Posts Tagged ‘Under 13 percent’
Three takes on Pinot Noir
Alsace 2014, Pinot Noir, Vignoble d’E, Domaine Ostertag* (ca. $32, private import, 12 bottles/case)
A preview bottle of a wine that will be available this fall. Part of Ostertag’s Vins de Fruit line, this 100% Pinot Noir is made from grapes from two-decade-old organically and biodynamically farmed vines rooted in gravelly clay near the village of Epfig. Manually harvested. Destemmed. Macerated at 26°C for around 10 days. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and daily pumpovers but without chaptalization. Matured in stainless steel tanks until the end of the spring following the harvest. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Complex, savoury nose: red berries, bitter almond, fresh and dried herbs, prosciutto. Light- to medium-bodied, fluid and silky. The lean fruit is shaded by dark minerals and structured by bright acidity and supple tannins that turn a little gritty on the sustained finish. Definitely not a Burgundy but definitely a Pinot Noir, and a tasty and pure one at that. An intriguing pairing with a salad of raw rhubarb, fresh raspberries and greens. (Buy again? Yes, though not without wishing it were a few bucks cheaper.)
*I’ve not linked to Ostertag’s website as my Internet security software indicates it has been hacked and launches an Exploit Kit Redirect 5 Web attack. If your device is protected and you’re feeling adventurous, you can visit the site here.
Casablanca 2015, Pinot Noir, Refugio, Montsecano y Copains ($26.05, 12184839)
The estate is a joint venture involving three Chileans and André Ostertag. Two wines, both 100% Pinot Noir from organically and biodyanmically farmed vines, are made. This is the second wine. Manually harvested. Macerated and fermented with indigenous yeasts for 12 to 18 days. One-quarter is matured in 16-hectolitre concrete eggs for 12 to 18 months, three-quarters in stainless steel tanks. Unfiltered and unfined. A tiny amount of volcanic sulphur is added at bottling. Screwcapped. Reducing sugar: 1.4 g/l. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
An initially reductive nose soon gives way to spice, red currant and strawberry-rhubarb.In the mouth, the wine is denser and more fruit-forward than its flightmates though still fluid and supple. Bright acidity and light if rustic tannins add welcome texture. Long, earthy finish. At this stage, benefits from a hour or two’s carafing. (Buy again? Sure.)
Bourgogne 2013, Bedeau, Domaine de Chassorney/Frederic Cossard ($58.42, private import, 6 bottles/case)
100% Pinot Noir from organically farmed vines. The manually harvested whole clusters are sorted and placed in tronconic wood vats, with carbon dioxide being added along the way to prevent oxidation. Once filled, the vats are loosely covered with plastic and left for 40 day’s maceration and fermentation with occasional pumpovers and/or punchdowns (by foot). The grapes are manually shovelled into to a pneumatic press and the press and free-run juice are pumped into a large vat for malolactic fermentation, then racked into oak barrels (30% new) for 12 to 15 months’ maturation. The finished wine is racked into a vat, allowed to rest one month and bottled by gravity. Unfiltered and unfined. Sulphur is used in the vineyard but not in the winery (Cossard even cleans his barrels with ozone), except for a tiny amount of sulphur dioxide added at bottling. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Strawberry, gunflint, background green herbs and leather, then classic Burgundy notes of red berries, spice and cedar. Medium-bodied, svelte and silky. Airframe tannins and bright-but-sleek acidity structure the remarkably pure fruit, while a mineral vein runs well into the long, clean finish. A savoury red Burg with great energy. (Buy again? If feeling flush, yes.)
MWG July 15th tasting: flight 4 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
Roberto’s Alagna
Passerina del Frusinate 2014, Alagna, Marcella Giuliani (c. $25.00, private import, 12 bottles/case)
100% Passerina from sustainably farmed vines in a two-hectare vineyard located near Anagni (whose ancient name, mentioned in Dante’s Purgatorio, was Alagna), about 60 km due east of Rome. Manually harvested. The grapes are chilled to 5-6°C and macerated on the skins for seven to eight hours. Alcoholic fermentation in stainless steel tanks is at a cool 12-13°C and can last up to a month. (The idea behind the extended maceration and slow fermentation is to draw flavour and aroma compounds from what can be a fairly neutral grape.) Does not undergo malolactic fermentation. Matured in the bottle before release. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Mon Caviste, Côté Vignes.
