The Power Schist: Southern French Reds

At the very Southern edge of France, nestled between the Pyrenees mountains and the Mediterranean sea, lies a wine region of great potential. Once known for only Vin Doux Naturels and red "plonk", both the Cotes du Rousillon and Languedoc AOPs have garnered attention from elite winemakers including M. Chapoutier and Gerard Bertrand. Dry red wines found within these regions are showing incredible structure, depth and intensity that are comparable in quality to some of their Southern Rhone neighbors. I spent the month of May tasting wines from both Cotes du Rousillon, the Languedoc and Corbieres and I was not disappointed!

The Cotes du Rousillon AOP runs from just north of the town of Perpignan, France, to the Spanish border. A hot, dry climate is found here as the sun shines approximately 320 days of the year. Low yielding Grenache bush vines dominate the vineyards, along with plantings of Syrah, Mourvedre, Carignan and Cinsault for the red wine blends. The black schist soil is one of the factors that has attracted the attention of winemakers around the world, creating age worthy red wines with power, complexity and structure.

M. Chapoutier's 2013 Bila-Haut Occultum Lapidem, meaning "A Secret" in Latin, really reflects the complexity and power of the Cotes du Rousillon Villages with ever-evolving flavors of plum, black fruit, leather, tobacco leaf and licorice. Velvety tannins and mouthwatering acidity combine to create a well structured, expressive blend of Syrah, Grenache and Carignan. This beauty is drinking well now, but could gain even more depth with 3-5 years of cellar aging.

The 2013 Tessellae Old Vine blend from Domaine Lafage (on page 27 of the link) casts a flavor profile of ripe red cherries, dried oregano and a lovely hint of baking spice on the finish. The high acidity establishes a strong backbone that the plush tannins are able to mesh with. This wine is extremely food friendly and would pair well with grilled meats and poultry. Composed of 40% Grenache, 40% Syrah and 20% Mourvedre.

East of Rousillon lies AOP Corbieres. Although the region is known for its extreme summers and rugged mountainous terrain, a wide variety of soil types are found here: limestone, schist, and clay among others. This helps to create full-bodied wines that marry well with foood. 

Chateau Trillol is located in Corbieres and is owned by the notable Sichel family of France. Their 2011 offering is deep ruby in colour with concentrated notes of raspberry, cherries, resin and black pepper on the palate. A well structured blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, encompassing fine tannins and sharp acidity into the full body. A lovely pairing with cheddar cheese.

Finally, Gerard Bertrand's 2011 Grenache Syrah AOP Languedoc features racy acidity balanced to well integrated tannins amidst a flavour profile of strawberries, cranberries and charcoal. A bright, cherry medicinal finish rounds out the palate. Decant for 45 minutes before enjoying to allow the red fruit flavours to shine.

Each of these wines range in price from $20-$30 CDN, making them a great value. 

All four of these beauties reflected the intensity gained from the schist soil and favourable climate for Grenache, Syrah and other southern French varietals. Now that the Cotes du Rousillon and Languedoc regions are gaining attention from noticeable producers, it's time wine lovers taste these gems for themselves! Cheers! 

Unorthodox Without Oak? A Glimpse at (Mostly) Unoaked Okanagan Chardonnay

I used to think that wine snobs turned their noses up towards unoaked Chardonnays, that the general demand was for rich, buttery Californians that carried a lot of body and flavour intensity.

But then I googled unoaked Chardonnay, and I was wrong.

Wine writers are taking note of the unoaked, Chablis-style Chardonnays. In fact, a trend in California is now to age their chards in stainless steel vats, toning down the richness and allowing the varietal to show more of its primary flavours.

The Okanagan region is embracing the unoaked style of Chardonnay as well, and my mother-in-law and I spent some time sampling some of these wines to see how BC does it. We tasted three different unoaked Chardonnays from different areas of the Okanagan wine region.

Nk'Mip's 2011 Winemaker's Chardonnay is partially aged in French oak but the natural flavours of Chardonnay stand out with notes of grapefruit, lemon, green apple and zesty acidity. Hints of straw on the finish give the wine body and finesse. 

Blasted Church's 2013 Unorthodox Chardonnay opens with a lovely bouquet of orchard fresh peaches and honeycrisp apples due to small amounts of the aromatic varietals Ehrenfelser and Gewurztraminer blended in. The palate reflects flavours of honeydew melon and a steely minerality that leads into a citrus finish. Pairs well with scallops and lean white fish.

Gray Monk's 2014 Unwooded Chardonnay has a flavour profile that is consistent with the other two wines above, with notes of green apple, underripe peach and a hint of green banana on the palate. Fresh acidity with a zesty finish, this wine is ideal as an aperitif or on its own in pleasant warm weather!

It was interesting to note that none of these wines underwent malolactic fermentation during the winemaking process. The trend here is to showcase the natural fruit flavours that come with the varietal. 

Now that Spring is here, light white wines will surely be returning to the forefront of winelovers' minds when the sun is shining. Why not celebrate Spring with one of these fresh and lively wines? Your tastebuds will thank you. 

Cheers!

A Tale of Two Chenins

My blog post inspirations are coming to me as flukes so far this year. I wasn't expecting to focus on Italian reds last month, and I wasn't planning a post on Chenin Blancs in February either. But they say the best things happen by fluke!

A friend of mine journeyed to Perth, Australia during the first few weeks of the year. While he was "down under", he toured the Swan River wine region of Western Australia. He found a gem of a Chenin Blanc and brought a bottle back to share over dinner one night. 

Since I also had a bottle of Loire Valley Chenin Blanc in my cellar, I decided to see how both wines compare and contrast eachother from a new world vs old world perspective, and new release vs older vintage to see how the varietal progresses.

The 2014 Windy Creek Estate Chenin Blanc opens with a pronounced floral bouquet of white and orange blossom and hints of stone fruit. Intense flavours of apricot, yellow apples and lime envelope the palate, with fresh acidity and a lush mouthfeel. A youthful, wonderful warm weather sipper!

Chenin Blanc's homeland is in the Loire Valley and the Chateau de Targe 2008 "Les Frenettes" reflects a well-developed, well structured wine in its varietal's birthplace. Deep gold in colour, with notes of baked bananas, pineapple and gala apples on both the nose and the palate. Rich in body with a slight tang in the soft acidity.A hint of melon liqueur rounded out the finish.

I was surprised to detect more exotic fruits on the older Chenin Blanc as that can be a character trait of the young wines or wines from a more tropical climate. But since Chenin Blanc can express a wide variety of flavours this may come down to the ripeness of the grapes when they were picked.

You really can't go wrong with Chenin Blanc as it can be made into wines from dry and ripe in style to sweet and honeyed. The grape is also being cultivated in South Africa and California but it's great to see it can grow well in a region like Western Australia. I haven't yet had a Chenin Blanc that I didn't agree with, and I look forward to drinking more that will please my palate!

My next blog post will explore unoaked Chardonnays from the Okanagan. Is the crisp, clean style really as off-putting as wine snobs think it is? Stay tuned!