Posts Tagged ‘WINO’
Jaune and jauneish
Vin de France 2011, 3.11, Bertin-Delatte ($38.25, private import, 6 bottles/case)
Founded in 2008, the three-hectare estate is based in Rablay-sur-Layon. This 100% Chenin Blanc is from organically farmed young vines. The grapes, which normally would have been used for the flagship L’Échalier bottling, are harvested by hand and gently pressed. Barrel-fermented and -matured. The barrels were not topped up and a veil of yeast formed on the surface, much like on a vin jaune. This one-off experiment spent five years in the barrel. Unfiltered and unfined. Sulphur is minimal. Three barrels (800 bottles) were made; that and the last two digits of the vintage explain the name. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
Typically oxidized nose of nutty yellow fruit but maybe not as complex or opulent as a good vin jaune’s. Lovely on the palate: sleek textured, lightly oxidized, clean fruited and minerally with great acidity, freshness and length. “Très chenin” and “great Chenin character” note other tasters. More than just a curiosity. (Buy again? Yes.)
Côtes du Jura 2009, Vin Jaune, Domaine Pignier ($102.10/620 ml, private import, 6 bottles/case)
Founded in the 13th century and in the hands of the Pignier family since 1794, the estate is located in the commune of Montaigu in the southern Jura. 100% Savagnin from biodynamically farmed vines rooted in clayey calcareous marl with Lias slate. Manually harvested. Fermented and matured in untopped-up oak barrels under a yeast veil for seven years. No added yeast. No chaptalization or racking. Bottled according to the lunar calendar. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
On the nose, it’s a beautiful, subtle mix of nuts, yellow fruit, straw and white minerals. In the mouth, it’s a perfect balance between the pure fruit, fine acidity and imposing minerality. Not as oxidized as some but elegant, “accessible” and “super fresh.” (Buy again? If feeling flush, yes.)
MWG July 13th tasting: flight 9 of 9
Château Landra, take three
Ventoux 2016, Pur Jus Rouge, Château Landra ($25.86, private import, 12 bottles/case)
Syrah (60%) and Grenache (30%) and Cinsualt (10%) from 45-year-old vines rooted in gravelly alluvial deposits with lots of smooth pebbles and stones. Destemmed, crushed. Fermented (with indigenous yeasts) and matured in stainless steel. Unfined and probably unfiltered. No added sulphur. 14% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
Intriguing nose: cherry, black raspberry, “pink peppercorn,” “fresh-cut grass,” “asafoetida” (all per other tasters) and more. Medium-bodied, juicy and, alcohol notwithstanding, unhot. Packed with sweet fruit but far from a bomb. The extract and fine but present tannins give it a plush texture but the streaming acidity eliminates any possibility of heaviness. Long, clean, black pepper-dusted finish. A fresh, dry, savoury, uncomplicated red whose only drawback is that, at 14%, it’s dangerously drinkable. (Buy again? Sure.)
MWG July 13th tasting: flight 8 of 9
Gamay de soif
Touraine 2015, Gamay, Domaine Courtault Tardieux ($22.45, private import, 12 bottles/case)
After stints as a university student and briefly as a social worker, winemaker Simon Tardieux, who had spent time as a teenager working at the late, lamented Clos Roche Blanche, teamed up with Alain Courtault, a neighbour who had vines and was converting to organic agriculture. Located due east of the Thésée post office and less than a mile from the Cher river, the 15-hecatre estate specializes in vins de soif, thirst quenchers made from Cabernet Franc, Côt, Gamay, Pineau d’Aunis and Sauvignon Blanc. This 100% Gamay comes from organically farmed 50-year-old vines. Manually harvested. Whole-bunch maceration and fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts. A small amount of sulphur dioxide was added at bottling. Bottled in March 2016. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
Light, winey, floral nose showing some sour berries and leaves and background funk. Light- to medium-bodied, gauzy tannined and acid bright. Not as plush-fruity as, say, a Morgon, but remarkably minerally and fluid, especially on the mid-palate. A faint lactic note on the finish prompts “cherry yogurt” from one of the assembled. Fresh, clean, tasty and so, so drinkable. Definitely a Gamay but definitely not a Beaujolais. (Buy again? Um, it’s irresistible.)
