Blog #14 Riesling: It's The Contradictions That Make It Great

Last weekend I tasted 3 very different, but very interesting Rieslings and it really illustrated to me the point that it is some of Riesling's self contradictions that make it so good. Now I adore Riesling, for whatever reason I have not mentioned this point on my blog thus far, but in all honesty it certainly ranks as one of my favourite grapes without a doubt. There is something very special about good Riesling; it's ability to really express terroir, it's amazing acidity, it's massive diversity of styles, to name a few. But, what really struck me last weekend is the fact that Riesling makes wines that have contradictions and I think that is what makes them so good.

First, good Riesling has an incredible ability to have that bit of lovely sweetness, but remains so refreshing and crisp due to its awesome acidity. In good examples this creates a fascinating tension where at points the sweetness imposes itself then the refreshing acidity. Secondly, Riesling often possesses this strange ability to very creamy and full bodied in the mouth, yet come of as elegant and full of finesse. Again this has much to do with that interplay between sweetness and acidity. Finally, Riesling often takes on very strange notes that sound off putting, but are actually amazingly addictive (i.e. notes of petrol and kerosine). All off these points are rather self contradictory, but this is what makes Riesling such an amazing grape. Each of the wines I tasted over the weekend possesed one or more of these self contradictory qualities, and all were quite enjoyable for very different reasons. Hopefully my tasting notes will better illustrate my point in this blog.

Huff Estates - Off Dry Riesling - 2008 - VQA Ontario (Prince Edward County) - Canada

Unfortunately there is not much information specifically about this wine, but I will be visiting Huff Estates in March so I will post more after my visit. I can tell you that they have 45 acres planted to vine composed of three different vineyards. The vines are planted on Prince Edward County clay/loam soils on limestone bedrock. The winery is "committed to producing wines that will express the finest in terroir from Prince Edward County." This wine was made by French winemaker Frederic Picard who has professional certification in Agriculture Management and Viticulture Oenology as well as an M.A. in Business and Finance. He has made wine in France, Italy, Chile, and South Africa.

The wine is quite pale with a slight yellow tinge. Subtle notes of petrol, lemon and lime citrus, candied fruit, and something akin to those mint butterscotch candies. The wine is absolutely great in the mouth with complex flavours of lemon meringue, citrus fruits, apple, apricot and a lovely touch of sweetness. All of this is balanced by laser like acidity that cuts through the palate. It is medium- full bodied with a nice creamy mouth feel, but the acidity makes this wine feel light and refreshing at the same time. This is really great stuff and definitely my style of Riesling, a real classic expression. With air more the fruit notes become more pronounced and the whole nose is more floral overall with the mouth flavours and textures remaining so good. You could criticize this wine for not really expressing its terrior, but this really is delicious. Excellent.

Thirty Bench - Riesling - 2006 - VQA Beamsville Bench- Niagara Penninsula - Ontario - Canada

Thirty Bench has pretty much made a name for itself for being on of Ontario's Riesling specialists. They are especially known for their three single vineyard Rieslings (Steel Post Vineyard, Triangle Vineyard, and Wood Post Vineyard) I have not tried these single vineyard offerings yet, but would very much like to in the future. This specific wine was hand picked and sourced from their three single vineyards mentioned above, it was then cool fermented in stainless steel and bottled afterwards.The soils of the Beamsville Bench are composed of gravel, sand, silt, and clay with a mix of shale, sandstone, and dolomitic limestone. The wine was made by Thirty Bench's current winemaker Natalie Reynolds who is a graduate of the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute.

The wine is pale yellow gold in colour. The nose has notes of petrol, stone fruit, sour white cranberry, and a bit of urine. In the mouth there is a lot of sweet citrus fruits, stone fruits, lime and broad minerality. The wine has a strong acid backbone which keeps everything very fresh and the finish is dominated by fresh mineral notes. The sour notes are bit off putting. With air the sour notes drop a bit and it takes on a more mature petrol dominated nose with citrus fruits and more interesting mineral notes. Overall, however, it seems that this wine is still at an awkward stage in its development where it hasn't taken on all of its mature notes and flavours. If this does come together it could potentially be very good. Good+