Light gold with a bronzish core and yellow glints. A nose initially somewhat closed but opening as the wine breathes: “pumpkin,” “apples” and a “herby note” (quoting other tasters), a hint of lemon too, then freshly mown flowery meadow, then spicy honey and beeswax. In the mouth, it’s extracted and fruity, though dry. A soft spritzy tingle lasts maybe five minutes after opening. The unctuous texture is enlivened by soft, sustained acidity. Minerals abound, especially on the crescendoing, bitter-edged finish. Evolves wonderfully in the glass, gaining straw and anise notes. Long, savoury, unique, delicious. A winner. (Buy again? If there’s any left, yes.)
One of the standouts at the MWG’s Mon Caviste tasting in May was a Cesanese from the same producer. Agent Roberto De Lisi was so sure we’d enjoy the estate’s white, he comped this bottle with our subsequent order. He was right.
Bottiglia di Custoza
Bianco di Custoza 2015, Albino Piona ($19.50, 12469383)
A blend of Garganega (30%), Tocai (aka Sauvignonasse and Sauvignon Vert, 25%), Trebbiano (25%) and Cortese (20%). The varieties are vinified separately. Destemmed, chilled, given a short maceration on the skins, then gently pressed. The must is allowed to clarify by settling, then fermented in temperature-controlled tanks. Maturation on the lees also takes place in tanks. Syncorked. Reducing sugar: 4.2 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Les vins Dupré.
Given the varieties involved, surprisingly aromatic: white grapes, lemon, yellow apple, a suggestion of peach, lots of chalk dust and a whiff of clean sweat. Smooth and elegant in the mouth. Round and fruity but dry, with soft-glow acidity. Minerals run throughout and swell on the finish, where they are joined by a saline note and a faint Szechuan peppery numbingness. Nothing complex but a pleasure to drink and the kind of white that only Italy can make. Fine as an aperitif and the best wine yet with a tricky pairing: blanched, chopped rapini sautéed in olive oil with garlic, anchovy and chile, with small scallops added for just a few seconds at the end. (Buy again? Yep.)
The heavy bottle, which weighs about twice as much as a lightweight glass bottle, is an unecological and, for case lifters, unergonomic anachronism that should be ditched. It doesn’t lend the product prestige; on the contrary, it subtracts from it.
And, yes, the post’s title is a pun.
Rioja Gran Reserva times two
Rioja Gran Reserva 2009, Imperial, C.V.N.E. ($51.50, 12203796)
Tempranillo (85%), Graciano (10%) and Mazuelo (aka Carignan, 5%) from vines averaging more than 20 years old in Villalba and Haro in Rioja Alta. Manually harvested. The grapes were destemmed and cold macerated prior to cool alcoholic fermentation in oak vats and malolactic fermentation in barrels and cement vats. Matured 36 months in American and French oak barrels and 48 months in the bottle. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: LBV International.
Plum, old wood, black tea, cherry tart, a whiff of alcohol. Smooth, satiny and balanced, the fruit ripe and pure, the firm, gritty tannins beginning to relax, the acidity providing welcome freshness. Incipient layers bring smoke, black fruit and minerals to mind and hint at depth to come. Long, sandalwood finish. Young but approachable now, better integrated and more refulgent in five to 10 years. (Buy again? Sure.)
Rioja Gran Reserva 2005, 904, La Rioja Alta ($72.50, 12407810)
Tempranillo (90%) and Graciano (10%) from vines over 40 years old in Briñas, Labastida and Villalba. Alcoholic fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks. Matured 48 months in four-year-old American oak barrels (made in-house), with racking every six months. Bottled in November 2010. Reducing sugar: 2.0 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Vinicolor.
