If you have never had the pleasure of visiting Tawse winery in Vineland and more specifically, the cool serenity of their barrel rooms, then you still have some wine living to do.
Last month I was invited to work through the barrels once again with Pender, Norman Hardie, Redstone winemaker Rene Van Ede and the visiting Gautier Roussille of Tonnellerie de Mercurey. Hardie is instrumental in bringing the cooperage’s barrels to Ontario and Tawse employs them with coadjuvant good fortune. Pender gathered this group together to assess the sundry effects on his developing 2013’s, by tasting the wines out of particular barrels, from specific oak forests and with different levels of toast. Twenty-one or so passes of the thief later, the picture had been drawn. Every barrel tells a story.
Paul Pender, Gautier Roussile and Norm Hardie discuss a Mercurey barrel
Tawse makes use of wood from more than one cooperage so the comparisons of various barrels housing identical blocks of Chardonnay or Pinot Noir is a study in algebraic proportion. The reveal in such company is the real deal. What is abstruse to most lay palates is piously obvious to these major leaguers. When the going gets wooden, the wooden turn pro.
Stealing sips from a wine’s temporary wood house makes allowances to peer behind the scenes. The possibility exists to note the accentuating fruit effect of Eric Fourthon’s Okanagan-manufactured, 100% French oak from mineral forests ‘Céres’ barrels. There is the wine-tightening advance by another barrel from the Forêt de la Bertrange. To that antithesis there is the diametrically opposed impart of Tonnellerie de Mercurey’s CLL toasted oak. The precocious corollary of Billion’s Vosges or the curating texture of Jupilles. It’s all too fascinating. At the end of the day it’s about matching barrel to fruit, to fashioning better barrels, to make the best, most consistent wines, year after year.
When it comes to Chardonnay and choosing the forest from the trees, both Norm and Paul agree. Early picking and the right use of barrel leads to higher malolactic fermentation. Tastes from the Quarry Road Vineyard taught the most about barrel usage. The Quarry site was purchased by owner Moray Tawse from the holdings of Vineland Estates. “Best deal he ever made,” says Pender. All the early year’s bitterness is now mineral. “This is the County in Niagara,” he says.
Norm Hardie and Paul Pender in the Tawse Barrel Cellar
Here are very brief notes on 21 wines, quickly run through out of barrel, many of which were tasted twice. Once on January 10th and again on April 23rd. A 21-oak salute to the work of Master Coopers, Norm Hardie, Rene Van Ede and Paul Pender.
Quarry Road Chardonnay 2013, Mercurey (Neutral) Three year-old vines, density, tang, tropical melon in aroma and flavour.
Quarry Road Chardonnay 2013, Ceres (Mineral) This is very pretty, the most gem-like, the most like Burgundy. Will go to stainless on the lees in September for six more months before going into bottle. The purest expression from the best vineyard.
Quarry Road Chardonnay 2013, Mercurey (CLL toast) The wood tightens this wine up considerably, mainly on the finish. High citrus notes and even if it is splitting hairs, the oak really impacts the finish.
Quarry Road Chardonnay 2013, Mercurey (Large barrel, CLL toast) Reveals a fresher, more reductive, less oak feel.
Robyn’s Block Chardonnay 2013, Mercurey (One year-old, CLL toast) From the oldest (32 years) vines, the richest site, working best in tandem with new oak, here showing very primary, fermenting notes. A most restrained Robyn, reigned in.
Robyn’s Block Chardonnay 20123 Mercurey (New) Same old vines, increased tang and girth into which the barrel disappears. Sappy toast on the back end, quite young in its evolution. Rich, thick and the most density. Aromatically lime. Will function expertly as a foil to the Fourthon barrel in the final blend.
Robyn’s Block Chardonnay 2013, Céres (Mineral) Exclamatory fruit and this stage, this is the wine (barrel) to drink.
Lenko Chardonnay 2013, Céres (One year-old) From the oldest (1959) vineyard in Canada. Can handle the most oak. This is creamy, full and reminiscent of Robyn in 2008 and before. Anything but a lean style. Ain’t nothin’ but a house party. “Dig that crazy soul.”
Lenko Chardonnay 2013, Céres (Bertrange, new) Oak tightens up the wine, which has a tendency to be large, or blowsy. “I don’t like Chardonnay at two tons per acre,” notes Pender. “It’s too fat.”
Lenko Chardonnay 2013, Mercurey (New) More sappiness and the tightest yet. Showing the most oak but three to four months should settle its issues.
Huff (South Bay, Prince Edward County) Chardonnay 2013, Mercurey (Large CLL toast) The fat one, the tenor, with high lemon and lime notes. There is orange zest, lots of fruit and mineral, like licking a steel pipe. A citrus-bitter finish, the most yet, likely due to the very low (1/2 ton) per acre yield.
Huff (South Bay, Prince Edward County) Chardonnay 2013, Ceres (Mineral) Turns woody on County fruit. There’s a separation in this one and very ripe lemons and limes. “I almost think I should have picked this earlier.”
Pinot Noir Cherry Avenue 2013, Céres (Bertrange) More richness but still firm and quite tannic. More painted layers, cherries, toasty, the wood a bit green.
Pinot Noir Cherry Avenue 2013, Billion (Jupilles, medium toast) Has the most elegance yet the toast is still very apparent but there is more sweetness, in how the fruit reacts with the tannins. Here is that curation of texture.
Pinot Noir Cherry Avenue 2013, Billion (Toasted head barrel) Brings out the black cherry nose but the tannin is green and drying. “It will rally, ” says Van Ede.
Pinot Noir Tintern 2013, Billion (Vosges, medium toast) From only three year-old vines on a site Pender likens to “reclaiming the swamps,” or “the Golan Heights project.” The site is next door to John Howard and the wine is already showing colour, freshness and drive.
Pinot Noir Tintern 2013, Billion (Vosges, medium plus toast) A bit reductive, more tannin, more sappy wood.
Pinot Noir Quarry Road 2013, Billion (Old barrel) High limestone content means harder tannins. This is edgy and mean. Would work better with a lighter toast.
Pinot Noir Quarry Road 2013, Billion (Vosges, medium plus toast) Tarry, edgy, walking on the blade. The middle palate has more fill. “There’s a roughness in that vineyard,” explains Pender.
Pinot Noir Quarry Road 2013, Billion (Toasted head) Less edgy, rounder, fleshier, fresher. The gaps here are filled in.
Tawse winery is growing and gaining weight but just like its vineyards, the pursuit is wagered in natural and holistic ways. The Tawse effect distills a biodynamic appropinquation, in the acquisition of new vineyards, in the gathering of tonnage from Niagara and Prince Edward County growers, in the farming and production of estate grapes. I have been making regular visits to the Vineland, Ontario winery for the past three years. The natural, self-sustaining processes remain open, obvious, front and centre.
Chardonnay fruit might travel across the 401 and down the QEW from South Bay at Huff Estates. It may skip across King Street and skirt up Cherry Avenue from Daniel Lenko. It may come to early fruition from young Tintern Vineyard Pinot Noir vines out of the Vinemount Ridge. Whatever the source, the approach is simple. Let winemaker Paul Pender get his mind and his mitts on that fruit. Then let him work his magic. Seek biodiversity, soil fertility, crop nutrition, and chemical-free pest, weed and disease control. Fight the good fight against the harshest of winters with vines of deeper roots and stronger canes.
Paul Pender and Tawse Robyn’s Block Chardonnay 2008
The Tawse portfolio may now seem hyper-varied and even massive. Nothing and everything has changed. The lots remain small to manageable, the choice of varieties consistent and the wines, ever increasingly impressive. Whatever faults, idiosyncrasies or misunderstood characteristics there may have been in some older wines, they are no more. There are now purer and more vibrant aromas and flavours. Wait until you get a load of 2012 and 2013. Paul Pender’s acumen and winemaking professionalism has reached a whole new level of Rock ‘N Roll.
Paul Pender is a big picture guy. He is the Niagara renaissance man; songwriter, vocalist, lead guitar, producer and engineer. He’s Cuddy, Cripps and Chris Shreenan-Dyck rolled into one. Pender’s handling of growing, picking, fermenting, aging and bottling is nothing short of impossible and yet he does it with a conceit of ease. At last count I noted three Sparklings, three Rosé, two Dessert Wines, six Chardonnay, five Riesling, two Gewurztraminer, one Pinot Gris, one Sauvignon Blanc, six Pinot Noir, three Cabernet Franc, one Cabernet Sauvignon, one Merlot, one Cabernet-Merlot, one Meritage and one Gamay. Thirty-seven wines. One goal. Getting better all the time.
Tawse winemakers Rene Van Ede and Paul Pender
The winter and early spring of 2014 has found me cozying up to the wines of Tawse. On a frigid January evening on my way to Ice Wine Fest I spent time with winemaker Pender in the cellars, speed investigating my way through the barrels of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Not to mention Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling and even Sauvignon Blanc. I’ve tasted Tawse with Daniel Lafleur at Somewhereness, with Vinifera’sDaniel Beiles at Barque Smokehouse and at the winery’s portfolio tasting at The Spoke Club.
Tawse Spark Blend 2011 and Quarry Road Chardonnay 2008
Here are notes on 14 Tawse wines tasted from bottle in April and May 2014.
