Monday, November 30, 2009

2001 Marqués de Haro Selección Especial Rioja Haro Spain

Tonight, a few hours ago, I was faced with a problem. No wine to drink with dinner... What a dilemma for a French guy, more over a wine buyer and wine lover, like me!

Should I go to the nearest wine store, the closest one to my house, which also happens to be the place of my first job in a wine retail store in Manhattan, knowing that the price are great and that I wouldn’t mind opening a bottle of Marqués de Riscal 2004 Reserva (we drank quite a few of them and still not bored of it), which is one of my wife and I favorite Rioja wineries (a touch commercial now and less traditional, but consistent and reliable), or should I just try to have a look in my small wine fridge among the bottles that we normally keep for good occasions to find a fortunately misplaced bottle of what ever it will be.

Well, it was cold and rainy outside, so I opted for the second choice: the wine fridge. Curiously (or not for those of you who know me well), most of my precious bottles, the ones that I keep jealously and represent sentimental memories, are mostly from the Rioja region in Spain.

Strange, for a guy coming from Bordeaux, one might have expected finding a few Margaux, Saint-Julien, Pessac-Leognan, Saint-Emilion, Pomerol, Côtes de Castillon and Côtes de Bourg, which are some of my favorite Bordeaux appellations… yet none! In my mother and father’s houses, yes, but none in New York!

However, searching among the few gems laying down at the bottom of the wine fridge, I found a bottle of 2001 Marqués de Haro Selección Especial Rioja Haro Spain. This bottle was offered to me a while ago, but I don’t remember if it was while working as one of the host for the PJwine.com Spanish wine festival (which is by the way one of the best Spanish tastings in NYC) or if it was when I last visited the winery in 2006.

Despite the fact that it was a 2001 vintage and that I surely should have kept it for a few more years, and that the wine, despite its expensive price ($85-$95 in NYC), had no sentimental value, except may be the fact that I tasted it at the winery when I visited La Rioja Alta winery a few years ago... I needed a wine for tonight’s dinner, so why not? After all, why not treating ourselves with a good Rioja, everyday is a good occasion, after all, you’ll never know what might happen tomorrow, so might as well enjoy it today.


La Rioja Alta, S.A. Marqués de Haro

Marqués de Haro is one of the labels produced by the group of “La Rioja Alta S.A.” one of the old, classic wineries located in Rioja’s wine capital Haro.

On July 10, 1890, five Basque and Rioja-based vine growers created "SOCIEDAD VINICOLA DE LA RIOJA ALTA" which was and still is known as the Haro Station District. This was the beginning of a fascinating business venture in which the only dream of the five founders was to craft and age high quality wines.

The open-minded spirit of Rioja’s wineries and winemakers of nowadays, towards other European technologies and ideas, was already present in the region and in La Rioja Alta S.A. winery from the very beginning. Mr. Vigier, a French expert, was hired as technical manager and, soon after, the vinification and ageing processes were changed to what is now known as “classic” vinification. Shortly after, the company changed its name to "LA RIOJA ALTA" in 1891.

To shortly explain what happened since, here is a little history sequence taken the winery website with a few personal comments:

  • In 1941, the company took on its present name, “La Rioja Alta, S.A.” LA RIOJA ALTA, S.A. A year later, they register the brand name that brought them fame and renown: “Viña Ardanza”. At the time, casks were manufactured entirely in the winery by a team of five coopers, but the concept was abandoned later. In 2002, they revived this tradition and manufactured their own cask since, with wood imported from the U.S. and dried for 2 years in their coopery.
  • In 1952, purchase of the winery’s first bottling system. Before that, the bottling process took place in the client’s facilities (like for many wineries at the time in Europe –like France, Italy, Portugal, Germany, etc.- bottling was a luxury handled by the wine merchants and other Négociants, or by a bottling system mounted on a truck going from wineries to cooperatives and village to village. People in general may not realize it, but before and until the 50s, bottling at the property was a costly concept that only began to be more affordable and accessible to more people in the late 50s and mid 60s).
  • In 1970, a new cask hall was built and we started to increase their vineyards, buying several estates. This was the time when new brands were introduced, such as Viña Arana and Viña Alberdi.
  • In 1985, they registered a brand name, which was to become very popular in the future: Marqués de Haro. They were also trying to find vineyards and make white wines, with the same high quality as their reds.
  • As a result, in 1987 they acquired and renovated a traditional winery located in the heart of Galicia, "Lagar de Fornelos, S. A.", which produces the excellent “Lagar de Cervera” made from 76 hectares of 100% Albariño vines.
  • On January 27, 1995, they bought “Torre de Oña, S.A.” a charming winery located in the area of Páganos-Laguardia, which produces “Barón de Oña” a great Reserva red. This made them one of the best quality producers in Rioja Alavesa.
  • On January 16, 1996, work started on the new Labastida winery, located on their estates just 1,500 meters from the Haro winery. This new facility enabled them to considerably improve the quality of the wines made by La Rioja Alta, S.A. , especially with the fermentation process.

Always eager to grow and diversify their wine portfolio, and after a long, but thorough search, which started in 1989 with the purchase and plantation of the first vineyards, 1999 to 2001 saw the construction of a new, state-of-the-art winery called Bodegas Y Viñedos Áster, located in Anguix (Burgos) in the Ribera del Duero Designation of Origin.

Now fully developed and equipped, producing a wide array of wines allowing them to satisfy the need of their customers and to be represented in all the major markets around the globe, La Rioja Alta is now focusing on innovation, better quality and adaptation to the rapidly evolving changes occurring in the wine world.

During my last visit at La Rioja Alta S.A, in April 2006, we had the chance to taste some wines at the barrel from the fantastic 2004 vintage and the already opulent 2005, but also had the privilege to go upstairs in the magnificent tasting rooms, sitting around a huge wooden and glass table, tasting some of the experiments of the winemaker who was actually genuinely asking us what will be better for the American consumers and make us taste different blends that we gratefully described and commented. He was trying and experimenting different blends to offer more appealing wines to certain markets, yet remaining true to the quality and the image of La Rioja Alta and the classic taste of Rioja. What a challenge for this innovative and daring winemaker named Julio Sáenz. Spending a few hours with this man, tasting and talking about wine and vinification process, really taught us how complex, precise, fragile and exciting the job of winemaker can be.

After this little parentheses that brought us back in the history of La Rioja Alta winery, let’s go back to our wine of the day: the 2001 Marqués de Haro Selección Especial.

So as previously said, Marqués de Haro was born in 1985 in the Experimentation Hall, as the result of a research program to expend the portfolio and complete the range of produced wine, with a high quality wine and a slight different profile in mind.

Supervised by Julio Sáenz, La Rioja Alta’s oenologist, the blending and experiments are all conducted in the winery's Experimentation Hall. The primary purpose of the Experimentation Hall is to study the different factors affecting the quality and style of the wines, in addition research is also focused on new wine market trends so, in cases like this, they also make completely new wines (like some of the new blends that they were tasting on us back in 2006).

It is a fairly new project based on the old traditional Rioja’s way to blend the influence of the different oak used for the barrels and respect the aromas and flavors from Rioja’s grape varieties: Tempranillo as the base and foundation of each wine, blended with Graciano, which adds elegance and freshness.




2001 Marqués de Haro Selección Especial Rioja Haro Spain
Suggested retail price $85-$95
Although La Rioja Alta S.A wines are imported/distributed by Michael Skurnik in NYC, I do not think that Marques de Haro is available in the US (I may be wrong…) and Skurnik doesn’t seem to carry it.

There again, I’m not too sure and the winery website doesn’t mention it, but it seems that Marqués de Haro Selección Especial is only produced in certain vintage, after this 2001 vintage, the current release is the 2005. It also seems that some rare magnum and double magnum of Marqués de Haro Gran Reserva were produced in the late 80s, there again it only happened for special occasion or specific vintage, like 1989.

The 2001 Marqués de Haro Selección Especial is roughly a blend of 85% Tempranillo from a selection of old vineyards in Briñas and Villalba, planted on clay loam soil, and 15% of Graciano from the Melchorón vineyard in Rodezno, on sand soil, respectively trained in respect of the grape and its need depending on the type of soil. After about 9 days of alcoholic fermentation at a controlled temperature, the fermented wine remained with its skins for 7 days in order to ensure the required structure and color. Malolactic fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks for 35 days, after which the wine was transferred to casks in the Experimentation Room in May 2006. Oak ageing process may differ depending on the vintage, but approximately, the Tempranillo was aged in 60% new French and 40% American oak casks, whereas the Graciano remained in new American oak. After 12 months in the cask, and being racked by hand twice after 4 and 12 months, it was bottled after a slight filtration process in July 2003.