“Like Christmas cake,” said one taster upon smelling the nose. I wrote: macerated cherry, leather, tobacco, pencil lead, sawed cedar, background coconut and vanilla. Medium- to full-bodied. Still youthful and vibrant though the tannins are mostly resolved. Great depth of flavour, including plummy fruit, inky minerals, animale, smoke and well-integrated oak. Very long woody/savoury finish. Balanced, elegant and, more importantly, delicious. Enjoyable now but probably not peaking for another 10 years and capable of aging longer. Special. (Buy again? Budget permitting, yes.)
MWG April 14th tasting: flight 6 of 6
Elian Da Ros times two
Côtes du Marmandais 2014, Le Vin est une Fête, Elian Da Ros ($21.00, 11793211)
A blend of organically and biodynamically farmed Abouriou (40%), Cabernet Franc (40%) and Merlot (20%). Manually harvested. The Merlot and Cabernet were destemmed, macerated for ten to 15 days and gently pressed. The Abouriou clusters were kept whole and vinified using semi-carbonic maceration. All fermentations are with indigenous yeasts. The wine was matured 10 months in old barrels and one month in concrete tanks. Unfined and lightly filtered before bottling in late November 2015. Sulphur is added only on bottling. 12.5% ABV. Closed with a synthetic cork. Reducing sugar: under 1.2 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Some reductive aromas on opening but nothing double-carafing doesn’t take care of. One hour after opening: plum, slate, spice, iron and cherry yogurt. In the mouth, it’s medium-bodied and round, fruity but dry, with freshening acidity, lightly raspy tannins and good energy. Tasty and throwbackable, the kind of wine that almost drinks itself. Hard to imagine a more grill-friendly red. Serve lightly chilled. (Buy again? Yes.)
Côtes du Marmandais 2012, Chante Coucou, Elian Da Ros ($31.25, 12723142)
A blend of Merlot (50%), Cabernet Sauvignon (20%), Malbec (20%) and Syrah (10%) from organically and biodynamically farmed vines mostly in their third decade (the Merlot vines are a bit younger). Manually harvested. The Merlot and Cabernet are destemmed, the Malbec and Syrah aren’t. The varieties are vinified separately. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and gentle punch-downs of the cap. Total maceration time: two to three weeks. Matured 24 months in barrels. Blending occurred nine months before bottling, which took place on August 25, 2015. Unfiltered and unfined. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Our first two bottles were corked (all three came from the same case), so popped and poured unfortunately. On the nose, the fruit (red currant, blackberry, cherry) takes a back seat to “citronnelle,” “green,” vanilla and slate. Rich and finely structured in the mouth, the acidity sleek, the tannins still a little tight. Fruitier and more rustic than your average Bordeaux but very much in that mould. Finishes long and clean on a wood and mineral note. Continued evolving in the glass, indicating some aging potential: cellar three to five years or carafe an hour or two before serving. (Buy again? Maybe.)
MWG April 14th tasting: flight 4 of 6
Selbach-Oster times two
Mosel 2014, Zeltinger Himmelreich, Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken, Selbach-Oster ($19.95, 00927962)
100% Riesling from the Himmelreich vineyard (Zeltinger is the name of the adjacent, riverside village). Manually harvested. Made in tanks and large neutral barrels. Screwcapped. Reducing sugar: 17 g/l. 11% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
“Lemon-flavoured Greek yogurt” (quoting another taster), chalk, quartz and eventually green apple and a whiff of petrol. Light and lean in the mouth. The sugar, in no way saccharine to begin with, is held in check by trenchant acidity. The fruit seems subdued, at least for now, while the pervasive minerals have yet to crystallize. Enjoyable enough as is but, based on experience with earlier vintages, I’m guessing this still has some knitting together to do and will show better in a year or two. Cannot imagine why anyone, especially sushi eaters, would choose Kung Fu Girl when this is around. (Buy again? Sure.)
Mosel 2012, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, Riesling Spätlese Trocken, Selbach-Oster ($29.35, 00904243)
100% Riesling from the Sonnenuhr vineyard. Manually harvested. Made in tanks and large neutral barrels. Reducing sugar: 7.7 g/l. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Rézin.
