Posts Tagged ‘screwcap’
Somewhereness 2013: 13th Street Winery
Now in its 15th vintage, St. Catharines-based 13th Street Winery makes still and sparkling wines from estate-grown and purchased grapes. Before landing on the Niagara Peninsula, current winemaker Jean-Pierre Colas worked in France and Chile.
Chardonnay 2012, June’s Vineyard, Creek Shores VQA, 13th Street Winery ($24.92, Les vins Alain Bélanger, 12 bottles/case)
100% estate-grown Chardonnay from vines planted in 1999. Manually harvested and sorted, then crushed, destemmed and pressed. Given a short maceration on the skins. Fermented and matured (on the lees for seven months) in stainless steel. Underwent complete malolactic fermentation. Scewcapped. 13.5% ABV.
Textbook Chardonnay nose of lemon, green apple, oats and chalk. Chock-a-block with minerals (this is not a fruit-driven wine), alive with acidity, intense if not particularly deep. A hint of white pepper seasons the finish. It comes as no surprise to learn that Colas used to be the head winemaker for a major Chablis producer. (Buy again? Sure, especially at the Ontario price of $21.95.)
Riesling 2012, June’s Vineyard, Creek Shores VQA, 13th Street Winery ($24.92, Les vins Alain Bélanger, 12 bottles/case)
100% Riesling, specifically the Alsatian clone 49 (all the other Somewhereness Riesling makers use the German Weiss clone). Haven’t found any wine-making info but would be willing to bet it sees only stainless steel. 13 g/l residual sugar. Screwcapped. 11.5% ABV.
A nose that doesn’t scream Riesling: the fruit is more tropical than lemon-limey, the minerals are faint, nary a whiff of petrol is to be found. Smooth and sleek on the palate. Just off-dry. As minerally (more quartz than limestone) as fruity. Decent finish with floral overtones. Fresh and appealing. (Buy again? Yes, especially at the Ontario price of $19.95.)
Gamay Noir 2012, Niagara Peninsula VQA, 13th Street Winery ($24.92, Les vins Alain Bélanger, 12 bottles/case)
100% Gamay from three vineyards: Sandstone, Schwenker and 13th Street. Manually harvested, then crushed and destemmed. The lots were fermented separately in stainless steel vats over 3 weeks, then pressed and transferred to stainless steel tanks for malolactic fermentation, after which the final blend was assembled. Screwcapped. 13.5% ABV.
Red, blue and black berries, slate, a whiff of alcohol and eventually red meat. Rich but not heavy thanks to a firm acid backbone, velvety tannins and general juiciness. Long, pure and tasty. (Buy again? Yes, especially at the Ontario price of $19.95.)
Gamay Noir 2011, Sandstone Reserve, Four Mile Creek VQA, 13th Street Winery ($30.03, Les vins Alain Bélanger, 12 bottles/case)
100% Gamay from “old” vines (planted in 1983). Manually harvested and sorted, crushed and destemmed, then given a cold-soak and fermented in stainless steel vats with regular punch-downs of the cap. Moved to French oak barrels (around 20% new and 20% second fill) for malolactic fermentation and maturation on the lees with a single racking. 13% ABV.
Deeper, darker nose: spice, herbs, red and black fruit. Fuller-bodied than most Gamays. While noticeable, the oak doesn’t overpower the spicy fruit. Compared with the 2011 Niagara Peninsula Gamay, the wine seems structured more by tannins than by acidity. Solid finish. Could almost pass for a Pinot Noir or Cabernet Franc. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Pinot Noir 2012, Essence, Niagara Peninsula VQA, 13th Street Winery ($44.86, Les vins Alain Bélanger, 6 bottles/case)
100% Pinot Noir from older vines in the 13th Street vineyard and younger vines at Fourth Avenue. Also includes some purchased fruit. Each batch was handled separately until final blending.Manually harvested and sorted, then destemmed, crushed and transferred to open-top stainless steel vats for fermentation (with punch-downs) at a relatively cool 25ºC, after which the wine was left to macerate on the skins for 20 days. The wine and lees were transferred to French oak barrels (all second fill except one, which was new) for malolactic fermentation and maturation. Total barrel time: 14 months. Blended, fined and lightly filtered before bottling. 13% ABV.
Elegant Burgundian nose of red berries, spice and undergrowth. Ripe and supple, with gossamer fruit, bright acidity and lacy tannins that turn astringent on finish. A bit short but impressively coherent. Very good. (Buy again? Unfortunately no, due mainly to the high price.)
