of working one’s own land free from exploitation.”
Côtes du Rhône 2012, Beatus Ille, Domaine Saint-Préfert ($18.90, 11941631)
Grenache (85%) and Cinsault (15%) from 40- to 70-year-old vines grown in La Lionne (on the border of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AOC in Sorgues commune). The estate has obtained organic certification for the 2013 vintage. Fully destemmed. Matured six months in concrete vats. 14% ABV.
Seductive nose of crushed black raspberry and red cherry, herbes de Provence, faint brick dust and leather and a whiff of kirsch. In the mouth the wine is a silky-textured if heady middleweight. The peppery fruit, splintery tannins, nipping acidity and underlying dryness are wrapped in a gauzy veil of sweetness and glycerine. The long finish – lifted, not heated, by alcohol – leads to a red licorice, red currant jam aftertaste. While there’s nothing Pinot Noirish about it, I kept coming back to the descriptor Burgundian. Proof that Côtes du Rhônes don’t have to be fruit bombs or bruisers. Grenache lovers should make a beeline. (Buy again? Yes.)
Gang of Rhônes
Daumen is a fairly new line of négociant wines from southern Rhône producer Domaine de la Vieille Julienne. The handsome labels (Côtes-du-Rhône, Lirac, Gigondas, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Principauté d’Orange) were designed by a Quebec firm.
Côtes-du-Rhône 2010, Daumen ($19.00, 11509857)
Organically farmed Grenache (60%), Syrah (30%) and Mourvèdre (6%). Unlike the label’s Lirac and Gigondas but like the VDP de la principauté d’Orange (an old-vine Cabernet Sauvignon–Merlot blend available as a private import from oenopole), the grapes come from Daumen’s own vineyards. They are also co-planted, so this is a field blend. The grapes were hand-picked, sorted, partially destemmed, fermented in temperature-controlled vats with indigenous yeasts, matured approximately 12 months in concrete vats and neutral 50-hl barrels and bottled unfiltered and unfined. Sulphur is added – and then minimally – only just before bottling. 14% ABV.
Crushed blackberry (fruit and leaves), cherry pit, old wood. Medium-bodied and dry. The fruit is held back, leaving room for dark minerals and black pepper. Freshening acidity and fine if teeth-coating tannins only add to the savour. A kirsch note chimes in on the finish. Food-friendly: a natural for a thyme and garlic-stuffed lamb shoulder of course, but also capable of accompanying a wide range of savoury dishes, including all kinds of grilled meats and vegetables. Hard to beat at the price point, provided you’re not looking for a fruit bomb. (Buy again? Yep.)
By the way, when searching for info on the wine, I noticed another cuvée from Daumen, one I’d not heard about, including from Jean-Paul himself at the MWG tasting he led: Côtes-du-Rhône 2005, La Bosse, Domaine de la Vieille Juilienne ($196.00, 11905930). What’s this? A Côtes-du-Rhône that clocks in at 16.5% and costs more than a magnum of the same estate’s 2004 Châteauneuf-du-Pape?! A query to the agent elicited the following reply: “La Bosse: A micro-parcel (lieu-dit) within the “Clavin” zone, hence CDR, which is a hill that is geologically quite different from the rest of the parcel due to the high amount of sand in the topsoil (not unlike the particularities of the parcel that yields Vieille Julienne’s Réservé in Châteauneuf-du-Pape). Over decades, the estate has noticed a marked difference in the quality of the grenache, and in exceptional vintages, like the 2005 (which is also the 100th anniversary of the domaine) makes small amounts to pay tribute to this unique parcel. CDR in name, but can put a lot of Châteauneufs to shame… 480 bottles produced.” At four bucks shy of $200 a bottle, I doubt I’ll ever taste it but I don’t doubt it’s spectacular. Heads-up, millionaires!
MWG March 21st tasting (3/6): Rhône-ish
Viognier 2010, Santa Ynez Valley, Zaca Mesa Winery ($20.20, 11882547)
100% Viognier. Began fermenting in stainless steel vats. Halfway through it was transferred to neutral French oak barrels for maturation. Not allowed to undergo malolatic fermentaion. 13.5% ABV.
Faint tropical fruit, peach/nectarine, honeysuckle, dried earth and straw. Dense and mouthfilling but with surprisingly high acidity for a Viognier. As minerally as it is fruity. Long though a little alcoholic on the finish. Unobjectionable but also unmemorable. (Buy again? Probably not.)
VDP du Gard 2010, Terre d’Argence, Domaine Mourgues du Grès ($20.25, 11874264)
Viognier and some Roussanne according to the producer. Roussanne (40%), Grenache Blanc (40%) and Viognier (20%) according to the Quebec agent. Equal parts Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne and Grenache Blanc according to SAQ.com. Matured in stainless steel tanks for six months (seven months according to the agent). An unspecified fraction is vinified and matured in oak barrels, at least according to the producer. 14.5% ABV.
Minerally, faintly floral, white grapefruit, a bit burned. Rich texture but ashy, acidic and acrid. Produced grimaces all around the table. Oddly, 24 hours later, the tail end was transformed: less heavy, better balanced, nearly ashless, the muted, peach-evoking fruit displayed against a minerally backdrop, with no off flavours – not great but quite drinkable, which no one said about it the night before. (Buy again? Only because I believe in giving second chances.)
