Cheval Quancard Cuvée Clémence Entre-Deux-Mers 2014

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Cheval Quancard Cuvée Clémence Entre-Deux-Mers 2014 

Lightly colored with green hue. Very typical of what sauvignon blanc can give with lemon, rocks, grass and some saltyness. Round on the palate with tropical fruit, yellon melon and candied lemon. Medium acidity level, the wine still have some freshness to it that supports the wine flaor concentration. Ends on a light green note that I like. Good+ (88)

Made of 70% sauvignon blanc, 20% sémillon and 10% muscadelle. Aged 6 months in oak barrels, 66% of them being new. Alcohol level of 12,5%

Available at the SAQ for 17,30$ (Code SAQ: 10392394)

Cheval Quanquard’s website: chevalquancard.com

Sample proposed by Sélections Fréchette: selectionsfrechette.com

Domaine Piron - Lameloise Chénas Quartz 2014

Domaine Piron – Lameloise Chénas Quartz 2014

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Domaine Piron – Lameloise Chénas Quartz 2014

Dark ruby color. Nose of berries, spices, earth, lots of mineral notes and a hint of flowers. Layered flavors on the palate with fruit notes leading the way, then the spices, earth, flowers and a very tasty and pleasant mineral finish. Exactly the kind of Beaujolais I often need! Very good (89)

Gamay from sloped vineyard at 300m altitude and 60+ years old. 30% of the wine is aged a few months in oak barrel. Alcohol level of 13%

Available at the SAQ for 23,15$ (Code SAQ : 10367412)

Domaines Dominique Piron’s website: domaines-piron.fr

Piron is represented in Québec by Clos des vignes: lccvins.com

 

Weingut Judith Beck Beck Ink Qualitätswein 2014

Weingut Judith Beck Beck Ink Qualitätswein 2014

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Weingut Judith Beck Beck Ink Qualitätswein 2014

Bright ruby color. Nose of berries, spices, smoke, beautiful green notes (I like them!), this feels lively and fresh! So good and fruit loaded with small berry flavors, lots of freshness coming from the wine acidity, have a round mid-palate and ends on a spicy-smoky finish. This was so tasty! Very good (89)

Made of 90% Zweigelt and 10% St-Laurent. Aged 12 months in used oak barrels. Certified organic and from Qualitätswein level. Alcohol level of 12,5% 

Available through private import only at the moment…

Weingut Beck’s website: weingut-beck.at

Represented in Québec by Vinealis: vinealis.qc.ca

Catena Malbec Mendoza 2014

Catena Malbec Mendoza 2014

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Catena Malbec Mendoza 2014

Purple color. Nose of black berries, ink, bitter chocolate, spices and oak, this is powerful and not so delicate! A little edgy and intense on the palate at first, this wine is quite tasty on the same flavors as caught on the nose. Would be better to wait a little before opening a bottle of this wine, or give it some air and pair it with a nice piece of red meat and it would do just fine! Clear ageing capacity for 10 years+. Very good (89) 

Made of 100%  Malbec from 4 vineyards located between 920 andet 1450m altitude. Aged 12 to 14 months in French oak barrels of one to three uses. Alcohol level of 13,5%

Available at the SAQ for 21,95$ (Code SAQ : 00478727)

Catena’s website: catenawines.com

Sample proposed by Réserve et Sélection / Trialto: trialto.com

Faustino V Reserva Rioja 2009

Faustino V Reserva Rioja 2009

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Faustino V Reserva Rioja 2009

Dark red cherry color. Nose of berries, spices (cinnamon and vanilla) and oak. Smooth on the palate with classical flavors of berries, spices and vanilla, plus rich but round oak notes. Good+

Made of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Mazuelo. Aged 16 months in American oak barrels. Alcohol level of 13,5% 

Available in SAQ stores for 19,95$ (Code SAQ : 10857497)

Bodegas Faustino’s website: bodegasfaustino.com

Sample proposed by Select Wines: selectwines.ca

Domaine Jean-Louis Chave L'Hermitage 2012

Domaine Jean-Louis Chave L’Hermitage 2012

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Domaine Jean-Louis Chave L’Hermitage 2012

I’ve heard many times that a Great wine should be drinkable at every step of its ageing process, from its early youth to a fully mature stage. It might be more theory based since it’s pretty rare that one have to chance to open that type of wine more than once, especially when young since one of the goal of having that type of bottle is to lay them down for medium to lo9ng ageing. Well not long ago, I was lucky enough to have to opportunity to taste one of these Grand Vin at an early stage of its life…