Somewhereness 2013: Charles Baker
Charles Baker currently makes two wines, both Rieslings and both from purchased grapes. (A red may be in the works.) In absence of a dedicated winery, the wine-making is done at Stratus, where Baker is director of sales. The wines are made only with the post-crushing free-run juice and are fermented and matured in stainless steel. They clearly express a sense of place, being true to both the grape and their origin – not mock German, Alsatian or Austrian but unique, with their own sense of style, their own somewhereness.
Riesling 2011, Picone Vineyard, Twenty-Mile Bench VQA, Charles Baker ($35.25, Rézin, 6 bottles/case)
100% Riesling from 30-year-old vines grown in the Picone vinyeard on Vinemount Ridge. Screwcapped. 20 g/l residual sugar. 11% ABV.
Fresh, clean nose: dusty limestone, lemon/lime, green apple and a floral note. Smooth, even tender in the mouth. Present but not heavy, off-dry but with a tart substructure. Long limestoney finish. Remarkably poised for an adolescent. (Buy again? Yes, despite wishing it was in the $25 to $30 range.)
While the 2011 Picone was the only wine Baker was pouring at Somewhereness 2013, I’m taking advantage of this opportunity to post notes on two more of his wines that I recently enjoyed.
Riesling 2006, Picone Vineyard, Twenty-Mile Bench VQA, Charles Baker
The second vintage of the wine. 100% Reisling from 25-year-old vines grown in the Picone vineyard on Vinemount Ridge. Screwcapped. 25 g/l residual sugar. 11% ABV.
Complex, engaging nose of petrol, spice and citrus. Balanced intensity. Tense but not tight. A shade sweeter than the 2011 on the attack but drier on the finish. The fruit and minerals are fully integrated, inseparable: the product of time. Great length and purity. Transparent in the sense that the grape and terroir come through like light through glass. Saying this is the best New World Riesling I’ve tasted doesn’t do it justice: truly world-class. (Buy again? If only I could.)
Riesling 2012, Ivan Vineyard, Twenty-Mile Bench VQA, Charles Baker ($27.00 at Stratus)
100% Riesling from young vines grown in a 12-acre vineyard planted at the turn of the century. Screwcapped. 13 g/l residual sugar. 11.5% ABV.
Lime, linden, green leaves. Clean, tart, refreshing. Sour apple upfront, limestone more in background. Pure and intense with a lip-smacking finish. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG October 17th tasting (2/5): The naked and the clad
Rueda 2012, Bodega de Los Herederos del Marqués de Riscal ($14.35, 10270725)
100% Verdejo. Destemmed, cold-soaked on the skins and clarified through settling and fining, then fermented at around 14ºC for 20 days. After a short stay in barrels, the wine is bottled, usually in the winter that follows the harvest. Screwcapped. 13% ABV.
White grapefruit, cat pee, granite dust and barely audible lychee and dried herb high notes. Light and bright, very dry yet intensely fruity with a faint nut skin-like bitterness. Not deep but quite long. Yes, it’s a bit faceless. But it’s also clean, fresh and refreshing. As the French say, correct, especially at the price. (Buy again? Sure though not in preference to Ijalba’s similarly priced Genoli, which is made from organically farmed Viura grapes.)
Rueda 2008, Naiades, Bodegas Naia ($29.95, 11962707)
100% Verdejo from old vines, some of them centenarians. Manually harvested. Barrel-fermented then transferred to new French oak barrels for eight months’ maturation. Attractive label. Ridiculously heavy bottle. 13.5% ABV. One of the wines in the Cellier New Arrivals release.
Fragrant bouquet of tropical fruit, vanilla and coconut with background minerals and char. While you could say the dense fruit is balanced by the grape’s naturally high acidity, to my palate the wine is sweet and cloying. And if the oak doesn’t exactly mask the fruit, it certainly envelops it. Broad and long, this is far closer to a buttery New World Chardonnay – albeit one with some minerals and muscle tone – than to traditional Ruedas like the Marqués de Riscal or, for that matter, Naia’s own eponymous cuvée. Not at all my style though some people will love it. (Buy again? Nope.)
A hexing Hexamer
Meddersheimer Rheingrafenberg 2010, Riesling “Quarzit”, Weingut Hexamer ($21.65, 11885684)
As far as I know, this is the first Hexamer wine offered in Quebec and also the first product brought in by a new agent, Roland Bambach, a caterer and chef-for-hire whose wine portfolio appears to consist solely of this estate’s products. Based in Meddersheim in the Nahe region, Harald Hexamer believes wines are made in the vineyard, not the winery. This 100% Riesling comes from a plot in the Rheingrafenberg vineyard that is almost pure quartzite. The grapes are manually harvested, whole cluster pressed and fermented cold. The wine sees only stainless steel. Screwcapped. 10.5% ABV.
