SEPTEMBER 2021 FEATURED WINES
WINE ONE: PINARD ET FILLES FRANGIN
About: This wine is made from Frontenac Noir, Marquette, and Petite Pearl. Whole clusters were fermented semi-carbonically for three weeks. Fred avoids pump-overs and punch-downs, preferring a gentle infusion style extraction. The wine is then pressed off into 228 and 400L barrels for a modest élevage. It was bottled unfined, unfiltered, and without SO2.
Taste: This wine is medium purple in the glass. It rambles and tumbles, upside-down and backwards; a joyous dance, unchoreographed, primal. You’ll find aromas of blackberry, liquorice, reindeer lichen, wild raspberry, mint stems, charcoal, and earth after the rain. The palate is energetic, tart, crisp, zippy. The tannins are low but noticeable, adding even more tension. You’ll find flavours of damp lilac, black cardamom, hibiscus, plum skins, and balsam on the finish. Extraordinary.
Pairing: L’Express is one of my favourite restaurants in the world. This Montreal staple features classic French food alongside the best-priced wine list on earth. Some of the servers have been there for decades, masters in subtlety. When I tasted this wine, I immediately thought of the Foie de Veau à l’Estragon, Boudin Noir, and Rognon de Veau à Sauce Moutarde I shared with friends on my last visit. These earthy dishes need a piercing yet fully saturated wine like this to cut through the umami and fat. I can’t wait to go back.
WINE TWO: RYAN STIRM CALCITE
About: Ryan’s latest cuvée is made from Wirz Vineyard Riesling (88%), Glenwood Vineyard Chardonnay (6%), and C5 Vineyard Scheurebe (6%). The three disparate sites (Cienega Valley, Santa Cruz Mountains, and Santa Ynes Valley, respectively) were picked in several passes. The aromatic varieties were whole-cluster macerated for a day before being pressed off into tank. After cold settling and racking, the wine ferments in barrel. After malolactic conversion, the wine sees a small dose of SO2 before a modest élevage. A month before bottling, the wine is racked off heavy solids. Three hundred forty cases were produced. 6.2g TA, pH 3.29
Taste: This wine is pale gold in the glass. The nose is pretty and charming with aromas of delicate white flowers, candied lemon, white peach, river stones, almond, and lime zest. On the palate, you’ll find refreshing acidity, a dry mineral finish emphasized by mild phenolics, and a juicy midpalate that makes you go back for more. You’ll find further flavours of nectarine, grapefruit, lemon verbena, Sweetarts, and fresh apples. The perfect candidate for a new house-wine.
Pairing: I was up in Edmonton over the weekend and stopped into Fleisch, a little delicatessen serving up delicious sandwiches. I ordered the currywurst, one of my all-time favourite dishes. The sausage was wildly juicy, and the curried ketchup was everything I needed. The cucumber salad on the side was as enormous as it was tasty - I crushed it in a few minutes flat. This wine is the ideal pairing for tricky foods like that. You need acidity to cut through the pork fat and vinegary condiments and enough aromatic intensity to avoid getting lost in the slew of spices. When in doubt, Riesling.
WINE THREE: SÉLÉNÉ CUVÉE DU PRINTEMPS
About: This cuvée is made from Gamay Noir Sylvère purchases from his neighbours within Beaujolais. The grapes are fermented as whole clusters in concrete tank for a couple of weeks before being pressed off. After an additional six-month élevage in concrete, the wine is bottled with minimal SO2.
Taste: This wine is medium ruby in the glass with purple highlights. It is cheerful and gregarious with aromas of saskatoon berry, cranberry jam, wild sage, violets, black pepper, redwood, cinnamon, pomegranate, and black cardamon. It is energetic and juicy on the palate with just a hint of tannic structure. The acidity is perfectly balanced by ripe fruit flavours and Gamay’s typical resinous texture. You’ll find further flavours of black cherry, patchouli, granite, sweet leather, and dried rose petals. It’s an absolute joy to drink.
Pairing: On our trip down to Beaujolais, we stopped at a little bistro on the side of the road for some lunch and a bottle of wine. L’Atelier de Cuisinier in Villié-Morgon was all about the rustic charm. Boisterous farmers were laughing and arguing in the back room while we ate the only item they had left on the menu: Bœuf Bourguignon. This rustic beef stew was served over soft egg noodles, perfectly accompanying our bottle of Beaujolais. With the days getting colder, I crave this pairing daily.