by Patrick Ogle

Charleville Vineyard's  Chardonel is a white wine with  lime and crisp greenery on the nose. The wine has solid acidity and hints of  green apple too. It is refreshing to drink on a hot day but it is also a nice wine to pair with food, even fairly rich food. Charleville Vineyards is in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, a town with a number of wineries nearby, lots of history and tons of bed and breakfast-type lodging. This wine is not some curiosity from a tourist area though, but  a quality every day drinker.

The grape is the child of Chardonnay and Seyval Blanc. It was created in 1953. Like the former parent wine made from Chardonel is sometimes oaked. This particular version is not.

Be sure to not think "Chardonnay" when you try this wine because it is not that. It is its own thing and has its own flavor profile.  Even so it will please Chardonnay lovers and this version will get some Sauvginon Blanc drinkers on board as well--especially lovers of French versions.

Among the hybrid grapes Chardonel has perhaps the best reputation. Even the skeptics say that high quality wines can be made with the grape. I also tried a version (from nearby Chaumette Vineyards) that was oaked and the wine handles oak well. That wine was bigger, with more vanilla and a hint of butterscotch. Hybrid grapes are crossings between European vitus vinifera grapes and any of a number of American grapes (or in this case? other hybrids).

Why were hybrid grapes created? Initially it was because Phylloxera was wiping out wine producing grapes around the world. Later it was to create grapes that were more cold hardy or that would grow in other areas wine grapes found inhospitable. In many cases these grapes have a dubious reputation but not always. We've dealt with reasons for grapes having dubious reputations before--it is often because few winemakers have really TRIED to make quality wine with them.

Distribution of these wines is iffy because our country has idiotic laws about wine distribution (usually written by big distributors with loads of campaign dollars to hand out). You may have to get into the area (or at least Missouri) to find these wines but it would be a lovely weekend trip.

by Patrick Ogle

BLANKbottle "Don't Look Back" Swartland (South Africa) Clairette has an orange flavor that  jumps out of the glass to your nose and when you taste.  I found this a little odd and had to taste again to be sure (and again and again). Initially I thought this was somewhat odd. It isn't unheard of but it is slightly less than an everyday wine drinking experience.

​​Orchard fruits make an appearance as well--pears or exotic apples perhaps. There is acidity here but it isn't "rip your face off" acidity. It gives this nuanced impression of roundness then the acidity taps you on the shoulder.

This is a complex little white wine. It is deceptive because it is fun and easy to drink. When you are tossing it back you do not want to think about it. It is like listening to your favorite high energy dance music. You just want to dance. You don't want to notice the song is about love and death and poverty and the various mysteries of existence. It also tosses in some minerality, a hint of stoniness and a dab of earthiness (but only a dab).

Ok, maybe I am putting too much on this Clairette. It won't end strife in the world but it is an excellent, interesting white.

Clairette is not widely grown but it is not endangered. There is something like 200 acres planted in South Africa. Various areas in the Rhone Valley and Provence (France) use the grape in blends. There are around 7000 acres grown in France. It is allowed in Chateau neuf de Pape and is also used in Rhone sparklers Clairette de Die and Cremant de Die. The latter usually featuers more Clairette. There are also Clairette sparklers from Australia and South Africa.

When you read about this grape you will see the usual disparaging remarks made about grapes that are not among the half dozen or so deemed to be "good grapes for wine."  You will read it is light, fruity and simple and, indeed, it can be that but it is not limited to that. This wine is fruity but it isn't super duper light. You will see the odd oft cut and pasted notion that it is low in acidity. This also CAN be true but isn't necessarily so. Most of the varietal versions I've had of this have had fairly high acidity and grapes used in sparkling wine generally feature high acidity. Jancis Robinson has a short (and to me) more accurate description of Clairette.

by Patrick Ogle

Pinnacle Ridge's Grunder Veltliner (2017) is made from an Austrian Grape that has found a new home in Eastern Pennsylvania.

This wine's nose is like a clear, crisp summer day right after a sun shower.

Yes, I actually thought that.

The smell is also lightly green and a tad astringent. The taste is quite, well, Gruner-like.  It is deceptive on the first sip because you get fruit and roundness before the bracing acidity smacks you in the face. There is stone fruit--like a ripe peach--here and maybe a hint of some sort of citrus. This wine compares favorably to  Austrian Gruners that cost about the same amount (around $18.99 retail, $13.99 from the winery). It has solid fruit, a sort of big mouth feel but also quite solid acidity, which is why this wine is so good with food.

The first time I had it was with Japanese food and it worked wonderfully. I confess I'd already had a few so I bought a second bottle to try out later. If anything my opinion of the wine rose. 

Pinnacle Ridge is a winery in the Lehigh Valley AVA in Kutztown in Eastern Pennsylvania. In addition to this lovely Gruner they produce an excellent 100 percent Chardonnay sparkler that retails around $25 and $19.99. Judging from this small sample size the winery is one to keep an eye on. One gripe with smaller wineries from states not generally associated with wine is price. Small producers often have to charge more but these wines are value priced given the quality. 

