Category: Wine of the Week

VDN for Christmas cookies and more

Published 25. December 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Based in the village of Rivesaltes just north of Perpignan, Domaine Cazes makes a variety of wines from around 200 hectares of vines in the amphitheatre of the Roussillon area. For several years now, with Emmanuel Cazes as winemaker, they have had a biodynamic approach.

The Ambré is a naturally sweet wine (VDN) from grenache blanc that is not made every year. The grapes were grown on calcareous clay and big stones, and the wine has spent 15 years in old oak casks for a slight, controlled oxydation. It clocks in at 16% alcohol, and the residual sugar is 120 g/L, so it’s not overtly sweet.

Rivesaltes Ambré 1997 (Domaine Cazes)

Deep amber in colour. Aromas of nuts, dried fruit, lemon peel, with some caramel. On the palate it’s voluminous with a nutty flavour, some caramel, and just enough acidity to keep it from cloying.

Price: Medium

Food: Roasted almonds, nut-based cookies and desserts, try to some soft cheeses

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Wine of the Week

Red wine from Sherryland

Published 18. December 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

This is a wine I bought from a wine merchant in Sanlúcar (see this article), on his recommendation. I served it in a blind tasting this week, and of course nobody guessed the region.

It’s more cool in appearance than expected, and the chalky albariza soil between Jerez and Rota must have some responsibility for this. The grape is tintilla de Rota, which is a synonym for graciano (and maybe originated here in the south), and which they regard as a very promising red variety down here.

Vineyards in albariza soil between Jerez and Rota

In this area tintilla can be very delicate and mineral and is able to ripen perfectly without high levels of alcohol or overripe fruit. The less than 15 years old grapes for this wine have been organically farmed only 60 meters over sea level, and the wine has seen a mix of cement and oak vessels of various sizes.

Vara y Pulgar 2012 (Cía. de Vinos del Atlántico)

Purple colour. Aroma of red and dark berries, stone minerals, dark chocolate and some balsamic notes. Full and quite dense on the palate, a sweet sensation, but with a long, dry and mineral aftertaste. Like I said in the beginning, ripe but also with a touch of coolness.

Price: Medium

Food: Red meat, tapas, dishes with sausage

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Wine of the Week

Pato’s Baga Natural

Published 11. December 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

I have visited Luís Pato several times, and tasted through his range over and over again. His wines are consistently good, the ambitious reds are the most famous, but don’t forget the whites. Pato never rests. Lately he has been moving towards organic agriculture, in a -organically speaking- difficult coastal landscape.

Here is a wine that seeks to demonstrate the baga grape’s antioxidant and stabilizing capacity, so as to be able to avoid the addition of sulphur.

Honestly I am not quite sure if the vineyards for this wine are organically grown, but I will ask the producer and update you about that. But the elaboration is undoubtedly done like a natural wine, there is no SO2 added, and the antioxidant capacity of the baga grape itself does the job. The climate can be said to be problematic, yes, but one can also say that it’s suitable for making wine without addition of acid, like is done in many hot regions, and without addition of sugar, done in many colder regions.

Baga Natural 2012 (Luís Pato)

Dark colour with a blueish hue. Very nice fruitiness on the cooler side, hints of blueberry, wild berries, and aromatic herbs. Quite slender in the mouth, and the baga grape gives it some dryness in texture.

Price: Low

Food: Suckling-pig (locally called ‘leitão’), other light meat, I think not too powerful game too, Caesar salad and similar…

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Wine of the Week

A Yecla monastrell bargain

Published 4. December 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Here is a wine that is almost free of charge…

I visited the Candela family once in the 90s. Today it’s the fourth generation, brothers Antonio and Alfredo, that is leading the growing of the grapes and the making of the wine here. They also count on a restaurant in the building where you can sit and watch the landscape. And “here” is Yecla, a one-municipality D.O. in Murcia, between the Spanish meseta and the Costa Blanca. Bodegas Barahonda owns and controls vineyards both in the Campo Arriba, where the climate is continental, with high temperatures in summer and a freezingly cold winter, and nearer to the more temperate coast in Campo Abajo.

