Hipster Enology » France

2010 Domaine Eugene Carrel Vin de Savoie Jongieux & Mas de Libian Vin de Petanque

Luke — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 21:03:30 +0000

Luke checked in with us ahead of the impending North American harvest for 2011 in Oregon. While in Portland, he met up with some of our campmates from Burning Man 2011 who offered up a home-cooked meal of Madras curry & vegetarian samosas from scratch. These are the wines he paired with that meal.

WHITE WINE
WHO: Domaine Eugène Carrel
WHAT: 100% Jacquère
WHEN: 2010
WHERE: Jongieux in the Savoie/Savoy AOC of France
HOW: Stainless Steel Fermentation, No Malolactic Fermentation
WHY: Slight yellow straw color for this Savoy white. While it didn’t really fit what I was looking for, it ended up being a nice acidic white that paired well with the yoghurt-based dough of the samosas. Grapefruit rind was the main note for the nose with a bit of honey hanging out in the back. The palate showed light lemon, slight crème brûlée and sweet pea. For $12, it was just fine, but the food pairing might’ve benefited from a wine with more oxidative characters like those of the Jura..

RED WINE
WHO: Mas de Libian
WHAT: 75% Grenache 25% Syrah
WHEN: 2010
WHERE: VDP Coteaux de l’Ardèche in the Rhône Valley Wine Region of France
HOW: Grenache & Syrah are fermented together & undergo malolactic fermentation.
WHY: Did some digging and found out that this is a 100% biodynamic wine named after the game of petanque played in provence. If you’ve followed Hipster Enology for any length of time you know how enamored we are with bocce ball, a close relative of petanque. The Vin de Petanque had cherry and earth in the nose; expressing a lot of what one would expect from a Grenache/Syrah blend. Candied dust, ripe plum and green bean are the notes for the palate. This wine should be served chilled and was excellent with both the Madras curry and the Samosas. Given that the holidays are right around the corner, this will be a go-to wine for my holiday fare since I quite liked it. The only problem: finding it.

Luke Pours & Pairs: “Occasion Wines” at Whole Foods Venice

The Hipster Enologists — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 07:07:48 +0000

Luke put together a food and wine pairing wrapped around the theme of “Occasion Wines.” Many of us have wines that are traditional for certain occasions, so Luke kept those moments in mind when creating this flight.

Champagne

First, Champagne seemed apt for toasting the start of a new year and to kick off the tasting event. NV Laurent Perrier Brut L-P stepped up to the plate. Crisp green pear and citrus zest on the nose with just a touch of toast made this wine a nice fit for whitefish caviar on crème fraiche atop steamed then chilled fingerling potatoes.

Beaujolais Nouveau

For wine lovers around the world, a humorous annual occasion is the third Thursday of every November. On that day the new vintage of Beaujolais Nouveau pulls a Santa Claus and shows up in every town around the world. While most Nouveaus are rarely taken seriously, Kermit Lynch has a 2010 that should be respected. The wine is light and fruity, but grips with good acidity and body. This wine was paired regionally with Persillé du Beaujolais bleu cheese and Luke’s Port, red onion & heirloom Arkansas Black applesauce.

Amarone

Coppa shared the plate with the bleu cheese to serve as the evening’s third pairing for the celebrated Italian wine, Amarone. The cured ham with the Arkansas Black applesauce made a complementary sweet and salty combo for the 2006 Cesari Amarone della Valpolicella Classico. Traditionally, a blend of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara varietals, grapes for Amarone spend several months drying on racks after harvest. This concentrates the remaining juices and increases the skin contact of each grape lending to softer tannins and richness in color. This depth of character is present in the 2006 Cesari, making it a suitable addition to formalities like meeting the parents.

Mead

Another famed and oft overlooked wine made its way into the tasting but seemed more fitting for an occasion where one might have slain a dragon. NV Rabbit’s Foot Dry Mead was paired with crème fraiche and blackberries topped with drops of kirsch and sprinkled with brown sugar. The kirsch added just enough bitterness to make the sherry-like mead seem sweeter, while the crème fraiche accentuated its nuttier flavor components.

