Laherte Frères et Les Vignes d'Autrefois

Of the dozen or so trade events I managed to attend during the heart of the fall portfolio tasting season in New York, and of the scores of excellent wines I tasted (and the hundreds of not-so-excellent ones), there was one producer whose lineup truly stood out for me, precise and delicious from end to end. That producer is the Champagne house of Laherte Frères, whose wines were featured at the Selection Pas Mal portfolio tasting back in September.

From Laherte's Brut "Tradition," which showed broad, creamy texture and some sponti aromatic characteristics, to their Brut Rosé, a true rosé de répas made from a blend of 60% Pinot Meunier and 30% Pinot Noir with the 10% addition of red wine made from Meunier, and on to the Brut Blanc de Blancs, which displayed serious acidity and structure allied with a deep sense of aromatic grace and elegance, the wines were truly lovely. There were two other wines shown that day that also stood out. As luck would have it, I happened to have a bottle of each at home. And when the occasion called for it earlier this week, I decided it was time for a revisit.

Champagne Extra-Brut "Les Vignes d'Autrefois" (Pinot Meunier), Laherte Frères 2005
$50. 12% alcohol. DIAM. Importer: Triage Wines, Seattle, WA.
The Pas Mal crew poured both the 2004 — the first vintage ever for this wine — and the 2005 at their tasting and my notes remind me that I preferred the '04 on that day. Under more favorable circumstances, though, meaning at the table, with food, with friends, and in a relaxed setting, the 2005 was a thing of beauty. Lush, deep, vibrating with energy and purity of fruit, the wine paired fantastically with our first couple of courses, leading the bottle's contents to disappear all too soon. Made purely with Pinot Meunier from vines planted in 1947 and 1964 in clay and limestone rich soils in the villages of Chavot and Mancy in the Vallée de la Marne, the base wines for "Les Vignes d'Autrefois" are fermented entirely in barrel and do not undergo malolactic fermentation. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the results.

A reasonable memory of high school French should be enough to remind you that "Les Vignes d'Autrefois" means "vines of the past" or "vines from another time." While first and formeost I expect that is the Laherte family's more poetic way of saying "vieilles vignes," I can't help but wonder if it's not also a nod to the fact that Pinot Meunier has become an all but forgotten stepchild, at least in commercial terms, when it comes to the three primary varieties grown in the Champagne region. In any event, I borrowed upon the name for the title of today's post as I think it holds equal relevance to the second wine we drank.

Champagne Extra-Brut "Les Clos," Laherte Frères NV
$60. 12.5% alcohol. DIAM. Importer: Triage Wines, Seattle, WA.
My immediate experience with "Les Clos" on this night was converse to that which I'd had with the "Autrefois." At the Pas Mal tasting, it was the standout of a shining lineup; suffice it to say that, in addition to some more technical details, my notes read something along the lines of, "Fantastic wine... I'm drinking this one." Sandwiched between the forward beauty of the '05 "Les Vignes d'Autrefois" and much anticipated bottles of 1964 Barbaresco and Barolo from Oddero, it was, I fear, not given its proper chance to shine. Such is the danger when opening multiple great wines in one sitting. Nonetheless, I'm confident in saying that the wine was showing great promise and interest — not as immediate in its appeal as "Autrefois" but more mineral, arguably more detailed, and definitely less open-knit. I look forward to trying it again, in a light that will let it fully shine.

"Les Clos," by the way, is another newish wine from Laherte. It's not a vintage-dated wine but to my knowledge there have been only two or, at most, three bottlings of the wine since its first inception. "Les Clos" takes its name from a single, one-hectare vineyard in the town of Chavot, where Laherte Frères is based. The vineyard was planted in only 2003 to all seven of the Champagne varieties: the big three — Chardonnay (18%), Pinot Noir (14%) and Pinot Meunier (18%) — along with the four "heritage" varieties of Champagne, "les vignes d'autrefois," if you will — Fromenteau (10%), Arbanne (8%), Petit Meslier (15%), and Pinot Blanc (17%). All seven varieties are co-harvested and co-fermented.

It gets more complicated than that, though. First, as Peter Liem points out at his worth-every-penny, subscription-only site, ChampagneGuide.net, "Note... that this is the composition of the vineyard—the wine itself doesn’t necessarily correspond to these percentages, since the yields of the varieties are not consistently the same." Second, and bearing the same idea in mind when it comes to ratios, "Les Clos" is a solera method Champagne, a "perpetual blend" to borrow again from Peter's words. The wine will be an example of constant evolution over the years, one meant first and foremost to express terroir, as each new vintage is added to the first (2005) and all subsequent years, in the old Burgundy barrels in which "Les Clos" is aged. (For a little more information on Champagne made in the solera method, you may wish to (re)visit my post on Anselme Selosse's "Substance".) In addition to multiple bottlings, Laherte has actually released two different stylistic versions of "Les Clos," one as a zero-dosage Brut Nature and this, the Extra-Brut, which sees a modest four gram/liter dosage.

Finally, here's a little Laherte family history before I bring things to a Clos[e]. (Sorry, just had to do it.) Founded in 1889, Laherte Frères was ushered into the modern era as well as into the business of estate bottling by Michel Laherte, followed by his sons, Thierry and Christian Laherte (thus, Laherte "Frères"). While Thierry and Christian continue as heads of the estate, it is Thierry's son, Aurélien Laherte, who is now responsible for both viticulture and vinification. Representing the seventh-generation of vine growers at Laherte, Aurélien, now only 27, has brought the estate another step forward. All of the family's vineyards — 75 distinct parcels, totaling ten hectares and spread across ten different villages — are now cultivated organically, with about half of those farmed using biodynamic practices. Along with his friend and peer Raphaël Bérèche, Aurélien is also one of the founding members and organizers of Terres et Vins de Champagne.

There's little question in my mind, even less after drinking these beauties, that Aurélien is in the top rank of young Champenois vignerons producing wines worthy of both contemplation and pure, unadulterated enjoyment. You can follow Aurélien and the rest of the Laherte family in action through the seasons at their blog, Nouvelles de Chavot.

And truly finally, just in case the doubling-up of importer information (Pas Mal at the tasting, Triage at dinner) seemed confusing or contradictory, allow me to clarify. The Champagnes of Laherte Frères are imported and distributed by Selection Pas Mal in the NY/NJ market (shipped for them by USA Wine Imports) and by Triage Wines in the Pacific Northwest.

Intro only...

Highlights from the Jenny and François Portfolio Tasting, Fall 2010: Take Two

My previous post, which covered roughly half of the wines that left me most impressed at the fall Jenny & François Selections portfolio tasting, wound down with my promise to keep the Loire reportage to a minimum. I should have known — hell, even you should have known — I wouldn't be able to keep it to just one producer. There's only a little more Loire, though, before we move further afield. So, let's launch back into action, right about where I left things in part one....

