Posts Tagged ‘Upper mid’
Le gros lot de Greg Leclerc
A historian by training, Grégory Leclerc did stints as a journalist and marketer before falling into the world of natural wine-making. He purchased his four-hectare estate – downsized from the original 6.5 hectares, named Chahut et Prodiges and located in Chargé in the hills near Amboise in the Tourraine – in 2007. He farms organically and makes wines from Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Gamay, Côt and Grolleau. The land is worked using a tractor, though Leclerc says he may switch to horses at some point. Harvesting is manual. Vinification of the reds involves placing the whole clusters in concrete tanks for two to three weeks with no added sulphur and no punch-downs or pump-overs – a form of carbonic maceration, what? Pressing is slow and gentle. The wines are unfined and lightly filtered. No sulphur is added to the reds; a tiny amount is added to the whites at bottling.
Vin de France 2013, Le Coup de Canon, Domaine Chahut et Prodiges ($26.87, private import, 12 bottles/case, NLA)
100% Grolleau from 60-year-old vines grown on clay and flint. Matured around nine months in fibreglass tanks. 11% ABV. Quebec agent: Deux Caves.
Lovely nose of Swedish berries, sandalwood, green earth and clean horse stable. Light-bodied and dry. The tart fruit is set on slate. Barely tannic with a silky texture and clean finish. The bottle at the second tasting showed even brighter and cheerier than the one at the first. Simple and appealing, as wines made from this variety should be. A vin plaisir that goes really well with charcuterie. (Buy again? Done!)
Vin de France 2013, La Meule, Domaine Chahut et Prodiges ($26.87, private import, 12 bottles/case, NLA)
100% Gamay from 25- to 30-year-old vines grown on clay and limestone. Matured around nine months in fibreglass tanks. 11% ABV. Quebec agent: Deux Caves.
Sour red berries, smelling a bit candied, with gamy, slate and pastry overtones. Wonderfully pure, tart and juicy fruit, vibrant acidity and lacy tannins. Long, smooth finish. A complete wine that even Beaujolais sceptics might like. If Deux Caves hadn’t been sold out of this, the group would have ordered two or three cases on the spot. (Buy again? If only…)
Vin de France 2013, Les Têtes Noires, Domaine Chahut et Prodiges ($26.87, private import, 12 bottles/case)
100% Côt (aka Malbec). Matured in used barrels. 11% ABV. Quebec agent: Deux Caves.
Darker, meatier nose, the fruit tending to roasted cherries and blackberries with slate and wood notes. Smooth on the palate, due in part to acidity that’s softer than the other Leclerc wines and a tannic structure that’s lighter than expected. Savoury finish though not a lot of follow-through. For me, the wine’s best quality is the purity of its fruit. (Buy again? Done!)
Vin de pays du Val de Loire 2012, Grolleau, Clau De Nell ($40.00, 12411763)
100% Grolleau from biodynamically farmed vines between 60 and 90 years old and grown in silty clay on tufa. Yields were a low 17 hl/ha. Harvested by hand and destemmed. Maceration and fermentation (indigenous yeasts) at 18 to 25°C and involving gentle punch-downs and limited pump-overs lasted 20 days. The grapes were then gently and slowly pressed with a pneumatic press. Half the wine was transferred to fifth-fill French oak casks from Burgundy and half to large vats for maturation on the fine lees, which lasted 12 months. The wine was bottled on a fruit day without filtering or fining. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Séguin-Robillard.
Raspberry-green pepper jelly with a hint of sawed wood. Extracted and dense bordering on heavy. Oddly, given the avoidance of new barrels, the oak treatment seemed a little too lavish and obvious for such a modest grape variety (and I wasn’t the only one to complain of such). Combine that with relatively low acidity and you have a lethargic wine, albeit one with a certain hefty presence. Bottom line: it’s a wine that tries to hard, that gives itself airs. Tellingly, the wine was served double-blind and no one guessed it was made from the same grape as the archetypal Coup de Canon. A few years in the cellar may improve things but who knows? While I’ve enjoyed earlier vintages, this is not what I’m looking for in a Grolleau. (Buy again? Nope.)
Mo’ Wine Group September 27th tastings: flight 2 of 3
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IGT Venezia Giulia 2007, Ribolla Gialla, Radikon ($52.00/500 ml, 12493121)
100% organically farmed Ribolla Gialla. Manually harvested. The grapes were destemmed, then placed in neutral Slavonian oak vats (no temperature control) for maceration and fermentation with indigenous yeasts and manual punch-downs three or four times a day. When alcoholic fermentation was complete, the vats were topped up and closed. In all, the wine remained in contact with the skins for between three and four months. The grapes were gently pressed and the wine racked into neutral 25- to 35-hectolitre Slavonian oak barrels for about 40 months. Further racking was performed as needed. No added sulphur, no filtering, no fining. Reducing sugar: 1.7 g/l. 13.75% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Carafed. Hazy bronze, looking a little like raw cider. Very funky-reduced for the first four hours, then redolent of cedar, dried apricot, straw, white spice, sawed pine and shoe polish. Similarly complex and disconcerting on the palate. Medium-bodied. Extracted and yellow-fruity yet so dry and savoury. Richly textured with subterranean limestone, fine-edged acidity and light tannins that swell on the long, long finish. Fascinating. Serve no cooler than cool room temperature (16-18°C). (Buy again? Yes.)
