Château La Canorgue Cepage Viognier

                                            DOMBEK photo © 2012

Château La Canorgue 2010

Vaucluse Cepage Viognier

Vin de Pays de Mediterranee, France

100% Viognier

Light lemon chiffon in color, this wine is slate/clean with apricot, lychee fruit and floral aromas on the nose.  Honeysuckle and apricot continue on the palate with subtle honey overtones for a lovely, voluptuous mouth feel, while a distinct minerality comes through when chilled.  Medium dry, this is lean for a Viognier and I love that!  Pretty, even feminine, enjoy simply as an aperitif while sitting in your summer garden or with light fare.  Seriously affordable @ $14.99/bottle.  Happy Summer!

Viognier is best known as the white grape varietal from the northern Rhone Valley in the appellation of Condrieu which typically produces lush, complex, rare wines.  This Viognier comes from the Southern Luberon region between Aix-en Provence and Avignon.  While there’s plenty going on with this wine, it is easily quaffable!  Fermented and aged in stainless steel “sur lies” (on the lies) makes for full aromas and flavors along with a dry clean finish.  This is also organic and bio-dynamic, which means it was made without chemicals & pesticides using only natural and local soil amendments, and in concert with nature’s cycles (simply put).

The Margan family’s property, Château  La Canorgue, where this wine comes from is built on the former site of an ancient Roman villa.  “Subterranean canals built by the Romans still bring water to La Canorgue.  In fact, near an old chapel on the property are fountains surrounded by Neptune and his dolphins, creating an atmosphere of harmony and beauty.” 

This wine comes to us from Chartrand Imports, who seek out beautiful wines that are also organic and/or biodynamic.  Rockland-based, Paul Chartrand sells more than 150 organic wines nationally and more than 60 in stores state-wide.  He also helped establish Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association in the 1970’s.  His wines are distributed here in Maine by Pine State Beverage Co.   The Canorgue Viognier may be found in Greater Portland area at Rosemont Markets, Royal River Natural Foods in Yarmouth and Tully’s in Wells. Midcoast it is available at the Damariscotta River Grill.

Weygandt Wine Dinner at Caiola’s

Peter Weygandt & guests @ Caiola's

Since it has been a couple of weeks since my last article, I hope to make it up to you with this one. Take your time ... Savor ... Enjoy!

I recently welcomed the opportunity to attend the Weygandt Wine Dinner at Caiola’s, presented by Wicked Wines. “Since 1987, Peter Weygandt has been an importer of French wines and has gained a national and international reputation for the quality of his selections and his portfolio of top “boutique” French wines. In recent years he has expanded his portfolio to include US, Italian, German, Austrian, Australian, Slovenian and Spanish wines, more than 120 producers in all." He chooses wines he deems are both Natural and Great, as they are all farmed either sustainably or biodynamically. This means growing, nurturing, harvesting and actual winemaking are done with the utmost of care, returning to basics, returning to the source, producing in many cases, low yields of great quality, natural fermentation with no added yeasts and no filtration. He reportedly visits many of the vineyards as much as 2 or 3 times a year and has the winemakers' ears, so to speak, as they value his input. I for one, thoroughly enjoyed these wines and their unique expressions. Following is a bit of what went down!

We were graced with 6 wines; the food pairings brilliantly chosen by Justin Wardwell (Wicked Wines) and prepared by Chef Abby Harmon. Nate Duncklee (Wicked Wines) was master pourer.

Muscadet with Oysters & warm Mushroom Reduction

For first course, Bonnet-Hutteau Muscadet la Levraudiere 2011, from the appellation Muscadet-Sèvre-et-Maine in the western part of Loire region. Sèvre-et-Maine is located at the confluence of two small tributaries feeding into the Loire River on its way to the Atlantic. The grape is otherwise known as Melon ... or Melon de Bourgogne. Aged in subterranean cement tanks, it spent 6 months on lies (sur lie). Light lemon yellow in color, this was clean and briny with refreshing minerality on the nose. Lime zest along with calcerous schist comes through on the palate for a liveliness and wonderful clarity. It was paired with “Oysters Two Ways” - first with Pink Peppercorn Mignonette, then with Warm Mushroom Reduction. At the start crisp, clean and chilled, it worked beautifully with the bright flavored mignonette. I was curious about the second pairing ... warm mushroom and oyster on the half shell? But it proved true, as the wine came down to temperature it married well with the warm earthy tones of the mushrooms. A magical progression! $12/bottle.