Strangest Taste Sensation:
Under usual circumstances, tops in this category may have gone to the 2009 Touraine Amboise "Ad Libitum" from Domaine la Grange Tiphaine, in which the primary flavor signature was a dead ringer for cherry Sucrets®. (Had to check to see if they even make those any more. They do.) But then I tasted the 2006 Coteaux du Loir "Gravot" from La Grapperie, a blend of Pineau d'Aunis, Côt and Gamay. Sticking my nose in the glass immediately evoked one of those scent memories that was totally singular yet that I couldn't quite nail down.... Was it the aroma of freshly broken open milkweed? Maybe poke? (Both things I remember, albeit cloudily, from my childhood.) Mentioned it to the young lady from Uva Wines who was working the Grapperie table and she said it reminded her of horseradish. Damned if that wasn't it! Horseradish, on the nose and on the palate. Only the watering eyes and head rush were missing. Crazy or not, "Gravot" is now on my shopping list.


A Few Gems from the Rhône:
I managed to sidle up to the main Rhône table just in time to score one of the last pours from a magnum of Eric Pfifferling's 2006 Domaine de L'Anglore Vin de Table "Comeyre," a Carignan dominated red with a dash each of Grenache (presumably Noir) and Clairette. A really lovely example of Carignan-driven wine — barky, dark berry fruit with chocolate and spice accents. Rustic but simultaneously classy.

My real faves from the Rhône, though, were the reds from Hervé Souhaut at Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet. Actually, Souhaut's 2008 Vin de Pays Syrah did nothing for me, but the rest of his line-up more than made up for that. His 2009 "La Souteronne," a varietal expression of Gamay stemming from 60-80 year-old vines, was dense, taut and darkly mineral; couldn't help but get a kick out of it being labeled as 12.34% alcohol, either. Souhaut's 2009 Saint-Joseph was a little on the lean and mean side but nonetheless a really fine example of St. Joe, firmly tannic and bristling with black olive and violet aromatics. The '09 Saint-Joseph "Saint Epine," from 100 year-old Syrah vines, was the real star, bringing the extra meat that its little brother was lacking, not just in terms of body but also in the aromatic sense. This had that dark, brooding, meaty aromatic character I love in the Northern Rhône, almost like bresaola in this case, along with an assertive streak of cracked pepper and spice. Really solid wine that I'd love to have around for the cooler weather and a nice roast leg of lamb.


Ass Has Never Tasted So Good:
If there's an area where the Jenny & François portfolio reaches greater breadth than in the Loire, it's unquestionably the big melting pot of the south of France. There are a surprising number of artisan Bordeaux estates and a handful of little gems in the greater Southwest — such as Clos Siguier, whose 2007 Cahors was showing quite nicely — but the real strength, at least numerically, is in the Languedoc-Roussillon. As with Sablonnettes in the Loire, though, there was one estate whose wines really stood out for me: Domaine des 2 Ânes.

You'll forgive me the almost unforgivably bad inter-language pun of this section's heading (I hope). Hey, I expect it got your attention. If it made you cringe, too, so be it. An Âne, you see, is a donkey (aka, an ass), two of which (more now, as you'll see below) are used as beasts of burden at the wine farm of Magali and Dominique Terrier. I'm sure there's a wink and a nod in there somewhere, some awareness of double-entendre, but there's certainly no relationship to a rather unfortunate American expression sometimes used to describe things that, well, don't taste good.

And then there were three.
As you may already have figured out from the borrowed photos in Friday's post, I couldn't bring myself to break out my camera at the tasting.... But I also can't bring myself to post this reasonably lengthy second chapter without throwing in at least an image or two. So, here's a shot of Magali Terrier of Domaine des 2 Ânes with the farm's, ahem, 3 ânes.
(Photo courtesy of Jenny & François.)

Magali and Dominique's entry level 2008 Corbières "Premiers Pas" ("first steps") was delicious — juicy, fresh, dark-fruited but light on its feet, and very pleasantly spicy. Their 2008 Corbières "Fontanilles," the next step up, was earthier and more tannic, coupled with much more profound aromatics and greater structure, yet still utterly enjoyable. I'd love to pair it, right now in fact, with grilled lamb chops. As so often seems the case with line-ups from this part of the world, I liked their top wine, the 2007 Corbières "L'Enclos," less; it was just as well made as the others but beginning to step a little too far into the realm of the big, boisterous and intentionally impressive to suit my current preferences. All three wines represent seriously good value.


It Wasn't an All French Affair:
It should be glaringly obvious by now that the J&F portfolio focuses overwhelmingly on the wines of France. In the last couple of years, though, they've begun to branch out more and more into other European countries. They've even made a small inroad into distribution of American wine. The single American producer with whom they're currently working, California's Tony Coturri, just happened to be the only producer on hand at the tasting, where he quite convivially poured his big, bold, honest wines — a style that matches the man — for the relatively euro-centric crowd. I won't go into any greater detail than that for now, but you'll find a nice write-up on a few of the entries from Tony's line-up over at Karen Ulrich's blog, Imbibe New York.

I've been hearing/reading a good bit about the wines from the Tuscany estate Colombaia but had not gotten around to trying them until this tasting. I particularly enjoyed Colombaia's 2008 Toscano IGT Bianco, a 50/50 blend of Trebbiano and Malvasia, for its charming aromas of sweet cereal grains, and flavors of blanched hazelnuts and delicate minerality (11.5% alcohol didn't hurt, either). From a simple quaffability perspective, I liked their Sangiovese-dominated 2007 Toscano IGT Rosso as well, though I found that its very forward expression of natural wine making practices somewhat obscured the wine's sense of place.

It was one of the last wines I tasted on the day that really stopped me in my tracks — a Spanish red called Els Jelipins. It was the 2005 vintage and the only wine, so far as I know, produced each year by Glòria Garriga and Oriol Illa, with a little help from their daughter Berta, at their winery that is also known as Els Jelipins, located about 75k to the west of Barcelona. Another first experience for me, so, rather than me trying to tell you about its background, I'd suggest you check out the piece that Linda Milagros Violago wrote for 31 Days of Natural Wine back in '09. Let's just say the wine was warm, plush and sexy (not a word I use often or lightly), beautifully balanced and startlingly, delicately nuanced for a wine of such hot climate richness. Drinking it made me feel good. A bottle will set you back a pretty penny but, if you can lay hands on one from their tiny annual production, methinks you'll find it worth the splurge.

I couldn't help but like the artwork on the rather minimalistic Els Jelipins website — bike, hearts and all.

And Finally, The Wine I'd Most Like to Have Cases of for Daily Enjoyment:
Certainly I'm not the only person who gets asked on a regular basis, "So, what's your favorite wine?" For me, it's an unanswerable question. There are just too many great wines and too many variables that go into the experience of each and every one. On this occasion there were some show stoppers, like the Saint-Joseph "Saint Epines" from Hervé Souhaut, like Jacques Lassaigne's rosé Champagne, and like the '05 from Els Jelipins that I've just finished waxing rapturous over. Of all the wines in the room though, the one I'd most like to have a stack of in the cellar is one of a much easier nature: the 2009 Arbois "L'Uva Arbosiana," produced by Evelyne and Pascal Clairet at Domaine de la Tournelle.

Actually, I really liked Tournelle's lineup across the board. The 2007 Arbois Trousseau des Corvées was in a tough spot — two of the three bottles I tasted from were quite reductive — but I expect it will come around with time; the other bottle was quite fine. The 2006 Arbois Ploussard de Monteiller hasn't yet found the elegance and grace of the 2004 but it's already very pretty, both delicate and racy. Their 2002 Vin Jaune and 2004 Vin de Paille were both crazy delicious; that Vin de Paille had one of the most incredibly savory noses of the day, erupting with scents of chicken broth, golden raisins, yellow curry, pears and hazelnut cream.

