Wine Ways: A marvellous Morgon from “rotten rock” and an ingenious Garnacha from concrete eggs. Wine+Jazz with Kate Barry

Wine Ways:

A marvellous Morgon from “rotten rock” 

and an ingenious Garnacha from concrete eggs

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Kate Barry's World of Wine Tasting (and Jazz) at Le Caberet, Cork 28th October 5.30 pm. For info and tickets click here. 

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Domaine de la Bonne Tonne Morgon (AOC) “Cote du Py” 2020, 14.5% ABV

€33 at The Vintry in Rathgar, Dublin; Manning's Emporium in Ballylickey &

Connemara Hamper in Clifden; Mary Pawle Wines

A ruby coloured gem from “rotten rock”!

This Morgan from the famed lieu-dit of Côte du Py has a darker shade of ruby than you’d expect for the Gamay grape. Intense, rich and inviting dark berry aromas, fresh and complex with a floral lift. The palate is also complex and rich, full of flavours (sour cherry, strawberry and raspberry), with a spicy vanilla character, all in balance through to a long and intense minerally finish. An amazing wine, consistent year after year, and once again Very Highly Recommended.

The producers were, and are, very happy, not to mention confident, with this one. “Let it age, if you can, to take advantage of the complexity. We would go blind on a very beautiful well-born Pinot…” Looks like a challenge to the neighbours in Burgundy!

The Morgon "Côte du Py", is the most famous climat of the vineyard. There are ten crus in the Beaujolais region and Morgon, as you probably know, is one of them. With the typical acidity, these wines can match a range of foods. One suggestion that I fancy is Moroccan Lamb Tagine with apricot. Open the wine into a carafe about 30 minutes before serving at 16°C. 

World famous for its exceptional soil resulting from ancient volcanic activity, the soil of the Py hill is composed of decomposing volcanic elements, with the presence of iron oxide and manganese. The blue rock is friable, and so the locals have been known to claim that the best Morgon are made on this land of  terre pourrie (rotten rock)!

Organic Agriculture. The work on the entire estate is manual with the use of animal traction (Vigano, a magnificent Comtois, is calling for help!) for ploughing. The vines (mainly old), on a south-west facing hillside are grassy or slightly scratched. The estate puts into practice certain elements from biodynamics (preparations, calendar). Yields are very limited (30hl/ha on average) and manual harvesting. Traditional Beaujolais vinification: semi-carbonic maceration in concrete vats for 18 days. No inputs: indigenous yeasts and no SO2 or chaptalisation. Aging in demi-muids (large casks of indefinite size). Very low doses of SO2 (<20mg/L) at bottling.

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Vinedos Ruiz Jimenez Ingenium Garnacha, DO Rioja 2020, 13.5% ABV

€23.25 RRP. Mostly available in restaurants. Also at Mary Pawle Wines 

This limited production Ingenium comes in a pale red colour. Aromas are  moderately intense with stewed fruit and dried herbs in the mix. High intensity red fruit flavours highlight the palate, spicy too, but this is an elegant, smooth and well balanced wine. Just a little grip from the tannins as the Ingenium finishes dry and long. Very Highly Recommended.

Producers Ruiz Jimenez say it is the perfect option to accompany different dishes, meals, and snacks. "Either alone or with good company.”

Mary Pawle tells me this is a recent addition “to our range of wines from Vinedos Ruiz Jimenez…matured in concrete eggs  to provide greater complexity”. On the rather sparse front label (there is none on the back) you read Vino Tinto Elológico and no added sulphites.

While Garnacha is grown around the world, the vast majority of it is grown in France (here it is called Grenache) and Spain. Italy leads the distant chasing pack and here the grape is called Cannonau.

And why is the title Ingenium? The winemakers explain: “Ingenio, is in Spanish, ingenious, this is, the innate quality to invent, to create, to be original. Under this name, we present our most inventive wines. Natural, creative and of limited production. Our most inventive, creative and natural wines, with limited production.” Just three wines in this series. In addition to the Garnacha, they make a Tempranillo and also Maturana Blanca.

The Jimenez Winery is one of the better ones and Mary Pawle has quite a few of their wines on her list including the Graciano , that we Very Highly Recommended recently here.

France: A beautiful Morgon and, from the south, a gorgeous Ginger!

France: A beautiful Morgon and, from the south,

a gorgeous Ginger!

Bonne Tonne “Côte Du Py” Morgan (AOC) 2018, 13%

€28.75 The Vintry, Rathgar, Dublin. The Little Green Grocer, Kilkenny. Manning's Ballylickey. Mary Pawle 

“To come to live off our profession by producing a small quantity of grapes for a great quality of wine..”

