Grolleau - a different shade of versatility

Grolleau, Clau de Nell, Anne Claude Leflaive VdP du Val de Loire 2011 - 12.5% abv (Demeter)

Personally, I've tasted through as much Grolleau as I have Kopi Luwak coffee. Never! Or perhaps unwittingly... Most blurb is dismissive of the grape to the point of it only being fit for grubbing up, or finger-points to the other more famed guise, Rosé d'Anjou. Can one make a silk purse from a sow's ear? One only has to look at the creativity of the one donning the Chef's toque. In this case winemaker Sylvain Potin under the ownership of Anne Claude Leflaive and Christian Jacques. 

Clau de Nell Grolleau is a) low cropping at 30hl/ha b) made of 60-90 year old vines c) Demeter (bio) certified d) spends 12 months in 5 year old Burgundy barrels e) comes from grit and red silex over tufa soils f) is a delicious match for game birds, white meats, beetroot and goats cheese tatin (to give a drift).

Unfined and unfiltered, the wine is opaque with a garnet core to a pink rim, has a moderate viscosity with a surprising staining of tears. A youthful aromatic nose is redolent of blackberries, wild strawberries, red liquorice, violets, heather and wet soil. 

Medium bodied with a moderate acidity, the primary fruit shows a touch of hollow in the mid-palate, lean and linear, the tannins reveal good ripeness and form a good chain strung with bramble and red fruit, more Gamay-like than possessed of Pinots' subtle charms. Point of note - worthy of decanting at least an hour before gustation, the wine comes around and reveals greater generosity with ferrous notes. 

I'd regard this as a touchstone to the wonderfully versatile rouge of the Loire, from an estate that is only going to up its' game. Point of difference includes the fact that it's a lesser-known grape, is highly cuisine friendly with a malleable medium body, and is a leading example of the varietal from a top producer at a price that rewards. 

http://www.claudenell.fr/eng/chap1_m_eng.php

a magic flautist

Chardonnay is what is done to it, or isn't done to it, goes the winemakers mantra. Probably the most malleable and chameleon of all grapes, Chardonnay in Jura is a most extraordinary fish. If Alsatian blanc is the Trickster with residual sugar up its sleeve, Chardonnay in Jura is a portal into a Hall of Mirrors. 

From Arbois AC, this Pamina Chardonnay 2010 from Domaine de l'Octavin is a) Demeter certified b) unfined and unfiltered d) from the 'La Mailloche' lieu dit d) a match to the most challenging cuisine e) a nod to the lovers Pamina and Tamino who hail from Mozart's rationalist enlightenment opera 'The Magic Flute' f) vinified whole-cluster, macerating on the skins for 3 months, racked and aged for 2 years in 1-4 year-old barrels. 

In appearance the wine is opaque and dull (such a negative and prejudicial word), with a fine sediment. The nose reveals oxidative winemaking with apples, fresh shelled nuts and baked bread. The palate cartwheels with boldness and assertion, apple strudel, quince and a citrus tang with stoney minerality and a medium+ acidity, the nutty tone of fresh shelled almonds and hazelnuts, the wine threads a fine length of fresh baked bread and cream crackers with a finish until tomorrow. 

Such classicism is a silent whisper to those who fashion their Chardonnay with healthy dollops of new oak. Such regionality is a calling card of distinction. 

put a brew on, will you!

Good brews 2014 begin with this find from Siren Brew. What do I hanker for in 2014 in a brew that's going to truly excite and astound? Martial artist, black belted and mega hopped? A Five Alive of Tropical punch? Judicious balance of malt and hops and good water source? Henry, the mild-mannered janitor - could be! 

Following 'Broken Dream' are truly memorable finds from 2013, ales that share a commonality of having had their flavour spiked (Narwhal exempt), and herein lies the alchemy for the most adventurous brewers.

'Broken Dream' Breakfast Stout by Siren Craft Brew 6.5%abv

lovely weight without being a wrestle with Big Daddy, tonal smokey notes (smokey jumper, kindling), autumnal sous bois, coffee walnut cake, cocoa nibs, smooth creamy malty finish. given the reference point as to the diurnal, a food match would be Dorset Cereals Chocolate Granola with Macadmia Nut - but hey, drink responsibly - over the yard arm, if you please!

Grade A, Probably the most stunning ale of 2013 

'Three Philosophers' by Ommegang 9.7%abv -

unique Belgian style blend of Ommegang Quadruple Ale & Liefman's Kriek (from N.Y. Duvel family of brewing, no less). Results of the highest order, Bruges froze over! sometimes brevity of notes is reciprocal to astonishment! 

'Lugene' Chocolate Milk Stout from Odell 8.5%abv -

beginning to appreciate the restraint from Odell. Like someone's spiked your glass of cold chocolate milk - a grind of pepper, some mulchy earth, some twiglets...

Hardknott 'Rhetoric Edition II' 10.2%abv - 

serious gear! astonishing sweet cored stout, viscosity+ like a good linctus, cherry knobbled coffee/prune cake, sous bois, rich mocha and marzipan on the finish. A length until 2014. awesome+ I'm 99 points on that!

'Narwhal' Imperial Stout by Sierra Nevada 10.2%abv - 

hello darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again...

a glorious head like an espresso martini, roast coffee, bitter chocolate, prune tatin, earthy peaty aromatics, black jacks liquorice, fathom deep malty richness, the kind of brew to reflect on Captain Ahab & the Pequod's missions... Call me Ishmael!