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Category: Wine of the Week

Wine of the Week

A modern-traditional wine from Burja

Published 20. April 2019 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Primož Lavrenčič is found in the Vipava valley about 40 km east of the Italian border, where he owns 8 hectares of vineyards.

His objective is to make a modern wine based on traditional methods. He says that he “controls the temperature and oxidation” in the wine cellar, but “encouraging the rest”.

Burja Estate - photo - Primož Lavrenčič

(Credit: Burja Estate)

He has a holistic approach to both vine, wine and nature. This includes stimulating spontaneous fermentation, because “the diversity of yeast strains contributes to the complexity of the wine and provides original expression of each vineyard”. Some of the old folks would have prohibited the low temperatures, to take the full advantage of the extended skin-contact). So this is maybe then a modern, elegant white with a nod to the traditional orange wines of the area.
The work in the vineyard is done according to organic and biodynamic principles. The grape composition is laški rizling (Italian riesling or Welschriesling) 30%, malvazija (d’Istria) 30%, rebula (ribolla gialla) 30%. 7 days skin-maceration in steel, 10 months ageing in barrel.

Bela 2016 (Burja Estate)

Deep golden. Aroma of mature fruits, citrus, peach, herbs, white pepper. Full on the palate, a touch of nuts and a natural, integrated acidity.

Price: Medium

Food: Light meat, pig, veal, grilled and white fish, tasty salads

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Wine of the Week

As Furnias: The new Galician wave is red

Published 14. April 2019 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

I have met Juan González Arjones at a couple of natural wine fairs, last time this February in Barcelona’s Vella Terra.

Following his enology studies Juan worked at Coto de Gomariz (Ribeiro), then in Italy’s Barbaresco, at a small family winery, and later in a wine shop in Torino. With this background he returned to his native Crecente, in the Rías Baixas subzone Condado do Tea, to start his own project As Furnias.

He has also been managing a vineyard for the more famous Terras Guada in O Rosal nearer to the ocean. It was also down there that Juan planted his first vineyard.

Crecente was historically an area for red wine, with many varieties and soil types. While the focus naturally has been on varietal alabriño, part of Juan’s goal has been to bring back the traditional red wines.

The soils are sandy with granitic origins and a high quartz content.

This wine is made from 40% brancellao, 30% caíño longo, 15% sousón, 10% espadeiro and 5% touriga nacional.

As Furnias 2015 (Juan González Arjones)

Cherry red, slightly carbonic. In the aroma it has many layers, both mature red fruits, but also some fresh berry, like raspberry, redcurrant, and also a hint of earth and underwood. Rounded tannins, herbaceous notes, long aftertaste with a lingering acidity.

Price: Medium

 

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Wine of the Week

Dasca Vives’ Vinyater

Published 5. April 2019 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

At the Salò de Vinos Naturales (Vins Nus) of Barcelona one of the revelations were Dasca Vives. Not only for their interesting rancio wine, but for the quality in general, and for their clever use of the “forgotten” variety of vinyater.

The Dasca Vives winery is found in the l’Alt Camp area, near the town Valls (Tarragona province). They have about 15 hectares, not only vineyards. Not more than 20 km from the coast the soil has a high lime content. It’s worked in a very natural way. The wines have little or no clarification and filtration, and only a small amount of sulphite before bottling, if necessary.

According to Josep Dasca and Alba Vives this variety fell out of fashion when the cava rules were defined, because it was not selected. But they think it deserve a place in the panorama of Catalan grapes. And after having tasted a sample of the 2018 and the bottled 2017 I would not hesitate to applaud them.

The family had always kept two vineyards of vinyater, of 50 and 35 years old. When they started to work it they first blended it with maccabeu to make the Llunàtic wine. When they saw that the vinyater kept the acidity well, they started to do some experiments to make a monovarietal vinyater wine. According to the producer, who cites a dictionary, the vinyater has a strong leaf and sweet juice, and is good for keeping.

Vinyater Finca el Freixa 2017 (Dasca Vives)

Light yellow with an orange rim; very fruity, from yellow apples to plums, white flowers, and a touch of citrus peel; full, round, with a touch of lees ageing, it also plays with oxidation is perfectly balanced.

Price: Medium

 

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Wine bars and restaurants and Wine of the Week

Envínate at Malauva, Vigo

Published 28. March 2019 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Vigo is the main city of Galicia’s southern part. It might be that I don’t know it well enough, but I think that even if it may be the natural centre for those who live and work there, so far that it lacks that “something extra” to make it a major tourist spot. This is if you’re not taking into account that Galicia’s (at the moment) best natural wine bar is there. Malauva is a place you can go to savour delicious organic, biodynamic, natural wines, and the waiters know what wines they are serving, just half a block from my hotel by the harbour. It’s Josiño, educated sommelier, and his wife Marina who started the bar, and I hope that sufficiently enough people will appreciate it, so that many like me (natural wine geeks, but not Celta football fans) have a reason to come back.