MWG July 13th tasting: flight 6 of 9
Château Landra, take two
Ventoux 2016, Pur Jus Rosé, Château Landra ($25.86, private import, 12 bottles/case)
Cinsault (70%) and Grenache (30%) from organically farmed vines averaging 15 years old; the blend sometimes includes Syrah but not, it appears, in 2016. Manually harvested. Direct pressed. Fermented with indigenous yeasts at low-temperatures and matured in stainless steel tanks. Lightly filtered. Unfined. No added sulphur. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
Watermelon pink. Hard-to-pin-down and initially subdued nose of quartz, “hibiscus,” “pink grapefruit or blood orange,” “Swedish berries” and strawberry. On the palate it’s rich (“really meaty” per one taster) yet fluid, a mouthful of, yes, juicy fruit and crunchy minerals buoyed by smooth acidity. The complex set of savoury flavours, including what I pegged as yeast but another called “a cured meat nuttiness,” lasts well into the finish. Likeable. (Buy again? Sure.)
MWG July 13th tasting: flight 5 of 9
Character analysis
Vin de France 2015, Kharaktêr, Domaine Le Briseau ($42.25, private import, 6 bottles/case)
After abandoning an estate in Vouvray, the late Christian Chaussard met and married Natalie Gaubicher and, with her, set up shop in the Jasnières/Coteaux-du-Loir region, first by founding a small négociant firm (Nana Vins et Cie) and then by acquiring vineyards of their own. The farming is biodynamic and the wine-making tends natural. 100% Chenin Blanc from organically and biodynamically farmed 50-year-old vines in the Jasnières AOC. Manually harvested. The grapes are gently pressed. The juice is clarified by settling and racking. Vinified with indigenous yeasts and bacteria. Malolactic fermentation is allowed. Matured nine months in stainless steel tanks. Lightly filtered. No added anything except a tiny shot of sulphur dioxide at bottling. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
Draws-you-in nose of maple réduit*, corn silk, poached quince, “grapefruit,” chalk, linden flowers, a touch of honey and, eventually, “pancake batter.” Very dry. The mouth-filling flavours echo the nose. There’s a certain weightiness to the wine yet it’s fleet on its feet due to the faint spritz, sleek but sustained acidity and flood of minerals. Lovely bitter notes join the fruit on the long, saline finish. Improves with time in the glass so carafing is probably in order. (Buy again? Yes, though not without wishing it were $7-10 cheaper.)
*réduit is maple sap that has been reduced in an evaporator but is only about halfway to maple syrup. It can, among other things, be added to drinks and used as a cooking medium (e.g. Martin Picard’s exquisite lobster poached in réduit). For more information, consult your local sugar shack operator or the Au Pied de Cochon Sugar Shack Cookbook.
MWG July 13th tasting: flight 3 of 9
Gauzy Ozzie
Blewitt Springs 2016, Chenin Pet nat, Jauma ($43.25, private import, 6 bottles/case)
Founded and run by former sommelier James Erskine and based in the Basket Range section of the Adelaide Hills in South Australia, Jauma is one of the leaders of Australia’s natural wine movement. An ancestral method sparkler. 100% Chenin Blanc from 60-year-old vines organically farmed by Fiona Wood. Manually harvested. Fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts. Matured in French oak barrels. Unfiltered and unfined. No added anything, including sulphur. Crown cap. Residual sugar: ca. 10 g/l. 10.5% ABV. Also available in 12-bottle cases at the LCBO ($53.10, 361641). Quebec agent: WINO.
