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June 2018

Producers Reviews

TERROIR WINE: The Winemaker’s Holy Grail

Randall Grahm Terroir Wine
Photo credit: Nicole diGiorgio sweetnessandlightphoto.com/ Bonny Doon Vineyards

The ambition of many a vineyard-owning winemaker is to craft the finest possible vin de terroir. It is a lofty notion – the story of one vineyard’s specific climate, soil type, orientation, and so forth, expressed through its grape variety(ies) and through the winemaker’s touch, to create a unique wine that could only come from that specific place and vintage.

Randall Grahm is a renowned Californian wine producer; founder of the Santa Cruz-based Bonny Doon Vineyard. Grahm has focused on the pursuit of terroir wines since selling his major brands: Big House Red, Pacific Rim, and Cardinal Zin back in 2006. At a recent tasting in Montréal, Grahm waxed lyrical on the subject.

Grahm separates wines into two categories: those that express winemaking technique, and those that convey provenance.

Grahm separates wines into two categories: those that express winemaking technique, and those that convey provenance. Both are of value. Not every vineyard site has superior qualities. Many are simply adequate to the task of producing good value, easy-drinking wine. And there is nothing wrong with that. A skilled winemaker can enhance quality using a variety of specialized techniques, but the resultant wines will never provoke the kind of “emotional or psychic resonance” Grahm attributes to terroir wine.

In certain, very special vineyards the world over, wine producers have observed a curious phenomenon. Despite using similar grape growing and winemaking techniques as practiced in neighbouring vineyards, the wines from these sites are different, and inexplicably better. They possess a sort of ethereal beauty that stirs the soul. In long established vineyard regions, these plots have been identified with special names or hierarchical classifications like Grand Cru, Grosse Lage, etc.

Grahm has traveled widely, and tasted terroir wines from across the globe. The one common factor he perceives in all of them is minerality. This buzz word is a hot topic of debate in wine circles. Wine writers (yours truly included) regularly describe wines like Chablis or Mosel Riesling as mineral – generally meaning that they smell of wet stone or struck flint, or that they provoke a prickly textural sensation on the palate separate from acidity or carbonation.

“Before I die, one thing that I want to know is…what is minerality?”.

Earth Science experts dismiss minerality as hogwash. A vine’s mineral uptake is so minute in quantity as to be imperceptible to the nose or palate, they say.  Theories abound on what causes these flavour compounds, but for now, no common consensus has been reached.

“Before I die, one thing that I want to know is…what is minerality?”. Grahm views minerality as a “function of greater resistance to oxidation”; an essential “life force” possessed by terroir wines. He sees a correlation between this mineral expression and “a presence of higher concentrations of minerals in soil, a favourable ratio of grape root mass to fruit mass, and healthy microbial life in the soil”. These are the conditions that Grahm is working with in his vineyard.

In a quiet corner of the San Benito County AVA, an inland area of the Central Coast of California, Grahm found Popelouchum. This 113-hectare vineyard in San Juan Bautista was a former settlement of the Mutsun people, a subset of the Ohlone tribe. The word means paradise in their dialect, and this is just what Grahm feels he has found.

Every effort is being taken here to ensure that the full potential of the site is expressed through the grapes. Dry farming using sustainable and biodynamic practices, low yields, moisture retaining biochar for soil amendments, and so forth.

Grahm muses that minerality gives wines an essential “life force” that sets them apart.

Grahm has even dedicated a portion of the vineyard to experimenting with growing grape crossings from seed. His ambition is to create new varieties perfectly suited to his land (and similar such vineyards) – with the necessary disease and drought resistance, along with an elegant, and refined flavour profile. This is important work in an era where climate change is dramatically altering growing conditions, making grapes once ideally suited to a site no longer viable.

The Popelouchum project is still in its infancy. The sole release, a 2015 Grenache grown from ungrafted vine cuttings taken from Château Rayas in Châteauneuf-du-pape, is incredibly vibrant with a highly perfumed, complex nose, silky structure, and persistent, dare-I-say mineral-laced finish. Sadly, you won’t find it on liquor store shelves. The bottling was so small that Grahm is sharing it privately with friends and enthusiasts. Commercial sales are still a couple of vintages down the road.

In the meantime, there are a wide range of Grahm’s Bonny Doon Vineyard wines on offer to distract us. They may not be the absolute expression of terroir that Grahm now seeks, but they certainly are skillfully made and very pleasant to drink.

My top 5 from this weeks’ tasting include:

(What do VW, PW, LW mean? Check out my wine scoring system to find out.)