Apples, faint citrus, chalk and slate. Elegant and transparent, with a rainwatery weight and texture. Fruity and residual sugary but basically dry. Minerals abound. The acidity is crisp though less razor-sharp than the Halbtrocken’s. Good length, with some stone fruit and spice joining the lemon and slate. A wine of great purity, this is drinkable now but will reward cellaring for another five years at least. (Buy again? Yes.)
Sorry to say the estate continues the German tradition of providing few specifics about its vine-growing and wine-making. The above two wines may or may not come from old, ungrafted vines and may or may not have been fermented with indigenous yeasts. No info about filtering, fining or added sulphur (though you can usually take the last for granted).
MWG April 14th tasting: flight 2 of 6
Limoux times two
Crémant de Limoux 2013, Expression, Antech ($20.60, 10666084)
Chardonnay (60%), Chenin Blanc (20%) and Mauzac (20%) from vines rooted in argilo-calcerous soil. Manually harvested. After pressing, the musts are chilled and clarified by settling, then transferred to stainless steel fermentation vessels. First fermentation lasts 15 to 21 days. The wine is then clarified by fining and sparkled using the traditional method. Spends at least 18 months on the lees in the bottle before disgorging. Reducing sugar: 8.1 g/l (for the 2014). 12% ABV. Quebec agent: AOC.
Cookie dough, chalk and lemon. Fine and persistent effervescence. Clean and dry on the palate, the fruit tending to apple, with good acidity and a dusting of minerals. A hint of bitterness creeps in on the faintly honeyed finish. It’s a bit anonymous – more cava- than champagne-like – but certainly drinkable. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Crémant de Limoux 2013, Brut, Clos des Demoiselles, J. Laurens ($23.90, 10498973)
Chardonnay (60%), Chenin Blanc (30%) and Pinot Noir (10%). The varieties are manually harvested and vinified separately. First fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks. The wine is then bottled with added yeast for second fermentation, matured on the lees for 15 months and disgorged, all per the traditional method. Reducing sugar: 12 g/l. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Sélections Oeno.
Cookie dough again, this time with marzipan, “matches” and a sour edge. Gained faint notes of “slightly rotting tropical fruit” and candied apple. Richer, more complex and less cava-like than the Antech, with softer, rounder bubbles. The fruit – pear and a little citrus – is upfront but the wine comes across as dry, due in part to the lively acidity. Chalky minerals thread through the mid-palate and into the long finish. Fresh, balanced and satisfying. The usually shaped bottle is quite slippery. (Buy again? Sure.)
The Antech was supposed to be the newly arrived 2014 and I didn’t notice that it wasn’t till unveiling the bottle at the tasting. The vintage information is in the SAQ’s product database yet, perversely, SAQ.com doesn’t make use of it. Why the site usually lists only the latest vintage received and thus sometimes misidentifies the vintage in a given store is a mystery, a source of frustration and a major fail.
MWG April 14th tasting: flight 1 of 6
Different drummers
Saint-Chinian 2014, Antonyme, Domaine Canet-Valette ($17.80, 11013317)
A 50-50 blend of Mourvèdre and Cinsault from organically farmed vines. Manually harvested. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in tanks for 15 days. The wine is then transferred to other tanks for four months’ maturation. Sees only stainless steel until bottling. Reducing sugar: 2.5 g/l. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Le Maître de Chai.
Slightly candied red and black fruit with faint smoke and animale notes. Medium-bodied. Smooth, dense, fruity and dry but also listless and lacking relief, especially next to the À ma guise. I recall an earlier vintage (the 2006?) being more Beaujolais-like. Admittedly, the context didn’t do the wine any favours and I expect it will show better with food, ideally something red meaty and grilled (I’ll be hanging on to my backup bottle to see). (Buy again? Maybe.)
Vin de France 2014, À ma guise, Domaine Les Terres Promises ($25.87, private import, 6 bottles/case)
The 13-hectare estate, which includes a parcel in the Bandol AOC, is owned and operated by former Parisian political operative and author Jean-Christophe Comor and located in the Var department in the foothills of the Massif de la Saint-Baume near the village of La Roquebrussanne. The farming is organic, the wine-making is non-interventionist and the chai is open to the air. This primeur-style wine is a blend of around a dozen varieties including Carignan, Grenache, Cinsault, Clairette and Carignan Blanc. Unfiltered. No or very little added sulphur. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Le Vin dans les Voiles.
