Posts Tagged ‘Under 13 percent’
Verging on Vinho Verde
Vinho regional Minho 2011, Alvarinho, Quinta de Gomariz ($20.20, 11895225)
Despite being a young estate (2005 was its first vintage), Quinta de Gomariz has come to be regarded as one of the region’s top producers. This cuvée is 100% Alvarinho from 11-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and matured in stainless steel for seven to ten days and two months respectively. Not allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation. Fined and filtered before bottling. 12.5% ABV.
White grapefruit and nectarine dusted with chalk and white pepper. In the mouth, there’s a faint spritzy tingle and a hint of sweetness on the attack that’s quickly soured by acidity. The effect is fresh and lightly fruity, like biting into a chilled green grape. A rainwatery mid-palate leads to a citrusy finish with more white pepper and lingering green apple. Simple but pure and lovely. This went well enough with grilled squid but is really waiting for snow crab season, the crustacean either served plain or dressed in a light herb vinaigrette. Can also see it working with simple Cantonese seafood dishes like fish steamed with ginger and green onions or shimp and scallop kow (stir-fried with bamboo shoots, black mushrooms and snow peas).
MWG Feburary 21st tasting (6/8): Four middleweight reds
Vin de Savoie 2011, Mondeuse, La Sauvage, Domaine Pascal & Annick Quenard ($21.80, 10884671)
100% Mondeuse Noire. Manually harvested. Fermented with indigenous yeasts in carbon-fiber vats for one to two weeks. Matured on the lees one year in a mix of French oak barrels and stainless-steel and carbon-fiber vats. Lightly filtered. 12% ABV.
Choco-cherry segueing to pomegranate and sandalwood, then to dried raspberry. Light- to medium-bodied. The clean fruit and dark minerals are framed by light tannins and tart aciditiy. As fresh and pure as a draught of mountain air. (Buy again? Yes.)
Bourgueil 2010, Domaine de la Chevalerie ($28.10, 11895268)
100% organically farmed Cabernet Franc. Manually harvested. Fully destemmed. Gravity fed into vats. Fermented with native yeasts. Minimal sulphur regime. Matured in two- to five-vintage demi-muids and other large containers. Bottled unfiltered. 12.5% ABV.
Lovely, layered nose of slate, undergrowth, cherry orchard, old wood and green pepper. Fluid with an airframe structure, good acidity and silky fruit over a minerally substrate. Long. A beautifully balanced Cab Franc that’s enjoyable now but also capable of aging at least five years. (Buy again? Yes.)
Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato 2011, Cascina ’Tavijn ($24.70, oenopole, NLA)
A small estate located near Asti in Piedmont. 100% organically farmed Ruchè. Hand harvested. Vinified with indigenous yeasts and minimal intervention. Matured in Slavonian oak barrels. 14% ABV.
Fragrant: rose petal, slate and black raspberry. Pure, with an intense core of spicy fruit and minerals, pulsing acidity and soft tannins that give it a velvety texture. Long, herby finish. Going by the 2009, this will be even better in a year or two. (Buy again? Yes.)
Lacrima di Morro d’Alba 2011, Marzaiola, Monte Schiavo ($18.05, 11451894)
100% Lacrima. Manually harvested. Fermented and matured in stainless steel vats. 12.5% ABV.
Plum, rose and maybe some violet, along with darker mineral notes and a whiff of sourdough. Fruity and smooth in the mouth. Round tannins and not a lot of acidity. In fact, it’s borderline flabby and saved mainly by a vein of slate that adds some structure and depth. Drying finish. Not quite up to the 2009. (Buy again? Maybe.)
MWG February 21st tasting (4/8): Two out-there Chenins
Saumur 2011, Château Yvonne ($24.55, 10689665)
100% organically farmed Chenin Blanc. Fermented with native yeasts, matured in oak barrels, unfiltered and unfined. 13.5% ABV.
Complex if somewhat inscrutable nose: quince, spice, minerals, chalk… Rich and slightly oxidized with honey overtones. The winey texture is lightened by underlying acidity, which also balances out the welcome hint of residual sugar. The kaleidoscopic array of flavours includes spiced pear, passion fruit and pineapple. Long, burned mineral finish. Approachable now though no harm will come from a couple more years in the cellar. (Buy again? Of course.)
VDP de l’Aveyron 2011, La Selve, Nicolas Carmarans ($32, Glou, NLA)
The former owner of a Paris wine bar, Nicolas Carmarans followed his roots back to the Aveyron region, on the Lot River in the Massif central, upstream from Cahors, to make wine in 2007. A natural approach is favoured. This 100% Chenin Blanc from 30-year-old vines is fermented (with native yeasts) in vats and matured in casks. Undergoes malolactic fermentation. If sulphur is added, it is in miniscule amounts and only at bottling. 12% ABV.
