April Wine Club Notes

The leader of our Terroiriste Pack found two beauties from northern France. To celebrate springtime, we have crisp Chablis. For those who want something more chewy in their glass, we have a natural Chinon from old vine Cabernet Franc.

2014 Domaine Bernard Defaix Chablis, Burgundy, France (100% organic)
This Chablis comes from Domaine Bernard Defaix. This family started making wine in 1959. At the moment the fourth generation from the family is in charge. Since 2009 they have made their conversion into organic farming official under the auspices of Ecocert. The main goal of the brothers Sylvain and Didier is to preserve the characteristics of each terroir with which they work. With this 2014 Chablis they did a great job. The ’14 vintage is fine and mineral, very typical of Chablis. Their vines are spread over 12 hectares, and situated in the heart of the appellation. This wine is aged in stainless steel tanks so as to respect the typicity of the appellation. Except the minerality, you’ll find lemon, grapefruit and some green apple. It goes without saying that this wine will be perfect with your seafood platter.

2012 Luc Sébille Chinon “Les Débonnaires”, Loire Valley, France (100% biodynamic)
Our red comes from Luc Sébille. Raised on the farm, Luc was a dairy farmer until his forties. He then decided to change the course of his life and became a ‘vigneron’. He now farms 14 hectares of old-vine Cabernet Franc in the heart of the Chinon AOC in southwest Touraine. Luc was mentored by Olivier Cousin (one of the finest French natural winemakers from this time). Olivier taught him to plough by horse and inspired him to fully embrace organic viticulture. Luc doesn’t like the under-ripe, herbaceous taste of cab franc. He makes them velvety and appealing. You think umami, dark fruit and maybe even ink. It’s juicy and delicious! Serve it with goat cheese, spinach quiche and your classic steak frites

March Wine Club Notes

Domaine Jean Masson ‘vieilles vignes traditionelle’ Jacquère, Apremont, France

March’s white comes from the Alpine wine region of the Savoie, where
the vineyards are planted on the south and south-eastern facing
limestone slopes of the Chartreuse Mountains as the land climbs from
the Jura to the towering Alps. Apremont is one of the best known
villages in the appellation. The Domaine Jean Masson, located near the
village of Apremont, produces classic Savoie whites that have been
declared the new benchmark of quality in the region. They are intensely
flowery, with noticeably invigorating acidity.
Jean-Claude Masson and his son Nicolas are often seen as the best
winemakers in Apremont. From their 22 acres of vines they make a
series of wines to express all the subtle differences between the terroir,
often varying their vinification techniques as well.
This specific wine is made from 80 year old vine Jacquère aged in
stainless to preserve the freshness and unique character of the grapes.
On the nose there’s citrus, white fruits, and an alpine herbal quality that
one can only find in regions like this. The palate is dry and tart, with
exotic notes of star fruit and green apple and a firm mineral finish
thanks to the limestone soils of the area. Serve this tasty wine with a
young goat cheese, white asparagus, sole, trout, or mussels. You should
drink this wine as fresh as possible, so don’t feel guilty about opening it
right now!

2013 Brkić Plava Greda Blatina, Mostar, Bosnia Herzegovina (100% organic)

First things first. To prevent you breaking your tongue over this one, it’s
pronounced Burkitch and it’s downright fantastic!
Bosnia Herzegovina may not be a country you would associate with age
worthy, distinctive wines, (or wine in general) but then you haven’t met
Josip Brkićs wines yet. Just an hour’s drive from the Croatian coast, the
vineyards are situated 800 to 1300 feet above sea level in Southern
Herzegovina where grape cultivation dates back at least 2,000 years.
These grapes have a serious history and identity. Since the late 1970’s
Josip Brkić took over his father’s vineyard and has worked tirelessly to
make the wines recognized around the world. Grown on limestone soil
and farmed organic and biodynamic, the vines deliver top quality
grapes. “Greda” is the name of the vineyard where Josip sources the
indigenous Blatina grape for this wine. This multilayered, complex and
sophisticated grape is a descendent from the better known red grape,
Zinfandel.
It has a cold earthy character with a phenomenal natural balance of
acids and tannins and immediately pleasing flavors of plums, cherries,
and even coffee.
While one can wait another 5 years to develop deeper and more intense
flavors, the wine is delicious now. Drink it (now or later) with a crispy
duck breast with cranberry garnish or sticky barbecue pork ribs. 