Bonny Doon Vineyard Vin Gris de Cigare 2017 – 87pts PW

Pretty pale rose in colour. Subtle floral, and red apple hints feature on the nose. This tempting rosé really comes alive on the crisp, creamy textured palate. Light in body, moderately firm, with concentrated, tangy orchard fruit flavours.

Blend: Grenache, Mourvèdre, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Carignan

Where to buy: SAQ (22.75$)

Bonny Doon Vineyard Proprio Gravitas 2015 – 88pts PW

Attractive Sémillon character, with notes of lanolin, lemon zest, acacia, and exotic spice on the nose. Fresh, medium in body, with a smooth, rounded mouthfeel and pithy grapefruit notes on the finish.

Blend: Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat

Where to buy: SAQ (20.00$)

Bonny Doon Vineyard Le Cigare Blanc 2014 – 92pts PW

Absolutely killer quality for the price. Sourced from a single parcel, the Beeswax vineyard in Monterrey County. Intriguing aromas of fennel, anise, ripe lemon, apricot, and hints of toasty oak keep you coming back for more. The palate displays excellent balance, with fresh acidity, an ample frame, and highly concentrated, baked pear and spice flavours. Beautifully creamy and layered in texture. Just a shade warming on the finish.

Blend: Grenache Blanc, Roussanne

Where to buy: SAQ (35.00$)

Bonny Doon Vineyard Le Cigare Volant 2012 – 90pts PW

Quite earthy and brooding in nature, with aromas of licorice, black cherry, hints of pepper, and dried floral notes. Fresh and full-bodied, with a firm structure and ripe, grippy tannins. Moderate concentration of juicy, brambly red and dark fruit gives way to cigar box and spiced notes on the medium-length finish.

Blend: Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault

Where to buy: SAQ (40.00$)

Bonny Doon Vineyard Old Telegram 2016 – 93pts LW

Lovely floral nose, underscored by hints of dried orange peel, fresh cranberries, raspberries, and black cherry. This weighty, highly concentrated red really shines on the palate, with vibrant acidity, and well-integrated cedar-spice from mainly older oak ageing. The tannins are very elegant; fine-grained and ripe. The finish is long, earthy, and fresh.

Blend: 100% Mourvèdre

Where to buy: Enquire with agent, Trialto 

 

Education Reviews

ITS TIME FOR A GERMAN WINE REVIVAL

Drink German Wine
Photo credit: Deutsches Weininstitut

Cool climate has become a bit of a buzzword for wine enthusiasts in recent years. Marginal climates on the very brink of where grapes can successfully ripen are increasingly being sought out by growers conscience of the long term potential they offer. As temperatures continue to rise, and drought conditions worsen in many hot growing areas, cooler climates offer an attractive solution to climate change. The current fashion in wine geek circles is for crisp, elegant, lighter wine styles that these sites yield.

Sadly, when wine lovers think cool climate wines, they too often overlook the original cool climate king…

Germany.

Germany’s original vineyards are said to have been planted some 2000 years ago by the Romans. Much like in Burgundy, the powerful monasteries of the Middle Ages are credited with identifying many of Germany’s  finest terroirs. In the 18th and 19th centuries, German wines were as highly prized as their counterparts in France. Queen Victoria was well-known for her love of Rheingau wines from the Hochheim area. In many of his excellent books, wine writer Hugh Johnson sings the praises of the thrilling Rieslings of the Mosel and the Rheingau.

So why are German wines so hard to find on liquor store shelves and restaurant wine lists these days?

Yes, there were some dark days for German wine in the difficult aftermath of the the second world war. Firstly, a grape called Müller-Thurgau was widely planted through-out Germany. This variety was created by crossing two separate grapes (one being Riesling) in order to obtain a new, early ripening, high yielding grape that thrived in a wide range of soils and climates. The downside was that Müller-Thurgau produced a fairly bland, neutral white. The second issue was the rise in popularity, first domestically, and then internationally for a very sweet, insipid style of white wine called Liebfraumilch (think Black Tower, Blue Nun, Deinhard).

As these inferior wines proliferated, so to did mass consumer perception that this was the extent of Germany’s wine-making abilities. And stereotypes, once firmly established, die hard. Germany’s quality-minded wine producers never ceased producing excellent wines, and wine connoisseurs never ceased drinking them; these wines just became specialty products for those “in the know”.

