Wine Focus August 2022: Pinot Noir & special guest Albariño

[David M. Bueker]

Albariño day is August 1 - today! Woo-hoo! Drink 'em if you got 'em.

Pinot Noir day is August 18, so we have time to prepare for that one.

Oh Albarino! Have some likely winners in my cellar right now including Zarate picked up Saturday.
I noticed on the UK wine forum discussion that NZ seems to be offering some very nice examples of this grape variety.
By the way, are we allowed to taste some Albarinho from Portugal??

[David M. Bueker]

Go for it! We are not doctrinaire.

Doing some research on these pages, found this TN from Jenise a while back. Think we have it downtown.

2016 Fillaboa Albariño Rías Baixas
My favorite of the six. Classy, with better concentration, body and character than most. Quince, apple and lemon fruit.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=61141&p=469644&hilit=fillaboa#p469644

[David M. Bueker]

The month starts, and I already forgot to post my Pinot Noir note here…hmph. Need to get my act together.

There is no problem in finding wines from Pinot Noir round here but of course Burgundy, even at an entry level, is quite pricey. Other French regions grow the grape too, but, apart from Champagne also pricey, I have yet to be very convinced. On the other hand, I doubt if I will find a wine from Albariño. I can’t recall having seen a Rias Baixas round here.

As it happens, though not designed that way, we had a dinner with neighbours a few days ago which was almost 100% Pinot Noir (the Lallier had 56% Pinot Noir content).

NV Champagne Lallier Champagne R.016 Brut - France, Champagne (23/07/2022)
This is a very good starter Champagne which shows crispness which doesn't spill over into astringency unlike some brut zéro. Attractive white fruit, some biscuity creaminess, fine minerals and decent finish complete a very good picture.

1999 Jean-Marc Millot Échézeaux - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Echezeaux Grand Cru (23/07/2022)
Colour was lighter than some with tawny notes at the rim but the aromatics on the nose were quite subdued though showing refined and quite complex pinosity. The palate was medium bodied and well balanced with quietly mature griotte cherry tinged fruit, good depth, suave texture and decently firm and long finish. This wine showed charm and class but was somewhat overshadowed by Maume's Gevrey LSJ 96 which followed. The subdued aromatics argue that there is room for further development but the colour urges caution. Very good though.

1996 Domaine Maume Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Lavaux St. Jacques - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru (23/07/2022)
Even better than 2 years ago and much more robust and youthful seeming than the preceding Échézeaux 99. It combined the freshness of a much younger wine with the complexity and the secondary aromas of a mature one. There was quite deep colour with little bricking at the rim, medium/full body, linear shape, bright savoury fruit, ivy touches, slightly earthy minerals, beginnings of forest floor and old book, lively moreish acidity but in perfect balance unlike some '96s, silky texture and the right tannic firmness on the long finish. Excellent.

We also had a Reuilly rouge (100% PN) from the Loire basin quite recently but it was definitely not in the same league.

2021 Domaine Cordaillat Reuilly Tradition - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Reuilly (10/07/2022)
This is light in colour and body but has real pinot character and charm with notes of cherry, light spice, velvety texture and discreetly moreish acidity. Good, particularly in this warm spell.
Posted from CellarTracker

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks Tim.

Interesting to see an older Maume wine, as they have since ceased to be in that form. The new team (Marchand-Tawse) is doing good work in recent vintages, though the style is not that structured.

OK lets go with this white from Moncao and Melgaco vineyards.

2018 Anselmo Mendes Alvarinho Vinho Verde Muros Antigos, Portugal.


Quite a nice selection of VV downtown. Medium yellow green color, typical nose of apricot, stony minerality and floral. Light bodied in style and easy to drink! Some ripeness with lemony citrus fruits. Very good acidity, green apples, tad salty maybe. Excellent with pork and shrimp dumplings.

Wow..talk about good timing from Jamie Goode.
https://wineanorak.com/2022/08/01/albarino-a-study/

[David M. Bueker]

Excellent find Bob. Will check it out later.

Thanks Tim.

Interesting to see an older Maume wine, as they have since ceased to be in that form. The new team (Marchand-Tawse) is doing good work in recent vintages, though the style is not that structured.

In the late 90s and early 00s, Maume was held in high regard by Belgian Burgundy connoisseurs, some of the most shrewd in the world because of historic ties and common language between Burgundy and Wallonia. I bought these from one of the last typically Belgian family wine businesses, Pierre Vandenplas, whose wine list read like a catalogue of Burgundian wine aristocracy, Rousseau, Coche-Dury, Ponsot, Maume, Comte Armand and many others of similar calibre. I have an affectionate memory of tastings in capacious cellars under his house attended by all these vignerons. Alas, he sold out in the early 00s and I subsequently learned from one of his vignerons that he had been incapacitated by an unsuccessful spinal operation.