On a corner just off the harbour

I ordered “Burrata y tomates” and “Canelón de choco”, and as it was not packed with guests this Monday I had the chance to discuss with x which wines to be served next.

I chose to go Galician that night. After a light start, the appley/citrussy Eido da Salgos 2016 (Cazapitas) from O Rosal, Rías Baixas, came the more herbal Memoría de Ventura lías finas 2016, (Pinguela), a Valdeorras godello. On to the reds, Volátil from the
Bibei subregion of Ribeira Sacra were bottled by the Fefiñans of Cambados. Maybe the least interesting wine, a bit warm and oaky, but also with nice dark fruits and balsamic notes. With Silice 2017 of Sober (Amandi subzone of Ribeira Sacra) it started to take off. A cherry red, wild fruits scented, atlantic acidity, elegant wine.

Josiño, ‘taberneiro’ for Malauva wine bar

Our main wine this time is from the team Envínate, that makes wines in several Spanish regions. The four friends started as consultants after oenology studies in Alicante in 2005, but it soon evolved into a wine producing project. Their aim is to explore distinctive parcels and make pure, authentic wines that express the terroir of each parcel. No chemicals are used in the vineyards, only natural yeast, and sulfur is used only prior to bottling and if they think they need it.

Lousas is Galician for the type of slate soil that predominates in the Amandi sub-zone of Ribeira Sacra. Aldea means village. There is 90-95% mencía with other grapes (such as brancellao, merenzao, mouratón [juan garcía], bastardo and garnacha tintorera), in a field blend.

For this wine 40% whole clusters were included, the must was raised in old barrels for 11 months with no racking and no SO2 added until bottling.

Lousas Viña de Aldea 2016 (Envínate)
Cherry red. Red fruits and flowers on top, white pepper and herbs. It has a mineral edge and a, long, cool acidity.

It’s fresh, elegant and in my opinion more than a typical “village wine”. It bears the subtitle Vino Atlántico, which is very appropriate, as the influence from the ocean is evident.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Štekar’s Re Piko

Published 18. March 2019 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Janko Štekar is based in Goriška Brda, in the small town of Kojsko, between the Pre-Alps and the Adriatic Sea, not far from Italian Friuli.

His winery is protected from the cold winds from the north, while the mild breezes from the east helps avoiding humidity and thus plagues in the vineyards. The vines are planted on terraces and worked organically.

(Photo credit: Kmetija Štekar)

The wines are made as naturally as possible. He uses just a small amount of sulphites sometimes..

He has two lines of wines, one with skin-maceration and one without. This wine is from the former selection, made from riesling 90% and picolit, and macerated on the skins for 28 days. It underwent a spontaneous fermentation, and matured in 1100L vats of acacia for four years. Very low sulphur, no filtering.

Re Piko 2013 (Kmetija Štekar)

Clear amber. Aroma of nectarines, white pepper, flowers, eucalyptus. light touch of apple vinegar. Full, grapey, some tannin and good, natural acidity.

Price: Medium

Food: Fried and grilled fish, light meat, salads… We had it with panfried salmon and various vegetables

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Wine of the Week

Ribeyrenc, a nearly extinct grape

Published 8. March 2019 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

This is a wine from a private tasting of more or less unknown grape varieties, all beginning with the letter A. Here the official name is aspiran, but Thierry Navarre calls it ribeyrenc, according to local practise. Well practise… This is not a common grape anymore. There was a time when it comprised one third of the vast vineyard of Languedoc. But it was almost wiped away, first with phylloxera, then the extreme weather conditions of 1956.

Thierry Navarre
(Credit: Thierrynavarre.com)

Thierry Navarre’s grandfather managed to keep some vines. And there are two more known vintners, so the total is probably 7 hectares of ribeyrenc in Languedoc today. To be precise, we are talking about the ribeyrenc noir, as Navarre also has a tiny amount of ribeyrenc blanc.

This variety is well adapted to the Mediterranean climate, and in spite of being picked towards the end of September, the alcohol content is often low, in this case 11%.

Navarre is based in the Saint-Chinian, but as his grapes are not allowed in the AOC, the wines come under the designation Vin de France. The vines for this wine are grown on south-east facing slopes of slate, in red soil rich in iron. The farming is organic, the thin and fragile grapes are lightly crushed with stems, and fermented in cement.

Ribeyrenc 2015 (Dom. Thierry Navarre)

Pale ruby colour. Perfumed (violets), with smell of red berries and a hint of herbs (thyme) and white pepper. Mellow and juicy in the mouth, with a slightly peppery nuance and wonderfully balanced acidity.

