Join Sarah Sutel for a tasting of two wines: one from Spain and one from Portugal.
We'll taste the Xavier Clua 'El Sola d'en Pol' from Terra Alta Spain and the 'Twisted' from Portugal.
The Clua is a deep inky color with fresh fruit aromas - raspberries, wild strawberries and currants. Ripe red plums, tart cherries, earthiness mixed with the fruit and a good acidity make this wine an easy one to go to again and again. Xavier Clua benefits from the previous generations in his family working the vines and producing wine although only since 1995 have the wines been bottled on the estate. Grenache (Garnatxa Negra in Catalan) benefits significantly from old vines, and this vineyard has vines that are 30-40 years old. These are blended with grapes from younger Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon vines.
The Portuguese wine is brought to us by Dirk Niepoort, one of the new wave of winemakers in the Douro and a member of the 'Douro Boys'. He has produced a beautifully affordable, everyday red that captures the mineral richness and dark fruit of the Douro in a non-fortified wine. It is made from the same grapes used to produce the famous sweet Ports (the Tintas and Tourigas) but picked at the peak of freshness. Berries and red plums. Fruit-forward yet stony, and mineral driven. The rocky, terraced vineyards overlook the Douro river.
The label is a lot of fun too - it is done by Bill Plympton.
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Join Troy Bowen and taste 2 completely different wines. The only thing in common is, in keeping with the wines in Jenny and Francois' portfolio, they are made "naturally".
We'll taste the Coturri Rose from California and a French red, Le Loup Blanc's 'la Mere Grand'.
Tony Coturri is passionate about natural wines. No pesticides for him! He believes that they land is better off, the people are better off, and the wines are better. The grapes used to produce the wine are certified organic. He doesn't add sulfites or any other additives during the winemaking process and is proud that Coturri Winery is one of the few that do not have to put a 'Contains Sulfites' label - they are actually not detectable and therefore they received a waiver from BATF. Coturri is also incorporating many aspects of biodynamie.
His Rose might be the most complex and interesting Rose you taste all summer - unfined and unfiltered, made with wild/ indigenous yeasts found in their winery. A "ball of fruit" greets your palate; this is a chewy rose' if there ever was one. The nose is almost yeasty, bringing to mind a sparkling wine. Great acidity, this wine is refreshing and a wonderful, definitely different, expression of rose'.
Alain Rochard is similarly passionate about what 'natural winemaking' means and how it translates into the wine. His vines for the 'la Mere Grand' range from 20 - 100 years old, imparting the depths of the soil that they have penetrated into the wine. In addition to le Loup Blanc, Alain owns Bistro Continental in Montreal. Perhaps it is his love of both food and wine that influenced him in making wines that go with comfort food as easily as with haute cuisine.
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