Posts Tagged ‘Under 13 percent’
Rosso di terrazza
IGT Toscana 2010, Casamatta, Bibi Graetz ($15.45, 11372441)
The name means “crazy house.” 100% young-vine Sangiovese. Fermented in stainless steel, aged in barrels after malolactic fermentation. Screwcapped. 12.5% ABV.
Sour cherry, raspberry, leaf mould, a floral note and a hint of kirschy marzipan. Underpinned by light tannins and buoyed by acidity, the sweet and tart fruit leads to a softly astringent, bitter-edged finish. This welterweight may be simple and commercial but, lightly chilled on a hot summer evening, it’s also quite enjoyable in its juicy kind of way. Serve with grilled Italian sausages, braised beef or just about anything in tomato sauce.
MWG June 21st tasting: report (3/4)
Zweigelt 2010, Burgenland, Meinklang ($24.50, La QV)
100% biodynamically farmed Zweigelt. 13% ABV. The winemaker recommends serving this lightly chilled (17ºC/63ºF).
Raspberry and turned earth. Suave with smooth tannins, some muted oak and a Burgundian weight (very similar to the Givry in fact). Round but with good acid; sweet-tasting (ripe fruit) but dry; initially spicy but gaining earthiness as it breathes. Long, clean finish, a common thread in all the Meinklang wines. The best Zweigelt I’ve ever tasted. (Buy again? For sure.)
Fleurie 2010, Les Moriers, Domaine Chignard ($23.50, 11305686)
100% Gamay. Whole cluster fermentation (in stainless steel and cement vats) with vatting for six to eight days before pressing. Aged in neutral foudres for 13 months. For some markets, the wine is bottled unfiltered and unfined with no added sulphur, though the SAQ may require otherwise (as they do with Lapierre’s Morgon). 12.5% ABV.
Raspberry, slate and a whiff of kirsch. Sappy, smooth and dry on the palate, a mouthful of tangy, ripe strawberry. Lighter and less structured than expected – the vines are 40 years old, after all, and the vineyard overlooks Moulin-à-Vent – but wonderfully pure and fresh. (Buy again? When in the mood for a vin plaisir, yes.)
Chinon 2009, Domaine Bernard Baudry ($20.20, 10257571)
100% Cabernet Franc from 30- to 35-year-old vines grown without herbicides or synthetic chemicals. Slow fermentation in cement vats. Aged 12 months in neutral oak vats and barrels. 12.5% ABV.
As usual, a reductive nose that slowly gained red plum, animale and a hint of tobacco leaf. Supple, dark and ripe, with fine tannins, a gravelly substrate and no herbaceousness. Balanced in its brooding manner. (Buy again? Maybe, though the superior Grézeaux bottling is only a few dollars more.)
Givry premier cru 2010, Clos Salomon, Domaine du Clos Salomon (Gardin-Perrotto) ($31.75, 00918086)
100% Pinot Noir from the 40-year-old vines of the fabled 7-ha Côte Chalonnaise vineyard (a monopole because the estate owns the entire clos). Farmed without herbicides or insecticides. Vatted at low temperatures for five days, then fermented with wild yeasts in open vats. Aged 12 months in 25% new French oak barrels. Unracked, unfiltered and unfined. 13% ABV.
Red berries, forest floor, background oak. Medium-bodied and relatively supple with bright, almost biting acidity and sleek tannins. The fruit is ripe and, for now, primary though embellished with a floral overtone. Long. A tasty wine that will only be better in a few years. Excellent QPR. (Buy again? Sure.)
MWG June 21st tasting: report (2/4)
Located on the east shore of the Neusiedler See in eastern Austria (Burgenland), not far from the Hungarian border, the 55-hectare Meinklang estate is run by Werner and Angela Michlits. (The estate’s name is the German word Einklang – unison, harmony – prefixed with the first letter of the owners’ family name.) Not only is the operation organic and biodynamic, it is largely self-sufficient, growing its own grain for its beer and bread, hops for its beer, apples and other fruit for its ciders and juices, beef for weed control, fertilizer, sausages and the horns so important in biodynamic farming, and so on. This is another estate where the wines – all of which are vegan-compatible – are made in the vineyard, not the cellar.
