Two Wines: Mencia - First Taste of a Unique Spanish Grape. and Saint Joseph - a Powerful Syrah

I tried a wine made from a new grape this snowy weekend. The grape is called Mencia.

The Mencia grape (pronounced Men-thee-ya) is a Spanish grape that is grown in the Northwest of Spain. The main areas it is grown is in Bierzo, Valdeorras, and Ribeira Sacra. It is a red grape that was historically used for bulk type, watery wines but things have recently changed - producers are concentrating the flavours and using old vines to limit yields.  However, it is not a grape that is really well known.

So, how did I hear about it?

I was listening to one of my podcasts - I think it was either Wine For Normal People or Grape Nation - and an expert was talking about one of the real up and coming places in the world for wine. He said that the Ribeira Sacra region, in Spain, was an area of fantastic wines and that the prices was great value for what you get.

I looked online and found that the BC Liquor Store carries exactly one wine from Ribeira Sacra - and so I rushed out and bought a couple of bottles. Friday night, while we waited for our dinner to cook, we popped open a bottle, and I was blown away!

The wine that we found was a Prior de Panton Finca Cuarta Mencia from Ribeira Sacra ($20). Its colour was deep red - almost purple in colour. On the nose were strong aromas of red fruit such as red cherries and raspberries. On the palate, though, was a structured wine with medium to high tannins and medium to high acidity. There were coffee and tobacco flavours as well as red and even some black fruit.  The finish was nice and long and overall was a wonderful wine. Sadly, little of the wine lasted until the meal was ready. I would probably decant this wine for an hour or so next time .

This wine made me think of a wine I had last weekend as it was similar in structure. That wine was a 2015 Saint Joseph Domaine Courbis from the Northern Rhone ($42). Like all Northern Rhone wines, it was a Syrah wine but a Syrah wine that had some great structure - similar to the Mencia.

It was a wine that I did decant which was probably a good thing.  It had some spice and pepper as well as red fruits on both the palate and the nose. It was strong in tannins - almost a bit too strong - and really could have been aged another three to five years. This was a definitely powerful Syrah and really stood out from some of the easier drinking Syrahs that I have had from the Okanagan.

Both of these wines surprised me with their intensity. I would definitely buy them again but would probably purchase the one from Ribeira Sacra more often for two reasons. First, it seemed ready to drink from the bottle and didn't really require ageing - although it would probably be fine with a couple of years in the cellar. Second, the price was quite reasonable - after all, I could get two of the Mencia for the price of the Syrah!

Next week, I am attending the Vancouver Wine Festival - and can't wait to go! The two featured countries are Portugal and Spain (although I can't seem to find a winery that will be attending from Ribeira Sacra) but there will be wines from all over the world. Should be a fantastic time!

Tapas and Tastings - Another Great Wine Tasting Evening

Last night, we were invited to our friends' house for an evening of wine tasting and tapas - and it was a great time!

Each couple was responsible for bringing a bottle of wine. We were given the tapas dish in advance and were asked to bring something that would go with the food.

When we arrived, we secretly put our bottle in a paper bag and labelled the bag with the number that corresponded to the tapas course.

For each wine, there was a score sheet ( à la WSET 2) and a page that gave descriptors for the different characteristics of wine. Our host, Keith, popped open the wine, shared it around, and then we spied, sniffed, swirled, sipped and slurped the wine. After a few minutes, our other host, Lynn, brought on the tapas that went with the wine which we proceeded to nibble on while sipping the wine yet again.

Finally, after all of this drinking and eating, we would make our guesses and then Keith would reveal the bottle.

I absolutely loved it!

There were five wines and five tapas. Here's what we had.

The first wine received an interesting reaction from the table. One of the guests said, right off, that she didn't like it. Another said that he couldn't smell anything. I was able to smell citrus fruits like grapefruit as well as some green apple. This continued on the palate where I also tasted what I thought was a little yeast and high acidity. It was also quite mineral-y - and had almost a stone taste to it.