Balbach - Nierstein Pattenthal - Riesling Kabinett - 2008 - QmP Rheinhessen - Germany (Fritz Hasselbach- Gunderloch Estate)

The Balbach estate was owned by the Balbach family since the early 1600s, but was taken over in 1996 by Fritz Hasselbach and his team of the hugely famous Gunderloch estate in the Rheinhessen. Hasselbach and co. are known for hand cultivation, harvesting and low yields. They use gentle crushing without destemming and gravity flow to vats where a slow temperature controlled fermentation process. The wines do not undergo any malolactic fermentation. This wine is sourced from the Pattenthal vineyard which is steeply sloped to face toward the Rhine river, which is directly adjacent to it and has a soil composition of clay and slate. According to Eckhard Supp it is one of the top 7 single vineyard sites in the Rheinhessen.

Very pale yellow in colour this wine possesses a lovely floral garden nose. Notes of faint lilac, lavender, fresh flowers and a hint of green rise from the glass conjuring up what a spring meadow would smell like this is further complicated by notes of citrus fruit. In the mouth the wine is so creamy rich feeling with flavours of sweet pit fruits and creamy sweetness which is all balanced right out by a lovely acidic backbone adding nice tension. It has nectar like qualities, in a very good way. I haven't had any other wines from the Pattenthal vineyard, but this seems to be a nice expression of it, it is too unique not to have been influenced by its terrior. The wine is extremely delicate and full of finesse with a beautiful lingering finish. This wine is just purely beautiful stuff really elegant, love it. Excellent.

Blog #13 A Californian Cab

I do not usually drink wines from California not because I do not think they can make outstanding wine (which they most certainly can) but mainly because I find them to be a bit overpriced for what you get. I mean there isn't much under $17 and there is always the worry that you'll pay $20+ and get a fruity mess of a wine. Nonetheless this bottle in particular was a gift and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The wine itself is not very complex but this is more than made up for by the fact that it is just purely delicious. In fact it is hard to think of anyone who would not like this wine, even the most hardened non-wine drinker would say that this is some tasty stuff. I would put this on the top of my list to take to any dinner party or gathering where I wanted to bring wine and please everyone.

Clos LaChance is an interesting family owned and operated winery founded in 1992. Although owners Bill and Brenda Murphy has been growing grapes in their backyard since 1987. The winery produces wines from their own estate grown fruit which is loacted on 150 acres in San Martin, California. In all the grow roughly 20 different varietals made up of 60 different clones. They are committed to vineyard sustainability and sustainable farming practices and are one of the most modern wineries around. They have installed a computerized vineyard maintenance and data recording system which includes soil and leaf sensors, weather stations, as well as automated irrigation. All of the wines are produced by winemaker Stephen Tebb.

Clos LaChance - Ruby Throated Hummingbird - Cabernet Sauvignon - 2006 - Central Coast - Califorinia - USA

Calling this wine a Cabernet Sauvignon as the label does is a bit of a misnomer as it contains a whole smattering of Bordeaux varietels. It is composed of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon 16% Merlot 3% Malbec 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Sourced entirely from estate grown fruit the grapes were hand picked and sorted. The grapes were completely destemmed and cold soaked for 24-48hrs in open/closed topped stainless steel fermenters. The wine was then completely fermented in stainless steel with inoculation and pumping over occurring twice a day except when fermentation reached its peak where this number was increased to 4 times a day. Post fermentation the wine was left to settle for 48 hours then racked into barrels which consisted of 20% new French oak and 10% new American oak. The wine was then aged for 12 months in oak then bottled.

The wine is attractive purple in colour with a ruby red rim. The nose is quite pretty showing tons of ripe red fruit, blueberries, blackberries, sweet vanilla, toast, plum, and clove. In the mouth the wine is ripe round and delicious with waves of smooth ripe red fruits, plums, and berries cascading the palate. As sweetly fruited as this wine is it remains nicely balanced and clean with no jamminess whatsoever. The wine finishes with pretty sweet fruit notes. The wine is not overly complex, but absolutely delicious. It is just so ripe, so round and so tasty. Really yummy stuff. Very Good.

