Surprising Wines
  • Wine
  • Wine Chat and Terms
  • Interviews
  • About

Christian Ducroux "Exspectatia" Vin de France 2015, A Biodynamic Gamay That Defies Beaujolais Categories

10/24/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
by Patrick Ogle

Christian Ducroux Exspectatia gamay 2015 is one of those wines that eschews the various Beaujolais AOCs. Perhaps it is
because this unique version of the wine doesn't fit with the usual Beaujolais suspects. Perhaps it is just the rebellious nature of the winemakers. Regardless, the results are interesting.

Remember that grape bubble gum that you had as a kid? That is the first thing that sprang to mind when I sniffed this wine. I have been told it was called Hubba Bubba. You might get a hint of cocoa here (I didn't really get this but a friend did). There is minerality with sneaky tannins with duration. I noticed them most on the finish. I expected more fruit on the nose but, of course, I was expecting a more conventional gamay. It mellows only reluctantly with air; it has some tannic backbone. It doesn't seem to want to calm down.

It is something of an unusual version of gamay. There is a unique. light bitterness and the fruit, as noted, is anything but forward. But you do get a definite tart cherry taste.

It is an unusual wine. Its tannins remain even with some air as mentioned. The fruit you usually expect is there but it is more subdued --you have to  search for them. The bitterness is mostly on the finish but it is an unusual sort of bitterness. It is a minerality but hard for me to nail that precise mineral ...granite/stone maybe?

This wine is produced from a tiny vineyard of about 10 acres in Regnie, France (the westernmost part of Beaujolais). The winemaker, Ducroux, does everything by hand, or in some cases hooves as two horses are also apparently involved. No sulfur is added to Ducroux's wines. These are organic and biodynamic wines. Regnie is the most recent Beaujolais Cru. Cru is the highest category for wine from the sub-region.

THIS wine
is labelled as a "Vin de France," the lowest category of wines in France. You are finding more and more winemakers using this lower end category for a variety of reasons. Usually "Vin de France" meant a cheap table wine but some winemakers create wines that do not meet some arcane rule of the AOC the wine is from. It is reminiscent on a less expensive scale of the Super Tuscans of the late 60s and early 70s (not in TASTE mind you and only in my mind perhaps). Natural winemakers and/or cutting edge winemakers seem to be the most likely to embrace the most "undesirable" of classifications to buck the system.

Fight the power small winemakers, fight the power!

This may not be an easy wine to find but if you are in New York
City? Chambers Street Wines seems to have some bottles left at a tempting price.

0 Comments

Celine & Laurent Tripoz Bourgogne Aligote 2015, Burgundy's Other White Grape Can Be A Star Too

10/23/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
by Patrick Ogle

Celine & Laurent Tripoz Bourgogne Aligote 2015 is one of those rare Burgundy whites that is not chardonnay. Aligote, the second white grape of the region, is the star here.

At first sniff I couldn't draw a clean line from the smell to appropriate words. I thought there was something that reminded me of baked goods, not the breadiness of Champagne or the malolactic butteriness of a California chardonnay. Think of a fresh croissant. The nose has hints of tropical fruit. I also smelled and tasted apple. This fruit is not pronounced. The citrus isn't a run of the mill lemon but some exotic relative of the lemon. I almost ran to the computer to look one up. There is also a mineral stoniness here, something slate-like.

The wine is acidic and tart with a bit of a bitter finish that holds on and persists. It is a really lively wine with what seems to be a lot of co2. The acidity is up there with those acidic wines riesling and chenin blanc. But it is not analogous to either of those for many reasons. The tartness, the sharpness in the wine calms down with even a little air.

Since chardonnay is king in Burgundy the vast majority of experts will talk of aligote as inferior or a curiosity (or a component in the drink "Kir"). It is, in fact, its own thing (a phrase I repeat ad nauseum). Aligote is a worthy grape and a This would be a great Thanksgiving wine for Americans; it would be great with turkey or ham.

0 Comments

Arizona Stronghold 2014 Chenin Blanc From Fort Bowie Vineyard A Classic Iteration With A Few Curves

10/11/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
by Patrick Ogle

Arizona Stronghold's Fort Bowie chenin blanc 2014 is "surprising" mostly because of where the grapes are from and he wine created. Chenin blanc is far from an oddball grape.

This wine has definite hints of citrus but my expectation was for more fruit than you'd find in a French chenin. Yet, it really wasn't there in the way I expected. There is fruit but it is far from overwhelming. There is a little
honey here (how I found this out is by going to sniff the wine and actually sucking some INTO MY NOSE. I then noticed the honey! I do not recommend this method.

This chenin has a silky mouthfeel. Mouthfeel is what you think it is, how the wine feels in your mouth. This definitely has a heavy silky feel.

You imagine that a wine from a hot area like arizona wouldnt have the acidity of a cooler are like the Loire. But it has the pronounced acidity you expect from the grape. The wine seems to get a little bit "rounder" with air but it doesn't collapse. I may take a sip tomorrow to find out (No such luck. I drank it all).

