WINE OF THE WEEK #075

Hi everybody,

I am sort of in a Bordeaux vibe lately and I am starting to get familiar with the grapes, the differences in the soil, the vintages and even the different AOC’s.

The wine I am going to taste today holds the AOC “Médoc”. This is the AOC closest to the sea at the north-west top area of the left bank. What is particular for me is the classification “Cru Bourgeois” on the label. 

Château Poitevin - AOC Médoc 2008

As you know or may not know, the best Médoc wineries became classified in 1855 with the famous system of ‘growths’ or ‘crus’. You have the famous first growths like Chateau Margaux or Chateau Latour, and a lot of other wineries that are classified as a first, second, third, fourth or fifth growth. The classification was simply based on the QPR of the wines, and it still is a more or less honest representation of the situation today.
However, the list of growths is quite fixed, but 160 years along the road, other wineries were established and started to grow wine. Some of them deserve a special mention and that is why they invented a secondary or parallel system : the Cru Bourgeois. In 2003, the last list was published, and there are 3 categories from high to low : Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnel, followed by Cru Bourgeois Supérieur and straight Cru Bourgeois.

So as a little recap, in 1855 they made a fixed list of big players. But next to it, there is a more active classification system called the “Cru Bourgeois” system. What I am going to taste thus is a normal Cru Bourgeois. So I guess it should be worth a taste :)

Be sure to check the comment of Nick below if you want to know why it is so difficult to understand french wine. :)

Some other wine facts before we start:

  • 55% Merlot , 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot
  • Aged 14 months in oak barrels (30% new oak)
  • Soil : mainly gravel & clay

Let’s go!

Appearance
It’s always hard to tell something useful about the colour of a wine.
This one is just very dark ruby red. I notice nothing exceptional or wrong, and maybe that’s a good sign.

Nose
I am very happy again to have a merlot based wine in my glass that was not aged in new oak. This gives the fruit so much more expression in the nose, but it’s clear the oak adds complexity. Actually, the nose reminds me of an overtoasted piece of bread, some fresh butter on top of it, and a nice thick layer of a fresh fruit jam of blackberries and blueberries.
From time to time, I also got a little hint of clove, but it’s very subtle.

I really like the nose, and I guess the wine will be very drinkable.


Taste
My description of the nose is actually pretty spot on.
Imagine you had a bite of this toast with jam.
What happens:

  • first of all you notice the dry bread that crumbles and dries out your mouth a bit
  • before you can start complaining, the butter is there to smoothen things out again
  • now you start chewing, and because you picked a nice jam from the shelves in the supermarket, you bite in small pieces of fruit and you get some nice fresh fruit juice flowing in your mouth.
  • you bite again to start over.

This wine is in balance just because of this experience. The different components make the wine interesting, and they all work together very well.

Finish
And now, it even gets better.
On the finish I get the same fruits as in the mouth, but at the same time a lot of almonds, even going towards marzipan.

This is another wine that keeps me busy and makes me fill my glass over and over again. Now that I look at the bottle, I notice it’s almost empty. Woops.
What I like about this wine is that everyone will enjoy it, from the untrained wine lover to the wine professional. At every stage something interesting is happening and the wines does not become boring or heavy.
I like.

WINE OF THE WEEK #074

Aaagh, it feels good to be back behind my portable, ready to write another wine review!

As you’ve seen here on my blog, I just got back from a short trip to Bordeaux. A week after I decided to blog about Bordeaux wines, I suddenly got invited to visit the region. Obviously, it was impossible to say no to winery visits, dinner parties and more. But, one thing was hard for me : not be able to take my time and reflect about what I was drinking.
So now that’s about to change, because there is only 1 bottle on the table (not 10 or 20) and no food around.

So let’s dive in.

We are tasting cuvée “Les Hauts de Martet”, 2007 from Château Martet

The Chateau is located in the AOC region “Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux” : a very unknown area at the most eastern part of the “Entre-deux-mers” area (green zone on the wine map below).

The winery, once a hub on the road to Santiago de Compostella, was completely restructured around 20 years ago when it was bought by a new family who wanted to make wine. The 3 mayor Bordeaux grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot) were planted on the 25 hectares of vineyards that belonged to the winery. And that wasn’t logic at all.