Blog #12 Try Chenin Blanc from the Loire

I really think all wine drinkers should pay more attention to Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley. I wrote about a fantastic sparkling wine from Vouvray made from Chenin Blanc and tonight I am posting about a lovely wine from Saumur also made of Chenin. Both these wines have convinced me that we really need to start paying more attention to this excellent grape and the Loire Valley in general. For whatever reason Chenin Blanc has fallen to the wayside in our wine minds trumped by oceans of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc (Loire's biggest white grape), and Riesling. It may have something to do with the fact that if Chenin Blanc is not grown in the right place it usually makes wines that are utterly bland and neutral. I am thinking of some examples from South Africa and Argentina.

The Loire Valley has been making outstanding wines for a long time, yet it has largely been forgotten about. Aside from it's two most popular regions Pouilly Fume and Sancerre where Sauvignon Blanc reigns, the rest of the region remains under appreciated. I am thinking of regions like Chinon (home to Cabernet Franc), Vouvray, Saumur, and Savennieres (home to Chenin Blanc) and Muscadet Sevre & Maine (home to Melon de Bourgogne), just to name a few. All of Loire's regions are well worth discovering , the quality is extremely high, there is a multitude of characterful and interesting wines, not to mention the fact that prices are extremely good. For example, of the greatest wines of the region Nicolas Joly's Coulee de Serrant widely considered by critics to be one of the top white wines in the world retails for roughly $100 CDN. Compared to classified growth Bordeaux, cru Burgundy, or flagship wines from Australia this is really quite cheap.

I realize that I have gone a bit off topic by focusing more on the Loire Valley itself rather than Chenin Blanc from the Loire, so I will refocus. Chenin Blanc is absolutely wonderful especially from its home, the Loire Valley. It seems to exhibit the perfect balance between fruit and acidity while remaining rich and opulent resulting in absolutely beguiling wines. Furthermore, the grape is so versatile making outstanding sparkling wines, bone dry versions, off dry beauties and unctuous dessert wines. In this regard it is really only matched by Riesling for pure versatility. The wonderful thing about Chenin from the Loire is that the wines are a fairly low prices, but all show a ton of character and interest. I would highly recommend trying anything from Vouvray, Saumur, or Savennieres all of which use pretty much exclusively Chenin Blanc. There is no doubt in my mind that you will be very impressed.

The wine I am blogging about tonight is from Saumur and at $12.95 makes a great case for the fact that you do not have spend a great deal of money for fascinating, individual, and characterful wine. The next time you have a $12 - $15 bottle of Chardonnay, Riesling, or Sauvignon Blanc in your hand put it down and look to Chenin Blanc from the Loire. Try something different and be impressed.

Domaine de la Seigneurie des Tourelles - Saumur Blanc - 2008 - Loire Valley - France (Joseph Verdier)

This wine is produced by the large Joseph Verdier wine trading company based out of the Loire Valley. This company owns a ton of wineries throughout the Valley from Chinon to Vouvray. There is not too much information available about this wine except that it is 100% Chenin Blanc grown in chalky tufa soil.

The wine is an attractive golden yellow colour. The nose is absolutely gorgeous with notes of candied tropical fruit, sweet melon, pear, quince with depths of what I can only describe as freshness. In the mouth the wine is just delicious, medium-full bodied, smooth and voluptuous with flavours of tropical fruit and lime with a great backbone of acidity. The wine finishes dry with a lovely balance and an interesting mineral note. It is the nose that really steals the show as it is pretty complicated and so lovely. It is not easily deconstructed as the notes of sweet fruits are always present, but there is a hidden mineral/earthy depth that I cannot quite put my finger on. Overall the wine is beautifully balanced and interesting. Very Good.

Blog # 11 Two Excellent Ontario Cabernet Franc's

I am really starting to think that Cabernet Franc is one of Ontario's best grapes. This is especially true when the producer is quality conscious, reduces yields, and is focused on terroir expression. Caberenet Franc is rarely bottled as a single varietal, with the only well known area known for doing so being the Chinon region of the Loire Valley in France, where it seems to have originated. Now Cab Franc is a key component in some of the world's greatest and most expensive wines in Bordeaux, but is largely forgotten about and overshadowed by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Interestingly enough, it has now been genetically proven that Cab Franc is actually one of the parent grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, the other being Sauvignon Blanc. In Ontario I have found that it performs very well as a single varietal bottling, especially in hot and dry vintages like 2007.