Hazy, pale yellow-beige. Super natural nose of lemon pith and apple, lees, “jasmine” (per another taster) or maybe honeysuckle and “a little hairspray.” Very dry in the mouth, with tiny, tickly bubbles. The zingy acidity and lemony flavours bring lemonade and maybe wheat beer to mind. The complex of minerals includes a saline streak. The long, savoury finish brings a chamomile or “chrysanthemum tea” note. Light, tart, refreshing and so much fun to drink. The Quebec – let alone Ontario – price does give one pause but this is an ideal summer sipper. (Buy again? A splurge bottle, yes.)
MWG July 13th tasting: flight 2 of 9
Château Landra, take one
WINO’s Martin Landry paid another visit to the Mo’ Wine Group in mid-July, this time bringing a baker’s dozen of private imports that he described as summer-friendly. We added a WINO bottle of our own to the wine-up, making 14 wines in all. We began with yet another impressive Clairette-based white.
Ventoux 2015, Château Landra ($30.40, private import, 12 bottles/case)
Located at the foot of the Monts de Vaucluse, Château Landra is a 14-hectare estate that can trace its roots back to the late 1700s. The current winery was built between the two world wars, entitling the estate to the château designation and making it the first privately owned winery in the area. The current owners, Cécile and Frédéric Renoux, acquired the semi-abandoned property in 2007 and began restoring it. At present, the wine grape vineyards total 8.5 hectares; table grapes and olives are also grown. This, their flagship white, is a blend of Clairette (40%), Roussanne (30%) and Grenache Blanc (30%) from organically farmed vines averaging 20 years old. Manually harvested. The varieties are vinified (with indigenous yeasts) separately. Half the wine is matured in stainless steel tanks, half on the lees in new barrels with regular stirring for four months. Lightly filtered. No added sulphur. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
Complex, involving nose of honey pear, sun-baked quartz, mastic, hay stubble and “Meyer lemon.” Round and a bit unctuous in the mouth yet alive with nipping acidity. The swirl of fruit and sharp-edged minerals and echoing honey pear last well into the long, bitterish finish. “Fresh,” “spicy,” “dry” says the peanut gallery. “More, please,” says me. (Buy again? Done!)
MWG July 13th tasting: flight 1 of 9
WINO tasting (6/6)
Located between Siena and Arezzo, the 60-hectare Fattoria di Caspri estate has nine hectares of grape vines and seven hectares of olive trees. The estate’s founding dates back nearly to the beginning of the Common Era, when Roman general Casperius Aelianus made it his home. The current main building is a relative youngster, having been built in the 18th century.
Farming has been organic and biodynamic since 2006, when the estate was acquired by its current owners. The soil tends to be light and sandy mixed with decomposed gneiss and a little clay. While the focus is on traditional grape varieties (mainly Sangiovese, Canaiolo Cillegiolo, Trebbiano and Malvasia), the estate also has experimental plots of Syrah, Grenache and Pinot Noir.
The wine-making is identical for all the reds. The manually harvested grapes are fermented in small, non-temperature-controlled conical vats with indigenous yeasts. Total maceration time is three to four weeks. After pressing, the wine is transferred into old barrels for 18 to 20 months’ maturation. The wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined. No sulphur is added.
IGT Toscana Rosso 2013, Rosso di Caspri, Fattoria di Caspri ($31.21, private import, 12 bottles/case)
100% Sangiovese from young vines. 12.3% ABV. 650 cases made. Quebec agent: WINO.
Attractive nose of bitter cherry, fresh herbs, slate, turned earth and a little ash. “Kind of meaty” is the first (and accurate) comment about the flavour of this medium-bodied and very dry wine. Red fruit, tingly acidity and fine astringent tannins made for a somewhat austere if appealingly rustic mouthful. Finishes clean. (Buy again? Sure.)
