Spotlights

Spotlight on Sangiovese: Fattoria Bibbiani Poggio Vignoso Chianti 2009

November 1, 2011 By Shea 2 Comments

Brunello di Montalcino receives the high scores and big praise when it comes to Sangiovese. There are super tuscans and Chianti Classico riservas scrambling close behind Brunello for price and prestige. But what of the lowly Chianti? All but forgotten by many wine collectors, Chianti (sans classico and sans riserva) is yet consumed in vast quantities by a wide variety of consumers. My biggest problem with basic Chianti has always been its inconsistency in both style and quality.

Many Chiantis are simple, ‘rustic’ wines with few charms and high levels of brett. Others are overwrought wines with a considerable dollop of the international Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. I find most of the latter Chiantis to be boring wines with little ability to pair with food. Given the sheer scope of the region, however, it is possible to find small producers making traditional Sangiovese well. Enter Fattoria Bibbiani.

An Importing Venture Worth Noting

This wine is brought into North America by the superb but rarely written about “Small Vineyards” importer, working out of Seattle. Luckily for British Columbians, some of these wines are being brought into the province. Small Vineyards focuses on very small production wines made traditionally with biodiversity in the vineyards and minimal levels of interference in the cellar. I’ve attended a tasting put on by Small Vineyards in the past and can say that all of the wines I tasted then were charming, fairly priced and very food friendly.

The Estate

Fattoria Bibbiani is an old school wine estate, with a history of at least 1300 years. It has been with the Donato family for over 150 and is located 20 kilometres west of Florence on the bank of the Arno river. This is an interesting winery that has championed such projects as varietally bottling a unique clone of Sangiovese (Pulignano) that only exists on their estate. Bibbiani makes their Chianti with neutral methods, seeking simple purity of fruit. Techniques include: spurred cordon trained vines, stainless steel maceration and fermentation, and Slavonian oak aging in 10 year old barrels. The soils are limestone, clay and sandstone. Production is about 5,000 cases.

The Wine

Abundant, easily expressible cherry and strawberry fruit elide attempts at complexification. This is charming, free wheeling wine: clean, pure, simple and delicious. It also happens to be rockin’ tasty with pretty sweet fruit, leather and medium body. Perfectly suited for high acid pastas, pizza and anything with tomatos. In many wine lover’s search for greatness, they can miss the inimitable basic purity of a wine like this Chianti.

13% ABV. 85% Sangiovese, 10% Canaiolo, 5% Malvasia.

Very Good+ and Highly Recommended Value
$27 at Everything Wine

Filed Under: $20-$30, Canaiolo, Highly Recommended Values, Italian Wine, Malvasia, Sangiovese, Sangiovese, Very Good

Spotlight on Sangiovese: Salvioni Brunello di Montalcino 2003

October 23, 2011 By Shea 4 Comments

Despite its remarkable beauty and immediate loveability, Italy is a daunting country for any wine lover. With over 800 grape varieties, countless DOC and DOCGs and thousands of wineries, Italy is both deeply regional and a nuanced amalgam of grape and terroir.

While I have consumed hundreds of Italian wines, I feel as though I have only a limited understanding of the country. When faced with an immeasurable chasm of learning I like to start with the fundamentals. Sangiovese is perhaps the Italian grape, with nearly twice as many plantings as the next most populous varieties. Though planted throughout Italy, Sangiovese is best known in Tuscany and Umbria, with other significant plantings in Le Marche and Emilia-Romagna.

Sangiovese is also a grape that seems unable to succeed anywhere else in the world. Despite occasional pleasurable examples from California and Australia, for the most part nowhere makes good Sangiovese except for Italy. And yet within Italy, Sangiovese is possible of many different expressions.

In this spotlight I will focus on understanding the many faces of Sangiovese: whether terroir truly speaks or whether clonal selection and viticulture and cellar practices make the most significant impact on the final product. What makes Sangiovese so uniquely Italian and which producers are staying true to the grape’s indigenous character?

Instability and Brunello

Sangiovese is notoriously genetically unstable. It mutates with ease and clonal variation proliferates. The traditional line for Brunello di Montalcino’s greatness was that its Sangiovese clone were unique. There are, however, at least 6 different clones used in Montalcino, and it is more likely that the warm climate and the sandy and limestone soils contribute at least as much to the region’s distinctiveness than the particular clones used (soils also vary considerably between the northern and southern vineyards in Brunello di Montalcino).

