Category: Wine of the Week

Fruity Forcallà from Fontanars

Published 2. September 2022 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

The forcallà grape (or forcayat, officially forcallat) originates from Castilla-La Mancha, but nowadays most of it is found in Valencia and Murcia. (Here I have mentioned another, by the way.) The grape was common in the Levante before phylloxera. But when the farmers replanted after the plague it was largely replaced by monastrell, because it had more colour and alcohol. However, in this Mediterranean climate with high summer temperatures forcallat’s lower alcohol is now seen as a virtue, with its potential to give light, elegant and floral red wines.

Rafael Cambra is located in Fontanars dels Alforins, Valencia, where he works to recover grapes and styles. He believes in minimal intervention, and the wine is certified organic. This forcallat is from a single pie franco (ungrafted) vineyard more than fifty years old, on sandy soils. Fermentation took place with indigenous yeast in 2,000-litre stainless steel tanks with 10% stems and gentle pumping-over. Ageing for eight months in used French barrels of five hundred liters, then concrete for three months.

La Forcallà de Antonia 2020 (R. Cambra)

Cherry red. Aroma of red and dark fruits (raspberry, dark cherry), plums, spice, pepper. Full in the mouth, soft tannins, intense flavours and fruit all the way.

Price: Medium

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

L’orangeade

Published 26. August 2022 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Philippe Formentin had worked 10 years at Domaine Chabanon in Lagamas, near Montpellier, before he became a “flying winemaker”, consulting at vineyards around the world. Then he found a small winery in the south of France, just outside Clermont l’Hérault. Here in the foothills of the Larzac, Philippe has brought life to his dream of making his own natural artisan wine.

His wines are made from grapes grown organically and according to biodynamic principles. They grow in different plots with clay-limestone soils and various exposures.

The grapes are manually harvested in the cool, early mornings, then stored in a cool environment 24 hours to slow start fermentation. They ferment naturally, with indigenous yeast and without sulfites.

A manual vertical press is used to gently extract the juice. The wines are then aged in containers, decanted, and bottled without filtration. L’orangeade 2020 is a varietal grenache blanc.

L’orangeade 2020 (Opi d’Aquí)

Light orange. Fresh aroma with apricot, orange peel, eucalyptus, a touch of honey. Medium full, light tannin structure, good length.

Price: Medium

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

Dramatically good

Published 19. August 2022 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

The last xinomavro in this column was a very mineral wine. This one is quite different, a lot more fruity. Oenops Wines was founded in 2015 in the northeastern region of Drama by Nikos Karatzas. The grapes come from selected vineyards from Drama and Macedonia, that are cultivated by various ambitious winegrowers.

The grape for this wine is xinomavro, from Naoussa and Amyntaion, age varying from 14 to 65 years. Spontaneous fermentation was carried out in egg shaped 5 hl amphoras, with 6% whole cluster. Nothing added, and no machinery was used at any stage. After fermentation followed 6 months ageing on lees in amphoras. Bottled unfiltered.

XinomavRAW 2020 (Oenops Wines)

Ruby red. Aroma dominated by raspberry and cherries, and behind there some earth and leather. Juicy in the mouth, some tannin, lots of lovely, natural acidity.

Price: Medium

Food: Duck, light meat, Mediterranean, antipasti

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

Supernaturally good

Published 12. August 2022 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Chakana has been featured before. Read about their entry-level malbec here, and also some background information. This is a very good Argentine producer that works biodynamically. This week’s suggestion is a very modestly priced bonarda.

The grapes were handpicked and cold-macerated at 5-8 degrees for approx. 3 days and then fermented in steel and cement tanks for approx. 15 days. It underwent malolactic fermentation in cement.

Sobrenatural Bonarda 2020 (Chakana)

Dark red, blueish hint. Flowers, red and dark fruits (cherry, morello), fresh herbs, tobacco and chocolate. Juicy in the mouth, fresh acidity, black olives, good length.

Price: Low

Food: Grilled meat, chicken, charcuterie

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

Oh when the saints

Published 5. August 2022 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

No, it’s not an attempt of making a cheap musical joke, it’s the real name of the wine. When the wine is marching in, it’s with the grape saint laurent.

Saint Laurent is an aromatic, dark-skinned grape variety from the Pinot Noir family. St Laurent is perfect for sparkling wines as the variety ripens early and the skin is relatively thin. By the way, portrayed on the label is Swedish jazz saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, in a drawing by Olaf Osten.

Since they took over Gernot’s family’s small-scale wine production in 1985, the couple Gernot and Heike Heinrich have focused on the great potential of the local grapes blaufränkisch, zweigelt and st. laurent. The family currently grows their grapes on 100ha in Gols, Burgenland, using biodynamic principles.

The grapes come from a single location on the eastern Leithaberg, in mica-mixed slate soil. The grapes are pressed in whole bunches, and the must is then cooled for rapid sedimentation, before fermentation begins with natural yeast in steel tanks. The fermenting must is then bottled before the fermentation is completely finished, to get its mousse in the bottle.

Oh When the Saints 2021 (Heinrich)

Light straw, abundant mousse. Fruity aroma of yellow apples, citrus, with white flowers and quince. Creamy texture, adequate acidity, salty aftertaste.

