France (Loire)

chenin blanc

www.huet-echansonne.com

My wife and I have had some terrific white wines over the past month or so. And onto our table has arrived yet another — from one of the definitive wine estates of the Loire Valley.

Domaine Huet Le Mont Vouvray 2010

Pale, clear gold in the glass. A stone fruit clarity, subtle peach and apricot, with mild lemon notes. A touch of sweetness, but showing terrific acidic balance. Clean and fresh with a burst of flavour, near juicy. There’s a solid mineral core that, together with a vein of citrus flavors, makes for a full and lasting taste experience. Remarkably good for one so young. I can only imagine how good it would have been a decade on.  $$ 

Domaine Huet is the benchmark domaine of the Vouvray appellation, situated east of Tours, on the right bank of the Loire.  Winemaking in the area dates back many centuries, making Domaine Huet, founded in the 1920s, a relative newcomer.

The history of the domaine is very interesting. Victor Huet was a Paris bistro owner who had fought amid the horrors of mustard gas in WWI and, on the advice of his doctor, left Paris to search for the clearer air of rural France. His wife, Anna-Constance, fell in love with a 3-hectare wine property in the Loire Valley and from it Domaine Huet was born. Victor began a new life as a vigneron, and eventually the property fell to his son Gaston. Within a couple of years Gaston himself was fighting in a war. Captured near Calais in 1940, he spent five years in a prison camp. As hard as life was in the camp, there was relief to be found. Gaston organized  a two-week celebration of French winemaking, with wine tasting for 4000 prisoners using bottles they had received from their families across France! With the war’s end Gaston returned to the Loire, and to a neglected domaine. Like its owner, it would be renewed.

Domaine Huet now consists of 35 hectares, 23 of which are made up of three grand cru vineyards in what is known as the “Première Côte” of Vouvray. Our bottle has it origins in the eight hectares of Le Mont, acquired by Gaston in 1957. The soil is deep, underlaid by limestone. The clay surface soil is tinged green and through it are scattered large pebbles of flint. As do the other vineyards, Le Mont has a balance of young and old vines: 15% less than ten years in age, 35% between 10 and 30 years, and the remaining 50% being between 30 and 50 years.

Conversion to biodynamics began in the late 1980s, making it one of the first domaines in France to embrace the teachings of Rudolf Steiner. It was a project initiated by the person now running the property — Noël Pinguet, Gaston’s son-in-law. (Gaston died in 2002. The property was sold in 2003 to financier  Anthony Hwang, with Pinguet retaining a 20% stake.) With no heirs interested in eventually taking over the estate, Pinguet has brought on board a young local man, Benjamin Joliveau, the son of one of Pinguet’s vigneron friends. Plans are for Pinguet to retire in a few years, and for the reins to eventually pass, and a new era begin for the venerable Domaine Huet.

United States (California)

syrah (43.6%), grenache (43.5%), cinsault (1.7%), mourvèdre (1.1%), carignane (0.1%)

www.bonnydoonvineyard.com

Thanks to a good friend who travelled from Toronto for the holidays, I was able to bring to the dinner table not one, but two top tier wines from Bonny Doon Vineyard. The question eventually became which one of the Cigare bottles to choose for the blog. We embraced them both, but in the end I opted for the red. Perhaps because it had a certain inexplicable something and maybe, just maybe that’s what Bonny Doon is all about.

The flying saucer (the ‘Le Cigare Volant’ of the label) has landed! And right in a vineyard of Rhône varietals! Can an alien Châteauneuf-du-Pape be the result?

Bonny Doon Vineyard Le Cigare Volant 2006

A dark purplish-red (garnet, some would say) in colour. But what of the nose? Pungent certainly, lively, but difficult to pinpoint. Earthy, provocative, full of the fruits of farmyard labour. (ummm…) Gamey, of a type. More descriptors escape me, but the aromas engender great interest and why ask more of a wine. Nobody said a wine should smell like anything but itself. And what of the taste? Tannic, with rustic elements, sun-dried herbs, minerals. Rhône-like as intended. An all around very positive experience. A good landing!  $$

The wine man behind Bonny Doon is Randall Grahm. He looms big, in the zany ways of the California generation which came of age in the 1970s. You have to admire his humour and his marketing savvy. And admire his willingness to sell off a massive chunk of a successful venture, and focus on a production level of roughly 40,000 cases (less than one-tenth the size of the original winery), all for the sake of making (to quote the man) “the most soulful wines we can muster — wines of vibrant vitality, a deeper sense of place and life force.” Randall Grahm is nothing if not hip and thoughtful, nothing if not unpredictable.

