Domaine Léon Barral Faugères 2009

While I don’t mention them by name, I’m very grateful for a small handful of restaurants and wine bars in my area that have interesting wine lists, in particular by the glass.  You can generally tell when I write about their wines because the bottle photographs are different, typically featuring a glass as well.  Today is one such wine, the Domaine Léon Barral Faugères 2009.

A stereotypical by the glass wine list around here will have a local sparkler and a Champagne, an aromatic white, a Sauvignon Blanc, a Chardonnay, a Pinot Noir, a middle weight red, and a Shiraz.  Except for the Champagne, and possibly a Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc, everything will be Australian, largely from South Australia.  While I’m all for supporting local producers, it can be quite predictable, and if you eat out regularly, somewhat boring.

Fortunately, there are a few places I frequent which offer a wider range of wines by the glass, with roughly a third from South Australia and the rest being divided between Europe and other parts of Australia, with the occasional New World wines as well.  Often I find myself with a glass in front of me and I have no idea what it is or where it’s from.

That was the case with this wine, and only subsequent reading allowed me to locate the region and identify the blend.  This wine is from Faugères, an appellation located in Languedoc in the south of France.  It emerged as a wine producing region in the 19th century, and was promoted from VDQS to AOC in 1982 for red and rosé wines and in 2005 for whites.  The soil is primarily schist and the climate is Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and fairly cold wet winters.  The grapes for red and rosé wines are traditionally Carignan and Cinsault, though Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah are not just permitted but being promoted as replacement varieties.  White wine may be made of Rousanne, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne and Vermentino, though red wines dominate with 80% of production.

While it’s true I knew nothing about this wine when it was placed in front of me, Faugères is in fact listed as a regional entry for WSET Diploma students, so I should have known everything in the last paragraph and more.  In terms of the producer, its name would likewise have been familiar had I been a better student, because in the Faugères entry in the Oxford Companion to Wine, it is mentioned as being a top quality producer.

Domaine Leon Barral was founded in 1993 by Didier Barrel and is named after his grandfather.  He’s a champion for the biodynamic movement, and so his team working the vineyard consists of himself, horses, cows and pigs.  His youngest vineyard is Mourvèdre and Syrah with vines that are 15 to 30 years old, though his older vineyard are dominated by Carignan vines that are up to 90 years old.  He produces three AOC red blends and a white vin de pays of Terrets Blanc and Gris, Viognier and Roussanne.

Grapes are hand picked, and then fermented in concrete without the addition of sulphur or introduced yeasts.  This wine was aged a further two years in tanks without oak influence, and bottled without racking, fining or filtration.  (The other two reds do see time in barrel.)  Based on 50% Carignan, Grenache and Cinsault make up the remainder of the blend.  As this blog is no stranger to those grapes, it’s on to the tasting.

In the glass this wine is clear and bright with a dark ruby colour and quick abundant legs.  On the nose it’s clean, and developing with medium plus intensity and notes of violets, sweet spice, simple red fruit, and lavender.  On the palate it’s dry, with medium plus intensity, medium plus alcohol, medium plus fine tannins, medium acidity, medium body, and medium length.  There are notes of chocolate, simple red fruit, violets, plums, and red cherries, with some hazelnut and coffee on the finish.

This is a very good wine.  The palate has a very complex and pleasing collection of flavours.  The red fruit is not especially distinct, but all the other flavours are very evocative.  It’s nicely balanced, and even the 14% alcohol is noticeable but not hot.  A pleasant surprise and a reminder to me that I still have plenty of studying to do to be worthy of the Diploma.

Rimauresq Cru Classé Côtes de Provence 2009

The weather is holding, but only just, so today may have been the last window in which to have a glass of rosé at lunch, so that’s exactly what I did, with the Rimauresq Cru Classé Côtes de Provence 2009.

While never attracting the attention or high prices of some of France’s more prestigious regions, the wines of Provence are well worth exploring.  The region itself in the south of France is made of up eight major AOCs, with today’s, Côtes de Provence, being the largest.  The area has been home to vines at least since it was colonized by the Greeks, and possibly further back still.

