WINESCENE

2011 Michel Gassier Nostre Pais Blanc - A Stunning White For Under $20.00 From France

Français : Feuilles de Vignes - Grenache Blanc (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I'm not so much a white wine buyer these days, but the wine I'm very excited about and thankful that I bought two cases of is the 2011 Michel Gassier Nostre Pais Blanc, a delightful blend made from three Rhone grapes. The wine is 90 percent Grenache Blanc, while the remaining ten percent is equal parts of Roussanne and Viognier. This is a far different wine than the 2010 Lou Cacardie which is equally impressive and desirable as a first wine of the night. Here in California the wine can be found for under $17.00 at leading online retailers like the Wine House in Los Angeles and JJ Buckley out of the Bay Area.

Gassier, whose wines come from either the North end of the Languedoc or the Southern end of the Rhone are fantastic. His alignment with consulting winemaker/oeneologist Philip Cambie also can't be discounted, as Cambie is becoming the Rhone grape equal to Italy's Ricardo Cotarella 

The comparisons being made to the Beaucastel Viellies Vignes are notable, but the Nostre Pais blanc is a different wine, other than the nose. The Beaucastel wine will likely live longer, and develop a more waxy quality, while the Gassier white will be far more aromatic and drier. Grenache Blanc is an amazing grape, and here in the USA both Tablas Creek and Margerum Wine Company also make some amazing wines from it. Availability and production while small in the USA is booming in France, and while Gassier makes wines at the top end of the Languedoc, I found that wines in the Roussillion made from Grenache Blanc, like the 2010 Clos des Fees Grenache Blanc to be one of the most ethereal examples of the grape, especially when blended with some rarer Grenache Gris. These are all white wines to seek out and enjoy as I am finding that Grenache Blanc based wines are some of the most food friendly whites around, being right up there with dry Riesling as the supurb alternative to Chardonnay.

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English: Modified version of Commons image Image:Rhone transit suspension.jpg to show the major cities, rivers and wine regions of the Northern Rhone Valley (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Last night I drank a bunch of wonderful wines that just have to be noted. I was up in Seattle for a birthday dinner of a friend. The dinner was at Terra Plata, an urban bistro that has to be on your must visit list if you ever make it to the Emerald City.

The first red wine was the Le Petit Cheval, 2003, a Bordeaux blend that was light, silky and smooth. It was very clearly ready and and delicious.

The second wine that just needs to be known about is from a winery I have become a fan of. Domain de Mourchon, is a Rhone Valley producer I have gotten to know this year. Nestled up in Seguret, not far from another winery I'm fond of, Chene Bleu, is the McKinley family's winery. The 2007 Domaine de Mourchon Family Reserve is made from 100 percent Grenache, and is so complex and rich, layered with forrest floor, raspberry, blackberry and cherry flavors. The wine is nowhere near showing any age, and will clearly go for another 8-10 years. It's complex, knitted and tasty. 

The last two wines are wines that are special to me. The first is the 2009 Comunicano Wine Company Syrah, that I blended in conjunction with friend and winemaker Doug Margerum. The second is the 2007Domaine d'Aupilhac Les Cocalieres. Both are moving along nicely, and are showing forward development and lots of years ahead. The Comunicano red is becoming the Northern Rhone style red that I envisioned when I first started with Doug on the project. The Aupilhac wine is numbingly complex and requires an hour or two to open, but when it does, it goes from being a very good wine, to something for the textbooks of what a wine from the Languedoc should be. Garrigue herbs, fruity middle and an amazingly long, lingering finish.

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Clot de l'Origine from Maury, France

When one thinks of wines in the Maury region of the Cotes de Roussillion the usual thought is big, full throttle very Rhone like wines that we see so much of. But, all across the Roussillion Valley there's a movement afoot to make lighter, less extacted and more natural wines. At the front of the line of that is Marc Barriot and his tiny garage winery in Maury, Clot de l'Orgine.

I met Marc at an "off" prior to the start of Vinisud this past February and was impressed with his wine, especially, the whites he's making from Grenache Gris, Blanc and Macabau, the latter which is quickly becoming one of my favorite "white" grapes while his reds that are wines made of Carignan, Syrah, Grenache Cinsault and Mourvedre have a quality not usually found in the area. Marc makes his wines organically, and a look at his vineyard and tasting his finished product shows alot. His wines have a very natural character to them, with tastes of herbs and spices. The nuances in his wines are not for those who don't know, as Marc's wines, when tasted very young require a more educated palate to taste through the wines, but once one does, one finds that the wines of Clot d'Origine are more like Burgundy, then the Rhone. They are not cookie cutter wines like in Napa or Bordeaux, where better wine through chemistry is at work. No, Clot d'Origine wines very terroir specific as are many other wines here in the Roussillion.

Having tasted through most if not all of Marc's wines, one can only hope a smart importer in the USA picks up the wines, and sells them through merchants who can talk about the wines, not just sell them based on their price and value. Personally, I've become a fan of his Les Quilles Libres and AOC Côtes du Roussillon Village wine that is made from 80 percent Grenache, with the rest Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault. There's a great quality in the wine that has it screaming for Tomme de Catelan, local cheese that ripe and nutty, or a nice piece of venison.