Complex, “natural” nose. Fleet yet mouth-filling. Chewy, juicy red fruit with exuberant acidity, supple tannins, a healthy dose of minerals, a squirt of vine sap and a dusting of earth. Smackingly tart finish. So very drinkable. A joy. (Buy again? Done!)
I first encountered the À ma guise at Satay Bros., where it was being poured by the glass. I liked it enough to have a couple of refills and, a few days later, to trek through the rain on foot and public transit to the middle of nowhere, aka the SAQ’s Futailles Street warehouse, to pick up a case so I could serve it at the tasting. The tasting’s bottle was cloudier than I remembered, a bit funky and not quite as stellar as the Satay Bros. bottle (which may have been open and poured from for a while), though it was still good enough for me to have no trouble selling the remainder of the case. Opened day or two later, a third bottle was verging on vinegar. Such are the vagaries of natural wines. Yet when the wine is on, such are the rewards that we put up with the disappointments.
MWG March 31st tasting: flight 5 of 6
Terroir or not terroir?
Cheverny 2014, Envol, Domaine des Huards ($19.95, 12748278)
A blend of Gamay (50%), Pinot Noir (42%) and Cabernet Franc (8%) from biodynamically farmed vines. Manually harvested. The fruit is placed directly into tanks for alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts. Halfway through fermentation, the grapes are pressed. Undergoes full malolactic fermentation. Matured several months in tanks. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV.
Reductive at first, then sweet red berries with hints of sandalwood and slate. Supple, pure and nicely tart. The ripe red fruit sits on slate and is appealingly streaked with green. The slender tannins become a little more prominent on the lip-smacking finish. A refreshing easy-drinker best served cool, this could well be my go-to red this summer. (Buy again? Done!)
Cheverny 2014, Le Pressoir, Domaine Des Huards ($24.00, 11154021)
An 80-20 blend of Pinot Noir and Gamay from biodynamically farmed vines. The grapes are transferred to the vats without pumping. Alcoholic fermentation – with native yeasts – takes place at temperatures up to 30ºC and lasts about a week. The wine is then gently pressed, racked, allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation, oxygenated and racked again with bottling taking place in April or May. The only non-grape product added is small amounts of sulphur dioxide. Reducing sugar: 2.0 g/l. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV.
“Salty-savoury” nose of red fruit, mincemeat and some flinty minerals. Light and juicy in the mouth. Supply structured with tart acidity and fine tannins. Finishes with a cranberry-mineral tang. Probably the best Pressoir since the legendary 2006, though it still doesn’t have the full-on Pinot character that made the earlier wine such a delight. (Buy again? Yes.)
Beamsville Bench 2013, Pinot Noir, Hidden Bench ($35.50, 12582984)
This is the Estate bottling. 100% Pinot Noir from three parcels. Manually harvested. Cold-soaked for five days. Fermented with indigenous yeasts with manual punch-downs three to four times a day. The fermented, free-run juice was gravity fed directly into barrels and the skins were pressed in a basket press. Maturation in French oak barrels lasted around 16 months. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. Reducing sugar: 1.9 g/l. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Le Maître de Chai.
Your typical Pinot mix of red berries, cola and red beet along with oak, sweet spice and a faint chemical note that one taster likened to epoxy. Richer than the Pressoir. Tighter too, with firm tannins and sustained acidity. The fruit is forward though not to excess. Oak flavours dominate – some might say spoil – the finish for now but the wine is young. Pitched between Burgundy and New World, this is suave if a little pricey (too bad it’s not under $30). If you wanted to pick nits, you might note that, however well made, it seems a bit anonymous, doesn’t display terroir in the way that many red Burgundies or even the two Huards do. Then again, that may be why the estate’s flagship line is dubbed the Terroir Series. (Buy again? A bottle to cellar for a year or two to see if the wine digests the oak.)
MWG March 31st tasting: flight 4 of 6
Brett happens 