Beautiful wafting nose: lime zest, lemon verbena, linden blossom, quartz. Faint carbon dioxide tingle. The texture is rich, even luscious texture yet the wine is barely off-dry. Peach joins the expected citrus while piquant acidity adds a rhubarb-like tang. Long finish. Not a lot of layers here but as the fruit fades it reveals a plane of chalky quartz and leaves a faint sourness that erases any memory of residual sugar. If anything, the wine was even more impressive the next day. It may not have the dazzle of an MSR but its weight, wininess and subdued aromatics probably make it even more versatile with food. (Buy again? Definitely.)
MWG April 13th tasting (4/5): Twixt Old World and New
Syrah 2009, Syrocco, Domaine des Ouleb Thaleb ($20.60, 11375561)
A joint venture between Crozes-Hermitage-based winemaker Alain Graillot and Morocco’s largest wine producer, Thalvin. This 100% young-vine Syrah is made with grapes grown mainly in vineyards near the winery, which is located between Rabat and Casablanca and about 40 km inland from Morocco’s Atlantic coast. The vineyards are manually weeded and ploughed and no herbicides and fungicides are used. In 2009, the grapes were fully destemmed and fermented in closed concrete vats with daily pump-overs. Total maceration time was ten days. The wine then spent seven and a half months in tanks followed by seven and half months in French oak barrels (50% new, 50% second vintage). Lightly filtered before bottling. 13.5% ABV.
Rich, berries, smoke, sweat, hint of animale, eventually cola. Velvety and liqueur-ish, the ripe almost sweet fruit saved from bombdom by the tonic acidity, soft if puckery tannins and savoury edge. Slow-fade finish. Not as pure, complex or deep as Graillot’s Rhône Syrahs but enjoyable in its own right. The best wine from this project to date. (Buy again? Sure.)
Syrah 2010, No. 2, Central Victoria, Graillot Australia ($41.50, 11844815)
A joint venture between Alain Graillot and Bidbendum’s Robert Walters. Two cuvées are made – this second wine and the flagship Graillot Syrah – and 2010 was the first vintage of each. Both are 100% Syrah from organically farmed (though not certified as such) ten-year-old vines. The winemaking is identical for both cuvées: mostly destemmed but about 10% whole bunches; fermented in small open tanks with native yeasts; aged in a mix of old and new oak barrels. The batches for the cuvées are selected on a barrel by barrel basis and, as it turned out, in 2010 the oakiest batches went into the second wine (still only about 10% new oak). Screwcapped. 13% ABV.
“Wet rubber-clad dog” was one taster’s description of the initially dominant smell (probably related to screwed-up screwcapping). I also got plum, bacon, pepper and tomato sauce. Rich, dense and intense but still more Syrah- than Shiraz-like. The ripe fruit is structured with round tannins and welcome acidity. A minerally substrate grounds and deepens the wine. Long finish with faint chocolate notes. Ready to go. (Buy again? Not at the current asking price.)
Syrah 2009, Le Pousseur, Central Coast, Bonny Doon ($26.80, 10961016)
100% Syrah made from purchased grapes grown in three Central Coast vineyards. Each vineyard’s production is manually harvested and fermented separately. Indigenous yeasts. Maturation in French oak barrels. Both tartaric acid and sulphur dioxide are added. Screwcapped. 13.5% ABV.
Rich and savoury nose: red meat, leather, dusty minerals, plum, background oak and a whiff of alcohol. Plush yet fluid. Full of ripe fruit but not a bomb. Fine tannins and juicy acidity. It all adds up to a vin plaisir, albeit a slightly pricey one. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Syrah 2009, Les Côtes de l’Ouest, California, Terre Rouge ($23.20, 00897124)
98% Syrah, about 60% coming from a Sierra foothills vineyard and the rest from various mountain sites, and 2% Viognier. The grapes were lightly crushed, co-fermented in large tanks with regular pump-overs. Matured 17 months in French oak barrels (20% new). 14.5% ABV.
Herbs, earth, blackberry liqueur with a red meat note. Pure and, despite the high alcohol, balanced. There’s a certain depth of flavour (though not of structure), a vein of slatey minerals and a clean, lightly astringent finish. The most Rhône-ish of the bunch. If this were under $20, it’d be a certifiable QPR winner. (Buy again? Sure.)
