Posts Tagged ‘Upper mid’
MWG November 24th tasting: Bandol bliss-out
Bandol 2006, Domaine du Gros’Noré ($55.00, 11553938)
A blend of Mourvèdre (75%), Grenache (10%), Cinsaut (10%) and Carignan (5%) from vines averaging 30 years old. Partially destemmed.Traditional vinification with 15 days’ maceration and fermentation (indigenous yeasts). Matured 18 months in old oak foudres. Unfiltered, unfined. 15% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Effusive nose of plum, dark earth, hints of tobacco and herbs. Youthful but resolving. The dark heart of plush, ripe fruit and inky minerals is framed by round tannins and soft acidity. Olives and garrigue perfume the long finish, the alcohol unapparent. Surprisingly elegant for a wine of its size and inherent earthiness. (Buy again? Gladly.)
Bandol 2007, Domaine Tempier (c. $50 as a private import in 2009)
The so-called cuvée classique. Typically 75% Mourvèdre, 14% Grenache, 9% Cinsault and 2% Carignan from vines averaging around 40 years old. Manually harvested. The destemmed grapes are macerated and fermented (with indigenous yeasts) for two to three weeks in stainless steel tanks. The must is pressed and the wine is transferred to oak foudres for malolactic fermentation and 18 to 20 months’ maturation. Unfiltered and unfined. 14.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Initial bottle funk blows off, leaving a rich, evolved nose of plum, spice, graphite, earth, composted leaf, old wood and cigar box. Full-bodied despite the Gros’Noré wines making it seem more like medium. Smooth on the surface, the fruit ripe and satiny, yet resilient tannins provide some grit while acidity brightens and slate darkens. Long. A savoury, earthy, somehow elegant wine that tastes like it’s approaching its plateau of maturity, though the stuffing, structure and balance point to another decade of life. (Buy again? Yes.)
Bandol 2010, Cuvée Antoinette, Domaine du Gros’Noré ($74.00, 12207033)
Only a few hundred bottles of this cuvée named after the winemaker’s mother are made each year. Mourvèdre (95%), Grenache (3%) and Cinsault (2%). Not destemmed. 15% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Better after 30 minutes in the glass. Plum skin, grassy meadow, humus, Asian spice, game.
On the palate, it’s rich, dry, full-bodied, broad and deep – primary and powerful but not forbidding. The sweet core of ripe fruit is wrapped in savouriness and finely if firmly structured by velvety tannins and sustained acidity. The endless, dark, minerally finish has an astringent rasp. Pure and complete. Delicious now, amazing in 2020. (Buy again? Would love to.)
(Flight: 5/5)
MWG November 24th tasting: Barbaresco v. Barolo
Barbaresco 2009, Muncagota, Produttori del Barbaresco ($56.50, 11863223)
The 3.9 ha Muncagota (formerly Moccagatta) vineyard lies east of – and thus further from the river and the warm, fertile valley floor than – the Asili and Pajè vineyards and it faces southeast, toward the cooler morning sun. 100% Nebbiolo. Fermented with cultivated “Barolo” yeasts in temperature-controlled (30ºC) concrete and stainless steel vats. Fermentation and maceration – with regular punch-downs and pump-overs – lasted 28 days. Matured 30 months in large Slavonian oak barrels. Bottled unfiltered and with a small dose of sulphur dioxide. Aged another eight months in bottle before release. 14.5% ABV. 13,333 bottles made. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Such a complex nose for a wine still in its adolescence: truffle, kirsch, plum, turned earth, drying plaster, rose, anise, slate, a whiff of tar. More primary on the palate: a full-bodied, satin-textured mouthful of ripe and chewy fruit, juicy acidity and still-tight, fine-grained tannins. Evolved flavours are just beginning to be hinted at. A faint bitterness gilds the long, heady finish. Can power and elegance be more perfectly balanced? Enjoyable now, especially with extended carafing, but only good will come from another five or ten years in the cellar. (Buy again? Oh, yes.)
Barolo 2009, San Lorenzo, Fratelli Alessandria ($66.00, 11650720)
100% Nebbiolo from a 0.8 parcel of vines averaging 25 years old and grown in the San Lorenzo vineyard in Verduno commune. Manually harvested. Fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and macerated from 12 to 15 days in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. Matured six to ten months in 500-litre tonneaux, 22 to 24 months in 20- to 30-hectolire Slavonian and French oak casks and six months in the bottle. 14.5% ABV. Around 4,000 bottles made. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Intertwining threads of fresh (cherry, red currant, fern fronds) and savoury (chocolate, red miso, caramel, iodine, dried beef, old wood) aromas. The palate is dense and structured, the sweet-ripe fruit backdropped by dark minerals and tar and lasting well into the still-astringent finish. Somewhat primary and tasting like it will peak around 2020. True to the estate’s style: less flashy, even a tad more rustic than some but firmly rooted in terroir and tradition. A satisfying wine that almost begs to be consumed with food. (Buy again? Yes.)
(Flight: 4/5)
MWG November 24th tasting: Grand cru times two
Alsace Riesling 2011, Grand cru Steingrübler, Domaine Barmès Buecher ($48, 12214161)
100% biodynamically farmed Riesling. Manually harvested. Sorted in the vineyard and at the cellar. Gently pressed. The must is allowed to settle for 12 hours before being racked into stainless steel tanks for fermentation with indigenous yeasts. Lightly filtered at bottling. Small amounts of sulphur dioxide are added at the first racking and at bottling. 15% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Outgoing nose of quartz, white flowers, apple, lemon zest, a faint hint of mango but no petrol. Dry and acidic yet so rich and smooth. The ripe fruit comes with an herby saline undercurrent, a quartzy substructure and a long, so-dry-it’s-verging-on-astringent finish. While the estate considers the Steingrübler to be the earliest developing of its grand cru Rieslings and while this 2011 is enjoyable now, it will clearly benefit from a few more years in the cellar. (Buy again? Yes.)
Alsace Riesling 2009, Grand cru Hengst, Domaine Barmès Buecher ($48, 11010343)
100% Riesling from biodynamically farmed vines around 30 years old. Manually harvested. Sorted in the vineyard and at the cellar. Gently pressed. The must is allowed to settle for 12 hours before being racked into stainless steel tanks for fermentation with indigenous yeasts. Matured 12 months on the lees in neutral demi-muids. Lightly filtered at bottling. Small amounts of sulphur dioxide are added at the first racking and at bottling. 15% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Browning yellow apple, mowed field, an array of minerals (chalk and flint along with the expected quartz), a petrol note and a hint of musk. In the mouth, it’s rich, even a bit honeyed. Riper than the Steingrübler’s, the fruit is aglow with smooth acidity and dusted with chalk. Breadth and length it has in spades but less depth and complexity than usual. Passing through a shut-down phase? The effect of a hot vintage? Hard to know without further research. For now at least, a mildly disappointing showing for this normally exceptional wine. Not that it was unsatisfying – quite the opposite in fact – just that it lacked some of the tension and brilliance that have made earlier vintages so memorable. The 2010 can now be found on the SAQ’s shelves. I look forward to tasting it. (Buy again? Maybe.)
(Flight: 2/5)
Brett happens 