Price: Low

Food: Light meat, charcuterie, bacalao, salads

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Wine of the Week

Pacalet’s Nuits-Saint-Georges

Published 1. March 2019 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Philippe Pacalet is one of the most talented négociants. Operating from Beaune since 2001, he works with growers from many parts of Bourgogne. He is not the type that buys in wines, but he works closely with the farmers, giving them his advice, buys the juice and follows and elevates the wines, so that he can put his stamp on them with his greatest confidence.

He tries to minimize the use of sulphur (and only before bottling), but his wines are still ageworthy. He never uses new oak, so there is never any disturbing oakiness.

During the latest years he has been looking outside Côte d’Or, such as Cornas, and he has even bought his own vineyards in Chénas and Moulin-à-Vent, Beaujolais.

He was the one who helped Fanny Sabre out in the beginning (read more here).

Nuits-Saint-Georges 2016 (Philippe Pacalet)

Cherry red. Mature red and dark fruits (blackberry), mineral and tobacco. Some tannin, fresh, concentrated and long.

Price: High

 

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Wine of the Week

Altura’s Ansonaco

Published 22. February 2019 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Former maths teacher Francesco Carfagna is the owner of the Altura winery on the island of Giglio off the coast of Toscana. It has become a popular tourist destination, but only 600 people are actually living there.

Carfagna has himself revived the former traditions, and makes wines from indigenous grape varieties farmed biodynamically. It’s especially the ansonica (sic!) that has seen a revival in the hands of Francesco. As for today he is the only one who bottles his own wine.

This wine was included in a recent tasting of lesser or -for many- not known varieties.

The wine comes under the designation DOC Isola del Giglio. The soil is sandy granite, and the plants from the small vineyard are of various ages (20-80 years). It’s spontaneously fermented, aged for up to a year in steel tanks. Unfined and unfiltered. Low-sulphur (less than 30 mg/l).

Ansonaco 2013 (Altura)

Amber colour, slightly cloudy. Strong peel character, smells of plums, bitter almonds, slight barnyard. Full, grapey and tasty. Lots of character and charm.

Price: Medium

Food: Grilled and fried fish, tasty seafood, salads, lightly spicy food, light meat, cheeses (try with mild blue cheese)

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Wine of the Week

Col Fondo from Emilia-Romagna

Published 15. February 2019 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Many people think of Col Fondo as some kind of an old-fashioned, or sometimes, low-intervention/ high-quality Prosecco. But the term is not restricted to that area.

This one is from Emilia-Romagna further down south. It’s made from the grasparossa grape, organically grown. It underwent a natural alcoholic fermentation in steel, with the second fermentation in the bottle.

Falcorubens Col Fondo 2017 (TerraQuilia)

Dark red, with fine bubbles. Dark berries, earthy notes. Youthful and inspiring, quite long with good acidity a slightly bitter tone in the end.

Price: Low

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Wine of the Week

An Escoda red at Bar Brutal

Published 8. February 2019 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

I am in Barcelona for two natural wine fairs (Vins Nus and Vella Terra). And I have just finished a well-prepared meal at the city’s perhaps most iconic natural wine bar Brutal. And what could be more appropriate than to have one of Joan Ramón Escoda’s wines as this week’s pick?

Joan Ramón is one of the owners, and he was the one who brought my attention to this fabulous bar a few years ago, though he has no active role in it.

Waiter Lorenzo Gonelli entertaining the guests

Small plates like tuna tataki and ‘sweetbreads’ (here: pig’s cheeks) and cecina de vaca, lightly smoked ham from cow, were accompanied by several wines: An inspiring, fresh, yellow, barrel-aged xarel.lo Essencial 2017 (J. Rubió) from Penedès, Qvevri, a full thick, earthy, sauvignon blanc from Loire, with some residual sugar (made by a distributor of Georgian wines in France), a terret-dominated blend called Rouge fruit 16/ Rouge de Causse 15  (Petit Gimios), a dark, green herb-scented Minervois. To round off it all I had the floral, yellow and rosa-hued Súpertock Ancestral (Bodegas Cueva), a fresh valencian pét nat from the tardana grape.

But in-between: A timely reunion with the following wine.

The owners have grown their grapes organically in the Conca de Barberà since 1996, biodynamic since 2003 and without additions of sulphur (or anything else) since the 2007 harvest.

This wine is made from the varieties cabernet franc, cariñena, garnacha tinta and merlot. It stays 10 months on the lees in inox, and clocks in at a relatively low 13% alcohol.

Nas del Gegant 2017 (Escoda-Sanahuja)
Dark red. Cherry and blackberry aromas, with flowers and a mineral touch. Lively in the mouth, with a fresh acidity.

Price: Medium

Food: Very versatile; aromatic and light meat, cured ham, cheeses, rice dishes, tasty salads, and much more…

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