Bonhomme Vire'-Clesse'

For 2nd course, Domaine Pascal Bonhomme Vire-Clesse’ 2010. This is 100% Chardonnay from the Maconnais in the Burgundy region. Elegance, gorgeousness and class personified. This beautiful wine was aged in stainless steel but exhibited a richness that made one think it touched some oak. Mais non! Light gold in color with chartreuse overtones, it was smooth and clean with a touch of floral on the nose. Lush and clean with bright acidity, body and depth without being overly heavy, it had a luxurious mouth feel, along with a lovely sense of romance! This was paired with Provencale Mussels w/Almond Puree and Chive Blossoms. Delightful and certainly one of my favorites of the evening! $21/bottle.

Justin Wardwell (Wicked Wines) & Christine

"Winemaker Pascal Bonhomme has some of the best situated sites in Vire-Clesse and he makes every effort in his vines to convey that in the bottle." 

Sustainable farming is practiced and grapes are harvested completely by hand with meticulous vinification.  This beautiful wine is just beginning to come to the US.  

(Justin cannot wait to dig in to Provencale Mussels!)

Chat. Mourgues du Gres-Les Galets Rose

3rd course was the Chateau Mourgues du Gres - Les Galets Roses 2011 from Costiere de Nimes, located south of the Rhone region in Languedoc-Roussillon. Here is glacial soil expressed in its minerality. A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre grapes, deep salmon pink in color, this wine is broad and gutsy, even racy. Clean and stony with wild berry & strawberry flavors and a long, dry finish.

Yellow & Red Beet Salad w/Les Galets Rose'

The visual pairing was instantly stunning – colors of Marinated Yellow and Red Beets with Herbed Goat Cheese, Pickled Red Onions and Arugula Peppercress Salad echoing the intense color of the wine. This followed through on the palate, with clean depth and enough weight to certainly stand up to the spiciness of the beets and greens. $16/bottle.


Mourgues (a convent) du Gres is located on the last "spill" of the glacial galets (of Chateauneuf-du-Pape fame), at the end of the Rhone, near Beaucaire.

Nate Duncklee (Wicked Wines) pouring

4th course, Domaine Vissoux Pierre-Marie Chermette Beaujolais 2011 from Lyon.  Beaujolais the area is located in the southern part of the Burgundy region and south of the Maconnais.  Grape is Gamay.  With handwritten style label, Peter (Weygandt) noted that this is the beaujolais at “Willi’s Wine Bar” in Paris and just about every Bar-A-Vin in Paris. (I think I know a French Bistro in town that would be a perfect fit ... right Jean-Claude?!) Harvested with low yield and no added yeast, this wine is fermented naturally with just wild yeast and bottled with little or no filtration. Soil is granite.

Dom. Vissoux Pierre-Marie Chermette Beaujolais

This one started with bright fruit and simplicity, as one would expect. However, with some time it exhibited much more complexity, pepper and depth, with notes of bark, cranberry and currant.This was paired nicely with a simple course of Italian Cheese Sformata w/thyme, asparagus orange Vinaigrette. Deep fruits married well with the creaminess of the cheese. I would love to take this wine on a picnic!! $16/bottle.

"Winemaker Pierre Chermette's yields are so low and the grapes so naturally ripe that he does not chaptalize. He uses only indigenous yeasts (no " banana yeast " culture, a la Duboeuf). Then a traditional, longer fermentation, aging in oak foudre and bottling for us with no filtration, and without adding any sulfites, in most vintages. It is as natural a Beaujolais as one could have had in a café in Lyon in the 40’s."