Just out of the temperature controlled wine fridge, the 2001 Marqués de Haro Selección Especial was a bit cold but already promising features. In the glass, it showed a bright, garnet color of light to medium intensity, enhanced with slight brick reflects. I let it rest for a little while to bring it at room temperature. After a few minutes, it already released an attractive perfume. The very expressive nose was fresh, refined and vibrant, with red cherry and spicy oak aromas intermingled with layered nuances of red berry and darker or riper berries, spices, lead pencil, leather, somewhat ripe figs, earth and tobacco. Somehow, dark, tight, slightly tannic, austere and woody when cold, now that it was at the right temperature, it was far more open, soft, silky, almost feminine and beautifully balanced. Light to medium bodied, For a Selección Especial I was expecting a richer style of wine, but I was far from being disappointed, on the contrary, I even liked it better this way. Bright red cherry and spicy oak aromas lifted by an incredible, refreshing acidity and framed by very integrated, finely chiseled tannins, up until the long lasting finish. Somewhat delicate, refined and charming, this wine is another proof of the high quality wines crafted at La Rioja Alta, S.A, and an outstanding example of how good the acclaimed and now classic 2001 vintage was in Rioja. A “must have” wine for amateurs and connoisseurs of traditional, old school Rioja wines.

Enjoy!

LeDom du Vin

Info partly taken (and edited) from the winery website at www.riojalta.com and photo from the opened bottle at home.

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2005 Deux Montille Soeur et Frere Meursault "Les Grands Charrons" Burgundy France

Deux Montille Soeur et Frere

Deux Montille is the Negociant Company created by sister and brother Alix and Etienne de Montille, children of the famous Burgundy producer Hubert de Montille. They now operate the family estates and fairly recently bought a new property, which used to belong to Bouchard. Toping their usual portfolio, they added several other wines now sold under the Deux Montille label. De Montille style remains pure and traditional with tremendous fruit appeal and harmony in each bottle. Following closely in the steps of their father and respectively adding their own twist, character and personality, Alix and Etienne are crafting some of the greatest Burgundies around.



2005 Deux Montille Soeur et Frere Meursault "Les Grands Charrons" Burgundy France
Suggested retail price $60-$65
Imported / Distributed by Martin Scott in NYC

The 2005 Meursault “Grand Charrons”, part of this fairly new portfolio, is truly a classic due to the acclaimed vintage but also and primarily because of the quality of the wine. The nose is fresh, expressive and mineral combining orchard fruit aromas with slightly toasted notes and nutty hints. The palate is full and generous, balanced and structured, with classic Meursault weight and creaminess intermingled with stony minerality and refreshing acidity. The lingering finish is quite inviting. A lovely wine to keep for a few years. Decant it to fully appreciate it.

Enjoy!

LeDom du Vin

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Montevertine: Tuscany's landscape depicted in a wine

Montevertine: Tuscany's landscape depicted in a wine

I first came across this producer about 2 years and a few months ago, during my first week at the store as the new Wine Buyer/Manager and store co-manager.

I was tidying the temperature-controlled cellar downstairs and pulled a wooden six-pack case of “Montevertine Pergole Torte” 2001. I didn’t know anything about it and never really heard of it before, but the attractive, unusual and soft pinkish colorful label, representing in a very artistic way the visage of a lady, immediately charmed me.

The case was open and I put a bottle aside on a wine rack next to me, which was, I discovered soon after, totally unsteady. Trying to move a case of another wine in the cellar, I accidentally push the bottle, which broke in two pieces on the floor. I thought that it was a good beginning, not even there for a week, and I already broke an expensive bottle of wine.

As I tried to clean the mess, I realized how expressive and aromatic this wine was. It was delightful and pleasant. So I decided to continue reorganize the bottles of the cellar, gratefully intoxicated by the smell of this incredible wine.

I ended up trying the wine at some point a few months later. It was one of my most revealing experiences among all the Tuscan wine I tried in my 18 years working in the wine business.


We just bought Montevertine “Le Pergole Torte” 2004 vintage and “Pian del Ciampolo” 2007 from Rosenthal, 2 young wines that also deserve your attention.

Montevertine

Situated in the heart of the Chianti district, Montevertine was first developed in the 11th century and was purchased by Sergio Manetti in 1967. The first vintage from Sergio was the 1971. Due to Signor Manetti’s devotion to the Sangiovese grape, all of his wines were produced nearly exclusively with Sangiovese. The Montevertine estate is now in the hands of Martino Manetti, son of Sergio, who remains dedicated to the style and philosophy of his father.

The Montevertine estate constitutes approximately 10 hectares of vineyards planted almost exclusively to the Sangiovese grape. Small amounts of Colorino and Canaiolo are planted to supplement the Sangiovese, and a touch of Malvaisia.

Wine production at Montevertine is essentially devoted to three wines.

  • "Pian del Ciampolo", composed of Sangiovese with a tiny amount of Canaiolo blended in, is the basic red wine of the estate. It sees 18 months of aging in large barrels and is the most precocious of the wines.
  • "Montevertine" is the standard bearer of the estate. It is aged 24 months in large barrel and is based on at least 90% Sangiovese with some Colorino added.
  • and "Le Pergole Torte" is the prestige wine of Montevertine and is not produced every year. This ultimate wine is aged in large barrel for 18 months and then racked into small French barrels for the final stage of its elevage (ageing process). It is produced exclusively from Sangiovese.

After a manual harvest, the wines are fermented in large (150hl) cement cuves (vats) for at least 25 days. The malolactic fermentation also occurs in large volume in cement cuves (vats) before it is racked into both small (Alliers oak) and large (Slavonian oak) barrels for 18 to 24 months, depending on the cuvée. The wine is never pumped, all movement of the wine is by gravity, and the wines are bottled without filtration and then held in bottle for at least 4 months prior to first release.



2001 Montevertine Le Pergole Torte Tuscany Italy
Suggested retail price $78-$95
Imported / Distributed by Madrose / Rosenthal

From the acclaimed 2001 vintage and made from 100% Sangiovese grapes aged for 18 months in large Slovenian barrel and rack into smaller French barrel for the final stage of the aging process, Le Pergole Torte is a classic, earthy, very expressive, aromatic, balanced and harmonious wine. Beside his bright garnet-ruby color of light to medium intensity, this wine combines red and dark berry fruits aromas with floral, liquorice, cider wood, tobacco, underbrush and earthy notes. The palate is soft, refined, elegant, integrated and vibrant at the same time, with great acidity lifting the fruit towards the lingering finish. The tannic structure nicely framed this gorgeous and flavorful Tuscan landscape depicted in this wine. I loved it. Wine lovers should make a point of finding some bottles to complete their own cellars.



2004 Montevertine Le Pergole Torte Tuscany Italy
Suggested retail price $82-$100
Imported / Distributed by Madrose / Rosenthal

Here again, same vinification as the previous one from another classic vintage in Tuscany, Le Pergole Torte 2004 is a beautifully crafted wine with promising ageing potential. Obviously younger, it bursts lovely, refined yet present tannins that will need a bit of time. The delicate floral scent intermingled with the red cherry and dark berry aromas and hints of oak spice and earth are the feminine and attractive signature on the nose. Although, a bit tight, the palate is already defined and refined yet it will take a few more years to integrate and express its full potential. Decant it if you would like to taste a glimpse of this very promising wine.



2007 Montevertine Pian del Ciampolo Tuscany Italy
Suggested retail price $23-$27
Imported / Distributed by Madrose / Rosenthal


A blend of mostly Sangiovese with Canaiolo grapes, aged eighteen months in oak and a further six in bottle, Pian del Ciampolo 2007 is a rich and traditional expression of Tuscany. Redolent of soft cherry fruit, spice, licorice, tobacco and oak, its earthy tannins and nice acidity suggest pairing with classic meat-sauce pastas, grilled meats and aged cheeses. The tannins are still quite tight and need a bit of time to be tamed and more integrated. Decant it to fully appreciate it or wait for it a few more years to fully discover its nuances.

Enjoy!

LeDom du Vin

Info and Pictures taken from Madrose/Rosenthal website at www.madrose.com

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Saturday, November 28, 2009

Vallee d'Aoste: high altitude undiscovered wine gems & 2008 GrosJean Frères "GrosJean Gamay" Vallée d'Aosta

Vallee d'Aoste: high altitude undiscovered wine gems

Vallee d'Aoste
(in French) also known as Aosta Valley (in English), and Valle d'Aosta (in Italian) corresponds to northwestern part of Italy, bordering Switzerland to the North and France to the west, and Piedmont to the southeast. A narrow valley surrounded by magnificent mountains, sculpted a long time ago by the melting glaciers, where Romans have tamed a bit of land to grow the blood of the earth: wine.

The main town, located in the middle of this area at the bottom of the Valley of the same name, is Aosta, hence the name of the appellation. A few more towns, or villages should I say, as important as Aosta, also deserve to be mentioned: Quart, Chambave, Morgex, La Salle, Chatillon, Gressan, Sarre & Saint-Pierre (and a few more).

Following the valley bottom-land and passing by these quaint "mountainous" villages, nicely curves of the D
ora Baltea, also known as Doire Baltée (in French), the main river of the Valle d'Aosta, descending from the highest mountains of the Alps, the Mont-Blanc and joining the Po river to the west of the town of Crescentino.

Valle d'Aosta DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) roughly stretches from the town of Courmayeur to the west (close to Mont-Blanc) to Verres to the south-east, with sloped vineyards (around the villages) planted on the foothills of the diverse surrounding mounts: Monte Fallere, Monte Faroma, Monte Emilius, etc..., primarily on the eastern part of the Dora Baltea river, with Aosta as the main wine capital.