As the trend toward drier white wine picked up steam in the 1980s and 1990s, Liebfraumilch sales waned and German wine began to disappear from larger liquor store shelves. Meanwhile in Germany, a quality revolution was quietly underway. Wine producers increasingly turned back to Riesling, began experimenting with sweetness levels, and singling out their best terroirs in single vineyard bottlings.

Today, the quality coming out of Germany is second-to-none, but the average wine drinker wouldn’t know that…because they can’t find any.

What is that makes German wines worth seeking out? Here are just a handful of reasons:

The Noble Riesling Grape

Riesling is praised by wine experts the world over, for its exceptional cellaring capacity and ability to express terroir. In simpler terms, the Riesling grape is very high in natural fruity acid. Acids act as a sort of preservative, allowing wines to maintain the vibrancy of their aromas and flavours over time. Riesling is rarely subjected to wine-making techniques (like malolactic fermentation or new oak ageing) that alter wine’s flavour profile. They tend to be light in body and delicate in texture. German Rieslings are often highly fragrant with aromas that range from apple, lemon, white flowers, and wet stone (in drier wines from the coolest areas) to intense honeyed, peachy, spiced notes for later harvested and/or warmer climate wines.

There is almost five times more Riesling planted in Germany than in any other country world-wide.

Riesling’s Wide Range of Styles

The Riesling grape excels in all styles, from sparking, to still; from bone-dry to lusciously sweet. Riesling’s high acid lends itself well to the production of quality sparkling wine. Its thin skins make it susceptible to botrytis (aka noble rot), a fungus that shrivels the grape berries intensifying sweetness and imparting interesting flavour compounds. The sweet German dessert wines made from partially to fully botrytised grapes are among the most complex, sought after wines in the world.

Quick guide to understanding sweetness levels on German wine labels:

  • Dry Riesling: look for the term “Trocken” on the label, “Halbtrocken” or “Feinherb” wines will be marginally sweeter
  • Sweet Riesling (in ascending order): Kabinett* (off-dry), Spätlese* (late harvested, medium sweet), Auslese (partially botrytised, sweet), Beerenauslese (heavily botrytised, very sweet), Trockenbeerenauslese or TBA (wholly botrytised, lusciously sweet), Eiswein (ice wine, no botrytis, sweet to lusciously sweet)

* Just for to make things more confusing, Kabinett and Spätlese wines can also be fermented dry (rather than have the fermentation halted while residual sugar remains in the wine, as is the case with good quality sweet wines). You will see the word Trocken on these labels.

Cool Climate Vineyards

Germany is the northernmost major wine-producing country in Europe. Its climate is cool and continental for the most part. Grapes grown in cool climates accumulate sugars more slowly. They require a longer growing season to fully ripen. Germany’s vineyards lack the abundant sunshine of more southerly origins, but they are blessed with warm, dry fall weather allowing the grapes to hang long on the vines. Grapes that ripen slowly like this tend to be fresher, with brighter fruit, and more complex (often mineral-laced) aromatics.

Steep Slopes & Winding Rivers

The favourable fall weather alone isn’t sufficient to ripen grapes in the coolest German vineyards. In places like the Mosel Valley, Riesling thrives due to the perilously steep slopes upon which it is grown. These sharp inclines give more direct sunlight to the vines therefore increasing the rate of photosynthesis. Rivers also play a major role in tempering chilly German weather. Water maintains stable temperatures far long than air. In cool climates, rivers act as heat reservoirs. All of Germany’s major vineyard areas grow along the banks of the Mosel (and its tributaries the Saar and Ruwer), the Rhine, and the Main rivers.

The Pinot Persuasion

Although Riesling is the best known German wine grape, many other varieties flourish here. In fact, Germany is the third largest producer of Pinot Noir in the world. Called Spätburgunder (sh-pate-boorgunder) here, the style varies widely from region to region but often features a pale garnet colour, crisp acidity, tart red fruit flavours, light to medium body, and smooth tannins. These vibrant reds offer fantastic value for lovers of earthier, fresher Pinot Noir styles. For tangy, silky versions look to the Ahr, Franken, or Rheingau. For bolder, fruitier styles, try Baden or Pfalz.

White Pinot grapes, namely Pinot Gris (aka Grauburgunder) and Pinot Blanc (aka Weissburgunder), are widely grown in the Rheinhessen, Baden, and Pfalz. Both grapes can be quite neutral and lean. However, when not over-cropped, and when vinified with care, they are both lovely, textural wines. Pinot Blanc tends to have firmer acidity, while Pinot Gris is more fragrant. Great German Pinot Gris is powerful and concentrated, with notes of ripe pear, tropical fruit, and spice. Pinot Blanc can be quite nutty and citrussy, with lovely freshness.