The climate is Mediterranean, obviously influenced by the namesake to the south, with temperate winters and warm to hot summers with little rain during the growing season.  The mistral, perhaps better known for its influence on the Rhone, also comes into play in Provence, providing cooling relief in hot summers and allowing rain to dry quickly, precluding some rot and disease pressure.

Soils in Côtes de Provence can vary considerably, as the region is both discontinuous, and covers a large area.  There are patches under the AOC just north  and east of Marseille, a patch just north of Nice, an island or two, but the bulk of the appellation is between Toulon and Cannes from the coast though some 30 km inland.  Broadly, schist and quarts are more commonly found near the sea, with clay and sandstone being more typical inland.

In terms of grapes, there are several sources that state at least 13 varieties are permitted within Côtes de Provence AOC, though I can only find 12:  Syrah, Carignan, Cinsaut, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Tibouren, Pécoui Touar (Calitor), and Barbaroux (Barbarossa) as red grapes and Ugni Blanc, Clairette, Rolle (Vermentino), and Sémillon as whites.  Cabernet Sauvignon is grown in the region, though I can’t determine if it is within the AOC or as a vin de pays.  As elsewhere, there are efforts to replace Carignan vines with more nobles varieties such as Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

In terms of wines of Côtes de Provence AOC, reds and white are certainly produced, but the rosés are the lion’s share.  In reds and rosés, Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvèdre and Tibouren must make up 70% of the blend.  While much of the local winemaking can be described as traditional, there have been inroads of more modern techniquest such as temperature controlled fermentation and experiments with rosés and oak.

This wine in particular is a blend of roughly similar parts Tibouren, Grenache and Cinsault, though in other vintages it has also included a small amount of Syrah.  Something of a Provençal icon, Tibouren is worth covering.  Jancis Robinson describes the contribution it makes to the rosés or Provence as the “scent of the garrigue” which left me scratching my head and consulting Wikipedia.  Garrigue is in fact a term used for a type of terrain that I would describe as characterized by shrubs and low bushes, and such land in Provence is made up of lavender, sage, rosemary, thyme, and juniper, as well as some a few plants that don’t make it into the spice rack.  So I’m guessing it’s something akin to “forest floor” but you need to replace “forest” with “shrubland”.

While Tibouren is synonymous with Provence, it is not very widely planted, with only 450 HA under vine in the 20,000 HA total area.  The grapes themselves are thin skinned and ripen early in direct sunlight, early ripening.  The high quality of the wine they can produce is offset by the difficulty is poses in the vineyard.  Highly susceptible coulure, or poor fruit set, which is compounded by the mistral, yields can vary greatly vintage to vintage.  As a result, it is largely cultivated only by producers of high quality wines, and often bottled as a varietal.

Rimauresq is a Cru Classé producer based midway between Nice and Marseille, and it takes its name from the Real Mauresque, a river running through its vineyards.  The Cru Classé is a designation based on a selection made in 1947 and after some years of researching the candidates, 23 domains were awarded the classification in 1955 (100 years after Bordeaux’s more famous classification).  Its vines are at an altitude of between 140 and 190 meters and are on a north facing slope, which exposes them to mistral, but provides shade and therefore a longer ripening period.  Their soil has both the quartz and sandstone qualities that place them roughly in the middle of the appellation.  They grow Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Carignan for their red wines, Rolle (Vermentino) and Ugni Blanc for their whites, and Cincault, Mourvèdre and TIbouren for their rosés.

This wine was made using hand picked fruit (whole bunches) with several hours of skin contact in cold maceration, and then cold stabalized for two to three weeks prior to fermentation.  Post-fermentation, it was left on lees and underwent regular batonage.  It did not undergo malolactic fermentation, nor see any oak.

In the glass, this wine was a lovely pale salmon colour.  On the nose were elements of peach and apricot, sour strawberries.  The palate was dry, with marked acidity, and notes of vanilla, white pepper, cream, and sandalwood.  It had a good length clean finish.

This was a very nice wine, though I admit, I’m letting the side down a bit with this tasting note.  It was a by the glass wine at the start of a lovely meal, and I didn’t initially intend to write it up until I realized how much I liked it.  I’ll have to go back and have another glass (or share a bottle) to update this note.  For now though, if there is any sunshine in your part of the world, this wine is well worth a taste.