The two wines I am blogging about tonight are both 100% Cabernet Franc's from Ontario's 2007 vintage, and both are just excellent and quite interesting. The first, is the wine I was most impressed with on my visit to The Grange of Prince Edward winery in October. I would have blogged about it earlier, but I was waiting to get some of information from winemaker Jeff Innes. The second wine is made by the Niagara College Teaching Winery, located in the Niagara Peninsula and is Canada's first and only teaching winery. Proceeds from wine sales dare directly invested into their winery studies programs, which is great. Both wines show how good Ontario Cabernet Franc can be and why I think it is one of the province's best grapes. In fact it would be interesting to put them up against some top Loire Cab Franc's in a blind tasting, I think they would do quite well.

The Grange of Prince Edward - Cabernet Franc - 2007 - VQA Prince Edward County- Ontario - Canada

The Grange of Prince Edward's 2007 Cabernet Franc is sourced exclusively from 5,000 vines (Clone 327 on 3309) planted in the estate's Northfield Vineyard. The soil of the vineyard according to winemaker Jeff Innes is known as Hiller clay with the bedrock being made up of limestone. The wine was fermented in stainless steel and then immediately transferred to French oak barrels from two different coopers. Here the wine underwent full malolactic fermentation and remained for roughly 12 months before it was course filtered and bottled. According to Mr. Innes the wine's prime drinking time will be within the next 3-5 years due to the young age of the vines (planted in 2003).

The wine is pale ruby red in colour. The nose is quite unique and very interesting with notes of cranberry, lemon, mulled spice, citrus red fruit, and a great Prince Edward County earthiness. In the mouth it is light to medium bodied and very smooth with replays of spice and red berries. Everything is perfectly balanced by the slightest touch of tannin. The finish has an awesome Prince Edward County terroir twist that is difficult to describe, but is so good. Overall this wine is a pure expression of Prince Edward County not to mention just lovely and delicious. It is only available at the winery, but is definitely worth the trip. Excellent.

Niagara College Teaching Winery - Cabernet Franc - 2007 - Donald J.P. Ziraldo Vineyard - VQA St. David's Bench - Niagara Peninsula - Ontario - Canada

I do not have as much information about this wine, but will share what I could gather. The wine was sourced exclusively from the wineries Donald J. P. Ziraldo vineyard located on the Niagara Peninsula's St. David's Bench. The Bench sits 105-150 m above sea level with a soil composition of silty clay and clay loam on top of a red sandstone bedrock. Although not specified by the winery based on the 2006's treatment the wine was likely fermented in stainless steel and aged in oak where it underwent malolactic fermentation. If anyone has more information about this wine please share it.

The wine is dark ruby red in colour. The nose is very pretty with notes of raspberry, cassis, cranberry, and spice. In the mouth it is very smooth and round with a ton of depth. Delicious flavour's of cola, cassis and cranberry are pretty much everywhere. This stuff is delicious, I mean really delicious and has so much depth in the mouth it is actually shocking. The wine finishes with a beautiful lingering cranberry spice note that is way longer than anyone would expect. Overall the wine smells and tastes so good, but it is the depth in the mouth and really long finish that I am really impressed with. I have to say it, wow! Great job Niagara College, this is very impressive stuff. Excellent, without a doubt.

Blog #10 Tasting the Languedoc

(The historical information contained in this post was derived from Andre Domine's excellent book entitled 'Wine'. Here is the publishing information: Domine, A. (2007). Wine (5th ed.) Konigswinter: Tandem Verlag GmbH.)

There is no doubt in my mind that the area between the Southern Rhone Valley and the Spanish border known as the Languedoc-Roussillon or Midi represents some of the best value wines around. It is a region steeped in wine making history with historical records showing that grapes were grown here over 2ooo years ago. This makes a lot of sense given the region is dry with a ton of sunshine and poor soils, perfect for making great wines. There is some evidence that shows the region was famous for producing excellent wines during the height of the Roman Empire. Unfortunately for the past several centuries the region has been known for producing massive amounts of poor quality wines.