Jean Baptiste Senate La Nine

Main course featured Domaine Jean Baptiste Senat La Nine Minervois 2009, from the area of Minervois in the Languedoc region of southern France. A blend of Grenache, Mourvedre and Carignan, this was another one of my evening favorites. One is greeted by a deep rich color and a funky earthiness as well as freshness of pure fruit on the nose. Notes of plum along with deep dark cherry and subtle elegant dark earth fill the mouth. I sense the great length/depth coming from the Mourvedre.   Gorgeous blend.

Winemaking is biodyamic and comes from a producer formerly of Paris. The vines are treated with care, handpicked and harvested and let to ripen in clusters to preserve flavor and purity. Weeding and pruning are done the old fashioned way - by hand.  “The genius of the grape” explains Winemaker Jean-Baptiste, “is that it is more intelligent than man. It’s only when you mix one variety with another that they reveal their true richness.  The earth is alive and the vines are healthy, giving sincere wines that are neither pretentious nor overbearing”.  This clearly comes through when tipping ones glass to taste. Paired with braised lamb shank w/polenta, sauteed kale and baba ghanouj, I could hardly pick up my pen to write! Sensual and soul filling ... $23/bottle.

Justin Wardwell (W. Wines) & John Naylor (Rosemont Market) enjoying lamb & La Nine!

And to top off the entire evening with light and sparkles ... Albert Mann Crémant d'Alsace Brut. Alsace is located on the German border of northeast France, east of Champagne and north of Burgundy. A celebratory blend of Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Pinot Gris and Riesling grapes this was absolutely delightful. A touch of sweet, but harmonious, well integrated and clean to the finish, it makes one want to dance! Again this wine is biodynamic winemaking with artful care in its creation. The last pairing (if you could bear one more lovely thing) was a dish of Fresh Fig with Strawberry, Gorgonzola and Crispy Prosciutto. This pairing could easily have been a summer luncheon in itself! $23/bottle.

Albert Mann Cremant D'Alsace

For more detailed information on the wines, winemakers and importer (quotes are from this website):   http://www.weygandtmetzler.com/Weygandt_Metzler.html 

These wines may be found in the Portland area at:  Rosemont Markets (Brighton, Munjoy Hill & Yarmouth) and Old Port Wines.  Restaurants include:  Caiola's, Street & Co. and Vignola's.  Midcoast you can find them at:  Rare in Rockland and Primo's.  Downeast:  Sawyer's Specialty, Southwest Harbor; House Wine, Bar Harbor; Le Domaine, Hancock; The French Cellars, Machias.  In Bangor area:  Bangor Wine & Cheese, State St. Wine Cellar and Fiddlehead's restaurant.


(All photos by Lisa Dombek)

Carpenè Malvolti Kerner Brut

                                               DOMBEK photo © 2012

Carpenè Malvolti
Kerner Carpene Brut
Veneto, Italia


100% kerner.

I knew I wanted to write about this wine the moment I tasted it.  This is effervescent bliss on the nose ... no, really!  Pale yellow in color, this sparkler has refreshing scents of citrus lime, light floral notes of honeysuckle and mayflower, along with a touch of fruity green apple. It’s as if a trace wave of sea air fills the nostrils.  Vivacious, lively bubbles dance in the glass.  Lush and clean all at once, this wine exhibits minerality with rounder creamy/yeasty notes when it comes down a bit in temperature, but is ultimately lean and dry to a lovely, lingering finish.  Enjoying as an aperitif on one's garden patio or a seaside porch would be an ideal pairing; perhaps while nibbling on smoked salmon and cucumber on crostini, oysters on the half shell, caprese salad of fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil or even lightly battered fried calamari.  I could drink this like there is no tomorrow!  Of course, this is even better shared by two or more!

            DOMBEK photo © 2012

Many may not be familiar with the grape Kerner?  This is an aromatic white hybrid created by crossing the red varietal Trollinger (also known as Schiava) and the white varietal Riesling.  It is most heavily planted in Germany’s Rheinhessen and Pfalz regions, but is also grown in Austria, Switzerland and the Italian province of South Tyrol. 

