vinosseur

A milder version of the classic, roasted, slightly smoked chipotle pairs well with the earthiness found in the Cot.  The wine has just enough tannic structure to support the fat on the veal rib. An interesting dish that works very well overall with the wine.

Lot’s of new wines this month. La Stoppa’s Ageno brings my “orange wine” count up to 7 titles.  I would like more orange wines because they’re not only food friendly, they’re addicting as crazy!  There are many out there to chose from, but most I am afraid are not good in my opinion, merely fashion statements at most.

I am happy to have exclusivity on the Domaine de La Gramière wines in Norway (at least on this first shipment) – great wines made by some fellow ex-pats living in Southern France. These “sponty” wines have super clear fruit and great freshness!

A truly amazing Grüner by another new comer to Norway, Meinklang.

And, a new Dolcetto to replace Luca Roagna’s Dolcetto, one of my favorites up to now.  Principiano’s wines, including this Dolcetto, are brand new to Norway, and I feel will take no time at all to get discovered.

Over the course of the next month, I hope to add some (more) exciting rosé’s to kick off our Norwegian Spring and Summer! (Although as I write this post, the spring has all but vanished as I look out my window at the hail coming down from the sky!)

Here are my new additions:

• Domaine d’Elise Chablis 2008 – Lutte Raisonée – Burgundy, France
• Meinklang Grüner Veltliner 2009 – Biodynamic & one hell of a Grüner for the money! – Burgenland, Austria
• La Stoppa Ageno 2005 – A natural orange wine – Thanks Tomasz! – Emilia-Romagna, Italy
• Weingut Langmann Schilcher Klassik 2009 – Steiermark, Austria
• Stéphane Tissot Poulsard Vieilles Vignes Sans Soufre 2007 – Nice, delicate fruit.  A hint of oak – Jura, France
• Domaine de La Gramière Côtes du Rhône 2005 – Close to natural, just a pinch of sulfur! – Southern Rhône, France
• Domaine de La Gramière Peter’s Vineyard Syrah 2007 – Close to natural, just a pinch of sulfur, please decant me and give me some air! – Southern Rhône, France
• Domaine Leon Barral  Faugères 2007 -  Languedoc-Roussillon, France
• Ferdinando Principiano Dolcetto d’Alba Sant’ Anna 2008 – Biodynamic with  just a pinch of sulfur. Super clear fruit! – Piemonte, Italy

Click here for new wine list

Here’s the latest update.  Even though I practically eliminated my entire Champagne selection, this month I have added a new Champagne. Drappier’s Brut Nature is organic and made without the addition of sulfur dioxide.  This isn’t the only sans soufre wine added this month!  4 more un-sulfured wines were added (for a total of 5) and one that has no detectable sulfur!  The most stunning Beaujolais Nouveau I have ever tasted also arrived at Jacob’s yesterday!

• Drappier Brut Nature – Sans Soufre! – Champagne, France
• Murgo Spumante Metodo Classico Non Dosage 2006 – 100% Nerello Mascalese! – Mt. Etna (Sicilia), Italy
• Crêt de Ruyère/Cathy & Jean-Luc Gauthier (with Jean-Marc Brignot) “biojô nuovo ” Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau 2009 – No detectable sulfur! – Burgundy, France – A stunning Beaujolais Nouveau  like only Jean-Marc Brignot can bottle!!
  
• Domaine Le Mazel Cuvée Raoul 2008 – After being sold out of the 2007 for about 6 weeks, the 2008 is finally here! – Southern Rhône, France
• Domaine des 2 Ânes Fontanilles 2006 – Corbieres, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
• La Treille Muscate (Catherine Marin-Pestel) L’Effrontée Magnum 2007 – 100% old vine Carignan – no sulfur added!! – Languedoc-Roussillon, France
• Domaine Robert Sérol Les Vieilles Vignes 2009 – 100% Gamay – Loire Valley, France
• Domaine Robert Sérol (L’)Incorruptible 2009 – 100% Gamay, No added sulfur!! – Loire Valley, France
• Bressan Cru Pignol 1999 – 100% Pignolo grape, No added sulfur!! – Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

Click on the Treille Muscate Label below to check out the latest wine list!

Here it is! The latest wine list updated for February.  Remember, I’m not just adding titles to an ever-growing wine list. Very often for every title I add, one has disappeared from the list. Since last fall, I have reduced the list by about 20 titles. I try to keep my list dynamic so that my guests (and I) don’t get bored!

