This week at the SAQ #16

Making Sauvignon Blanc at an estate called Les Rabichattes is a bit like setting oneself up for jokes about 4-mercapto-4-methylpentan-2-one, which we won't make here as we are a responsible publication...

More seriously, the Sauvignon Blancs spread across the 1,400 hectares of the Pouilly-Fumé appellation are the foundation for high-quality whites, with rich aromas and a distinctive minerality. Limestone, clay, and flint soils are behind this complexity, as is the semi-continental climate, which allows for a long ripening period that amplifies the grape's acidity.

In the case of this ‘Les Loges’ cuvée, we are looking at a blend from about thirty mixed plots of vines aged 40 years and older. Limestone for finesse, clay for structure, and finally Kimmeridgian flint for the gunflint character typical of the appellation. Aging in stainless steel on fine lees brings out the characteristic citrus and vegetal texture. A very fine reintroduction to the appellation and its grape variety, which we too often associate with the New World of wine.

• To pair it with: a goat cheese, spinach, and bacon quiche,
• For the trivia: The name Rabichattes is said to come from an old local patois that indicated a gathering place for does (female deer)...
• To better understand Sauvignon Blanc: Get on the waiting list for the varietal aperitif on the subject this fall!
• Among the good bottles of Sauvignon Blanc from the appellation, one might also choose Pouilly-Fumé Corty Artisan Intro 2022, Patrice Moreux, $32 at the SAQ (14923771)

For four generations, this family has been producing grapes in Mêda in the Douro Superior. The Douro, we often forget, is a fairly vast region, and Quinta Vale do Olmo is located outside the classic fortified wine production areas.

For a long time, the family sold their grapes to the big Port houses, but the two Carvalho Martins brothers decided to make a big move (golpe) and create a cellar suitable for vinification and the production of their own wines. A pact (pacto) would follow, highlighting the qualities of the region and its traditions. In both cases, a range of wines that feature a very modern minerality and freshness.

In the case of this Pacto, we have a blend of four grape varieties with Touriga Francesa dominant, but vinified in a palhete style. As with the revival of Claret styles, the palhete is based on a vinification where the grapes undergo less extraction, resulting in lighter wines (Pinot Noir or Gamay style) with a deeper pinkish color than red. Ultimately, a wine to chill just a bit that will charm with its aromas of wild cherries and crunchy berries.

Buy a few bottles for the beautiful season.

• To pair it with: some charcuterie for aperitif,
• For the trivia: Palhete wines are sometimes produced with blends of white and red grapes in an ancestral style of interplanting and co-fermentation.
• To better understand the wines of Portugal: Get on the waiting list for the workshop on the subject this fall!
• To see what the house does with white wine, Pacto white 2023, $19 at the SAQ (14491251)

We often tell you about houses with multiple generations at the helm or producing wine for hundreds of years. For Chakana, we will set aside heritage to highlight an interesting modernity that focuses on organic, terroir, and the collaboration of different producers in the Lujan de Cuyo region (again...) in Mendoza, Argentina.

The project was born in 2002 with plantings on four different fincas. The Nuna finca, further north, is entirely organic; of its 80 hectares of ungrafted vines, half are Malbec (it is Lujan, after all) and two hectares are Tannat, which produce this wine. Both grape varieties are co-fermented and contain no added sulfites. We are dealing here with biodynamic farming, and the wines are unfined and unfiltered.

With its 80% Tannat, the color is an intense ruby, and the nose shows fig and black berries (Malbec). The attack is fresh with slightly rough tannins that soften upon contact with air. It is a biodynamic variation of grape varieties that are generally worked in a modern way in the Southern Hemisphere. We are keeping a list of superlatives to accompany this Supernatural, available starting Thursday.

• To pair it with: BBQ marinated pork ribs,
• For the trivia: Tannat arrived in South America around 1840 in the luggage of a Basque immigrant who gave some plants to Pascal Harriague, who would become the pioneer of viticulture in Uruguay.
• To better understand the wines of Chile and Argentina: We are trying to put together a workshop on the subject for the fall of '24!
• To see what the house does with white wine, Pacto white 2023, $19 at the SAQ (14491251)