So-so Syrah
IGP Pays d’Hérault 2011, Syrah, Domaine de Petit Roubié ($15.70, 11703502)
100% organically farmed Syrah. Destemmed. Temperature-controlled fermentation with selected yeasts. Macerated 30 days. Screwcapped. 12.5% ABV.
The red fruit, turned earth, bacon and animale you expect from warm-climate Syrah are there, along with a little barnyard and, surprisingly for a 12.5% wine, alcohol. Medium-bodied. The ripe fruit is joined by spice on the attack and darker, slatey flavours on the mid-palate. Said fruit and its sweetness soon fade leaving an astringency and bitterness that border on the unpleasant. Food – in my case a lamb leg steak – brought out the wine’s best side. And it was a little less uncharming the next day. Yet the half bottle’s worth of wine that was combined with chopped shallots, boiled down to a few spoonfuls and mounted with butter to make a sauce for crisp-skinned salmon gave the sauce such an astringently desiccating bite that I had to add sugar – a first. The bottom line: appealing on paper (varietally correct, organic, civilized alcohol level, under $16) but with a very low pleasure quotient. Dommage. (Buy again? Probably not.)
Pink wave
Four rosés that have hit the SAQ’s shelves just in time for our spate of summery weather. All but the Bonny Doon are from the May 2nd Cellier New Arrivals release.
Patrimonio 2011, Osé, Domaine d’E Croce, Yves Leccia ($22.95, 11900821)
100% Nielluccio. A saignée method rosé. The juice is “bled” from the red wine vat after 12 hours’ maceration, cold-settled for 24 hours, then fined. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks at 18ºC and lasts 15 to 20 days. The wine is not allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation. Matured six months in stainless steel tanks. Lightly filtered before bottling. 13.5% ABV.
Bold medium pink. Wafting nose of red berries, nectarine, minerals and above all maquis. Silky bordering on dense. Bright but not sweet fruit, some mineral depth and a lingering savoury finish with a saline note. My pour came from a bottle that had been open about 24 hours, yet the wine was still fresh and vibrant (it reportedly had a carbon dioxide tingle on opening but not when I got around to tasting it). To my palate, the winner of the four. Though it screams vin de terrasse, it also has the wherewithal to accompany tapas and grilled chicken. (Buy again? Yes.)
Vin Gris de Cigare 2012, Central Coast, Bonny Doon Vineyard ($22.75, 10262979)
Grenache (62%), Mourvèdre (17%), Roussanne (9%), Grenache Blanc (6%) and Cinsault (6%). 12.5% ABV according to the winemaker, 13.5% according to SAQ.com. Screwcapped.
A true gris: as pale grey/tan as it is pink. On both the nose and the palate, lots of minerals and garrigue but not much fruit. As close to bone dry as a rosé gets. Good weight and length. Truer to its Rhône/Provence model than some earlier vintages. If nit-picking, you could say it’s a little short on charm. Still, it’s likely the best pink wine in the SAQ’s regular catalogue. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Vin Gris d’Amador 2011, Sierra Foothills, Terre Rouge ($22.95, 11629710)
Mourvèdre (61%), Grenache (35%) and Syrah (4%). The name notwithstanding, this is a saignée method rosé made from juice “bled” from the red wine vats early in the maceration stage. Vinification is in used French oak barrels. 13.5% ABV.
Dark salmon pink. The most fragrant of the four: red berries, spice, dried herbs. Winey and mouth-filling but avoiding heaviness due to the acidity and held-in-check fruit. Long, savoury, even a little heady. This was the favourite of the wine advisor pouring the sample, who also speculated that, were it served in an opaque glass, most tasters would guess it was a red wine. More a food wine than a sipper. I’d pair it with something like grilled pork chops. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Marsannay rosé 2011, Domaine Bruno Clair ($23.30, 10916485)
100% Pinot Noir. One-third of the grapes are pressed on arrival at the winery; the remainder are whole cluster-macerated for up to 72 hours before being pressed. The musts are then blended and transferred to stainless steel tanks for 20 to 30 days’ fermentation at 18 to 20ºC. Matured 12 months in stainless steel tanks. 12.5% ABV.
While earlier vintages of this have often been exquisite, the 2011 is anything but. It’s like the life has been sucked out of it. The fruit – strawberry, I’d guess – is dessicated and oxidized. With nothing to counterbalance it, the acid makes the wine taste sharp. And then there’s the faint acrid note on the finish. Could be an off bottle but, if so, it’s reportedly not the only one. (Buy again? Nope.)