Sangiovese is a late-ripening variety. In Brunello, with its hotter climate as compared to other Tuscan regions, Sangiovese vinifies into powerful, tannic and dark fruited juice. The required minimum of 4 years aging exists because the juice from these grapes is so taught and undrinkable in its youth. Most Brunello di Montalcino’s also need at least 5 years bottle age after being released before it becomes truly drinkable. With age, however, Brunello di Montalcino can blossom into a many-scented, deeply elegant and yet powerful wine of great distinction.

On Salvioni

Salvioni is a new-comer in Montalcino compared to storied producers like Biondi-Santi (1888) or Fattoria dei Barbi (the next oldest at around 1950). Founded in 1985, Salvioni has quickly catapulted into the upper echelons of Brunello di Montalcino, sharing pride of place with producers like Soldera. Owning 4ha of vines planted in the original Brunello di Montalcino zone (at the high-elevation vineyards near Biondi-Santi), Salvioni heavily restricts yields through considerable pruning but ultimately vinifies the wines very traditionally, using extended macerations and blends together 5 different clones. Only about 800 cases are produced and Salvioni makes no riserva bottling.

Choosing a good producer in Montalcino is essential. Since 1975, the number of producers has increased from 25 to 500. Plantings are at an all time high and many critics believe that the region is over-planted and many sub-standard sites are being made into wine that simply does not bear the hallmark quality for which Brunello di Montalcino has become known. The battle between modernists and traditionalists continues, with modernists winning short term scores and making rich up front fruity wines, but with traditionalists making more difficult to appreciate but much longer aging wines. Salvioni is generally seen as part of the traditionalist camp.

A Traditional Brunello

2003 was a hot year across Europe. It was difficult to make good wine in this year, particularly in warmer zones like Brunello di Montalcino. Salvioni’s high altitude vineyards, however, assisted greatly in producing a more elegant and balanced wines than most of his peers.

Still pouring very dark red despite its 8 years of age, this Brunello was all classic dried cherries, leather, sandalwood and flowers on the nose. The palate offered a powerful but tight acid structure and was ultimately still too tannic and not yet fully resolved.

It is always unfortunate to open such a prized bottle when too young, and that was certainly the case here though this Brunello had started to open and show its complexity after a few hours decanting. Licorice, roots and dried cherries – right now this is good but not great for the price and I expected a lot more. I believe this still needs 5+ years in the bottle, but it is also possible that 2003 will never shed its awkwardness even as it becomes less aggressive with age. I will open another in a few years to see.

Very Good+
$180 at Kits Wine

Filed Under: $60+, 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 Roriz Prazo de Roriz 2006

October 5, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

After a long hiatus, the Portuguese spotlight continues. I rarely review entry level wines, which is a shame given that simple wines often bring far greater pleasure and drinkability than their made-up counterparts, even when the underlying fruit isn’t quite as good. Palates can become fatigued with intense flavours or intensely intellectual wines. Drinkability is well underrated. The Prado de Roriz fills this niche of pleasure extremely well.

Such wines may not have the level of sophistication as the more expensive wines, but the best have a great simple charm that goes well with food and reflects regional style. With the Prazo de Roriz you will get fruity flavours, luscious texture and yet enough acid to keep the wine fresh and balanced. It also speaks of place, without being overly rustic or overly modern. This is Quinta de Roriz’ entry level wine from the Douro made with fruit sourced from the estate’s young vines between 5-10 years old, which give the wine its youthful exhuberance.

However, make no mistake that this is a ‘natural’ wine given its temperature controlled fermentations and innoculated yeasts. Nonetheless, stainless steel fermentation and high quality fruit selection successfully keep the wine both clean and speaking of place. I think the Prazo would do very well at the Thanksgiving table. This is unfortunately pretty comparatively overpriced in B.C. – it reportedly sells for $16 in Ontario. Given our market, however, I think this is worth the money.

A blend of 38% Touriga Nacional, 26% Tinta Barroca, 20% Tinta Roriz, 14% Touriga Franca, and 2% Tinto Cao.