From the newest estate vineyard, the single-vineyard Limestone Ridge exteriorizes its name in a rubric of pressed rock, struck flint and chalky density. Paul Pender has coaxed a multiplicity of linear character, with major notes of lime zest and juice, persistent from start to finish. A mid-pause of oozing, residual sinensis is the determinant towards the wine’s matrix of longevity. A longer, leaner, meaner and mightier Riesling charged by a different sort of power. Kinetic, frenetic and electric. Tasted twice, April and May 2014
This introductory release is a blend of 65 per cent Chardonnay, 22 Pinot Noir and 13 Pinot Gris. A linear, straight shooting star, a sparkler that is so “surprising it goes so fast.” Bright, flashy, attention grabbing and fleeting. These are bubbles with a plan, anything but bad company and quite remarkable for the price. Lemon, lime and ginger strum in wound tension and the wine gets on top very quickly, then disappears into the starry night. Exhilarating while it lasts. Tasted April 2014
From fruit (east of Beamsville) next to Puddicombe, which is essentially Winona on the eastern edge of the Niagara Escarpment appellation. Some parcels of disparate Niagara fruit joins this inaugural effort, a rich, viscous and warming Chardonnay. Layered and expertly balanced, it carries the best of both the Quarry (mineral) and Robyn (approachable) worlds. The spicy accent gives the blend its singular personality. Tasted May 2014
Though it’s a blend of several sites, this Tawse Pinot stands alone and of itself as a grower; it grows on you after multiple tastings. The first go ’round seems simple, vintage warm and tight. Taste again and the sappy wood seeps mineral, the phenolic red cherry ripeness turns black and the tempering is led by a sweet earth kind. Earth that smoulders in a rising Zeppelin kept afloat by tobacco and the swirling spores of pungent mushroom. Pinot Noir truth and value from a Niagara house of the holy kind. “You know-whoa, that’s right.” Tasted twice, April and May 2014
Boasts classic flint and citrus Twenty Mile Bench aromatics. In 2012 it’s also lush, rich and so very pear and longan fruity. Whorls like a wind turbine blowing the polar aspects against each other’s walls. Forms a bridge and meets the twain, from atomic to tropic. High tang and flavour. Big yet classic Riesling. Tasted May 2014
This is the second Pinot Noir made from the Vinemount Ridge vineyard, a place where the rock can’t help but tyrannize the fruit. The 2010 Quarry Road gains positive proportion in that it is painted and coated by the ripeness of the vintage. Of a tougher mind and shell than the other Tawse Pinots, a bird on the wire just trying to be free. Not as easy to approach or love, it might plead “if I, if I have been unkind, I hope that you can just let it go by.” Sings in a wise, raspy and rusty way, despite the youthfulness of the vineyard, but it shines. So in the end “hey, why not ask for more?” Tasted May 2014
At this stage the 2008 Quarry Road is fully resolved, integrated and as soft as full malolactic Chardonnay can be. The unmistakable note of creamed corn lingers longer, as does the look on the winemaker’s face, but air brings it around. Returns to a fresh beginning, “from a year that might not have turned into anything,” admits Paul Pender. Now standing firm, the wine benefits six years on from clean, rotless fruit and pure, angular acidity, holding steady to the admirable finish. Tasted April 2014
The pinpoint accuracy and gemstone capture of the Quarry is exaggerated in ’11, amplified and fully plugged in. From my earlier, October 2013 note: “Carries that classic Paul Pender perfume; rocks and stones, flaxen, refulgent toast and the verdure Vinemount terroir. A free flying, linear, atmospheric smear of thermal fortitude and backbone. A polemic Bowie Chardonnay to make you believe “the strangest things, loving the alien.” From my earlier March 2012 (barrel tasting) note: “Resides on the mineral, slate and lime side of the tracks. The calcareous quality imparted by its eponymous SV terroir makes it the antithesis of David. Creamy, 24-karat fruit.” Last tasted May 2014
From the Vinemount Ridge sub-Appellation of the Niagara Peninsula, the Tawse Laidlaw Pinot 2010 is the least gregarious, the quiet sibling, the most feminine, the sleeper. Laidlaw may play hardest to get and is the least obvious when considering perfume but her palate is the sweetest of the line-up. Strawberry macerates sous-bois for an authentic Burgundian experience. Patient, focused and structured. Tasted May 2014
The speed and the steel have slowed to yellow caution and the now honey-toned flesh has added more weight. There’s just something about Daniel Lenko at this juncture. From my earlier (tasted three times) July 2013 note: “From wiser men who’ve been through it all” is the kind of one-off we should all wish to re-visit in 10 years time. The study: Daniel Lenko’s fruit in the hands of winemaker Paul Pender out of a most confounding vintage. That 2011 in terms of Ontario Chardonnay strikes and speaks to me in tongues is no secret, so the Tawse treatment fascinates in ways to make me giddy. Tension and elasticity are present here in super-hyper Beamsville Bench concentration. Apples pile upon apples, in magnetic purée and layered maceration. A full-on body attack and phenolic structure will see this Lenko to a future (five to seven years) in grace and gorgeous line. A Chardonnay to “scheme the schemes, face the face.” Last tasted April 2014
A year in bottle has elevated the perfume, concentrated the cherry flavour and placed a crown on its regal head. The sweet tannic quotient resonates from its very core. Showing great at this time. From my earlier April 2013 note: “From the Vinemount Ridge is dry and cut with spice, a favourite for winemaker Paul Pender. The sour acidity from fruit such as cranberry and pomegranate are here in deep, concentrated and naturally sweet tones. Niagara limestone casts a Burgundy mineral shadow and the wine is iron tough yet silky due to the warmth of the vintage.” Last tasted April and May 2014
The 2008 Robyn’s Block neither matches the roundness nor the tempering acidity of the Quarry but what it lacks in those areas it makes up for in critical mass and balance. The creamed corn effect is here, as are apples in ciderish activity, from a wine that “was on a starved diet,” says Paul Pender. Though currently a bit reductive and funky, it’s not gun-flinty reduction, like the “smell of a battlefield on the morning after a civil war fight.” Swirling brings out cane sugar to replace the creamy silage and the rest is history. Calm, quiet and approachable inactivity. Tasted April 2014
Cabernet Franc Van Bers Vineyard 2009, VQA Creek Shores, Ontario (355867, $49.95, WineAlign)
What a wonderful vintage for Creek Shores Cabernet Franc and what a difference a year makes. Ripeness, development, rich layering, absence of chalk. Extreme elegance and void of an overbearing currant and bell pepper greening. Tannins are toned and fit. From my earlier, April 2013 note: “From the Creek Shores Appellation is proof that a well-rounded grape has no point. The Van Bers is winemaker Paul Pender’s purlieu, edgy, outlying, unconcerned with the norm or the banal. Makes full use of a cool vintage with heart-stopping acidity and eye-popping verve but not without delivering Soul, in the form of flowers and a fruit basket to your doorstep. “It’s like thunder and lightning.” Capers, camphor and a knock on wood add R & B complexity.” Last tasted May 2014
From two acres of Pinot Noir planted in 2005 known as David’s Block within the Cherry Road Vineyard. A clash of hot and dry weather encouraged the young fruit to find ripeness, in flesh and in tannin. There is an elegance about this Cherry, in part no doubt to wine technique in acumen. The Paul Pender perfume, a combative interplay between cherries and earth, is here. “The in crowd say it’s cool” but it has yet to Rock the Casbah. Cherry 2010 is only offering a glimpse of greatness, so hold out for what will surely develop when the vines reach their next level of maturity. Tasted April 2014
From left: Jean Maurice Raffault Chinon Rosé 2013, Anselmann Edesheimer Rosengarten Siegerrebe Spätlese 2012, Delas Frères Les Launes Crozes Hermitage 2011, Tabalí Reserva Especial 2009, Flat Rock The Rusty Shed Chardonnay 2011, Quails’ Gate Merlot 2011
We’ve pleaded, we’ve begged. We’ve been down on hands and knees. We’ve asked for spring. It has finally (sort of) arrived. There is only one thing left to say. Let it wine.
Just in case you happen to live in Ontario and were not aware of the system’s system (or you’ve forgotten), here is a friendly primer and reminder. VINTAGES rolls out a new set of wines every two weeks. We (the wine media) taste them a month ahead and comment on their correctness. Sometimes we even admit which ones we really like.
More reviews than space here permits are available, along with other critics’ thoughts at WineAlign, the place to go for access to bi-weekly previews of critics’ release notes and their top recommendations for all VINTAGES new releases.
These wines are in stores now. They are just six of my recommendations from the May 10th, 2014 release.
Jean Maurice Raffault Chinon Rosé 2013, Ac, Loire, France (119693, $16.95, WineAlign)
There is a cautious though skilled reservation in this Rosé, the Cabernet Franc currant and peppery aromas a faint and subtle thought. Light and refreshing Chinon as dry as dry ice and built with tang and length. The late note is of slightly charred bell pepper. Excellent food versatile Rosé, even if it falls away quicker than should be. Tasted April 2014 @LeSommelierWine
A really fun wine. Siegerrebe is not meant to be contemplated by a panel of ancient philosophers with modern doctorates. In its most basic incarnation it is a sipper, a warm weather, sundowner tipple to quaff on its own or as an aromatic lifter in conjunction with fortifiers in a light, fizz-induced cocktail. This Spätlese (late harvest) later-picked variation offers a step up the beanstalk of residual sugar-laced complexity. At the price it begs to be tried. The fruit is both sweet and drying at the same time, like Moscato in a waxy, soapy, juicy fruit, bitter way. Tasted April 2014
Tabalí Reserva Especial 2009, Limarí Valley, Chile (107540, $22.95, WineAlign)
A mating of masculine, slow, open-grill smoked meat and cooking bacon aromas and a dehydrated Syrah lees, coarse pepper crust is tempered by feminine, cool eucalyptus and juniper accents. A big wine that is rounded and grounded by some Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Anxious, tight, modern and a real finisher. Tasted April 2014 @TabaliWines@oenophilia1
Delas Frères Les Launes Crozes Hermitage 2011, Ac, Rhône, France (701359, $22.95, WineAlign)
What a gorgeous flower and wet stones nose in this Syrah. So pretty and inviting. Tart, sweet berries, smooth and integrated fruit acid continuum, very sure and correct. A perennial righteous bottling, anything but excessive and a tremendous value is every way. Don’t be Delas to know. Tasted April 2014 @HHDImports_Wine
Flat Rock The Rusty Shed Chardonnay 2011, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, (1552, $24.95, WineAlign)
The Shed’s balance is best in ’11, the equation solved. A sweetness on the palate is buttery, the length languid, smooth and graceful. A very pretty Shed. A spirit in the night. “Stand right up and let it shoot right through you.” From my earlier February 2014 note: “Conspicuous by its texture from a mild to middling vintage “when you picked before or after the rain.” Though combined, the antechamber of acidity and good cheer trumps the mudroom of funk and doldrums. A Guns ‘n Roses vintage, a pull in two directions, with a potential for breakdown. “Ev’rything was roses when we held on to the guns.” A soft, buttery note tempers the tang and yet that tang lifts the fruit. The tension is what sets the ’11 up for a classic run. Last tasted April 2014
Quails’ Gate Merlot 2011, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (169961, $25.95, WineAlign)
From estate vineyards on the Boucherie Mountain bench, this is cool Merlot, from a cooler vintage, with cool climate anxiety. The conditions and the style wave a finger to promote some vineyard funk to speak, along with Merlot’s characteristic dust and powder. “A big red beacon,” as in berries and plums, earth and spice. Red all around. Smoky, still so young, with lots of acidity and tannin that will need five years to come together. Kneel down to show some appreciation for this quality Merlot. A bit of late bitter stringency but of no real matter. Tasted April 2014 @Quails_Gate
Leaning Post Wines was until very recently virtual and to the uninitiated, wholly abstract. The young Niagara Peninsula operation located at 1491 Highway 8, in Winona, Ontario is now the real deal, a bricks, barn board, mortar and hand fashioned nails winery. The risk taken and the effort put into establishing a winery in Winona is nothing short of heroic. LPW is the hands and knees, sweat and blood project of winemaker Ilya Senchuk and wife Nadia, Winnipeggers living the dream on the eastern edge of Niagara’s winegrowing Escarpment.