Yet it was what could safely be described as Domaine de la Tournelle's simplest wine, "L'Uva Arbosiana," Ploussard fermented via carbonic maceration then aged for just a few months in old casks prior to bottling, that I could most easily envision myself drinking — and immensely enjoying — day in and day out. Fun and freakin' delicious. C'est tout!

Intro only...

Highlights from the Jenny and François Portfolio Tasting, Fall 2010: Take One

It's the heart of the fall trade tasting season right now. Problem is, I live in Philly and 98% of the portfolio tastings are staged in New York. To make them all, I'd need to rent a place in the city for at least a couple of weeks if not an entire month. Add that to the fact that I'd also have to arrange for mid-term palate replacement surgery and it becomes a complicated prospect. I at least try to make it up for a few, though, particularly those held by importers whose portfolios I really dig, and/or for those where the importer may have gone out of his or her way to extend a personal invitation. Can't do 'em all but I do what I can.

First among those that I was able to attend during this week's voyage north was the Jenny & François Selections fall portfolio tasting, held downstairs at The Smith in the East Village. J&F co-proprietor Jenny Lefcourt, like me, leads classes occasionally at Philly's Tria Fermentation School. Nonetheless, it remains tough at best to find wines from her portfolio on the PA market, making the trip to NYC a necessity in order to experience the full breadth of wines that she and her business partner François Ecot are bringing into the US.

In relatively random order and without further ado, here are some of the highlights from Monday's tasting.

Most compelling bubbly:
The Champagnes of Jacques Lassaigne were delicious across the board but it was his Rosé de Montgueux, a rosé d'assemblage of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir, that really stood out. Not for any greater complexity than the two Blanc de Blancs — quite the opposite if anything — but for the fact that it was just in a great place, bursting with bright red forest fruits and drinking really nicely.

Burgundy, red and white all over:
The first white Burgs I tasted, two Chablis from Jean-Claude and Christiane Oudin, weren't to be surpassed. Their 2006 Chablis "Les Serres" was intensely smoky and iodine, full of the pungent minerality that makes Chablis so, well, Chablis. Oudin's 2007 Chablis 1er Cru Vaugiraut, produced from 70-year-old vines, took a significant step up from there, just as lovely to drink but displaying much greater breed and focus.

Oudin bottle shot courtesy of Brooklynguy.

On the red side, there was one clear standout among a healthy handful of interesting wines: the 2007 Mercurey "La Plante Chassey" of Catherine and Dominique Derain. When last I tasted this (at Terroir SF) it was enjoyable enough, even showed some promise, but six months later it's simply singing. Fantastic acid/fruit balance, with sappy, smoky red fruits leading to a ripe red cherry mid-palate and a finish full of minerals and sous-bois character. Very good wine indeed.

La La La Loire:
Okay, you all know by now how much I love Loire wine. Keeping this concise is tough, as Jenny & François are lucky to work with a very fine range of Loire producers. One stood out for me, though: Domaine des Sablonnettes. I liked their wines across the board, from the 2008 Anjou "P'tit Blanc," which showed structured, intense fruit with waves of minerality, to their 2009 Vin de Table "Les Copines Aussi," a juicy, fresh and easy drinking example of Loire Gamay. The 2008 Vin de Table "Les Copains d'Abord," made purely from the indigenous variety Grolleau, was tougher to love — herbal and intensely wound-up — but in a way that made me want to try. "Buy this for further investigation," read my notes.

Image courtesy of Putnam Weekley, via Saignée.

There's plenty more on deck but this is getting long and I'm getting tired. Stay tuned for J&F Part Deux, coming soon to a blog near you.

Intro only...

Josh George: Straight Outta Richmond

For today's post, I'm handing over the reins to a guest blogger: Josh George. A regular reader and semi-regular commenter here at MFWT, Josh is a guy I think of as a friend even though we've met only via the blogosphere. By way of intro, I asked him to write a few words about himself. Take it away, Josh.

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My wife and I left New York six months ago to head south to the small town of Richmond, Virginia. I wanted space to paint big and she wanted peace and quiet to focus on her writing. We started a blog — Who's Afraid of Virginia? — to document our new life and new changes. We want to show the rest of the world how pretty and vibrant Richmond is, with its historic neighborhoods and the local art and food scene. After a few posts my wife became too busy with her writing but I try to keep it alive by posting photos of food and wine porn.

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As Josh hinted at only modestly above, he's an accomplished painter, who shows regularly in New York and has done album cover art for jazz guitarist Pat Metheny — yet another of our common interests.

Please check out Josh's portfolio at his official website, JoshGeorge.com, and follow his news and works in progress at his painterly blog, joshgeorge.blogspot.com.

Though I wasn't able to make it to New York last week for the annual Louis/Dressner portfolio tasting and Euro-invasion extravaganza, Josh jetted up to NYC for the day just to be there. Here's his report....

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We sat in the airport terminal, reluctantly eating a greasy, overly-processed breakfast from one of the vendors. Suffering through a soggy "panino," I knew I'd soon redeem my crappy meal by tasting a portfolio of all natural, honest expressions of earth.

I work a few shifts a week and hang-out part time at J. Emerson Fine Wine down in Richmond, Virginia. On April 22, my manager and I joined forces with the natural wine guys from Williams Corner to take a quick day trip up to New York for the Louis/Dressner tasting. Though excited to taste some of my hero's wines, I wondered how bittersweet the visit would be for me, having just left New York after living there for ten years. I got over any sentimentality after sitting in traffic for an hour on the Williamsburg bridge.


We were greeted by a geeky sign coded for those in the wine business. Out of 29 vignerons, only 16 could escape the eruption of the unpronounceable Eyjafjallajokull that interrupted European air travel. Along with rain, sleet, snow and drought, the volcano was just another element that the winemakers had to deal with and made for some fun conversations.


Lost between three distributors, the wines of Roagna got their own sealed off Luca Lounge. Polaner will still handle the wines in New York and New Jersey and not be a part of the move to David Bowler. Nationally they will sell through Louis/Dressner, or something like that. Anyway, the whole lineup was there from the '05 Bianca Solea, little Dolcetto and Barbera, the '03 Langhe Rosso, the 'what's in it?' Opera Prima XVII and bottlings from both Barbaresco and Barolo.

A man on a mission. Franck Peillot of Franck Peillot raced to escape the volcanic cloud by driving 800 miles from Bugey to Madrid to catch a flight to get to New York. His non-vintage Montagnieu Brut was bottled, bubbly herbs that can take on anything from Champagne. The '08 Roussette de Bugey Altesse tart and nutty, and the '08 Mondeuse was like warm wool in the mouth. What's not to love?

Manuela & François Chidaine of Vouvray and the stones throw Montlouis had maybe the prettiest wines in the room. Maybe a little riper than other current releases from that part of the Loire, easily enjoyable in their youth.

