Guigal Tasting (part 2)

This blog will include a contrarian view on the La La La wines, but first, I want to look at two more wines from the tasting.

The 2015 Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde includes 5% Viognier and includes the grapes from the two famous steep vineyards facing each other in the Northern Rhône, one with darker, iron infused soil, the other more sandy. The Viognier component makes this a lighter, more open wine, which can be drunk young. The Shiraz component, however, shows rich and silky blackberry and cassis, with ripe tannins (93 points).

The 2015 Côte-Rôtie Chateau d'Ampuis is a blend of seven vineyards. The wine is matured for 36 months in new oak. This is a serious wine, more red fruited than the 'Hospice', and very complex. The black raspberry fruit is very concentrated and ripe. Mocca and meaty flavours appear on the back palate, and the oak is noticeable. This can be a bit much for some, but it is a very well made wine (95 points).

To the La La Las, the pinnacle of Guigal winemaking, the Grange of France if you will.

La Mouline is always the more feminine wine of the three, and this is true for the 2015 La Mouline. The grapes come from 100 year old vines with very low yields. This Shiraz includes 10% Viognier, and the wine is matured for two years in new oak. There is no whole bunch included. This wine without doubt was the wine of the night. Fragrant, opulent, fresh, elegant, velvety, pure, silky, spicy; this comes to mind rather than any fruit descriptors. This full-bodied wine has incredible length and stays with you for some time (98 points). 

The 2015 La Turque is quite a different proposition. This wine includes 7% Viognier and 20% whole bunches. This is an intense and brooding wine. Others have lauded this dense and powerful Shiraz, but for me, it lacks the layers of fruit and the differentiation one sees in the cooler vintages of this wine. The long finish compensates to a degree (95 points).

La Landonne is the counter piece to La Mouline, and this is largely because of the inclusion of 100% whole bunches and no Viognier included. The 2015 La Landonne is incredibly rich and concentrated, but the same comments I made for the La Turque apply here. The ripeness eliminates detail, and the mouthfeel is not as exciting as with La Mouline. Despite this, there is undoubtedly elegance in this wine, which is quite an achievement, and the finish is very long (95 points). 

  

Guigal Tasting (part 1)

I am very sorry about the lack of new posts lately. I have not had time for this, unfortunately. As the next Rioja post will be quite comprehensive, I will report on a Guigal tasting in the interim. In this first part, I will review a couple of whites from 2017, and a couple of reds from 2015.

The 2017 Guigal Condrieu La Doriane is a 100% Viognier wine (as required from Condrieu), matured in 100% new oak. It is a fresh wine with vibrant acidity, engulfing the flavours of pear, vanilla and light spices. The wine has an oily character with a long elegant finish. This is a good wine, but as always with Viognier, I never quite know what it stands for (92 points).

The 2017 St. Joseph Lieu-Dit Blanc is a single vineyard wine, 95% Marsanne, 5% Roussanne. This is a terrific wine with a bigger mouthfeel and richer character, such as ripe melon, toast and almond. Still, this is balanced with lively acidity before a very smooth finish (95 points).

The 2015 St. Joseph Lieu-Dit Rouge is a lighter wine from this warm vintage. It is dark fruited, with vanilla and spice adding complexity. I find it a bit upfront, yet it has an elegant texture (92 points).

The 2015 St. Joseph 'Vignes de l'Hospice' is a big step up. This Shiraz is aged for 30 months in new oak. The dark fruit is intense and ripe, but the palate has great shape, and is driven by underlying acidity. You can hardly notice the oak in this full-bodied wine. The smooth tannins deliver an attractive finish (96 points). 

More, including the La La La wines, in the next post.

Valenciso

Valenciso is a small, 21 year old winery in Rioja Alta. It produces 150,000 bottles per year from 19 plots of mainly calcareous soil. It is now in its first year of organic production. Like with many vineyards in Rioja, some are bush vines, some are trellised vines. There does not seem a pronounced preference of one over the other.