It was paired with Deviled Eggs with Shrimp. The pairing was great - it really meshed very well with the wine. Both the egg and shrimp came alive with the minerality of the wine.

I decided that because it was a great food pairing that this was an Old World wine. The minerality and lack of real fruitiness on the nose led me to Chardonnay. I guessed that is was either a Chablis or a Burgundy Chardonnay.

 

It was, in fact, a French Premier Cru Chardonnay from Burgundy - a 2014 Mont-Palais Rully Premier Cru ($50 - not sure where to buy in BC). I haven't drunk a lot of Premier Cru wines so far so it is a special honour to be able to drink one. On its own, it was a good wine, but with the food, it was amazing!

Next was a red wine. I recused myself from this one because my friend had phoned me a few days before and asked for a recommendation - so I knew what it was! Even so, I think that I would have been able to get this one. It had a lighter ruby colour with just a hint of garnet around the edge. The taste was definitely black fruits and there was medium structure and acidity. This was unmistakable as a Pinot Noir.

The tapa for this wine was a mushroom crostini with roasted red pepper and gruyere cheese. The wine paired very nicely with the food.

I had given my friend two possibilities - an Old World Pinot from France and a New World from the Okanagan. Since the wine tasted so darned good on its own, I, naturally, assumed it was the New World Pinot.

Wrong! It was a French Jean-Claude Boisset Les Ursulines 2016 Burgundy (Bourgogne) Pinot Noir ($26). I found it to be a very nice Pinot and would pair with a very nice range of dishes - the perfect wine when everyone orders something different!

The third wine was tricky. It was a fairly pale lemon white wine with a somewhat fruity nose and smelled of apple, honey, and stone fruit. The tapa that we had with it was an amazing Mu She chicken wrapped in lettuce. The fruitiness of the  wine paired well with the spices in the chicken.

My wife and I have had a couple of bottles of Gewürztraminer lately and I didn't think the nose was floral enough. That still left others like Pinot Gris or Viognier - so that's what I guessed - Pinot Gris.

Nope! It was a 2016 Gray Monk Gewürztraminer ($16) from the Okanagan. I was fooled by the less floral nose! Fooled or not, it was a good wine to have with the food.

Fourth was the wine that we had brought. It was well received as it was a bit bold, had some nice red and black fruit, had soft tannins and medium acid, and paired well with the tapa which was potato skins with chorizo and queso (cheese). The food was unbelievably delicious (well, it all was, actually) and I was tempted to find a yogurt container so I could steal all the left overs. The wine really stood up well to the chorizo but didn't overpower the subtler flavours in the skins or the cheese. A great pairing!

One of my friends got it (or came close enough, in my mind). He guessed Tempranillo - and it was, in fact,  a  2013 Beronia Rioja Reserva (aged at least 3 years) from Spain. For $26 I think this was an excellent wine and will definitely buy it again. Kudos to 'my guy' at the Pitt Meadows Specialty BC Liquor Store who helped me with this selection. This wine actually has Tempranillo and two Spanish grapes that I don't know a lot about, Mazuelo and Graciano.

Finally, we had a fortified wine to finish off. It was definitely a Port but it's pretty hard for me to tell the difference between Ports - other than they taste wonderful! This Port was quite sweet, had notes of nuts, caramel and honey, and was paired with an incredible chocolate mousse. The Port was sweet enough to stand up nicely to the dessert. I decided that it wasn't a vintage Port (as it was poured straight from the bottle - vintage Ports need to be decanted), tasted sweeter than I thought a Tawny Port would taste and tasted smoother than a ruby Port so I thought it was a Late Bottle Vintage (LBV) Port.

Close, but no cigar - it was a Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Old Tawny Port from Portugal ($40). Still, not a bad guess....

A great end to a fantastic tasting evening. Viva tapas!

Sip with your Sweetheart - Wines for Valentines

We were fortunate enough to be visiting the Okanagan this weekend while the Sip with your Sweetheart event was on in West Kelowna. The concept was to visit some of the wineries, sip some wine, and accompany the tasting with a sweet treat. Apparently, this has been going on for a few years and is a great way to kick off the first opening of wineries after the New Year.