The wines of Clos du Tue-Boeuf are always a favorite. From the lean, crystal scented Le P'tit Blanc, the wonderfully raspy '09 La Butte, to the mysterious cloudy colored, crushed violet scented '09 Cheverny Rouge.

Pierrot Bonhomme, Thierry Puzelat's business partner, has vines of his own. His unfortunately named '08 Touraine Rouge "KO In Cot We Trust" was a show stopper, proving that Malbec is just a grape, not a flavor in itself but more a communication device to show off some really distinct dirt. I could have this on the dinner table every night.

Cascina degli Ulivi was one of the volcano victims. Alessandra Bera of Bera Vittorio & Figli was around to see us all marvel at their '09 Moscato d'Asti.


Here's Scott Bridi overseeing animals in all forms. He runs the charcuterie program at Marlowe & Daughters. Before that he headed the kitchen at the rustic Lot 2 in Brooklyn and also did meat at the famous Gramercy Tavern for two years. We were in good hands.

My biggest surprise of the day were the wines of Radikon. I was prepared to dislike these mythical monstrosities, thinking they were unobtainable, super sexed up, oxidized trophies. I was so wrong, they were super cool. Maybe it was the context with all the other wines of the day but they were so bizarre, so different, lush and vibrant with bulletproof zip.

Sasa Radikon was on hand to explain the farming, vinification and their approach to bottling. The farming like most of the other vignerons on hand is biodynamic and natural, hand harvested, low yields, all that. What is interesting is the 90 days of skin maceration and the 3 years in large Slavonian oak that make them somewhat indestructible. The 500 ml bottles are used to house the skinny little corks they have specially made, which they feel ages the wine at just the right pace.

These beautiful cider and tea colored wines can justify the high prices.

Natural wine enthusiast Alice Feiring chatting up Olivier Riviere about his un-Rioja-like wines. The '09 Rayos Uva and the '07-08 Ganko and the '08 Gabacho had a bright red freshness that contrasted the oaky, roasted norm.

The man himself keeping everything under control.

The crew from Williams Corner Wine getting the V.I.P. treatment with Luca Roagna.

Even with all the spitting, trying to taste one hundred wines can take a toll on one's constitution. I made a turbo escape for Gimme! Coffee down in Soho. One of the things I miss about New York is good espresso, though outstanding coffee didn't exist in New York until 2001. I'm hoping it is just a matter of time before it trickles down to Richmond. Gimme! does it right.

The crime scene that was Matthieu Baudry. Les Granges was delicious in its youth; the '08 Clos Guillot and the '08 Croix Boisée were like buried treasure.

Francesca Padovani of Campi di Fonterenza was on hand with pink wine, a vertical of little Sangiovese, up through the '07 Rosso di Montalcino and a surprisingly elegant and restrained but mouth drying '04 Brunello. I had to run back to the meat table in between pours.

Also on hand was Jean-Paul Brun of Terre Dorées in Beaujolais. I was too intimidated to take his picture. It was a pleasure, though, shaking his meaty farmer hand. His wines might have been the day's winner. The place was nuts over superstar Eric Texier; he was pouring flavors from Côte-Rôtie and Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and of course his greatest discovery of Brézème.

Our last stop before flying home was Peking Duck House Midtown. We were able to sneak in a bunch of Dressner wines to see how they could handle two whole ducks. Afterward our palates were beat... we finished off the night with a $9 Peroni at the airport.

Thank you Louis/Dressner for doing what you do.

Intro only...

Champagne Tarlant

Aye, if there's a place in the wine world I'd most like to have been today, though getting there might have been tough given the current airspace restrictions in Europe, it's Aÿ. (Never could resist leading off with a horrible pun....)

Aÿ was indeed the place to be today for the 2nd annual tasting conducted by Terres et Vins de Champagne, a group of young, natural-leaning Champagne growers that was first conceptualized and organized by Raphaël Bérèche and Aurélien Laherte. I won't go into any more detail about it here, as you can read all about last year's inaugural event at Peter Liem's now defunct blog, Besotted Ramblings.

What I will do is take today's event, even if it was 3,000+ miles away, as impetus to finally share some of my impressions from a relatively recent event much closer to home – the Boutique Wine Collection national portfolio tasting, held back in early March in Center City Philly. The lineup at this year's tasting was quite similar to last year's, with one notable exception that was, at least for this taster, an exciting new entry in the Boutique portfolio.

It didn't take long for me to find it, as two steps into the room I was greeted by Mélanie Tarlant, who asked if I'd like to taste through what turned out to be pretty close to the full range of wines produced at her family's estate, Champagne Tarlant. Mélanie's brother Benoit just happens to be one of the seventeen participating members of Terres et Vins de Champagne, so there's today's tie-in (just in case you were wondering).

Mélanie has only recently entered the family business, taking on the role of communications director for Champagne Tarlant. This was her first time visiting the city of brotherly love, and she seemed to have survived her Saturday night indoctrination into the world of Philly cheesesteaks with flying colors.

Though Tarlant's wines have theoretically been available in the Pennsylvania market in the past, actual appearances in shops or restaurants have been less than few and far between. While their Champagnes are most likely still destined to be special liquor order (SLO, in PLCB parlance) items, I'm hoping that the estate's recent leap into the Boutique camp will at least land their wines on a few of the better restaurant wine lists around town.

Champagne Tarlant's history dates back to 1687. Representing the 12th generation of the family business, Melanie's brother Benoit recently joined his father Jean-Mary at the winemaking helm. Benoit has already established his mark, adding two non-dosage bottlings as well as two terroir-driven cuvées to an otherwise more traditional yet already low-dosage (averaging about 6g) house style.

The family's holdings comprise 14 hectares, with 55 separate parcels of vines located in the villages of Oeuilly, Boursault, St-Agnan and Celles-les-Condé, all in the Vallée de la Marne. Plantings include Pinot Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay, along with small amounts of Arbanne, Petit Meslier and Pinot Blanc. Across the entire range, Benoit and Jean-Mary conduct approximately 60% of their base fermentations in barrel, with the other 40% fermented in small steel tanks. None of the wines go through malolactic fermentation, sulfur use is kept to a bare minimum and, as I mentioned above, all of the wines see very low (if any) dosage.

Benoit's Brut Nature "Zéro," the first pour in the lineup, was regrettably suffering from low-level cork taint (Mélanie mentioned that she'd had a bad run of subtly TCA-affected bottles on this trip). It's an equal part blend of Pinot Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay, by the way, the current release being based primarily on the 2005 harvest with a small addition of reserve wines.

The Brut Nature "Zéro" Rosé was suffering no such problems and was indeed delicious, bracingly dry and mineral, full of bright, wild red-fruit aromas. Mélanie explained that non-dosage rosés are quite rare, as it can be tough to balance the tannins that come from the red wine (this is a rosé d'assemblage, 85% Chardonnay with a 15% addition of still, red Pinot Noir) without the aid of a few grams of sugar in the final bottling. Benoit has achieved balance nonetheless, working hard in the vineyards to ensure ample ripeness and selecting only the best vintages of the family's own red wine, again with ample ripeness, for blending.