The factors that lead to this are multifaceted and has much to do with the regions history and economics. Andre Domine and co-writers in their excellent book simply entitled 'Wine' point to several factors. First, after the collapse of the Roman Empire demand for wine diminished and much of what was produced in the Languedoc remained within its borders. Then in the 17th Century when the famous Canal du Midi was constructed the region was reopened to trade. However, at this time wine was not nearly as fashionable as distilled liqueurs like Brandy. So many producers in the region opted to grow high yielding grapes and distill them. In the 19th Century with the Industrial Revolution in full swing demand for cheap, consumable wine came from the working class in the cities as a way to nourish themselves and escape from the horrific conditions. It thus became highly lucrative to make as much wine as possible, quality was not at all an issue. Producers in the Languedoc responded by planting even more high yielding grape varieties and by the end of the 19th Century the region was the largest wine growing area in the world at roughly 1.14 Million acres planted.

It seems the mentality of mass producing wine with no thought of quality remained ingrained in producers minds as the 20th Century rolled on. Between the Phylloxera outbreak, economics issues and two world wars not much changed in the region until the 1970s. This was when irrigation was introduced to the region and soon growing vegetables and fruits became much more profitable than making wine, producers were forced to respond. They did so by looking for the best growing sites and producing smaller amounts of better quality wine. In the late 1970s the now famous Aime Guibert released his first vintage of Mas de Dumas Gassac which in only a few years had critics agreeing that the wine rivaled some of Bordeaux's finest. This proved that the region could indeed produce top quality wine if proper vineyard sites were selected, yields were kept low and the focus was on quality not quantity.

Hence, a revolution began in the region with forward thinking producers focusing on quality. This was also aided by the creation of several Appellations in the region which were considered distinct, interesting and could produce good quality wine. The Appellation system also set rules for grape types, yield limits, and types of fermentation allowed. The early 1980s saw a boom in these new Appellations as Faugeres, Saint Chinian, Minervois, and Corbieres all came into existence. Now 20 years later the region is still a work in progress and has a way to go, but it is really starting to become a reliable place for interesting, characterful, and quality wines at bargain prices.

Now certainly the top producers like Mas de Dumas Gassac and Mas Jullien are commanding higher prices, but the region is filled with small quality minded producers making great stuff. It does take a little bit of homework to find which producers are the best, but lately I have found that if it says Saint Chinian, Faugeres, Corbieres, or Fitou on the label your chances that it will be good are quite high. At the least the quality and character will be there if not the easy drinkability many have come to expect from wine, but that is whole point. These wines make you work a bit, but it almost always pays off. And at an average of $12-$15 for most bottles it is a much better choice over much of the junk on the shelves at the same price. So I definitely encourage to give some Languedoc wines a try I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

It was in this spirit that I decided to have a fun comparative tasting last week of two Langeudoc reds one from Saint Chinian and one from Corbieres. I have posted my producer and tasting notes below.

Domaine Combebelle - Saint Chinian - 2007 - Les Vignobles de Foncalieu - Saint Chinian- Languedoc -France

From what I understand this wine is produced by Les Vignobles de Foncalieu which is a massive wine co-operative with member vine growers throughout the Languedoc. It is not to be confused with another Saint Chinian producer known as Chateau de Combebelle which is piquing the interest of several wine critics (perhaps I will get a chance to try a bottle soon.) There is not much information available about this wine, which is unfortunate as the Foncalieu website is under construction. From the back label this is what we do know. The Domaine is situated on 20 hectares near the village of Cazedarnes. The grapes are grown in chalk, clay, and stony soil on slopes and terraces with Southern exposure. The wine is a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Carignan.

The wine is an inky purple colour with notes of subtle strawberry, mint and an interesting tomato vine green note on the nose. In the mouth it is light to medium bodied and smooth and round in the mouth with a note of slate and subtle fruit which sweetens slightly on the finish. With air the nose displays some notes of dried herbs and stones with the same simple earthy fruit in the mouth. Overall the wine is simple and well made, but I found it to be rather boring especially compared to the Corbieres that was tasted with it. The slate note in the mouth was the only interesting thing. Good.