Grapes need the support of posts and wires, thus the name. With a couple of vintages under his actual Winona belt, new acreage planted and only a couple of years away from producing estate fruit, now is the time to lean on Ilya Senchuk for righteous Niagara wine. Senchuk is no Macbeth. His tasting room is no Dunsinane Castle. The alternative choices he has made are emphatic but not combative ones. He would not say, “Lay on, Macduff, and damned be him who first cries ‘Hold! enough!’” He’s confident his locale and his methods will lead to success. He believes in the microclimate and soil composition of the Winona flats tucked in like a pocket between the Escarpment and the Lake. Ilya has taken up the good fight. He is an antagonist and a hero in the Niagara play.
Winemaker Ilya Senchuk in the Leaning Post Barrel Room
Senchuk is part of a breed of young and risk-taking Niagara winemakers ready and willing to push the envelope. Ilya’s wines may not fall into a stylistic category defined and categorized by standard Niagara varietal or appellative descriptions. Some of his wines challenge the notion of what is considered a true representation of the Niagara Peninsula. Though he may run into VQA panel consternation on some future occasions, he will be a part of the evolution and reworking of its mandate towards the open-minded acceptance of modern, varietal expression. He believes in ripe fruit. He’s a strong proponent of terroir, even if it means redefining or pioneering new plots.
Leaning Post Tasting Room
The wines will offer a balance of Bench terroir, with its vigorous, heavy clay meets loam and the Winona landscape, where sandy soil is maculated by largish stones three to four feet down. This atop a bed of grey clay so the low vigor of the sandy soil will be offer up a flipside, a foil to the heavy clay of the Bench. The agglomeration should be more than interesting to follow.
On the occasion of the “eve eve” for two new Leaning Post releases, the 2013 Chardonnay ‘The Fifty’ and the 2013 Riesling, here are some notes on the wines I tasted two weeks ago at the Winona winery. Senchuk led me through the new releases, along with the comings along of his wines in barrel and in tank.
Leaning Post ‘The Fifty’ Chardonnay 2013 and Riesling 2013
The 2012 Chardonnay has now been in bottle four months, just enough settle time to grant access to its magnanimous 14.2 per cent alcohol frame. This from fruit that came in at 22.5 – 23.5 brix, or as winemaker Ilya Senchuk calls “the conversion rate of the century.” From a warm year that offered a sweet Smörgåsbord for the inoculated (as opposed to wild) yeast. Chewy, dense, catalytic toast with butter. Butterscotch flavour atop a waft of Crème Brûlée, the sugar in a feverish pitch to reach hardball. This is a really big wine, a confident expression, a national statement. Lean on this Chardonnay and let it lead because “everybody wants a sip of wine to drink, everybody wants a little more time to think.” Tasted April 2014
This is a barrel-fermented but not barrel-aged Chardonnay that borrows its name from the old town of Winona. From approximately 9-10 barrels of Foxcroft fruit racked off and thrown into tank. The aught omission of full Malolactic fermentation means a clean and jerk feel, though the wine’s lees perform the middle palate and textural duty. Bottled just eight days before sampling and yet eminently drinkable. “A wine to make friends” and make friends with. A soft and creamy sensation brings to mind Bordeaux Blanc, or more specifically Semillon’s contribution, but also the notion of Wismer Sauvignon Blanc. Make no mistake, it’s absolutely Chardonnay, in toto unique and still influenced by both the barrel and the vineyard. Tasted April 2014
Marks a return to the variety for Senchuk, with a dynamic and resounding charge. This barely resembles what may be pigeon-holed as Niagara Peninsula Riesling as it disses the lean, citrus pierce of the dry norm. Don’t panic, it’s not that different, but it does comment on “homes, places we’ve grown, all of us are done for.” From 18 year-old (south block) Foxcroft vines, 15.8 grams of residual sugar and 11.3 grams acidity. Bottled just eight days ago, this is a wine that was “left to develop on its own,” on it lees and with no stirring. “It’s not late harvest, it’s mature, with just enough sugar to make it palatable.” Makes a cold play for warmth, extract, viscosity and natural sweetness. Reaches for complexity beyond acidity, to places old and new, to Germany and to Niagara. Gotta citrus back, endgame palate. I can’t say with certainty that in time this vintage will push the sweetness to the background and develop leathery, gamey and earthy characters. I can say that given some more experience, Senchuk will develop the acumen to make it happen. “There’s nothing here to run from ’cause here, everybody here’s got somebody to lean on.” 200 cases made. Tasted April 2014
Gamay 2013 – Guiltless and virtuous straight out of stainless, the meaty side of Gamay game boldly goes where few from the Bench have gone before. Like a rare venison steak sitting in a silky pool of lavender-scented demi-glace. Floral like Fleurie and despite zero new oak, vanilla joins the gravy. A Senchuk steal of quality Wismer (McLeary…sort of) fruit sets this Gamay up for easy sell success.
Pinot Noir Mcnally 2012 – The vineyard made famous by Peninsula Ridge. In Ilya’s hands and from young vines higher in elevation there is spice-spiked orange, in clove, cardamom and also black cherry. A bigger style, akin to Central Otago (as per the Senchuk half-beat). Only two barrels (45 cases) will be made.
Syrah Keczan Vineyard 2012 – White pepper, smoked meat, game all in but still somehow delicate. Mediterranean sensation, in black olive and with some salinity. The least ripe and the most savoury of all the wines. Has got grit, tang, florality, hubris and verdigris.
A shout out to mom. The influence and unrequited love of a mother is age irrelevant. She is everything to her child, their rock, their wherewithal. Mothers are Kalon incarnate. They are what the Greek philosophers refer to as beauty that is more than skin deep. The idealistic representation of perfect grace in the physical and moral sense. Mom’s deserve more than they get but they rarely complain. If my mother were to be described in a wine tasting note, this would be it:
“From a vintage in which the mold must have been broken, 1938. Impossibly youthful and yet full of life, zest, verve and generosity. Classically styled, unselfish and seamless. Has aged with halcyon, linear precision, patience and the grace of an angel. Residing in an exceptionally calm and beautiful window. Will offer many more years of pleasure to be with.” May 2014
Doesn’t the mother in your life deserve a taste of something special, if not every day, at least this coming Sunday? Here are five legitimate wines, a vintage-dated Champagne and four most excellent whites, to open with Mom.
From left: Cave De Lugny La Carte Lieu Dit Single Vineyard Mâcon Lugny 2011
Cave De Lugny La Carte Lieu Dit Single Vineyard Mâcon Lugny 2011, Ac, Burgundy, France (365007, $19.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES April 26, 2014 release
A single-vineyard Mâconnais from a cooperative consisting of more than 250 wine-growing estates on 1,500 hectares in southern Burgundy. Subtle bits of buttery oak, wet stones and rubbed herbs give this elegant Chardonnay it’s well-priced lift. Affordable and attractive, it may be not be a candidate for wine of the year but its versatility is both food and people friendly. A prime example of what can be unearthed in the “lesser” nooks of the royal region. Tasted April 2014
Ant Moore Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2012, Marlborough, New Zealand (Agent, $20.95, WineAlign) From a tasting with Mark Cuff, The Living Vine wine agency
Certainly on the early savoury side, with that not unfamiliar note of capsicum, namely Cayenne and a conspicuously low bite of sulphur. The rock rolls down the lane in low and slow motion then gains speed just before it strikes. The initial herbiage comes by way of lemon balm but the developing, maudlin steely zest and acids by a count of a “thousand, yes bones or clams or whatever you call them,” take over. Wild in yeast, this Moore, wild in ferment, wild in attitude. Tasted April 2014 @TheLivingVine
Pascal Bouchard Montmains Vieilles Vignes Chablis 1er Cru 2011, Ac, Burgundy, France (374181, $37.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES April 26, 2014 release
The right kind of gangling Chablis allows the flinty, struck stone character to get up top. The Montmains vineyards elicit that uncanny ability so long as the producer keeps the handling to a minimum. Case in point Bouchard’s old vines ’11. Green apple skin and tart flesh lash out and so in a way this is acting very cool climate. As it moves along, there is a noticeable increased limestone effect. Clean, cool, balanced and delicious Chablis. Exceptional length from a fine vineyard. Linear and direct. Really long. Contains sulphites and fish. Tasted April 2014
Grgich Hills Estate Chardonnay 2011, Napa Valley, California, USA (Agent, $60.95) From the California Wine Fair, Fairmount Royal York Hotel
A mineral-driven vintage for one of Napa Valley’s most consistently complex values. A reputation cemented and bronzed, in hue, blueprint, essence and agalloch. Level wooded and smooth though short of the abundant stretched acidity that characterized the ’09 and ’10. Seems to emit a Chablis like leesy funk for texture in lieu of that acidity. There is a quick tension, on the convivial side of anxious, that submits to blithe elegance. Calmer and yet still cooler than most. Tasted March 2014 @GrgichHills@rogcowines
Marguet Père & Fils Grand Cru Ambonnay Vintage Brut Champagne 2006, Champagne, France (68791, $65.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES April 26, 2014 release
A graceful, slow evolution characterizes this cat of a Champagne from Ambonnay, a coveted terroir with vineyards classified as Grand Cru since 1935. Offers a pensive appreciation for the idealism of youthful Champagne. Lemon meringue, faint but fresh herbs and the provocative agent of a yeast starter stand out as prominent aromas. Lively, still primary, fresh, amplified and just now ready to begin secondary life. Ask this balanced, even steven Ambonnay, “oh very young, what will you leave us this time. You’re only dancin’ on this earth for a short while.” It might answer with maturity and in a teaching moment, “many years of enjoyment, for now and 10-15 more.” Tasted April 2014 @ProfileWineGrp@BenoitMARGUET
Decanted Château Margaux 1989, The National Club, Toronto, May 1, 2014 PHOTO: Michael Godel
The wines of Château Margaux need no introduction. First Growth Bordeaux. One of the most famous brands in the world. Iconic and beyond mortal means, especially in the greatest vintages; 1953, 1961, 1982, 1989, 1996, 2000, 2009. So why is Paul Pontallier on the road to promotion? Do the wines not automatically sell themselves?