Can you say "cu-vée"? The "QV Discobitch" bottling is another of Benoit's special projects, made at the request of Paris-based DJs Laurent Konrad and Kylian Mash. Again, there's a detailed write-up of its origins at Besotted, so I won't belabor things by repeating the details. I will say, though, that while Mr. Liem reports that Discobitch is an early disgorgement of the "Cuvée Louis," Mélanie told me that it is actually the same as the Brut Nature "Zéro," but with the addition of a six-gram dosage, just enough to nudge it into Brut designation territory. It very well could be that both are correct if the recipe Mélanie referred to is a change that occurred between the original bottling and the current release. I'll see if I can't entice Benoit to provide full elucidation of the details.... Assuming Mélanie is correct, I'm curious as to how the wine manages to find its balance in both versions.

Last poured among the "Classic" entries in the Tarland portfolio was the "Tradition," a blend of 55% Pinot Noir, 35% Meunier and 10% Chardonnay. Based primarily on wines from the 2002 vintage and aged sur-latte for five years prior to release, the resulting wine was broader and more richly structured than the Brut Nature offerings. Quite delicious, too. And at $37 retail in PA, $10 less per/bottle than what Big Yellow fetches in the Keystone State, a really solid value.


On to bin number two, Mélanie again poured from our right to left, beginning with the 1998 Prestige Extra Brut. From a blend of 65% Chardonnay and 35% Pinot Noir planted in chalk and limestone rich terroirs, the '98 was drinking well, still taut, fresh and well-defined, and still showing the potential for further development in the cellar.

The 1999 Prestige Rosé, on the other hand, had reached what struck me as its full maturity and potential, showing pretty, dried red floral characteristics and orange-peel fruit along with an ever-so-slightly oxidative character. 85% Chardonnay blended with 15% red wine of Pinot Noir, from two single plots of sand and limestone based soils.

As should be the case, the show stoppers were saved for last. "La Vigne d'Antan" Extra Brut Non-greffée Chardonnay was intensely soil expressive, the most compelling of the wines for the individuality and minerality of its palate impact. Though not vintage dated, "La Vigne d'Antan" ("the vine of yesteryear") was produced entirely from the 2000 harvest and based entirely on Chardonnay planted on its native rootstock ("non-greffée" means ungrafted) in a single plot of sandy soil called, if I'm not mistaken, "Îlot des Sables," located in Oeuilly. The wine was aged sur latte for six-and-a-half years before being hand-disgorged in October 2007 and was finished with a very modest two-gram dosage. It ain't cheap – Boutique specs it at around $150 retail – and it's not even available as a special order item in PA, so I was happy for the opportunity to taste it, something I'll look forward to doing again. Not surprisingly, it's also among the wines Benoit was scheduled to pour at Terres et Vins today.

"Cuvée Louis," the tête de cuvée at Champagne Tarlant, is named in homage to Louis Tarlant, the great-great-grandfather of Benoit and Mélanie who was the first member of the family to estate bottle Champagne under the Tarlant name. A 50/50 blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from 60-year-old vines in the "Les Crayons" vineyard in Oeuilly, the wine was sublime – not as muscular and earthy as "d'Antan" but long, delicate yet full-flavored and very, very fine. We tasted the current release, based primarily on the 1998 harvest with reserve wines from both 1997 and 1996.

In closing, I leave you with a little something for your listening and viewing pleasure. To paraphrase my buddy Neil, disco may suck... but at least Benoit can have a little fun while making some excellent Champagnes.



Champagne Tarlant
51480 Oeuilly / Epernay
FRANCE

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Highlights from the Boutique Wine Collection 2009 National Portfolio Tasting

Yesterday, I spent a relaxing afternoon tasting through some of the current lineup coming into the US courtesy of importer Bryce McNamee’s Boutique Wine Collection. Boutique held their 2009 National Portfolio Tasting over the course of the weekend in Center City Philadelphia. Unlike their tasting at the Moore College of Art last fall, this weekend’s event focused solely on the wines in Boutique’s direct book. While the core of that book remains based on Bryce’s work in Spain and South Africa, they’ve made a couple of significant additions to their French portfolio in recent months.

The perspective from the 33rd floor of the Loews Hotel, in the old PSFS building, provided some fantastic panoramic views of downtown Philadelphia.
The highest profile of those French additions must certainly be the old Sancerre estate of the Mellot family, the Domaine de la Moussière. Alphonse Mellot Sr. and Jr. (Alphonse is the favored family surname) produce opulent Sancerre based on severe fruit selection from their low yielding, biodynamically farmed vineyards in the commune of Sancerre itself. A freshly bottled sample of their 2008 Sancerre Blanc “La Demoiselle” was one of the standouts of the entire tasting, full of high-toned gooseberry and granny smith apple fruit balanced on a knife’s edge of finely detailed acidity. Mellot’s 2008 Sancerre Blanc “Satellite,” on the other hand, was initially dense and wrapped up with the influence of its time spent in foudres. Returning to it three hours later, though, it was another wine entirely – creamy, mineral rich and hinting at the possibility of very interesting development with further time in the bottle.

The other new addition to Boutique’s French folio is the Domaine du Petit Métris, a 30-hectare estate based in the AOCs of Savennières, Chaume and Quarts de Chaume. More Loire wine! I wasn’t complaining…. Petit Métris has been in the Renou family since the late 18th Century and is now run by Joseph Renou and his sons, Pascal and Hervé. The Renou’s, members of Vini Vitis, apply both organic and biodynamic techniques on the farm. Their holdings in Savennières, purchased in the 1990s, are the most recent additions to the estate and consist of two lieu-dits: Clos de la Marche and Les Fougeraies. The 2005 Clos de la Marche was my favorite of the line-up, showing the beginnings of bottle development and a classic aromatic profile, full of herbal tea and quince notes; the much less evolved ’05 “Les Fougeraies” showed a streak of menthol through its otherwise closed framework. The 2007s from both vineyards were youngsters but demonstrated the fruit-forward character of the vintage. From their holdings in Chaume, the 2005 “Les Tétuères” was pretty irresistible, while the intensely opulent aromas of their 2007 Quarts de Chaume hinted at the promise of good things to come for those who can wait.

I was again impressed by much of the range from Alsace’s Rolly Gassmann, another in Boutique’s growing stable of estates practicing biodynamie. All of Gassmann’s wines are fermented on their native yeast and showcase both varietal typicity and clear expressions of terroir. The wines are released to market only when young winemaker Pierre Gassmann deems them ready. Their 2004 Riesling “Kappelweg” vied, along with Mellot’s Sancerre “La Demoiselle,” as best of show with its brilliant yet subtle structure and a spark of wintergreen in its aromatic profile. The Pinot Gris “Rotleibel,” also from 2004, showed fantastic nerve and acidity. Two different vintages of Gewürztraminer “Oberer Weingarten” were also on point: the 2004, very drinkable at a low by Gewürz standards 12.5% alcohol , had a refined nose of orange peel and spice while the 1998 was showing fantastic bottle development. Even Gassmann’s range of Vendanges Tardives bottlings showed fine balance, from a 1997 Muscat “Moenchreben” that was surprisingly subtle despite its 258 grams of RS, to the seemingly dry finish of the 2000 Riesling “Cuvée Yves.”