Perfect Balance

The single most important attribute a wine must have to pass muster with me, is balance. All elements that one can smell and taste must seem harmonious to the nose and palate. On a balanced wine, the aromas, the flavours, the acidity, the alcohol, the tannins and so forth all work together like an orchestra to create one beautiful sound from many different instruments. Whereas, on an unbalanced wine, certain aspects will seem jarring, and out of synch.

I regularly taste high acid wines with little to no sweetness, and find them so lean and austere that they provide little drinking pleasure. Where acidity is high, as with Riesling, residual sugar can provide an attractive counter-weight, enhancing the fruity flavours. Before dismissing the sweeter Riesling wine styles, try them against bone-dry Rieslings and see for yourself. I am constantly met with wine lovers who swear they only drink dry wines, only to prefer a slightly sweeter style when given a selection to taste. Also, high acidity levels mask the perception of sweetness. You may think your favourite wine is bone-dry, only to find it is slightly sweet. Next time you drink a bottle of Champagne, check the sugar level.

Other Benefits

Cool climate wines struggle to ripen and therefore never attain very high alcohol levels. In the case of sweeter wines, the arrested fermentation process means that not all the sugar has been transformed into alcohol resulting in even lower alcohol levels. German Riesling ranges from 5.5% alcohol for the very sweet wines, up to 12% for the driest examples. Even the red wines rarely exceed 13%.

For me, German Riesling is the perfect hot summer’s lunch wine. Its vivacious acidity quenches your thirst, and its low alcohol won’t leave you yawning.

Avoiding the Pitfalls

Before you race to the store to buy the first German wine you see, there are some basic rules to follow. Unfortunately, syrupy sweet, characterless German wine still exists today. Avoid the cheapest options (in this market that pretty much means everything under 15$). And if you really and truly don’t like sweetness in your white wine, scan the label for the word trocken.

If you are keen to try German sparkling wine (called Sekt), look out for a mention of origin on the bottle. Cheap German Sekt is truly dreadful stuff, with a heavy, candied sweetness. The grapes can be sourced from anywhere in the EU, so do not reflect German vineyard fruit.

For dry to sweet wines, if you prefer a very light, delicate style with elegant, tangy fruit, mineral and floral notes look for wines from the Mosel Valley or Nahe. If you want something a shade more powerful, steelier in structure, but equally racy, Rheingau is for you. Finally, if you want more rounded acidity, riper fruit and spicy notes, the Pfalz region offers this an abundance.

A Couple of Suggestions

In a recent tasting of over 100 German wines here in Montréal, only a handful were available for purchase at the SAQ. Here are my top 4 to get you started on your German wine journey:

Selbach-Oster Riesling QbA 2016 – 89pts VW

Incredibly lively white with moderate intensity of red apple, honey and ripe lemon aromas. Piercing acidity offsets the subtle sweetness nicely on this delicate, light-bodied white. The finish is clean, and fairly brimming over with juicy, tangy fruit.

Where to buy: SAQ (18.20$)

Weingut Leitz Eins Zwei Dry 2016 – 88pts VW

Crafted in a “dry” style, the 9g/L residual sugar is barely perceptible here. This is a classically styled Rheingau with its bracing acidity, firm structure, and hints of peach, lemon, and stony minerals. This zesty white is a sure to get your taste buds jumping.

Where to buy: SAQ (19.25$).

Villa Welter Weissburgunder Trocken 2016 – 87pts. VW

Restrained, yet elegant on the nose with subtle pear, green apple and floral notes. This charming, biodynamic Pinot Blanc really comes alive on the palate. Crisp, yet rounded acidity, an attractive layered texture and lingering saline hints on the finish.

Where to buy: SAQ (20.00$)

Reichsgraf Von Kesselstatt Piesport Goldtropfchen Grosses Gewachs Riesling 2014 – 93pts. PW

Lovely complexity on the nose. Slatey minerality is underscored by delicate floral notes, yellow apples and hints of petrol. Notes of raw honey and peach develop with aeration. The palate is silky and light, yet impressively concentrated, with racy acidity ably matched by incredibly vibrant fruit. The finish is long and mineral-laden.