The region is divided into three main vineyard areas:

  • The upper valley "Valdigne", with wine made down the south of Courmayeur with the most well-known, crisp and vivid white wine coming from Morgex et de la Salle.
  • The central valley or "Valle Centrale", the most productive area, is further sub-divided into four areas within the Valle d'Aoste DOC: Enfer d'Arvier (around the village of Arvier), Torrette (located east of Arvier and occupying a large portion of the Valle d'Aosta), and the villages of Nus and Chambave (making interesting reds).
  • The lower valley or "Bassa Valley" also produces some interesting wines that are mostly sold locally and rarely seen on the outside market.
Most of these small areas produce, at least, 2 to 3 different wines, whites and reds, made from a wide array of indigenous and more international grape varieties, like: Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Freisa, Neyret, Pinot Noir, Vien de Nus, Gamay, Petite Rouge, Furmin, Pinot Gris, Malvoisie, Premetta, Petite Arvine, Muller-Thurgau, Chardonnay and a few more.

From all the cited-above grape varieties, Valle d'Aoste produces racy, vivid, crisp, usually light, fruity and playful, yet balanced, harmonious and mineral, very versatile red, white and sparkling wines (and rare few roses) that are worth trying and discovering over earthy meals.


We just bought two great Vallee d'Aoste wines for the store (from two of my favorite wine importers, who happen to be part of the rare breed of the most Terroir-driven-and-authentic-wine-finders in America: Rosenthal and Dressner), and the two sub-division areas of concern for today's post are: Quart and Torrette.


Quart is a remote little village of Valle Centrale, located east Aosta, producing mainly red wines from Gamay and Pinot Noir, planted at slightly different altitude about 2500 feet (760 meters) above sea level, on slopes mainly facing south with ideal drainage (obviously, it is in the mountains...) and sun exposure, in the southern foothills of Monte Faroma.


GrosJean Frères "GrosJean Gamay" Vallée d'Aosta Olignan Quart Italy


Grosjean Frères winery is located on the border of the towns of Quart and Saint Christophe in the Valle d'Aosta, a small mountainous region of the Northwestern part of Italy. The vines planted initially, in addition to the traditional Petit Rouge, were Gamay, Pinot Noir and Petite Arvine, and currently are growing even as the native Fumin, Cornalin, Prëmetta and Vuillermin.

Although the family has for centuries made and keep wine (and nuts) for the long winter months in the mountains, everything really started in 1969, when the family members began to bottle their own wine for presentation at "The Exposition des vins du Val d'Aoste". It was this exhibition that stimulated the initiative that brought the company from 3,000 square meters to the actual 7 hectares of vineyards, with the involvement of the 5 children, thus the name "Grosjean Frères" (meaning Grosjean "brothers" in French).

Grosjean Frères is part of the Association of "Viticulteurs Encaveurs" Valdostan which brings together 24 small producers who were able to characterize the quality and typicality of their wines produced in the Valle d'Aosta DOC. This group of tenants has a close relationship with the land (Valle d'Aosta) and personally follows all stages of production, from vineyard to cellar to retail sale. The "Viticulteurs Encaveurs" devoted great attention to farming techniques and traditional vinification - handed down from father to son - and both are compared to new ideas and technologies, always with a view to use friendly and natural agriculture.

This wine is 100% Gamay from high altitude vineyards, from 600 to 750 m altitude, planted on steep slopes (30-60%) of loose soil of moraine with ideal south and south-west exposure. The wine was crafted in stainless steel tanks where it underwent a short maceration of 4-5 days, which explain the light color, and was then fermented. After fermentation, the wine rested for at least 3-6 months in stainless steel tanks to keep the freshness before bottling.




2008 GrosJean Frères "GrosJean Gamay" Vallée d'Aosta Olignan Quart Italy
Suggested retail price $18-$21
Imported / Distributed by Rosenthal / Madrose

2008 Grosjean Frères Gamay Vallee d'Aosta is a great wine with lot of focus and brightness. Passed its light, bright transparent, red-ruby-pinkish-red onionskin color, the nose offers vivid mineral, light red cherry and floral notes intermingled with earth and smoke. The palate has an excellent balance with broad, quite deep red fruit flavors, well-integrated tannic structure and a racy, lifting acidity nicely carrying the fruit. The finish is quite dry yet juicy and refreshing with dry red cherry, flowers and more mineral and earth.

Overall, even if not your everyday wine, this high altitude Gamay is really good with a beautiful, very broad smooth mouth-feel full of freshness. Serve it with simple dish like pasta, cold cuts and soups, or even fish.



The second wine comes from the Vallee d'Aoste DOC "Torrette" area.



Vallée d’Aoste "Torrette" DOC produces harmonious, soft, easy drinking red wines with crisp, dry, red fruit flavors whose qualities were already renowned in the last century. It is currently the most produced "Valdostane" wine and its production area is the largest among the DOC certified areas in the Vallee d'Aoste region, extending over 11 villages: Quart, Saint-Christophe, Aosta, Sarre, Saint-Pierre, Charvensod, Gressan, Jovencan, Aymavilles, Villenenuve and Introd.

The red wines made in Torrette DOC must be crafted with at least 70% of Petit Rouge grapes, which can be blended with Pinot Noir, Gamay, Fumin, Vien de Nus, Dolcetto, Majolet or Prëmetta. Torrette is
a light-medium red wine (12°-13°) which can be served throughout an entire meal. It is ideal served with meat, excellent with roasts and game, but also local sliced pork meat and mature cheese. The Supérieur version, produced from the sunniest vineyards with a limited production per hectare, differs due to its greater concentration of grapes and more prolonged aging.



Noussan Tourette Petite Rouge Valle d'Aoste Saint-Christophe Italy

Noussan, like most Val d'Aosta wines, is a tiny family owned winery by Franco Noussan.

Franco Noussan is somewhat of a “garagiste” in St Christophe, a little village located in the hills northeast above the town of Aosta. His cave is dug into the hillside and is literally an extension of his garage. He is a teacher at the local university in Aosta and when not teaching, he likes to work in the vineyards and make wine and eaux-de-vie.

The grapes are from small family parcels in different areas near St-Christophe. In 1999, his family acquired vineyards from his wife Gabriella’s side. They were all old vines vineyards, the majority over 70 years, planted in Petit Rouge, Mayolet, Fumin and Pinot Gris. The vines are all over 40 years and the majority much older. In 2003 he also began renting some vineyards and now has about 5.5 hectares of surface. The vineyards are worked without herbicides and are plowed. The yields are kept small. He started making wine just for the family’s and friends’ consumption, but then began bottling and selling the wine in 2005 under his own label.

The grapes are harvested by hand, the fermentations are made with indigenous yeast in stainless steel tanks, pressed using a hand press, then the wine is aged in smaller oak barrels from a year to 14 months. The wines are bottled unfiltered. All of this done in Franco’s garage/cave.

His "Torrette" is mainly crafted with "Petit Rouge" (over 70%) blended with other indigenous grape varieties like Mayolet, Cornalin and Vien de Nus.



2007 Noussan Vallee d'Aoste DOC Tourette Italy
Suggested retail price $22-$25
Imported / Distributed by Louis/Dressner in NYC

Not to compare it with the previous wine, because of the different grape varieties (Gamay for the previous one and Petit Rouge for this one) and area of production, but this wine has a deeper color, dark red ruby with nice reflects and a somewhat less austere, more playful attitude, although it is also less complex or serious in a way, but much more approachable and inviting for a wider range of palate.

The gamay from Grosjean is a bright, serious, delectable red wine that I enjoyed very much, but this Torrette from Noussan is such an interesting wine too, that has somewhat more fruit to offer for a similar price, which makes it quite irresistible.

Fun and playful in the palate, it displays generous and ripe red cherry and wild berry flavors mixed with floral and mineral notes. The wine is really integrated and really juicy. Soft, mellow, friendly, we drank it over a piece of bucheron goat cheese and it was delightful. Along with the fruit, the balancing acidity and the mineral side of this wine constitute the main enjoyable features of this lovely, undiscovered wine. It was so easy to drink that we finished the bottle in no time.

Enjoy!

LeDom du Vin

Info partly taken (and edited) from Rosenthal website at www.madrose.com (for Grosjean Freres Gamay); from Louis/Dressner website at www.louisdressner.com (for Noussan Torrette); and from Vallee d'Aoste/Valle d'Aosta website at http://gestionewww.regione.vda.it/turismo/prodotti_territorio/enogastronomia/vini/torrette_e.asp (for the info about Torrette DOC)

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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Beaujolais Nouveau doesn't appeal anymore!

Beaujolais Nouveau doesn't appeal anymore!

As I was saying in one or two of my previous posts, Beaujolais wines are often misunderstood because Beaujolais Nouveau are misleading examples of what Beaujolais has to offer. There are much better Beaujolais wines out there, like the Beaujolais Villages and Cru Beaujolais, if you want to fully experienced the complexity of this wine region. But let's get back to the impact, or the non-impact I should say, of Beaujolais Nouveau.

The 3rd Thursday of November, each year, corresponds to the official release date of the big mass marketed Beaujolais Nouveau in the world. It is one of the most important race for cash of the year, ringing the bell for the beginning of the last 6 most lucrative weeks of the year (holidays' season) during which importers, wholesalers, distributors, retails and restaurants secure their feet in the starting blocks, to be the fastest to collect the maximum of cash before the New Year (January and February being usually really slow months).