MWG April 18th tasting (4/9): Mann to Mann
Alsace 2011, Schlossberg Grand cru, Riesling, Domaine Albert Mann ($48.00, 11967751)
100% Riesling from biodyanmically farmed 40-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Slow pressed (pneumatic or horizontal press). Fermentation and maturation take several months, during which time the wine is in contact with its lees. Sulphur in small amounts is the only non-grape product added. 13.5% ABV.
Closed but promising nose: lemon-lime, coriander seed, minerals, a flowery meadow. Smooth and round, with noticeable residual sugar on the attack, though the wine dries as it goes along. The fruit is rich, layered and impressively dense, the acidity gleaming. Chewing reveals an underlying tautness and granitic minerality that lasts through the long finish. It may be a baby but it’s already a thoroughbred, as a decade in the cellar will surely make clear. (Buy again? Yes.)
Alsace 2011, Riesling, Cuvée Albert, Domaine Albert Mann ($27.30, 11449786)
100% Riesling from biodynamically farmed 20-year-old vines in the Rosenberg (Wettolsheim) et Altenbourg (Kientzheim) vineyards. Slow pressed. Fermented in stainless steel and on the lees for several months. Screwcap. 13% ABV.
Reductive nose (probably due to the wine not being carafed but simply opened and poured). After it blows off, a classic Riesling nose dominated by lemon-lime and kerosene. Light and smooth in the mouth. Slightly less sweet and considerably less dense, complex and dimensional than the Schlossberg. Clean citrus and mineral flavours, ripe acidity, impeccable balance and good length add up to a wine that’s easy to drink now but has the potential to age and improve for another four or five years. My only hesitation is the price, which seems high when, if you’re lucky, you can get a private import Schueller Riesling for $4 less. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Wildass cheek
Wildass Red 2011, VQA Niagara Penninsula, Stratus ($24.70, 11601143)
A self-styled “cheeky” proprietary blend of Cabernet Franc (31%), Merlot (28%), Cabernet Sauvignon (18%) and Syrah (11%) with a little Tannat, Petit Verdot, Tempranillo and Sangiovese thrown in for the hell of it. Aged in oak barrels (11% new) for 246 days. 14% ABV per the winery, 12.5% ABV per the LCBO and SAQ.
Exuberant, engaging nose of red fruit, pencil box (wood, graphite and eraser), spice, shoe leather. Medium bodied, fluid. The core of spicy, juicy fruit gains some slate and then milk chocolate. Zingy acidity runs throughout, as do the light but firm tannins. Dried herbs scent the savoury, mildly astringent finish. Maybe a little less wowing than the 2008, but still (and as always) a pure, tart and refreshing wine, one of the most drinkable, food-friendly reds to come out of Ontario. It’s not surprising to learn that the winemaker hails from the Loire. To Quebec’s eternal shame, it’s 25% more expensive at the SAQ than at the LCBO.
MWG March 21st tasting (1/6): Two aromatic whites
To mark the passing of Cellier as we know it, the tasting included only bottles from the Spring 2013 issue of the magazine, nearly all of them from the March 21st release. The still reds were double-carafed an hour or two before we got around to them. Time constraints meant the whites were poured within minutes of opening, which may explain some of the oddness we encountered.
Grüner Veltliner 2011, Wagram, Weinberghof Karl Fritsch ($16.75, 11885203)
The 20-hectare, biodynamic estate is located in the Wagram region, about 60 km west of Vienna. This 100% Grüner Veltliner is fermented and matured in stainless steel tanks. Screwcapped. 12.0% ABV.
Lime zest, chalk, quartz and the faintest hint of white pepper. Denser than expected on the palate. Ripe. Dry but not arid. Tingly acidity. The minerally substrate lasts through the long, citric finish. A bit simple but good clean fun. (Buy again? Yep.)
Colli Bolognesi Classico 2011, Pignoletto, Fattorie Vallona ($20.55, 11876041)
The Pignoletto grape variety is indigenous to Emilia-Romagna and common in the hills around Bologna. It may be related to Grechetto. Technical information on this wine is virtually non-existent. One or two websites claim earlier vintages contained 10% Riesling. In any case, my guess is that this is made entirely in neutral containers, possibly stainless steel. 13.5% ABV.
Candied lemon, rocks, faint dried herbs. Slightly spritzy, slightly off-dry, slightly weighty. White fruit, minerals, a hint of almond skin and a whack of acidity. The long finish is spoiled by an acrid note. (Buy again? Only to give it another chance.)
Brett happens 