Eating sweet things while drinking wine is certainly no easy feat, but the wineries we went to did a great job of rising to the challenge.

Our first stop on the sunny Sunday was Off the Grid winery. We had been there a few years back for the Feast of Field event (which is also a lot of fun, although it costs money while today’s was free).  We actually arrived about 15 minutes early and had to sit in the car while we waited for the event to start! We waited until we saw the truck from Bliss Bakery pull in and  drop off treats for the tasting.

The fine gentleman from Bliss Bakery offering a sweet treat.

The friendly folks from the winery welcomed us as the first customers of the day and then presented us with some wine and a chocolate torte! It was a very tasty way to start off the event. Their wines are  only available direct from the winery.

The wine was a Rosé that had just come off the tank that weekend! It was a 2016 Rosé that has a nice taste and went well with the treat from Bliss. I'm not sure when it will become available for purchase but it would make a nice summer wine - and accompanies chocolate in an agreeable manner.

The winery only had 3 actual wines available for sale - all white. The winery has been closed for most of the winter and were now only opening for special events.

A super deal - and a nice wine - was the 2015 Off the Grid Gewürztraminer that we bought a case of for $99! It had a very floral nose but wasn't too sweet on the palate. It was just fine to slurp on its own but will really go well with chicken, fish, or pulled pork. If you can get to the winery next time it's open, I would highly recommend that you buy a case if it is still available. My only regret is that I didn't buy more!

We also bought a bottle of their 2016 Off the Grid Riesling which was very nice - a bit off dry and full of honey, apricot, and tropical flavours. At $30, it isn't the same amazing deal but was still worth picking up a bottle (which we did).

Next, we headed down the road to Ciao Bella Winery. As we rolled up to this one, it seemed that we were visiting someone's house! We parked, went around the back, and went into the wine shop - which is basically the basement. Outside the wine shop was a hand drawn sign with the wines and prices - drawn in felt pen by a young girl, the youngest of the Fiume family, owners of the winery. The older members of the family inside were very friendly and welcoming as we crammed into the tasting area.

There were three different wines to try, a Pinot Grigio, a Rosé, and a Pinot Noir. Unfortunately, they are only available direct from the winery, from a few stores in Kelowna, or at the Coal Harbour Liquor Store in Vancouver.

I'm not a great fan of Pinot Grigio - I like the Pinot Gris style better - but the 2016 Pinot Grigio ($19) was pretty good - crisp, with stone fruits and a fairly good finish. There were Lindt chocolates to accompany all of the wines and the white chocolate made a nice pairing with the Pinot Grigio.

The wines we really liked, though, pictured above with their wonderfully distinctive Vespa labels, were the Rosé and the Pinot Noir.

The 2015 Pinot Rosé ($20) was made with Pinot Noir grapes and had a fragrant nose. Lots of red fruits like raspberries, strawberries and cherries were both on the nose and on the palate. It had an off dry flavour so would be great with turkey or something spicy.

The 2015 Pinot Nero ($25) was a very flavourful Pinot Noir which, of course, also had the same red fruits on the nose. The taste leaned more to the richer cherry flavours and was a great pairing with the Lindt dark chocolate candy! It would also pair well with a lot of different food (as a good Pinot Noir is known to do) and is wonderful on its own. 

By the way, in the photo above, there is a wooden Pinocchio beside some wine. When we were in Italy with our small children in 2000, we went to Collodi (where the author of Pinocchio came from - and, apparently, took his last name) and visited Pinocchio Park (sort of like a small scale Pinocchio Disneyland) with the kids. At the end of our visit, each of them purchased a wooden Pinocchio - and they were exactly like the one in the wine shop1 Our eldest still has her doll in perfect condition!

After visiting two relatively small, boutique wineries, we went to the big boy of the Okanagan, Mission Hill. This winery sometimes gets a bad rap due to its sheer size and output of wine, but if it weren't for Mission Hill and its visionary owner, Anthony Von Mandl, we'd all still be drinking Calona White, Lonesome Charlie and Moody Blue. Mission Hill is dedicated to making high quality wines that have helped make all Okanagan wines both desirable and recognizable. 