Beaujolais Nouveau day is normally quite huge, with banners all over the city, costly advertising in diverse magazines and newspapers, and wine tastings suddenly mushrooming in bars, restaurants and retails. However for the past 2-3 years, Beaujolais Nouveau sales have been decreasing, it seems that people are not interested anymore, almost bored of it. It is normally a fun thing to do with friends and family, but the quality of the last few vintages was deceiving and people slowly abandons the idea of celebrating Beaujolais Nouveau day.

2009 is supposed to be a great, promising vintage for many wine regions in France and overall in Europe. The Beaujolais Nouveau 2009 is apparently also a very good vintage and triggered a lot of expectations from the producers (none whatsoever from the consumers...). However, this year, banners where nowhere to be seen and advertisings were more discreet or even hidden in the press. The usual battering campaign didn't seem to work this year. Economy? Recession? Lack of interest? Not fashionable anymore? Who knows! Thus, we can somewhat deduct that Beaujolais Nouveau doesn't appeal anymore!

You see, last year we bought about five different brands of Beaujolais Nouveau: two did OK! And the other took us forever to sale them, up until March or even April of the next year. Who wants to sell Beaujolais Nouveau in April? No one. we even had to considerably lower the price to sell them. So, this year we only bought 2 brands: Duboeuf (can't avoid it and people are expecting it) and Dupeuble (a more artisanal, way smaller production wine with less mass appeal but more character and depth). We normally buy Domaine de La Madone, but we didn't this year.

However, we were ready for a big day last Thursday, on Beaujolais Nouveau Day. Like many of our competitors, we had a free in-store tasting from 5.30pm to 8.30pm, opposing Duboeuf ($8.99) and Dupeuble ($14.99) Beaujolais Nouveau to Henry Fessy Regnié ($11.99) and Domaine de la Chapelle des Bois Fleurie ($19.99), just to offer the possibility for our customers to understand the differences between Beaujolais Nouveau, Beaujolais villages and Cru Beaujolais. We even posted the event (like most of our events) on Twitter and Facebook, thinking that we will have a big turn over.

Well, we were wrong. God knows if it was the rain that night that discouraged the customers or the lack of interest, but the sales result at the end of the tasting was pretty disappointing. Friday was no better and Saturday, even if a bit better wasn't extraordinary either. Today, Sunday, sales seems a bit better, perhaps the nice sunny weather is inspiring people to go out and have a glass of Beaujolais Nouveau with family and friends.

In any case, the results at the end of the next six weeks will indicate if Beaujolais Nouveau is still fashionable or not. One thing is sure, it doesn't create the craze that it once used to be anymore, and sales are far much slower than they used to be too. We'll see next week with Thanksgiving, may be people will pair some Beaujolais Nouveau with their Turkey and sales will go up again, but I think Beaujolais Nouveau's reputation and the enthusiasm that it once used to create are depleting.

My personal opinion regarding our in-store tasting, it was interesting to compare these 4 Beaujolais:

2009 Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau Burgundy France
Suggested retail price $7-$10

Fruity, straightforward, simple, somewhat fun but nothing really exciting with mix indiscernible flavors (like each year, some say Banana, other Strawberry, I'll say it is definitely confusing and appears to be a bit of both).

2009 Dupeuble Beaujolais Nouveau Burgundy France
Suggested retail price $13-$16
Imported / Distributed by Winebow in NYC

Definitely a step up from Duboeuf, more Terroir oriented with more nuances and character. Still quite fruity and playful, a touch earthy, with more volume and length. From a smaller production where quality can be controlled and achieved. Gentle flavors of red cherry and berries, earth and mineral constitute the main features on this enjoyable Beaujolais Nouveau.

2008 Henry Fessy "Château des Reyssiers" Regnié
Suggested retail price $10-$13
Imported by Louis Latour / Distributed by Mr. Touton Selections

A charming, easy going, light Gamay wine. The robe is light, bright ruby red. Developed aromas of red berries, like red currant and raspberry, with subtle floral perfume constitute the nose. In the palate, the attack is quite juicy and fruity, expanding nicely in a structured, elegant and supple mid-palate. The acidity carries the red fruit flavors with focus toward the lingering, fresh and dry finish. Quite well rounded without excessive tannins, this wine is well made, simple yet refined and charming, somewhat feminine and refreshing with a twist of earthiness, a touch dry at the end.
Enjoy it warm temperature with white meat and poultry, or even slightly chilled with fish or cheese.


2007 Chapelle des Bois Fleurie Beaujolais France
Suggested retail price $18-$21
Imported / Distributed by Rosenthal / Madrose

Made from 100% Gamay Noir a jus Blanc, from vines averaging 40 year old, planted on granitic soils, the 2007 Fleurie possesses a dark ruby color of good intensity. Initially slightly rustic on the nose, it offers charming cherry aromas with intense stony minerality, and some blueberry notes. At first a bit tight and earthy in the mouth, it definitely benefits of a bit of patience and a good swirl in the glass to fully express itself. The palate, once open, develops with intensely concentrated red and dark fruits complemented by great earthiness. Slightly tannic finish, the balance between the rich fruit and the acidity in this wine is the charming key. After quite a few minutes, it evolves gently and smooths out some of the slight rustic edges.

The Chapelle des Bois was definitely the best and most complex of the bunch.

Over the last few days, I wrote quite a few articles and wine posts about Beaujolais on my blog (www.LeDomduvin.com), feel free to leave me some comments and opinions.

If that can help, here is a small list of some of my favorite producers of Beaujolais: Chantal & Eric Coudert-Appert at Domaine de la Chapelle des Bois, Henry Fessy, Pascal Granger, Domaine Michel Cheveau, Domaine Chatelard, Domaine Joseph Chamonard, Jean-Paul Brun, etc.. and you can find more on my previous post: www.ledomduvin.com/2009/04/lets-go-back-to-beaujolais-for-minute.html


Enjoy!

LeDom du Vin

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Friday, November 20, 2009

2007 Chapelle des Bois Fleurie Beaujolais France


Chapelle des Bois Fleurie Beaujolais France

Located just about 50 kms north of Lyon and 15 minutes south of Macon, "Chapelle des Bois" is a "lieu dit", located at the southern entrance of the village of Fleurie, one of the Cru Beaujolais in Burgundy.

For those of you who might wonder what a "Lieu dit" is? Here is an explanation.

In the medieval time (between the 5th and 15th century and probably before that), when the land lords (Bourgeois, Aristocrats and other King's court usual suspects like Dukes, Barons, Princes, Knights, etc...) used to reign over the peasants (farmers, growers, blacksmiths, etc...), names were attributed to agricultural and viticultural small parcels of land or vineyards as well as small community neighbors (small group of houses in the middle of fields usually inhabited by the cited above peasants).

These names were often given after specific landmarks (like Chateaux, Churches, Cloisters, Domaine, etc..); small parcels of land (agricultural or not) or vineyards with specific Terroir characteristics (often related to the soil's composition or the predominant plants or trees) and also the predominant family name of the designated area (usually related to their place of origin or their job, which often became with time their last name too). Time passed yet traditions remained, even up until today, the "Lieu dits" still exist and find their stronger meaning and sense of place in the vineyards all around France.

Depending on their Terroir characteristics and their qualities, also depending on the region, they became what we now know as the "Grand Cru", "1er Cru" and other strange additional names on the labels that are so characteristic to the French wines. More especially in places where traditions still prevail like in Burgundy, Rhône, Alsace and the Loire Valley. One can also find quite a few in Champagne and the Languedoc; and just a rare few in the Southwest of France (Cahors, Madiran, etc..) and a fair amount in the eastern part of France, in Savoie and Jura. But barely none in Bordeaux for example; which is strange because, like most of the entire countryside in France, Bordeaux possesses a lot of "Lieu dits" morceling (dividing) the small villages and the surrounding lands into giant puzzles, sometimes difficult to understand if you didn't grow up in the area, yet you rarely see the name of a "Lieu dit" on Bordeaux bottles.

"Lieu Dit" is basically an old French agricultural and viticultural term designating a small, delimited area for traditional and specific reasons, which has a traditional name assigned to it. "Lieu dit" has been eventually, and especially by traditions, promoted and perpetuated by the winegrowers and its typical, and now firmly established, usage translates as a "vineyard or parcel's name" or a "named vineyard or parcel or Clos". In most cases, a "lieu-dit" is usually smaller than an Appellation and could be translated as a sub-division of higher pedigree and specific Terroir characteristics within an appellation (Grand cru, 1er Cru, etc..), or even within the different vineyards of an estate (designated parcel or vineyards names).

Not to be mistaken with the late XVIIIth century "Château de la Chapelle des Bois", also in Fleurie, "Domaine de la Chapelle des Bois" is a small estate owned by the same family for the past 7 generations, which can be traced up until 1820, with Chantal & Eric Coudert-Appert, the current owner, being the last generation. In 1991, Chantal took over her father who took over the estate in 1962 from his own parents and so on.

Like in many other small Domaines, Chantal and Eric take care of everything themselves from the vineyards to cellar, and all the different steps of the vinification process. It allows them to have a perfect control and knowledge over the work done in the vineyards and in the cellar. They hand harvest the grapes which undergo their fermentation process in cement tanks. Everything is done with extreme attention to details in the most natural way possible.Their passion, care and hard work is reflected in their wines. The quality of their wines and the numerous accolades and notes of appreciations from the customers are their best rewards.

