Ignoble Rottenness in Bordeaux

One of my favourite bloggers, Alder Yarrow (who writes Vinography), wrote a perplexing post about 10 days ago.

In his post, The Downside of AOC, Alder tells the tale of a convenience store owner in the Bordeaux region who was convicted of selling sugar to “professionals” (i.e., wine producers) without recording the buyer’s names.  In turn, these buyers avoided paying a tax owed on sugar used in a business.  (Adding sugar to wine, within specific limits, is legal in France and many other cool climate regions.  Sugar converts to alcohol during fermentation.  Adding sugar = higher alcohol.)

From this case of tax evasion, Alder argues that France’s Appellation Contrôlée regulations “prevent winemakers from making the best wine they think they can make, or even worse, prevent them from making wine that is commercially viable in a tough year.” 

Well, isn’t that the point of regulations that exist to protect the quality and integrity of a wine?      

Wine is one of the few products that we consume that is not required to disclose what’s in the package.  Reliance on the integrity and stringency of “quality control” regulations that wine regions around the world impose is one of the few guarantees that we consumers have.  Appellation Contrôlée is essentially a brand that assures consumers that what we think we are buying is really what we are getting.  And, like every other brand, these regulations exist to so that the brand is protected.  (Here in Ontario, we’re fortunate that the provincial government also tests a bottle of every wine brought into the province.)

If I buy a sweet white Bordeaux (like Sauternes or Barsac…expensive, those), I want to know that I can rely on French regulations that lay down how that wine can be made.  I wouldn’t like the idea that winemakers in Sauternes can simply dump as much sugar as they like into the vat to “salvage a poor vintage”.   It may be a better wine, sure, but it’s no longer Sauternes, which deservedly commands its premium price because it’s so difficult to make, and tastes so good.  Go ahead and sell it as vin de table but not as Sauternes.

So we either keep the Appellation Contrôlée system and the (limited) brand protection that it offers.  

Or, as Alder seems to suggest, we open up wine-making to no regulation.  (Worked well for the financial industry.)  But then let’s insist on full disclosure of the how and what of wine-making on the label.  Consumers deserve no less.     

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My Picks: Vintages Release ─ November 26 2011

Vintages continues its long march towards Christmas with the second of three holiday-themed high-end releases that cover nine weeks, from early November to the new year.  Ka-ching.

As usual, a careful review shows that there are good choices that make the cut for My Picks. No surprise but, as usual, it’s Spain and Italy, each with 3 picks, that bring the value. And just to show that I’m not the Grinch, I’ve included a sparkling and a Port for your holidays, as well as an affordable Pinot Noir from Germany for your turkey dinner.

Nothing organic.

Off the Beaten Track

Whites

ULISSE UNICO PECORINO 2010, IGT Terre di Chieti (Italy); #249128; Price: $17.95; 13.0% ABV

There’s Pecorino the cheese...and Pecorino the grape, grown along the Adriatic coast in Abruzzo. Handpicked. Cold maceration for 24 hours, then fermentation in stainless steel tanks. Aged 3 months in stainless steel. No cork, no screwtop…this one has a glass closure. Made for seafood, the raw and the cooked. And why not try it with Pecorino cheese?

GROTTA DEL SOLE FALANGHINA 2009, DOC CAMPI FLEGREI (Campania, Italy); #247940; Price: $15.95; 12.5% ABV

100% Falanghina from the volcanic soil northwest of Napoli. Grown on Vinifera roots. Handpicked. 12-hour cold maceration, then cool fermentation. No oak. Bottled after 6 months in tanks. Great with seafood, as they do in Napoli.

Reds

13TH STREET GAMAY NOIR 2010, VQA Niagara Peninsula; #177824; Price: $19.95; 12.0% ABV

100% Gamay Noir from 3 vineyards, one of which is organic. Handpicked. Cold maceration and fermentation in stainless steel vats. Malolactic fermentation and aging for 8 months in French oak barrels (25% new), then blended. Gamay Noir is greatly underappreciated and one of my favourites, now that the Beaujolais region is back on track. Look for red fruit and earthy aromas. Try it with roast poultry.