Rudi Hermann was clearly proud – even if he was trying not to show it – of his Riesling Erdener Prälat Auslese Goldkapsel. The Hermann’s own a meager 1000 square meters of the 1.5 hectare Prälat vineyard, from which they produced 800 half-bottles of extremely opulent Auslese in 2006.
Continuing with Riesling, albeit of an entirely different style, the father/son team of Rudi and Christian Hermann were on hand, pouring wines from the 2005, 2006 and 2007 vintages. Their estate, Dr. Hermann, consists of 6.5 hectares split among choice vineyard sites in the middle Mosel villages of Erden and Ürzig. It was highly instructive to taste the wines from the difficult 2006 season side-by-side with the very classic wines of 2007. There were true Kabinett wines from both Erdener Treppchen and Ürziger Würzgarten in ’07, while no Kabinett at all were produced in 2006, when even the Spätlesen were affected by botrytis (and were mostly declassified Auslesen). The standouts at the Hermann’s table, though, were two wines from 2005: the minty Erdener Treppchen Auslese that was just beginning to reveal some lovely bottle development and the Ürziger Würzgarten Auslese, produced from 80-100 year-old vines and showing intense extract. Produced from even older vines (phylloxera is unable to live in the meager soils in this part of the Mosel), the Erdener Treppchen Spätlese “Herzlay” was the star of their 2007 lineup.

As I’d completely missed the lineup from Parés Baltà at Boutique’s last event, I did my best to spend a little time with them this go ‘round. A large estate in Spain’s Penedès region, with over 700 hectares of land including nearly 180 hectares under vine, Parés Baltà has practiced organic farming principles since its inception in 1790 and is now certified organic. All fermentations, save the secondary round for their Cavas, occur on autochthonous yeasts. There’s a clear drive and ambition behind the wines. I found their entry-level efforts most enjoyable, from a crisp, floral NV Cava Brut, to the intensely toffee driven (but dry) white called “Calcari” made from 100% Xarel.lo, and on to the “Mas Petit” red, a 60/40 blend of Garnatxa and Cabernet Sauvignon that showed fresh, herbal red fruit and a bracingly tannic finish.

Markus Huber, proprietor at Weingut Huber in Austria's Traisental, spent some time comparing notes and sharing a few laughs with Christian Hermann as the tasting drew to an end. It was a pleasure tasting through Markus' wines again. For the sake of "brevity," though, I'll point you back to my older profile of his work and say only that his 2008 Gelber Muskateller, just bottled, provided a lovely and lively starting point for the entire tasting.

As you may be guessing, time was running short by the time I worked my way up to this point. A quick power tasting session – not my preferred or natural approach – was in order. Though I hardly got to taste everything, there were at least a few wines worthy of mention. There was a juicy and directly pleasing example of Bierzo “Joven,” a varietal Mencia from Bodegas y Viñedos Castro Ventosa. Scali Blanc, a small-lot blend of Chenin Blanc, Viognier and Chardonnay from Willie and Tania de Waal’s property in the Voor-Paardeberg district of South Africa, was much tastier on the palate than its somewhat muted nose led me to expect. And the 2003 Cape Vintage “Port” from a winery called Axe Hill in Klein Karoo (about a four-hour drive north of Capetown) would have been right at home in a blind tasting line-up of young Vintage and LBV Ports.

Last but not least was arguably the most unusual wine in the room, a Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes “Vieilles Vignes” Blanc from the tiny producer Le Signal, situated about five kilometers west of Maury in the town of Saint Paul de Fenouillet. Based almost entirely on the fruit from 80-year-old vines of Grenache Gris, plus a dash of Macabeo, the wine was a powerhouse – in a good way. Produced very naturally, it was showing a positive touch of orange wine oxidative character along with aromas of campfire smoke, toasted brioche, caramelized pecans and garrigue, and had no problems holding its 14.5% alcohol in check.

Boutique founder Bryce McNamee and John Toler, Boutique's Wholesale Sales Manager for the PA/DE/South Jersey territory, still looking lively at the end of two long days in the saddle.

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The Louis/Dressner 20th Anniversary Portfolio Tasting

It’s been a week now since I made the trek up to New York for the grand tasting events of both Terry Theise and Louis/Dressner (LDM) Imports. There was a moment en route, trying to remain positive while stuck in a New Jersey Transit NE Corridor commuter train that was stopped dead on the tracks just south of Secaucus, that I thought I was going to end up missing one if not both of the events. Even though I’d hardly say that luck was with me that day, after a few hesitant lurches forward the train finally did make its way into Manhattan. Once I’d made the jump from Penn Station to Tribeca for my first stop, the challenge quickly switched from simply making it to the events to how to manage time and energy in such a way as to do either of them justice.

In contrast to the dressed for success crowd and well organized flow at the Theise portfolio show, the vibe at Louis/Dressner’s tasting was more one of casual chaos. The event space was a refreshing change – a sunny, airy, whitewashed room in LDM’s offices perched on the sixth floor of an office building near Astor Place. With 21 tables (few of them manned by this point in the afternoon), a less obvious traffic flow and an even less obvious rationale to the arrangement of wines, it was really up to the attendee to form a plan or make sense of it all. And with over 270 wines in the room, I can’t imagine there were more than a handful of endurance tasters that actually ran the gamut. Maybe Alice Feiring, who I had the pleasure of meeting as I was arriving and she was leaving, bicycle helmet tucked under her arm. If so, she was hiding the effects awfully well. Me? Looking back on Dressner’s tasting guide and my notes, I managed to spend some time with about one-third of the wines on offer. A bit of a disappointment from my self-critical perspective but, I suppose, not really that bad considering the time constraints and logistics of the day.

With nothing more than a quick sandwich and a quicker walk in the break after leaving the Theise tasting, jumping right back into bubbly seemed the most obvious way to resume.

Starters – A Few Bubblies from the LDM Portfolio:

Skipping the familiar (and wonderful) sparkling Vouvray and Montlouis of François Pinon and François Chidaine respectively, and intending to come back to the cidres of Julien Frémont (which I never managed to do), I started off with one of the few wines I’d yet to try from Thierry Puzelat. His 2006 “Pétillant Naturel,” I have to say, is an encapsulation of the fact that natural wine does not always equal good wine. This bottle was just in a weird place, all yeast and reductivity with little else to offer.

A non-vintage pétillant Saint-Péray from Les Champs Libres, a joint effort between Hervé Souhaut and René-Jean Dard (of Dard et Ribo) was pleasant in comparison. Albeit a bit aromatically neutral and coarsely textured, its forward fruit would make it an enjoyable quaff.

The Champagnes of Larmandier-Bernier were delicious across the board, from the fine and richly textured Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru NV to the steelier, more finely chiseled “Terre de Vertus” Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru Non-Dosé. I somehow missed L-B’s rosé but the “Vieille Vigne de Cramant” Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru 2004 more than made up for that. Tightly wound but lovely, lovely wine that’s just in need of some tender care in a cool cellar until it’s ready to really unfurl.

An extremely briny, mineral Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut from Ulysse Collin topped things off. As my description implies, I’d love to sit down with this and a platter of shellfish. Though not vintage dated, the fruit is all from the 2004 growing season.