Where to buy: SAQ (45.00$)

For those keen to explore further, here is a short list of other excellent German wine producers currently sold in limited volumes through the SAQ:

Joh. Jos. Prüm, Mosel Valley

Willi Schaefer, Mosel Valley

Weingut Weiser-Künstler, Mosel Valley

Weingut Hermann Dönnhoff, Nahe

Weingut Klaus Keller, Rheinhessen

Weingut Künstler, Rheingau

Weingut Ökonomierat Rebholz, Pfalz

 

Life

The Master of Wine Tasting Exams – One Student’s Story

Masters of Wine Exam Story
Photo credit: Claude Rigoulet

The month of May began gray and dreary, with a near constant patter of rain. I told myself that this was for the best, as I hunched over my daily flight of mystery wines. Nothing to distract me from my studies. A feeling of dread was slowly growing in the pit of my stomach. Each week I did the math. Only 3 weeks left, only 2 weeks left, only 10 days left…

What had me in such a state? The Master of Wine tasting exams.

This was to be my second attempt at the notoriously hard three-day session of 12-wine blind tastings.

A feeling of dread was slowly growing in the pit of my stomach.

After successfully navigating the introductory year of studies in 2015, I moved on to stage 2. Studying became a way of life. I rocked my newborn son with one foot while blind tasting Cabernet Sauvignon. I read him bedtime stories about the importance of monitoring pH through out the winemaking process.

I came out of the 2016 exams with passing marks across all five theory papers and one of three tasting papers. Unfortunately, if even one tasting exam is failed, all three need to be re-sat. Approximately 10% of candidates pass the tasting portion of the exams each year. With that sobering statistic in mind, I decided to simply redouble my efforts in 2017.

And then life intervened.

A second pregnancy with a due date mere weeks after the 2017 exams meant that no airline would fly me to the exam centres in San Francisco or London. So, I had to bench myself. As frustrating as it was to take a year off, when June rolled around I was mighty glad that I hadn’t subjected myself to three days of intensely stressful exams in my exhausted state.

I rocked my newborn son with one foot while blind tasting Cabernet Sauvignon.

Pregnancy takes a toll on your palate and your memory. Despite trying to keep my studies up, I was feeling decidedly rusty when I embarked on the 2018 course year. A week in England in February for the annual MW study seminar brought me home in a blind panic.

Each day of the seminar began with a mock version of the tasting exam. Each day I failed miserably. I couldn’t finish any of the papers. I was way off in identifying wines that I had previously had no trouble blind tasting. I got loads of advice from the MW educators that contradicted previous instruction. I felt paralysed.

In the months that followed I forced myself to keep chugging along, leaning on my study partners for support. Every week my amazing husband would organize blind tastings for me, and every week the results were the same. I felt like I was turning in circles, never able to finish my practice exams, misidentifying the same set of wines over and over again.

And then, something just clicked into place. And not a second too soon, for the countdown was on…just a couple of months to go.

And then, something just clicked into place. And not a second too soon, for the countdown was on…just a couple of months to go. I finally started to do well and feel confident. Meanwhile, between my husband and two tiny boys, my house was a non-stop germ fest. Roseola, laryngitis, strep throat, gastro… they had it all. Every twinge in my throat made me nervous. I wanted to isolate myself inside a sterile bubble.

I left for the exam in San Francisco with my stomach in knots. I worried that I was getting sick, I worried that the tendonitis in my elbow would slow down my writing too much, I worried that I would forget all that I had studied and tasted, I worried that I was worrying too much…

The morning of the first exam, to my great surprise, I woke up feeling rested and ready. I won’t lie and say that a transcendent calm descended upon me. I was still a bundle of nerves, but had managed to convince myself that my countless hours of study would pay off.

The morning of the first exam, to my great surprise, I woke up feeling rested and ready.

Over the three days I developed a morning ritual…healthy breakfast, exam anxiety mini meditation, a couple bites of a banana to rinse my palate of all traces of toothpaste, and a swig of Muscadet to calibrate my perception of wine acidity. I made a playlist of catchy pop music and blared it through my headphones on my walk to the exam centre.

Each candidate must bring their own glasses for the exams and pour their own wines from identical green Burgundy bottles labelled only with the number of the wine. Every morning I steeled myself to maintain a steady hand, nervous that a broken glass or spilled wine would throw off my fragile equilibrium. I also made damn sure that I was pouring wine number 1 into glass number 1.

The feeling of relief that washed over me when time was called on the last exam was indescribable. Sustained nervousness over such a long period is a rare experience in my adult life, and not one that I soon wish to repeat.

The feeling of relief that washed over me when time was called on the last exam was indescribable.

And now…the long wait. Exam results are given in early September. Until then I can only hope for the best and distract myself with the simple pleasure of a chilled glass of bubbly on a warm summer’s day.