IGT Toscana Rosso 2013, Poggio Cuccule, Fattoria di Caspri ($41.15, private import, 6 bottles/case)
100% Sangiovese from 45-year-old vines. 125 cases made. 13.1% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
Gorgeous, floral nose of cherry, fresh almond and old wood. Medium-bodied. A sip is like biting into a morello cherry. Fresh, fleet, intense and pure. The energy is palpable and the wine seems lit from within by glowing acidity. The tannins are fruit-cloaked. Minerals, wood and earth undertones add depth, not darkness. Finishes long and clean. Stunning Sangiovese. (Buy again? Oh, yes.)
IGT Toscana Rosso 2014, Casperius, Fattoria di Caspri ($67.31, private import, 6 bottles/case)
A blend of Sangiovese and Syrah. 12.7% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
Closed nose that with coaxing reveals red fruit, dried herb, violet, leather and mint notes and a whiff of barnyard. In the mouth, it’s fuller-bodied, smoother, rounder and less acidic than its flightmates, though it does share some of the Rosso’s meatiness. Depth, breadth and length it has in spades though it would probably benefit from a year or two to come together. Perhaps a little overshadowed by the Poggio Cuccule, I suspect this would prove wholly satisfactory on its own at dinner. (Buy again? Maybe.)
IGT Toscana 2010, Luna Blu, Fattoria di Caspri ($28.50 in 2013, private import, 6 bottles/case, NLA)
An orange wine made from a 50-50 blend of Trebbiano and Malvasia. Macerated on the skins for four weeks before pressing. Matured in small wood barrels. No filtering, fining or added sulphur. Under 100 cases made. 13.3% ABV. Quebec agent: La QV at the time, now WINO. The newest vintage is slated to arrive later this spring.
Bronze with a rosé cast. Sultry nose of “elderflower,” sawdust and hints of apricot skin and dried tangerine peel. Rich and smooth in the mouth, bright acidity notwithstanding. Fruity yet dry, the flavours tending to citrus and spice with a mineral undercurrent. Faint tannins add a little grit to the otherwise sleek texture. Long. As mentioned in my October 2013 tasting note, the winemaker has stated that the wine would be at its apogee in 2017. In the event, while it may not be the deepest, most structured or even most involving orange wine, it is definitely a pleasure to drink. Paired beautifully with a selection of cheeses from Yannick, especially a raw-milk L’Étivaz. (Buy again? Moot. But I’m looking forward to the new vintage.)
MWG March 23rd tasting: flight 6 of 6
WINO tasting (5/6)
Vin de France 2015, Le Vin de Blaise ($49.67, private import, 6 bottles/case)
Run by Paris-based Stéphanie Rougnon and located in Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes in the Rhône valley, the three-hectare family estate is in the second year of conversion to organic farming. (Blaise Granier, Nathalie’s great-great-grandfather, first planted vines there.) This, the inaugural vintage of its first wine, is mostly Cinsault with a little Grenache and Carignan from vines more than half a century old. In 2015, a total of 1,167 bottles were produced; in 2016, production rose to 1,800 bottles plus 100 bottles of rosé. The grapes are not coplanted but are cofermented after being hand-picked and crushed. The free run juice is transferred to a stainless steel tank and the grapes are pressed. The resulting must is added to the free run juice and fermented with indigenous yeasts. Unfiltered and unfined. No added anything except maybe a tiny shot of sulphur dioxide at bottling. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
Solar red and black fruit and minerals (“like the Siccagno” notes one taster), sukiyaki, spice, lemon zest and background leather. Medium-bodied and fruit-forward, and such pure fruit it is. Coursing acidity delivers freshness in spades and imbues the fruit with a lip-smacking tartness. Layered minerals add depth while supple, raspy tannins give grain to the silky texture. Finishes long and clean. So bright and alive, so up my alley. Just about everyone around the table loved this wine and also felt the QPR was wacky. The price of admission to a limited edition? A natural wine that demands a credit line? (Buy again? A case… if it were 30 bucks a bottle.)