Price: Medium

Food: Seafood, white fish, light meat, aperitif

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

The red Drago

Published 29. July 2022 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

The red Drago has become my go-to Valpolicella. Last time it was featured here was in this article, where you also get some background.

It originates on the Monte del Drago hill, with a total vineyard area of 8 hectares. The grapes are organically cultivated, and biodynamic techniques are also employed. Corvina accounts for 60%, the rest is corvinone, rondinella and barbera. It has rested 12 months in French oak, which is barely noticeable.

Drago Valpolicella Superiore 2018 (Musella)

Dark red. Aroma of dark and red berries (cherry), some herbs. Lucious, tasty and with an adequate acidity.

Price: Medium/low

Food: Light meat, pasta, salads, antipasti

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

Tradition from Jura

Published 22. July 2022 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

As the rain set in on the rugged coast we wanted a bold wine for the cheeseboard. Luckily this Côtes du Jura was offered by the local store.

Domaine Maire is one of the largest producers of Jura covering 234 hectares of vines, and they sell their wines at affordable prices. The word tradition on the label here refers to a typical blend of the local white grapes varieties ahardonnay and savagnin. Maire’s cuvée comprises around 80% chardonnay and 20% savagnin.

Chardonnay, originating from Burgundy but cultivated in Jura since the 10^th Century, has become a native, and is especially well suited on limestone and light soils. The savagnin is typical to Jura and matures slowly on grey marl soils. It’s the ideal grape variety for an oxydative maturing process under a veil of “flor”, referred to locally as “sous voile”. Most of the chardonnay was aged in stainless steel tanks for 2-3 months, the rest on fine lees in wooden vats for the same period of time. A part of the savagnin juices were matured in oak barrels under flor for 8 to 12 months.

Grand Héritage Tradition 2017 (Dom. Maire)

Yellow with green hints; apples and flowers (from chardonnay), flor, butter, roasted almonds and nuts (from the savagnin ageing); full in the mouth, good and persistent acidity, meaty.

Price: Medium

Food: Comté or blue cheeses, tapas, shellfish, paté, charcuterie

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

Dangerously drinkable samsó

Published 15. July 2022 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

This wine can be said jo be dangerously drinkable. It’ contains “only” 11% alcohol, but it’s hard to stop once poured, with all its inviting fruit and low acidity (5g, the 2021 has only 3, by the way).

Domaine Cazes has been producing wine since 1895 in Rivesaltes, south of France. Cazes is operated according to biodynamic principles. Cazes is France’s largest certified producer of organic and biodynamic wines with 220 hectares of vineyards. (Read about a vin doux naturel here.)

This wine is made with traditional maceration, and fermented without yeasts for 6 days at low temperature (between 19 and 22°C). It was pressed with integrated presses. The end of alcoholic fermentation took place in in wooden vats before racking, then malolactic fermentation. The appellation is IGT Côtes Catalanes.

Finally a piece of ampelography (“grapeology”) here: Samsó is a synonym for cinsault in this part of Catalunya, also spelled sinsó. Samsó can also refer to carignan (a much more thick-skinned variety).

Samsó 2020 (Dom. Cazes)

Light red, violet rim. Fresh and fruit-driven with raspberries, wild strawberries, hints of licorice. Medium full, rounded, some spices at the end.

Price: Low

Food: Delicious on its own, with charcuterie, patatas bravas, pasta…

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

Bourdy’s Château-Chalon

Published 8. July 2022 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Château-Chalon is, despite the name, an appellation in Jura. The only grape variety used to make it is the savagnin, just like the other vins jaunes, wines matured under a veil of yeast. This producer owns 10 hectares and farms them biodynamically. This includes a half hectare in Château-Chalon AOC. Caves Jean Bourdy uses barrels up to 80 years old for fermentation and aging of the wines. They are known for their extensive back-catalogue of old wines, with château-chalon back to1865.

Château-Chalon 2012 (J. Bourdy)

Yellow with greenish hints. Complex aroma with walnuts, honey and mature cheese. Smooth, nice acidity, long and dry aftertaste.

Price: High

Leave a Comment

Wine of the Week

Heading for Portugal: Niepoort’s Poeirinho

Published 1. July 2022 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

I was on my way to Portugal and Porto’s Simplesmente… Vinho fair. But “in these troubled times”, as festival general João Roseira wrote in my invitation, one of the flights were, yes exactly! – cancelled. Therefore I decided that I would go to my local shop and buy a wine from a producer I knew would participate, to get in the best possible Portuguese mood as soon as possible.

The choice fell on Poeirinho, from producer Niepoort, whom I know well and is a prime example of where Portugal is heading. Poeiriho is a modern, fresh, elegant, lightly extracted baga from Bairrada, a region otherwise known for hearty, hefty, tannic wines. The pictures are from my visit to Quinta de Baixo in 2017, that Niepoort had bought some time before. Here you can read more about this cellar and a review of an earlier vintage of the same wine.

The soil here is calcareous clay. The grape is obviously baga, in this case 100 years old. The grapes were hand-picked. The fermentation was carried out in lagar and stainless steel.

Poeirinho 2018 (Niepoort)

Bright, light red. Aroma of red fruits (raspberry), red currant, balsamic hints (anise) and also a leathery note. A light, elegant structure and fresh acidity.

Price: Medium

Leave a Comment