$30-$40

Domaine Faury Saint Joseph Vielles Vignes 2008

January 31, 2012 By Shea Leave a Comment

This wine is the perfect example of what you should be able to buy in B.C. for $36. It is also an ideal exemplar of thinking more deeply about vintage and following your palate. 2008 is largely bandied in main stream media as a near write-off for the Northern Rhone, not dissimilar (though not quite as bad as) to 2002. Utter nonsense I say.

Trust Your Importer

Kermit Lynch is the great prophet of the Rhone valley in the United States, basically making a market where none existed before for wines like Auguste Clape and Vieux Telegraph.

Philippe Faury is a Lynchian wine-maker. That is, he has incredible attention to detail, respect for the soil and the environment but also pragmatism and a simple, measured clarity of methodology in both the vineyard and the cellar. Hand-picked, pipeage by foot, very gentle pumping over, all come together to make a seamless, consistent wine with great purity and expression. Aging is done in large 600l demi-muids and smaller 220l barrels.

Old Vines, Pure Fruit, and a Little Rant

The vines for this old vine St. Joseph were planted between 1937 and 1976 on a tiny .9ha plot. That means this wine is pretty hard to find, but it also means it is complex and deep even while the 2008 vintage gives it lightness and clarity. This is fresh syrah, made in an extremely classic style by one of St. Joseph’s best proponents, especially since its resurgence via Coursodon and Chave.

Pure aromas of pepper, stone, and crushed blackberries picked seconds ago from the bush. The ferral quality is tamed, but just present enough to make this wine breath the varietal purity of Syrah from the Northern Rhone, as only it can produce.

Of course, such delicacy and purity is only possible with proper shipping and storage conditions. Kermit Lynch guarantees both up until he sells it – something that you cannot be sure of with almost every single importer in B.C.

I am also skeptical that our wines need cost what they do, even with the absurd B.C. 123% tax rate as preliminary research and information has suggested to me that many importers add quite high markups to their wines (but at this point this is unsubstantiated and needs more research).

So, a beautiful Syrah drinking perfectly now or able to sit a few years. I see no reason to hold on to this, though and would love to do a vertical of these if at all possible. If you are down in Seattle or SF I highly recommend picking this up.

Excellent and Highly Recommended Value
$36 at Esquin in Seattle

Filed Under: $30-$40, Excellent, French Wine, Highly Recommended Values, Syrah

COS Frappato 2010

January 11, 2012 By Shea 2 Comments

A brief note for a wine that you can drink by the bucketful. Extremely pretty aromatics, long and light on the palate, but versatile with food. And, even though the Sicilian COS is a naturalist producer, here we have a perfectly clean and correct example of the Frappato grape. Absolutely delicious.

What is Frappato? It is generally considered an unimportant low-tannin grape native to Sicily. COS turns it into something special. The 2010 vintage particularly highlights their prowess with the grape.

Excellent
$33 at BCLDB and Highly Recommended Value

Filed Under: $30-$40, Excellent, Frappato, Highly Recommended Values, Italian Wine

Foradori Fontanasanta Nosiola 2009

December 20, 2011 By Shea 2 Comments

Every once and a while you come across a wine that is fully convincing. In my case, it was a frustrated march through three bottles of damaged wine (2 heat damaged high end Alsatian wines due to poor retail storage in BC and 1 corked wine from SF) that led me to the final destination of complete geekdom. That is, an amphora fermented white wine from northern Italy made from an ancient grape called Nosiola.

Perhaps it was the fact that this grape is almost nonexistent, or perhaps it was the confirmation that naturalist wine can be completely varietal, clean and of place, but this Foradori white was an utterly convincing drink. It is the kind of wine that has enticing, complex and unique floral aromatics and much tastiness. Despite its ‘amphora fermentation’ it is not an orange wine, and is entirely clean (speaking both of meticulous wine making and proper shipping conditions – unlike the majority of wine sold in BC). It is not an extremely complex wine, and yet it is also not a basic quaffer. In the end, it is the kind of wine that you could drink forever, which I think is the ultimate criterion for convincing wine.

Foradori is a fascinating producer who is most famous for Teroldego. You can find a great series of videos on the Dressner website (the US importer).