MWG March 23rd tasting: flight 5 of 6
WINO tasting (4/6)
Based in Curtil-Vergy, between Nuits-Saint-Georges and Vosne-Romanée, Bertrand Machard de Gramont founded his eponymous estate in 1983. In 2004, he was joined by his daughter Axelle, who has since taken the reins and converted the estate to organic farming. A replanting of the long-abandoned Vallerots terraces in 2001 raised the total surface area to six hectares. Besides the five wines we tasted, the estate makes an Aligoté, a Vosne-Romanée and occasional other bottlings.
The wine-making is the same for all the red cuvées. The manually harvested grapes are destemmed and crushed. Two weeks’ fermentation with indigenous yeasts is followed by 18 to 20 months’ maturation in 228-litre used oak barrels. The wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined. Sulphur use is kept to a minimum.
Bourgogne 2014, Les Grands Chaillots, Bertrand Machard de Gramont (c. $40.00, private import, 6 bottles/case, NLA)
100% Pinot Noir from 27-year-old vines. 12.5% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
Attractive nose of crushed red berries, earth, slate and gentian. Light- to medium-bodied and silky textured. Ça pinote, though with a lactic edge. The tannins are lacy and the acidity comes with a bit of a bite. The long drying finish shows some spice. Pure and elegant if less dimensional than its flightmates. (Buy again? Sure.)
Nuits-Saint-Georges 2013, Les Terrasses des Vallerots, Bertrand Machard de Gramont 2013 ($70.58, private import, 6 bottles/case)
100% Pinot Noir from a two-hectare parcel of 12-year-old vines rooted in clay and limestone. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
Complex, savoury nose of spice, candied berries, sweat, “orange papaya,” drying leaves and more. Pure and delicate, beautifully balanced between ripe fruit, sourish acidity and supple tannins. Finishes long and clean. Not remarkably deep but the clarity is impressive. Very approachable. (Buy again? Sure.)
Nuits-Saint-Georges 2013, Les Vallerots, Bertrand Machard de Gramont ($81.74, private import, 6 bottles/case)
100% Pinot Noir from 39-year-old vines in a half-hectare parcel located above the terrasses. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
As above though somewhat closed and showing hints of dried mint and “orange oil.” Richer and deeper than the Terrasses. Given a tart edge by sleek acidity, the gorgeous fruit glows against a mineral/earth backdrop. Pliant tannins provide just enough structure. A spice note chimes on the persistent finish. Lovely. (Buy again? Yes.)
Nuits-Saint-Georges 2013, Aux Allots, Bertrand Machard de Gramont ($85.57, private import, 6 bottles/case)
100% Pinot Noir from 80-year-old vines rooted in deep clay and limestone at the bottom of the slope near Vosne-Romanée. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
Slightly candied red berries, spice, slate, oak smoke and a floral note make for a classic Burgundian nose. In the piehole it’s verging on voluptuous: a medium-bodied, fluid mouthful of spicy fruit, airframe tannins and silky acidity. Darker and deeper currents lurk below the sleek surface. An elegant wine whose energy and presence last through the long, clean finish. Of the five BMdG wines, this was the favourite of nearly everyone around the table, including Martin. (Buy again? Would love to.)
Nuits-Saint-Georges 2013, Les Hauts Prûliers, Bertrand Machard de Gramont ($89.14, private import, 6 bottles/case)
100% Pinot Noir from 48-year-old vines planted in thin soil in a 1.5-hecatre plot on a steep slope above the Prûliers premier cru. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: WINO.
Complex, savoury, earthy nose dominated by leafmould, cherry, spice and a “peat thing, like Scotch peat.” Medium-bodied and fluid. Cherry, slate and old wood – the dominant flavours – are carried on a stream of acidity while firm tannins provide texture as well as a structural framework. Finishes as impressively as it starts. A beautifully structured wine of great precision and depth and the one most in line with a conventional NSG (or, as Martin put it, a wine with “une austerité que je retrouve chez Gouges.”). Though far from rebarbative at this stage, it will benefit from five to 10 years in the cellar. (Buy again? If I had the bucks and patience, yes.)
MWG March 23rd tasting: flight 4 of 6
Brett happens 