The Gamay grape, outlawed by Royal decree in 1395  for being “a very bad and disloyal plant”, is now one of the most respected, at least when grown in the Beaujolais region. And Morgan, where the Grillet family make their Bonne Tonne wines, is one of ten cru areas here and one of the better known ones.

So I’m expecting good things when I pour this mid ruby coloured wine. I won’t be disappointed at all. The dark berry aromas are quite intense, inviting, rich and fresh. And so it continues on the rich and rounded palate, smooth and harmonious all the way through to a long intense finish. It is an absolutely amazing Gamay and Very Highly Recommended. 

The Grillet family have been winemakers for seven generations in Morgon and their vines are of an average age of 65 years. 1.10 ha is grown in Beaujolais appellation including 50 ares in Gamay and 60 ares in Chardonnay. The wines of the area possess a lot of finesse and a wonderfully expressive fruit.

Here is how the Grillets sum it up: “This is the challenge we have embarked on. To come to live off our profession by producing a small quantity of grapes for a great quality of wine and to make finally express itself this soil so rich which does not require less. The 'black gamay with white juice', the only grape variety authorized for red wines in Beaujolais, can thus translate all its complexity of aromas.”

The Morgon "Côte du Py", is the most famous climat of the vineyard. There are ten crus in the Beaujolais region and Morgon, as you probably know, is one of them. With the typical acidity, these wines can match a range of foods.

World famous for its exceptional soil resulting from ancient volcanic activity, the soil of the Py hill is composed of decomposing volcanic elements, with the presence of iron oxide and manganese. The blue rock is friable, and so the locals have been known to claim that the best Morgon are made on this land of  terre pourrie (rotten rock)! 

 

Mas Théo Ginger Vin de France 2019, 12.5%

€17.70 Toon’s Bridge Dairy shop in Dublin (Georges St D2). Mary Pawle 

From the middle of the Rhone area, this orange/gold coloured wine, tannic and fruity, is a blend of Marsanne (35%), Roussane (35%), Grenache Blanc (30%). And it is “vinification like the reds” that gives the wine that orange-y hue.

And, so the vineyard says, the name Ginger, the hair colour or the vegetable, fits well with the spirit of this wine. “And the label’s red hen is a nod to those of the farm” but remains silent on the fox!

Aromas are complex: barley sugar, butterscotch. And you can find much the same combination in the flavours on the full palate plus stone fruit flavours such as plum and apricot. All before a lingering and very pronounced dry, almost sherry type, finish. If you are not familiar with the style, this is a pretty good bridge to orange wines and is Highly Recommended. It is new to the Mary Pawle range and should be available in more outlets in the future.

Served at 10°C, the wine should go well with “with a Bresse chicken with morel sauce (good luck with that!) or a very chocolatey dessert”.

Since 2012, the biodynamic wines are made in old stone quarries: the Caves Cathédrales. This troglodyte area is an ideal cradle for the elaboration of these natural wines in the same way that tufa quarries of the Loire are ideal for raising wine and growing mushrooms. “The atmosphere of the Caves Cathédrales, rather cold at 57°F (14C), but regular throughout the year, makes it possible to manage the wines without preservative.” The vineyard itself is part of a mixed farming enterprise.

Charming red wines from Beaujolais and Mendoza

Charming red wines from

 Beaujolais and Mendoza

Domaine de la Bonne Tonne Morgon (AOC) “Les Charmes” 2018, 14% 

€27.00 Urru in Bandon// Little Green Grocer in Kilkenny // The Connemara Hamper in Clifden // Mary Pawle Wines 

Mid-ruby is the colour of this Gamay. And speaking of colour here’s a quote from Jancis Robinson: “Because so many of the world’s wine lovers have been taught to revere alcohol and deep colours in their red wines, Gamay has not had many fans outside Europe.”

Complex aromas, a melange of fruit, floral and vegetal. And again, as was the case with the 2017, we get those pure and deliciously intense flavours of the vivacious fruit, plus the usual fresh acidity, smooth and velvety all the way to the excellent finish, a harmonious trip from initial attack to the finalé. A nailed on Very Highly Recommended for this rewarding wine!

Wine Folly says Gamay is often compared with Pinot Noir (they are related!). “Gamay wines are loved for their delicate floral aromas, subtle earthy notes, and surprising ability to pair with food (even fish!). The best part is, you can find high quality Gamay at a much better price than Pinot Noir.”