Valenciso stands out, because everything about these wines is about finesse. The very smart and reflective owner Luis Valentin took me through the wines shown above, except the 10 year old wine was the 2007. The 2018 Rioja Blanco was the best white wine I tasted on this trip - and what a wine this is! 70% Viura, 30% Grenache Blanc and fermented in Russian oak, creates a delicate wine with excellent depth. The acidity is firm, but does not distract from the harmonious citrus flavours.

The Rosé is produced in the saignée method. Melon and strawberry flavours are built on a solid foundation of minerality. This is a really smart wine.

The flagship is the Rioja Reserva, based on Tempranillo. But in contrast to many producers, this is not about how long the wine has spent in barrel, but reflecting where the wine comes from. The primary fruit in the 2002 wine is almost gone.  Exotic spices now characterize the wine, and the acidity gives it a good structure. Maturing took place in light and medium toasted French oak. The 2012 shows great purity, with red and black cherry character. The focus here is on the fruit, and the finish is very long and balanced. 

The top wine is the 2007 '10 years postres'. This wine was aged 50/50 in Russian oak and concrete vats. The ageing is about adding to the texture of the wine, not to impart flavour. According to Luis, the concrete stabilizes the colour of the wine. The fruit here is absolutely delicious, backed by firm tannins.

Try to get your hands on some of these wines. They are a revelation. Rioja never tasted this good.      

Rioja

I am in La Rioja, Spain. Traditionally, red wine has been grouped in Joven, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva, according to the age profile in barrel and bottle. Other criteria, mainly maximum yield, are not particularly demanding. As a result, there is a huge investment in barrels, as Reservas are the most prominent wines for many wineries.

Over the last few years, this system has come under strong criticism from wineries who wish to show vineyard terroir on the basis that wine ageing does not say anything about quality nor origin. So from the 2017 vintage onwards, wineries are allowed to show individual vineyards within the Rioja classification on the label. Three soft criteria need to be fulfilled, and the wine needs to be approved by a committee. This system is neither objective nor does it guarantee quality, claim a number of leading wineries who have opted out of the system altogether.

So at first blush, it looks like a traditionalist vs. modernist scenario similar to what happened in Piedmont in the 1990s. However, it is much more complicated than that. What the argument is largely about is the dominance of fruit or oak. Yet, as I found out on day 1, there are many ways to skin the cat. These are the approaches of the wineries I visited.
- Rioja Alta: Traditional approach, but a second winery with single vineyard focus.
- Roda: French oak (American is traditional) to reduce oak impact, blended wines, but no crianza, reserva etc. labelling
- Marques de Riscal: traditional
- Lopez de Heredia: American oak, but fruit orientation by using 8-15 year old barrels

On day 2 I visited wineries which have opted out of the system altogether using mostly French oak and shorter maturation periods.

I will report on tastings in the next few posts.

Penfolds St Henri

The 2015 Penfolds St Henri Shiraz is an unusual wine for this label. It is usually the wine which people pick who prefer fruit over oak, as it is matured in larger used oak casks. However, 2015 was warm, and this is a dense and wiry wine. Blackberry and blood plum flavours are intense and concentrated leading to a big, slightly fat mouthfeel. The tannins are firm and the finish is long, but a bit hot.

This is the biggest St Henri I ever tried. You need to cellar this wine for at least 10 years to get the benefit of better integration of its components and some mellowing of the tannins.

Score: 93/+

Deutzerhof Spätburgunder

There are not many wine categories which are undervalued in total. Albariño from Northwestern Spain, as reviewed in the post below, may be one. Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) from Germany is definitely one. These wines are well made and have become attractive as the climate in Germany is warming.

The 2007 Deutzerhof Caspar C Spätburgunder, from the Ahr, from a very good vintage, tastes of black cherry and forest floor. As a 12 year old wine, the tannins have softened and deliver a well-rounded mouthfeel. This is a medium bodied wine with a silky texture. This wine is still fresh and dynamic, but the finish does not hold as long as the palate suggests at the start.

Score: 92/++

Castro Martin Sobre Lias Rias Baixas Albariño

Chardonnay has had its ups and downs (more ups lately), Pinot Gris is going down the commodity pass of Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling is loved by critics, but not consumers. There is room for more white varieties. Up steps Albariño, native to the Galicia region of Northwestern Spain. Rias Baixas is known as the subregion where major investments into quality have been made.