ACACIA PINOT NOIR 2007, (Carneros, California); #235960; Price: $29.95; 14.4% ABV

100% Pinot Noir from Carneros, a wonderful cool climate for Pinot Noir in the Napa Valley. Hand-harvested. Cold maceration. 3 weeks fermentation. Aged in oak barrels for 7 months.

MAD FISH SIDEWAYS CABERNET SAUVIGNON/MERLOT 2009, Margaret River (Australia); #247163; Price: $23.95; 14.0% ABV

A Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (53%), Merlot (42%), and Petit Verdot (5%) from the west coast of Australia. Fermented in a mix of open-top and closed fermenters with some extended maceration. Aged in French oak barriques for 15 months. Try it with game.

DOMAINE SERGENT OAK AGED MADIRAN 2008, AC Madiran (France); #251561; Price: $19.95; 14.5% ABV

100% Tannat from southwest France. Big big tannins. Hand harvested. Cold maceration for 5 days. Fermentation for 21 days in stainless steel tanks, followed by Malolactic fermentation in cement tanks. Aged in oak barrels (1/3 new) for 12 months. Fined and filtered. Duck confit is the brilliant regional match.

REICHSRAT VON BUHL PINOT NOIR 2008, QbA Pfalz (Germany); #249649; Price: $19.95; 13.0% ABV

100% Pinot Noir from the Pfalz, the largest wine-producing area (by volume) in Germany. Yes, it’s true. Fermented on its skins for 10 days in sealed stainless steel vats. Malolactic fermentation in a combination of stainless steel and large oak casks. Aged in oak for 10 months. This is the ideal (and affordable) wine for a large turkey dinner at Christmas or, as the winemaker suggests, “simply for a cold winter’s evening in front of the fire”. What’s a Reichsrat, you ask? No, it’s not a Nazi war criminal. The Reichsrat was the upper house in the German legislature during the Weimar Republic. von Buhl was a member of the Reichsrat.

DUCA DI SALAPARUTA PASSO DELLE MULE NERO D'AVOLA 2008, IGT Sicilia (Italy); #250928; Price: $19.95; 13.2% ABV

100% Nero d’Avola. Hand harvested. Maceration for 8 days. Aged 10 months in oak barrels and, after bottling, 6 months in the cellar before release. Great match with stews and roasted game.

BODEGAS BERCEO GONZALO DE BERCEO RESERVA 2005, DOCa Rioja (Spain); #246744; Price: $20.95; 13.5% ABV

A blend of Tempranillo, Graciano, Mazuelo (aka Carignan), and Grenache. Hand picked from 14 vineyards. After maceration, fermentation, and Malolactic fermentation, aged in both French and American oak barrels (for at least a year, according to the Riojan rules) and then 2 years in bottle before release to round out the tannins. Another wine that’s great with winter dishes (stews, braised, or roasted meats, especially game).

MARQUÉS DE CÁCERES GRAN RESERVA 2001, DOCa Rioja (Spain); #976670; Price: $29.95; 13.6% ABV

A blend of Tempranillo (85%), balanced by Graciano and Garnacha. Aged in French oak for 26 months and then 4 years in bottle before release. Wonderful stuff.

Sparkling

SEGURA VIUDAS BRUT RESERVA HEREDAD CAVA, DO Penedes (Spain); #558825; Price: $29.95; 11.5% ABV

A blend of 2 indigenous grapes: Macabeo (67%) and Parellada (33%). They use the traditional method (same as in Champagne) in Penedes (outside Barcelona) for Cava. Dollar for dollar, Cava represents excellent value in sparkling.

Fortified

FONSECA LATE BOTTLED VINTAGE PORT 2005, DOC Douro (Portugal); #87551; Price: $22.95; 20.0% ABV

A wonderful treat at the end of Christmas dinner. Winemakers can use 90 different grape varieties to make a Port wine but usually they use only 6…and they don't disclose which of the 6, as is the case here. They make LBVs from grapes harvested in a single year when winemakers don't make a Vintage (top of the line) port, such as 2005. Aged in wood vats of 50 pipes (27,500 litres) capacity and then bottled after five years. Ready to drink now. Unfiltered, so needs decanting!  (As it turns out, this is a no-show.)

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My Picks: Vintages Release ─ November 12 2011

I am back, at least from time to time. But what a time to come back.

