Category: Wine of the Week

The avant-garde of Aragón

Published 20. December 2024 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Mario López is winemaker for Vinos López and Bodegas Frontonio. These wineries, both in the IG Valdejalón, can be regarded as the avant-garde of Aragón at the moment.

Mario runs the family winery Vinos López together with his brother. It was their grandfather who planted the vineyards in the 1960s.

Aragón is mostly noted for big companies and cooperatives, and DOs that have favoured international grape varieties. The region has a long tradition for the grape garnacha though (along with the white macabeo), and here is where López’ and his companions’ dedication lie.

This wine originates in the La Bodegaza vineyard, a planting carried out in the 1960s. Low yields from organic cultivation without irrigation. Directly pressed, spontaneously fermented with a proportion whole bunches, and matured in old demi-muids (600-liter barrels). Natural fining.

La Bodegaza 2021 (Vinos López)

Ruby red. Aroma of black cherries and plums towards a background of herbs, earth and a hint of licorice. Medium-bodied with juicy berry fruit, delicate texture, fresh acidity and a firm finish. It’s a superbly balanced, drinkable wine.

Price: Medium (very good value)

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Wine of the Week

A fresh ripasso

Published 13. December 2024 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

This wine was presented at a bring-a-bottle tasting in my local wine club. It shows a more fresh side of the ripasso style, as opposed to the more heavy and raisiny wines often found in the category.

The Musella Estate is located close to the village of Ferrazze, east of Verona, where their vineyards are biodynamically farmed.

Their ripasso has been produced since 1995. At the winery, unpressed amarone pomace is macerated with the fresh valpolicella (the so-called ripasso method). This enhances the colour and structure of the wine. The wine undergoes 12-15 days of fermentation and maceration on the skins with periodic racking followed by malolactic fermentation. The wine is then transferred to barrels of various sizes for 12 months.

Valpolicella Ripasso 2020 (Musella)

Cherry red. Some fresh fruit, such as cherry, plums and blackcurrant. Behind is a layer of cinnamon and clove, and dried fruits, and also a hint of chocolate. Medium-bodied, with fine tannins, and a refreshing acidity. Finishes quite long.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Bernabeleva Carril del Rey 2016

Published 6. December 2024 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Bernabeleva is located in San Martín de Valdeiglesias, in the community of Madrid. They work with a respect for balance with nature, though they don’t aim for certifications. Their wines express the characteristics of the vineyards and their surroundings.

This wine is made from 75 year old garnacha vines in a gently sloping south facing plot. This site has granitic soil, shallow at the top and deep at the lower part. The parcel covers 2.5 hectares.

Maceration lasts over 40 days, during which the wine is pigeaged in the oak tank. Malolactic fermentation takes place in French oak barriques, where the wine remains as long as necessary. It is neither stabilized nor filtrated.

The wine was selected for a private dinner and showed some maturity, but still has much life ahead. Maybe it’s at its peak now.

Carril del Rey 2016 (Bernabeleva)

Very light red. Delicate and complex nose, with red fruits and aniseed. Some warmth, fine tannins, good acidity, good concentration and length. Superelegant wine, it’s individualistic yet a good representative for its origin.

Price: High

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Wine of the Week

Cornas at its peak

Published 29. November 2024 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

The Reynard vineyard is on a beautiful, terraced granite hillside that overlooks the village of Cornas and is bordered by cedar trees.

Christopher Moestue, a knowledgeable and respected Norwegian importer, bought a plot at the top of the Reynard, and he got Vincent Paris to vinify. The 2007 was served at a private tasting a couple of weeks ago. The wine was maybe at its peak.

Cornas Coteaux de Reynard 2007 (Vign. Moestue)

Dark red with touches of brick. Scent of blackberry, pepper and cooked sauce, over a layer of dried fruits and cinnamon. Meaty in the mouth where fruit still remains, polished tannins, still with some acidity. Good concentration and a long finish. Superb now, for my taste it will not get any better than this.

Price: High

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Wine of the Week

Nouveau day again

Published 22. November 2024 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

It’s beaujolais nouveau day again. The best producers have made light and delicate wines, while those from the more commercial wine houses are generally more thin.

Foillard and Brun are among those all time favourites who excel in this context. Dupond, that I discovered A couple of years ago, is delivering again. Last year’s find was Perrachon.

As I wrote then, Laurent Perrachon is based outside Juliénas and harvests six appellations. Martine and Laurent are fifth generation, and the sixth is also involved in the family business.

This nouveau is made exclusively from grapes grown in the Chânes municipality on granite and blue stone soil. The wine underwent 5 days carbonic maceration.

Beaujolais Nouveau 2024 (Perrachon)

Dark cherry. Red fruits, predominantly raspberry and strawberry, with some dark berries and flowers. Fresh in the mouth, soft tannins, good acidity, and a very generous fruit.

Price: Low

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Wine of the Week

Jura with the Mont d’Or

Published 15. November 2024 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

This exceptional white wine from Jura was served in a private dinner a couple of weeks ago. It was paired with a vacherin mont d’or, one of the region’s formidable cheeses.

It was aged for more than 36 months under a veil of yeast (“sous voile”), and shows a delicate balance between the nutty richness of a vin jaune and the fruitiness of a young savagnin.

