This week at the SAQ #14

Some grape varieties are considered synonymous with a region. Think Gamay and Beaujolais, Nebbiolo and Piedmont, and why not Pinot Noir and Burgundy.

Fortunately for the savvy drinkers that we are, the world is less and less dependent on these wine generalizations, which is why a few Spanish vine cuttings (coming from Uruguay...) transported to South Africa a few years ago now provide the capacity to produce a new kind of Albariño in the country.

It is in Robertson that the experiment is taking place. The second most important region for vines in South Africa and better known for its magnificent Chardonnays, which make traditional methods there known as MCC.

The Bruwers family, a Huguenot name if there ever was one, dabbles in bubbly but also enjoys offering us an Albariño aged in stainless steel tanks with about a hundred days on the lees. In the end, a wine a little richer than what you might find in Spain, with stone fruit, but still the minerality characteristic of the variety.

A surprising wine that you will find yourself intellectualizing with friends.

• To accompany it: Yellow tomato salad with feta,
• As an anecdote: It is only the second Albariño produced in South Africa, the first being the initiative of Gordon Newton Johnson of the eponymous house.
• To better understand South African wines, we will follow the workshop on the subject in the fall of '24.
• As long as you're daring to try Albariño, let's try the opposite in terms of flavors with an Alvarinho from Portugal, Solos de Xisto 2021, Aveleda $25 at the SAQ (15091072)

If you are a fan of great Burgundy wines, you will recognize the name Saouma as the duo behind the micro-négociant Lucien Le Moine. The estate produces only about thirty thousand bottles of Grands and Premiers Crus from the Côte-d'Or, each one leaving you a few hundred dollars lighter when you are lucky enough to find them…

Armed with this experience and eager to own the land, because as Mark Twain said, 'Buy land, they're not making it anymore…', they found themselves a superb plot in Orange in Châteauneuf-du-Pape in 2011. From there, they replanted 11 varieties, each more tortured than the last, on soil that is poor and difficult for vines.

The result is this white Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages, a blend of Grenache (70%), Roussanne, Marsanne, and Clairette aged in 500L barrels and concrete vats for 16 months. The wine is left dormant during this period with no pumping over or lees stirring, with prolonged aging on the lees.

The intensity of the nose will remind you of Cyrano, so evident are the citrus and floral notes. The palate is structured, anise-flavored, and long while remaining fresh.

2020 was an excellent vintage for the region with a moderate summer (unlike '19) and an earlier-than-usual harvest. The whites are well-concentrated while maintaining a natural acidity that will allow them to age.

An exceptional white, as are sometimes the great Grenaches from poor soils.

You will soon forget the investment, and if you like the style, the Saouma adventure can begin.

• To accompany it: Pan-seared scallops with a root vegetable purée and a dash of high-quality olive oil,
• As an anecdote: Mounir Saouma is known for his (exaggerated?) use of indigenous yeasts. His claim is that the old masters made wine with prolonged aging on the lees, which educated and exposed the wine to air and time. His style may therefore seem unique to some.
• To better understand the variations of Grenache: We are eagerly awaiting the programming of our grape variety aperitifs,
• And why not a pair of Inopia to explore the house? Inopia in red 2020, also at $39 at the SAQ (14996380)

Because of its incestuous relationships between religion and power, Spain's history is as troubling as it is fascinating. Thus, in the Middle Ages, if you had any aspiration to live beyond thirty, joining a monastic order was a very suitable career choice.

This led to the establishment of monasteries everywhere to spread the faith and push back the Moors who were still present on the peninsula. It was in this logic that the Carthusian monastery of Scala Dei was founded in 1194. At the rhythm of Catholic, Francoist, and ultimately European Spain, the wine vocation of the estate would mark the evolution of Priorat, making it a region prized today by lovers of great red wines based on Grenache.

Before the Palacios, Perez, and Barbiers who put the region on wine maps in the '80s, Scala Dei was already producing these character-filled Grenaches on the licorella (slate) soils. Now renovated and owned by the Codorniu group, they strive to maintain the wine tradition by adopting, slowly, a certain modernity thanks to the good care of Ricard Rofes, who works on the house's 70 hectares.

This entry-level wine from the house highlights an intensity that is less common for us, both in its texture and its alcohol content. Fortunately, the terroir expresses itself, and the floral and mineral notes make the palate pleasant and long.

An affordable tribute to the region's terroir and the history of the house.

• To accompany it: We'll bring out the marinated and grilled veal flank steak on the BBQ,
• As an anecdote: One might expect the stairway to God leading to the charterhouse to be a long and winding road... Unfortunately for climbers, there are only 283 steps to climb, a little less than those of St. Joseph's Oratory…
• To better understand the variations of Grenache: We are eagerly awaiting the programming of our grape variety aperitifs,
• If the geometry of the circle fascinates you as much as the roundness of Grenache, we recommend the Priorat DOCa ‘2 Pi R’ 2021, Gratavinum $37 at the SAQ, especially the one in Fabreville… (11307163)