Domaine de La Chapelle des Bois possesses 8.4 hectares of vineyards located in Fleurie and Chiroubles, in the heart of the Cru Beaujolais. The little house, also called "Cadole" in French, standing in the middle of the vineyards on the label, used to exist and was used by the workers during their break for the lunch and to stock vineyard tools, but it was destroyed by the terrible storm of 1999. It was drawn quite some time ago by one of their friends, an Englishman named Peter, and they are quite thankful for it is now one of the last memory of this "Cadole", which has now a symbolic and sentimental meaning.



2007 Chapelle des Bois Fleurie Beaujolais France
Suggested retail price $18-$21
Imported / Distributed by Rosenthal / Madrose

Made from 100% Gamay Noir a jus Blanc, from vines averaging 40 year old, planted on granitic soils, this wine underwent traditional fermentation and semi-carbonic "cuvaison" for 10-15 days in order to extract the voluptuous fruit and feminine profile authentic to Fleurie. Drinkable now and expressing bright aromas of red fruit, you can also wait for another 2-3 years, it will surely enhance the complexity of the aromas which usually come with a bit of aging in the bottle.

The 2007 Fleurie possesses a dark ruby color of good intensity. Initially slightly rustic on the nose, it offers charming cherry aromas with intense stony minerality, and some blueberry notes. At first a bit tight and earthy in the mouth, it definitely benefits of a bit of patience and a good swirl in the glass to fully express itself. The palate, once open, develops with intensely concentrated red and dark fruits complemented by great earthiness. Slightly tannic finish, the balance between the rich fruit and the acidity in this wine is the charming key. After quite a few minutes, it evolves gently and smooths out some of the slight rustic edges.

Overall, pretty good, slightly rustic with row components (nothing abnormal for a natural wine) yet offering plenty of fruit and layered subtle nuances, really expressive of Fleurie's Terroir. Enjoy it with earthy dishes: game, birds, veal stew, and rack of lamb.

Enjoy!

LeDom du Vin

Info roughly translated from the winery website at www.coudert-appert.fr

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2006 La Vinsobraise Vinsobres AOC Cru des Cotes du Rhone France

La Vinsobraise Vinsobres AOC Cru des Cotes du Rhone France

For generations, the same families of winegrowers, which regroup about 250 men and women tending their vines, cultivated the hills of this small corner of Provence, in the heart of the Rhône Valley. In 1949, they decided to combine their talents and created a local cooperative, known as “La Vinsobraise”.

Vine has been cultivated here since ancient Rome, regrouping about 2000 hectares and 2000 years of history, enhanced by so much perseverance, knowledge and passion. Between the few last remaining century-old olive trees and rows of lavender, on arid soil bathed in sunshine, they have been producing amazingly concentrated and aromatic Syrah and Grenache grapes. With new technologies and techniques came new vinification processes. And nowadays, each parcel of vines is taken care of according to its individual needs, exposition and micro climate. It may be hard work, but they aim for high quality wines made in the most natural process possible.

As previously said, "Vinsobres" has always been a land of olive trees where the vine has always been present. However, in 1956, a massive frost destroyed many olive groves (14000 to 15000 trees) and therefore farmers preferred to convert the land to agriculture less sensitive to cold.

Logically, and gradually, Terroir characteristics started to be more pronounced in this young wines made from slowly aging vines. Therefore, with the quality of the produced wines increasing, the Appellation started to climb the ladder of recognition and promotion; thus followed a historic day, September 7th, 1957 when "Vinsobres", which was just a part of the generic Côtes du Rhône appellation, justifiably gained the rank of "Appellation Côtes du Rhône Villages Vinsobres".

About 50 years later, in mid-February 2006, the Appellation was once again rewarded for the high quality and consistency of its wines, and the previous name of "Côtes du Rhône Villages Vinsobres" gave way to the higher rank in the hierarchy of the Rhône Appellations, precising a more specific and delineated area, Appellation Vinsobres Controllée (in short, "Vinsobres" was not anymore a sub-appellation of another Appellation, it became an Appellation on its own). The geographical area now represents 1385 hectares and considers only the red wines, starting with the 2004 harvest.

The soil around Vinsobres extends over 7 km slopes, (ranging in altitude from 100m to 450 meters above sea level) around the villages of Mirabelle aux Baronnies and Piégon in the department of Drôme. Soils are mostly marl sandy or marl rocky on hillside and quaternary alluvium in stony terrace. The climate is Mediterranean and vineyards are planted on slope influenced by the near by Alps mountains and protected by the "Mistral" (a strong and cold wind, coming from the north, which accelerates when it passes through the valleys of the Rhône river to reach the Mediterranean sea in the Camargue region).



2006 La Vinsobraise Vinsobres Cotes du Rhone France
Suggested retail price $12-$15
Imported / Distributed by Maximilien Selections thru Fruit of the Vines in NYC

La Vinsobraise 2006 Vinsobres AOC "Cuvee Rustica" (named “Emeraude” in France, which is not mentioned on the American label) is a pleasurable red wine combining richness, balance and depth with earthy and mineral, stony notes. A blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah from 40 year old vines, the grapes were hand harvested and followed traditional fermentation in Stainless steel tanks for about 20 days with longer maceration for maximum extraction of all the needed components. The wine was then aged for 12 months in barrels, then clarified before bottling.

The resulting wine has an intense, dark ruby color. The nose expresses wild dark berries with earthy, floral notes and forest scents intermingled with spices, vanilla and red fruits. The palate is rich and chewy yet not heavy, with good balance and acidity, marked by firm but integrated tannins leading toward the long lasting finish. Côtes du Rhône Villages lovers that are looking for one of their favorites with a bit more guts should be please by this robust yet enjoyable red wine.

PS: (not that it really matters to me, because I can only express my opinions about a wine just after tasting it and I usually don’t pay attention to scores or medals, but I can understand that some people may attach some importance to certain accolades and ratings, so FYI: it received a Gold Medal at the 2007 Paris competition)

Enjoy!

LeDom du Vin

Info taken from the winery website at www.cavecooperative-vinsobres.com

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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Some red wines for Thanksgiving and the holidays of the end of the year

Some red wines for Thanksgiving and the holidays of the end of the year

This week is "Beaujolais Nouveau" week, with its release this Thusrday, November 19th; followed by "Thanksgiving" the next week on Thursday, November 26th. Two great occasions to fill up your cellar with Gamay and Cabernet Franc based wines. Soon to come Christmas and New Year's eve will be greater occasions but I will suggest you different wines and festive sparkling gems. However, Beaujolais and Gamay are in the spotlight this week, so let's talk about them.

Led by firmly established brands, (somewhat too commercial for my liking: i.e. George Duboeuf, Louis Jadot, Labouré-Roi and Drouhin), Beaujolais Nouveau invades the US and the rest of the world market, each year on the 3rd Thursday of the month of November. It triggers excitement and excess of craziness, always a good excuse to party and celebrate, and usually disturbs (or even disfigures) the decor of your local wine boutique for at least 3-4 weeks, occupying the front shelves and the easy-to-find "displays" next to the registers (up until the end of the year).

It is usually an easy sale which requires no special skills but a simple sentence: "Nice, fruity, simple and juicy, and this year it bursts "Banana" (or strawberry) flavors"(by the way, IMO, Duboeuf this year seems to be a mix of both....try it, you'll see). The other good thing about Beaujolais Nouveau is that it gathers people and usually untied their tongues which inevitably lead to empty, never-ending conversations about the subject for a few days.

It used to be a great tradition up until a few years, but, gradually, over the last 2-3 years Beaujolais Nouveau has been overlooked for better wines and more interesting values, probably due to an over excessive dose of battering propaganda, mass marketing and more often lack of quality.

The phenomenon may still work in restaurants by the glass, but people have slowly abandoned the idea of buying Beaujolais Nouveau in wine stores to replace it with (or simply continue to buy) better wines at better value, or even straight Beaujolais Villages that are usually far better and more complex for about the same price or just a bit more.

What also happen is that people buy a bottle of Duboeuf for fun and also buy a bottle of a different producer like Dupeuble or Domaine de La Madone (by Jean Bererd et Fils) which are a bit more expensive, to compare them, the later being often the winner.

However, what I saw over the last few years are constant decreases of sales resulting in left over stocks of Beaujolais Nouveau bottles up until March of the next year. Every retailer will tell you that the turn over is not good enough. More over, most retailers usually end up by reducing the price of the last remaining bottles in January just to get rid of them. Even this year, we decide to go with only three producers and to only order 5 cases of each max (10-15 for the best seller, no name...) just to avoid having some left over in January (who wants to sell Beaujolais Nouveau in January?...so imagine March!).

People who know me well or/and follow this blog, knows that I'm very open minded and I try to keep my palate has open as possible to everything from everywhere without having any prejudices or try to discriminate a wine because of its color, its grape variety, its region of origin or its taste, because I believe that, as I always say, "Every wine should be tasted, even if every wine shouldn't be drunk!"