Grown in clay soils the savagnin grape is perfect for oxidative winemaking without fortification. The result is a wine with a complex flavour, reminiscent of a fino sherry, but without the added alcohol.

Savagnin Sous Voile 2019 (B&STissot)

Light golden. Oxidation notes with nuts, dried fruits, salt- and a flowery note. Rich in the mouth, concentrated with good acidity, and good length. It’s both delicate and full of depth.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Radikon at Bellies

Published 8. November 2024 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Bellies is probably Norway’s best vegan restaurant, which focuses on natural wine. In connection with their 5 year anniversary, they had invited the iconic producer Saša Radikon from Friuli, for a winemaker’s dinner.

The staff at Bellies had made impressive pairings between their “full bellies” menu and Radikon’s wines. Jakot 2018, made with 3 months skin-contact, was perfect with a sauce rich in umami, where I normally would chose a sherry, just to name one example.

It was an unbelieveable line-up of wines, that included mature wines such as Merlot 2006 and Pignolo 2011. The evening’s revelation for me was the Ribolla 3781 in the 2007 vintage. Pairing-wise it was an easy match for this wine, as it was set up with a plate of mushrooms – and could have managed much more demanding ingrediences. Anyway, it gave the wine an opportunity to shine. And it did.

Here is some background. Radikon’s 12-hectare estate is located in Oslavia in the far north-east of Friuli Venezia, literally on the border with Slovenia. Radikon has a natural approach, where everything is done without the use of artificial or chemical aids. All grapes are harvested manually and fermented in tanks of Slavonian oak. The soil is called ponka, or ponca, very rich in minerals. It has a large proportion of gray and blue marl, occasionally mixed with clay. Deposits from old rivers and seas have produced a high content of lime. Ponka produces wines with both weight and freshness.

3781 is the number of the parcel below the cellar. The wine from here is produced only in the best years. It’s a varietal ribolla gialla, made with 3 months of maceration, then 4 years in oak and 10 years in bottle. It comes in a one liter bottle.

Ribolla 3781 2007 (Radikon)

The colour is golden with copper. Aroma of dried peach and apricot, curry and baked apple – almost like a well-matured cheese. Smooth in the mouth with high glycerin, rich, seamless, with an integrated acidity and great length. It has an autumnal air, still full of energy. This is a unique wine. It’s perfect, legendary.

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Wine of the Week

Dalamára xinomavro

Published 1. November 2024 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

This wine was one of many good wines in a xinomavro tasting in my local wine club last Monday. Xinomavro is the most emblematic grape in the northern part of Greece and is characterized by a light colour and crystalline tannins, not very unlike nebbiolo. The prices are generally sympathetic.

Kostis Dalamára is a sixth-generation winemaker in Naoussa, the historic region of Macedonia. When he took over the family estate in 2010 he introduced organic cultivation, spontaneous fermentation and reduced sulfur dioxide levels. The soil in the area is sandy loam to clay, which comes from former limestone and marl rocks.

The grapes for this wine are de-stemmed and fermented in steel tanks, macerates for some 25 days before being moved to 300-500 liter barrels to mature for 6 months in 10% new oak. The rest is 1-14 year old barrels.

Naossa 2021 (Dalamára)

Ruby red. Aroma of mature strawberries, raspberry, sundried tomato and an earthy note. Medium-bodied, with those signature xinomavro tannins and a nice integrated acidity. It’s more fruity than most, somewhere between rusticity and elegance.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Fresh red from amphora

Published 25. October 2024 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

This wine was served at Vinmonopolet’s tasting this week. Herdade do Rocim is known as one of the leading producers of vinho de talha, clay-aged wine, in Alentejo, Portugal. They also host a festival for clay-based wines.

Here I chose the red version. Fresh from Amphora 2022 comes in a 1L bottle and is part of the Nat’Cool concept of easy drinking wines initiated by Niepoort.

The grape varieties are moreto 40%, and the rest tinta grossa and trincadeira. The ancestral method of making the wine in talha (large clay pots) is used. Vinification is carried out with no temperature control. Fermentation took place using indigenous yeasts and with no addition or correction. The must saw two months of skin contact inside the amphora.

Fresh from Amphora 2022 (Herdade do Rocim)

Light ruby colour. Aroma of cherry and strawberry, stonefruit, with an earthy note. Juicy in the mouth, fresh, with fine tannins, a touch of salt. Overall it’s light, clean and harmonious.

Price: Medium

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Wine of the Week

Beautiful Brouilly

Published 18. October 2024 by Vidar Kenneth Johansen

Château Thivin dates back to 1877. Today the 6th generation of the Geoffray family runs the estate.

The name of the wine comes from seven plots at Mont Brouilly in Côte de Brouilly, each contributing to the complexity with their various orientations and characteristics.

The soils are dominated by the blue stones of the region, stonier for the highest plots and more clayey for those closer to the foot of the hill.

The wine is made partly with whole bunches and matured in oak tuns for 7 months. Blending is done in the spring.

Côte de Brouilly Les Sept Vignes 2023 (Château Thivin)

Garnet red with bluish hint. Aroma of cherry, blueberry and flowers, with a mineral touch. Round in the mouth with fine tannins, good acidity and a spicy finish.

Price: Medium

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