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Charles Hours' Jurancon Sec Cuvee Marie 2011, An Interesting White From Southwestern France

10/16/2015

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 by Patrick Ogle

Charles Hours' Jurancon Sec Cuvee Marie 2011 is an interesting white wine from southwestern France. It is golden in color and is a full-bodied white with lots of subtle fruit and floral flavors. The area is known for sweet wines but this one is dry as a bone.


When I say "subtle' I don't mean undetectable but that there are multiple competing flavors like citrus flowers competing with ripe cantaloupe. There is spice here--pepperiness--along with herbaceous flavors and even some honey. When someone says "herbaceous" think of the green spices in your kitchen cabinet. I also thought "citrus flowers" and I will stick by that but maybe honeysuckle would work too. There is a great deal going on in this wine and it takes more than a sip to get at all of it (for those without a "super palate").

The finish has a sharp bitterness that is an interesting follow up to the fruit and floral qualities. Throughout you will find a crisp acidity that holds all of the various tastes, from fruit to pepper, together.


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This is a fairly big wine for a white and it seems to calm down and evolve with some air. One of the taste I thought I found initially was a bit of oxidation--the sort of taste that distinguishes sherry but it didn't taste quite right to be that. After letting the wine sit overnight I tasted it again and this imagined (or misidentified) oxidation was gone. In reading about this wine I found one reference to it changing, for the better, with some time after opening. I discounted this until that second day taste.

It has a much smoother taste although the fruit, spice and floral notes remain. All wines change after being opened but it is a rare thing for a white to change like this after opening.

The wine is from three grapes: gros manseng, petit manseng and petit courbu. Gros and petit manseng are often blended--with the petit variety producing more nuance. Courbu is likely the wine that adds the honeysuckle taste and is another grape grown in Southwest France (in Gascony, the home of Cyrano de Bergerac).

There are claims that Jurancon is one of the oldest AOCs--demarked wine-making areas in France with specific grapes and rules on winemaking.
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Louis-Antoine Luyt's Pipeño, An Odd, Delicious Blast From The Past, Made From The Pais Grape

10/1/2015

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by Patrick Ogle

Louis-Antoine Luyt's Pipeño is an odd wine made from an old, oft-derided grape (pais). When you open it you will notice a cloudiness and maybe some detritus floating in the glass.The color, in most wines, might make you think something has gone wrong but here it is a sign that something has gone right.


I have read and heard comparisons to Beaujolais and there is, maybe, some of that in the wine--some of the more barnyardy versions. But this light red wine is its own thing. The pais grape is a hearty Spanish grape grown in the early colonial years at missions in California and throughout the Spanish New World. This wine is both something hip young wine drinkers will enjoy and a blast from the distant past.

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It definitely has a whiff of the gamay grape (the grape that makes Beaujolais). The first taste reminded me a little of cherry then the tannins hit. It has a dusty, earthy feel to it. There is a bitterness to the finish and, in fact, there are many unique, earthy tastes to this wine. There is almost something cider-like here. Those who feel all wines should taste like a fine Bordeaux will not like this; of course those people are usually quite dull (even if they are also quite rich). This is unique and rustic and hopefully it will catch on. Not every wine needs to be refined and crystal clear.

I'd been told the wine changes in interesting ways after opened so I let the bottle sit for 24 hours. It is true, as with many wines, the character of this one changed after being opened but in unique fashion. Any tannins are gone and the first sip made me think more of the fruit. It was, in some ways, a better wine after some air got to it--or perhaps not better but different. There is something that reminded me of the lambrusco grape for some reason (without the sparkle). It isn't expensive and comes in a liter bottle so buy a bottle to drink one night and another to decant!

The pais grape has been described as being the mission grape but I've also read it is a cousin of that grape. It may also just be the same grape that has adapted to where it is grown. This is a "terroir" driven wine; its qualities are determined by the conditions where it is grown. Luyt is from France but buys his grapes from small organic producers using native yeasts in fermentation. This is true Chilean wine. Find out more via Louis Dresser Selections.

$16-18
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Meyer-Fonné Gentil D'Alsace, A Crowd-Pleasing White Blend From France

10/1/2015

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by Patrick Ogle

Domaine Meyer-Fonné Gentil D'Alsace, is a crowd-pleasing
blend from Alsace,  France. The blend comes from from grapes you may associate with the region.  Alsace mostly grows white wine.

It is a blend that, to me, illustrates the difference between a tasting and sitting down and drinking a glass (or bottle)--I would have sworn this was sweeter after experiencing it in a tasting but it isn't. It is dry but there is fruit here that gives the impression of sweetness. There may be a hint of residual sugar here but if there is it is only that.


There is certainly a white table grape taste, a spiciness and a crisp acidity that rounds out on the follow up. While it lacks the viscosity of riesling it has some of that grape's complexity. It has the floral taste of a gewurztraminer and, even though this grape is a minority contributor here, gewurz characteristics stand out.

Here is a little wine trick--if you see the words "imported by Kermit Lynch" on the bottle? You are likely looking at a solid bottle of wine, whatever the price. Lynch's website notes that the denomination "Gentil d'Alsace" is reserved for AOC Alsace wines and must contain at least 50% of the noble grapes riesling, muscat, pinot gris and/or gewurztraminer. The other 50 percent can contain four other grapes but in this particular wine I believe the wine is all from the noble varieties. Another thing about Gentil d'Alsace? Each of these varietals has to be vinified separately AND they have to, on their own, qualify as AOC wines.

AOC (appellation d'origine contrôlée) is a certification given to geographic areas in France (in other countries the designation may be DO, DOC, AVA etc). There are requirements for each AOC; the smaller the region usually indicates more restrictions and higher quality wines.

This wine is also a crowd pleasing one--people whose "go to" wines are wildly different white varietals will find a meeting ground here. It also is a wine well-suited to spicy Asian foods. Don't hesitate to grab a bottle for BYOB Thai or Chinese.

$14-16



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    WINE!

    There are thousands of wine grapes and many places that grow great wines. Why not find out about some surprising wines from surprising places?

    NOTE-Until recently I did not capitalize the names of varietal grapes (as a matter of style) but for a variety of reasons as of February, 2018 we will capitalize but I am not going back and altering the previous style!!!


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