They make many different wines, but Yecla is mainly monastrell country, and many of the most interesting wines are made by the Mediterranean grape, the same as came to be called mourvèdre when it travelled over the French border. The Carro comes in two versions, most often it’s a blend, but this version is a 100% monastrell made from old vines (from both subregions, between 400 and 800 meters), with natural yeasts and spontaneous fermentation. Never seen a barrel in its entire life.

Carro Monastrell Viñas Viejas 2013 (Bodegas Barahonda)

Deep red with a blue hue. It’s a light wine, but with quite dark fruit, blackberry, and a touch of the typical murciano aromatic herbs (rosmary, thyme). Young, luscious taste, quite full and just enough refreshing acidity.

Price: Low

Food: Light meat, salads, murcian paella…

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Wine of the Week

Another rich wine from Zind Humbrecht

Published 27. November 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Zind Humbrecht has for long been one of the leading lights for biodynamic wines, rich, fullbodied, yet balanced – and wonderful for the season that’s now approaching.

The company was set up by the Zind and Humbrecht families in 1959. Today it is represented by Olivier Humbrecht who sees himself in a father-to-son tradition that goes back to 1620. In total the domaine has 40 hectars under vine and has been biodynamic certified since 1991. Since 1992 it has been located just outside Turckheim, on the Colmar side.

They prefer long growing periods to achieve ripe and concentrated grapes, often with botrytis that gives sweet, exotic aromas. Fermentations are slow, and the minimum of time spent on lees is 6 months. The result are very impressive, intense, rich, alcoholic wines, often with residual sugar, that nonetheless keep the characteristics of their different vineyards. They will keep, and they will “dry up” after some years in the cellar. Last year I tasted the 1989 version of this week’s wine, a wine in excellent condition.

clos-jebsal Clos Jebsal

The Jebsal is one of the steepest vineyards in Alsace with a surface of 1.3 ha. south-exposed in the commune of Turckheim. It lies on grey marl limestone, rich in clay and gypsum, with numerous terraces. At a time abandoned and divided into many smaller plots, Leonard Humbrech managed to restore it in 1982. It was then planted with pinot gris, and the first vintage to be bottled was 1987.

Despite the ability to produce sweet, botrytised wines (in fact all vintages have been sweet, most often a vendange tardive) this vineyard also is the first in the domain to see flowering and véraison (the changing of colour, beginning of ripening), and thus produce wines often characterised by cool soils. The soil has a good water retention capacity and prevents stress, so it can yield wines with a natural balanced acidity.

Pinot Gris Clos Jebsal Vendange Tardive 2005 (Zind Humbrecht) 37,5 cl.

Yellow-gold colour. Aromas of orange, herbs, dried fruits, honey, and a touch of smoke. Very intense and (I would say) moderately sweet, but the acidity comes out after a while. A concentrated, flinty and very long aftertaste.

Price: High

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Wine of the Week

My best from the Beaujolais Thursday

Published 20. November 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

I admit it, I was no fan of the Nouveau releases when the craze was at its peak in the 1980s. Nowadays I am much more geared towards the wines from southern Burgundy, and I rarely miss the opportunity to taste some new releases from Beaujolais. Here is my favourite among the wines I tasted yesterday. The legendary Marcel Lapierre was there when it all started. He passed away in 2010, but his widow Marie and son Matthieu continues to give us one delicious wine after the other.

The label for this wine has been drawn by Maurice Sinet, of Charlie Hebdo fame. I just came to think of it, in these days when we cry for Paris again.

Beaujolais Nouveau 2015 (Ch. Cambon/ M. Lapierre)

Light red. Fresh in the strictest sense, flowery with raspberries and cherries. Soft on the palate with just the right touch of acidity. Just lovely.