Chateau de Vaugelas - La Prieure - Corbieres - 2007 - Corbieres - Languedoc- France

The Chateau de Vaugelas has been in the hands of the Bonfils family for five generations. The family owns 110 hectares in Corbieres situated on argilio-limestone soils mixed with galets the large round rocks made famous by the Chateauneuf du Pape region. The property saw major investment in the mid 1990s by the Bonfils family including the hiring of oenologist Robert Dejean and Georges Pauli, who is the technical director of Chateau Gruaud-Larose in St. Julien, Bordeaux ( a second growth in the original Bordeaux classification). This wine, vinified by Pauli, is a blend of 35% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 30 % Carignan, and 5% Mourvedre. It was fermented in stainless steel and then aged in oak barrels for one year.

The wine is inky purple with complex notes of cedar, flowers, sweet hay, alfalfa, clover, black licorice, eucalyptus, and wood. It conjures up the smell of a barn in the middle of summer filled with fresh hay and a warm breeze flowing through. In the mouth the wine is very smooth, medium bodied and well rounded with the fruit perfectly framed by the wood. It finishes with a spicy earth note that is just delicious. With air the nose becomes even more complex with subtle notes of smoked meat and dried herbs becoming perceptible. The bouquet actually reminds me of a good perfume in its ability to balance the sweet floral notes with spicy, woodsy earth. All the while the wine stays perfectly balanced and delicious. Overall the wine is complex, interesting, very tasty and nose is undeniably fantastic. At $12.95 a bottle this is a steal. Excellent.

Blog #9 Michel Gassier

Michel Gassier 'Les Piliers' Viognier 2008 Vin de Pays D'Oc

I really, really like Michel Gassier's wines. Not only because they are very good (which they are), but also his approach and philosophy to grape growing and wine making. Gassier comes from a long line of winemakers from the south of France near the city of Nimes. He obtained degree in Agricultural Engineering and moved to the United States to live and work for 10 years. Thankfully for all of us wine fans out there he returned to Nimes in the mid 1990s to make wine or as he puts it; "my return to the vineyard was inevitable. My wife Cristina, and I longingly prepared for it. Not to go back to the cocoon of family comfort, but rather to create our own path making truly unique wines."

Gassier's philosophy on wine making is actually quite interesting and you can read about it on his website. His essential mission is "...to make honest wines, wines with strong personalities that fully express their terriors and the dreams of their winegrower". What makes his approach quite interesting is that he has taken the ideas of terroir expression, organic viticulture, and biodynamics and personalized them to his own philosophy. For example when it comes to producing terrior driven wines he argues that for a wine to really express where it was grown it requires a winemaker that has "an intimate familiarity with each parcel of land, of it idiosyncrasies and its microclimate". In essence the terroir will not express itself, the winemaker must coax it out. Furthermore, when it comes to organic farming he argues that in many ways it is not stringent enough and although the movement is good for wine in general more must be done. Gassier takes an equilibrium approach in the vines, the soil, and the surrounding environment.

To achieve this approach he has reduced yields significantly, uses horse manure as fertilizer, and grows natural prairie grass between the vines. He also uses a well integrated pest management system to reduce the need for unnecessary spraying and keep his vineyard ecosystems in balance. Finally, most of his wines are manually pruned and harvested to ensure top grape quality and reduce damage.

Gassier is the proprietor of two different estates Chateau de Nages and Domaine de Molines. Both estates are located in the Costieres de Nimes, which is located on the border of the Southern Rhone valley and the Languedoc, known for its unique round pebble soils. He also makes single varietal wines sourced from his Les Piliers vineyard and creates a two red and two white blends exploring his experimental winemaker side known as Lou Coucardie and Nostre Pais.

The Chateau de Nages is a 70 hectare estate that creates AOC Costieres de Nimes wines. The reds from this estate are blends of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre and the whites are made from Grencahe Blanc, Roussanne and Viognier. He also crafts a Rose from Grenache and Syrah here. The Domaine de Molines is a 30 hectare estate where he grows single varietal Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc wines as well as dessert style Viognier and sparkling rose. For his Lou Coucardie bottlings he blends Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre for the red and Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, and Viognier for the white. His Nostre Pais wines are meant to fully express terroir and are blends of Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvedre, Carignan, and Syrah for the red, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, and Viognier for the white. Finally, he grows 5 single varietal wines in his Les Piliers vineyard, including a Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Viognier, and Sauvignon Blanc.