Here we find it in the nearby Veneto region of Italy, from winemaker Antonio Spinazzè and the winemaking house of Carpenè Malvolti, one of the oldest and most prestigious houses noted for helping to establish a great Italian winemaking tradition.  It was founded in 1868 by Antonio Carpenè, who reportedly established the first Oenology school in Italy dedicated to the study of grape growing and winemaking. 

Imported by Angelini Wine, Ltd, Centerbrook, CT and brought to us here in Maine by Pine State Beverage Co.  Find it at Old Port Wine Merchants on Commercial St. in Portland for $22.99.

Domaine Les Chardons Touraine Sauvignon Blanc

Domaine Les Chardons Touraine

Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Thierry Chardon - Vigneron

Loire, France

100% Sauvignon Blanc.

I have a few wines to tell you about presently, but today seems to be calling for this delicious Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire region of France.  Light lemony yellow in color, It is pure sunshine!  A briny, flinty minerality emerges on the nose.  With light grapefruit on the palate and a lovely floral quality, along with a hint of pineapple (tropical fruit), it is clean, clean, clean and smooth, with a creamy mouth feel and dry finish.  Lightly perfumed with citrus overtones and surprising depth, this is an awesome/extraordinary “every day” wine and an amazing value!  I loved it.  Ned (Devenish Wines) likens this to a Sancerre, without the snobby Sancere price tag.  Yes!  However you choose to characterize this, it’s a fabulous “Go To” summer wine.  Have with simple plate of cheeses, crackers, bread and fruit as an aperitif, or perhaps with a seafood salad and crisp baby greens or summer grilled vegetables!  Bring it on the boat!  $12.99 at Rosemont Market.  

The vineyard is located in the town of Couffy on the southern slopes of Cher in the heart of Touraine in the Loire region of France (Sancerre to the east) and home to beautiful Loire Chateaux castles.  These chateaux were built by seventeenth and eighteenth century aristocrats attracted by the agricultural wealth and abundance of the region.  As to the terroir, it is composed of flint, clay and limestone, which truly shines through in this wine.  Winemakers Thierry & Sophie Chardon founded the vineyard in 1996, with six years of rich experience on a farm in Mareuil sur Cher as vineyard manager and also the experience of his elders – winemakers for generations. 

This wine is brought to us by Devenish Wines (Imported by Maximilien Selections through Fruit of the Vines, Inc., Long Island City, NY), as a result of a trip Ned took this past early spring visiting vineyards in search of wonderful wines.  See his blog: http://devenishwinesgeek.typepad.com/wines_tasted/2012/05/domaine-chardon-touraine-sauvignon-blanc-2010.html

Available at the following:  Rosemont Markets, Browne Trading and Aurora Provisions in Portland; Freeport Cheese and Wine Shop and Provisions in South Freeport;  Bandaloop Restaurant in Kennebunkport; Oak Hill Beverage, Scarborough; and the Blue Hill Wine Shop in Blue Hill.

Weingut Steininger Grüner Veltliner Grand Crü

                                                DOMBEK photo © 2012

Weingut Steininger

Grüner Veltliner Grand Crü

Kamptal Reserve 2010

Austria

100% Grüner Veltliner.

Deep golden straw in color with bright highlights, this wine has lush tropical fruit notes on the nose such as ripe pineapple, grapefruit peel and banana, along with a flinty minerality that comes through like a refreshing wave.  With a touch of orange peel, citrus and hint of spice along, with subtle warm vanilla overtones, the mouth feel is round, smooth and lovely with a distinctly silky yet fresh, clean finish.  Beautiful! 

I also loved that this bottle has a glass cork!

This Grüner Veltliner Grand Crü (French for “great growth”) is purportedly one for aging, and I can imagine the honey notes coming through even more distinctly with time.  However, it was perfectly delightful to enjoy now, and that we did as part of my recent birthday celebration.  Absolutely loved by all!  We enjoyed with a selection of cheeses with fruits & nuts to start, followed by a pasta salad with fresh veggies, herbs, chicken & shrimp and artisan bread.  Scrumptuous!