On to the Beaujolais:

As much as it pained me, I leapfrogged past the wines of Jean-Paul Brun’s Terres Dorées and headed straight for Roilette, Tête and Descombes. In a tough crowd, the wines of Clos de la Roilette stood out. Their 2007 Fleurie was a thing of sheer beauty, extremely sappy at its core and built on a lean, tannic frame while the ’07 “Cuvée Tardive” showed similar sap with much more brooding, intense structure. These will both reward cellaring, especially the “Tardive.”

One of the great pleasures of the day was getting to taste, at least here and there, alongside my pal and blogging cohort, Neil, aka Brooklynguy (or is it Brooklyn Guy?). Sometimes you can learn more about someone’s tastes from what they don’t like than what they do. In that context, I think I’m beginning to get my arms around Neil’s preferences in Beaujolais, as he liked Michel Tête’s wines less than did I. In contrast to Roilette and Descombes, they’re softer and fruitier yet also more herbal in style, though the 2006 Juliénas “Cuvée Prestige” does take on a nice firm spine from the structure provided by 100-year-old vines.

Georges Descombes’ 2007 Regnié was a delicious contrast, at once funky and brambly, with really juicy, exuberant fruit. Befitting of the cru, his wines from Morgon brought another level of intensity, apparent in the basic 2006 Morgon and framed even more clearly in the 2005 and 2006 “Vieilles Vignes” bottlings. Both were tightly wound, especially the darker ’05, but both showed real potential.

You Are So… Variable – The Wines of Nana, Vins et Cie (Domaine le Briseau) and Domaine de la Sansonnière:

Nana, Vins & Cie is the négociant business started in 2005 by Christian and Natalie Chaussard of Domaine le Briseau. Their wines, very natural and edgy, fall squarely into what many would call the hipster camp. Their labels vary between cute, minimal or simply indecipherable. And, at least on this day, the wines showed their quality to be quite variable.

In spite of the name, I really dug “You Are So Nice,” a blend of two-thirds Côt and one-third Gamay. The nose and palate both reeked of middle-Loire Côt, like a corned beef/pastrami sandwich finished off with a little wild raspberry jam. Relatively soft, it would make for a tasty picnic wine. “La Dérobée,” a Coteaux du Loir blend of Pineau d’Aunis and Côt, was not dissimilar from “Nice,” though with firmer backbone and a more guttural expression of earthiness.

I was less enamored with the whites. “You Are So Fine,” a Vouvray elevated in old barrels, showed intense wood influence with what little fruit there was being dominated by fermentation-derived aromas. And their Touraine Sauvignon called “You Are So Cool,” intensely minty and confectionery, was marred by a rubbery blast on the finish.

As much as I liked the 2005 Anjou Blanc “La Lune” from Mark Angéli’s Domaine de la Sansonnière when last I tasted it – coincidentally, it was also with Brooklynguy – it’s now gone into a very bad place, tasting of pomace and paint thinner. Just a phase, I hope. From the same vintage, his Anjou Rouge “Jeunes Vignes Les Gélinettes” was tannic – severely tannic – and weedy, in need of a hunk of roast beef to stand even a chance of being palatable.

Some More Wines I Did Like:

Lest you think I’m being a nasty cuss or naysayer, there were plenty of wines I did like. The whole lineup from Château d’Oupia was delicious, from the great value VdP “Les Hérétiques,” lean and full of barky fruit, to their top wine, Minervois “Cuvée les Barons” 2006, which drank like a magnified version of the “Tradition,” with greater richness but similarly wild, chunky fruit.

There was a delicious 2006 Mondeuse du Bugey from Franck Peillot, bright and juicy, and a very attractive if somewhat atypical 2006 Saint-Joseph Blanc from Dard et Ribo that might have fooled me for Chenin Blanc in a blind tasting.

I did take the opportunity to revisit a couple of old friends in new vintages. The couple of ‘06s I tasted from François Chidaine’s estate in Montlouis were showing great. “Clos du Breuil” was surprisingly rich, with really pure honeysuckle character. “Les Tuffeaux,” Chidaine’s multi-vineyard demi-sec cuvée, displayed the earthier, more mineral side of Montlouis and was showing a bit more structure than “Breuil.”

The Chinons of Bernard Baudry also showed well – big, boisterous and delicious across the board. The 2007 “Les Granges” displayed Baudry’s wild side in its fruity, animal nose. His top wine, the 2006 “La Croix Boissée,” was a monster on the palate, with a beautiful nose of red earth, sycamore and brambly fruit. Olga Raffault’s 2005 “Les Picasses” represented the more old-school side of Chinon, more feminine and delicate than Baudry’s expressions, with higher-toned aromas and a much more assertive acid profile.

It may come as no surprise – at their prices, it shouldn’t – but the showstoppers when it comes to Cabernet Franc were the 2004 Saumur-Champigny bottlings from Clos Rougeard. The “Clos” cuvée was lush and cuddly, full of cassis and eucalyptus, while “Les Poyeux” showed a more modern oak profile with fantastic structure. “Le Bourg” was simply rocking, coming across as more classic than “Poyeux,” with fantastic delineation of flavor and structure, fine balance and truly lovely fruit.

The 20th Anniversary Table:

By the time I found my way over to the table of wines from the 1988 vintage, being poured in celebration of Louis/Dressner’s twentieth year in the biz, I was too late to catch the ’88 versions of Clos Rougeard “Le Bourg” and Breton’s Bourgueil “Perrières,” as well as the ’88 Muscadet “Clos des Briords” from Domaine de la Pépière.

A trio of fantastic Loire Chenin Blancs helped to ease the disappointment.Back to Chidaine again, his 1988 Montlouis was redolent of tuffeaux terroir, with an intensely mineral nose. Showing aromas of fennel and pickling spices, François Pinon’s 1988 Vouvray Moelleux “Cuvée de Novembre” was complicated and lovely. Rounding out the threesome, Domaine du Closel’s Savennières “Clos du Papillon” may just have been my wine of the day. At the very least, it had the most beautiful nose of the day, rich with scents of aged goat cheese and limestone. Like Sainte-Maure in a glass.

As the close of business ineluctably approached, I wanted to believe that I’d overcome the challenges posed by the day’s doubled-up agenda. Deep down, though, I knew that the Dressner tasting had gotten short shrift. By around 3:30, I’d hit the wall, pure and simple. I found myself wandering the room. I’d gone from any sort of methodical tasting approach to looking around rather randomly for things that struck my fancy or cried out to be sampled. Serendipitously, though, just as I thought I’d have to throw in the towel, I wound up at a table of wines that helped bring things back into focus.

Happy Endings – the Whites of Stanislao Radikon:

Given the scarcity and relatively high prices of Radikon’s wines, it was a real treat to finish the day with a serious look at his whites. Stanko Radikon is an extreme naturalist, both on the farm and in the winery. I won't go into a ton of detail regarding their approach here but you'll find plenty of good information, albeit in Italian, at Radikon's website.

His 2003 “Jakot” (Tokaj spelled backwards), a varietal expression of Friulano, shows most clearly the funky side of Radikon’s natural winemaking, with a nose full of wild yeast, cider and damp minerality.