So far I have tried several wines from his Chateau de Nages estate. His Reserve Rouge is always a best buy year in year out for good quality characterful wine. But the bottlings I have been so far impressed about are from his Les Piliers vineyard. I have had both his 2004 Syrah and 2008 Viognier and they blew me away. His approach with Les Piliers is to be an expression more of him as a winemaker than to be about terrior. He claims that in these wines "my personality and my unique path is expressed." Where his ideal is to create universal and hedonistic wines which demonstrate each varietals "strengths and originality." So far I have been very impressed by Gassier and would love to try his entire line of wines. As I taste more I will post my notes here and all I can do is just highly recommend trying any of his wines as from what I have had they are all very impressive. I have posted my tasting notes for his Les Piliers 2004 Syrah and 2008 Viognier below.

Michel Gassier- Les Piliers- Viognier -2008- Vin de Pays D'Oc- Costieres de Nimes-France (Pictured At Top)

This is Gassier's 100% Viognier grown in clay and lime soils. Yields were limited using spring pruning and grapes were hand pruned and picked. The wine was left in skin contact for 12 hours after complete destemming. Then 50% of the juice was transferred to new French oak to be fermented and the other 50% was fermented in stainless steel vats at 14 degrees C and aged on its lees with batonnage to late December. The wines were then blended back together with fining, filtration and bottling taking place in March 2009.

The wine is pale yellow with hints of gold. Its nose its absolutely lovely and aromatic with notes of apricot, spice, vanilla, and fresh flowers. In the mouth the wine has a nice creamy feel with flavours of apricot and peach. This is all underscored by a great mineral note and refreshing acidity that I would not normally associate with Viognier. The wine finishes dry and refreshing with a lovely herbaceousness. With air the wine evolves which is typical of Gassier's style. After a couple of hours the nose turned into what could only be described as a fresh spring garden with perceptible notes of mint, thyme and other herbs along with a fresh floral component. It actually became more Provencial as time went on and really displayed its origins in the South of France. The only criticism I could make is that the wine still retained quite a bit of alcoholic heat, but this dissipated with air. High quality, honest and tasty stuff with a great nose. Very Good+

Michel Gassier - Les Piliers - Syrah - 2004 - Vin de Pays du Gard - Costieres de Nimes - France

Gassier's Les Piliers Syrah is grown in rolled pebbles and red clay. Yields were kept low through spring pruning and in the this vintage came to 2 tons per acre. The wine was late harvested and completely destemmed. It was macerated for five days before fermentation and was then fermented at 26 degrees C. Finally it was post fermented macerated for two weeks. The wine was then transferred into French oak barrels for 12 months and bottled afterward.

The wine is dark purple nearly black in colour and clings to the glass showing a lot of extraction and alcohol. At first the bouquet is quite restrained and very subtle hinting at dark fruit, licorice, and garrigue. In the mouth, dark fruit and garrigue with a lovely minerality (typical of the Les Piliers vineyard) flavours play out in a full bodied absolutely silky mouth feel. For the first hour this wine is altogether restrained and very French. However, this is not a simple wine and after an hour or more of air this beauty really begins to strut its stuff. High toned cherry, red fruit and floral notes come to the fore in an unrestrained, in your face, style. In the mouth it is still pure silk with delicious ripe tannins and a long black fruit, spicy floral finish. The complexity and utter surprise of this wines personality change when given air make it an amazing value and exceptional wine in general. One word, excellent!

Blog #8 Happy New Year - Wine Lists & Information

I apologize that I have not posted in the past few weeks. I was extremely busy with work leading up to Christmas and with family visits and more work between Christmas and New Years I have had very little time. Anyway enough excuses, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Years. I had a good, but very hectic and short one.

Surprisingly enough I actually did not do that much wine drinking except for a few family gatherings and on New Years. I did have a chance to try two very high end and interesting wines that are out of my reach financially, but were on tasting during the holidays at the Vintages department of the LCBO. They were Guigal's Chateau D'Ampuis Cote Rotie 2004 and the Chateau Kirwan Margaux 2005 both of which were really cool to say the least. I will post more about these in a couple of days. I also had a couple of interesting much more affordable wines which included the fascinating 1996 Balthasar Ress Oestricher Rhinegau Riesling and the exceptionally value priced Finca Flichman Misterio Malbec 2008 (which showed very well against a wine over twice it's price). More on all that later. I have some great blog ideas for the upcoming year and I am hoping to start posting more frequently so please keep visiting.