*****

Domaine Bousquet Reserve Malbec 2018, Mendoza Argentina, 14.5%

€22.00 Organico in Bantry //Connemara Hamper// Mortons of Galway  Mary Pawle Wines 

This Mendoza Malbec comes in a deep violet colour, close to black. Aromas are quite intense, black and red berries in there. Fruit and elegance mark its impressive entry on to the palate. Pronounced fruit flavours with some sweet spices, a touch of vanilla, you may even find a fleeting hint of chocolate here. Sufficient acidity to ensure harmony, medium body with soft tannins and excellent length as well. What’s not to like? Always a favourite here and Very Highly Recommended.

The blend is Malbec (85%), Cabernet Sauvignon (5), Merlot (5) and Syrah (5). Aged in French Oak for 10 months. They say it is ideal with red meats, sauces, cheeses and pasta dishes.

A 1990 vacation in Argentina was all it took. For third-generation winemaker Jean Bousquet, it was love at first sight. The object of the Frenchman’s desire: the Gualtallary Valley, a scenic, remote, arid terrain high in the Tupungato district of the Uco Valley in Argentina’s Mendoza region, close to the border with Chile. Here, where the condors fly and not a vine in sight, Bousquet discovered his dream terroir, an ideal location in which to nurture organically-grown wines.

 From that virgin territory, nothing planted, no water above ground, no electricity, the French wine-making family’s venture is now recognised as the source of some of Mendoza’s finest wines. The vineyard is located in the foothills of the Andes and is an incredible 1200 metres above sea level. Here the thermal amplitude contributes to fully ripened grapes with excellent acidity.

Oh What A Wonderful Morgon At La Bonne Tonne

Domaine de la Bonne Tonne

The "Androgynous" Wines of Beaujolais.

Robert Joseph, whose French Wine was a bible for many of us, wrote in the 1999 edition: “There is something deliciously androgynous about Beaujolais that somehow sets it between red and white, with the colour of the former and the easy drinkability of the latter. The region’s unique ménage à trois of the Gamay grape (a variety that never performs as well elsewhere), granite soil, and the macération carbonique process,…. combines to produce wines with vibrant fruit and almost no perceptible tannin.”

Think he’d have been well pleased with Domaine de la Bonne Tonne, who farm a small area of Beaujolais. The Grillet family have been winemakers for 7 generations in Morgon and their vines are of an average age of 65 years. 1.10 ha is grown in Beaujolais appellation including 50 ares in Gamay and 60 ares in Chardonnay. The wines of the area possess a lot of finesse and a wonderfully expressive fruit.

Here is how the Grillets sum it up: “This is the challenge we have embarked on. To come to live off our profession by producing a small quantity of grapes for a great quality of wine and to make finally express itself this soil so rich which does not require less. The 'black gamay with white juice', the only grape variety authorized for red wines in Beaujolais, can thus translate all its complexity of aromas.”

Did you know that the Gamay grape is an exile? In 1395, it was outlawed by Royal decree as being “a very bad and disloyal plant”. Sixty years later another edict was issued against it. And so it was pushed out of Burgundy and south into neighbouring Beaujolais where it has thrived on the granite based soils. Wonder what those royals, Philippe the Bold and Philippe the Good, would make of these beautiful authentic wines from Bonne Tonne.

Domaine de la Bonne Tonne Morgon (AOC)  “Grands-Cras” 2017, 14%, €25.75 Mary Pawle  

Colour is mid-ruby with the tears reluctant to disappear. Inviting aromas of freshly crushed strawberry and blackberry, floral notes also. All lead to an expected big kiss of concentrated sensation on the palate. A perfectly harmonious experience though, thanks to the acidity and those silky tannins. Loveable all the way to a very satisfactory finish indeed. Very Highly Recommended.

Wine Enthusiast gave this 93 points saying: “The Grillet family's organically grown wine shows delicious, pure flavors of jammy blackberries cut with acidity. It comes from old vines in one of Morgon's cru vineyards, giving both concentration and a mineral structure.”  

Grands Cras is one of the three climats in which the the Grillet family operate in Morgon, the others being Cote de Py and Charmes. Les Grands Cras is at the foothills of Cote de Py.  Charmes is a granite area in the west part of the cru Morgon.

Domaine de la Bonne Tonne Morgon (AOC) “Les Charmes” 2017, 14%, €27.00

Again mid-ruby is the colour. Rich jammy aromas of dark berries. And again we get those pure and delicious flavours of the fruit, plus the usual fresh acidity, smooth and velvety all the way to the excellent finish, a harmonious trip from initial attack to the finalé. 