However, they will also tell you that I'm a pain in the butt, that even if open minded, I'm somewhat very picky and will tell you straight what I think about a wine, bad or not, and that I only love of a few and rare wine portfolios and wine importers/distributors in New York, like: Rosenthal, Louis Dressner, Jenny & Francois, Kermit Lynch, Martine Saunier, Peter Weygandt, Wineberry, Little Wine Company, The Wine List, Jan D'Amore, Maximilien Selection, Baron Francois, and a few more.... but more especially, they will tell you that I love odd wines and rare and lesser appreciated red grapes like: Gamay, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Cot, Tannat, Counoise, Cinsault, Carignan, etc...

In short, I like Beaujolais and even a few of the Beaujolais Nouveau, but I think there are better Gamay wines out there, if you really want to experience Beaujolais wines. That is why I decided to come with a list of alternative wines also made with Gamay and a few made with Cabernet Franc and other lesser known grape varieties to complement your Thanksgiving dinner and for you to enjoy through out the end of this year.




2007 Domaine Cheveau "Or Rouge" Beaujolais Villages Burgundy France
Suggested retail price $13-$16
Imported / Distributed by Madrose / Rosenthal wine merchants in NYC

The Domaine Michel Cheveau was created in the 1950s by André Cheveau and is now operated by his son, Michel, and his grandson, Nicolas. The family home and the cellars are situated in the heart of the village of Pouilly. A total of thirteen hectares of vineyards are owned and cultivated by the Cheveau family with the holdings spread out over a variety of villages and climats. The vineyards are worked without fertilizers and the harvest is done manually. After a gentle passage through a pneumatic press, the fermentation occurs in temperature-controlled conditions. The elevage is done either in stainless steel or in small and mid-size oak barrels, depending on the appellation and structure of the wine. Domaine Michel Cheveau makes balanced, fresh, focus and juicy wines from Macon-Chaintré & Fuissé, Saint-Veran, Beaujolais villages and Beaujolais cru Saint Amour.

Cheveau “Or Rouge” is a light yet generous, easy-drinking Gamay made from old vines. A Beaujolais Villages with great structure and length, it is fresh, smooth and fruity, ready to be popped and poured as an accompaniment to a variety of meats, pastas and cheeses.




2007 Domaine Granger Julienas Cuvée Spéciale Cru Beaujolais Burgundy France
Suggested retail price $20-$23
Imported / Distributed by Madrose / Rosenthal wine merchants in NYC

The Granger family has been involved in the production of grapes and the making of wine from father to son for over 200 years. Originally from the village of Chenas, for the last century the Grangers have lived and worked in Julienas. Pascal Granger, born in 1961, is now the owner and winemaker and guiding spirit behind the Domaine. He mainly produces Julienas where he possesses about 8 hectares, plus a small amount of Chenas, Moulin a Vent and Beaujolais Villages. After a careful selection from his best parcels of vines, he separates the wine destined to be the "Grande Reserve" from the cuvee designated "Cuvee Speciale". These special wines are usually aged longer in barrel, the Grande Reserve remains in small oak barrels for two years prior to being bottled without filtration.

The 2006 Pascal Granger Julienas Cuvée Speciale is very attractive, bright yet generous, balanced, harmonious and delicate with earthy notes. Its juicy, red fruit character nicely intermingled with elegant acidity and pure mineral texture complement the earthy, slightly tannic and touch rustic texture. It clearly benefited from its ageing in aok which ads an extra dimension without being overwhelming. Like most of Granget’s wines, this Julienas has high quality profile and taste



2006 Domaine de Chatelard Fleurie Cru Beaujolais Burgundy France
Suggested retail price $20-$23
Imported / Distributed by Wineberry in NYC

The Chateau is nestled in the small village of Lancie, located south east of Fleurie and Chiroubles, in the northern part of the Beaujolais appellation where some of the best soils and terroirs lay on gentle slopes of the rolling hills of the land of the "Crus". Chateau du Chatelard has a long established wine reputation and history. The Chateau, rebuilt in the XVIIIth century after being destroyed during the French Revolution, now belongs to Sylvain and Isabelle Rosier. This young couple is passionate about wine and terroir, making beautifully crafted Beaujolais with old vines, some were planted around 1955, under sustainable and Biodynamic culture: no herbicide, respect of the biological life of the soil, short pruning on accordance to the moon, working the soil, leaving the grass and maximum foliage completed by selected hand harvest at full maturity, to obtain the best, healthy grapes. The resulting wines are great, balanced, fruity and gentle, yet rich and complex without being too opulent.

The well-crafted 2006 Chatelard Fleurie Vieux Granits possesses lovely purity of fruit, with raspberry and blackberry flavors. The palate is quite rich, fruity and expressive with a velvety texture and a long finish carried by ripe acidity that lets the fruit and spice notes hang on.




2007 Domaine Chamonard Morgon "Le Clos de Lys" Cru Beaujolais Burgundy France
Suggested retail price $24-$27
Imported / Distributed by Savio Soares in NYC

Joseph Chamonard was part of a group of friends, amongst some of the best Beaujolais’ producers, including Marcel Lapierre, Guy Breton, Jean-Paul Thévenet, Jean Foillard, and their mentor late Jules Chauvet. Joseph Chamonard died in 1990, and his daughter Geneviève, helped by her husband Jean-Claude Chanudet, continued making supple and fruit forward Beaujolais wine in the same old traditional way, walking in the steps of her father with combined Biodynamic-organic methods and respect for the natural environment. Recently imported by Savio Soares in New York, Chamonard’s wines were barely distributed outside of the local market and were apparently difficult to find even in Paris. Now available in New York, Chamonard’s wines feature on the selection of some of the most established wine boutiques and restaurants.

The 2007 vintage is a classic in Beaujolais, and this Chamonard Morgon reveals the high quality of the vintage topped with an attractive Terroir driven attitude. The nose is very fragrant, with straightforward aromas of light cherry and raspberry, and earthy notes. Light to medium in body, the wine is perfectly balanced between full fruit and lively acidity, with a light touch of yeast on the finish.



2008 Chateau Soucherie Anjou “Vendanges à la main” Loire Valley France
Suggested retail price $14-$17
Imported by Rosenthal / Madrose

The Tijou family has a long history as "viticulteurs" in the Loire Valley region near Angers. In fact, they have practiced their craft, father to son, since 1780. Pierre-Yves Tijou, the current proprietor, took over the management of the estate in 1969 and began to bottle a portion of the production. Today, the entire production is estate-bottled. More well-known for their Chaume and Savennieres, the Domaine encompasses about 30 hectares of vineyards in highly regarded vineyards such as “Chaume” and “Clos des Perriers” of which 18 hectares are planted with Chenin Blanc to produce their flagship wines from the seclusive “Coteaux du Layon” and “Savennieres” area; and 7 hectares Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc; and there are small parcels of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Gamay. Treatments in the vineyards are kept to an absolute minimum as the objective is to produce a wine in as natural a manner as possible. All grapes are harvested manually as the “vendanges a la main” on the label means.

Made from 100% Cabernet Franc, the 2008 Chateau Soucherie Anjou is a small production, racy red, with black currant and red cherry fruit flavors intermingled with slight toasted notes. Pretty balance and dry with bright red berries in the palate and good tannic structure. Overall this wine is quite good with a brambly finish showing hints of tobacco leaf and spice.

(FYI: Soucherie label as Changed and is slightly different than the one above).




2006 Chateau Grand Traverse Gamay Noir Old Mission Peninsula Michigan
Suggested retail price $16-$20
Importer / Distributor "The Wine List" in NYC

When you think of Gamay Noir, the first Appellation that comes to mind is Beaujolais. For many of us, Beaujolais only represents "Beaujolais Nouveau" (soon to arrive in the store, by tradition, the 3rd Thursday of November each year) which doesn't inspire anymore and usually triggers strange, disgusted expression of antipathy on the face of your interlocutor. However, the "Crus" Beaujolais are much better and traditionally labeled with the name of the village of origin: Morgon, Fleurie, Moulin a Vent, etc...

Well, in my opinion, Chateau Grand Traverse Gamay Noir 2006 vintage is like a well crafted "Crus Beaujolais". This reserve quality red wine is a blend of roughly 96% Gamay Noir and a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon. It was aged for 20 months in small partly used oak barrels, thus "Reserve". the resulting wine is quite juicy, earthy and balanced. The robe is quite dense, bright, ruby red color with medium to light intensity. The nose bursts attractive fruity aromas of red berries, with distinct tart cherry, tough red plum mixed with earthy, black pepper notes. During its ageing period in barrels, it developed wonderful depth and complexity. The palate is quite juicy, bright and racy, a touch tart some may say, but very well balanced and fairly long with vivid ripe red cherry flavors intermingled with hints of spices, pepper and oak, leading toward the earthy and slightly smoky finish framed by integrated tannins.

Quite lovely I must say for my first Michigan wine, a bit high in acidity but nice fruit overall, juicy mouth-feel and pleasant texture. A very good example of Gamay Noir that will enhance savory foods such as grilled venison, stuffed bell peppers, grilled salmon, roasted duck, or wild mushroom pizza. At room temperature, it was perfect.



2008 GrosJean Frères "GrosJean Gamay" Vallée d'Aosta Olignan Quart Italy
Suggested retail price $18-$21
Imported / Distributed by Rosenthal / Madrose

Grosjean Frères winery is located on the border of the towns of Quart and Saint Christophe in the Valle d'Aosta, a small mountainous region of the Northwestern part of Italy. The vines planted initially, in addition to the traditional Petit Rouge, were Gamay, Pinot Noir and Petite Arvine, and currently are growing even as the native Fumin, Cornalin, Prëmetta and Vuillermin.