Grüner Veltliner is the most important grape varietal in Austria, greatly appreciated as a fresh dry wine, as well as one with powerful long aging potential.  The Steininger winery is family-run and situated in the wine growing village of Langenlois in the Kamptal Valley.  This grape accounts for over 50% of their production and can be found in different styles, from light summer wines to powerful, voluminous full bodied wines and also dessert wines. 

A favorite of John’s from Rosemont Market here in Portland, this is one of the wines he and Tabitha (CRUSH Distributors) discovered and brought back from their trip to Austria last February.  Treat yourself!  $27.99 a bottle at Rosemont.

Alvaro Palacios Camins del Priorat 2009

DOMBEK photo © 2012

Alvaro Palacios

Camins del Priorat 2009

Priorat, Spain

30% Garnacha, 60% Cariñena, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon & Syrah.

Deep red violet in color, this wine exhibits lovely perfume, earthy and woodsy notes on the nose, along with hints of cedar, cocoa and violets.  Slightly dusty and soft, sensuous and smooth on the tongue, with beautiful luscious fruit such as currant, plum and dark cherry, even raisin and fig.  After some time, coffee liqueur underlying, along with dark chocolate, juniper and incense.  This opens slowly but gorgeously - with balance, depth and nice tannic structure.  WoW! 

Winemaker Alvaro Palacios, who is said to embody “the promise and spirit of The New Spain”, was one of nine children born to the owners of Rioja’s respected Palacios Remondo.  He studied enology in Bordeaux with Jean-Pierre Moueix at Chateau Pétrus, crediting his time there for imbuing him with his winemaking philosophy and showing him “the importance of great wines”.  He chose the remote area of Priorat, located in the southern part of Spain’s Catalonia region (60 miles from Barcelona) to establish his vineyards.  The terroir consists of steep hills and terraces of schist, evoking his experience at Pétrus.  Camins del Priorat is preceded by some big and expensive “trophy wines” created by Palacios:  Finca Dofí (only 1,250 cases!) and Les Terrasses “Velles Vignes” (I would LOVE to try those!)  Camins del Priorat is intended to be much more affordable and approachable.  But how delicious and what ancestry! Aged 3-4 months in barrique, followed by tank and cask aging, totally unfiltered.  In addition, 2009 is touted as a monumental vintage, “with the ripeness of 2003 and balance of 2008.”  Try this one, it’ll knock your socks off!

This wine is imported by Rare Wine Co., Sonoma, CA. and distributed locally by SoPo Wine Co., South Portland, ME.  Find it for around $21.99 at RSVP on Forest Ave. and Rosemont Markets, Portland. 

Domaine Le Grand Rouviere Rose' 2011

                                               Dombek Photo © 2012

Domaine Le Grand Rouviere

Cuvée des Vieilles Vignes Rose’ 2011

Cote de Provence, France

70% old vines Cinsault, 30% Grenache.

Finally, a break from the cloudy and the rain ... today is the day for Rose’.  This is going to be a quick one today as I need to get outside into the garden (and no doubt will be having a glass of this later on!)

Light salmon pink in color, this is classic Provençal rose’.  Clean and crisp with flinty raspberry/strawberry sherbet on the nose, it follows through with delicious juicy berries and watermelon on the palate.  Slightly tangy yet delicate, light and elegant with nice acidity and dry finish.  Fun and lovely.  Serve with fresh spring greens salads w/ shrimp, mussels, salmon or as an aperitif with brie, pears, baguette.  Bring on the boat, for a picnic or light dinner!

Provence is located in the South of France on the Mediterranean just east of the Rhone region.  Winemaking is thought to have existed here since around 600 BC!  This Rouviere rose’ is made by the Leydier family, who own a sustainably farmed vineyard in the rolling hills situated on the border of the famous Bandol appellation. 

From Devenish Wines and available for around $13.99 at Rosemont Markets, Whole Foods & Aurora Provisions in Portland; Provisions and Bow St. Market in Freeport,  Tess’s Market and Henry & Marty’s Restaurant in Brunswick.