The theme of this week’s release is “Holiday Magic”. Really? Even Vintages has the gall to start the Christmas season too early. It’s still 6 weeks to go but there Vintages is in this week’s release catalogue, “The festive season is off and running…” Oh no, it’s not. I don’t want to hear “Christmas” or “holiday season” or “festive season” for another couple of weeks, thank you. Prostituting the Christmas season by stretching it out from the day after Halloween dilutes a wonderful experience, like putting water into your Chateau Lafite-Rothschild. Is there no one in the retailing world with any imagination? They can only think to make the Christmas season longer. A pox on all your retail houses!

And so, in their spirit of Christmas, the release is packed full of expensive (over-priced?) bottles. But if you step carefully, you can find some hidden goodies. Here are 8 (yes, I only found 8) bottles that made the cut for My Picks.

Nothing organic.

Off the Beaten Track

White

VINUM AFRICA CHENIN BLANC 2009, WO Western Cape (South Africa); #739995; Price: $14.95; 13.5% ABV
100% Chenin Blanc, South Africa's signature white. Handpicked. 80% fermented in stainless steel tanks, 20% in small oak barrels (a mix of new, one-year, 2-year, 3-year and 4-year barrels). Left on its lees for 12 months, then blended and bottled 2 months later. Look for citrus and floral aromas and good minerality. Great with seafood.

Reds

FLAT ROCK GRAVITY PINOT NOIR 2009, VQA Twenty Mile Bench (Niagara Peninsula); #1560; Price: $29.95; 12.9% ABV
100% Pinot Noir. Handpicked. Whole grapes were gravity fed into open top fermentation tanks and left to macerate for 3 days. Fermented with both wild yeasts and cultured yeasts. After fermentation, the wine was again gravity fed into 100% French oak barrels (30% new). Pinot Noir is a prima donna, so gentle, gravity-fed winemaking treats her as she demands. Unfined. Try it with veal tenderloin in a morel cream sauce.

We’re on the tipping point of the winter season, where red meats that are stewed, roasted, and braised take centre stage. Whether beef or lamb, any of the following wines will serve you well.

MONTES ALPHA SYRAH 2009, Colchagua Valley (Chile); #612; Price: $19.95; 14.5% ABV
A blend of Syrah (90%), Cabernet Sauvignon (7%), and Viognier (3%). Aged in French oak barrels for 12 months. Filtered.

CLAIRAULT CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2007, Margaret River (Australia) #246876; Price: $24.95; 14.5% ABV
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (88%), Merlot (6%), and Petit Verdot (6%). From 6 different sites in the “Mediterranean climate” of the Margaret River region on the west coast of Oz. Fermented in small open vats, macerated for 10 days. Aged in French oak (30% new) for 18 months. You can leave it the cellar for a few years.

E. GUIGAL 2007, AC Gigondas (France); #331900; Price: $29.95; 13.5% ABV
A blend of Grenache (65%), Mourvèdre (25%), and Syrah (5%) from the southern Rhone. Long maceration, aged in French oak barrels (50% new) for 2 years. From Guigal, the King of Rhone.

FERRATON PÈRE & FILS LA MATINIÈRE 2009, AC Crozes-Hermitage (France); #127712; Price: $20.95; 13.0% ABV
100% Syrah from the northern Rhone. Macerated for 20 days. Aged in a combination of oak barrels and vats for 12 months.

PEIQUE RAMON VALLE 2008, DO Bierzo (Spain); #236943; Price: $18.95; 14.5% ABV
100% Mencía from Bierzo in northwest Spain. A variety and region that have come out of nowhere. Handpicked. Cold maceration for 3 days, followed by 6 days of fermentation, then 7 more days of maceration and 5 days of Malolactic fermentation. Aged 7 months in French, Russian, and American oak barrels. Bottled and aged 5 months more before release. For me, this is the pick of the release. You have to try it.

SEÑORÍO DE P. PECIÑA RESERVA 2001, DOCa Rioja (Spain); #82156; Price: $29.95; 13.4% ABV
A blend of Tempranillo (95%), Graciano (3%), and Garnacha (2%). Aged 3 years in oak barrels, then another 2 years after bottling. A real treat, it’s ready to drink now.

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My Dad

It's impossible to sum up my father in 500 words but, thanks to the Globe and Mail, I gave it a try here.

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