This 2016 Castro Martin Sobre Lias is a fresh and crisp wine, with citrus, peach and hazelnut flavours. While a light and refreshing wine, there is some complexity on the palate. Acidity is prominent here, and some minerality on the finish. A summer wine with interest

Score: 90/++

Two Very Rare Australian Cult Wines

The first of these wines has the highest alcohol content of any wine I have ever drunk. The second comes from the oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in the world. Both are Barossa wines. The first wine is the 2004 Chris Ringland Shiraz, the second the 2004 Penfolds Block 42 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Chris Ringland is the most meticulous winemaker I know; in the vineyard, in the winery and in record keeping. This wine used to be called Three Rivers and came from what is now Torbreck's Laird vineyard. Later it was simply called Shiraz, Dry Grown, and came from the home vineyard Stone Chimney Creek in the Flaxman (Eden) Valley, a 100 year old vineyard, which Chris Ringland  restored.

So here it is: this wine has 17.7% alcohol. Before you stop reading, hear me out: this wine has incredibly powerful pristine, pure fruit. It can match the alcohol. There is of course 100% new French oak as well. This is a wine on steroids. While many wines at 14-15% alcohol taste more alcoholic, I have a major gripe with this wine. It does not taste like Shiraz. It tastes like a dry red, not clear which variety. And ultimately the alcohol dominates the fruit on the finish. As an aside, the wine is still fresh and vibrant.

I find it difficult to rate this wine. It is extreme, well made at that, but is it typical or enjoyable?

Score: 94/++

The Penfolds Block 42 comes from a section of the famous Kalimna vineyard in the Barossa Valley. The vines were planted in the 1880s. It is only released as a separate wine in exceptional years, otherwise the fruit goes into Grange and Bin 707. There is an incredible blackcurrant fruit intensity in this wine. It is very ripe and generous, with chocolate and licorice rounding out the profile. The wine has a big mouthfeel and no gap in the middle. The 100% new oak is noticeable, but well integrated. Alcohol is labelled at 13.3%, but this is clearly a lie. One is allowed to have a variance of 1.5%age points from the mentioned level, so lets add this to the 13.3%. The tannins are dry and have softened a bit. This wine leaves a lasting impression and will easily live well for another 15 years.

Score: 97/+++ 

Both these wines are characterized by big fruit, oak and alcohol, and are structured well. They almost form a different category of wine.   

Taste Champagne: The Major Houses Are Back

Taste Champagne is a very large tasting of Champagnes with over 40 Champagne houses pouring their bubblies.

It is a bit overwhelming. Champagne is the most manipulated wine in the world. You get a house style, mainly along the axis of Pinot vs. Chardonnay composition, ageing sur lies or not, and residual sugar. While there are premier cru and grand cru fruit going into Champagnes, terroir cannot easily be detected.

Over the last few years, so called Grower Champagnes made big inroads into the traditional leaders. Partly on the back of the fabulous 2008 vintage, the major houses have fought back.

Crowds gathering at Bollinger and Billecart-Salmon

My Champagne of the night was the Bollinger La Grande Année 2008. Great purity of fruit, caressing the mouth, very fine and fresh, with yeast underneath the fruit, delivering moderate bread and toast flavours - beautifully balanced (97 points). The Bollinger R.D. 2004 was finer and very delicate, and long on the finish (95 points).

Other Champagnes in the 94/95 point bracket were the Billecart-Salmon Vintage Extra Brut 2007, the Louis Roederer Blanc de Blancs 2011, Pol Roger Vintage Brut 2012, Agrapart & Fils Grand Cru Terroirs Blanc de Blancs NV, Brimoncourt Extra Brut Grand Cru NV, Henriot Brut Millésimé 2008, Palmer & Co Amazone de Palmer NV, Taittinger Brut Millésimé 2009, Charles Heidsieck Millésimé Vintage Brut 2005. 

Krug and Dom Perignon were not present. 