Price: Low

Food: Just fine without, but nice with salads, light meat, and white fish too

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Wine of the Week

An elegant and complex Oregon pinot

Published 13. November 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

It was in the latest edition of our local wine club that we found many interesting US wines, for me especially reds, and a rosé. Some of the stars were the light, elegant Californian reds from Anthill Farms (Anderson Valley and Sonoma Coast) and Copain (Anderson Valley) that we have known for a while. But that night’s revelation was a darker, and maybe more complex wine from Oregon.

Cristom dispose of several vineyards with highly different characteristics. From these they elaborate both single vineyard wines and blends. My local shop has more of the singular wines, so I have probably already been back there by the time you read this. All their vineyards are LIVE (low input viticulture and enology) certified, but they see far beyond their own vines as they also work with the authorities for the healthiness of the state’s rivers and watershed.

The Jessie Vineyard (named after one of the owners’ grandmother) is one of the steapest in the Willamette Valley, and one of the most varied in soil composition, including five different volcanic soils. There is also the so-called “jory”, a typical Willamette soil, a deep, well-drained, silty clay loam soil from igneous bedrock.

Eola-Amity Hills Pinot Noir “Jessie Vineyard” 2012 (Cristom Vineyards)

Quite dark, deep red. Ripe red fruit, cherrie, flowers, mushrooms, a bit earthy. A full mouth-feel, a vibrant acidity that contrasts with the ripeness of the fruit and great lenght.

Price: High

Food: Red meat, game

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Wine of the Week

A Bardolino chiaretto

Published 6. November 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Fresh, appealing rosé wine that costs “no money”. Made from corvina (80%) and molinara, and made in the stainless steel low temperature fermentation tradition.

Bardolino Chiaretto Organic 2014 (Villabella)

Light salmon pink. Discrete notes of red fruits, apricots, and lime. Dry, yet with a smooth texture, quite full on the palate.

Price: Low

Food: White fish, delicate shellfish, salads

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Wine of the Week

Cabernet Franc from the Loire

Published 30. October 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

For six generations or more than 180 years the Amirault family has stayed at Le Clos des Quarterons. They claim to constantly strive to achieve a natural balance across the entire estate. This led them to the decision to run the vineyard biodynamically.

philosophie

The grape is cabernet franc grown in a soil mainly of gravel and silty clay, with some limestone. The grapes were harvested by hand, macerated in tank for 5 to 6 weeks, and aged for more than a month in demi-muids (500 litre barrels). It was a blend from all the old plots of vines on the estate (average age 55 years).

Le Clos de Quarterons Vielles Vignes 2012 (Amirault Vignerons)

With decanting the wine reveals traces of violet, blueberry and blackcurrant. Quite soft, quite complex, and by no means marked by the oak.

Price: Low

Food: Red meat, game, salads, some not too spicy dishes, and according to the producer: Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”

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Wine of the Week

A very drinkable barolo

Published 23. October 2015 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

For this week’s edition of our private wine club the host had put together a really nice selection of Piemonte nebbiolos, including three Produttori single vineyard Barbaresco riservas, and the rest Barolo. Among these one of my favourites was Roagna 2009. This week’s selection is however Erbaluna’s barolo from the same year.

Az. Agr. Erbaluna is located in La Morra, where they own 9,5 hectars planted with vines. They work strictly organic in vineyard and cellar.

The wine is, quite obviously, made from pure nebbiolo, 35 years old vines in calcareous clay. It was spontaneously fermented, had skin contact for four weeks and was and matured for three years in large wooden vats (3000 liters).

The wine we tasted was included in the portfolio of Norwegian importer Non Dos, who has also actively contributed in the making of the wine.

Barolo Cru Vigna Rocche 2009 (Az. Agr. Erbaluna)

Cherry red. Concentrated yet light, with aromas of raspberries, flowers and some underwood. Luscious, and fruity. Though quite high in alcohol and a touch of that typical tannic structure it is a barolo on the light side, and very drinkable indeed.

Price: Medium

Food: Red meat (lamb) and game, stews, hard cheeses

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