Very Good+ to Excellent
~$40 USD at Arlequin Wine Merchants in SF

Filed Under: $30-$40, Italian Wine, Nosiola, Very Good

Spotlight on Nebbiolo: Gianfranco Alessandria Langhe Nebbiolo 2008

December 15, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

Nebbiolo makes an expensive wine. There are several reasons for this. Nebbiolo consitutes only about 6% of planted vines in Piedmont, so it is relatively scarce even in its home. Yields are generally low and prime planting land is expensive. Because Nebbiolo is so sensitive to climate, only a few particular sites make good wine – thus the entry price point goes up and up. Add to that the great prestige of Barolo and Barbaresco, and you have the perfect recipe for expensive wine.

This Nebbiolo from Gianfranco skirts some of the major price uppers by sticking to the general “Langhe” moniker. This means that the fruit either comes from regions outside the big boys in Barolo and Barbaresco or it is declassified fruit. What is really impressive, is that the quality of the fruit hits far above its entry-level (for Nebbiolo) price point.

On Nebbiolo

Nebbiolo is an extremely tannic grape. It is difficult to turn into something accessible in its youth, but modern technology has started to move certain examples in this direction. Most wines would, however, be a shame to drink young. What is most impressive about Alessandria’s entry level wine is that it drinks so well even at this young age.

Unlike Sangiovese, the fruit quality of Nebbiolo is generally very good these days. Real challenges come in the cellar, however, and this is where the battle between traditionalists and modernists truly takes place. I will explore this topic in more detail in future posts; however, it is useful to note that most producers these days have eliminated the issues that led to bacterial infections and volatile acidity in the past. Thus the general quality of wine is quite consistent – the real trick is finding the values and the truly great.

Accessible, Delicious Nebbiolo

This Langhe Nebbiolo is made from 10 year old vines planted on south-east slopes in Monforte d’Alba. Only 3500 bottles are produced (under 300 cases).

The nose on this wine is clearly nebbiolo – classic bright cherry with nut skins. There is less expressivity and concentration compared to the big boys in Barolo and Barbaresco, but this is an extremely tasty wine.

The dense palate, with its firm and grippy tannins, loosens and opens with food. There is lots of dark cherry in this wine, which has a surprising density of fruit for its level. A wine with excellent concentration, structure and length. This is a super bargain for Nebbiolo and I’d call it slightly modernist but also restrained with the oak. In other words, quite a lovely amalgam of accessibility and traditional weight and tannin.

Very Good+ and Highly Recommended Value
$40 at Kits Wine

Filed Under: $30-$40, Highly Recommended Values, Italian Wine, Nebbiolo, Nebbiolo, Very Good

Spotlight on Sangiovese: Perazzeta Rita Montecucco Sangiovese 2006

November 12, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

I’d never heard of Montecucco before drinking this wine. It is a DOC in southwest Tuscany on the river Ombrone growing classic Tuscan Grapes, with whites focused on Trebbiano and Vermentino and reds on Sangiovese. Wines labelled “Sangiovese”, like this one, must have at least 85% of that grape in the blend.

The Middle Road: Of Oak and Sangiovese

I think one of the most appealing aspects of Italian wine is its ability to be bitter and sweet simultaneously. This mouthwatering quality is present in the best Sangioveses as well. Even as a grape that takes well to oak (it doesn’t seem to take in the flavours as much as other varieties), it is important to ensure that the oak aging doesn’t overpower the wonderful bittersweet fruit flavours that naturally occur in the grape.

On the one hand are more traditional wines that focus on herbs, bitter cherry, leather and tobacco while on the other, more modernist hand, are wines that get into darker, sweeter fruits and greater opulence. I find that these modern wines, aged in new oak, can often change the wonderful bitter and textural firmness of Sangiovese into creamy, sweet wines that may appeal to certain palates but that also lose the authenticity of the grape.

It is all the more impressive, then, to taste a wine that deftly manages to integrate new oak with Sangiovese without losing its indigenous traits. It also helps that Perazzeta’s selection standards are high, keeping only about ⅓ of the fruit on the vine for vinification, and that the terroir is an interesting mix of river stones, quartz and ancient marine shells. The wine sees 12 months in new French barriques.

Deliciously Rich

An impressive nose of leather, minerals, dark cherry, tobacco and leaves. The palate brings out some darker red fruits because of the new oak aging. The wine is balanced well, though it needs to pair with heavier foods compared to a classic chianti or old-oak aged Sangiovese.