The soil type of the vineyards is typical for the right bank : clay and limestone. This is the preferred type of soil for Merlot, but not so much for the 2 Cabernets. So, what the new owners did was to replant their non-merlot vineyards with 95% of Merlot, and 5% of Cabernet Franc (just in case the Merlot based wine needed some balance adjustments)

This wine from 2007 is made 100% from Merlot grapes which is quite unique in Bordeaux, just like a bottle of Petrus. For this cuvée, “les hauts de Martet”, the grapes from the newly planted grapevines were used. The first fermentation happens in big concrete vats after which the wine is aged for 18 months in used oak barrels. They also make another cuvée, “réserve de la famille” with a blend of grapes from old & new vines, where the fermentation and ageing happens in new oak.
This cuvée can be found for €11 on the Belgian market, the “réserve de la famille” has a price tag of €22 and actually just by knowing all this, I am glad I am going to try the ‘normal’ wine.
You all know I am a fan of drinkability!

So let’s taste and see If we should keep our eyes open for wines from AOC Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux :

Appearance
Due to the age of the wine, almost 5 years now, the colour is actually pretty close to perfection. Such a nice deep ruby red colour that lost all of its younger characteristics. I also like the legs on the wine, the density of the colour and the glossy surface. Jep, lookin’ good.

Nose
Oh, I am glad I picked this cuvée. No oak in the nose, only deep and complex dark fruit. Typical for Merlot, I get hints of chocolate, hazelnut peel and fresh tobacco. Plus, a nice plum jam that is lifted by a certain energy.

More and more, I am looking for this energy: you can actually smell that your wine is alive and is willing to tell you his story. And for me, it’s often the soil that gives this energy. I’m not speaking of minerality, because I find it difficult to find that in a red wine, especially with a round and soft grape like Merlot. Let’s call it soil soul.


Taste
Told you so! It’s fresh and alive.

The balance on this wine is really really good. The tannins are soft and smooth, there is just enough acidity to keep your mouth juicy enough. (You will never get a high acidity crispy wine with Merlot) and the flavour comes through in the end. Even the alcohol 13% is nicely covered.

I might be a bit brief in this description, but I just have nothing to add. It’s very nice to drink!

Finish
The finish has more fruit then the nose. The hazelnut peel and tobacco notes are gone, only the chocolate stays. But, we gained some fruits : plum is still there, but I got some nice blueberry and blackberry notes as well. 

This is just SO good actually.
I like the fact that the wine is so easy and so interesting at the same time. There is a subtle evolution from the nose to the finish that makes me refill my glass and have another go at it. Jep, this deserves a gold medal. I would really suggest my friends to try this.

WINE OF THE WEEK #073

Excited, I am.
Curious, are you?

The 1st bordeaux wine is here, and I have no clue at all what to expect. I just have no experience whatsoever with the typical grapes or Bordeaux in general. So, all my hope goes into this bottle for my first Bordeaux impression. And a wise man once said to me : “you never get a second chance to make a first impression”

So I wish the next bottle the best of luck : CHATEAU BEAUSEJOUR-HOSTENS - AOC Haut-médoc 2009

The wine is made by Roland and Pascal Hostens, who took over Chateau Beauséjour a while ago. The Chateau is located in the Haut-Médoc AOC. To simplify : in the upper part of the left bank in Bordeaux but outside the more specific and prestigious AOC’s like Saint-Estèphe , Saint-Julien or Margeaux.

Or the middle-purple area on the map below.

Some facts:

  • 55% Merlot  &  45% Cabernet Sauvignon (very typical for the region)
  • soil : gravel, clay and sandstone
  • vinification in inox vats
  • aged for 12 months in French oak
  • bronze medal in Decanter, within the selection of 300 best wines under €10, and part of the “coup de coeur” selection in 2009.

Now I can’t wait anymore to start.
A price winner at €9,80. That should be fun… let’s go!

Appearance
What a dark glass of wine. I’m not so used to that anymore and it’s a surprise for me. When I say dark, I mean a very deep red (still able to see some finger through the wine though). Some hints of purple are still present.

Nose
Wow, this is actually very unique.
What is very present for me is the oak. It reminds me a lot of fresh cut and still warm pine wood with resin pouring out of it. It even comes across a bit smoked. Although it is superpresent, it does not have a fake smell and I am really drawn towards this comforting nose.
It actually feels more like walking into an antique atelier where they still use old methods and materials.

Along with the woody notes comes a more creamy / hot / burnt sugar note.

The rest of the nose is dominated by dark fruit, especially a sweet blackberry jam. Strangely enough, I keep thinking about something green as well, but that might just be the age of the wine.

A nose that I’ve never had before, but very interesting!

Taste
Because this is still a young wine, I was scared to have very strong tannins and a dry mouthfeel so I decided to aereate the wine in my decanter.
The first attack is a lot softer then expected, and very soon the wine softens out even more and becomes quite smooth. The only thing that bothers me is the spike of alcohol in the end. It even makes me a bit uncomfortable.