We were greeted at Mission Hill by two of their finest sommeliers, Dan and Bram. Dan explained the five different stations where we could taste a different Mission Hill wine while enjoying a sweet treat. 

First up was their 2015 Limited Edition Viognier ($18 - 10% off during special event). I really enjoy a good Viognier and this did not disappoint. It was very crisp and with apricot and peach flavours. It was paired with a square of milk chocolate which held up well to the wine. 

Next was an amazing pairing - the 2016 Reserve Pinot Noir ($26) with preserved cherries. Mission Hill makes a wonderful Pinot Noir that hits all of the right red fruit notes with the right amount of tannins and just a hint of earthiness. The preserved cherries were made by Mission Hill and were fabulous on their own - but paired with the wine, gastronomical heaven!

Third was the 2015 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($27). This was matched with 80% Dark Chocolate and was another magical pairing! This wine had some nice black fruits including plums, black cherry and black berries on both the nose and the palate. You could definitely age this wine for a few years but was very good to drink now as well.

I somehow misplaced my notes on wine #4 but the last one was another humdinger of a pairing, the 2014 Reserve Riesling Icewine ($25 for a half bottle). There were tropical fruits like banana and citrus fruits on the palate and it paired well with the sweet treat - a piece of locally made fudge. I had the peanut butter chocolate fudge - only a sweet ice wine would have the stuff to match this treat! 

Our last winery for this wonderful event was Rollingdale. Compared to the extravagant experience that is Mission Hill, Rollingdale is out of the way and the wineshop is a quonset hut. From the sublime to the ridiculous?

The setting may be humble but their wines are every bit as good as a finer looking winery. Their wines are available from the winery and some are also available at Save On, various independent liquor stores, and many restaurants.

The treat at this winery was a Purdy's chocolate - my favourite chocolate in the world! We tried the chocolate with their 2016 Fort Port ($20 for 200 ml - made from Marechal Foch) which was very nice - my wife does not usually like Port but the combination of Port and Purdy's please her greatly - and I had to agree! Not quite as nutty as some of the Ports I have enjoyed, it still has a very rich, fruit flavour that is good to drink. In fact, we shared a small bottle later that evening while playing Settlers of Catan.

The 2016 Organic Pinot Gris ($26) was crisp, clean and fruity. It had tastes of apricot and pear and was a fine example of a Pinot Gris.

The 2014 Paint the Town Red ($20) is a mix of Cab Franc, Merlot and Marechal Foch. It was good but lacked the strong character that I have grown to enjoy with Rollingdale's wines. It wasn't terrible, but it just didn't stand out and I wasn't excited about it. Interestingly, my wife enjoyed it quite a lot so - who knows? - maybe this is the wine for you!

Finally we had a taste of the 2014 8 Barrels Merlot ($46). I bought this one at Save On a few months ago and it is currently sitting in our cellar so it was nice to try this one out. It had some great tannins and had that character that I felt was missing with the previous wine. There were some great black fruits such as black currants, black cherries, and plums with some earthiness and leather and a hint of vanilla. This is the type of really stand out Merlot that I enjoy drinking - unlike some other Merlots which can be quite bland. 

Two of my favourite wines from Rollingdale are the Left Bank and the Right Bank wines made in the Bordeaux style. Last year's are sold out but the gentleman I talked to told me that there would definitely be a Left Bank (made from Cab Franc) coming out in the Spring. When I asked why only the Left Bank, he responded that, since some of the larger wineries are going organic (which is a good thing), smaller wineries, like Rolingdale, are finding it more difficult to source organic grapes for their wine (which is a bad thing). 

This was a great event that I would whole heartedly recommend. My only complaint is that I could have spent part of Saturday visiting some of the other wineries that were hosting sips and treats! I'm already looking forward to sipping with my sweetheart in 2019!