While I liked this wine, I found it interesting how the oak toned every flavour characteristic differently, transforming the juice from its unadulterated peppy self into a richer darker, creamier wine. 14.5% abv

Very Good to Very Good+
~$35 at Everything Wine

Filed Under: $30-$40, Italian Wine, Sangiovese, Sangiovese, Very Good

Spotlight on Portuguese Dry Wine: Esporao Reserva White 2006

October 16, 2011 By Shea 2 Comments

The spotlight on Portuguese dry wine draws to a close with this white blend from Esporao. Esporao’s red and white reserva wines are good examples of how overly modern fruit driven methods can reduce interest in a wine. Over-oaking and attempts to mimick the new world style do not serve Portuguese wine well even as the indigenous grapes’ character manages to shine through the heavy-handed treatment in the cellar.

A blend of Antão Vaz, Arinto, and Roupeiro, this wine’s rich and buttery elements overwhelmed my palate somewhat, even as the wine offered interesting steely minerality, white flowers and kiwi fruit. This is a wine with good acid, but the oak is a bit intense for my liking. This works better if married with food to mellow it out, but the over the top richness kind of kills the wine even though there is something interesting going on with the fruit (making this far better than over-oaked chard). Overall the Esporao white reserva was not very drinkable for my palate.

A Portuguese Sum-Up

A sad note on which to end this spotlight, but also a confirmation of my discovery that Portugal’s dry wine scene is still evolving and finding its legs. There are truly great wines to be found here, but far too many are made in an international style, are slightly overdone or simply lack interest. This will change with time, particularly given some of the pioneering wines I have profiled in this spotlight. For now, Portugal is a country well worth exploring, but one should do so with the proper research and with a mind for experimentation. You will not always find what you like, but when you do the wine will be a unique expression of interesting grapes and a special terroir that is only beginning to emerge on the world scene.

Good+
$36 at Everything Wine

Filed Under: $30-$40, Antão Vaz, Arinto, Good, Portuguese Dry Wine, Portuguese Wine, Roupeiro

Spotlight on Portuguese Dry Wine: Esporao Reserva Red 2005

October 14, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

With this wine we move into the Alentejo region in southeastern Portugal. Warm and dry, the Alentejo is home to large expanses of loam soils along with smaller parcels of granite and schist, which of course produce more sophisticated wines. The climate is consistently hot, making the average harvest fall, amazingly, sometime in August.

Modern Methods

Esporao, situated in the Reguengos DOC, was started by a football magnate who hired a consulting winemaker from Australia. This is a wine made with modern methods and attention to detail, with hand picking but also temperature controlled ferments, robotic plunging, and inoculation. These methods manifest in the wine as it does lack some character even while being tasty.

Big, With a Hint of Terroir

The wine is big and rich, like the region, with spicy and intense grape skin aromas and licorice. A bold wine, but with good length and despite the neutrality of the wine there is grape and terroir character here. It’s particular and unique without being extraordinary. But it is unmistakably Portuguese. These wines have a uniqueness to them that proves their grapes and terroir (the indigenous grapes Aragonês, Trincadeira, and Alicante Bouschet show through, but given the reasonable percentage of Cab Sauv, the terroir clearly has enough potency to prevent that dominant grape from overwhelming place) are worth noticing. But, at the same time these are not wines for everyone, even when they are well made.

I like this wine and many who enjoy bigger red wines with proper structure and acid will too. I can happily recommend it.

Very Good
$36 at everything wine

Filed Under: $30-$40, Alicante Bouschet, Aragones, Cabernet Sauvignon, Portuguese Dry Wine, Portuguese Wine, Trincadeira, Very Good

Spotlight on Portuguese Dry Wine: Quinta do Noval Cedro do Noval 2007

August 20, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

Quinta do Noval is becoming one of the more important houses in Portugal for dry red wine. Situated in the Douro, Quinta do Noval was founded in 1715 and started making dry reds in 1996 (but only marketing the wines as of 2004). Over time, the estate was driven towards the brink of bankruptcy until it was sold by its former owners, the Van Zeller family, to AXA Millesimes and is headed by Christian Seely who is given free reign by the corporate conglomerate.

It is amazing that a Quinta famed for one of Portugal’s greatest ports, “Nacional” made from a single vineyard of very old ungrafted Touriga Nacional vines, also has managed to turn out some of the country’s finest dry reds that are constantly improving.

A Touch of Internationalism

All the table wines at Noval are fermented in conical steel tanks. Seely has said that Legares are not good for table wines as the grapes are prone to oxidation. While most of the excitement in Portuguese wine comes from its bevy of undiscovered indigenous grapes, Noval has become well known for planting Syrah vines (Seely notes that their vineyards have schist soil overlooking a river, much like Hermitage), and blending syrah into their second wine, Cedro do Noval.