The answer is both yes, and no. Château Margaux annually produces 130,00o bottles of its Grand Vin. The 2009 is listed at nearly $1,800 in Ontario. They will sell through, if not this year, certainly eventually and inclusive of the calculated, incremental cost of inflation. The more pressing incendiary matter is a concern of distributive demand. Chinese and other south Asian markets have spent the better part of the last decade scooping up First Growths by the palette load. Mr. Pontallier clearly understands if you can’t see the forest for the trees, you risk losing touch with how you arrived here in the first place. Château Margaux needs to reconnect with North America.
Paul Pontallier is the Managing Director of Château Margaux. He joined the team of Corinne Mentzelopoulos in 1983. Along with Aurélien Valance, Senior VP Commercial Director, the most distinguished of Margaux houses came to Toronto’s The National Club at the facilitating invitation of wine agent Noble Estates on Thursday May 1, 2014. A 10:00 am start. Château Margaux for breakfast. “Probably the best time to taste wine,” quips Pontallier.
Chateau Margaux Tasting
At the estate’s crux is the significance of territory. The wines are “not just a marketing ploy,” asseverates Pontallier, “they are based on the insistence of the terroir.” There exists a significant heterogeneity between the plots. “We try to protect them as much as possible. We can’t expand.” There is a sense of frustration in the director’s voice. “Château Margaux hasn’t changed since the late 17th century.”
Then there is savoir-faire. “Even three or 400 years isn’t a lot of experience. There is only one possibility, one harvest each year, for experimentation. But, the asset, the depth of experience is as important as the terroir.” Does the excellence of top Bordeaux require genius? No, contends Pontallier. He speaks of hard work, respect for history and the constant need to change, not just for its own sake, but to doubt what’s come before and to improve every gesture. Organic, though it won’t ever be noted on the label, is the end result of many years of research and development. “Our tradition in not a closed one. We are open to what science can bring us.”
On change? “How can we pretend that our tastes do not change. Language, accents, words, everything changes.” Though the accusation is of a response to market demand, the Margaux position is one that insists that it is about a natural evolution, not a response to consumer demand. Change is inevitable. “It would risk not reaching excellence. It would write off the wonderful experience we have inherited. We can adapt, we can play, within reason.”
On the 2013 (challenging) vintage from which weather during flowering affected the quantity. A wonderfully dry, hot summer gave way to damp and wet weather at the end of September. Perfect conditions were set up for rot (botrytis) to develop. Margaux rushed to pick five to six days earlier than usual. “In these conditions, the exceptionality of terroir was so important.” The conclusion? “Less complexity, less depth, less quality. In Bordeaux as a whole, the lesser terroirs were affected by the situation.” According to Pontallier the result of the mediocre conditions did not result in mediocre wines because of the technical progress achieved over the last 25-30 years.
Pontallier is a pragmatist, a funny thing to say considering the domain he oversees. “It’s not always the most impressive wines that are the most pleasurable to drink,” he admits. “Burgundy has a wonderful balance.” His thoughts on the primeur system? “It has always been efficient for some, or just a few wines. If you can find wines a few years later on the market at the same price, it doesn’t make sense.” Here are notes on the fives wines poured.
From left: Pavillon Blanc Du Château Margaux 2011, Pavillon Rouge 2004, Pavillon Rouge 2009, Château Margaux 1999, Château Margaux 1989
Pavillon Blanc Du Château Margaux 2011, Ac Bordeaux, France (374579, $142.40, WineAlign)
Extreme temperatures in June sent signals to convince the grapes to begin ripening in mid July. Though harvest would be the earliest since 1893, vintage imbalance was averted by cooler summer temperatures. A limited production, 100 per cent Sauvignon Blanc with 300 years of experience in its blood. Once known as Vin Blanc de Sauvignon, the Pavillon earned its modern era moniker in 1920. From a single block that was abandoned near the turn of the century because it was sensitive to frost. Re-discovered and re-planted in the 1970’s and 80’s, the plot is a haven for aromatic protection and preservation. Today’s Pavillon is made from only one-third of the estate’s Sauvignon Blanc production, the rest secretly sold off in bulk. The ’11 saw eight months in barrel, 25 per cent new oak. Sparks with intense minerality and creamy corpulence contained within an acidity enclosure. Feigns early advancement though not near ready to burst and bust open, with the sense that terroir will trump variety. A slow release of ripe fruit will be measured in decades. Tremendous concentration, density and depth. Has Sauvignon Blanc ever ingratiated itself with such poise? Will begin to open in two to three years and ripple in waves for 20-25 more.
Pavillon Rouge 2009, Ac Margaux, 2nd Wine Of Château Margaux, Bordeaux, France ($132.45, WineAlign)
From a wine that “used to be a tool,” comments Paul Pontallier to a “second wine” out of an incredible vintage “at least as good, or better than the four previous vintages of the first wine.” Them are fighting words and no sooner are they more truthfully spoken then over a swirling glass of the wine that has improved the most at Château Margaux. The Pavillon Rouge ’09 is indeed the best in modern times, in part due to immaculate selection and because it makes up just one-third of the total red grape production at Margaux. In the 1980’s it was the opposite but with a third wine now pushed to the European and Japanese restaurant market beginning in this vintage, Pavillon is now a grand brand, in a connected and assiduous way as never before. There are 100 lesser ’09 Bordeaux that fail to assimilate the wood and the crush of density, not to mention the tannin and Expressionist brushstroke. Pavillon manages a suppression of the admiral elements, including the scientific ones. The fruit is deeper, riper, with more brooding levels of pectin and anthocyanin. An earthy funk makes a late appearance on a finish of extended length to indicate where this Pavillon will range, forward 25-30 years and back to a 1989 type of history.
Pavillon Rouge 2004, Ac Margaux, 2nd Wine Of Château Margaux, Bordeaux, France ($119.50, WineAlign)
The Pavillon 2004 was and remains a “second wine,” insomuch that it predates the greatness of the modern Pavillon and because it finds itself sandwiched between two magnanimous harvests, 2003 and 2005. “We accept the fatalism of lesser vintages,” admits Mr. Pontallier, “selection is key to success.” The goal is to always make a good wine so it was necessary the Pavillon ’04 set out to benefit from “extreme” berry selection. Spent 18 months in 50 per cent new oak. Persistently young and overwhelmingly perfumed, in violet, tobacco and strawberry so ripe yet still must fight for aromatic airspace with dewy earth. Soft, velvety tannins envelop the Margaux notion of restraint and elegance. The ’04 has found success, despite the conditions, something that could not be said of the Château’s wines made 25-30 years ago. Drinking well now and will continue to do so for five to 10 more years.
Château Margaux 1999
Château Margaux 1999, Ac Margaux, Bordeaux, France (BCLDB 187799 $1,000.00, WineAlign)
The 1999 Château Margaux is a timeless wine. Tasted alongside the notorious 1989, its inhibitions are forced on display. Though repressed by the diluting effects of late September heavy rain, the 1999 may be subtle and modest, lack any discernible funk, but by no means is it soft. Wondrous aromatically like a hanging garden, with roses everywhere. “This is the perfume of Château Margaux,” notes Paul Pontallier. A difficult wine to describe. Its complexity, warmth and perfumed character define Margaux. Not as dense as the ’89, from grapes that benefitted from maturation conditions, from perfectly ripe if slightly diluted fruit. The proportions and shape (12.5 per cent alcohol by volume) are perfect and exacting but on a smaller scale. Smooth and resolved at a young 15 year-old, teenage age. The tenuous tranquility can be a point of deception. Beneath the lace there is body and hidden depth to give it 15 to 25 more years of growth. “Fall fall fall fall, into the walls. Jump jump out of time.” Though not the beast that is the ’89, this ’99 is a suffused bottle of remarkable concentration, of luxe, calmeet volupté. A wine to help cure what ails.
Château Margaux 1989
Château Margaux 1989, Ac Bordeaux, France (176057, $1,645.00, WineAlign)
The 1989 Château Margaux wears the response to a mondo Bordeaux axiom on its sleeve. Are First Growth wines made for people who want darts of instant pleasure?” Twenty years earlier and now like the 2009, here is a quintessential and exemplary vintage, from day one of bud break to the last day of harvest. Its appraisal as anything but incredible is to assassinate it as if it were the Franz Ferdinand of Bordeaux. The examination 25 years later sees a mellow funk meet a peerless and sublime perfume. A wine cast in utmost density, complexity and length. It noses strength, warmth verging on heat but only for a fleeting moment, to gain attention. The iconic wine has reached the first major peak, up a ways from base camp. In this second phase of young adulthood it looks with conceit to the top of the mountain, seeing 25 to 50 more years on the climb. Mr. Pontallier regrets he won’t be around to taste this wine at full maturity. Moi aussi. The fruit lingers in its full, original state, from the moment it passes lips and for minutes onward. Violets trump roses. Château Margaux 1989 is from a vintage that offers the blessing of ethereal balance. Hear her sing, “Ich heisse Superfantastisch!”
‘Tis the season to partake of two things denied opportunity the rest of the calendar year. Wild leeks and Austrian wine. The first is just a seasonal thing. The second, entirely my fault. The forest and my backyard provide the ramps. Two most excellent wine agents, Bernard Stramswasser of Le Sommelier and Mark Cuff of The Living Vine are the messianic purveyors of the wine.
Mark came to Barque Smokehouse last month to share his wares, talk organics, biodynamics and to teach a staff what honest wine is all about. More on that extensive tasting coming soon. Bernard brought top estates from Austria with Andreas Wickhoff, MW to Toronto’s Fine Wine Reserve on April 16th, 2014 for a special portfolio tasting. The Master of Wine is deeply passionate and terroir obsessed when it comes to the Austrian landscape. The presented set of whites and reds rose up to incline an exemplary ramp to the nature of that country’s fine wine tradition.
The whites, mainly centered around the signature variety Grüner Veltliner, showed the mineral and salinity so necessary to the grape’s success. Reds made from Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch are Austria’s trump card, ready and willing to take on the world’s reds imbued of elegance and finesse. Here are notes on the 12 Austrian wines tasted.