Four Vintages Of Penfolds Grange

The week of indulgence continued with a comparative tasting of some Grange vintages. Now, Grange is the opposite of what you would do if you were to design an ultra premium red wine today. You would pick a single vineyard; Grange is not only a blend of vineyards, but even regions. You would focus on one variety; Grange has some Cabernet blended with the Shiraz in most years. You would use French oak; Grange, of course, is matured in American oak. Your label would be more eye-catching. Yet, Grange is Australia's icon wine.

The tasted wines were 1990, 1996, 2001 and 2010 Penfolds Grange, with a 2002 Clarendon Hills Astralis thrown in for good measure. A lot has been written about these wines. Therefore I will just stick to my highlights. The best wines were the 1990 and 1996 Grange.

My wine of the night was the 1996 Grange. It was a little fresher than the 1990, the fruit a bit more generous now - a lot of complexity, smoke and spice and a firm grip (98 points). 

The legendary 1990 still shows this incredible layering of fruit. It has become more delicate, as the tannins have softened. The finish is very long and so is the life ahead (97 points).

The 2001 demonstrates what happens if the fruit is not powerful and weighty. Licorice takes over on the palate, there is a bit of heat, and the mouthfeel is not as round. This is still a good wine, but Grange has quite a lot of vintage variation (92 points).

The 2010 is back to form. This is an inky wine with dark fruit flavours (the 1990 has red fruit, also), firm, but silky tannins. The structure is balanced with a long finish. This wine is too early to drink and should develop more differentiated characteristics (95 points).

Grange is not everybody's favorite. Some find it too powerful and overwhelming. If you are aiming for a top shelf Australian Shiraz, the other choice would be Hill of Grace, for most. But an equally attractive choice could be Clarendon Hills' Astralis wine.

The 2002 Astralis is not as big and powerful as Grange, yet it is a full-bodied wine. The mouthfeel is very harmonious, with great balance and silky tannins. Next to its blackberry and plum fruit, it delivers attractive mocca flavours (96 points).

This was a great tasting and a rare opportunity to taste different Grange vintages side by side. Vertical tastings always deepen one's understanding of a particular wine.

The Standish Wine Company The Schubert Theorem

A week of indulgence kicked off with the 2010 The Standish Wine Company The Schubert Theorem. This wine takes branding to another level. First, the label. You cannot actually read anything. If you use a magnifying glass, you will identify a mathematical formula ( The Schubert Theorem, which is about knot theory and states that every knot can be expressed as the sum of prime (indecomposable) knots).

  

When you look at the back label, it has the regulatory requirements on it, but again, it is very hard to read. I am surprised Dan Standish gets away with it. As to the name, well the fruit comes from a Marananga vineyard which was owned by the Schubert family.

Barossa Shiraz has come under a lot of fire lately because of the wines often being overripe and alcoholic (more by critics than consumers). Dan Standish has largely avoided this criticism, because his wines, while very big, seem balanced and controlled. And so it is with this wine.

As I pour this wine, it looks like I pour black ink. I am worried. On the palate, there is a huge mouthfeel, there is black fruit, mulberry, marmalade, olive, but also vibrant red currant. The fruit is layered, and the wine has drive and acidity. The tannins are firm, and the whole package covers the alcohol well. This is a big wine, no doubt, but it does not feel heavy. The finish is perhaps a little thick.

Those that are skeptical of Barossa Shiraz should try this wine (it is $100/bottle). It is a great example of a well crafted wine in a unique Australian style.

Score: 96/+++  

Goisot Chardonnay

I do not drink much French Chardonnay, and if I do, I try to find good value matched by quality - not easy.

This medium weight wine almost gets me there. The father and son team Guilhelm and Jean-Hugues Goisot make wine near Chablis in the less highly regarded Yonne area. The 2015 Goisot Bourgogne Côtes d'Auxerre Blanc has an attractive profile of citrus, grapefruit and passionfruit flavours. There is a small oak influence on the palate. This wine is perhaps a little broad (2015 was very warm), but it goes well with chicken or salad.

Score: 91/+