As such, this 2007 has 35% of Syrah blended in with 30% Touriga Nacional, 25% Touriga Franca and 10% Tinta Cao. Seely insists that his intention is not to make the wines international, but rather to experiment and also to produce a more accessible wine at a younger age.

Quality Wine on the Rise

The wine pours an extremely rich dark red and opens with oak, spice, chocolate, and dark red fruit aromatics. There is a heaviness to the nose that suggests lack of balance, but after a few hours open, this, along with everything else, integrates very well.

The palate tasted of blackberries and chocolate and is very dark and rich. Nonetheless good acid keeps the wine speaking and I think this is a worthy bottle at its price point, but I wish it went in a different direction (I still prefer Ribera del Duero or Rioja reds over most of the Portuguese reds I’ve had so far). However, there is something unique and compelling about the wine and despite its bigness it maintains an old world feel. There is also a softness to the texture that pegs this immediately as old world. It is not hard to appreciate that this is quite a delicious wine and it prompts me to seek out Quinta do Noval’s top wines.

Very Good+
$35 at BCLDB

Filed Under: $30-$40, Portuguese Dry Wine, Portuguese Wine, Syrah, Tinta Cao, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacionale, Very Good

Domaine Fouassier “Sur le Fort” Sancerre 2009

August 11, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

Sancerre has the biggest name in the Loire but often produces the least interesting wines. I opt for Savennieres, Vouvray, Saumur and Muscadet far more often than the generally overpriced sauvignon blancs of Sancerre. Sometimes, however, a winery can come along that challenges these tendencies, and Domaine Fouassier does just that.

Of Soils and Deliciousness

Sancerre is famous for its three types of soils: white chalky soils, limestone and flint. Fouassier categorizes its wines by soil types, with white and brown labels representing grapes grown in two types of limestone soils and grey labels those in flint. The Fouassiers are one of the oldest families in Sancerre and have a large estate extending 53 hectares, which allows them a wide range of wines in various terroirs.

This is extremely expressive wine, but not in that big over the top style that commercial Sancerre is made in. This is minerally wine but also is full of tropical fruit and tang. These are big and expressive on the palate too, and include a nice fairly lengthy finish by Sauvignon Blanc standards. A great food wine and a great wine by itself, this is outstanding for the price and well worth picking up.

Very Good+ to Excellent and Highly Recommended Value
$35 at Kitsilano Wine Cellars

Filed Under: $30-$40, French Wine, Highly Recommended Values, Sauvignon Blanc, Very Good

Fontodi Chianti Classico 2007

August 9, 2011 By Shea 7 Comments

Fontodi is a top producer in Chianti, a region much maligned both for its history of cheap dreck and for an overabundance of new Super Tuscan blends many of which have focused more on international rather than regional varieties.

On the other hand, Chianti, particularly Chianti Classico, has seen a bit of a resurgance lately, with top producers like Fontodi focusing on a terroir driven approach to Chianti and demonstrating that the Classico DOCG can offer stunning soil driven wines.

Fickle Grape, Rediscovered Terroir

Sangiovese, of course, is one of Italy’s greatest indigenous grapes, descendant from two other indigenous Tuscan vines called ciliegiolo and calabrese monotenuovo. Sangiovese is a vigorous grape that must be closely pruned but also that has difficulty ripening. The grape’s naturally light colour is what led to blending with both traditional varieties and the international grapes Cabernet and Merlot. Though I have to point out that while these noble French varieties have been much maligned, when done well, they can produce outstanding wine. That said, this Chianti is 100% Sangiovese (as is Fontodi’s Super Tuscan Flaccianello).

Perfectly Classic

A nose of classic medium bodied cherry becomes a fantastic full-bodied yet very well balanced wine with flavours of cherry, licorice and roots. This has amazing length and structure for basic Chianti Classico and is a superb example both of Fontodi and the outstanding 2007 vintage.

There is pretty much no Chianti out there in B.C. at this price point with this level of structure and complexity. That makes this wine an outstanding buy that you can lay down or drink now with a hearty plate of spaghetti and meatballs.

Very Good+ and Highly Recommended Value
$33 at BCLDB

P.S. The Portuguese Spotlight will continue soon – the contingencies of a busy life have created some delay.

Filed Under: $30-$40, Highly Recommended Values, Italian Wine, Sangiovese, Very Good