Very Good
$29 at Everything Wine

Filed Under: $20-$30, Portuguese Dry Wine, Portuguese Wine, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cao, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacionale, Very Good

Spotlight on Portuguese Dry Wine: Quinta de Pancas Touriga Nacional Reserva 2008

September 25, 2011 By Shea 1 Comment

Much of the Portuguese wine we see in North American markets tend toward big, rich fruity red wines aged in considerable oak. The heaviness of oak often brings the already intense touriga nacional grape into viscous territory, which is never enjoyable to those who appreciate finesse and elegance. Of course, Protugal is far more than that, and this wine is a perfect example.

Down South

Grown in the Estremedura and not the Douro, you might expect the more southerly region to produce more alcoholic and fruitier wines than the north. This is, however, not the case as the region has a coastal climate, which moderates the temperatures, especially at night. Quinta de Pancas is one of the new breed of wineries from the Estremedura, which is actually a group of four regions which collectively produce the greatest quantity of wine in Portugal and traditionally were dominated by poor quality co-operatives. Pancas has been producing wine for centuries, but the quality has improved dramatically in the last 2 decades.

Refined Touriga Nacional

I like this wine. What upon initial opening is rich dark blue fruits, pretty heavy oaking and coffee becomes plum skins, blackberry and herbacious greenness with air. An enticing wine, which becomes even more so on the palate.

A perfect example of why most young wines need decanting, what was initially very oaky, tart, and mostly uninteresting blue fruit became one of the most interesting wines I’ve had from Portugal with a good hour in the open bottle. I’d call this a Portuguese wine for Loire and Burgundy people who can appreciate a wine with greater density. There is dirt, minerals, chalk and good acid here that make this 13.5% ABV wine quite refreshing and elegant.

There is also serious varietal character in this wine. If you are afraid of density and tannin then you shouldn’t be drinking Touriga Nacional. But it is not fair to write off this wine because of the inherent weight of the grape. In fact, I think this wine is more varietally true than many of the Touriga Nacional’s I’ve tasted in our market. And that makes it well worth seeking out.

VG+ to E (I think this will become superb with age)
~$40 at Everything Wine

Filed Under: $40-$60, Portuguese Dry Wine, Portuguese Wine, Touriga Nacionale, Very Good

Spotlight on Portuguese Dry Wine: Quinta do Crasto Vinha da Ponte 2003

August 30, 2011 By Shea 2 Comments

Probably the best represented of Portugal’s top wineries in British Columbia, Quinta do Crasto has been making wine for almost 400 years. It is now run by the Roquette family whose lineage and relationship with Quinta do Crasto reaches back to the beginning of the 20th century.

A Rare Single Vineyard Bottling

Crasto makes a wide range of table wine, from the cheap and easy drinking Flor de Crasto to single varietal bottlings of Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz to its two top bottlings of single vineyard wines: the Vinha Maria Teresa and this, the Vinha da Ponte. All the wine is grown and made in the Douro valley.

It is rare to find single vineyard table wines (and, for the most part, port) from Portugal. It is perhaps the youth of the high end table wine industry that has yet to discover all the possibilities of site and terroir. The Vinha da Ponte is an excellent example of how good single vineyard wine can be from the Douro.

French Structure, Portuguese Character

With vines nearing a century of age, the Vinha da Ponte vineyard is planted in schist soils with a field blend of 22 different grape varieties, which is likely what gives this wine its unique character. As is common in the steep Douro vineyards, the grapes are picked by hand.

An aristocratic, bordeaux-like nose offers cassis, sandalwood, and slate. This is a wine with great balance but also with the unique stamp of Touriga Nacional: firm tannin and a unique richly intense brambly dark berry fruit character. Delicious, lithely integrated oak gives the wine structure and poise and vinification gives it an easy, silky texture.

Thus, a wine with the structure of a French wine, but the flavour and density of a Portuguese wine. I thought it was the best I have yet tasted in this profile and, while it will likely improve with a couple more years, it is clearly within its prime drinking window.

Excellent to Excellent+
$133 at BCLDB

P.S. This is likely to be my last post in several weeks as I head off on vacation to France to visit the vineyards of Alsace and the Rhone.