Having tasted several Meinklang wines in earlier vintages, I was sure their purity and personality, their droiture and drinkability would be right up the MWG’s alley. However, I wasn’t expecting the unprecedented reaction that the four wines in the tasting elicited from the members in attendance – discussion during and after the event, tweets and a small flurry of emails and phone calls raving about them. If nothing else, it confirmed my impression that these are exceptionally enjoyable wines very much geared to the natural wine lover’s palate.
Grüner Veltliner 2011, Burgenland, Meinklang ($21.00, 12 bottles/case, La QV)
100% Grüner Veltliner. 11.5% ABV. Screwcapped. The 2010 vintage is currently available at the LCBO for $15.95.
Green pear and apple, grass, white pepper and eventually rosemary. Soft and minerally with underlying lime and acidity galore. Pure fruit. Clean and long. (Buy again? Definitely.)
Hárslevelü 2010, H9, Meinklang ($33.00, 6 bottles/case, La QV, available in September)
100% Hárslevelü from the estate’s Hungarian vineyards. 12.5% ABV if I recall correctly.
Fresh nose with hints of peach, honey and hay. Yellow apple on the palate. The rich texture and touch of residual sugar are cut by brightening acidity. Dancing mineral finish. Less tense and Riesling-like than the 2009 but every bit as delicious. (Buy again? Definitely.)
Grauburgunder 2010, Trocken, “Graupert”, Burgenland, Meinklang ($42.00, 6 bottles/case, La QV, available in September)
100% Grauburgunder (aka Pinot Gris) from vines that, as an experiment, have been left unpruned for several years (in the local dialect, graupert means wild and unkempt), drastically reducing yields. 13% ABV.
Intriguing and complex nose whose aromas included lychee, sweat and “dill pickle chips.” Rich and honeyed but also very dry and bracingly acidic. Turns savoury on the finish. Impressive breadth and depth, not to mention great length. After finishing the tail end he took home with him, one member (a Burgundy native at that) reported, “I’m sold!” (Buy again? Yes.)
Two La QV cuvées
La QV‘s new season of Wednesday evening apéros, with Cyril pouring glasses of a couple of private imports and Julie serving small dishes featuring local ingredients, is in full swing. This evening’s edition was built around Domaine Ribiera’s 2010 Causse Toujours, tasting better than ever, with a couple other wines of interest sharing the spotlight.
Bourgogne-Aligoté 2010, Domaine Sarnin-Berrux ($25.35, 12 bottles/case, La QV)
100% Aligoté, possibly organically farmed. 11% ABV if I remember correctly.
Nose of citronella, wax and a faint hint of ash. Crystalline lemon and acidity so keen the wine tingles. Very dry. Softens a little on the clean, limestoney finish. Another lip-smacker, just about perfect for a scorcher like today. Stocks are beginning to dwindle; if you want some, act fast.
Beaujolais Villages 2010, Roue libre, Domaine Grain de Sénevé ($24.75, 12 bottles/case, La QV)
Domaine Grain de Sénevé – whose name translates as the wild mustard seed estate – began converting to organic production in 2007; 2010 is its first certified organic vintage. This is the estate’s unsulphured cuvée. 100% organically farmed Gamay. Fermented with native yeasts. Bottled unfiltered and unfined.
Cloudy pale maroon. Savoury and surprising nose of candied raspberry, cinnamon, lily flower, quartz and a hint of fur. Light, fresh and juicy – though remarkably dry – on the palate. Structured more by its pure fruit and bright acidity than by tannins, which are virtually non-existent. Sarsaparilla and slate notes on the lingering finish. Lightly chilled, this tart and refreshing wine is about the only kind of red you’d want to drink with the humidex pushing 40ºC/104ºF.