Meinklang is a passionate, biodynamic (Demeter farming) producer in eastern Austria, south of Vienna. Their practices include abstaining from the pruning of vines, called “graupert” and maturation in concrete egg-shaped containers. The vineyard is their biotope and they make compost from animal dung, pomace, plant cuttings and ground quartz. Their entry-level Grüner is so mineral dominant and saline it’s as if the stones are bleeding. Extreme tang, with that salinity that never lets go and so much lime. Then makes quick work of itself.
Weingut Loimer, Grüner Vetliner ‘Lois’ 2013, Niederösterreich, Austria ($18.95, WineAlign)
From Niederösterreich in the Kamptal region, from soil compositions of bedrock and loess, this is straightforward Grüner Vetliner made in 200,000 bottle loads. That it succeeds in spite of the quantity and the work with contract growers is a testament to Fred Loimer’s sense of quality control. A bit shy aromatically but really tangy on the palate. Clear, crisp, clean and appreciably pure. Lithe in body and with some salinity on the back-end. Versatile mingler.
Sattlerhof Sauvignon Blanc Vom Sand 2013, Südsteiermark, Austria ($19.95, WineAlign)
This is bewusst territory for the Südsteiermark producer, from organically farmed vineyards. An elegant Southern Styrian Sauvignon Blanc made from grapes previously destined to get lost with other traditional varieties. Most striking is the salinity on the nose, often abstruse for Sauvignon Blanc but most obviously explained by the land; sand, gravel and shell limestone. Estimable restraint in the whispered aromas of herbs, green vegetable and tangy tree fruit. Dewy finish that lasts well into the morning.
Wieninger Gemischter Satz 2013, Vienna, Kamptal, Austria ($20.95, WineAlign)
Though Grüner Veltliner, Weissburgunder, Welschriesling and Chardonnay make up most of the formidable aspects of this blend from the Vienna Hills, there are bit but integral parts played by 11 others. From bio-certified Bisamberg and Nussberg vineyard sites, this is antithetically seamless, the varieties drawing all possible logical relations woven by their finite collection. Approachable, gritless, effortless, integrated and bound together by a solid core of juicy acidity. Even if only because it agglomerates 15 grapes, this beats white Châteauneuf-du-Pape (by at least six varieties) at its own game.
Nigl Gartling Grüner Veltliner 2012, Kremstal, Austria ($21.95, WineAlign)
The locus point of Nigl’s single vineyard Grüner Veltliner is sharp and stinging in 2012. Although that chemically reactive laser pinning takes control, it is extremely refreshing to not have to talk about flat and flabby fruit. Mind you the fruit here is under stress so balance needs to be questioned. Ultimately there is a palpable sense of grapefruit, flowers and a finish marked by the scraping of stones.
Increased hang time has put this Kamptal in a deeper state of focus and understanding concerning the intricacies of Langenlois Grüner Veltliner. Continues the pure, clean and crisp axiom of the basic Lois but here the aromatics are spoken in acroamatic terms, obvious to disciples and yet available for all to comprehend. Though five per cent big wood barrel aging does not seem significant, that practice along with four months of aging on the fine lees has had a textural impact. The added weight is a questionable thing, though arguably just splitting hairs. Will help carry this vintage through five to seven years of graceful settling.
Dirty Ramps
Weingut Heinrich Pinot Noir Dorflagen 2013 (Tank Sample), Burgenland, Austria ($24.95)
From two sites in Gols, one being the gravelly Riede Goldberg on the Parndorf Plateau, the other a sand and loam slope of the Salzburg. Short-ish ferment in large-ish barrels. Marked by bright cherry of the upstanding young fruit kind and only a brushstroke of paint. Very linear in that a Rube-Goldberg Pinot machining ensues, as the dominoes fall into each other. One action creates another, mostly due to a fine-grained chain of tannin. As delicate and approachable as Pinot Noir ever was from this far east.
Weingut Heinrich Blaufränkisch 2012, Burgenland, Austria ($24.95, WineAlign)
From a combination of vineyards on both the eastern and western sides of steppe Lake Neusiedl, situated between the easternmost parts of the Alps and the western part of the Small Hungarian Plain. A Blaufränkisch with so much geological and climatic history behind it, with Alpine, Pannonic, Asian, Mediterranean, and Nordic influences. The inclination is to express this unique, later ripening red with terms of bright endearment but it’s much more serious than that. Deeper, earthier and entrenched in the limestone and slate vineyards on Burgenland’s Leithaberg slopes of the Parndorf Plateau. The terroir amplifies and cloaks the fathomage of what is ostensibly tangy, effulgent fruit. More tannin than one would expect, this is a complex organism from a variegated landscape.
Heinrich Zweigelt 2012, Burgenland, Austria ($24.95, WineAlign)
Though 2011 was the best vintage of the last three and Blaufränkisch is the estate’s signature red, this 2012 is a real charmer. The vines for this Zweigelt lay lower, on the flats east of the alpine, steppe lake. They benefit from gravel Heideboden soils and from a nurturing microclimate. The aromatic profile is of spice and dried fruit; licorice, tar, carob and even more specifically, Bokser. All the right pods. Hydrates to sweet cherry fruit and begs for slow-cooked, smoky protein.
From the Loiben basin where eroding, rocky Danube sands mix with gravel to produce lacey and textured Grüner Veltliner. This Federspiel (classified as wines between 11.5–12.5 per cent with a minimum must-weight of 17 degrees) shows more richness, viscosity and body than many with a pronounced spicy edge on top of the highly floral citrus zest. It gives the strange sensation of chewing spicy gum. A Grüner of good temperament beseeching the imbiber to have more than just one taste.
Loimer’s Terrassen is a Kamptal four vineyard Premier Cru (“Erste Lage”) schmear that is fermented in big wood barrels. The increased weight and body is helped along by extended time on the lees. The ligneous weave is underscored by wood spice and a waft of buff, calcareous Aeolian sediment. The character is as if this Langenlois is scenting a barrel ferment aura in a Chardonnay vein. Classic Grüner Veltliner that is all about texture. Will last for 10 or more years without shedding its baby fat.
Loimer Spiegel Grüner Veltliner 2012, Kamptal, Austria (agent, $64.95, WineAlign)
A site-specific Grüner Veltliner from the Speigel “Erste Lage” vineyard site, this is exemplary and definitive stuff. The 2012 vintage saw a two-day (May 16 and 17) frost that meant a 30 per cent loss in fruit. Not all vintages are profitable but ’12 is showing what top quality wines it was able to produce. A 12-month lay in Acacia barrels, natural vineyard yeasts and five months of aging on the fine lees have conspired for a climb to great Grüner heights. Blooming flowers, mellifluous honey and the freshest, most natural acidity abounds, elevating the aromatics and the buoyant flavours of just picked and bitten into apples. Tremendously wise and elegant wine.
History may one day remember them as the group of twelve, or perhaps, “The Ontario School.” They are the 12 wineries who have banded together to ensconce a strange but beautiful word on the tongue, in the dictionary and out in the world. Somewhereness.
They are purveyors of the land from which their grapes grow and ferment into wine. Facilitators of terroir, working a canvas forged by millions of years of geological and climatic evolution. Their assembly is based on both exigency and on Moira; destiny, share, fate.
Like that other famous group, “collectively they agree.” Ontario’s cool-climate wine regions need to qualify and certify a distinctive winemaking style. In juxtaposition to old world, European tradition, the intensity of Somewhereness needs to reflect an increasingly Ontario-centric partiality.
These are the members. 13th Street, Bachelder, Cave Spring, Flat Rock, Hidden Bench, Hinterland, Malivoire, Charles Baker, Norman Hardie, Southbrook, Stratus and Tawse. Matt Kramer of Wine Spectator used the term and now it defines an enterprise. “As a group of 12 wineries growing small lots of site-specific vines in Ontario’s ancient glacial soils, we’ve invoked Somewhereness as a word enabling us to articulate in one collective voice.”
How do you get to Somewhereness? As related to wine that is like asking, Who am I? Why do we exist? What is the meaning of life? The Somewhereness movement, the notion, comes to light through this statement. “Somewhereness is revealed in the mysterious time capsules we know as bottles of wine. As ethereal gifts of a carefully tended location and a moment in time, each is imprinted with a vineyard’s sense of place,
its soil, climate, seasons, vintage variations — and its maker’s methods.”
In 2013 I wrote about Somewhereness over the Canadian wine rainbow. “Above all else, the rainbow’s fulcrum is the “somewhereness” of Canada’s wine regions. Terroir is the great catch word for wine. A vine’s home determines its potential, its structure, its sense of place. Micro-climates, soil, geology, altitude, slope and vegetation all contribute to the make-up of a wine forged from that specific parcel, lot or locale.”
In Come together, over wine I continued the discussion. “Intensity is in the air. The artists are at work, blessed with a geographical, geological and climatic canvas unique to the planet. They share arts and letters, compare and contrast methods, style and results. The sense of community is palpable, obvious and quite frankly awesome. They are Ontario winemakers and they are coming together. Right now.”
At the end of last year my column 13 Canadian wines that rocked in 2013 reviewed what Canadian winemakers do best. “That is producing unique, cutting edge and brilliant takes on cool climate grapes. They also match beautifully with the songs referenced in their tasting notes. When the wines are assessed and considered in part or as a whole, who would dare to say there are no great wines being produced?”
On Wednesday April 9th, Somewhereness brought the band to St. James Cathedral for a full-on tasting that is rapidly being recognized as a must not miss Ontario event. Here are notes on some of the wines I sampled.
From left to right: Malivoire M2 Small Lot Gamay 2012, Flat Rock Nadja’s Vineyard Riesling 2012, 13th Street Sandstone Old Vines Gamay Noir 2012, Southbrook Whimsy! Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Tawse Laundry Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2011, Charles Baker Picone Vineyard Riesling 2008 and Norman Hardie County Unfiltered Pinot Noir 2012
13th Street Pinot Gris 2012, VQA Creek Shores, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Winery, $19.95, WineAlign)
Here you have an honest, 100 per cent stainless steel treated Pinot Gris from an estate vineyard located adjacent the market on Fourth Avenue in the Creek Shores appellation. So very dry and really fine fruit, crisp, neoteric, rising and falling in waves of tempered acidity. Made in a comfortable, country-twanged, folk-rock style, like a Cowboy Junkie. Juicy, mouth-watering work and very easy to fall for. An angel mine, this 13th Street, “and I know that your skin is as warm and as real as that smile in your eyes.” This effort by Jean-Pierre Colas is as good as it gets, a tally for Creek Shores and its kinship with the variety.