Filed Under: $60+, Excellent, Portuguese Dry Wine, Portuguese Wine, Tinta Cao, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacionale

Spotlight on Portuguese Dry Wine: Quinta do Ameal Eschola Branco 2004

August 25, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

As I mentioned earlier in this spotlight, white wine of merit is somewhat of a rarity in Portugal. In particular, Vinho Verde (aka Minho), a wine region north of Oporto, is known to produce mostly quaffing whites with no real interest beyond a hot day and a low price. Quinta do Ameal, however, has taken upon itself to show how the indigenous variety Loureiro can actually make serious wine.

The Region

Vinho Verde is synonymous with high acidity, watery whites and fairly rustic reds. The region produces ⅙ of Portugal’s wines and accordingly has quite high yields. The climate is damp, with high malic acid and low natural grape sugar. The majority of white wines are actually made from Alvarinho (aka Albarino) but it can also be blended with other indigenous grapes including Loureiro.

The Grape

Loureiro is an aromatic grape usually used in blends, however it has naturally high acidity and low alcohol and thrives particularly well in the cooler parts of Minho. Often the yields are high with this grapes, but Ameal crops it at yields far lower than normal at 5 tons/hectare in order to release its savory aromas and deeper concentration of flavours and make it suitable for a 100% varietal wine.

Ameal does a 48 hour cold soak and ferments and ages in oak.

The Wine

This is intriguing wine that is well made and also quite delicious. It pours somewhat greenish but darker than normal for Vinho Verde. However, clearly this grape does not have a lot of colour. The nose proffers reasonably dense oak, but it also has intriguing aromas of bitter citrus rind, nuts and strange flowers/savory herbs.

The relatively high acid palate is both bright and savory: minerals, bitter citrus rind, and flowers again. An up front wine that combines both richness and fresh easy approachability so long as you are amenable to the unique flavour profile.

There is a bit of greenness here (underripeness is a perennial problem in Vinho Verde) but it is not offensive. Rather it adds interest and spark. Quite a fascinating wine and absolutely worth checking out. This is definitely wine geek wine, but with a broad appeal. Who’s ever had 100% Loureiro before?

12% ABV.

Very Good+
$41 at Everything Wine

Filed Under: $40-$60, Loureiro, Portuguese Dry Wine, Portuguese Wine, 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

Spotlight on Portuguese Dry Wine: Lemos & Van Zeller CV Curriculum Vitae 2005

August 12, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

Cristiano Van Zeller is one of the most famous names for dry wine in Portugal. Now owner of Quinta do Vale Donna Maria, he has had his stamp on a few top dry wine estates in the Douro, including Quinta do Roriz.

Certainly a bit of a whiz and one with a penchant for new projects, Van Zeller also seems to have a fairly new world bent with his wine making style. So he is both a good example of the modernization of Portugal but also of the divide between big ballsy New Worldy wines and wines with more subtlety and elegance, which are also possible in Portugal.

Portugal’s Grape

Touriga Nacional is amongst the absolute best quality grapes in Portugal for making red wine. Long used in port production, it is now seeing centre stage in numerous highly regarded dry reds. TN makes delicious full bodied wines but is also very aggressive, and in the worlds of Oz Clarke is “a grape of tremendous personality but with aggressive tendencies that is usually much better when softened by blending with something else”.

The wine has an expressive bordeaux-like nose, staying true to its similarity to Cabernet Sauvignon: blackberry, plum and plumskin, spices and a bit of leafyness.

This is fully fruity on the palate, very forward and is filled with big bright acid. I find this more like a very good California wine on the palate than anything old world, though the tannins manifest dustily on the palate. You can definitely taste a little stewy fruit here, and some alcohol and so I’d say this wine has less finesse than the Chrysea. Overall, it is still a bit harsh now with fairly overt oak and tannin and could clearly do with another 4-6 years of bottle age. In some ways the wine is a little unbalanced, especially for its price tag. Right now, while I respect the quality of this wine, it is unfortunately a pass for me based on QPR.

Summary

New World style but distinctly Portuguese grapes and flavours. A good wine for those who like em big. Personally I prefer the red wines from Portugal with more elegance – a hard thing to achieve in its climate.

Very Good+
~$100 at Everything Wine

Filed Under: $60+, Portuguese Dry Wine, Portuguese Wine, Touriga Nacionale, Very Good