Today I thought I would post about an issue that Becky brought up to me a few weeks ago and I started to ponder on the subject. She asked me why more restaurants did not publish tasting notes with their wine list. In fact many restaurants have very little if any information on the wines they carry, unless of course it is a wine bar or has its own sommelier. Even then, however, the lack information of what the wine actually tastes like that you are going to buy is a little embarrassing. I could not really come up with a good answer to her question. I mean when I began to think about it would it not make sense to publish tasting notes of the wines you offer? Personally I think that if a customer had an idea of what a wine tasted like then they would be much more likely to buy it.

Now I understand that some establishments have extensive wine lists and a sommelier that can offer guidance or advice, but even then a certain level of wine knowledge is expected from their clientèle. For example most restaurants or wine bars just print the producers name, region and vintage date. So if I am ordering a dish I have to really know the regional characteristics, how the vintage was in that region and hopefully a bit about the producer. However, this is only going to give me a rough idea as to what the wine will taste like. Furthermore, there is so much variation in wine that even knowing regional characteristics and what the vintage was like there will may not help in making a proper wine selection.

This issue becomes much worse for those who do not posses a basic knowledge in wine. Now certainly, many wine novices likely know what Bordeaux or Californian Cabernet Sauvignon may taste like. But, it is highly unlikely that they would know what a Corbieres or a Ribera del Duero are like or perhaps even where they are located. My point here is that even if the consumer did not know what a certain wines characteristics were then tasting notes could be used to make a informed decision instead or they may be enticed by the notes to try something new. Even for customers who do have a good knowledge of wine, tasting notes never hurt to get an idea as to what style the wine is made in.

Here is a quick illustrative example. Now you judge what you would prefer on a wine list.

Chateau du Trignon - Gigondas - 2004 - France

or

Chateau du Trignon - Gigondas -2004 - France

A wine from the southern Rhone valley village of Gigondas . Made from a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault. Notes of cherry, currants, violets, lavender and earth on the nose and flavours of juicy red and black fruits with a touch of caramel. Would pair perfectly with our striploin steak etc.

Even if a customer had never heard of Gigondas they may be enticed to try it based on the few short sentence description of the wine and dishes the restaurant offers that it would pair with. I may be misguided about the lack of tasting note information in restaurants and wine bars so if you work in the industry and can shed light on this issue please comment.

The other issue that this topic got me thinking about is the lack of information wineries provide about the wines they make. Now a select few producers are excellent and have posted in-depth information and technical sheets on their websites or at the least have made it easily accessible. Unfortunately, the vast majority give consumers absolutely no information.

As a wine lover I like to know as much as possible about what I am drinking. Information such as vineyard sites, soil conditions, fermentation techniques, and aging methods are things I want to know. In essence I want to know what makes the wine interesting other than how it tastes. Sadly, if the winery does not have a decent website or accessible information (i.e. on the back label of the wine) we are all left guessing as to how it was made.

I find this lack of information a little troubling because it feels that in some cases the winery does not want the consumer to know exactly what is in the bottle. Now I understand if the winery is a very small operation and the purveyors are not tech savvy then it is not always possible to communicate effectively the information about your wine. But, the back label in this case could be a great opportunity to get this information out. As for the larger estates that have the financial and technical ability to get this information out there is really little excuse. In these cases it sometimes feels as if they are hiding something. I mean if you are heavily manipulating your wine or not following proper regulations then why would you want anyone to know about this, its just bad for business.

My plea here is that I want producers to me more up front and informative about their wines. I think that the more information you give your consumers the better your relationship will be. Furthermore, the wines nerds of the world will be more fascinated and intrigued by your wine and therefore more likely to buy from you. It is not that difficult the internet is an easy, accessible and affordable way to get this information out if not why not utilize the back label to inform your consumers. I really think that more information will only help the entire industry.

On a final side note tonight I am drinking another bottle of the Domaine de Vaugondy-Vouvray-Brut NV which I blogged about in December and it is again every bit as impressive as it was then.