Malivoire M2 Small Lot Gamay 2012, VQA Niagara Escarpment, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Winery, $19.95, WineAlign)
A six-month lay in French oak for 60 per cent of the Gamay fruit sourced exclusively from Malivoire’s Beamsville Bench estate vineyard is just what the go doctor ordered. Only Malivoire’s Gamay smells specifically like this; of tart and savoury capers, of small, earthy gemstones, of peppery currants, of meaty braising Bouille. A striking wine from a fortuitous Gamay vintage and great value that puts me in mind of how special the Courtney will be. Though the soils may differ, proximity wise they are close cousins.
Just add three months and witness a new evolution, a density, from a honeyed thing. Entering a pre-adolescence with a new bounce in its step. From my earlier, January 2014 note: “A champion cyclone of forces combined to elevate the already incumbent position of this Twenty Mile Bench Riesling. An ideal growing season magnified transmission upon a paradigmatic two and a half-acre block. This southern-most and highest altitude section of Flat Rock’s vineyard rests aboard a solid bed of limestone and wake me up if that rock was not drawn up into the vines in this stellar Riesling vintage. Sure its warm and nearly off-dry but such an effortless squeeze of lemon hydrates and elevates orchard fruit and honey out of the year of the lemon. After each sip its “every time you kiss me, lemon crush.” Love this prince of a Twenty Mile white in 2012, the dynamism smiling on the tart, succulent fruit. The length is one of outright bravado. This will develop for 20 years, of that I am convinced. There is just so much fruit. A Nadja for the ages.”
Part Beamsville Bench (70 per cent), part Twenty Mile Bench (30), this best of both worlds Pinot is full of calcium magnesium carbonate, Jurassic bark. Playful as opposed to angry, this is not so much Snoop Dogg’s Dolomite but more like an animated Futurama. Seduces with a sweet red berry entry and bound by a really fine acid/tannin/fruit balance. Admittedly not overly complex but for the price it shows good structure. As far as Pinot goes, this one is a made for beef or rack of veal.
The most versatile fizz in the Hinterland portfolio, what winemaker Jonas Newman refers to as his “chameleon.” As aromatically floral as this Charmat method bubbles (secondary fermentation in tank) ever gets, the ’13 brings out the garden under the mist of a sprinkler, late on a summer evening. It’s not so much about fruit as it is about texture, pollen and wet rocks. Try it at Barque.
This binary vineyard symbiosis will be bottled as the Niagara Pinot. Just filtered a few days ago it strides out with the utmost confidence in swagger, with a purity of fruit is spite of Thomas’ shock, awe and reductive apology. A bright sway of terroir gives rapture to a peaking raspberry bush imagined forward into a cooled pie. A renewed elegance abides with an absence of humidity and with a fully ameliorated knowing that a fleshing will happen. Really fine.
Gamay may be winemaker Shiraz Mottiar’s decisive resource but Chardonnay is his thing. The Moira’s ranks as one of Niagara’s best, vintage in, vintage out and this Mottiar, from the winemaker’s home vineyard is the trump card. This Malivoire special agent is set in 2 – 5 year old 300 L French oak hogsheads and aged on the lees in barrel for 10 months. The result? Texture. With the use, or lack thereof in new oak, Mottiar’s Chardonnay becomes a study in compages, with strong abilities and the accents of green orchard fruit and a faint sensation of blanched nut. Nothing toasty mind you because it’s all about density and girth; a Shiraz thing. I find his Chardonnay is all about texture.
13th Street Sandstone Old Vines Gamay Noir 2012, VQA Four Mile Creek, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (130195, $29.95, WineAlign)
If roses were stones they would produce an aroma that only 13th Street’s Sandstone Gamay would recall. Some previous vintages have pushed the boundary to sky-high excess and a subterranean ferrous burrowing but in 2012 the perfume is both grounded and ethereal. The sandy tuff rock is so in that glass, like the smell of a rugged beach, mist and salinity spraying and rising off the rocks. The ’12 now knows “I don’t have to sell my soul.” Wholly singular Gamay and with hopes it will always be this going forward. Where as before it said “I want to be adored,” it now confirms “you adore me.”
Tawse Laundry Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2011, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (130997, $34.95, WineAlign)
A lean Laundry with as much finesse as winemaker Paul Pender has ever shown in his poignant Cabernet Franc realm. When a vintage deals you calm and scale you sit back and relax. The Lincoln Lakeshore advancing in years vines bring yet unseen front end red berry, licorice and red currant softness in 2011. There is elegance but also a refusal to yield its back-end bite. A level of enveloping grain and chalk is unique to this bottle and should be seen as a very good effort with the possibility ahead for movement and a gaining of flesh. A graceful, gently pressed Laundry.
Southbrook Whimsy! Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, VQA Niagara On The Lake, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (260281, $34.95, WineAlign)
A 100 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon whose barrel aging specs are integral to discussing its unfolding. This Whimsy is a seven barrel (172 case) lot of which 86 per cent was aged for 13 months in (71 per cent) French oak. Plain and simple, a wood-heavy decision that has provided allied excellence five years after that demanding vintage. The agglomeration is one of steroidal currants, rocket red berries and an assiduous savoury edge. Just now are the beginnings of a caramel oozing from out of the centre of a dark chocolate house. Really quite an amazing, rich cake example from the vintage. Showing so right and so strong now, in its territory and wheelhouse.
Norman Hardie County Unfiltered Pinot Noir 2012, VQA Prince Edward County, Ontario (125310, $35.20, WineAlign)
Hardie’s 2012 County Pinot Noir is a beacon, a flashing light on the shore, an invitation to copycats because this is what making red wine from limestone foundations is all about. To taste this ’12 is to experience Hardie’s purest berry maceration and distillation to date. It’s as if there was no alcohol present and in fact, at 11.5 per cent it is a modest and transparent pronouncement. Longevity may not bless the ’12 as in other vintages but this is certainly the most groomed and coiffed County Pinot Noir.
Tasted at Somewhereness 2014 as part of a vertical retrospective going back to 2007. The Vinemount Ridge’s now famous Picone Vineyard is set within a 10-acre estate on the Niagara Escarpment. Planted to the Weis 21 clone, the Riesling grown here digs in for complexity from sectional moieties of clay and sandy soil atop a unique base of limestone bedrock. Charles Baker began working with these grapes in 2005 and it is this 2008 where the learning curve took a turn for the Riesling stratosphere. The ’06 found luck in the stars but this vintage lays the framework and foundation for a master plan. At this stage in the ’08 evolution there is a prodigious and viscous honeyed textured. Ripening tree fruit juices run like maple sap in spring and the run off is beginning to think syrup. A cutting ridge of acidity arrests the sugaring, allowing citrus and flinty rock to recall the wine’s first, fresh steps. Baker’s Riesling time travels in circles with no real beginning and no real end. From my earlier, September 2012 note: ““Whoo-ahhh” Mojito, green apple skin scent of a Riesling. Seductive to sip, a bodacious body of influence, then back-end bite. A wolf pack in sheep’s clothing.”
No other Niagara red and for sure no alternative Peninsula Bordeaux blend exists in such a vacuum of dichotomous behaviour. Act one is an out-and-out boastful, opulent show of Rococo. Act two a gnawing and gnashing by beasts. The pitch and pull of the Terroir Caché 2010 optates and culls the extraordinary through the practice of extended délestage, what Hidden Bench notes as “a traditional method of gently draining the wine and returning it to tank with its skins during fermentation.” The ’10 is about as huge as it gets, highly ferric and tannic. Still chemically reactive, you can almost imagine its once small molecules fitfully growing into long chains. Berries of the darkest night and he who should not be named black fruit are confounded by minerals forcing the juice into a cold sweat. Will require a minimum of 10 years to soften its all-powerful grip. From my earlier March 2013 note: “has rich, voluptuous Napa Valley written all over it. Sister Merlot dominant, Beamsville Bench sledge monster. Plumbago, mineral, blackberry and coffee in a wine that will be the ringer in a blind tasting 10 years on. Harald may be saying “this is our family jewel.” Mr. Thiel, you make good wine”
Patient as ever with the cool-climate, slow and low ripening Cabernet Franc, winemaker J-L Groux stuck with belief, regardless of the warm 2010 vintage. The Stratus single varietal space and time continuum of let it hang (though not to December), 20ish months of aging, nearly half in French oak barrels, has brought forth the most dense and luxe Cabernet Franc to date. “It’s never old school, all brand new,” with Groux so this red swells in wholly pure black currant fruit and is as big as it gets for J-L, which is saying something. This beastie boy will age over a 20-year period. Style is the thing, and yes, the aromatics.
The Locust Lane Vineyard, originally planted in 1998, was Hidden Bench’s first acquisition, in 2003. It has a unique perpendicular cross-slope effect, undulating in all four directions, gathering sun hours in its own special way. The vineyard produces the richest and warmest Pinot Noir with fruit flavours more akin to ripe plum and black cherry than almost anywhere on the Beamsville Bench, certainly as any from the Hidden Bench stable. While the ’11 is not the biggest beast nor the Bordeaux bully of the Terroir Caché, it is surprisingly tannic and strong. It’s anything but hot, though it attacks with fervor. Big berry fruit, macerated strawberry, rich pie notes and spice. A great Locust vintage.
First wild leeks of the season with grilled rib-eye steaks and burgers PHOTO: Michael Godel
Not that there is ever a bad time to partake in the wonders of Gamay, but with the mercury rising, spring is the right time to be with the Gamay you love. If you’ve never experienced the nuanced pleasure of great Gamay, whether it be from Beaujolais in Burgundy’s southern reaches or from Ontario’s cool-climate hinterlands, its prime time you did.
Dr. Janet Dorozynski coined the hashtag #GoGamayGo and it’s a good thing she did. Sometimes a little catch is all you need to get a ball rolling. Rhys Pender MW has written two prime articles on the subject, Gamay – The Grapes of Wrath and Gamay in British Columbia. Canadian winemakers are expanding production so the Gamay train is puling into wine stations across the country.
