WINESCENE

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.

2011 Domaine Vaquer Esquisse Blanc

I have a special love of this winery, as it has been a hidden gem for years. But now that the good folks at Kermit Lynch are bringing in one of their wines, well perhaps it will achieve the notoriety it deserves. FWIW I have tasted the 2001 red vaquer that KLWM has in stock and recommend it highly for those who can receive wine from Berkeley's best known wine merchant.

Last night in Collioure I had the good fortune to find one of their wines on the list, and while I am very familiar with the Vaquer reds, the whites have not been something I'm at all familiar with. The 2011 Vaquer Esquisse is a delight as the blend of Roussanne (34%)  Maccabeu (33%)  Grenache Blanc (33%) has both fruit and minerality that lingers on the palate with lemon, lime and peach flavors. For a Côtes du Roussillon A.O.C. white wine, this is a real gem. The length and finish lingers, and as the bottle opens it only gets better.

 

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.

 

Related articles

• 15th Annual Rhone Rangers Wine and Food Festival in San Francisco (vinoconvistablog.me)

Vinisud Discover- Maury Wines

Yesterday I referenced the region in the Roussillion that has once again captured my attention. Over dinner on Sunday night my conversation with the winemaker of these wines,


led to an exploration of D66, the wine road that bisects the Maury.



And yes, like our own Route 66 the adventure is around every bend.

The youthful couple behind Domaine Des Enfants, she an American from Oregon, and he the young winemaker remind me of Dave and Becky Corey of Core Wine when I first met them almost ten years ago at Hospice du Rhone. with a bit of Morgan Clendenen tossed in. Their wines have a quality and purity that attracts me, as did the wines of Mad Camps and Serre Romani.




Farther south and heading over to the border hills close to Andorra is Clot de L'Oum





There reds and whites are mind blowing, and were first discovered at Willi's Wine Bar. Clearly in the class of Clos Des Fees, Gauby and Mad de la Rectorie, the five wines I tasted were each really fine examples of new winemakers working with very old vines who are making excellent wines with Grenache, Carignan, Syrah and Mourvedre us fantastic whites from Grenache Gris, Blanc, Macabo and Carignan Blanc. One of Mad Camps whites, made only from Sauvignon Blanc was mind numbingly exotic and was like having fruit cup without the sweetness.

Needless to say, the Maury will be on my next trip list to visit.

Occupy:Grenache Rising

Forget Wall Street and the London Stock Exchange. Occupy: Grenache has taken over Vinisud with nearly every wine being poured being related to Grenache. Call it Blanc, gris or rouge and Grenache is being found everywhere at the every other year Grenache fete.

And the Occupy Gang of Pour was out in force with dozens of only Grenache vignerons who risked bottle and grape to converge at Vinisud.

The first night was capped off at G-Night, the first in a series of wine event Occupy: Grenache takeovers.

Vinexpo is next.