Category: Wine of the Week

Waxy xarel.lo

Published 24. November 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Clos Lentiscus is located inside the national park in the Garraf mountains. We are outside Sant Pere de Ribes in Catalunya. The winery was established in 2001 by Manel and Joan Aviñó. Here they cultivate 22 hectares of vineyards biodynamically, of which 95 percent are planted with local grape types from the Garraf area. The soils are calcareous with marine fossils.

No pesticides or herbicides are used in the vineyard. There we also find sheep, that ensure that the grass is kept down, and also contributing to the compost.

The grapes for this wine are xarel.lo from a vineyard planted around 1940. Harvested and selected by hand. Spontaneous fermentation. Aged in amphora.

Perill Blanc Amfora 2020 (Clos Lentiscus)

Golden colour, slightly turbid. Aroma of lemon peel, wax, and a volatile touch. Full in the mouth, saline, vibrant and vivid, with good acidity, and a touch of grapefruity bitterness in the end.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Nouveau novelty

Published 17. November 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Yesterday was that day again. The third Thursday of November I always await with excitement. I feel that nowadays the craze is gone, the hype is silenced, it’s not that many people who talk about it as before. But the wines are better than ever. Well, the best wines might not be equally “sensational” as in the past few years (that means, the ones I have tasted, a few favourite producers and some wines I think I ought to try), but the overall quality is superb. Even if the wines are lovely now, there are a few that will drink well throughout the whole of next year.

A novelty for me is the no sulfur added nouveau from Laurent Perrachon. I read that the producer is based outside Juliénas and harvests six appellations, among them Chénas, Fleurie and Saint Amour. Martine and Laurent are fifth generation, and the sixth is also involved in the family business. They claim to be the independant winemaker in Beaujolais with the most comprehensive list of crus.

This nouveau originates from 3 hectares with gamay with an average age of 45 years, pruned in Gobelet (bush vines) in crystalline soils. The grapes were picked manually, before a semi-carbonic maceration for 4 days. Always in stainless steel vats. Total production is 8.000 bottles.

Beaujolais Nouveau Sans Sufre 2023 (Laurent Perrachon)

Dark red colour. The aromatics consist mainly of dark and wild fruits like blackberry, but also has some cherry and a component of strawberries, sweet flowers, and a balsamic note behind. It’s moderate on acidity, but compensates with a dense and generous fruit quality. It’s lightly structured with fine tannins, quite full on the palate, and good length with a fruity finish. A possible crowdpleaser.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Arizcuren’s Garnacha

Published 10. November 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Garnacha was once the main variety in the historic vineyards of the lower Rioja. This wine is a nod to this tradition. We are in the northern slopes of the Sierra de Yerga. Javier Arizcuren here works with some of the few old vineyards, in the Gobelet conduction system.

The wine seeks to be an expression of the both the variety and of the place where it grows, therefore no foreign products are used in the process (except a small amount of sulfur). The wood is used exclusively for thewine stabilization process, without being excessively marked.

The grapes were manually harvested, with grape selection in the field. De-stemming. Alcoholic fermentation with wild yeasts at around 25ºC. Daily stirring and pumping over, then only stirring. Malolactic fermentation in steel. 8 months in 225-litre American oak barrels (6th year) and an additional 2 months in new French oak barrels.Total SO2 is 50 mg/litre.

Solo Garnacha 2016 (Javier Arizcuren)

Dark cherry red. Youthful aroma of blackberry and cherry, a touch of coffee and sweet spice. Full in the mouth, rich with good weight and concentration, fine tannins, balanced acidity. Still young, and will improve.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Mademoiselle M

Published 3. November 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Mademoiselle M is a sauvignon blanc from Kimmeridgian limestone soils (marl with oyster sediments), located in the appellation of Pouilly-Fumé. It’s made without added sulphites, aged in used oak vats for 18 months.

Alexandre Bain owns 11 ha in Tracy-sur-Loire. Like his friend and collegue Sebastien Riffault across the river in Sancerre, Alexandre harvests later than most in his region, which gives the wines a darker colour. To retain the maximum acidity in his grapes, Alexandre trains his vines low. Harvest is done by hand, and yields are small.

Mademoiselle M 2015 (Alexandre Bain)

Dark golden, slightly turbid. Aroma of mature apples, flowers, a touch of honey and a flinty minerality. Quite full on the palate, glyceric, concentrated flavours. Rich for a sauvignon blanc. Probably at its peak right now.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Introducing: Esporão’s Colheita

Published 27. October 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Esporão is an important and highly respected winery that has been featured here several times. This wine could well serve as an introduction to the company. It’s made from the varieties alicante bouschet, touriga nacional, aragonêz, cabernet sauvignon and touriga franca, from a 15 year old organic certified vineyard. The different varieties were co-fermented in concrete vats before malolactic fermentation. It stayed in concrete for 6 months.