So feelingwise I would say it is “ok”, but tastewise this is a really good wine. All the aspects we found in the nose are present and the wine shows great complexity and potential. The first level of fruit is easy to understand and delicious. The next levels (oak, resin, sugar, smoke) are not developing like they could be but you know something is there…

Finish
I get a very nice finish, and that makes me convinced that I like this wine.
The finish reminds me very much of a cookie : Café noir. (If you don’t know it, you should google it / buy it). It’s a mokka biscuit with a caramel layer on top.

It has been a long time since I gave a wine the silver medal: meaning that I like the wine, but I want to find something better. This time, it’s that spike of alcohol and the overall muscle this wine brings. I really don’t feel at ease with this amount of punch, and I would never be able drink a lot of it. Drinkability is an issue. But on the other hand, the flavour profile and the experience is very nice. And that makes me curious for more!



Theme of the month - BORDEAUX - May 2012

Hi everybody,

it’s the first day of a new month, and a quick scroll through my winelist tells me this is the 17th theme I will blog for you! Pretty neat right?

After tasting 2 fantastic grape varieties (pinot noir & nebbiolo) that are such anchors in the history of wine, I am going to taste wines from the best known wineregion in the world : Bordeaux. I guess every young winelover like me has a hate-love relationship with Bordeaux, because we believe they are only drunk by our grandfathers or snobs. And that’s exactly why I wanted to do this theme.

First of all, I want to find out why they are making such a big fuss about the region. I always ask myself if Bordeaux is a company with a good marketing strategy and a big budget, or, is that image just the icing on a pretty good cake that noone dares to buy anymore?

Second of all, in the shadow of all the glitter & glamour, I want to discover winemakers that you & me can afford and open a bottle from them on a weekday while having a pizza party with some friends. I mean, after all, it’s just wine right? For doing that, I got help from my friend Marc Roisin (@marcroisin) from Vinogusto. He selected wines in the €9-12 price range that serve as an example of what Bordeaux could or should be.

This is what we came up with.

1. CHATEAU POITEVIN - AOC Médoc cru bourgeois- 2008

2. CHATEAU SEGONZAC - AOC Blaye-Côtes de Bordeaux - Vieilles vignes 2009

3. CHATEAU BEAUSEJOUR HOSTENS - AOC Haut-Médoc - 2009

4. CHATEAU MARTET “les hauts de martet” - AOC Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux - 2007

Finally, I needed a winemap to start looking for all the AOC’s, and you will notice that all the wines are from bigger regions, so no premier cru’s or grand cru’s, but that does not mean that the wines are less interesting (i hope).

I can’t wait to get started and there is a whole lot more to come in the next months regarding Bordeaux. Just to make you guys curious … :)

Cheers
JDR

A field trip to ALSACE - pt.2

Hi everybody,

A while ago I went to Alsace in France to taste and select wines that would suit the Belgian market. After I got back, I wrote down some reflections and impressions about the issues Alsace has to deal with as a wineregion in France, and as a “brand” or export product in Belgium. (LINK to pt.1)

I believe today is the perfect timing to write the 2nd chapter of my Alsace impressions. As the summer is almost there, I am looking forward to start filling up my fridge with some good white wines. There are tons of interesting regions to go to, but in the back of our heads, we all know that Alsace has some secret weapons. So let’s talk about the different wines and producers, and hopefully I can help you find your secret for the summer.

CREMANT D’ALSACE
For me, these sparkling wines deserve a place in your fridge, especially when you are from Belgium like I am. The reason for me is twofold :

  • I am always looking for the quality and character of champagne, but it comes at a price and that results in the fact that I’ve got no champagne in my fridge :)
  • The go-to sparkling wine for us Belgians is cava, because at €6 a bottle, you get something that is ‘not bad’ and fancy. But, I am starting to get more and more edgy when I see a bottle of cava, and I am even thinking to ban cava from my wine-diet as much as I can. Why? Because it is so boring and they all have the same industrial taste. (I’m talking about the €6 - €10 price range here)

Exactly in the middle of these two extremes is Cremant d’Alsace.
I tasted wines that reminded me of cava and got me edgy, but I also tasted wines that made me say : “Hey buddy, you are actually doing a pretty good job! - You might join the champagne-league one day”

So, if you want an affordable and interesting sparkling wine, I guess you should really try Cremant d’Alsace. It will be a risk because information on grape variety and dosage is very hard to find. Something that should really change in my opinion. And while we are taking risks, maybe we could figure out a sexier name… ?

my favourite producers :
Frey Charles & Dominique, Domaine Vincent Fleith, Domaine Valentin Zusslin (bio / natural), Domaine Saint-Remy


SYLVANER
The grape did not talk to me at all. It looks like locally it is easy to grow and therefor a succes, but wines often came across as very light and loaded with ‘fake’ acidity. A floral summer wine when it’s really hot, but don’t try to pair food with a sylvaner.