Although the family has for centuries made and keep wine (and nuts) for the long winter months in the mountains, everything really started in 1969, when the family members began to bottle their own wine for presentation at "The Exposition des vins du Val d'Aoste". It was this exhibition that stimulated the initiative that brought the company from 3,000 square meters to the actual 7 hectares of vineyards, with the involvement of the 5 children, thus the name "Grosjean Frères" (meaning Grosjean "brothers" in French).

Grosjean Frères is part of the Association of "Viticulteurs Encaveurs" Valdostan which brings together 24 small producers who were able to characterize the quality and typicality of their wines produced in the Valle d'Aosta DOC. This group of tenants has a close relationship with the land (Valle d'Aosta) and personally follows all stages of production, from vineyard to cellar to retail sale. The "Viticulteurs Encaveurs" devoted great attention to farming techniques and traditional vinification - handed down from father to son - and both are compared to new ideas and technologies, always with a view to use friendly and natural agriculture.

This wine is 100% Gamay from high altitude vineyards, from 600 to 750 m altitude, planted on steep slopes (30-60%) of loose soil of moraine with ideal south and south-west exposure. The wine was crafted in stainless steel tanks where it underwent a short maceration of 4-5 days, which explain the light color, and was then fermented. After fermentation, the wine rested for at least 3-6 months in stainless steel tanks to keep the freshness before bottling.

2008 Grosjean Frères Gamay Vallee d'Aosta is a great wine with lot of focus and brightness. Passed its light, bright transparent, red-ruby-pinkish-red onionskin color, the nose offers vivid mineral, light red cherry and floral notes intermingled with earth and smoke. The palate has an excellent balance with broad, quite deep red fruit flavors, well-integrated tannic structure and a racy, lifting acidity nicely carrying the fruit. The finish is quite dry yet juicy and refreshing with dry red cherry, flowers and more mineral and earth. Overall, even if not your everyday wine, this high altitude Gamay is really good with a beautiful, very broad smooth mouth-feel full of freshness. Serve it with simple dish like pasta, cold cuts and soups, or even fish.



And to finish this post, here are a few non-Gamay based wines that I really enjoyed lately:





2006 De Bortoli Petit Verdot Vat # 4 Southeastern Australia
Suggested retail price $12-$14
Imported / Distributed by Opici in NYC

The inspiration for the Vat Series came from the early days when Deen de Bortoli would personally chalk numbers on vats to mark them out. Vat is the term for the large vessels, usually made of oak and bigger than the barrels, still use in a lot of wine regions by many producers, to hold the maturing wine before it is ready for bottling. Petit Verdot is a grape originally from France, more precisely Bordeaux where it is normally part of the blend in small quantity. However, in Australia Petit Verdot thrives in sunny climate and due to a longer ripening season, it is more often bottled on its own.

This wine exhibits aromas of violets, concentrated plum and blackberry with spicy notes. On the palate, this Petit Verdot is a delightful wine with medium to full intensity and generous fruit without being heavy or too opulent. Balanced , rich and supple, well rounded yet with good acidity, it exposes sweet vanillin and spicy oak character mixed with darker fruits as the result of the 12 months ageing in American oak barrels before bottling. Pair it with quail, veal and smoke meats.



2005 Heredad de Baroja "Rincon de Baroja' Crianza Rioja Álava Spain
Suggested retail price $12-$15
Imported / Distributed by Moonlight Wine Co. by friend Tony Gibson

Established in 1964, by the way one of the best vintages of the 20th century in France and Spain, Bodegas Heredad de Baroja, located in the village of Elvillar, Rioja Álava (South of the Basque country), was born from the initiative of its current owner, Fernando Meruelo, who named it after a famous Spanish Basque writer. He started by producing young wines (tinto) under the name of “Cautivo” and gradually enhanced his “Cautivo”selection by crafting Crianza, Reserva and Grand Reserva as the vines were getting older, thus producing better, richer, more complex wines. Exporting activities started in 1989 and now represents more than 50% of his production and total sales.

The construction of a new winery, the success of his newer style wines “Cautum” and “Lar de Paula” and revamping the image of his more traditional style “Cautivo” wines led to a new era for Heredad de Baroja. His wines, especially the newer modern style received instantaneously a lot of praises and accolades from critics and press. Now equipped with state of the art technology in both facilities, the old and the new cellars, will also help to achieve the goal of making about 2 million bottles a year, of which half will be high-end wines ageing between 14 to 36 months depending on the final wines. Rincon de Baroja is part of his fairly new wine selection that includes: Cautum "Alta Expresión", Lar de Paula "Cepas Viejas", Rincon de Baroja CO2, Cautivo Maceración Carbónica.

The 2005 Rincon de Baroja Crianza is is a delicious Tempranillo based wine that offers ample dark fruit quality in an inexpensive package. Aged twelve months in French and American oak, its nose offers soft cherry and vanilla aromas. Smooth and full in the mouth, its rich fruity flavors are supported by fine tannins into an elegant, lingering cedar cherry finish. Enjoy with beef burgers, steaks, lamb and other hearty meats.



2007 Domaine des Terres Falmet Cinsault Vin de Pays d'Oc Languedoc France Suggested retail price $10-$13

Imported by United Estates Wine Imports and Distributed David Bowler in NYC

Domaine des Terres Falmet was established in 1996, in the little village of Cebazan, located southeast of Saint-Chinian (north of Narbonne and west of Beziers). The Domaine encompasses 25 hectares of contiguous vineyard plots planted on hillside with excellent sun exposure. The young and talented Yves Falmet, owner and winemaker, produces this well crafted Cinsault from vines that are more than 50 years old planted on very rocky, clay-limestone soil, so the resulting wine combines, character, length and depth with juicy fruit, mineral and good tannic structure. Moreover, with no filtration or no fining, this wine didn't lose any of its personality or varietal character.

I loved the previous vintage, and think the 2007 Terres Falmet Cinsault follows the same profile, attitude and charm. The robe is clean, bright ruby red with light intensity. The nose is quite expressive and inviting, Garrigues-like with freshly crushed wild red and dark berries aromas, touch floral, earthy and mineral. Overall light to medium bodied, the palate is quite lush with darker berries flavors than the nose, like blackberry, ripe dark cherry and blueberry, nicely lifted by a great acidity which adds balance, freshness and juiciness, especially in the mid-palate. Calling for another glass, the lingering finish is dry and earthy, a touch spicy, with present yet integrated, soft tannins.

Within the next few days, I will add a few more red and white wines that I just bought for the store and that will be perfect for the Winter season. I'll keep you posted soon!

Enjoy!

LeDom du Vin

Step into the Green! Drink more Biodynamic and Organic wines (and Food) from sustainable culture and respect the environment!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

A short trip to Hunter Mountains and 2002 Château Pontet-Canet Pauillac Bordeaux France

A short trip to Hunter Mountains &
2002 Château Pontet-Canet Pauillac Bordeaux France


Last Sunday was beautiful, warm and sunny with a gentle breeze in the air and a feel for adventure or something different, but definitely not staying in Manhattan. So my wife, my son and I decided to make a little escapade upstate, to the Hunter Mountains. We happen to know some friends who have a really nice house lost in the woods with an amazing view on the Hunter Mountains, and decided to pay them a visit.

We rented a car, of course, like most New Yorkers do, because there is no point to have a car in New York when you think that walking or taking the metro is way faster and cheaper in many ways (parking, insurance, gas, tickets, repairs, etc...), and off we went, bright and early to fully take advantage of the day before the sun goes down.

The "87 North" road is quite fluid, pleasant and tranquil when you leave New York early, although coming back to the city is different matter especially on Sunday night. We left the highway behind us by taking the exit 20 and drove up on small roads to the village of Hunter, and a bit further to reach our friend's home. However, driving up there has a certain charm and Fall season makes it even more charming with all the different leaf's colors and shades in the surrounding forests, ranging gradually from dark green to bright yellow, orange, red and brown. I must say, when you don't own a car, these few little trips here and there, even if only a few hours from the city, are really enjoyable and exciting for the whole family and always make us feel like we could conquer the world (and of course like we should own a car...).

Anyhow, after about 2 hours and a half driving and many curvy small roads passing through quaint small (and somewhat boring, far too quiet or even creepy) villages, we finally arrived at destination. Wow! It wasn't our first trip to the mountains (either in the States or in Europe) but it always takes us by surprise and often triggers the same happy reaction on our faces; suddenly, we could breathe freely and intensely the clean, fresh and pure mountain air. What a blessing!

Surrounded by trees, our friend's house faces South with an incredible, nearly 180 degrees, view on the forested mountains. To admire daily this magnificent scenery, their house possesses a large patio overlooking their sloping garden ending with a large pond a bit further down, sliding into the forest and giving way to the rest of the mountain tops in the background. The sunbathed place is a haven of rest and peacefulness. No more of the honking, yelling, spitting, cursing, battering or any other annoying city noises, just the barely interrupted sounds, almost silence, of the surrounding nature watching slowly time passing by, paced by the multiple rhythms of all living things that inhabit her.