As I have mentioned in a past entry, I am reducing the number of Champagne titles on my list and increasing the number of sparkling wines. I feel that there are so many interesting sparkling wines available at competitive prices and from interesting wine areas. I have added one sparkling wine to my list in February and I expect to add 3 or 4 more titles next month depending on availability.

New to the wine list this month:

• André et Mireille Tissot Crémant Indigène Brut – Jura, France
• Domaine Bott-Geyl Riesling Schlossberg Grand Cru 2008 – Alsace, France
• Château de la Gravelle Muscadet Sèvre et Maine L’Ancestrale 2004 – Loire, France
• Ciro Picariello Aglianico Zi Filicella 2007 – Campania, Italy (Single vineyard, planted in 1925 (see photo just below this description).  Spontaneous fermentation.  20-25 days skin maceration.  Only steel and cement for fermentation and storage (24 months in cement). Less than 40mg per liter SO2.  Bottled without filtration.)

Ciro Picariello Aglianico Zi Filicella Vineyard - Planted in 1925

Click here to see the wine list in its entirety!

January in Norway is typically a slow month which also means that not many new titles have been added to the wine list this month. Check back next month for some exciting wines arriving!

New to the wine list this month:

• Bressan Mastri Vinai Verduzzo Friulano 2006 – Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy (no added Sulfur!)
• La Stoppa Gutturnio 2007 – Emilia Romagna, Italy
• Azienda Agricola Sassotondo Ciliegiolo 2008 – Toscana, Italy
• Bodegas Bruno Ruiz Villanueva 2008 – Castilla, Spain (no added Sulfur!)

Along with the addition of new titles, I also do my best to remove others to keep my list around 80 to 90 titles.  You can view the latest wine list here

And along came the Pignolo grape, another very rare, refined, prestigious and indigenous grape of the Fruili-Venezia Giulia region in North-Eastern Italy.  This grape has the potential to make “Cru” level wines, like Bressan’s Cru Pignol, a stunning example of what this grape can do when care is taken in the vineyards and the winery.   According to Fulvio, the Pignol needs at least 8 years of aging to become a great wine, and after tasting his latest Pignol release, I would have to agree. At 10 years of age, this wine is just a baby. Drinking well now, but begging to be left alone for another ten.

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The Schioppettino is a  red grape grown predominately in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of Italy.  Also known as the Ribolla Nera, Schioppettino literally means “gunshot” or “little crack”.  Records show that red wine made from the Schioppettino was used at marriage ceremonies back to 1282.  The grape was nearly lost to extinction thanks mostly to the phylloxera epidemic. Today, Bressan is one of the few wine makers making wine from the Schioppettino grape.

Soil composition: Calcareous mineral base, with high presence of iron sesquioxides. Such geological characteristics, associated with this scarce endowment of organic and other nutritional elements, forces the vines to a slow vegetative growth, resulting in an extremely low production, with an overall benefit to the MACRO and MICRO components of the grapes, and therefore the wines.

• Total surface area: 3.88 HA
• Planting year:  1982
• # of vines/HA:  3086
• Sun exposition: Southern, with rows oriented EAST-WEST
• Harvest:  Permitted to slightly over-mature (so as to attain very high fixed acidity congenital to the species), harvested by hand.

Wine Making: Grapes are de-stalked and brought to must by way of soft-pressing; extremely long maceration with principal fermentation along with the grape skins, refrigerated with well water at a controlled temperature not exceeding 25C (77F).  After racking, the wine undergoes an ulterior 35 days of fermentation. The wine is then stored in stainless steel tanks, followed by aging for at least 2 more  years in 2000 liter oak casks. After bottling, groups of 500 bottles are placed in large chests, which are then stored in a temperature controlled warehouse for additional aging.

• Alcohol content:  13%
• Total acidity:  5.58 g/l

Date tasted:  Saturday December 26th, 2009 12:02 (PM)

Appearance: Medium dark brick red. Very very slight development showing. Medium intensity.

Nose: Very intense freshly ground black pepper. Blackberries and dark plums with mineral undertones. Floral and very intriguing. Hints of roasted meat.  Forest floor, musk and wild fruit. Very complex and intriguing nose.

