Posts Tagged ‘Wow’
Buy again? Repeatedly.
Santorini 2015, Assyrtiko, Domaine Hatzidakis ($27.25, 11901171)
100% Assyrtiko. No maceration. After clarification, the must is fermented at 18ºC with indigenous yeasts. Matured on the lees for 40 days. Aged in stainless steal tanks. Lightly filtered and dosed with sulphur dioxide before bottling.1.9 g/l. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Sandy beach, preserved lemon and a note that trills between petrol and resinous herbs. A mouthful of minerals, dusted with dried lemon zest and salt, infused with tincture of dried peach peel. Acidity would be glaring were it not for the mellowing extract, chalk and quartz. A thread of dried honey twines through the long finish. This has paired deliciously with dishes as varied as grilled chicken (recipe after the jump), veal scalloppini finished with lemon juice and parsley and, of course, oysters on the half shell. It also makes a deluxe aperitif. The price hikes are unfortunate (the 2011 retailed for $21.95) but inevitable: the world has discovered Santorini wines and grape prices on the island are skyrocketing. That doesn’t make this overpriced – far from it – just less of an incredible bargain than it used to be. (Buy again? Repeatedly.)
Best yet
Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine 2014, Granite, Domaine de l’Écu ($23.55, 10282873)
100% Melon de Bourgogne from organically and biodynamically farmed vines 45 to 55 years old growing in stony topsoil and mica granite subsoil. Manually harvested. The winery is gravity fed, so no pumping occurs. Pneumatically pressed. The unclarified must is fermented with indigenous yeasts. Sulphuring is limited to 25 mg added between alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. Matured on the lees in underground concrete tanks for 15 to 18 months. Reducing sugar: 1.4 g/l. 12% ABV. Quebec agent: Raisonnance.
Outgoing nose for a young Écu: lemon fruit and pith, chamomile, minerals, faintest hints of wax, honey and almond essence. In the mouth, it’s fruitier than usual: silky, complex and wonderfully pure, acid bright and bone dry, with real mineral depth and overtones of peach and fresh herbs. The long, long flinty, iodiney finish leaves a white peppery afterbite. This will only improve with a few years in the cellar but, in contrast to most vintages, is beguiling young. Perfect, of course, with raw oysters and moules marinières but has the wherewithal to accompany fine fish and, even, sushi and stinky cheeses. Or see what the winemaker has to say about possible pairings. (Buy again? Imperatively.)
Among the great Mediterranean reds
The technical information for these two wines is identical. The fruit comes from organically farmed, 70- to 90-year-old, dry-farmed, low-yielding, ungrafted vines grown on the Ziros plateau in eastern Crete. The must is fermented with indigenous yeasts in cement vats and matured in old French oak barrels. The wines are bottled unfiltered, unfined and with only a tiny shot of sulphur dioxide.
Since the late 1990s, the Sitia appellation has required reds to be a blend of Liatiko and Mandilaria. As the 2006 is all Liatiko, it had to take the broader Crete appellation. Economou doesn’t release wines until he thinks they are ready; that said, this isn’t the first shipment of the 2006 to arrive in Quebec.
Both wines were carafed two or three hours before serving and both benefited enormously from it.
Crete 2006, Liatiko, Domaine Economou ($56.75, private import, 6 bottles/case)
100% Liatiko. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
The room fell silent as the wines were poured and people started smelling them. Aside from oohs and ahs, the first utterance was in reference to this: “I could drown in it.” An in-pulling, umami-rich nose of plum and cherry, Mediterranean scrub and the earth it’s rooted in, sea breeze, obsidian dust, violets and more. In the mouth, the wine is medium-bodied and possessed of a fluid texture. Ripe but not jammy fruit, smooth but very present acidity and fine but sturdy tannins are all in perfect equilibrium. Dark minerals run like an underground river. Flavours and aromas echoing the nose unfurl from the mid-palate though the long finish. Still vibrant and vigorous at ten years of age. A beauty. (Buy again? Yes.)
Sitia 1999, Domaine Economou ($78.00, private import, 6 bottles/case)
A blend of 80% Liatiko and 20% Mandilaria. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
More subdued and, if anything, more involving. Evolved, profound nose: mushroom and truffle, leather, dark fruit, cocoa, hints of violets and dried orange peel. Dense and velvety yet medium-bodied. The fruit is a mixture of fresh and dried plums and cherries, the acidity is fluent and sustained, the tannins are resolved but still structuring. Strata of minerals, earth, tar and old wood provide ballast and depth. The finish goes on and on, like the afterglow of a perfect summer day. A magnificent, transporting wine that I suspect is near or at peak, though most definitely not on its last legs. (Buy again? If the opportunity ever presents itself again, yes.)
I repeat what I wrote two years ago: these are among the great Mediterranean reds. While neither wine could come from anywhere but Crete, Economou’s training at top estates in Bordeaux and Barolo is apparent in both.