Sandra Alves and Joao Ramos are the current winemakers of Esporão.

Esporão Colheita 2021 (Esporão)

Dark red, bluish hints. Mature dark fruits (dark cherry, blackcurrant), spice, almond, licorice. Young tannins, good fruit and body, light bitterness.

Price: Low

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Wine of the Week

Carefully crafted Caíño

Published 20. October 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Zarate is Eulogio Pomares‘ family winery in Meaño, Rías Baixas. Eulogio still makes the wines here, as he has done since the 2000 vintage. But in recent years he has also put a lot of effort into making wines under his own name.

This wine originates from a vineyard close to the sea, with alluvial granite and river stones and almost 80 year old vines. It was fermented in large traditional chestnut fudres with a further eight months on lees.

Carralcoba Caíño Tinto 2016 (Eulogio Pomares)

Cherry red. Cool red fruits (raspberry, cherry), spice (nutmeg). Juicy and delicate, but also with crunch, salinity and a savoury acidity. Maybe optimal drinking at the moment.

Price: Medium-high

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Wine of the Week

Pretty Pannobile

Published 13. October 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Here is a prime wine from one of the founders of the Pannobile group.

The wine originates from vineyards located on the slopes of the Leitha mountains. Zweigelt and blaufränkisch planted in limestone and slate soils and grown organically with biodynamic techniques and without using chemical products. Harvest is carried out manually. Once the grapes have been selected by hand, spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts begins and a three-week maceration in the skins in wooden tanks. Then it’s pressed and the wine obtained matures for 21 months in used 500-liter oak barrels.

Pannobile 2018 (Heinrich)

Dark cherry red. Aromas of dark fruit (morello, blueberry), lightly spiced and some earth. Tasty, silky, a sweet and sour sensation and a long taste. Lively, balanced.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Sampaio’s Curtimenta

Published 6. October 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Tiago Sampaio is a driving force on the modern wine scene of the Douro. The Folias de Baco project was started in 2007, and today he is recognized as an innovative winemaker deep rooted in the traditions of the area.

The name Curtido implies that this is an orange wine, in Portugal usually called curtimenta. It’s made from moscatel galego planted on a blend of schist and granite soils. It was harvested by hand in early September with extensive vineyard sorting and two weeks maceration time. Fermentation in stainless steel using indigenous yeasts. Not fined or filtered.

Uivo Pt Nat Curtido 2021 (Folias de Baco)

Yellow-orange, cloudy. Aromatic, flowery with apricot and citrus peel. Dry mouth-feel, only slightly fizzy, lovely citrussy acidity, good concentration and an intense aftertaste.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Picaresque Toro

Published 29. September 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

El Pícaro is a young red wine from the D.O. Toro made with tinta de toro (tempranillo) grapes from vines between 50 and 70 years old. It’s made by Bodega Matsu that work by minimal intervention, in the field according to organic and biodynamic principles. Matsu, meaning to wait in Japanese, is a project originated by the Riojan company Vintae.

The harvest was carried out manually during the first half of October. Fermentation happened in concrete tanks at temperatures not exceeding 24ºC. Malolactic fermentation was done in French oak barrels. Then came a 3 month period in wood. Not filtered nor clarified.

The winemaking is done in the facilities that Matsu rents from the Covitoro cooperative.

El Pícaro 2022 (Matsu)

Deep red with blue hint. Aroma of mature fruits, dark (blackberry, blueberry), eucalyptus and coffee. Medium-bodied, young tannins, mineral, powerful but also with a nice acidity.

Price: Low

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Wine of the Week

Marvelous Masieri

Published 22. September 2023 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

This is a red wine from natural wine pioneer Angiolino Maule of La Biancara, that I visited in 2018 (read here).

The soil in Gambellara is volcanic, and the vineyard was planted some 45 years ago. Organic agriculture with biodynamic principles. The grape composition is merlot 50%, tai rosso 40% and cabernet sauvignon 10%. They were picked by hand and spontaneously fermented, before a 2 to 3 weeks skin-maceration in big Slavonian oak.

Rosso Masieri 2018 (La Biancara)

Cherry red, a bit developed towards rim. Dark and red fruits (blackcurrant, cherry), balsamic, beginning dried fruits. Juicy and yet concentrated, coffee, black olives, long.

Price: Medium

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