When the wine gets some air the fruit does come out and you find more than just citrus. There are fuller more orchard-like fruits--Peach or apricot perhaps. But even so the acidic backbone remains. this would be a great food wine. A bottle of this would rock with a Thanksgiving dinner.

Since this is a chenin I can compare to Loire examples and the world's biggest chenin producer, South Africa. It has more in common with the latter than the former. There is minerality but not anything I would call earthiness. This wine
is unique from either the Loire or South Africa, lying somewhere between the two both in acidity and fruit.

The only problem with this wine might be finding it outside the great state of Arizona. They do have distribution outside Arizona but, at least in Illinois, they did not carry the chenin.


0 Comments

Page Springs Cellars 2013 Dragon Mountain Vineyard Marsanne, A French Grape Finds A New Home in Arizona

10/5/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
by Patrick Ogle

Page Springs Cellars 2013 Dragon Mountain Vineyard marsanne comes from a French grape  that has found a new home in Arizona. Yes, Arizona.


At first sniff this wine--at least at Page Springs, tasting it there--was "green" not the green of cut grass but the green of a field after a rain or something prosaic like that. There is also a hint of honey. The honey is pronounced in the taste too but, as whenever I use the word "honey" I feel compelled to figuratively shout I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT SWEET! This wine is dry. There is also something melon-like in this wine. Think honeydew rather than cantaloupe.

Page Springs marsanne has aromatic qualities and a nice acidity, something you might not expect from marsanne solo (it is often a blending partner with roussanne). They may harvest their grapes before they get too ripe to keep this acidity. Keep in mind I am talking about an acidity for a varietal that isn't known for acidity.

Marsanne is a wine that can be flabby and flat on its own. I've had good ones and bad ones from various places (in blends or as a varietal). This is quite a good one. It would be a lovely wine with some salty cheeses or even spicy Asian food.

My notes on this said I perceived something tannin-like for a white which was unexpected. I am not sure if I stand by that observation looking back but thought I would include it regardless. If you let this sit open in the fridge a night? It still keeps its pep. You will read about hot weather marsanne struggling to find any acidity and that it lacks any aromatic qualities. Neither is a concern with this wine. The grape's origin is in the Rhone Valley and there it is usually blended (although not always).

It is an interesting choice to grow in Arizona and while it retains the characteristics you expect from marsanne it also adds something new that I, frankly, can't put my finger on. You can tell this isn't French in other words! I am just not sure precisely how. I better get another bottle.



0 Comments

    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!!!


    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    September 2021
    May 2021
    August 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    November 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015

    Categories

    All
    Albana
    Albanello
    Albarino
    Alicante Bouschet
    Aligote
    Arneis
    Auxerrois
    Baga
    Barbera
    Bekari
    Blaufrankisch
    Blend
    Brachetto
    Cabernet Franc
    Cabernet Sauvignon
    Caladoc
    Carignan
    Catawba
    Centesimino
    Chambourcin
    Chardonel
    Chardonnay
    Chasselas
    Chenin Blanc
    Chinuri
    Cinsault
    Clairette Blanche
    Counoise
    Debina
    Dolcetto
    Frappato
    Fruit Wine
    Furmint
    Gamay
    Gamay Teinturier
    Garrut
    Gewurztraminer
    Glera
    Godello
    Grechetto
    Grenache
    Grenache Blanc
    Grenache Gris
    Grignolino
    Grolleau
    Gros Manseng
    Gruner Veltliner
    Italy
    Jacquère
    Kerner
    Lambrusco
    Limniona
    Listan
    Malbec
    Malvasia
    Malvasia Bianca
    Malvasia De Sitges
    Marsanne
    Marsellan
    Mataossu
    Mavrud
    Melon De Bourgogne
    Mission Grape
    Mourvedre/Monastrell
    Müller-Thurgau
    Muscadelle
    Muscadine
    Muscat
    Muscat Of Alexandria
    Muscat Of Hamburg
    Nascetta
    Nerello Mascalese
    Orangetraube
    Orange Wine
    Pais
    Parellada
    Pedro Ximenez
    Petit Courbu
    Petit Manseng
    Pet Nat
    Pineau D' Aunis
    Pinot Blanc
    Pinot Grigio
    Pinot Gris
    Pinot Meunier
    Pinot Noir
    Plavak
    Prosecco
    Red
    Ribolla Gialla
    Riesling
    Robola
    Romorantin
    Rose
    Rosé
    Roussanne
    Savagnin
    Sciaccarellu
    Semillon
    Skin Contact
    Sparkling
    St. Laurent
    Sumoll
    Sylvaner
    Symphony
    Syrah
    T. Amarela
    Tannat
    Tricadeira Preta
    Trollinger
    Trousseau Gris
    Trousseau Noir
    Valdiguié
    Valdiguié
    Verdeca
    Verdejo
    Verdelho
    Video
    Viognier
    Viura/Macabeo
    Vlahiko
    White
    Xarel Lo
    Xarel-Lo
    Xarel-lo Vermell
    Xinomavro
    Xynisteri
    Zinfandel
    Zweigelt

    RSS Feed

      We'd love to hear from you...(probably)...

    Submit