In May of 2013 this column noted “I wait for the #GoGamayGo network to convince our councils, marketing boards and vintners to establish a Canadian Cru system, or at least a comprehensive tasting of Canadian Gamay.” A varietal togetherness has yet to materialize but the appreciation is growing. Ilya Senchuk of Leaning Post Wines will be releasing his first Gamay go round from Wismer Vineyard 2013 fruit. “Gamay costs half of what Pinot Noir and Syrah do,” he notes. Conclusion? A small operation like Ilya’s can make an “entry-level” and consumer affordable wine for less money and without compromising their winemakeing oeuvre.
Gamay from Beaujolais in east-central France is thin-skinned, low in tannin and (more often than not), in acidity too. It is extremely versatile in its chameleon-like abilities and matches to more types of foods that you can likely prepare with any sense of range or flair. It makes much better wine than you think and it can outsmart you. Dismissing Gamay as in any way inferior is short-sighted and lazy.
Recent Gamay sightings and tasting are the impetus for these tasting notes. Ontario renditions were on display at Somewhereness and at County in the City. Woodman Wines and Spirits presented the Fleurie of Villa Ponciago at a recent Burgundy tasting. This spring, it’s go Gamay go time.
From left to right: Manoir Du Carra Fleurie 2010, Villa Ponciago La Réserve Fleurie 2012, Malivoire M2 Small Lot Gamay 2012, Villa Ponciago Cuvée Les Hauts Du Py 2012, 13th Street Sandstone Old Vines Gamay Noir 2012, Villa Ponciago Cuvée La Roche Muriers 2011
Malivoire M2 Small Lot Gamay 2012, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario (Winery, $19.95, WineAlign)
A six-month lay in French oak for 60 per cent of the Gamay fruit sourced exclusively from Malivoire’s Beamsville Bench estate vineyard is just what the go doctor ordered. Only Malivoire’s Gamay smells specifically like this; of tart and savoury capers, of small, earthy gemstones, of peppery currants, of meaty braising Bouille. A striking wine from a fortuitous Gamay vintage and great value that puts me in mind of how special the Courtney will be. Though the soils may differ, proximity wise they are close cousins. Tasted at @Somewhereness, April 2014
Huff Estates Gamay 2012, Prince Edward County, Ontario (winery, $25, WineAlign)
If $25 seems a premium to pay for Ontario Gamay, consider all that is on offer in winemaker Frédéric Picard’s take on the friendly French grape. Picard caddies for 13th Street (Niagara) fruit, vinifies it bone-dry with the minimalist edge of 14 months in 15 per cent new French oak. The fruit is so very ripe, in raspberry and gritless, creamy blueberry. Like savoury adult ice cream, silky smooth and with nary a hint of chalky grain. Well-designed and consumer-friendly as any Gamay has ever graced the Ontario consciousness. So you’ve “got that going for you, which is nice.” Shack up with Huff’s Gamay treat. Tasted at County in the City, April 2014
Guiltless and virtuous straight out of stainless, the meaty side of Gamay game boldly goes where few from the Bench have gone before. Like a rare venison steak sitting in a silky pool of lavender-scented demi-glace. Floral like Fleurie and despite zero new oak, vanilla joins the gravy. A Senchuk steal of quality Wismer fruit sets this Gamay up for easy sell success. Tasted @LeaningPostWine, April 2014
Manoir Du Carra Fleurie 2010, Ac, Beaujolais, France (364992, $24.95, WineAlign)
When the Gamay from Fleurie is spot on, the smells of meat and of flowers work both aromatic ends of the Beaujolais spectrum. Add some age to a solid core of black cherry fruit and voilà, get a nose of this Manoir Du Carra. Clearly humid and drifting into a soft decline, the claymation action here weighs down and grounds this Gamay in an earthy impression. Would benefit by the company of some serious salty, savoury and roasted fare. In the name of balance. Fun to drink now, improvement with time is not in the Carra cards. Tasted April 2014
13th Street Sandstone Old Vines Gamay Noir 2012, VQA Four Mile Creek, Niagara Peninsula (130195, $29.95, WineAlign)
If roses were stones they would produce an aroma that only 13th Street’s Sandstone Gamay would recall. Some previous vintages have pushed the boundary to sky-high excess and a subterranean ferrous burrowing but in 2012 the perfume is both grounded and ethereal. The sandy tuff rock is so in that glass, like the smell of a rugged beach, mist and salinity spraying and rising off the rocks. The ’12 now knows “I don’t have to sell my soul.” Wholly singular Gamay and with hopes it will always be this going forward. Where as before it said “I want to be adored,” it now confirms “you adore me.” Tasted at @Somewhereness, April 2014
Villa Ponciago La Réserve Fleurie 2012, Ac, Beaujolais, France (Agent Only, $30.00, WineAlign)
Slow ripening from up to 30 year-old vines on altitudinous slopes atop pink, granitic crystalline rock leads to increased elegance for La Réserve, beyond the paint and tar notes of the Millésime bottling. Cran-raspberry fruit gains density and vibrancy from the mineral-rich earth, transcending towards ripe strawberry. The lack of anxiety and tension is welcome and necessary for the simple pleasures given generously by this exemplary Gamay. For the short-term, to 2016. Tasted @WoodmanWinesBurgundy event March 2014
Villa Ponciago Cuvée Les Hauts Du Py 2012, Ac Fleurie, Beaujolais, France (Agent Only, $37.00, WineAlign)
From a critical high ranging and angling vineyard of granite bedrock with a vein of quartz running through it. Les Hauts Du Puy suffered during the 2012 season, with gloomy wet weather, storms and hail. Thanks to a September anticyclone return, the fruit was able to dry and then slowly mature, thus avoiding being blinded by the light. This single vineyard uses that white crystal like a thread of silk, allowing the coats of harder aromas to hang but never clamber aboard. More angst than La Réserve in the form of tannin and structure, something that can be attributed to the terroir of the Puy. Pure Gamay with a spring in its step, resolutely defined and with a cooler, blue fruit feel, tight, mineral-fed and charred on the finish. Tasted @WoodmanWinesBurgundy event March 2014
Villa Ponciago Cuvée La Roche Muriers 2011, Fleurie, Beaujolais, France (Agent Only, $60.00, WineAlign)
The harshest of the domain’s climatic and soil conditions lay a lashing of demand on this Gamay as much as any on the planet. It is nothing short of remarkable that it can maintain such a level of refinement and elegance so the fruit purity of this vineyard’s Gamay is noted and obvious. The most Burgundian of any Gamay out there today. Gone is the cranberry and tar of lesser locales, replaced by deeper tones and longer, elastic chains of tannin. A Gamay that nods knowingly and with impact. Tasted @WoodmanWinesBurgundy event March 2014
Chablis Mont De Milieu Premier Cru 2012, Pommard Rugiens Premier Cru 2012, Meursault Genevrières Premier Cru 2012, Nuits St Georges Les Cailles Premier Cru 2012, Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru 2012, Beaune Grèves Premier Cru Vigne De L’enfant Jésus 2012, Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 2012
In a geographically focused world defined by its very own diacritic caste system, in climat, in villages, premier et grand cru, the wines from Burgundy will always be royal. The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are entrenched in such status not because of wealth or conceit, but because of “humility and unassailable references” from hills, plots, rocks, soils, sun exposure and the test of time. They are, as Woodman Wines and Spirits’ Jason Woodman notes, from a place “where history, religion and quality intersect.”
From Wine-Searcher.com “Burgundy (Bourgogne in French) is an historic and highly respected wine region in eastern France. Burgundy wines have long had devout followers throughout the world and continue to do so today. Although Bordeaux produces about four times as much wine every year, Burgundy’s estimated 74,000 acres (30,000ha) of vineyards are considered to be of equal importance, producing some of the most exclusive wines on Earth.” Equally important? We’ll see about that.
To most wine-loving mere mortals, great Burgundy is inaccessible, a prepossessing supposition that supersedes reality. The pragmatic wine buyer imagines the best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to personify greatness, without ever owning one. Most of the rest are viewed in a light of feigned eminence. The overpriced and the under-delivered. Quality time is spent sniffing out the paragons, the most difficult of all wines to find.
The song, Royals “is about how today’s music is all about what is considered the “good life,” filled with riches and fame, but not everyone can live that life, and so the average person is desperately reaching…” The wines of Burgundy certainly gravitate into the hands of a wealthy minority but behind the dollar signs they are simply bottles of farmed and fermented grapes.
The wines of the Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, Chablis, Côte Chalonnaise and the Maconnais speak more clearly of their terroir than anywhere else in the world. They need not boast nor flaunt their wares. They simply are what they are and Burgundy is what it is. Affordable to so few, disregarded as out of league and untouchable by the rest. “That kind of luxe just ain’t for us,” might be the complaint of the anti-Burgundian wino. Regardless of where you sit in the Burgundian aperçu, you are not alone. The Brannigan will always be debated.
There are more expensive Burgundies. There are bigger names. Houses like Jayer, Romanée-Conti, Leflaive, Roumier, Leroy, Faiveley, Coche-Dury, Comte Liger-Belair, Dugat-Py, Ramonet and Rousseau. Golden escarpment producers that fetch higher prices for their top wines. There are just as productive and wide-reaching Burgundy conglomerates, like Latour and Boisset. But at the end of the day, is there a producer of red and white Burgundy that combines quality and quantity like Domaine Bouchard Père & Fils? The estate stretches over 48 km from north to south and is composed of 450 different vineyards. The Bouchard family has “been telling the history of Burgundy’s wine and its great appellations for over 280 years.” In Chablis, the rock stars may be Dauvissat and Raveneau, but who can argue the aggregate éclat of Domaine William Fèvre?
On March 24, 2014, Woodman Wines brought the two need no introduction Burgundy producers to the Royal Canadian Yacht Club for a very grand tasting. The “rare and miraculous” 2012’s from Domaine Bouchard Père & Fils and Domaine William Fèvre. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay of pedigree and learning. Producers with holdings in Burgundy as historic and regal as the domains of Kings and Queens. From places where winemaking is religion, where terroir is everything. The wines are expensive (in some cases frighteningly so) but they are a treat to taste.
Domaine Bouchard Père & Fils
Aligoté Ancien Domaine Carnot Bouzeron 2012, Burgundy, France ($28.00, WineAlign)
From the Côte Chalonnaise between Chagny and Rully this was a rare chance to taste Aligoté and from the first village to receive AOC status for the variety. Bouzeron sits in what Bouchard describes as a “windswept funnel,” which might explain its crazy, natural acidity and spirited character. Begins “with a low whisper, windswept on the air.” To nose it is smooth, creamy, soft and fruity. To taste it’s tight, racy and lifted by a metallic tang. For the price it ferries exceptional quality and personality. “Windswept is on the tide, a feeling only or state of mind?”