The wine’s balance and structure make it a candidate for aging. And age well these wines do: opened last winter, a bottle of the first Radikon wine available in Quebec, the 2002 Oslavje (a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc), was a thing of beauty – perfectly at peak, tannins resolved, sweet and savoury and, against all expectations, totally funkless.
The wine comes in 500 ml bottles because Stanko Radkion feels that 500 ml is the ideal amount of wine for one person to drink by himself or for two people to share, assuming they’ll also share a 500 ml bottle of red. Convinced that using a standard cork would allow too high a rate of oxygen exchange, he designed his bottles to have smaller bore necks that take very long, narrow corks.
MWG October 8th tasting: flight 7 of 7
Double Barral
Faugères 2012, Valinière, Domaine Léon Barral ($61.00, 12427052)
A 80-20 blend of Mourvèdre and Syrah from biodynamically farmed vines between 15 and 30 years old. Manually harvested. Gravity-fed into cement vats. Macerated and fermented with indigenous yeasts three to four weeks with regular manual punch-downs. Aged 24 to 36 months in oak barrels (10% new). Never racked, filtered or fined. No added sulphur. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Vini-Vins.
Complex, unplumbable nose: Médoc-like aromas with notes of spice, cherry, “burned popcorn,” hazelnutty dry-aged beef and, eventually, flowers, cedar and clay. Brooding and introverted on the palate. Full-bodied. Balanced though displaying a tight, rigid frame. Possessed of every dimension. The endless finish has a spicy note that one taster likened to tourtière and another to incense. Magnificent. A complete wine that won’t peak for a decade. (Buy again? Budget permitting, yes.)
Faugères 2012, Jadis, Domaine Léon Barral ($42.00, 12427010)
A blend of Carignan (50%), Syrah (40%) and Grenache (10%) from biodynamically farmed 30- to 60-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Gravity-fed into cement vats. Macerated and fermented with indigenous yeasts three to four weeks with regular manual punch-downs. Aged 24 to 36 months in oak barrels (10% new). Never racked, filtered or fined. No added sulphur. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: Vini-Vins.
Deep and savoury nose of slate, graphite, plum and dried beef. In the mouth, it’s juicy yet dry, tight yet beautifully balanced. The dark fruit, redolent of spice, is set on slate, structured with tingly tannins and acidity. The long finish strikes a peppery note. Such purity, precision and just plain deliciousness. It may be a baby but it’s a gorgeous one. (Buy again? Done!)
Both wines were carafed and poured back into their bottles at 4 p.m. We tasted them at about 9:30. I kept my glasses and returned to them after everyone had left and I’d finished straightening up the room, at 11 p.m., i.e. seven hours later. Only then were they really beginning to sing.
MWG October 8th tasting: flight 5 of 7
White and red clay
Domaine des Ardoisières is one of the up-and-comingest estates in the Savoie if not all of France. Its steep, terraced, mountain-side vineyards, formerly forest land above the village of Villard, were created in the late 1990s.
IGP Vin des Allobroges 2012, Argile blanc, Domaine des Ardoisières ($38.20, private import, 6 bottles/case, NLA)
Organically and biodynamically farmed Jacquère (40%), Chardonnay (40%) and Mondeuse Blanche (20%). The varieties are vinified separately. After manual harvesting and sorting, the whole clusters are lightly pressed. The musts are chilled, clarified by settling and transferred to third- to fifth-fill barrels for alcoholic fermentation using indigenous yeasts. Malolactic fermentation is not systematic. The wine is matured nine months (two-thirds in tanks, one-third in thrid- to fifth-fill barrels), then racked, blended, lightly filtered and bottled. Annual production: 10,000-15,000 bottles. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
Fresh and bracing nose of white minerals (think limestone, talc), spice, pear and apple. Direct and to the point on the palate. Ethereal despite its weight of extract. A mouth-filling matrix of quartz and flint lightly infused with lemony fruit and taut with acidity. The long, clean, faintly saline finish draws you back for another sip. A delight. (Buy again? Yes.)
IGP Vin des Allobroges 2012, Argile rouge, Domaine des Ardoisières ($47.35, private import, 6 bottles/case)
Organically and biodynamically farmed Gamay (80%) and Persan (20%). The varieties are vinified separately. After manual harvesting and sorting, the whole clusters are placed in open vats for alcoholic fermentation using indigenous yeasts. After two to three weeks’ maceration, the grapes are pressed and the must is transferred to vats for malolactic fermentation. The wine is then matured nine months in three- to five-year-old barrels, racked, blended, lightly filtered and bottled. Annual production: around 5,000 bottles. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV/Insolite.