 

 

2006 Mas Baux Velours Rouge Cotes Catalanes

During Vinisud one of the wineries from the Banyuls-Collioure region was Domain Mas Baux from Canet de Roussillion so while browsing in a local wine store in Argeles Sur Mer for obscurities that are not imported into the USA I saw they had a six year young bottle of the 2006 Mas Baux Velours Rouge Cotes Catalanes, which I recalled from my talk with the winemaker was a year that needed time. Well, given it was on the shelf, I was in the region, I decided for the whopping price of under 10 Euros to give it a go. And go it did, as the blend of Grenache and Syrah which has since changed to Grenache and Mourvedre was stunning. Bright, flavorful, jammy and perfect with the local Tome Catalanes cheese I picked up around the corner to taste along side the local finds.

The wine has a bouquest of blackberry, raspberry and blueberry jam, with nice mineral notes as well. On the palate it's just yummy. Think Cotes du Rhone made in Napa or Sonoma, where the maritime heat brings out more of the flesh of the fruit, layers it with that taste of grape jam we all loved as kids being slathered onto toast in the morning. Well, that's how this wine is. Jammy, ripe, tasty and not at all tarty. The 2010 I recall from Vinisud needed time. It was just out of the barrel and to be candid, the wine was not yet finished. Now having tasted an older, well bottle aged version, I can safely say that Mas Baux makes wines of character and flavor, and is the kind of find you want to keep all to yourself, but know better that wine is for sharing. It was like finding an old friend, and the kind of friend you really can appreciate.

Les Clos de Paulilles Collioure Wine and Food

Le Ferme Auberge is part of the winery and vineyard complex operated by Les Clos de Paulilles, one of the more interesting locations to see wine grown and made in Southern France. With the vineyards jutting out close to the sea, a backdrop of the Collioure wine growing hillsides even a rainy day couldn't ruin a good meal and solid wines all for 39 Euros a person and all inclusive. In a word, the food and wine experience fantastic.

The starters were two different types of Tapenades, served with the 2011 Les Clos de Paulilles Colioure Rose. The Rose is Syrah and Grenache, and very much a fruit bomb versus the more drier style from Bandol or Tavel. This is followed by their 2011 Les Clos de Paulilles Collioure white wine, made from Grenache Gris and Grenache Blanc tht had been nicely paired with the Piperade of Rascasse, rockfish, red peppers all in a lovely compote. Next up is their red wine, the 2009 Les Clos de Paulilles Collioure Rouge which is made from 80 percent Mourvedre and 20 percent Syrah. I really enjoyed the pairing with the lemon sauce roasted chicken dish right from their farm as the whole preparation actually reminded me of the chicken dishes served at Ferme Gaston in old Lyon.

The meal, which was perfectly served by the female manager  was rounded out by two of their Vin De Natural Banyuls, both which are made from Grenache in slightly different way. The younger Banyuls was paired with blue cheese and a home made cake, followed by chocolate on chocolate and the slightly longer aged in barrel 2009 Cap Bear Banyuls which was a perfect pairing, that was so good I attempted to buy a bottle, but the manager wouldn't let me. She insisted on gifting it to me.  Having looked at the weather earlier in the day I contemplated canceling lunch, but in the end I was very happy that I decided to keep my reservation. Solid wines. Solid service and a great value...with very good farm to table cooking that others try to emulate and never quite.

 

Domaine de La Rectorie, Banyuls Sur Mer

For many years I've been a fan of wines from Banyuls, the wine growing region at the bottom of France's Roussillion region. The Rousillion is a wine region that produces a lot of wine, especially red, and many of the grapes end up in bulk wine, or blended into other wines that are strictly for the mass market. But like the Languedoc to the north, with which it shares a heritage and an AOC, the area two regions are as diverse as California, Spain or Italy with massive local pride and a rising tide of new, innovative winemakers looking to recreate an experience, using non-indiginous grapes, working completely organically, or older and longer established producers making changes to their fore-fathers traditional approaches to winemaking.

Domaine de La Rectorie,is situated on a quiet street in the lovely seaside town of Banyuls. La Rectorie is one of those in the latter category,whose owners are relatives of the legendary Dr. Parce of Domaine du Mas Blanc,heralded for many years as the best of the bunch when it comes to the sweet Banyuls wines. Having been visiting the winery for almost two decades, the winery, has always provided a wonderful glimpse into the way wines can be from this now-emerging region.

Along with Pierre Parce, the resident photographer whose skillful works adorn the wine labels, I got to taste their current releases including both a short aged and longer aged current release of their Banyuls Rimage.