That the Zaca Mesa was unexciting wasn’t a surprise; inexpensive Viogniers almost always are. The Mourgues du Grès was another story. The Costières de Nîmes estate’s reds have long been QPR favourites of mine and many other drinkers and the other whites of theirs I’ve tasted have always been enjoyable (I liked their private import white box wine enough at a restaurant to try to convince others to go in on a case with me). But at the tasting, the Terre d’Argence was virtually undrinkable – in sharp contrast to the generally positive reviews it received from local columnists – though it did improve greatly with extended exposure to air. Again, like the Nicolas Potel in the preceding flight, ours may have been an off bottle or may have been suffering from travel shock or from being opened just before being served. But if so, how odd that the Potel and the Mourges are represented by the same agency (and one of our favourites, at that). And how unfortunate that advance carafing should be required, as most consumers just pop and pour.
Châteauneuf du Pégau
Another upmarket candidate for this weekend’s 10% discount on purchases over $100.
Châteauneuf du Pape 2009, Cuvée réservée, Domaine du Pégau ($75.00, 11521354)
Grenache (85%) along with Syrah and Mourvèdre and small amounts of other permitted varieties. Manually harvested. The various grapes with their stems are combined and placed in concrete vats, crushed, macerated and fermented with native yeasts and light additions of tartaric acid and sulphur but without temperature control. Ten days later, the grapes are pressed and transferred to old oak foudres for two years’ maturation. Oddly, the SAQ website specifies 14% ABV for the 750 ml bottle, 14.8% for the magnum.
Leather, spice, char and animale dominate the nose, relegating the dark fruit to the background. In the mouth, the wine is smoother and more integrated than expected. Full bodied with ripe but not heavy fruit, mainly spicy plum, wrapped in dark dusty minerals and structured by a finely etched matrix of stiff tannins and pulsing acidity. Alcohol and astringency linger though the peppery, smoky finish. Big though not overwrought, a wine that grabs you by the nose and throat and doesn’t let go, this 98 Parker pointer was wine of the night for many of the people at the event. I was less enamoured, finding it blunt, exaggerated (the coal ash aspect verged on caricatural), largely devoid of charm and refreshment. Of course, as the years pass, I’m less and less receptive to unsubtle, high-octane reds. And, in its defence, the wine is really young. Were I to buy a bottle, I wouldn’t open it for another ten years, at which point it will probably have a lot more appeal.
Natural bang for the buck
A recent tasting that featured Alsatian wines from Domaine Gérard Schueller and was led by oenopole’s Theo Diamantis (notes to follow) included a surprise flight of three affordable natural-leaning new arrivals. All are private imports and, as far as I know, are still available, though they probably won’t be for long.
IGT Sicilia 2011, Nero d’Avola, Tamì ($19.00, oenopole, 12 bottles/case)
Tamì started as a book, design and wine shop in Siracusa run by Arianna Occhipinti’s architect boyfriend. In 2009, the project introduced a line of négociant wines under its own label. Like the other Tamì wines, this 100% Nero d’Avola is made from organically farmed grapes using whole-cluster fermentation and indigenous yeasts. After six months’ maturation in stainless steel tanks, it is lightly filtered before bottling. 13% ABV.
Wafting nose of plum, boysenberry, spice, kirsch and a hint of horse. A lighter and more elegant take on Nero d’Avola than most. Dry and smooth. The fruit is brightened by just enough acidity and structured by soft, fleshy tannins, leaving an impression of richness unusual for a welterweight wine. By Arianna’s admission, the goal of the Tamì project is to make good, simple, natural everyday wines, and that’s a perfect description of this wine. Trattoria owners should be buying it by the case. (Buy again? Sure.)
VDP de la Principauté d’Orange 2010, Daumen ($17.00, oenopole, 12 bottles/case)
(For background on Jean-Paul Daumen, see the notes from the June 2012 MWG tasting he led.) A blend of organically farmed Cabernet Sauvignon (35%), Grenache (35%), Syrah (15%) and Merlot (15%). Unlike most of the wines in the Daumen line, the grapes come from Daumen’s own vineyards. Partially destemmed; 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. 13% ABV.
Sweet fruit, hint of tobacco, turned earth, kirsch, slate. Fluid with an admirable balance between fruit, acidity and weight. The tannins are fine and linear, the structure not unlike a Bordeaux’s. Long, drying finish. Tasty and delivering great QPR. (Buy again? A no-brainer.)
Barbera d’Asti 2009, Cascina ’Tavijn ($21.80, oenopole, 12 bottles/case)
100% Barbera. Manually harvested. Spontaneous fermentation. Vinified in Slavonian oak botti. The estate sometimes lightly filters and sulphurs wines to improve their stability, though I’ve found no information about this particular bottling.
Earth, animale, plum, leather. A carbon dioxide tingle on the palate quickly dissipates. Rich fruit, tart acidity and mild tannins with a rustic/raspy edge. Cherry and slate mark the finish. A country-style Barbera that’s honest, close to the land, not overpolished and all the more appealing for it. (Buy again? Absolutely.)
Lastly, a heads-up. ’Tavijn’s 2011 Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato ($24.80, oenopole, 12 bottles/case) is also available. A bottle of the 2009 opened last week at the MWG’s private import pickup party was just singing: dark purple; redolent of plum, slate and rose petal; dense yet light on its feet, with velvety tannins, soft acidity and a bitter-edged finish; pure and artless; and perfect with an excellent rabbit and hazelnut terrine from Boucherie de Paris. I’ve not tasted the 2011 but Theo says it’s every bit as good.
Brett happens 