Palate: Very intense on the palate as well with aromas of black pepper, wild dark berries, musk and hints of red berries with a mineral background. Some pleasant dried fruit aromas as well.  Medium tannins, medium to medium plus acidity carrying the wine to a long, very fresh finish.  Very fresh and very drinkable.  This has always been one of my favorite wines of Bressan..  Excellent with lamb!

Soil composition: Calcareous mineral base, with high presence of iron sesquioxides. Such geological characteristics, associated with this scarce endowment of organic and other nutritional elements, forces the vines to a slow vegetative growth, resulting in an extremely low production, with an overall benefit to the MACRO and MICRO components of the grapes, and therefore the wines.

• Total surface area:  1.41 HA
• Planting year:  1990
• # of vines/HA:  4630
• Sun exposition:  Southern, with rows oriented NORTHWEST-SOUTH
• Harvest:  Physiologically correct, by hand

Wine making: Grapes are de-stalked and soft-pressed, with cold decanting of the must and the total elimination of the entire part decanted.  20-25 days cold fermentation. Subsequent slow fermentation of the fine lees in stainless steel tanks; then aging for 12-15 months before bottling.  Bottles are placed in groups of 500 in large chests that are then stored in temperature controlled warehouses for additional aging.

• Alcohol content:  13%
• Total acidity:  5.20 g/l

Date tasted:  Saturday December 26th, 2009 12:02 (PM)

Appearance: “Ramato” – Copper-like color, but perhaps a bit lighter than the Verduzzo Fruilano with a tad more brownish tinge.  Medium plus intense glow.

Nose: Less intense than the Verduzzo Fruilano and more “feminine”. Fresh apricots and orange peel. Hints of star anise and mineral. Medium complex

Palate: Medium intense wine with orange citrus, hints of apricot, star anise and mineral.  Well-integrated alcohol, very fresh and drinkable. Very mild tannins, medium plus acidity with a long, mineral, fresh finish. One of the best Pinot Grigio’s I have ever tasted, if not the best.

Drinking very well now, but can be stored up to 5 years in my opinion. Another winner from Bressan…

In Part I of the Bressan producer profile, I discussed in depth the philosophy of Fulvio Bressan.  Now I will present some of his wines which I had the opportunity to taste.  Bressan is an artisan wine producer making wine in extremely small quantities, between 0-50,000 bottles per year.  They specialize in the production of indigenous grape varieties, including the wine being tasted for this tasting note.

The Verduzzo (Friulano) grape is indigenous to Friuli, but can also be found in the Veneto.  According to Fulvio, it is very rare to find dry versions of the wine made from this grape (only 2 or 3 other producers in Friuli  make it dry).  The Verduzzo grapes is unusual in that it has high tannins like you might find in a red wine. Therefore, if the grape is harvested too early, the tannins can be quite bitter and harsh, and therefore wine makers began adding sugar to the wine to make it sweet, thus masking the bitterness of the tannins. In Fulvio’s opinion (and in mine as well), a sweet wine will not be balanced when made in this way.  Fulvio instead picks his grapes at the optimal ripeness (because he is patient), and vinifies the wine as a dry wine.

The first thing you notice when pulling the cork out of the bottle is the quality of the cork itself. Fulvio swears by the quality of his corks and says that if you ever get a corked bottle, simply return the cork and he will refund you.

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I haven’t done too many “producer profiles” so far, and I suppose that’s because I really have to believe in the philosophy of the producer before I feel compelled to write about them. Then, I really have to like the wines. I may have a favorite bottle, but overall, I tend to enjoy all of the wines the producer makes. Usually the wines will have a certain signature that says they all belong to a certain family – in this case we’re talking about the philosophy and wines of Mastri Vinai Bressan, and that signature is one of  passion and patience. Patience enough to release a wine that, although is certainly age worthy, is actually ready to drink upon release. And this is why I have selected to write about Bressan.

The Bressan family owns about 20 hectares in the Friuili-Venezia Giulia appellation in North-Eastern Italy on the border to Slovenia.  The first thing that struck me about this producer was of course the wines.  Indigenous varieties that one does not taste every day, such as the Schioppettino, Pignol and Verduzzo Friulano. The second thing that struck me was the vintage of some of these wines which went back as far as 1999 (the latest release of the Pignol, for instance). The third thing that struck me was the philosophy of this producer. A philosophy very much in line with what I feel a wine producer’s philosophy should be. Read the rest of this entry »