The 2011 L'Argile (the clay) is a blend of Greanche Gris and Grenache Blanc, and while very lean and angular today, it shows the expressive minerality and finesse that I've come to expect from the wine. Flavors of orange citrus, peach, pear and nectarine are evident even now, and if one gives this wine two or three years one will find the fleshiness of the fruit coming through. The 2011 Collioure Cote Mer Rose is a blend, and fresh press of Grenache, Carignan and Syrah. It's dry with layers upon layers of fresh fruit, that is perfect for a summer day. The reds, ranging from the 2010 Oriental, a 100 percent all Grenache wine that is pure silk and ripe strawberry elegance, while the 2010 Montagne, a blend of Grenache, Counoise, Carignan and Mourvedre is an amazing assembly of two of the hardest grapes to work with and the run wild in the vineyard Grenache. Ripe, fruit forward, concetrated and smooth, this is a wine that has the aging potential for 10 years or more, but the drinkability of something you can open right now. Last of the dry reds is the 2010 Cote Mer, a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Carignan is bigger, but by no means any less elegant, offering up more blueberry notes that the strawberry flavored Montagne.

The tasting ended with both 2010 RImage VDN's. The younger more exotic Cuvee Therese Reig and the bigger and brasher Leon Parce, the latter which sees additional time in the barrel. Both are stunning examples of naturally sweet Grenache being made in the Roussllion.

My 2012 Rose Day

Every year I invite a bunch of friends over for a start of summer BBQ. Rose wines are the flavor of the day and yesterday we went through a range of the pink juice ranging from both the 2011 and 2010 vintages withh wines from Spain, the USA and France. 

Off the cuff, the 2011's from France are stunning and drinkable right now. Perhaps the most precosious of any vintage I can remember, across the board they were dry, fruity and on the mark, with three standing out from the nine French Rose's of which 8 were from 2011.

The winners were:

Provence-2011 Chateau d'Esclans Whispering Angel, Cotes de Provence is mostly Grenache with some Rolle in the blend of a total of seven different grapes.

Languedoc-2011 Domaine de Pujol Rose, Vin d' Pays de Heurault is a lovely blend of Cinsault, Carignan, Grenache and Mourvèdre.

Rhone-2011 Le Prieure de Montezargues Tavel Rose a blend of Grenache Noir and Blanc, Cinsault, Clairette, Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan and Bourbourblanc.

Hands down the Le Prieure de Montezargues Tavel Rose was the wine of the day for being the classic French Rose, but the crispness of the Chateau d'Esclans Whispering Angel and it's pale pink color makes it the ideal poolside sipper. As for the Pujol, layers upon layers of fruit, along with the crispness it offers, along with the nice dry backbone made it a no brain choice.

Tapas Tasting in SF-Wine not only food

Image via Wikipedia

TAPAS, which stands for the Tempranillo Adovactes Producers and Amigos Society announced their annual Grand Tasting event for June 9th in San Francisco.

If you like wines from Spain and Portugal, then here's the opportunity to see what's being done here in the states with Tempranillo. Both long time friends David Corey of Core Wines and Cris Cherry of Villa Creek have been working with the Spanish grape for some time, as has Bob Lindquist and his wife, so clearly with those folks at the forefront and others from around California working with it, the Iberian grape should have legs.

 

Arnaldo Caprai-Montefalco Rosso

Osteria in Arezzo (Photo credit: Monica Arellano-Ongpin)

Over the past few nights in Italy I've come across both the 2007 and 2008 Arnaldo-Caprai Montefalco Rosso both in Rome at the imaginative Glass Hostoria and last night at Ristorante Osteria del Teatro in Foligno (where I'm going back again tonight).

While the 07 at Glass Hostoria was closed and could have shown better with decanting, the 2008 was an immediate hit out of the bottle. The blend of mostly Sangiovese and a bit of Sagrentino was stunning, with amazingly lively flavors of cherries and berries, plums and cassis. It was mouthfilling and generous in fruit, soft in tannins as it rolled gently off the tounge. The 07 was the opposite. Due to it being served improperly, the wine was closed, austere and lean, and wasn't ready for a full hour after it was opened, and sadly, that wasn't until the third and final course, meaning it was my dessert. Once it opened it was oppulent and full, and in reality a more complex, but not better wine than the currently available 2008. Both are enjoyable, but for near term drinking based on those two bottles go with the 2008. For longer term aging, go with the 2007. 

For me, this wine is a solid replacement for Chianti Classico or Cotes du Rhone reds...

 

 

Rhone Rangers - the Next Big Wine Event

Image of Qupé via Snooth

Sadly, due to my flight schedule I'll be missing the San Diego chapter wine event of Family Winemakers tasting. My passes arrived but I'll be flying back from London this coming Sunday. But....that means I'm even more focused on the upcoming Rhone Rangers tasting in San Francisco, the weekend of March 24-25 at Fort Mason.

Over the past 15 years or so the Rhone Rangers have done more to promote Rhone grapes and wines grown and made here in the USA than any organization around. The events are very well organized and easy to find. They keep a laid back approach to the tastings and yet at the same time you pretty much have a who's who when it comes to Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah and the other Rhone varietals. It's also the chance to catch up with old friends like Qupe's Bob Lindquist, his son Ethan-who is making amazing wines these days, as well as David Corey of Core wines and others.

If you're in the Bay Area, put the event on your calendar.

 

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