Of course my writing that this wine is "Gruner-like" above is a broad statement. I've had light Gruners that were fairly fruity and light on acidity, gruners that were sparse and super acidic. There are Gruners that are citrus-y or that taste 
like peaches. I've had a few golden-colored oak aged Gruners that should have been aged much longer than I aged them. Gruner can produce large yields. This sounds like a GREAT thing but with wine grapes? The more grapes the lower the 
quality.When growers go for large amounts of grapes they get a lesser wine. Likewise when the grapes are harvested makes a difference. Early harvest means less sugar and possibly more acidity. Find out more about the grape HERE. Gruner is grown all over the area of the former Austro-Hugarian Empire and, in recent years, is being grown in the Pacific Northwest.

It isn't all terroir (the land and climate etc) and grapes as some say. It is winemakers and Pinnacle Ridge must have solid ones.

​by Patrick Ogle

Castell D' Age (Penedes, Spain)'s Xarel-Lo is a still white wine mad from the premiere grape used in Cava, Spain's primary sparkling wine. Indeed, Castell D' Age is a producer of excellent Cava.

This is a tart, nicely acidic wine with medium/medium full body with  citrus fruit and green apples. Xarel-lo can have herbal characteristics but I did not really get that here although there is a hint of something floral in the wine.

This wine did call to mind how I have repeatedly heard that in Cava production, Xarel-lo is the "Chardonnay."  That is to say the highest quality grape. I could quibble with this given the wonderful Viura/Macabeo wines I've had but for the moment let's run with the notion.

In part I suggest this because this wine calls to mind moderately priced cold weather Chardonnays which isn't what I've had in past versions of Xarel-Lo wines. There isn't opulence here. There is Malic acid and lemon zest. It is a wine that has the power and acidity to cut through richer foods but also pleasant enough to drink on its own.

I picked this not necessarily to talk about it but to talk about Xarel-Lo in
general. This isn't a rare grape. It is, in fact, widely grown in Southern Spain. Several sources say that around 20,000 acres of the grape are grown in Spain. Yet, despite its being regarded as a high quality grape, it isn't on the shelves of every wine shop.

Why?

​One reason here is that a lot of Xarel-Lo winds up in Cava. Another is probably because we tend to drink the tried and true. Yet, with Xarel-Lo, even those wedded to wine orthodoxy can find a patron of the grape. So search it out. There are plenty of good examples.

by Patrick Ogle

Iago Chinuri is a dry Georgian white wine from the cradle of wine making. Georgia (the country, not the U.S. state) is in the Caucasus where wine making may have started.

There is honey, spice and melon on the nose. It almost smells like a sweet wine (even though it is  dry). I had the sensation of residuual sugar but if there is it is just a hint and it may be an illusion created by the honey flavor. There is a hint of bitterness deep in this wine which is part of why it makes such a good food wine. It also has a really big, viscous mouth-feel.  Mouth-feel means just what the term sounds like--how the wine feels in your mouth.

This would go well with spicy food. It has decent acidity but it isn't super high? I made something based on a Morrocan recipie (with nutmeg) and it worked fabulously. Middle Eastern food, Ethiopian food both would be good matches with this. 

When folks who know wine hear "Georgian wine" they think of orange wines. These are not wines made from oranges rather white wines that are produced using skin contact. Basically (and this is quite basic) red wine comes from skin contact. If you press the grapes and take the skins away? The wine is white regardless of the grape. With red skinned grapes the pressed grapes are left in contact with the skins to impart the "red" color. With white grapes the skins are usually separated but in an orange wine? The skins are left in like with a red wine. 

This isn't an orange wine. It doesn't have skin contact but you can really get how it would taste if it were. Iago produces an orange wine made from this same grape. 

by Patrick Ogle

Orealios Gaea "San Gerasimo" Cephalonia Robola (2017) has something green on the nose mixed with hints of floral. I swear this called to mind a field of wild flowers or orange blossoms. Maybe it is a little more subtle than orange blossoms. What does a lemon blossom smell like? I don't know. The wine is crisp acidic and minerally with peach and apricot in the mix.

As it warmed up the hints of herbal greenness came out more. I also immediately thought; "This reminds me of a sea breeze." I kind of discount this because I know the wine is from an island so my imagination might be running away with me. Imagination is, of course, a good thing, even when it comes to wine. Wine should spur the imagination.

This is a wine you could sit on the back porch and drink on a summer day. It would also be a nice wine to have with Mediteranean fare. I am not just saying this because it is Greek. It would be great with Greek food but also falafel. I kept thinking I wanted something with tahini sauce.

Robola is apparently grown mostly on the island of Cephalonia. I wasn't able to find out tons about the history of the grape--aside from some "they used to think it was related to this or that but now they don't." Ribolla Gialla was the mail grape that was thought to be synonymous or related. Again , apparently it isn't.