February Wine Club Notes

2014 Champ Divin Chardonnay. Cotes du Jura, France (100% biodynamic)

This month, in order to balance the obscurity of our red wine selection,
we chose good ol' Chardonnay for the white wine. It would be very unterroiriste of us to choose just any old bottling, so we opted for a lively
and modern ouillé-style Chardonnay from the Jura in eastern
France. (The ouillé style is made by topping up the barrels as the wine
ages to replace the wine lost through evaporation). It's a departure from
the more traditional oxygen-loving nutty wines that have come to define
the region, but we love it's fresh appley fruit, electric acidity, and the
finish reminiscent of sweet almond cream. The wine has a brilliant
golden yellow color and charming aromas of pineapple and white peach.
The flavor’s fresh and lemony and has a beautiful structure. As no comté
would be required to enjoy this wine, it’s at her best with asparagus,
duck breast, scallops and pineapple carpaccio.

This Chardonnay comes from the Champ Divin estate situated at the
foot of the Jura’s first plateau on silty clay and limestone soils. The fact
that this winery is certified by Demeter doesn’t come as a surprise. Ever
since being kids in the 70s, both Valérie and Fabrice Closset-Gaziaux
have been close to nature. Their observing state of mind led them to
study Agriculture. After various advisory jobs in both France and
abroad, they decided to make their own wine in Gevingey, Jura. It felt
natural to change the entire existing vineyard into a biodynamic one.
They strongly believe in being part of a whole, a totality and a universe.
In seeking the best and purest grapes possible, a biodynamic agriculture
in which vines permanently interact with the different energies and
influences, it seemed the logical thing to do. Having tasted the result, we agree!

2013 Laderas de Sedella "Mediterranean Mountain Wine" Romé/Garnacha, Malaga, Spain (100% organic)

The wine ‘Laderas de Sedella’ is made from about 6 acres of hundredyear-old Romé and Garnacha vines. Romé is a dark-skinned grape grown mainly in the Axarquia region east of Málaga, Andalusia. It can also be found in the Sierra de la Contraviesa in Granada. It matures
pretty late and provides smooth, light red wines with aromas of flowers,
red fruits and sometimes vanilla. The garnacha grape gives this wine a
certain ripeness, tannins and structure.
Sedella Vinos is founded in 2006 as a project of winemaker Lauren
Rosillo who produces beautiful wines in other Spanish regions too. The
small vineyard on 2461 feet, located in Sedella, a small town of 400
people, has 6 acres of vineyards rooted in historical steep (45%!) slopes
of slate. Because of this enormous incline, the ground is cultivated using
draft animals and Roman plows.
For this wine, the Romé and Grenache vines age between 16 and 20
months in new French oak barrels. The wine has a deep blue color, high
intensity, violet on the edges and dense and stained tears. The aromas
are reminiscent of the natural environment, with notes of iodine, saltpits
and Mediterranean forests. It’s fruity and elegant. In the mouth,
sensations are soft, round, but fresh and have a pleasant aftertaste.
Although this wine is aged in new French oak, there’s no whiff of it, just
lovely scents of licorice and pine. It's concentrated, juicy and polished.
This wine is easily kept for another 4 to 5 years, but we’re not sure you’ll
be able to resist the temptation…

January Wine Club Notes

2014 Domaine Ostertag "Les Vieilles Vignes de Sylvaner", Alsace, France

Andre Ostertag is making Sylvaner look good.  Oft’ described as ‘bland,’ Sylvaner is a grape that makes the argument for influence of terroir.  The grape, which once reigned over as the most planted white varietal of Germany in the earlier 20th-century, was dethroned by Muller-Thurgau and later on, Riesling.  Despite it’s international reputation for ‘meh’-ness, in its more attractive expressions, it can be racy and angular or broad across the palate with a smokey perfume.  It is recognized as one of the more commonplace varietals currently planted in Alsace, although it is not classified as a ‘Noble’ grape of the region.

Ostertag has farmed Biodynamically since 1997 and is a bit of Seussian Lorax of the wine estate (you could argue ‘he speaks for vine & wine’).  Although admittedly intended as a little guffaw at the AOC/AOP, he has invented a system for classifying his own wine: ‘Vins de Fruit’ is wine that expresses the fruit character rather than the specific vineyard site, ‘Vins de Pierre’ expresses the soil of the terroir more readily and ‘Vins de Temps’ depends on time and weather that allows for successful botrytis rot growth.  These 40-year-old Sylvaner vines set their roots into clay, granite and gravel, but critics rave about Ostertag’s precise hand (or “caress”) in the vinification process.  Smokey, soapy, limey and floral, this wine is best enjoyed with fruits of the sea.