His foray into wine began in 1983 with the founding of Bonny Doon Vineyard in Santa Cruz. He pioneered the introduction into California of syrah, grenache, cinsault, mourvèdre, and other Rhône varietals, and blended them in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape style. Many people see him as the original Rhône Ranger. The winery grew steadily in parallel with Grahm’s status as a non-conformist winemaker. He was the first in California to use screwtops for premium wines, the first to use micro-oxygenation. And through it all endeared himself to legions of wine drinkers (if not wine critics particularly, who seemed not to share his sense of humour.) His loyal followers remain, as the figure of 350,000 followers on Twitter would seem to indicate.

Yet, for all his past success, about ten years ago something was beginning to feel wacko. He sensed a need for radical change. He saw the light…from a flying saucer perhaps. Since 2004 Bonny Doon has turned to chemical-free, biodynamic winemaking, with much more attention being paid to what goes on in the vineyards and without the manipulation in the cellar that was once a regular part of the winery’s routine. The wine was always good, but it seems to have gotten a whole lot better.

And, Grahm would contend, more soulful. As he has said,  ’I live for the juice, man!’

]]> http://onebrilliantbottle.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/bonny-doon-vineyard/feed/ 0 major http://onebrilliantbottle.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/fonseca/ http://onebrilliantbottle.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/fonseca/#comments Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:45:14 +0000 Kevin Major http://onebrilliantbottle.wordpress.com/?p=6229 ]]> Fonseca Terra Prima Porto

Portugal (Douro)

touriga nacional, touriga francesa, tinta roriz, tinta barroca, tinta cão, tinta amarela

www.fonseca.pt

‘Tis the Season that lends itself to port. While this fortified wine should never be relegated solely to Christmas, there is something about the seasonal appearance of my spouse’s brandy nut cake that brings to mind a glowing glass of port.

Port is wine to which brandy has been added to arrest the fermentation, resulting in a sweet wine high in alcohol. The use of the name (derived from the Portuguese city of Oporto) is restricted to wines produced in a specific area in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. When I was 19, I spent several days in Oporto, rather oblivious to its significance in the world of port wine. (If I had been more with it, I might have been able to secure a bottle of Fonseca’s legendary 1963 vintage.) While my island home has had a long association with port (specifically Newman’s) it is relatively recently that I have come to appreciate the special qualities of a very good vintage port.

Fonseca makes some of the best. The winery falls under the ownership umbrella of the Fladgate Partnership, which also includes Taylor Fladgate, Croft, and Delaforce. Yet each port house continues to work in its own individual style. Fonseca has been the one to bring to the market the first certified organic port.

Fonseca dates to 1822 with its founding by Manuel Pedro Guimaraens. Six generations later, it is the turn of David Guimaraens. As a young man, Guimaraens experienced first hand winemaking in the United States and Australia, where he also undertook formal study in oenology. He returned to the family enterprise in 1990. Today, as technical director and lead winemaker of all the port houses in the Fladgate Partnership, Guimaraens has plenty to keep him busy, yet he, together with the group’s head of viticulture, António Magalhães, has taken on important new initiatives, especially in the field of sustainable vineyard management.

Organic viticulture at Fonseca dates back to 1992 when David’s father established the first organic vineyard in the Douro Valley. Besides eventually supplying the grapes for its organic port, the vineyard has had a major influence on the management of the entire portfolio of wines.

An organic port needs organic brandy and with a supply of it came the first release of Fonseca Terra Prima in 2006. It’s a non-vintage ruby port, matured for approximately 5 years in large, 550-litre oak ‘pipes’ prior to bottling. The Fonseca commitment to quality is obvious. And, who knows, in the not-too-distant future we may see the Fonseca name on the very first organic vintage port.

Fonseca Terra Prima Porto

True to its name, it’s a delightful ruby red in colour. From its surface — plummy dark fruit, nicely spiced and welcoming. In the mouth — intense but smooth, fruit-filled, but not without finesse. Lovely and warming on the finish. A ruby port of distinction.  $

This marks the last posting for 2011. One Brilliant Bottle started a full two years ago, with the intention of taking the organic/biodynamic/natural wine enthusiast through just a single year, posting each and every Friday. The commitment led to a second 52 weeks, and will continue in the year ahead, if on a reduced scale. I’ll no longer be posting every week, but will approach the blog in a more leisurely fashion, allowing myself more time for my other career responsibilities. It comes just as the reader response is at its highest. But, fear not, good readers, there are more brilliant bottles in my cellar awaiting their moment in the limelight. Happy New Year! Cheers for 2012!

Italy (Veneto)

covina, rondinella, molinara + others

[no website]

The 50th birthday of a dear friend called for a special wine. Italian wines don’t come any more special than those of the legendary Guiseppe Quintarelli. Known as the Maestro of Veneto, his Amarone (at $300 a bottle) is unparalleled. His  Valpolicella is hardly less praised, and is superior to many Amarones.

There seems to be good reasons for that: the extreme care that is taken with the making of the wine, and the fact that about six months into production it is blended with the lees of the estate’s Amarone (the “ripasso” method) and thus adding to the wine’s texture and complexity. And of course there is the Quintarelli standard of aging some of the wines up to seven years in large Slavonian oak casks, releasing his wines several years later than most producers in the region.