Montagny Premier Cru 2012, Burgundy, France ($79.00, WineAlign)
From the Côte Chalonnaise, the most southerly portion of the Côte d’Or. A higher amount of Marly soil mixed with White Burgundy-loving limestone imparts richness and a soft, Malo creamy texture. At present there is a sulphur presence that stretches its legs and hides beneath a level of tart fruit. The wood effect is in a spicy radish tone adding complexity to the lightly dressed salad flavours. Finishes with terrific length.
Meursault Genevrières Premier Cru 2012, Burgundy, France ($119.00, WineAlign)
Bouchard’s Genevrières speaks in a definitively, regional tone, a Côte-d’Or oriental vernacular with absolute and utter clarity. A wine this pure and at the head of its class means “time flies, doesn’t seem a minute.” From East and Southeast vine exposures above obvious and necessary limestone that vacuums a metallurgy mixed with the finest, circular centrifuge of acidity. This is the wrapping that envelopes richness, depth and fresh produce of a fruit/vegetable continuum. One night in Genevrières “makes a hard man humble.” A contemplative moment with this ’12 Bouchard may cause longing, to look east. “Don’t you know that when you play at this level there’s no ordinary venue.”
Chassagne Montrachet Morgeot Premier Cru 2012, Burgundy, France ($130.00, WineAlign)
From a plot of land that was called Morga, from the Latin margo which means edge border, in this case between the Côte d’Or and Saone-et-Loire. The soils in this mid-slope vineyard with a south-easterly exposure combine limestone and Marl and so Bouchard’s 2012 take shows an increased richesse and concentration. A Chardonnay with drive, determination and delineation. Noticeably toasty and though mostly quiet now, even it its youth it is already showing resurgent citrus and nutty tones. It will oscillate back and forth between the poles for five years or so and come together for many more beyond.
Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 2012, Burgundy, France ($250.00, WineAlign)
The Bouchard description of “a scarce and promising vintage” will apply to this flagship Grand Cru as much as it will to any in the stable. Corton’s ode to King Charlemagne’s not to be stained white beard is the most difficult to contemplate, assess and articulate in its steely, whispering youth. This rare vineyard planted to both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, if just by chance it “crossed the diamond with the pearl,” is no cause for concern. This Charlemagne is just a kid, yet unaware of how it will rule with purity, personality and impunity. It does not yet know this and when it matures, it might be asked “did you realize that you were a champion in their eyes?” The creamy texture, subtle toast and extraordinary flavours are all there. Lay it down for 10 years and relive its limestone treasures for 20 more.
Gevrey Chambertin 2011, Burgundy, France (661330, $49.95, WineAlign)
With the largest number of Grand Crus is the area, is it any wonder how one Gevrey Chambertin finds a way to set itself apart from the others? This 2011 Bouchard does so with this refined, restrained and cleansing Pinot Noir. Earthy and sugary beet flavours echo similar aromas. Picking time was certainly key. Foregoes grit, girth and a belt’s tannic lash for elegance and a directive to balance along a straightforward, pleasing line. Will do its best work in short-term gains, from now to 2018.
Savigny Lès Beaune Les Lavières Premier Cru 2012, Burgundy, France ($62.00, WineAlign)
From a limestone and clay vineyard in Bouchard’s control for just over 100 years. Filled with “laves,” the big flat stones that characterize the land, this 1er Cru is painted by the soil, with a charred, mineral glaze. It’s also sweeter and scented by high-toned red fruit, less refined than other Beaune vineyards but all the while offering near-immediate gratification. Could use a couple of years to settle and will drink well for five or more.
Gevrey Chambertin 2012, Burgundy, France ($66.00, WineAlign)
In this vintage the Gevrey is a magnified version of itself, seemingly drawing every atom of mineral and fossil from its Triassic limestone bed. The table of clay potassium, phosphorous and iron are all in this bottle, expressed in earthy Pinot Noir character. This might be the Bouchard blazon and secret weapon; dangereux, tight, sharp and pointed. The fruit is pure and clearly defined but will require time to shed its tough outer layer. Put the 2012 Gevrey away for five years and look to see it open up to 2022.
Chambolle Musigny 2012, Burgundy, France ($76.00, WineAlign)
From the shallowest of Côte-d’Or soils, Bouchard’s Chambolle Musigny is extracted from delicate berries that rely on its vine’s roots to crawl down into limestone’s fissures in search of nutrients. Though many a Chambolle exhibits tenderness and elegance, this Bouchard hard-working vine has produced a quilted, tactile wine of texture and contour. It opens with its own special vineyard stink, a note of subterranean terroir that dissipates with a swirl. A wildly woven combination of chalk, grain and chewy licorice makes for a varied and salubrious mouthful. As big as it gets for the appellation and surely worth a go from 2018 and for a decade more.
Volnay Ancienne Cuvée Carnot Caillerets Premier Cru 2012, Burgundy, France ($118.00, WineAlign)
Caillerets and the term tête de cuvée go back as far as 1855 and with this iconic bottling there is proof in perpetuum that Bouchard knows Volnay. This is the house’s first vineyard dating to 1775 so it goes without saying that 237 years of experience is nothing to dismiss. The 2012 Cuvée Carnot is refined in a state of heightened awareness. The aromas are smoky, meaty and the favours concentrated. Distinctively opaque like a Pensieve with a swirling torrent of tannin pushed along by centrifugal force. Will need 10 years to immobilize, then to age rhythmically for 10 more.
Pommard Rugiens Premier Cru 2012, Burgundy, France ($146.00, WineAlign)
Bouchard’s Pommard Rugiens goes at the Pinot Noir diapason from every angle. At once fibrous and rigid, it is also highly perfumed by flowers, most notably violets. The rich iron-red soil imparts a large measure of ferrous aroma but the pure fruit sustains the mineral and the wine remains a good conversationalist. A metrosexual, acting out both masculine and feminine parts. The rest of the Bouchard red Burgundies tend to choose one side or the other but the gregarious Pommard lives on the edge. A streak of char and chalky tannin shows late and lingers throughout the lengthy finish.
Nuits St Georges Les Cailles Premier Cru 2012, Burgundy, France ($146.00, WineAlign)
A gorgeously refined wine built on finesse, clarity and concentration. All its graceful parts move in synch through structured stages of class, refinement and with a goal towards a realized, long evolution. Noticeable but sweet tannins are gained by a bleeding of the terroir‘s oolithic chalk by way of hard stones. Silky and feminine perfumed red fruit never wavers from its intent, to seduce and give pleasure. No dying quail this Nuits St Georges, nor a frozen rope, the wine hangs in balance effortlessly and for a long, long time. Enjoy it for 10-15 years.
Beaune Grèves Premier Cru Vigne De L’enfant Jésus 2012, Burgundy, France ($146.00, WineAlign)
From the just a shade under four hectare, formerly owned by Carmelites vineyard within the famous 32 hectare “Roi Soleil” Grèves appellation. Like its namesake (in reference to Louis XIV), this Bouchard is the red that displays the most control and Type-A personality. A wine that draws every bit of modern terroir from the gravelly clay. A wine of great excess, state-of-the-art, jeweled, luxurious and crafted with the heaviest hand. The sun king goes for much glory, but at what price? The price of needing to be loved in its youth. The question is will that cost L’enfant Jésus 2012 long-term success? With more abundant fruit than a Versailles Trianon and the guts to soldier on, it’s hard to imagine it not aging for 20 or more years.
Domaine William Fèvre
Saint Bris 2012, Ac, Burgundy, France ($25.00, WineAlign)
From the commune of Saint-Bris-le-Vineux, this is light, cool-climate tension Sauvignon Blanc. A wine of impetuous and quick-step moments. The rush of just opened soda, the spray of a freshly bitten green apple, the knife cutting through juicy lemons and limes. A hyper-clean rendition of the Loire grape, this northern rendition will work an oyster with ease.
Chablis Les Lys Premier Cru 2012, Burgundy, France ($58.00, WineAlign)
Of the Fèvre Premier Cru designations, Les Lys exhibits the softest, downy touch and the more muted or demurred personality. The fine lees is distributed through the texture and the limestone gives way to chalk on top. Offers up more spongy fruit than Montmains or Monte de Milieu and finishes with charm.
Chablis Mont De Milieu Premier Cru 2012, Burgundy, France ($69.00, WineAlign)
The Fèvre Mont De Milieu is the smallest of the domain’s Premier Cru holdings with a struck by flint personality that is quite intense. Neither Les Lys or Montmains show such dynamic mineral effect. The most righteous of the Chablis Serein River banks brothers maintains that matchstick loving feeling, though it is temporarily relinquished to a honeyed moment. It’s “a love you don’t find every day, so don’t, don’t, don’t let it slip away.” Fear not, for the gathering is beautifully concentrated and the rocky, mineral bent never fully dissipates. A Milieu to savor from 2017 to 2025.
Chablis Bougros Grand Cru 2012, Burgundy, France ($97.00, WineAlign)
While the appellation may not be the most sought after in terms of Chablis Grand Cru, the dominant Fèvre presence, experience and dedication to making Chardonnay in Bougros can’t be ignored. A good, if not exceptional vintage, 2012 is appropriate and defining. The sensations are of precious gems and metals and the exuberance restrained, but this Chablis seems on the verge. It’s as if a match has touched the strip and is about to alight. A powdering of Kimmeridgian clay is saturated by a smack of late lashing acidity. The Fèvre Bougros rises with energy from a standstill to high-speed. It will age harmoniously into the next decade.
Chablis Les Clos Grand Cru 2012, Burgundy, France ($143.00, WineAlign)
The Fèvre take on Les Clos is the cradle of all the domain’s wines, in every respect. Intensely concentrated, this is Chardonnay expressive in every facet of its surroundings. The impart from compressed white limestone, ancient fossils and Jurassic minerals in distillate may seem abstract in description but how else can the feeling of a mouth full of rocks be conveyed? The remarkably complex Les Clos and its structured palate that goes on forever has come out of its Chablis vineyard cradle and will live on as one of the best ever. “It’s not a place, it’s a yearning. It’s not a race, it’s a journey.” There is no rush to drink it up. It will offer immense pleasure for 20-25 years.
Godello 