MWG August 12th tasting: flight 7 of 8
A rocky landscape shimmering in a summer haze
Crete 2014, Rosé de Liatiko, Domaine Economou ($32.50, private import, 6 bottles/case)
100% Liatiko from organically farmed, ungrafted old vines. After a short maceration on the skins, the grapes are pressed and the must is fermented with indigenous yeasts. Maturation is in old barrels. Unfiltered and unfined. Minimal added sulphur and then only at bottling. 13% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Wafting, complex nose: pumice, dried herbs, distant red fruit and a touch of animale. In the mouth, it’s both mysterious and present, like a rocky landscape shimmering in a summer haze. Dried strawberry and stony, sun-baked earth are carried on a stream of acidity. The gauzy layers include garrigue, salt and dried flowers. Dry and long. A rosé with the colour and weight of a Poulsard but aromas and flavours that transport you to a Mediterranean mountainside. A profoundly beautiful wine. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG August 12th tasting: flight 4 of 8
White gold
The centrepieces of the August 12th tasting were five newly arrived wines from one of the stars in the Greek wine firmament, Domaine Economou. We began with the whites. Reliable technical information for Economou wines is hard to come by. As far as I can ascertain, both wines are made in a similar way: fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks, matured in assorted containers (possibly including old casks, stainless steel tanks, fibreglass vats and underground cement tanks) and bottled unfiltered and unfined with a tiny shot of sulphur dioxide.
Sitia 2013, Vilana/Thrapsathiri, Domaine Economou ($51.25, private import, 6 bottles/case)
A blend, typically 70-30, of Vilana and Thrapsathiri from organically farmed, ungrafted, estate-grown vines. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
Fascinating, nuanced nose: honey, almond, sea salt, distant apple, pear and maybe even pumpkin, a not unappealing hint of rancid butter. Dry, rich and savoury with a slightly oily texture. Fresher than the 2009 due, I think, to sustained acidity and discreeter oxidative notes, which give the white fruit a yellow facet, as if it were poached with apricot and dried orange peel. The smooth, underlying minerality has me thinking of river stones. Long, layered and profound though not as deep as its flightmate. Unique and involving. (Buy again? Yes.)
Crete 2013, Assyrtiko, Domaine Economou ($51.25, private import, 6 bottles/case)
100% Assyrtiko from organically farmed, ungrafted vines. Assyrtiko not being a permitted variety in the Sitia PDO, the wine qualifies only for the broader Crete PGI designation. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: oenopole.
“Round nose, like a Bâtard-Montrachet,” notes one taster. If there’s fruit, it’s poached pear intertwined with threads of pine tar, salt-rimed stone and an scent I peg as oak but the aforementioned taster characterizes as “roasted chestnuts.” In the mouth, the wine is weighty, structured, complex, deep and glowingly acidic. There’s an oxidized edge though not a distracting one, as it allows notes of lemon, honey, white nuts and anise seed to come through. Possessed of a long, uniquely savoury finish with a delectably bitter aftertaste. Different from its high-end Santorini counterparts – rounder, richer and less crystalline – but fully worthy of standing alongside them. (Buy again? Yes.)
In a discussion about the Assyrtiko, agent Theo Diamantis drew an analogy with a grand cru Riesling. He also wondered about food pairings. My ideas: fine white fish in a rich sauce, butter-poached lobster, grilled lamb chops, beef tartare (don’t knock it till you’ve tried it).
MWG August 12th tasting: flight 3 of 8
Zýmè vs. Quintarelli
Before founding Zýmè in 1999, winemaker Celestino Gaspari worked with Giuseppe Quintarelli for many years, eventually becoming his son-in-law.
Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2011, Zýmè ($39.50, 11587151)
Typically 40% Corvina, 30% Corvinone, 15% Rondinella and 5% Oseleta from vines rooted in limestone and clay. The grapes are manually harvested and immediately pressed. Initial alcoholic fermentation takes place in non-temperature-controlled vats. In January, the wine is racked onto the lees of the estate’s Amarone (the process is called ripasso in Italian). A second alcoholic fermentation lasting about two weeks then takes place. The fermented wine is racked into large Slavonian oak barrels and matured for around three years followed by another six months in the bottle. Residual sugar: 6 g/l. 13.5% ABV. Quebec agent: L’Enoteca.
Complex nose of red fruit (especially cherry), smoky minerals, dried mint, “praline,” “candied orange,” sandalwood and cocoa. Medium-bodied but heady and thewy: a balanced mouthful of rich fruit, fluent acidity and tannins that tasters described as “wiry” and “fibrous.” Darker undercurrents add depth, while the initially astringent weave unravels beguilingly on the long, spicy finish. Delicious. (Buy again? Yes.)
Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2007, Giuseppe Quintarelli ($90.25, 12332782)
Typically 55% Corvina and Corvinone, 30% Rondinella and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebbiolo, Croatina and Sangiovese from uncertified but organically farmed vines averaging 30 years old and rooted in limestone and basalt. The grapes are manually harvested and immediately pressed. After three to four days’ maceration, primary alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeasts takes place. In February, the wine is racked onto the lees from the estate’s Amarone. A second alcoholic fermentation then takes place. When fermentation is complete, the wine is racked into large Slavonian oak barrels and matured for seven years. 15% ABV. Quebec agent: L’Enoteca.
Inexhaustible bouquet of morello cherry, plum, chocolate-covered raisins and espresso beans, “piri piri chicken,” smoke from burning leaves, spices and more. So complex and complete: broad, deep and long. The beautiful fruit – sweet but not too – is structured by fine, velvety tannins and fresh acidity, underscored by minerals and earth, heightened by spice and kirsch (amazingly, the alcohol is otherwise unapparent). The finish is an endless caress. A great vintage of this wine that, as so often, is in a class by itself. (Buy again? For a special occasion and during a 10% off sale, yes.)
MWG February 11th tasting: flight 6 of 6
Brett happens 