An explosion of red berries and dark minerals with hints of peppery spice and flowers (violet?). Light- to medium-bodied. Lithe, fresh and pure, pure, pure. Lifted by lip-smacking acidity and structured by light, velvety tannins, the tart and juicy fruit lasts well into the long finish, where it’s joined by undertones of dark earth, ferrous minerals and game. A truly memorable alpine red with a definite wild side. Pricey but I kept tasting it on my mind’s palate for days after the tasting – hard to put a price on that. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG July 16th tasting: flight 2 of 6.
Math problem
The problem: A wine – a delicious and rare wine at that – lists on SAQ.com for $51.25. In the store, however, it has been marked down significantly. What’s more, when purchased during yesterday’s 10%-off sale (which discount applied to the marked-down price), the figure on the sales receipt was $35.87. What, then, is the marked-down price before application of the 10% discount, which, alas, is no longer in effect?
The wine in question is Abbatucci’s 2011 BR, which awed the group at a tasting in February 2014. My note at the time:
Vin de table (2011), BR, Domaine Comte Abbatucci ($51.00, 11930123)
100% biodynamically and organically farmed Barbarossa, a red-skinned grape variety here given the blanc de noirs treatment. The first vines were planted in the 1960s. The grapes are manually harvested and pressed immediately after picking. Fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and matured in stainless steel tanks. Bottled unfiltered and unfined. 2,000 bottles made. 13% ABV. [Quebec agent: Vini-Vins.]
Initially reticent but eventually deep. Minerally and floral with hint of lemoncello and a faint herby overtone, like maquis or hops. Round yet very fresh in the mouth, the fruit structured by a crystalline minerality and enlightened by acidity. A faint, pleasing bitterness threads through the long finish. Breathtakingly pure and pristine, not to mention unique. (Buy again? Gladly.)
After opening it yesterday evening to accompany shrimp marinated in white wine, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, olive oil and puréed basil, wrapped in a basil leaf and a thin slice of prosciutto and grilled (recipe here) – an excellent pairing, by the way – I sat down to pen a new note but quickly realized I had little to add to the one above. The wine is drinking beautifully. It’s as fresh and engaging as it was 18 months ago, perhaps a tad rounder and more integrated, with the final bitterness a shade more pronounced. While yesterday’s double discount made it a rare bargain, it’s still a deal at today’s marked-down price, which by my calculation is $39.85.
Edit (2015-09-06 18:49): The MWG’s network of spies reports that the actual marked-down price at the Montreal Signature store is $41.00. The discount was therefore calculated not on the marked-down price but on the list price, which is not how it usually works: 10% of $51.25 = $5.13. $41.00 – $5.13 = $35.87.
Three of one
A trio of Rieslings followed, all made essentially the same way. Harvesting was manual. The grapes were sorted in the vineyard and the cellar. The whole clusters were gently pressed. The must was allowed to clarify by settling for 12 hours, then racked into stainless steel fermentation vats. Fermentation was with indigenous yeasts. No chaptalization or other additions, including fining agents, were used. Minimal amounts of sulphur dioxide were added at the first racking and at bottling. All the wines were lightly filtered at bottling.
Alsace 2012, Rosenberg, Riesling, Domaine Barmes Buecher ($31.50, 11896121)
Clayey limestone (mainly chalk) with sandstone and flinty substrates. Matured in stainless steel tanks. Reducing sugar: 6.3 g/l. 12.8% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Winey nose of apple, white flowers, quartz and hints of pineapple and petrol. Smooth, supple and pure. Fruity but ultimately dry with high but well-integrated acidity. Long. “Des beaux amères,” rightly remarked Giusto Occhipinti. Accessible now but with the potential to improve. (Buy again? Yes.)
Alsace Grand Cru 2011, Steingrübler, Riesling, Domaine Barmes Buecher ($48.00, 12214161)
Limestone with clay, marl and coarse sand of granitic origin. Matured 12 months on the lees in demi-muids. 15% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Deeper, more complex, classic nose: crystals galore, vaporous sweet yellow and white fruit and citrus zest and a whiff of kerosene. In the mouth, it’s tense, tightly coiled and multidimensional. Very dry. The fruit tends to grapefruit including some pith on the long, minerally finish. The steeliest and most powerful of the three, though the alcohol is far less apparent than the percentage might lead you to believe. Will surely benefit from another four or five years in the cellar. (Buy again? Definitely.)
Alsace Grand Cru 2010, Hengst, Riesling, Domaine Barmès Buecher ($48.00, 11010343)
Marl limestone. Matured 12 months on the lees in demi-muids. Reducing sugar: 3.8 g/l. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
More open and upfront, fruitier than the Steingrübler: apple and lemon against a backdrop of minerals and distant petrol. Richer and sunnier in the mouth, the fruit more voluptuous. Approaching off-dry though the sugar is held in check by buoyant acidity and a fainly bitter, white-mineral underlay. Long. A bit monolithic for now but the potential is obvious. The pick of the trio for several of the tasters present. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG April 14th tasting: flight 2 of 6.
Brett happens 