Muga Reserva Rioja 2006

Another day at the library, but somehow not nearly as productive as the past few days.  I think it’s that all the grapes are pretty well noted, and just not quite memorized and I’m having a hard time moving on to the next bit of study.  The WSET Diploma Unit 3 Exam is just days away, so now is the time for real cramming, and I’m certainly feeling the pressure, but at the same time it’s so easy to do other things and to get distracted.

I still have half-bottles of everything we tasted a couple of nights ago, and had intended to write up proper notes for the inexpensive Burgundy, the Beaujolais Villages and the Barola, but rather than tasting the same wines yet again, we had a bottle of the Muga Reserva Rioja 2006 with dinner and I’ll write about that instead.  The other wines may have improved over the last couple of days or they may be worse for wear, but I’d rather taste something a bit more like what I’m likely to encounter under exam conditions.

So Rioja – easily the best known Spanish wine region, though I think many people would be hard pressed to put it on a map.  Then again, I was the same way with Bordeaux for a very long time.  It’s in the north, roughly in the middle, but set back from the coast by about an hour and a half’s drive.  If you have a leisurely start in the morning in Bilbao, you can have a fine lunch in Rioja without any trouble.

Red wines of Rioja may be made from four grapes – Tempranillo, Garnacha (Grenache), Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano.  Tempranillo is the most widely planted by far, and most red Riojas are blends dominated by it.  The back label on this bottle puts the blend as 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, and the remaining 10% a combination of Mazuelo and Graciano.  Also to use the term reserva, a wine must be released three years after vintage, with at least one year in oak.  This wine had two years in a mix of French and American oak.

The use of oak is one of the ways to spot a Rioja, in that classically it can show signs of oxidative maturation.  Essentially, barrels let in some amount of oxygen and that interacts with the wine.  Corks in bottles do as well, to a lesser degree.  So often for Riojas you’ll get secondary characteristics earlier than you might with other wines, including a browning of the wine slightly.

Unfortunately for a novice, this wine shows little of that.  While there’s a bit of dried fruit and spiciness, I would not say this has had particularly oxidative maturation.  The colour still bright for a five year old wine, and it’s showing no signs of too much air getting to it.

Appearance

Clear and  bright, medium-plus garnet, with quick legs.

Nose

Clean and developing, with medium intensity of sweet spice, vanilla, dried strawberries and tart plums.

Palate

Dry, medium acidity, medium body, medium tannins, medium-plus alcohol, medium-plus flavour intensity of strawberries, vanilla, pomegranate, and black pepper with a spicy finish.  Medium length.

Conclusions

This is a good quality wine.  There’s nothing out of place with regards to balance – the intensity and alcohol are somewhat more prominent than the acidity or tannins, but I think that’s just a stylistic decision that works well.  I would have liked more complexity – the flavours were intense enough, but I struggled to identify specific descriptors.  Still, the flavour profile was pleasant if somewhat simplistic.  The length was adequate – neither long nor short.

So I’m guessing this is the new style.  Much of the course material, for Spain in particular, describes regions having a traditional, sometimes rustic, way of making wine, which usually involves old wooden fermentation vessels and hot ferments, as well as either no time in barrel or no new oak.  Then they also mention a new style, which is much more modern, with stainless steel, temperature control, much more exacting in terms of technique, and quite often new oak.  I’m thinking this is relatively newer in style, in that it’s fresh and clean, though lacking slightly in character.  I know it’s a Reserva, but I’m sure Muga has one or two wines in their portfolio that are a step or two above it in quality.  All in all, a good wine.

Henschke Henry's Seven Barossa 2008

Tonight I’m sampling a wine from a very important Australian producer, and while this isn’t the most famous wine from that producer, it is important and interesting nonetheless.

I have before me a bottle of Henschke Henry’s Seven Barossa 2008.  It’s a blend of Shiraz, Grenache, and Viognier.  As I mentioned when I wrote about the Domain Day wine a few weeks ago, the Barossa Valley is a bit of Australian holy ground, and best known for robust Shiraz.  It is also the home of some of the oldest vines in Australia, many of them Grenache bush vines, meaning vines not trained to wires.