Late Harvest Dessert Wine

Ending a great meal or occasion often means breaking out a good bottle of dessert wine. To complete this flight, Luke paired the 2006 Rosenhof Welschriesling Beerenauslese with a bite of gorgonzola dulce and fresh whole honeycomb. Second only to Trockenbeerenauslese, this qualification of wine for Germany and Austria is amongst the most sought after wines of each good harvest. Affected by noble rot, the fruit used in Beerenauslese is hand-harvested, grape-by-grape creating a lengthy and laborious harvest. A wine this hard to make usually costs a mint, but not the Rosenhof at around $20.

2009 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau

The Hipster Enologists — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 06:08:29 +0000

WHO: Georges “2.5 Million Cases a Year” Duboeuf
WHAT: 100% Gamay
WHEN: 2009
WHERE: Appellation Beaujolais Contrôlée
HOW: Clusters are hand-harvested, then the grapes are fermented whole in a process known as carbonic maceration for only four days.

WHY: The Jersey Shore is to television as Beaujolais Nouveau is to wine. Highly publicized and incredibly marketed, Beaujolais Nouveau might be the only wine that has such a well-known release date and subsequent following. Often coinciding with Thanksgiving, Beaujolais Nouveau is released annually on the third Thursday of November after all the blood, sweat & wine has been barreled. Le Beaujolais Est Arrivé is the phrase seen in bistros across the region, signifying the end of a successful harvest, and allons-y nous faisons la fête!

Beaujolais Nouveau is a young wine, meant to be drank casually and in season. This wine should be drank within a year of being made, if not immediately. If you encounter any Beaujolais Nouveau more than 2 years old, it’s best left to die alone in the back of the wine shop. In our humble hipster opinion, you probably wouldn’t bring this wine to a dinner party – unless it’s that kind of party. This is a “buy 6 bottles, drink to get drunk” celebratory sort of wine. It’s entirely possible that you may pass out in a gutter in Paris, bottle in hand, and wake up in an alley in Belgium (much to Ben’s chagrin).

The 2009 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau starts out with a delicate autumnal nose of dried leaves and a crisp early winter breeze. This year’s vintage tastes of grapefruit, overripe strawberries, and lemon rind. The mouth feel is bigger than your average Beaujolais Nouveau and actually seems to have some structure. It’s no Château, but it has a good foundation. It is a very juicy wine, and the refreshing feeling you get from drinking it is well worth the 8 bucks you spent.

The Wrap: Georges Duboeuf’s 2009 incarnation of Beaujolais Nouveau is somewhat beyond its years. It does have a greater complexity than past vintages we’ve had, so it’s worth giving a shot. Considering most of these wines are around a 3rd grade reading level, we give this vintage a gold star. Now that you’ve read this review you know what you’re getting yourself into; so grab a bottle, lower your expectations and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Wine Website: http://www.duboeuf.com/

2008 Jerome Quiot Côtes de Provence Rosé les Arnevels

The Hipster Enologists — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:24:32 +0000

WHO: Famille Quiot
WHAT: 35% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 20% Cinsault, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Mourvèdre , and 5% other grape varieties from les Arnevels vineyard.
WHEN: 2008
WHERE: Côtes de Provence, France
HOW: The grapes are partly pressed and macerated with a short fermentation period of 12-24 hours for color. According to the bottle: “Special efforts are made to preserve freshness and fruit with the use of CO² gas to exclude oxygen during the harvest.” To this, we tilt our heads like curious kittens.

WHY: Les Arnevels is French for Paliurus spina-christi, the thorny, Mediterranean shrub aptly named, “Christ’s Thorn,” as woven into legend as the source of Jeebus’ crown. Well, if this wine would have hurt him, we’re sure he would have forgiven it. After all, this is the brother who turned water into wine.

Despite this French rosé unexpectedly being a screw cap, it is a pleasure to drink from the moment it is opened. This blood of th’lamb has a pungent nose of flowers and wild strawberries that gently slaps you in the face. It has an amazingly silky smooth mouth feel that illuminates the warm citrus, strawberry, and watermelon flavors. As the wine warms, the nose gets sweeter with cotton candy perfuming the bouquet. The winemaker has left the last 5% of the grapes a mystery, but even at such a small percentage, they add a complexity that pulls the blend together.

The Wrap: Let’s be honest. For under $10, it’ll be hard to find a better Côtes de Provence Rosé. Jesse & Luke paired this wine with dessert at a dinner that they catered to great success. At this price point, this harmonious wisp of flower and fruit is a must try with both your pious and unpious friends. For a great wine at a great price, find salvation in this summertime sacrament.

Wine Website: http://www.robertquiot.com/