APRIL 2022 FEATURED PREMIUM WINES
WINE ONE: CHARLES DUFOUR BULLES DE COMPTOIR
About: This wine comes from Charles Dufour’s organic vineyard in Landreville, a village in Champagne’s southern Côte des Bar. Classic Kimmeridgian chalk soils merge with heavier clay marls leading to an intermingling of poise and power. This release is a blend of Pinot Noir (60%), Chardonnay (30%), and Pinot Blanc (10%). 80% of the wine comes from the 2018 vintage, and 20% comes from vintages as far back as 2010. He ferments three-quarters of his wines in barrel while the remainder ferments in stainless steel. Both primary fermentation and malolactic conversion are done with indigenous microorganisms. After bottling, the wine spends 15 months on lees during secondary fermentation. It was disgorged in January 2021 and sees an extra-brut dosage (<3g/l). No additional SO2 was added.
Taste: This wine is medium gold with small bubbles. The nose is visceral, immediately playing at your emotions; joy and sorrow all wrapped into one. You’ll find aromas of chaga, white asparagus, praline, parchment, church candles, button mushroom, fresh wholewheat bread, dried yellow plums, candied almonds, sandalwood, pear, daffodil, caraway, and white pepper. It’s easy to get lost in this wine - it doesn’t seem to have any corners or even any defined edges, it just keeps expanding in every direction, like being lost in a cloud. There’s a real warmth as well; it’s inviting and kind. It may be a silly comment, but it smells ‘real’. It doesn’t feel like something that was made - just a beautiful place that exists, distortions and all. On the palate, the wine is dry with a rich, savoury, modestly oxidative finish. I like to drink this wine over two days, watch it expand and evolve.
Pairing: Champagne is the world's easiest wine to pair with food. Here’s a quick list of my favourite combinations: fried chicken, mapo tofu, oysters, white asparagus, sashimi, hotdogs, pho, Cantonese chow mein, scrambled eggs, croissants, and so forth.
WINE TWO: KAMARA PET-NAT
About: This wine is made from a blend of Assyrtiko and Malagousia. The grapes are direct pressed into tank where the juice spontaneously ferments. It is kept at extremely cool temperatures and is racked off its gross lees. The following year, the wine is bottled with a small amount of unfermented Xinomavro for secondary fermentation. The wine is released undisgorged at roughly 5 bars of pressure.
Taste: This wine is somewhere between peachy-pink and sunset-orange; I’m sure someone out there can send me their best Pantone approximation. The nose is energetic with aromas of mandarin orange, pink strawberry, nectarine, wildflowers, sweet sage, pumpkin, allspice, and oolong. The palate is frothy and supple with a juicy and vinous texture. Although the wine is bone dry, it has the illusion of sweetness. In the context of sparkling wine, it is medium-bodied with plenty of length. You’ll find further flavours of candied ginger, rambutan, cantaloupe, peach blossom, angelica, and cara cara peels.
Pairing: The first restaurant I ever took a date to was The Broken Plate in Kensington. To my teenage eyes, it looked equal parts classy and approachable, the ideal location to show off my worldliness and seasoned palate (two descriptors that are anything but accurate). The only thing I can really remember about the date was the calamari. I had never had squid before but in the heat of the moment, I ordered us a plate to start. Forgetting my youthful fear of seafood (common amongst landlocked Canadians) I confidently dove in. Crispy batter, bouncy toothsome squid, zesty tzatziki, magma hot cherry tomatoes, and a little squeeze of lemon to brighten the whole thing. It may be a kitsch dish now, but it will always have a soft spot in my heart. Order some calamari, crush this wine, and feel youthful infatuation and wonder.
WINE THREE: RYAN STIRM CABERNET PFEFFER
About: There are less than 10 acres of Cabernet Pfeffer left in the world. Ryan believes it may be Bordeaux’s long-forgotten Mourtaou/Mancin, but there are so many origin stories floating around in the literature, we’re not sure what to believe anymore. The grapes were grown in San Benito County at a few old vine vineyards including Wirz. The grapes were fermented in open-top redwood fermenters with roughly two-thirds stem inclusion. After two weeks the wine was pressed off into old barrel for a ten-month élevage. 245 cases produced. 6.3g/l TA, pH 3.79
Taste: This wine is deceivingly pale in the glass -transparent ruby with bricky edges. The nose is perfumed, the aromas waft, like essential oils or incense. You’ll find notes of red currant, cedar, cubeb, dried rose, blood orange, red plum skins, black tea, cinnamon sticks, and warm sandstone. The palate is equally paradoxical. It is medium-bodied but with sturdy tannins that immediately remind me of Barbaresco. The acidity is fresh but balanced by delicate fruits and a resinous finish. You’ll find additional flavours of sandalwood, gardenia, blonde tobacco, cranberry, cascara, patchouli, and nutmeg.
Pairing: I usually try to keep my pairings local, but in this case, I can’t help but suggest Carbonara. Something about this wine feels so Italian to me even though it’s made from a French grape grown in California. I’d replace the guanciale with lamb belly if you can find it; the extra bass notes and umami will lift this wine even further. Don’t cheap out on the cheese here; you want something old that has a nutty sweetness, again, allowing this wine to really shine.