I spend a moment contemplating this decor, paying attention to each detail and recording them in my memory to enhance future bad, inconvenient days in the city. Don't get me wrong, I love New York (she has some much to give...), but sometimes the stress and the energy of the city, intermingled with all the annoyances and the tiredness of our everyday life in the "Big Apple", demand such little reveries. However, that is exactly why we decided to drive up there and I had the firm intention to fully experience it, especially on such a sunny day.

While the kids were playing around interminably changing places from the patio to the garden, my wife and my wife's friends started with Champagne: a chilled bottle of (Gérard) Demilly de Baere "Cuvée Rare" Brut NV Blanc de Blancs; while my friend and I opened a beer to begin with before joining the ladies. My friend his truly a talented, old school chef, everything handmade and no recipes. Everything is prepared from old traditional recipes passed on from his mum, enhance with his own twists. We both talk a lot and the discussions were battering all over the house with us in the kitchen (him cooking, me watching and somewhat trying to learn), the wives sitting in the living room and the kids pretty much everywhere else.

Quiet and lonely, in the corner of one of the open windows in the living room, I couldn't avoid noticing the attractive garnet liquid gently resting in a decanter next to an empty bottle of Bordeaux. I was surprised because I know that my friend usually prefers Burgundy. He saw my eyes and couldn't resist showing me the bottle... but it needed to open up a bit more and we will drink it with the main course. We sat outside and joined the wives with a glass of Champagne for a toast to this beautiful afternoon and friendship.

Demilly de Baere "Cuvée Rare" Brut NV Blanc de Blancs ($35-$40 in NYC) has always been amongst some of my favorite Champagnes. Clean, crisp, refreshing, medium bodied and forward without being heavy with just the right touch of "yeastyness" and an amazing balance. Lovely and definitively food friendly.

We set the table outside on the sunbathed patio, once again what a view and what a pleasurable moment under the sun. Although, it was beginning of November, one could have believed that it was summer.

My friend, who only believes in seasonal cooking, served us a red cabbage soup as a starter which was pretty good. Then we moved on to the main course, roasted beef served with spaghetti squash cooked with white onions and garlic, paired with the Bordeaux that I was stalking for nearly the past hour and a half.

You see, it is very difficult for me to resist to the temptation of tasting red Bordeaux. It is in me. Being born in Bordeaux, the passion for good food and especially good wine comes naturally. As the grandson of a local, artisanal winemaker from the Côtes de Bourg, who was also an excellent cook, I quickly learned how to pair food with wine, and how to appreciate them both respectively.

My grandfather was growing all of his vegetables (potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, beetroots, salads, endives, artichokes, etc...), but also his own fruits (grapes, pears, apples, lime, cherry, apricot, prunes, blackberries, figs and even kiwis), his own nuts (hazelnut and whole nut) and his own herbs (dill, parsley, fennel, lavender, thyme, rosemary, etc..); in fact he was making all sort of things from "Paté" to desserts himself, he only bought the meats to his preferred "boucher", but most of all, he always had a bottle of the local wine on the table. Thus, my knowledge of wine started rather early for American standards, which is not unusual at all in France.

Therefore, here are the reasons why I couldn't resist eyeing this Bordeaux bottle. It was a Château Pontet-Canet, which happens to be one of my favorite Bordeaux wine and one of the most successful and up-and-coming reasonable values from Pauillac over this last decade.


Château Pontet-Canet

As a traveled wine buyer and Sommelier, going nearly each year to Bordeaux over the last 10 years for the Primeurs, I had the privilege to visit and taste Château Pontet-Canet numerous times.

Year after year, I have always been impressed by the low-key profile of the owner, Mr. Alfred Tesseron, a discrete and polite gentleman with the energetic and mischievous eyes of a kid that has something in mind completed by a mystic smile of someone that knows better. Behind its bonhomie and gentle attitude, hides an intelligent, strategic and skillful mind, which has been one of the most supportive pillars of this Pauillac benchmark.

In 1975, Guy Tesseron, a Cognac shipper who bought it from the Cruse family who previously owned it for 110 years, acquired Château Pontet-Canet. Late Gérard Tesseron who died of a heart attack recently and Alfred Tesseron, Guy's sons, slowly took over their father and gradually restructured the entire vineyard as well as renovating the cellar and the other buildings.

The property, located south of Château Mouton Rothschild and Château d'Armailhac, in the heart of the Pauillac appellation, encompasses 80 hectares of vineyards on poor sand and gravel soils planted mainly with Cabernet Sauvignon, the signature grape to produce great Pauillac.

Eventually gaining more recognition after years of hard work and devotion, their efforts where highly rewarded within this last decade more particularly with stunning, consistent value wines produced good year, bad year since the 2000 vintage. Even if the 2000, 2003 and 2005 are way to expensive for the average consumer, 2004 and 2006 can be somewhat considered has "potably" priced, and, however the 2002 remains the biggest bargain of the decade (in my opinion, far better than the critics and press anticipated).

Despite its rank as a 5th Growth, over the last 10 years, Chateau Pontet Canet has become one of the rising flagship estates of the Pauillac appellation, rivaling in quality with some of the best and more established higher ranking Chateaux of this renowned appellation.

Once again, it is another proof that the 1855 classification has become too controversial and continues to provoke arguments and endless discussions when mentioned openly with Négociants, Courtiers and Chateau owners. Yet, Bordeaux is ruled by money, ancient Bourgeoisie and old fashioned protocols that the “Bordelais” tend to respect, enhance and exaggerate, creating blinders towards the rest of the world, narrowing their way of thinking and often making them believe that they are kings in their castles and that their wines are the best no matter what and have no equals nor real competition. All of this was true up until the 2000 Vintage but started to disappear in the eyes of the consumers and buyers of the rest of the world with the 2003 and 2005 vintage.

When I say value, don't get me wrong, the 2005 vintage ranges between $120 and $180 a bottle in New York, which is still quite expensive for a 5th growth, but it is somewhat awfully cheap compared to some of the more famous Pauillac higher in the hierarchy of the 1855 Classification that are producing, for some of them, less complex and layered wines.

In my opinion, and don't get me started with the big heads and the greediness of Bordeaux Châteaux owners (you'll see what I mean with the 2009 vintage next year when Parker and Wine Spectator will have released their Primeurs scores), Bordeaux should revised their ego and their prices. They already shoot themselves in the leg with the 2003 and the 2005 vintage, let's hope they learn their lesson well (which I doubt frankly...), because if they continue in that direction, soon, rare and few will be the people able to pay for a bottle of any classified Bordeaux, left bank or right bank.....

Yet, and fortunately for us wine consumers, along the line of the 1855 Classification which has barely moved over the last century and a half, a fifth growth by traditions (unlike in California or else in the New world where people do whatever they want) should never be sold higher than any wines of the higher rank: a 5th growth should normally be cheaper than a 4th growth, and so on; which is the reason why Chateau Pontet Canet, if it continues to maintain its quality and if the classification continues to prevail, it will always remain a "good" value (to the people that can or are willing to afford it).

Although, the 1855 Classification was the tradition to evaluate price and quality, it is not true anymore and fans of "numbers and statistics" should click on the following links from www.wine-searcher.com (in my opinion, the most useful and user friendly website on the internet to find retail prices and retailers across the world) that I found really interesting and educational, relating of a new "hypothetical" classification based entirely on price and including a number of wines that were previously omitted in the 1855 classification (identified as 'Not Classified' in their table), showing a new rank order (based on the average price per case at June 2005): http://www.wine-searcher.com/spirit08.htm

However, after these little parentheses on Bordeaux, let's go back to our wine of the day to finish this post.




2002 Château Pontet-Canet Pauillac Bordeaux France
Suggested retail price $45-$52 (but prices go up to $90)
(used to be) imported & distributed by BNP (Châteaux & Estates) in NYC

Decanted for the past hour and a half at least, the wine was showing wonderfully. It exhibited an attractive, deep ruby-garnet color of good intensity and bright reflects. The nose was somewhat elegant and aromatic with expressive aromas of dark berry, leather, earth, pencil shavings intermingled with oak notes. The medium to full palate offered very good balance and texture, with good acidity and a firm yet integrated tannic structure. A touch dry, yet still offering plenty of generous dark berry fruit flavors mixed with earthy and woody notes on a more traditional Bordeaux way. The quality of the fruit, the balancing acidity combined with the tannins in the finish and the overall profile of this wine suggest that it could keep for quite a few more years.

Overall, the wine clearly benefited from being decanted and it was a great experience, surely enhanced by the memorable view, the quality of the food and the "joie de vivre" that reign during the meal, sitting on that sunbathed patio. We enjoyed it with roasted beef and cheeses.

For dessert, he prepared a succulent handmade"potiron" tart (a smaller European pumpkin), a classic in his house (like his famous onion tart usually served as an appetizer).

We rested on our chair on the patio, taking advantage of the last few rays of sun, talking and smoking cigars, unfortunately with no digestives due to the 2 hours and a half driving back to the city awaiting us. It was one of those days that you'll wish time could stand still and have nothing else to worry about....

Enjoy!

LeDom du Vin

Find more info about Château Pontet-Canet on the winery website at www.pontet-canet.com and Hunter Mountains at www.huntermtn.com and Demilly de Baere on Savio Soares website at www.Savinho.com

Step into the Green! Drink more Biodynamic and Organic wines (and food) from sustainable culture and respect the environment.