His other whites more clearly display his approach in the cellar. 30 days or more of maceration on the skins endowed his 2003 Ribolla Gialla with an energetic spiciness and tannic finish. 2003 “Oslavje,” a blend of 40% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Grigion and 30% Sauvignon, shone a beautiful tone of orange, like a California sunset in a glass. Its flavor profile, with a hint of spearmint on the finish, was sweet and ripe.

2001 Ribolla Gialla was in a much more mature state, with a nose full of dried herbs, apricot and citrus confit and less primary fruit on the palate; the ’01 Oslavje was fresher on the nose and still a bit more direct.

With the 1997 library releases, though, the tables were turned. The 1997 “Oslavje Riserva Ivana” was a bit of a paradox, lighter in color than the younger versions and very oxidative in style – interesting but not delivering much pleasure. Radikon’s 1997 Ribolla Gialla “Riserva Ivana,” on the other hand, was just singing. The wine of the bunch for me, with a great nose and rich, vinous texture, laced with cidre, thyme and candied orange.

These are not wines for every day pleasures. Rather, they’re profound wines, at once incredibly idiosyncratic yet also pure. While I can’t say Radikon’s line-up brought me back to spring daisy state, it certainly opened my eyes and provided a much-needed centering before saying my goodbyes and hitting the streets.

Intro only...

Boutique Wine Collection Portfolio Tasting, Part Three

This shall be the third and final installment of my tasting reports from Boutique Wine Collection’s portfolio tasting held earlier this week along the parkway in Philadelphia. How to handle a big, broad tasting like this is always a challenge. Nine tables, in this case, with an average of fifteen wines at each. Four hours from start to finish. I suppose it would be possible to taste everything, but not for me. I’m not a power taster. I prefer to spend at least a little time with and give at least a little thought to each wine, even if it is with just an ounce or two in my tasting glass, a spit bucket always close at hand.

I suppose if I were an egalitarian, blank slate kind of taster, I’d try to focus on the areas where I’ve a lot to learn – Argentina or South Africa, for instance. But I’m not out to build an intentionally multinational wine list or to stock a price-point driven, one-stop liquor mart. So, after years of tasting like this, my approach is usually to focus on my areas of strength, always looking for new discoveries, and then to dabble a little in the realm of the lesser known. When it comes to wine, I really don’t believe there’s such a thing as an expert, certainly not in the widest sense. For my own purposes, I’d much rather know a lot about a little than a little about a lot.

This is all, in my typically long-winded fashion, to explain that, when it came to working my way through the core of Boutique’s direct imports at the tasting, I focused on their offerings from France, Austria and Germany and just dabbled a little in the New World and Spain.

Sandrine DuPouy, the French Portfolio Manager for Boutique Wine Collection, is originally from Toulouse but is now based in South Africa – an unusual commuting arrangement, to be sure.
From my perspective, Sandrine was pouring the strongest line-up, from start to finish, of the event. Maybe not the most impressive – that title would have to go to the grower Champagne part of the array at the Terry Theise table – but certainly the most consistent. There really weren’t any lowlights at her table, so I’ll just run through what was on offer.

• Huber Traisental Grüner Veltliner “Hugo” 2007: Very clean, crisp GV. Simple but with all the right stuff in all the right places. A really good value in entry-level Austrian wine. For more info on the estate, check out my notes from a tasting with Markus Huber earlier this year.
  
  
• Huber Traisental Grüner Veltliner “Obere Steigen” 2007: Broad, prickly texture. Very typical, in the good sense, expression, with white grape, pepper and five spice aromas.
  
  
• Huber Traisental Grüner Veltliner “Alte Setzen” 2007: Riper texture, more powerful and dark fruited. Redolent of fresh peach preserves.
  
  
• Huber Traisental Zweigelt 2006: Plummy, supple and food friendly. Easy-going Zweigelt.
  
  
• Rolly-Gassmann Rorschwihr Moenchreben Auxerrois 2001: Rolly-Gassmann farms and makes wines in the old way. Their methods are largely biodynamic and the wines are not released for sale until deemed ready to drink. 2001 is the current release for their Auxerrois, which is relatively low acid, deeply perfumed, a bit earthy and touched by a little botrytis. Tasty even if a tad awkward.
  
  
• Rolly-Gassmann Alsace Pinot Gris 2004: Excellent acidity, pure fruit and a dab of RS. The star of the line-up.
  
  
• Rolly-Gassmann Alsace Riesling 2006: Concentrated, slightly rustic and quite vinous. Not a finesse Riesling, but quite savory.
  
  
• Rolly-Gassmann Alsace Gewürztraminer 2004: Classic profile of exotic fruits, lychee and yellow flowers. Full-flavored but not at all over-the-top. I don’t drink much Gewürztraminer but I’d be happy to find a place in the fold for this one.
  
  
• Dr. Hermann Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett 2007: Direct and fruity, with classic Mosel delicacy. Cleansing acids.
  
  
• Dr. Hermann Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett 2007: Denser than Treppchen, red fruits and spiced, baked apples. Good nerve.
  
  
• Dr. Hermann Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese 2006: Consistent expression of terroir, even across the two very different vintages. Darker peach fruit, with the expected extra degree of richness relative to the Kabinett.
  
  
• Dr. Hermann Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese 2006: Much showier than Treppchen. Decadently spicy – the vineyard site is appropriately named (Würzgarten means spice garden) – and quite well balanced.
  
  
• Le Signal Côtes de Roussillon Villages “Vieilles Vignes” 2005: From an estate based in St. Paul de Fenouillet, not far from Maury. The odd man out in the lineup but it rounded out Boutique’s entire European portfolio. Soft up front but with more interesting sensations on the finish. Garrigue-driven aromas and mineral-laced fruit. A Grenache/Syrah/Mourvedre blend from 80-100 year-old vines. Not the greatest value but a very solid effort.

John Toler, pictured at right, is Wholesale Sales Manager for Boutique Wine Collection. John was pouring wines from a Friulian producer, Scarbolo, brought in by Dark Star Imports. To my chagrin, I never managed to taste them. Next time, I hope. John was setup next to Boutique’s National Sales Manager, Jeff Morgenthal (pictured at left).
A couple I liked from Boutique’s Spanish and South African portfolio:

• Ken Forrester Stellenbosch Sauvignon Blanc 2008: Commercial style, squeaky clean but a good quaffer. I won’t rush out to buy it but I wouldn’t shun it as a by-the-glass pour.
  
  
• Gratavinum Priorat “2πr” 2005: That's "Two-Pi-R." Modern style blend of the “traditional” Priorat varieties: Cariñena and Garnatxa. Super ripe cassis fruit. Minty nose. Solid tannin/fruit balance.

And a couple on the dark side:

• De Trafford Stellenbosch Chenin Blanc 2006: Over the top nose of tropical fruit, followed-up hard by overwhelmingly green, aggressive oakiness. 100% barrel fermented. 15% alcohol, plus residual sugar. There’s a suggestion of good fruit but the winemaking is way too heavy-handed for the Chenin to stand a chance.
  
  
• Ardevol Priorat “Coma d’en Romeu” 2005: Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah. Savagely tannic, oak dominated and just plain unpleasant.

That's all, folks. Unless, that is, you missed the first two installments:

• Boutique Wine Collection Portfolio Tasting, Part One
  
• Boutique Wine Collection Portfolio Tasting, Part Two

Intro only...