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Month: May 2024

Wine of the Week

Great white Godello

Published 31. May 2024 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Verónica Ortega has been featured on this blog several times. Here is a bit of background.

Tormenta is a new wine beginning with the 2021 vintage, that has taken over from the fabulous Cal from the same municipality. I tasted this wine in a wine club tonight where my topic was The New Spain, illustrated by ten wines.

We are in the Bierzo area. 0.8 hectares of godello grapes are grown organically in a paraje called Garbanzal in the village San Juan de la Mata, north in the appellation. The vineyard is more than 25 years old on and sits on clay and calcareous soils, at 650 meters altitude. The grapes were harvested manually, destemmed and experienced a night’s cold maceration. The fermentation was spontaneous from native yeasts. It was completed after thirteen months in barrels and amphorae.

Tormenta 2021 (Verónica Ortega)

Light yellow colour. Floral scent with yellow apples, peaches and a hint of sultanas. Delicate in the mouth, dancing between dryness and softness, tasty with a lively acidity, and a marked minerality. It tends towards some sharpness, but this is just held back. A great wine

Price: High

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Wine of the Week

Riffing with Mr. Riffault

Published 24. May 2024 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

I am fully aware that Sébastien Riffault has been in the spotlight for things other than his wines lately. Let’s keep this aside for a while. The quality of his wines can hardly be doubted. Okay, there are people who don’t like the mature style. Some even say they are not typical of Sancerre. Remember that many people believe that the early-harvested commercial yeasted cat’s pee in a gooseberry bush is the real thing. Riffault is, in my opinion, very Sancerre, but clearly a different take.

The sauvignon blanc was planted on limestone and clay some 35 years ago. Akmèniné means “made of stone” in Lithuanian (the nationality of his wife). The grapes were harvested by hand in mid-October, directly pressed without skin contact, 30 percent of the grapes having botrytis. It was then fermented in large old barrels, then aged on the lees. No sulphur added, not fined or filtrated.

Akmèniné 2019 (S. Riffault)

Pale amber. Aroma of mature apples, mango, herbs and yeast. Good volume and concentration, rich, tasty, with ripe fruit and adequate acidity.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

A cool blaufränkisch from Dorli Muhr

Published 17. May 2024 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Here is a wine from Carnuntum, Niederösterreich that was offered in a private wine club the other day.

Dorli Muhr started wine production in 2002, in Prellenkirchen, that is situated by the Donau and not far from Bratislava, Slovakia. However the family’s wine history stretches all the way back to 1918 when Dorli’s grandmother Katarina received a small vineyard as a wedding gift. Dorli began winemaking on the old vineyard that had belonged to her grandmother. And together with Dirk van der Niepoort, her husband at the time, she expanded the production, mostly with the variety blaufränkisch.

The wine is exactly made of 100% blaufränkisch, from 5 different vineyards in Prellenkirchen with vines between 15 and 35 years old. The grapes were hand-picked and foot-trodden before the must was spontaneously fermented at room temperature. No over-pumping or excess extraction. The wine was aged for 21 months in 3.000-litre old barrels, and bottled unfiltered.

Samt & Seide means literally velvet and silk. I understand that it in German has connotations to extravagance and luxury, especially with regards to clothing. I don’t know the reason for the naming, but I guess we are closer to the literal meaning.

Prellenkirchen Samt & Seide 2020 (Weingut Dorli Muhr)

Deep ruby red. Aroma of cool berries (cherry, blueberry), with white pepper and and earthy note. Juicy in the mouth, with fine dryness, fresh berries, with decent concentration and a dry aftertaste.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Askaneli’s saperavi

Published 10. May 2024 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

The Askaneli winery was founded in 1998 by the Chkhaidze brothers, taking its name from the village of Askana in the Kakheti region.

As the name implies Saperavi Qvevri is made from the saperavi grapes and vinified in qvevri, the typical Georgian earthen vessels.The Askaneli brothers make wine as it has been done for thousands of years in Georgia, still bringing out modern and stylish wines.

Saperavi Qvevri 2020 (Askaneli)

Dark red colour. Aromas of black and red fruits (blackberry, cherry), spices, a touch of earth. It’s quite full-bodied, though not heavy, firm tannins, and good mature fruit.

Price: Medium.

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Wine of the Week

Alternative Ribera

Published 3. May 2024 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Pablo and Andrea of Magna Vides offer an alternative to the many oaky and heavy reds of Ribera del Duero. At their estate in La Aguilera (Burgos) they work eco-friendly in every possible way. This wine is made from garnacha grapes from 90 year old vines on sandy loam soils. They are fermented with stems and with local yeasts. It’s aged 12 months in used French barrels.

Alma de Cántaro Garnacha Tinta 2020 (Magna Vides)

Dark cherry red. Fresh aroma of raspberry, wild strawberries, plums and herbs. Clear and focused garnacha fruit on the palate, it’s juicy with timid tannins, and a fresh and lively fruit. It’s carefully extracted and with no disturbing wood influence.

Price: Medium

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