Made from 100% Gamay grapes from vines with an average age of 65 years, it is vinified naturally with natural yeast and no added sulphur in the wine making. This wine, like all the Bonne Tonne bottles, is made with authenticity and aplomb, and little else. No herbicides, no pesticides here. No filtration and a minimal dose of SO2 is added to the bottling to avoid any degradation of the wine during transport.

Domaine de la Bonne Tonne Morgon (AOC) “Cote du Py” 2015, 14%, €28.75 Mary Pawle  

Colour: Mid ruby, tears slow to go. Intense and rich and inviting dark berry aromas, fresh and complex. And that all follows through to the immediately loveable palate, rich and rounded, seamless harmony all the way through to a long intense finish. Very Highly Recommended.

The Morgon "Côte du Py", is the most famous climate of the vineyard. There are ten crus in the Beaujolais region and Morgon, as you probably know, is one of them. With the typical acidity, these wines can match a range of foods. One suggestion that I fancy is Moroccan Lamb Tagine with apricot.

World famous for its exceptional soil resulting from ancient volcanic activity, the soil of the Py hill is composed of decomposing volcanic elements, with the presence of iron oxide and manganese. The blue rock is friable, and so the locals have been known to claim that the best Morgon are made on this land of  terre pourrie (rotten rock)! 

And more good news from Mary Pawle...

Mary Pawle will soon have this gem (due by end of the month); she already has the Energies on her list. I'll be ordering! The review above is from November's Decanter.

Frogs Attack #1. Do It Again. Soon!

Frogs Attack #1. Do It Again. Soon!

They came. They saw. They conquered. They, collectively the Frogs Attack, being two pioneering natural winemakers (Jean Foillard and Thierry Puzelat), a guerrilla chef (Antony Cointre) and a comedian (Sebastien Barrier) and they cornered their willing victims in a packed Latitude 51. 

Cork’s leading wine bar was the ideal venue for the French influenced evening. Beverley and her staff caught the informal spirit of the occasion perfectly and we wined and dined, and laughed a lot too. 

Hard to keep up with Sebastien as he roamed between the two floors. He even wandered outside at one stage, startling the customers by banging on the window and, with his phone, taking photos of the surprised faces. We were wondering was the ebullient funny man in trouble a few minutes later when a couple of cops appeared at the door but nothing to do with Sebastien!

May I introduce Jean Foillard to you, via Le Caveau catalogue: A vigneron like Jean Foillard doesn’t come around too often. Jean Foillard and his wife Agnès started their handkerchief-size domain in Morgon in the 1980’s when the majority of appellation, driven by big negoces, were (and are still) producing industrial wines. Undeterred by their surroundings, Jean and Agnès decided to embark on their own path. They returned to honest vine growing and wine making the way their grandparents did. The vines are grown organically. The same attention is paid in their cellar. There are no additives in the cellar to hide shortcuts in the vineyards because there are no shortcuts in the vineyards. The hand-harvested grapes are fermented using natural yeasts only. 

Cooking done and Le Gros relaxes 

And, quoting from the same source, Thierry Puzelat: Having met and worked with Francois Dutheil (Bandol) and Marcel Lapierre (Morgon), two pioneers of the ‘natural’ wine movement, Thierry decided he too, wanted to make his wines as naturally as possible. Puzelat’s wines are quite unique, they are highly expressive of their terroir, authentic, filled with life and have very strong personality.

Le Caveau borrowed, as we do here, this quote from Jamie Goode: ‘Thierry and Jean-Marie Puzelat—brothers—are natural wine royalty. They are making some of the Loire’s most interesting wines and are at the heart of the natural wine movement.’

Behind the counter: Jules and Beverley

And the wines really are superb. The night’s list: Thierry’s Clos du Tue Boeuf, blanc and rouge, and the three Morgons from Jean, all 2016, including his “Cote du Py” and the “Corcelette”. And to make things even better, they were available at shop (rather than restaurant) prices. A nice touch that!

According to his website, Antony Cointre, aka Le Gros, is not an ordinary chef, he is an enthusiastic cook. He does not have a permanent restaurant because he likes to change atmosphere and to touch lots of different audiences. …. making tasting meals in 10 steps at home for 6 or popular banquets of 650 people or even weddings in unlikely conditions. 

And Le Gros, in the tiny kitchen, came up with some tasty dishes at L’Atitude. They included a Feta and Kumquat starter, then a Monkfish carpaccio with Harissa sauce, three French cheeses with date, and dessert of chocolate and, believe or not, rhubarb.

Sebastien attacks the window!

In between the six courses, Sebastian kept us entertained and joined up with some Irish friends to play some tunes. And all the time, we were sipping and enjoying those natural wines, the real stars of the show!

I’ll finish with a message to the frogs: Please attack us again, soon!