“Sharp, pear, steel,” said one taster of the intriguing nose, which also has a sour edge. “Whisky barrel,” said another of the palate, though if so it took a back seat to the oxidized – some said “rotting” – apple. There’s lots of rocky minerals and coursing acidity too. Long, dry finish. Serious and, yes, a little weird. I, of course, loved it. Was shocked to see it clocked it at 12%; I’d been expecting 14% or 15%, not because it was hot or alcoholic but because of the impression of power it gave. It all adds up to an authentically rustic Chenin unlike any other I’ve encountered. (Buy again? Oh, yes.)
MWG February 21st tasting (2/8): Two Corteses
Gavi 2011, Granée, Beni di Batasiolo ($16.65, 10388109)
100% Cortese grown in the southern Piedmont commune of Gavi, making it a Gavi di Gavi. Pressed, clarified by settling, then fermented at low temperature. 12.5% ABV.
Shy but attractive nose of minerals and lemon with a floral note. Light but with a round, even winey texture. Quite dry. The green pear and lemon fruit is subdued and dusted with chalk. Brisk acidity and a clean, faintly bitter finish round out the picture. Fresh and graceful if a little anonymous. Still, you won’t find a more elegant white at the price. (Buy again? Sure.)
Vino da tavola 2011, Bellotti Bianco, Cascina degli Ulivi ($20.00, Vini-Vins, NLA)
100% biodynamically farmed Cortese grown in the Tassarolo commune neighbouring Gavi. Manually harvested. Fermented and matured in vats and barrels made from either acacia or oak (the estate’s website contradicts itself). No added sulphur. Lightly filtered prior to bottling in September of the year following harvest. 12.5% ABV.
No one would accuse this Cortese of being anonymous. Complex nose: pears poached in white wine with cinnamon and served on a bed of fresh-cut hay. Richer and more rustic than the Gavi yet still fleet. Dry yet fundamentally fruity with only a hint of oxidation. There’s tingly acidity and a whack of minerals, including a salt crystal or two, especially on the long finish. The label proclaims simplicemente vino and there is indeed an appealing straightforwardness and directness about this wine. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG February 21st tasting (1/8): Tissot’s Indigène
A wide-ranging tasting that featured a mix of SAQ wines and private imports, all of them recent arrivals. We started and ended in the Jura.
Crémant du Jura, Indigène, Domaine André et Mireille Tissot ($27.04, Les vins Alain Bélanger, 12 b/c)
A traditional method sparkler. Biodynamically farmed Chardonnay (55%), Pinot Noir (35%), Poulsard (5%) and Trousseau (5%) from vines averaging 25 years old. Manually harvested, pneumatically pressed. Slow fermentation in stainless steel vats at 16 to 18ºC with indigenous yeasts. The prise de mousse (second fermentation) is achieved using yeasts taken from the estate’s fermenting vin de paille. Matured on the lees in bottles for 13 months before disgorging. No dosage or added sulphur dioxide. If memory serves, the alcohol level was 12.5%.
Apple turnover with cream, lemon zest and chalk. Fine, persistent effervescence. Rich and dry, the flavours tending to pear and yellow apple, crunchy minerals and a honey note. Fresh, pure and bracing, with huge acidity and a yeasty finish. A great sparkler that wakes up your mouth. (Buy again? Definitely.)
Doktor who?
Riesling 2011, Dr. L, Mosel Qualitätswein, Weingut Dr. Loosen ($14.45, 10685251)
The estate’s entry-level Riesling is a négociant wine made from grapes bought under long-term contracts. Vinified in stainless steel tanks. 8.5% ABV.
Fresh, classic German Riesling nose: lime, grapefruit, white peach, quartz and slate. Off-dry, though the sweetness is quickly cut by crisp acidity and evanesces before the end. The flavours are light, almost rainwatery, with lemon-lime and green apple overtones. There’s a soft tingle – whether from carbon dioxide, acidity or the minerals is anybody’s guess – and a clean, slatey finish. Surprising that a wine so slender and slight can stand up so well to a fiery pad thai. You can find Rieslings with more substance and backbone for $5 more but you won’t find a better one at this price.
MWG January 10th tasting (5/7): Three easy-drinking southern European reds
Vino de la tierra de Castilla 2011, Bobal, Pedro Calabuig/Bodegas de Levante ($15.00, La QV, 12 bottles/case)
100% organically farmed old-vine Bobal. 12.5% ABV.
Spicy red plum and black raspberry, pepper, fresh ground beef, slate. Medium-bodied with a slightly velvety texture, supple, finely astringent tannins and brisk acidity. Earthy yet not without a certain elegance. Perhaps a tad less rich than the 2010 but every bit as drinkable. Food-friendly and excellent bang for the buck; the weekday wine par excellence. (Buy again? Multiples.)