If Barossa is holy ground, Henschke is Australian divinity.  A family run winery since 1868, it has had many generations working its vines and making wine over almost the last decade and a half.  (Note to self, mark the calendar to buy some 150th anniversary wines around 2018.)  The current generation consists of husband and wife Stephen (winemaker) and Prue (vigneron), as well as at least one Dachshund named Cassie.  They make a range of wines, red, white, and sparkling, with their winery based in Eden Valley, a cool subregion of Barossa.  The have vineyards in Eden Valley in Barossa and Lenswood in the Adelaide Hills, which gives them a range of grapes, with an emphasis on cooler climates.

Having hit on second wines yesterday, it’s worth talking a bit about Henschke in terms of icon wines.  So with the great houses of France, particularly Bourdeaux, there is the notion of grand vin which carries the house name, and possibly a second wine with a different but evocative name.  In Australia, this is turned on its head.  Henschke has an icon wine, Hill of Grace, but it represents a small fraction of its production.  It is a rare and beautiful wine which I’ve only tasted once, and while when it springs to mind when people mention Henschke, it is not what most people have tasted when they’ve had a bottle with a Henschke label on it.  Rather, most have had something like the Henry’s Seven in front of me.  And while Henschke has a range of wines, it doesn’t really touch the low end, in that while this might be one of their more affordable wines, it’s neither cheap nor cheaply made.

As I mentioned, this wine is a blend and sourced from the Barossa Valley, in particular Eden Valley.  The blend, Shiraz, Grenache and Viognier (with 2% Mourvèdre according to the tasting notes), conjures forth thoughts of the Rhône.  I’m not sure in which region it would be considered a traditional blend – in the Côte-Rôtie you certainly see Syrah co-fermented with a considerable whack of Viognier, but I tend to think of Grenache as more typical of the Southern Rhône (and Spain of course).  But I’m a student, so for all I know there is an AOC that has been doing SGV for years.  But Australia is not bound by French AOC rules, so while things like Syrah/Shiraz and Cabernet-Sauvignon blends are uncommon in France (except for one region I can’t remember right now) they can be commonplace in Australia.

So this wine – very nice.  Friends brought it when we hosted them for Thanksgiving dinner a few weeks back, and as we had already selected some wines to go with the turkey, we set this one aside.  I wish I had some of the Pomerol from last night to taste side by side, as this couldn’t be more different.  While it’s a similar age (this is roughly six months younger – that crazy hemisphere thing) it’s from a different planet.  I have a bias in favour of New World wines in general, and so when I was asked to describe how to pick an Australian Shiraz, I said that a taster should look up from their notes and clear their mind with a swig in the mouth.  If the first thing that comes to mind is “damn, this is delicious” then it’s an Australian Shiraz.

Seriously though, this is a much more fruit forward style.  Shiraz makes a much fuller wine, and while people speak of Grenache in France as being a lighter wine, in Barossa from old vines it is like a grape shotgun at point blank range.  The Viognier adds aromatics and apparently helps in colour fixing in co-fermentation.  In this case it certainly keeps up in terms of palate weight.  This is a delightful blend, with intensity and concentration, but without heavy handedness.

Appearance

Clear and bright, medium-plus ruby with quick, thick pale ruby legs.

Nose

Clean and developing with medium-plus intensity and sweet spice, fresh raspberries, blackberries, and a bit of liquorice.

Palate

Dry (though the fruit is so fresh and sweet, I had to think twice), medium acidity, medium soft tannins, medium-plus body, medium-plus alcohol, medium-plus flavour intensity, with strong blackberry, raspberry, liquorice, sweet spice, and a bit of old oak.  Medium-plus length with some plums on the finish.

Conclusions

This is a very good wine – intense across the board, and so balanced with medium-plus being the norm for the scores.  The acidity is not quite up to the rest of the scores, but it does not put the wine out of balance.  The complexity is only in its infancy, in that I expect it to be more rounded with some cellaring.  I think this wine will improve over the next five years at least.