It certainly isn't a big abberration for Greek whites. It has unique qualities but has the minerality, acidity and hints of the floral you expect. As always? If you haven't heard of Ribola? Don't be afraid of it. You can get a bottle of this particular wine for under $20.

Domaine Plageoles Mauzac Vert Gaillac 2015 is a unique wine from a traditional varietal of Southern France.

The wine is a straw, gold color. The nose that makes you think there isn't going to be much there but it turns out to be a wine with complexity and depth (maybe I just have allergies).

When you get around to tasting you will find ripe red apples out of the gate and a win that finishes with a super pithy
bitterness. The wine has a fairly big "mouth feel". It does not feel like water in your mouth. There is also something
lurking under the fruit--a vaguely herbal greenness. It is a unique wine but not one that will put off the average white wine drinker.

The bitter finish is distinct and I kept thinking of something sweet and sour to go with it: thai spring rolls, light curries with coconut milk or anything you'd use duck sauce on. Sounds weird but this came to mind.

This wine is from a grape that may not qualify as rare, depending on how you define rare in relation to wine, but it isn't a household name. These grapes and  wines are part of Western Culture, every bit as much as the written word, as much as fine art or food.

Mauzac is a traditional grape of Southwestern France it is currently grown on slightly less than 2000 hectares (500 acres). Compared to some grapes written about on this site? This seems like a MASSIVE amount of land (see Sumoll for instance) but when you factor in that 50 years ago there were nearly 10,000 hectares? The grape is slowly vanishing.

Mauzac will, however, remain with us if the Plageoles family have anything to say about it. They are working with numerous grapes native the Gaillac area and, indeed, grow seven versions of Mauzac alone.

I found a number of places to grab stats on Mauzac including the Jenny and Francois website (linked above) but  Gavin Hubble's site has a lot of info as well.

by Patrick Ogle

Van Loggerenberg  Break-A-Leg  Paarl Cinsault Blanc de Noir 2017 is supposed to be a "blanc de noir" but the color is a light pink as in a rose. BUT calling this a blanc de noir is totally accurate. This drinks like a white wine.  

We've had Cinsaults that were blanc de noir before. Likewise with Pinot Noir and possibly a few other red wine grapes.

This wine has minerality, a light earthiness that mixes with a bracing acidity. It reminds of some Northern Italian whites--at least that was my first impression. There is a bit of citrus blossom--just a hint, like being in an orange grove when it is flowering and taking a deep breath (admittedly a situation most folks won't find themselves in). The citrus fruit here is a very much the exotic sort--a tangelo or something rather than a run of the mill orange. There is a little bit of pith lurking here especially on the finish. If you let the wine warm up the pith comes out even more. I'd add a bit of under ripe apple to the mix here too (not green apple though). There is a tiny hint of oxidation.

I liked this wine so much I grabbed a second bottle. As if often the case my second impression was a little different; it had more fruit than i remembered (a little more, still far from fruity). These sorts of differences in perception might be from what I was eating or not eating at the time. Impressions can vary from time to time even when the wine doesn't.
 
This wine spends nine months on old oak (no wood is really noticeable). This is a lovely, unique wine for well under $20. It is regrettable it might be difficult to find.

Mount Abora Saffraan Cinsault (also spelled Cinsaut), from Swartzland in South Africa, is made from grapes off nearly 40 year old vines. It is dry-farmed and spends 9 months in used French oak.

I was told this wine shared qualities with high end Beaujolais by two people whose descriptions are invariably correct. I  nonetheless doubted until I tasted. When they said "high end Beaujolais" I thought they meant  really good Beaujolais Village but when I tasted this I was thinking more Cru Beaujolais.

I remember a Chiroubles I had that was really close to this. It has some earth to it but also noticeable bright red fruit--rasberry, cranberry and a lot of zip. In the midst of the earth there is pepper.

Of course this isn't Gamay; it is Cinsault.

Cinsault is a widely grown grape. If you've had a rose from the south of France you've likely had Cinsault. It is also a component in many Rhone blends and shows up in some Chateauneuf du Pape. More and more it is being used by New World winemakers as a varietal wine. It grows well in warm weather and ripens early. Some sources say it is declining in production and it MAY be. But it is still grown quite a bit. In South Africa it is, along with Pinot Noir, one of the parents of Pinotage (the grape was sometimes called Hermitage in South Africa.

South African wines have a reputation for earthiness. This is not a bad thing (in many contexts it is a good thing). Yet even in saying this wine is earthy it is NOT really dirty or funky in the broad scheme of things, There is a whiff of barnyard and this it blows off a bit with air. This is a wine that maybe should be served with a wee bit of a chill--not as cold as white but colder than room temperature. I don't always give a price range? But this wine comes in between $14 and $17. It is an absolute steal at the price.

In the past month I have had four different South African Cinault wines and all of them had wildly different profiles (although one was a blanc de noir). It has always struck me as a versatile grape that skilled winemakers can get a great
deal from. France's La Cinso leaps to mind.