Côtes du Rhône 2010, Petit Jo, Domaine de la Roche Buissière ($20.00, La QV, 12 bottles/case)
Natural. The estate has been certified organic (Ecocert) since 1980. All the wines are made with manually harvested grapes, fermented with indigenous yeasts, unfiltered, unfined. They contain no added sulphur and are vegan-friendly. The Petit Jo is a blend of Grenache (70%) and Syrah (30%). Nearly three-quarters of the wine is vinified like most Beaujolais, i.e. using carbonic maceration, to maximize the fruitiness. 13.5% ABV.
Attractive nose of fig, grape, turned earth, violet. Clean, sweet-and-sour fruit, a fluid texture, light tannins and bright acidity add up to a lip-smacking vin plaisir. Throw-backable in that tart and juicy way we love. (Buy again? Definitely.)
Côtes du Rhône 2010, Le Claux, Domaine de la Roche Buissière ($29.30, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
Natural. This 13.5% ABV wine is 100% Grenache, which surprises me since it has a very fresh, Syrah-like nose.
Red berries, animale, dried rose. More substantial and polished than the Petit Jo. Intensely fruity but dry. Peppery (like all good Grenache) with gleaming acidity, a fine if tight structure and good length. Perhaps a little on the pricey side but very satisfying. (Buy again? Yep.)
MWG January 10th tasting (3/7): Pheasant’s Tears
The spark for the January 10th tasting was the recent arrival of several wines from Pheasant’s Tears, a young winery (established in 2007) located south of the Greater Caucasus mountain range in the Kakheti region of eastern Georgia. In contrast to the modern-styled Georgian wines we usually see, Pheasant’s Tears wines are made using traditional Georgian techniques that stretch back many thousands of years (most wine historians consider the region to be the birthplace of wine-making). The grapes – some of the hundreds of indigenous varieties found in Georgia – are picked and trod. The resulting must is transferred, along with the skins, ripe stems and seeds, to large qvevri, clay jars (lined with organic beeswax in Pheasant’s Tears case) that have been sunk into the cool ground, where it ferments (with indigenous yeasts) and matures. No sulphur is added, yet all three wines of the wines we tasted are as stable as they come.
For more background, see this YouTube clip from Hugh Johnson’s vintage Vintage series, globe-trotting Julien Marchand’s report (the last photo is of Julien in the Pheasant’s Tears tasting room), the Wikipedia article on Georgian wine and, of course, the Pheasant’s Tears website.
Chinuri 2011, Kakheti, Pheasant’s Tears ($27.25, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
100% Chinuri. 12% ABV.
Hazy gold. Unique nose: pears in syrup, saltwater taffy, slightly rancid butter, the ground under a cedar tree. On the light side of medium-bodied. Fluid. Very dry, even savoury. Crisp acidity. Delicate flavours tending to citrus, herbs and minerals. A bitter, faintly astringent note on finish. Hard to pin down – elusive, ephemeral – and all the more interesting for it. (Buy again? Done!)
Rkatsiteli 2010, Kakheti, Pheasant’s Tears ($27.25, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
100% Rkatsiteli. 12.5% ABV.
Amber-coloured – definitely an orange wine. Bouquet of honeyed yellow fruit and spice, not unlike some late-harvest whites. The palate is totally at odds with the nose and totally unlike modern-styled Rkatsitelis I’ve tried: bone dry, medium-bodied, structured and surprisingly tannic, with fruity overtones (dried apricot?) and a walnut skin astringency. Mouth-filling and long. Unique, involving, fascinating. (Buy again? Done!)
Saperavi 2010, Kakheti, Pheasant’s Tears ($29.85, La QV, 6 bottles/case)
100% Saperavi. 12.5% ABV.
Saperavi is a red-fleshed grape, which may explain the wine’s nearly opaque black-red colour. Nose of dried blueberries, sweat, skim milk, bay leaf. Rich and earthy in the mouth but not heavy. Intensely flavoured: dark fruit, spice, slate. Grippy tannins and a lingering astringency. Less dry than, say, a Bordeaux but not in any way sweet. Great breadth and length. A wine with real presence and a dark magnetism. (Buy again? Done!)
MWG December 14th tasting (3/4): Four Quebec reds
Besides bubblies, the December tasting always includes a few off-the-beaten-track wines. This year, they came from Quebec.
Pinot Noir 2010, Venice, Vignoble Carone ($36.00, 11345258*†)
The winery is based in the Lanaudière region, about a hour’s drive north-northeast of Montreal. 85% Pinot Noir, 15% Landot Noir. Manually harvested. 12.5% ABV.