Delicious Dolcetto
Dolcetto d’Alba 2010, Bric del Salto, Sottimano ($18.70, 10856558)
100% Dolcetto. Fermented with native yeasts. Sees only stainless steel. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. 12.5% ABV according to the label (13% according to SAQ.com, perhaps referring to an earlier vintage).
Black cherry, plum, turned earth, mushroom. Medium-bodied with a soft texture and almost Burgundian weight. Fine, velvety tannins. Fluid yet juicy yet dry. Wonderfully pure and delicious fruit. Not much structural depth but considerable depth of flavour. A beguiling sourness and drying astringency mark the finish. A charmer.
MWG May 11th tasting: report (5/5)
Except for the Crozes, all the wines in this flight came from the May 10th Cellier release.
Crozes-Hermitage 2010, Domaine Combier ($30.75, 11154890)
100% organically farmed Syrah from three vineyards. Destemmed and fermented for 25 days in temperature-contolled stainless steel tanks with pumping over in the morning and evening. Matured 12 months in recent vintage oak barrels.
Leafy red berries with floral, menthol and animale notes. Bright and juicy but far from being a fruit bomb. Fluid texture, tingly tannins, background spice and oak. Long, clean finish. Pure and, at 12.5% ABV, digeste (“While the literal translation of digeste would be ‘digestible,’ in this case it implies that a wine has an ‘airy’ quality to it, that it’s built along freshness, lightness.” –Bill Zacharkiw). I could drink this every week. (Buy again? For sure.)
Shiraz 2010, The Riebke, Barossa Valley, Teusner Wines ($26.00, 11621081)
100% old-vine Shiraz. After fermentation, the wine is matured 12 months in used French and American oak hogsheads.
Sweet plum, blackberry and dark spice (licorice?). The decent acidity, chewy tannins and dollop of oak notwithstanding, this wine is all about fruit: pure and supple but also very sweet (6.6 g/l of residual sugar) and over-concentrated. Plush texture and fair length with some high-toned kirsch chiming in on the finish (the 14.5% ABV speaking?). One-note and unrefreshing. That said, what it does, it does well. You either like the style or you don’t. I don’t. (Buy again? No.)
Syrah 2007, Terrunyo, Valle del Cachapoal, Concha y Toro ($30.25, 11625680)
88% Syrah, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. Spent 15 months in French oak barrels (60% new, 40% second or third vintage). 14% ABV.
Earthy nose showing some red and black fruit (“high-bush cranberry” according to a New Brunswick native), smoke and an odd peanut brittle note. Rich, dense, structured, layered and very dry. The ripe fruit is only one in a complex of savoury flavours. The oak is kept in check. Charry, leathery finish. A passably interesting wine, though probably not one I’d identify as a Syrah in a double-blind tasting. (Buy again? Doubtful.)
Shiraz 2007, Heathcote, Greenstone Vineyard ($33.50, 11601768)
100% Shiraz from the Mornington Peninsula. Fermentation followed by two weeks’ maceration with occasional punching-down and 20 months’ maturation in 20% new French barriques.
Smoky plum, volatile herbs and slate waft from the glass. Richly flavoured, the fruit joined by mineral, wood, spice and maybe even violet. Supple, almost lean texture. Structured by fine tannins, enlivened by just enough acidity. Lingering finish. All that and 13.5% ABV, too. The most elegant Shiraz I’ve encountered. (Buy again? Quite possibly.)
MWG May 11th tasting: report (1/5)
The first of five sets of tasting notes on 17 wines, 13 of which were from the May 10th Cellier release.
Riesling 2010, Frankland River, Alkoomi ($19.65, 11034151)
Named after the waterway that flows through it, Frankland River is a relatively cool-climate subregion of Western Australia, about 350 km south-southeast of Perth and 80 km inland from the Indian Ocean.