[Jenise]

Doing some research on these pages, found this TN from Jenise a while back. Think we have it downtown.

2016 Fillaboa Albariño Rías Baixas
My favorite of the six. Classy, with better concentration, body and character than most. Quince, apple and lemon fruit.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=61141&p=469644&hilit=fillaboa#p469644

That's the kind of albarino I want. There's quite a bit of albarino grape grown in Washington, but nobody makes anything close to the real deal from the old country like that Fillaboa. Much as I want to give my state my business, local albarino just isn't worth pursuing.

[David M. Bueker]

I have tried a number of domestic Albariño bottlings, and have never had one with that spark of the Spanish versions. Some have been good wines, but never with that same feel. I suspect, as with Viognier, that nobody has been able to find the right spot as of yet.

I am really enjoying my 2020 Zarate, second day. I have some diabetes issues and sleeping a lot after my 4 week trip.

[David M. Bueker]

Happily sipping an Albariño/Godello blend right now. More later, but it’s yummy.

[David M. Bueker]

2020 Orixe Sotelo Albor - USA, California, Sierra Foothills, Calaveras County (8/6/2022)
Seven months in the bottle has amplified the mid-palate richness of this wine, while maintaining the finishing brisk minerality. It still shows an Albariño-typical peachy/salty blend, but what’s most compelling is the texture. Don’t drink this too cold, as it suppresses the richness.

[Jenise]

Interesting wine, David. And--Calaveras County! I'm impressed that a small producer from that off-the-beaten path place found its way to you.

And further about Albarinos, I had every intention of buying one yesterday. I was at the best wine store in this town, chatting with the owner and filling a case with white wines--there were a few domestics I wanted to try. So then I headed back to the area where the Spanish wines are full of intention, but before I could ask Ted about Albarinos, and it was on the tip of my tongue I swear!, before I could say 'Al' I was stupefied to see quite a few Lopez de Heredias, including two Tondonias and four Gravonias. I have only ever, in the last 15 or 20 years since become LdH enlightened, seen but three bottles of LdH whites on retail shelves, and two of those were in Haro, Spain. I mean, this NEVER happens. I bought all six, they filled up my case, and I only realized when I got home what I'd forgotten to do. DAMN...but, can you blame me???

[David M. Bueker]

So I discovered them through Bedrock. There’s a connection there.

quite a few Lopez de Heredias, including two Tondonias and four Gravonias...would have been gone in 5 minutes here! Our Premier first in line

[David M. Bueker]

I can imagine the LdH were hard to pass up. Honestly I am not a fan of the Gravonia. Just doesn’t work for my palate. I have three bottles in my cellar that will end up in tastings or eventually brought to geeky events if we ever have those again.

Pinot Noir can make superb pinks. My best rosé ever was a Sancerre 1996 from one of the Cotat estates which had an extraordinary Champagne like elegance. AFAIK Rosé de Marsanny is the only Burgundian pink and it is certainly the most famous. This doesn't equal the Cotat but it was very good on the first night.

2020 Hervé Charlopin Marsannay Rosé Au Champ Salomon - France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits, Marsannay Rosé (06/08/2022)
This is a more serious pink with a deeper ruby colour than most. It was well balanced showing quite a bit of body, a roundness of fruit infused with nice pinosity, note of antique polish, fine minerals, fresh acidity and a shape on the palate with a crescendo just before the finish more reminiscent of a red than rosé. However, I liked less its showing after 24 hours at a slightly higher temperature (c.15°) when it seemed sweeter and the polish notes had become port like. Nevertheless very good when fresh.
Posted from CellarTracker

It is worth adding that Marsannay, almost a Dijon suburb, is now producing some very good reds and whites which represent good QPR compared with the more famous Burgundian villages (mostly < €40 for named crus). Look out for estates like Sylvain Pataille, Ph. Nadeff, Fournier.......

[David M. Bueker]

Yes, Marsannay has been getting better and better.

Haven't had too many Pinot Noir pinks in recent years. My tastes are turning more towards Mourvedre and some Italian varieties for Rosé. I should revisit next summer (or this fall if the heat wave persists).

[Jenise]

I can imagine the LdH were hard to pass up. Honestly I am not a fan of the Gravonia. Just doesn’t work for my palate. I have three bottles in my cellar that will end up in tastings or eventually brought to geeky events if we ever have those again.

I had thought I agreed with you before travelling in Rioja in 2017. While there, we had both an 03 and an 06 in restaurants and loved both. But you have to enjoy sherry--strangely since I am sensitive to and strongly dislike the slightest oxidative notes in any other wine, I find it attractive here.

[David M. Bueker]

I love Sherry.