Tasted bling with wine geek friends, here is my comments on this week Grand Vin:

Purple color. Nose of black pepper, black berries and bacon. No doubt, this wine is made out of Syrah! Lively and structured on the palate with ripe fruit, the sun does show its presence on the wine. Then comes the spices (anise) on a medium intense structure with a very long finish. This is a beautiful and perfume wine quite approachable now. I guessed a young Cornas wine. Excellent+ (92)

Made of 100% Syrah grapes from Les Bessards, l’Hermite and Le Méal vineyards. Long ageing in oak barrels with 10% new barrels. Alcohol level of 14%

More information on Domaine Jean-Louis Chave: domaine-jean-louis-chave

Réserve et Sélection (Trialto) is the agencey representing Chave in Québec: trialto.com

Domaine Chasselay Fleurie La Chapelle des Bois 2014

Domaine Chasselay Fleurie La Chapelle des Bois 2014

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Domaine Chasselay Fleurie La Chapelle des Bois 2014

Dark ruby color. Nose of spices, berries and flowers. On the palate the wine is juicy but serious, with a cool climate Cabernet Franc like finish on spices and really fresh. Huge acidity and also have a great minerality. Very good (89)

Made of Gamay. Organic Ecocert certified. Alcohol level of 12,5% 

Available at the SAQ for 24,90$ (Code SAQ : 12454632)

Domaine Chassenay’s website: domaine-chasselay.com

They are represented in Québec by Vins Balthazard: vinsbalthazard.com

Château Pape Clément Grand Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan 2001

Château Pape Clément Grand Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan 2001

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Château Pape Clément Grand Cru Classé Pessac-Léognan 2001 

The traditionalism side from a wine is not a flaw to me, it’s even something I’m looking for in a wine when I want to cellar an age worthy bottle or simply to enjoy, as I like the style! That’s where Bordeaux wines or Bordeaux blend styles wines (as some Californian or Italian wines do) comes in handy since they are some of my favorites.

Glad I was when, at a lunch with wine geek friends, I was faced to this blog post wine. Tasted blind at first, did well identifying the Bordeaux blend, which I liked as explained earlier. Here is my tasting note:

Dark cherry color. Nose of old wood, spices, dark berries, earth, so fine and classy. With air the Bordeaux origin does show more. On the palate there is no doubt that this is a Bordeaux blend type of wine with some minerality, finesse all the way, deep and long, the luxurious oak ageing still showing without being heavy. Also had flavors of black berries, spices and slightly bitter green bell pepper notes. Very long finish. I was aiming at a Bordeaux blend from Tuscany. Excellent+ (92)

Made of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc. Aged 18 months in oak barrels. Alcohol level of 13%

This 2001 is not available anymore in SAQ stores, but here is a link to what’s left of other vintages of that wine: Pape Clément wines availability

The Château Pape Clément is a property of Bernard Magrez: bernard-magrez.com

Domaine Pattes Loup Chablis Villages 2014

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Domaine Pattes Loup Chablis Villages 2014 

Pale gold straw color. Nose of lemon, wet rocks, honey and flowers. Round on the palate with flavors of lemon, honey and flowers with that mineral and salty notes of wet rocks. The acidity kicks in in the finish that last in freshness. The kind of Chablis I like! Very good (90)

Made of Chardonnay from 55 years old vines. Aged in a mix of stainless tanks and concrete eggs. Alcohol level of 12,5%

Available in SAQ stores for 34,75$ (Code SAQ :12610789)

Domaine Pattes Loup’s website, property and managed by Thomas Pico: pattes-loup.com

Oenopole represents Thomas Pico’s wine in Québec: oenopole.ca

Domaine Pattes Loup Chablis Villages 2014

Henry Marionnet Domaine de la Charmoise Touraine 2015

Henry Marionnet Domaine de la Charmoise Touraine 2015

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Henry Marionnet Domaine de la Charmoise Touraine 2015

Purple and dense color, quite unusual for Gamay wines. Nose of red and black berries, spices, earth and mineral notes. Wide on the palate, much more than previous vintages of this wine, really tasty and more concentrated, the sun does show through the wine, which makes it even more quaffable! Good+ (88)

Made of Gamay from vines planted between 1967 and 1978. Aged in tanks. Alcohol level of 12,5%

Available at the SAQ for 18,15$ (Code SAQ : 00329532)

Henry Marionnet’s website: henry-marionnet.com

Sample proposed by La Société de vins fins: www.sdvf.ca