‘Patience,’ Quintarelli has said, ‘…is the most important attribute in winemaking.’ The man should know. He has been exhibiting it with spectacular results for more than 50 years. Now in his 80s, he has recently turned the operation over to his eldest daughter, Silvana. With just 12 hectares and an annual output of 60,000 bottles, it remains small, and as understated as ever. No website, not even a roadside winery sign. (Check the village of Cerè, near the larger village of Negrar.) Given the fact there is a long wait list of importers eager for even a small allocation, it would seem the reputation of the wines sells itself.

It is charmingly and authentically artisanal. The unchanged handwritten labels (until recently applied by hand with a brush and glue) could never been mistaken for those of any other winery. Maintaining tradition is uppermost in the minds of everyone now attached to the production, including his grandson Francesco and nephew Marco. If the Quintarelli wines were made, in Guiseppe’s words, “exactly as my father taught me”, then it is more than worthwhile to stand on tradition. After all, it has led more than one wine enthusiast to place Quintarelli among the best wine made anywhere.

The vineyards lie on the steep slopes outside Negrar, the soil volcanic in nature. Quintarelli views the soil as the ultimate key to the success of the winemaking. Grape selection is meticulous, equal, it has been said, to that of the great Sauternes producers. The work in the cellar is simple and non-interventionalist, letting the wine determine the pace of maturation. Patience above all, “Patience in growing, patience in selection, and patience in vinification.”

Giuseppe Quintarelli Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2001

Purple / brick red in color, with a fine, fine nose, a mix of robust semi-sweet fruit and mineral elements. Instantly complex. On the palate, reminiscent of amarone to be sure, yet with exceptional qualities in its own right. Clean, not laboured, yet with a richness and an altogether pleasant acidic balance. Both textured and nuanced, this is a wine that speaks volumes. Released 9 years after harvest. With more time in the bottle, it would have to be wondrous. $$$

Update to this posting: Sadly, Guiseppe Quintarelli died on January 15, 2012, at age 84. The memory of the extraordinary man and winemaker will shine bright for many years to come.

Italy (Friuli-Venezia Giulia)

ribolla gialla

www.gravner.it

Two stunning whites within a week. Among the many things this wine blogging experience has taught me is a greater appreciation of white wines. There are those wine drinkers who claim, with some degree of self-congratulations, that they only drink red. In my view they are missing out on some truly exceptional wine experiences. This is one of them.

Gravner Ribolla Anfora 2004

The amber richness in the decanter is immediate indication that something special has emerged from the bottle. Thrilling in colour to be sure, if somewhat quiet on the nose. In taste, dry and sherry-like without the sense of being fortified. Quince comes to mind for one person sharing the wine, toasted nut for another. Very nicely balanced, richly structured, sophisticated yet generously open. Very much alive, it retains a rustic, tannic naturalness, as if the grapes passed unencumbered into wine. Not to be forgotten.  $$$

This is not ordinary winemaking to be sure. It is the work of a master experimenter, someone who has reached back to ancient methods in an effort to make wine at its natural best. The person in question is Josko Gravner. For thirty years he has been at work in northern Italy, near Oslavia, where his 18 hectares of vines straddle the border with Solvenia. He has gone from his early days of fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel, to the use of oak barriques, to the introduction in the late 1990s of 3,500-litre terracotta amphorae, lined with beeswax and buried up to their necks in a specially designed cellar. Asked to comment on the difference this last switch to clay has made in his wines, Gravner has said, “It is like being asked to describe someone’s soul. The amphora wines have much more spirit.”

His 45 or so amphorae have been imported from Georgia, one of the few places to still have the technology to fire such massive pots, a technology that supplied winemakers in Roman times. Fermentation and extended maceration of the ribolla grapes (an ancient, little-known varietal that Gravner has taken pains to re-establish) takes place for several months in the amphorae. The long exposure to the skins gives rise to the wine’s deep, rich colour. Eventually the wine is transferred into large wooden barrels for aging, then is further aged in the bottles before release.

Gravner takes what he terms a “natural” approach to his winemaking. Organic cultivation of the grapes, followed by fermentation with indigenous, wild yeasts only, and without temperature control. The wines are bottled unfiltered.

Gravner’s approach was initially met with considerable skepticism. Many in the business of wine rejected it, noting the fact that Gravner’s wines made from his previous methods were highly acclaimed. Wasn’t he the “King of Italian Whites”? Why tinker with success? In Gravner’s mind, he did so because there was a purer, more interesting, more natural and healthy alternative, one that returned to ancient methodology. He would be the first to admit that his wines lack broad appeal in the technology-driven world of modern winemaking. But, so be it. His wines have found their admirers, their strong advocates who seek out something very special, and have found it in the world of Gravner wines.

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