Lime blossom, chalk and a hint of petrol. Dry and fruity with crisp acidity and a lime-scented finish. Not very deep but clean, refreshing and, at 11.8% ABV, quite pound-backable. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Riesling 2010, Eden Valley, Mesh (Grosset-Hill Smith) ($29.30, 11075930)
A recent joint venture by two leading winemakers. Located in South Australia, Eden Valley is a cooler region to the east-southeast of the better-known Barossa Velley. Its Reislings are said to improve with bottle age. This vegan-friendly wine clocks in at 12.5% ABV.
Lemon-lime and quartz, eventually gaining a bath powder note. Exceedingly dry. Pure, acidic and minerally but not otherwise noticeably flavourful. Long, citrus-pithy finish. (Buy again? Not at that price.)
Tami’s 2010 Grillo
A white grape variety indigenous to Sicily, Grillo is best known as the main component of Marsala. In recent years, it’s been made into table wines, often blends (frequently with Chardonnay). Tami, the négociant firm owned and operated by Arianna Occhipinti and friends, have gone the mono-varietal route and with good reason: their 2010 Grillo is a gem.
IGT Sicilia 2010, Grillo, Tami ($18.50, oenopole)
100% Grillo. Made from purchased organically farmed grapes, fermented with native yeasts, lightly filtered before bottling. Rich gold in the glass. Lemons, chalk and whiffs of hay and flowers on the nose, gaining some dusky spice as it warms and breathes. Quite dry. Round and a little weighty, though far from heavy. Soft-spoken fruit and just enough acidity to keep things fresh. Lingering, bitter-edged, mineral-tinged, come-back-for-another-sip finish. 12.5% ABV.
In Quebec, Tami wines are available on a private import basis and sell out within days of arrival (restaurateurs know a QPR winner when they see one). The shipment this bottle came from is long gone. Until the SAQ gets its head screwed on right and starts listing all three wines, if you want to feel the Tami love, you’ll have to keep checking the oenopole website.
Clos d’Albizzi’s 2010 Cassis
Besides being the French word for blackcurrant, Cassis is a fishing port on the Mediterranean coast between Marseille and Bandol and an appellation d’origine contrôlée, three quarters of whose production is white. Most of the wine is consumed locally and little is exported.
Cassis 2010, Clos d’Albizzi ($18.10, 11095797)
Marsanne 30%, Clairette 40%, Ugni Blanc 30%. Vineyard practices include mechanical weed control and avoidance of synthetic insecticides and pesticides. The grapes are manually harvested and fermented with native yeasts. Undergoes malo. 12.5% abv.
Peach giving way to almond, acacia blossom and a hint of anise. Texture bordering on unctuous, kept fresh by the ephemeral fruitiness and brisk acidity. Initial quince and honey segue to minerals and a lingering sour bitterness. Ends on a briny note.
Intriguing and, in its way, delicious but a food wine more than an apertif wine. Worked well enough with a garlic- and anchovy-scented sauté of rapinni and scallops. Would be a natural for Provençal seafood dishes including, of course, bouillabaisse.
The Rodney Dangerfield of wines
If there’s a wine that doesn’t get the respect it deserves, it’s Muscadet – not surprising given the boatloads of thin, flavourless crap floating around. But in the hands of a master like Guy Bossard, the Muscadet grape’s principal vice, its neutrality, becomes a virtue, the perfect vehicle for expressing terroir. Enlightened farming, low yields, native yeasts, no pumping (gravity feed), non-interventionist winemaking, a low sulphur régime and, of course, a terroir worth expressing make all the difference.
Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine 2009, Expression de Granit, Domaine de l’Écu ($20.70, 10282873)
100% Muscadet (aka Melon de Bourgogne). The domaine has been organic since 1975, began converting to biodynamic practices in 1992 and is now Demeter-certified.
Lemon, green apple peel, chalk and, yes, some granite (or is it gun flint?). Rich texture and a hint of sugar on the attack. Wax and white-fruit flavours. Citrusy acid kicks in on the mid-palate and persists through the long, vaporous finish. Lingering notes of minerals, lemon oil and pine needles. A beauty that will only improve with time in the cellar (up to ten years). 12% abv.
Brett happens 