PJ's Wines
New York Times
We’re thrilled to offer you the Best Value Priorat from the NY Times (to be published Wednesday), Alvaro Palacios Camins Del Priorat 2008 ($24). Among the Priorats that Eric Asimov deemed “the real thing” and “juicy, succulent and full of distinctive mineral flavors” and that one tasting panel member even swooned “are big, and they’re strong, but they seduce . . . you taste it, you feel it, you want to touch it. It’s very visceral to me.”
The panel found Alvaro Palacios “big and tannic with flavors of plums, mineral and licorice.”
2007 Alvaro Palacios Camins del Priorat Quick swirl
WINE OF THE WEEK
(Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)
Few of us can afford Spanish wine star Alvaro Palacios' big dog, L'Ermita. But we can all afford an occasional bottle of his Camins del Priorat. Think of it as an introductory wine from northern Spain's rugged Priorat region. A blend of Carignan and Garnacha with 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2007 Camins del Priorat is made from "younger" vines. That would be in the vicinity of 15 years old. It has everything going for it -- bright concentrated fruit, ripe tannins, silky texture, all of which make it an extremely versatile wine with food.
Bright ruby. Very sexy, perfumed aromas of redcurrant, raspberry, minerals and flowers; there's a wild, aromatic character here. Quite fresh and juicy in the mouth, with good energy to the red berry, cherry and candied floral flavors. Perfumed and energetic, with silky tannins adding shape to a long, sappy finish.
HiTimeWine.net
This is a delicious blend of 60% Carignan, 30% Granacha, 10% Cabernet and 10% Syrah. The wine is beautifully aromatic of rich fruit, florals and a touch of minerals. The palate is a pure expressions of bright raspberries and black cherries. Following is an array of clove, cinnamon and cardamon and a silky textural mouthfeel. An fantastic Priorat at an amazing price.
Sally Easton MW WineWisdom.com
Roussillon: a region for all seasons
A version of this article first appeared in FD magazine, December 2005.
Deep in the far south of France, edging its southern borders into the foothills of the Pyrenees, and commanding a Mediterranean coastline to the east, lies Roussillon, the sunniest and driest region in France. Its vineyards cover about the same acreage as those of Champagne, and it is more often than not tacked onto to its much bigger neighbour, making a region covering the whole of southern France – Languedoc-Roussillon. Yet the wines of Roussillon have an identity and expression all their own.
Roussillon is drenched in both sunshine and history. Vine growing can be traced back thousands of years. And in a similar manner to Alsace, over the centuries Roussillon has passed back and forth between Spanish and French ownership, finally being settled in France in 1659. In the region’s main city, Perpignan, it is the Palace of Kings of Majorca that holds the city in its gaze, now an historic and tourist monument. Catalan culture remains strong and many people are bi-lingual.
The region has a complex geology, and much that producers speak of is to do with their terroir, and which patch of dirt best suits which of the grape varieties are used in the region.
Grenache bush vine
Red grape varieties are mainly an extension of those from the better known southern Rhône: grenache, mourvèdre, cinsault, supplemented by carignan, the best examples of which add colour, depth, acidity, and a black fruited meaty spiciness to the blend. As with neighbouring Languedoc, syrah has been planted for the past 30 years or so, to add with the local varieties. Whites are based on grenache blanc and increasingly roussanne, marsanne, plus muscat (Alexandria and petits grains) for sweet wines.
What’s rare in a dry, sunny climate is to find white wines with a freshness and minerality that is characteristic in Rousillon. Part of the explanation is altitude. Vineyards are found from sea level up to 550m above the sea. With an approximate 1°C drop in temperature for every 100m increase in altitude, combined with a tortured topography, it’s possible to envisage cooler plots of land at higher altitudes and aspects away from the sun where white grapes can flourish.
The dry, sunny climatic disposition of Roussillon enables producers to make some excellent wine to organic principles. Without regular moisture, disease pressure is low, lending viticulture to minimum intervention practices. Domaine Gauby, one of the top producers in Roussillon farms to the more rigorous biodynamic approach. Fourth generation Philippe Mercier, of Domaine Joliette which produces certified organic wines, explained: ““Organic is more a work of observation. I learn a lot by being near to the vines. You need to be near the vineyard to understand the vines and their treatment.”
One of the best open secrets of this self-contained Catalan enclave is the region’s varied fortified wines. Called vins doux naturel (VDN), these are made by adding pure grape spirit to partially fermented grape juice, to create a sweet wine. The characteristics of the grapes are preserved by using pure spirit, rather than grape brandy.
Maury, and its more famous cousin, Banyuls are made from red grapes, notably grenache, while Rivesaltes is from white. The wines can be made in more reductive (primary fruit) or more oxidative (nutty, dried and candied fruits) styles. These latter, tuilé (tawny) styles of red VDN and ambré (amber) styles of white VDN, are a perfect accompaniment to traditional English winter season fare.
Vin Doux Naturels, maturing outside
Of his Maury, Robert Pouderoux, of Domaine Pouderoux said: “We try to finish on freshness, not sugar. If you have a good tannin structure, then even with 100g/l of sugar, you don’t see the sugar, also if you have a good acidity. All the work is the balance of these three – tannin, acidity and sugar.”
Muscat de Rivesaltes is always reductive, always to be drunk within a year after the harvest. Gentle, grapey, aromatic, with an elegance and lightness of touch despite the sweetness.
As concern increases about higher alcohol levels in wine, Vins doux naturels could find themselves becoming fashionable once more. They consistently have an alcohol level of about 15% abv. This is undoubtedly similar or even lighter than muscular Australian shirazes or Californian zinfandels. At just three-quarters the alcohol level of port, they also offer a different style of digestif.
Eric Aracil, export manager for the promotional body Vins du Roussillon has suggested ““marrying the colour of wine with the colour of dessert”, which is a new twist on the idea that the wine should be as sweet as, if not slightly sweeter than, the dessert. Certainly across the styles of VDN, almost every colour can be catered for, from the palest lemon tart Muscat de Rivesaltes to the densest, darkest, most chocolatey Maury.
This article was inspired by a visit to the region sponsored by Wines of Roussillon (Vins du Roussillon).
Domaine Olivier Pithon "La Coulee" Cotes du Roussillon 2007 Slope Cellars $21.99 13.5% alc.
Onyx Priorat Classic Priorat DOQ Wine Exchange $17.99 14.5% alc.
Unfortunately Onix doesn’t have a website that I could find so my info on the wine is limited, except for the fact that it is 50% Garnacha and 50% Carinena and was aged entirely in stainless steel.
My Tasting Notes -Nose: boysenberry, leather, black tea, pomegranate, rosemary
Taste: blackberry, tea, black cherry, cinnamon
Mouthfeel: full bodied, smooth and round with intense leather tannins that creep up at the finish
Finish: Long and fruity
At under $20 this is a screaming value, with rich full bodied mouthfeel and intense back ended tannic structure. Definitely, more new world style with it’s intense dark fruit flavors but the notes of tea and dried herbs reflect the terroir of the Priorat region.
0 comments:
Post a Comment