Tasting Note: Il Frappato 2007, IGT Sicilia, Ariana Occhipinti

By Remy Charest | Published: May 28, 2010

I’ve been a fan of Arianna Occhipinti’s wines for close to two years, now, since I tasted her nero d’avola, Il Siccagno, at Terroir SF, with a couple of friends I’d met at the first Wine Bloggers’ Conference (read the blog post, in French, right here). Since then, the wines have started to be imported to Quebec by Oenopole, and I managed to get my hands on some Il Frappato, made from the indigenous sicilian variety of the same name.

Frappato is usually used as a blending tool with nero d’avola, Sicily’s best known red grape, but when you taste it on its own, you wonder why we don’t see more varietal bottlings. In Ms Occhipinti’s able hands, it is, in any case, an absolute knock-out.

Nothing in this open and aromatic, delicate and yet assertive cuvée seems to stand in the way of the grapes’ natural aromatics. Every bit of this natural wine, made with no sulfur until bottling, is expansive, complex and fluid.

The fluidity, the everchanging character of this wine is truly remarkable. Every time you think you have it pinned down, it throws something else at you.

Here you are smelling cherries, and in come the figs, the raisins, before a whiff of fresh-cooked strawberries runs by. Pepper? Or is that smoke? Or maybe dried leaves. Or… no, maybe more blood orange. And then there’s that floral character. A little volatile acidity is there, but it gets completely swallowed up by the swirl of aromas that keeps dancing around in the glass.

The wine is from Read More »

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Further thoughts about that whole Lagrézette challenge thing…

By Remy Charest | Published: May 25, 2010

The vines at Château Lagrézette from which the Le Pigeonnier cuvée is made, with the 17th Century pigeon house that gives it its name.

Last week, in conjunction with my participation in Malbec Days, I took part as planned in a blind tasting of eight malbec wines organized by Château Lagrézette, Cahors’ best known wine producer, internationally. The whole event, as I wrote before on this blog and on PalatePress, was a “rematch”, following my review of Le Pigeonnier 1999 as an example of vanity winemaking.

The tasting, as I described in this new PalatePress post, took place in a very honorable, courteous and fair context, with Jean Courtois, the estate’s general manager, exposing with great care and conviction the approach that the estate has taken over the years at all levels of production. Lagrézette is a gorgeous place, a superbly restored Read More »

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Adventures Abroad: Malbec Days in Cahors, and Ontario Chardonnay in London

By Remy Charest | Published: May 19, 2010

For the next four days, I’m going to be all malbec, all the time.

I’m just about to get on the plane that will take me across the Atlantic, as I head out to Cahors, in Southwest France, for the International Malbec Days and a particular tasting challenge at Château Lagrézette. The former provided the opportunity for the latter. Indeed, with Malbec Days inviting me to Cahors, I was able to take up the folks at Lagrézette, one of the most renowned producers in Malbec, when they challenged me to have a second taste of their 1999 Pigeonnier, a reserve bottling that I reviewed rather negatively in February.

You can read more Read More »

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Tastecamp Day 3: Leading the Way with Pinot

By Remy Charest | Published: May 10, 2010

If you want to know if a wine region has potential, look to the best. There can always be stragglers and careless winemakers, but looking at what the top vignerons can do will really let you know the possibilities.

Looking at the top wines we tasted over the weekend at Tastecamp, it’s clear that the Finger Lakes has the potential to be a great wine region. The quality of the best rieslings we tasted was truly solid, and the aging potential is there.

But on our last day, it was a producer of pinot noir (and a little riesling) that really got the point across. Hearts and Hands Wine Company, our final stop along the way, stunned us with some truly remarkable pinots (including a blanc de noirs sparkling that would have more claim to the name champagne than any Finger Lakes bubbly that – wrongly – claim the name). I’ll come back to that in more details, but it was clear, as we tasted those luscious, precise, complex cuvées that consumers – and winegrowers and winemakers – in the Finger Lakes can look to producers like this one to see just how good they could make their wine.

Tom Higgins, winemaker at Hearts and Hands Wine Company, a maker of remarkable pinot noir

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Tastecamp, day 2: Quick notes from Seneca Lake

By Remy Charest | Published: May 9, 2010

The second day of the second edition of Tastecamp yielded even more great rieslings – including the best I’ve tasted so far – and more interesting reds, including pinots and bordeaux varieties. My most interesting tastings included single vineyard bottlings from Red Newt and Lamoreaux Landing wineries, a great pinot from Damiani Cellars and especially, the excellent rieslings and gewurztraminers from Wiemer vineyards.

Just before leaving for Cayuga Lake and a last morning of tasting, here are a few pictures with captions, as a summary of Day 2 of Tastecamp.

Sam Argetsinger, whose beautiful vineyard overlooking Seneca Lake provides excellent riesling and pinot noir to Ravines Wine Cellars and Damiani Cellars

Ravines co-owner and winemaker Morten Hallgren serving some 2007 Argetsinger riesling with a lovely breakfast prepared by his wife Lisa, at Argetsinger vineyard itself. Riesling, a breakfast wine? Who knew.

A grand tasting of wines from Seneca Lake wineries was held between the tanks at Fox Run Vineyards' winery. Much good wine, and even some beautiful gin, rye and grappa from Finger Lakes Distillery

Verticals of dry and semi-dry rieslings from Fox Run vineyards going back to 2001 showed the great aging potential of Finger Lakes riesling. Solid, well-rounded wines from a winemaker with rather set views.

Wiemer vineyards winemaker and co-owner Fred Merwarth presented a great range of rieslings and gewurztraminers, with solid single vineyard bottlings. The wines are as close to natural winemaking as I've seen in the Finger Lakes, and they also seemed to be the most complex.

Wiemer's winery building also features a truly impressive tasting room.

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