my favourite producers :
none :)


PINOT BLANC / AUXERROIS (they were in the same flight)
The auxerrois wines reminded me a lot of sylvaner, the same light and bulk-wine characteristics.
Pinot Blanc on the other hand showed signs of complexity, minerality and terroir and for me it is the go-to grape for a lighter style of wine. It can get really floral and funky without losing its focus.

my favourite producers :
Domaine du moulin de dusenbach (PB), Domaine Meyer-Fonne (PB), Moellinger Joseph & Fils (PB)


MUSCAT
I had so much fun tasting these wines. Because all Alsace winemakers really focus on concentration and expression in their wines, these aromatic examples were just bombs of flavour. If you make a muscat, that is also were you should put your focus on : if the nose is not bringing it, the wine will not be what your are looking for. Actually, you should drink these wines with your nose.
For me, muscat was one of the stars of the region, but it is so excentric that it will never become the main focus of the region.

my favourite producers :
Cave vinicole de Cleebourg, Jean Baptiste Adam


RIESLING (AOC)
Riesling is “the” grape for the region, and I was very excited to start tasting this flight. But I have to say that I was rather disappointed with what we tasted. Often, the wines were very hard and packed with acidity, so packed that other flavours were not able to develop. Again, it’s the story of putting the focus on concentration and power. I wrote down a quote while comparing German rieslings with Alsace rieslings :  “We do not make rieslings to sip in front of your TV. We make rieslings to pair with food” 
Something to think about… :)

my favourite producers :
Moellinger Joseph & Fils, Frey Charles & Dominique, Domaine Vincent Fleith, Château de Riquewihr/Domaines Dopff/Irion, Domaine Michel Fonne


PINOT GRIS (AOC)
Pinot Gris scored way better in my opinion. I guess this is the best grape to represent Alsace. We tasted light and floral wines, minerality, acidity, round wines, dry wines, sweet wines and even dessert wines that were really really great. The depth and flexibilty we tasted from this grape was just astonishing.

BUT! Alsace needs to work on a classification strategy, and rules to make Pinot Gris shine. Winemakers are free to do what they like (so it seams) and I guess that creates an image problem for the outside world regarding this grape.

my favourite producers :
Domaine Meyer-Fonne, Boeckel, Domaine Ferdinand Engel


GEWÜRZTRAMINER (AOC)
From what we tasted here, I can only have one suggestion for the winemakers. Although it is an “easy” grape that pleases a lot of untrained palates, I guess the focus should go more towards very low yields and complexity.
I’m already a fan of the grape, but just go as crazy as you can! You’ve got nothing to lose.

my favourite producers :
Domaine Saint-Remy, Materne Haegelin, Domaine Michel Fonne, Kuentz - Bas Alsace (amazing!!)


RIESLING (AOC Grand Cru)
This is more what riesling should be. A grand cru in Alsace means that the vineyards are located in a very specific area, often on a hill with a typical soil, slope and orientation. The Grand Cru’s showed a lot more expression, elegance and balance. Focussing on powerful wines is appropriate in these conditions, because the terroir educates the wine to get a good end result. It felt like the AOC Rieslings lacked that education and came across even a bit arrogant.

So Grand Cru’s are better, but if this is the wine you have to buy to get a good riesling, I guess there is a QPR issue.

my favourite producers :
Domaine Meyer-Fonne, Domaine Weinback, Domaine Fernand Engel, Cave vinicole de Hunawihr


PINOT GRIS (AOC Grand Cru)
We only tasted 2 grand cru’s, and I have the same comments as with the AOC wines. Buy it!
The interesting point to make here is that the quality gap between an AOC Pinot Gris and a AOC Grand Cru Pinot Gris is smaller compared to riesling. So I would always go for the AOC wine.

my favourite producers :
domaine saint-remy, Paul Ginglinger


GEWÜRZTRAMINER (AOC Grand Cru)
Same story here : needs focus and classification and it is a ‘marginal’ grape variety - but my god it can be good!

my favourite producers :
Domaine Blanck Andre & Fils, Domaine Fernand Engel, Domaine Weinbach


PINOT NOIR (AOC)
The only red wines that we tasted, and I can be really short.
Just quit it. Do what you do best, and make white wine.

It would be fantastic to hear your comments on my impressions, to let me know what your go-to Alsace wine is, or why you would fill your fridge with a type of wine I described here.

Cheers & enjoy your glass of wine!
JDR


At the table in Dome, Antwerp - tasting a whole range of “Vins de Provence” . White beats rosé so far. #wine #provence #france (Taken with instagram)
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At the table in Dome, Antwerp - tasting a whole range of “Vins de Provence” . White beats rosé so far. #wine #provence #france (Taken with instagram)