Oak, candied cherry, undergrowth, licorice, spice, faint vinyl. Medium-bodied and silky tannined with good acidity. Oak – in the form of sweet vanilla, coffee and smoke flavours – initially dominates the ripe fruit. Seemed better – by which I mean drier, less manipulated, more natural – on the finish than the entry. Not bad but not typical: no one around the table guessed it was a Pinot Noir. (Buy again? Probably not.)
Double Barrel 2009, Vignoble Carone ($55.00, 11506630†)
92% Cabernet Severnyi, 8% Sangiovese. Manually harvested as late as possible. Manually sorted, destemmed, crushed and given a 24-hour cold soak. Fermented in temperature-controlled tanks using Saccharomyces cerevisae yeast. Matured 12 months in new American oak barrels and four months In new French oak barrels. 14.5% ABV.
Tastes like it smells: ripe red and black fruit, some sweet spice and above all oak. Full-bodied, velvet-textured and richly extracted. Round tannins and sufficient acidity. Not heavy but also not refreshing. Showed oakier, sweeter and more monolithic than the bottle tasted in January 2012, possibly due to that bottle’s having been open for several hours and, with repeated pours, being well aerated. (Buy again? While I’d be curious to see what happens to this, arguably Quebec’s first ageable red, in five years or so, no.)
Solinou 2011, Les Pervenches ($15.00, La QV†, NLA)
Blend of Frontenac, Maréchal Foch and Zweigelt farmed biodynamically near Farnham, about an hour’s drive southeast of Montreal. Like many Beaujolais, made using carbonic maceration. 12.5% ABV.
Fresh, bright, juicy, tart and, unfortunately, corked.
Bin 33, Vignoble Carone ($18.50, 11004550*†)
100% Frontenac. Manually harvested. 13% ABV.
Nose of red fruit and, of course, sweet oak along with hints of mineral and turned earth. The flavour profile includes crushed strawberry and not much else. Guessing here but the acid levels seem low and the residual sugar levels, well, not so low. Sweet-tart finish. Little depth or charm. (Buy again? No.)
*Also sold at the Marché des Saveurs (Jean-Talon Market).
†Also sold at the winery.
As usual, the wines were served double-blind. Initial guesses as to their place of origin ranged wide and were limited to warm-climate regions: Australia, Greece, California, Mexico, South Africa, etc. Some guessed the first two were Shirazes. As a group, the Carone wines came across as designed to impress, albeit not in ways we found appealing. They also seemed to lack a sense of place (unidentifiable expression of terroir, cool climate, grape variety), to be wines made in the winery more than in the vineyard. The model appears to be New World; that would explain the bin reference, the big fruit, the heavy oak regime and the “I can’t believe it’s not Syrah” Pinot Noir (like some from California’s Santa Rita Hills). Whatever you think of the style, the winery is to be applauded for marching to its own beat, for pushing the envelope: what other Quebec winemaker is producing reds from Pinot Noir and Sangiovese, wines that can be mistaken for Australian Shirazes? That its wines are antithetical to the MWG’s collective palate (as we’ve explained, “our tastes tend to Old World ‘natural’ wines”) and strike many of us as overpriced is irrelevant. Consumers will determine whether there’s a market for blockbuster Quebec reds or whether wines like Les Pervenches’s eminently quaffable Solinou are the way forward. My money’s on the latter.
Brett happens 
Sweet and low
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Riesling 2011, Mosel Qualitätswein, Mönchhof (Robert Eymael) ($18.60, 11334920)
Mönchhof’s so-called estate Riesling. Most of the fruit comes from the renowned Würtzgarten vineyard in the town of Ürzig. 9.5% ABV according to the label; 9% according to SAQ.com. Whatever. It’s low.
Faint sulphury matchstick aroma blows off leaving a subtley complex nose: chalk, lemon-lime, white flowers, hints of roast chicken juices and petrol. Light, tingly and a shade sweeter than off-dry. Apple and lemon with minerals and spice in the background. Bright acidity sours and saves the finish. With more presence than the Dr. L, this worked well enough with stir-fried shrimp in garlic chile sauce, though I wouldn’t have complained had it been drier.
Mini rant: What is it about German wineries that prevents them from providing even minimal technical information on their products? Want to know where and how the grapes are grown, how old the vines are, how they’re pressed, what kind of yeasts are used, what kind of containers the wine is fermented and aged in, whether malolactic fermentation is stopped, whether the wines are filtered, fined, sulphured or cold-stabilized? You won’t find any answers on the Mönchhof or Loosen websites and precious few from their distributors and retailers. Who do they think they are? PECers?!
Written by carswell
February 20, 2013 at 10:14
Posted in Commentary, Tasting notes
Tagged with food pairings, Germany, screwcap, Under 13 percent