ALL WHITE WINE CLUB
JANUARY 2022
THERE’S SNOW IN THEM THAR HILLS
Deep and seemingly endless dumps of snow, like what’s just been experienced in Tahoe, are worthy of celebration for so many reasons. Clearly, any moisture in the state of California this year is an incredibly welcome sight, but when it comes in the form of snowpack that can more slowly feed our aquifers come spring melt it is far more fabulous.
Secondly, just the sheer excitement deep snow evokes in the middle of a winter where there is so much distraction and apprehension can only be seen as extremely cathartic. Get out and play in the snow, whenever you have the chance.
Showcased this month are four fabulous wines from the French Alps to the Italian Dolomites that are the perfect accompaniment to your winter frolic, wherever it may be.
– Kevin Wardell, January 2022
DOWNLOAD A PDF OF THE TASTING NOTES HERE.
ABBAZIA DI NOVACELLA
Isarco, Alto-Adige, Italy 2020
KERNER [KER-nur]
A white grape variety that is actually a cross breed between Riesling (yum!) and a very light skinned red grape called Vernatsch (or Schiava, also yum!) Kerner is one of a few successful Riesling hybrids from Germany and, as you might imagine, is easily recognized by it’s delightfully floral aromatics. But beyond the nose, what makes this grape truly unique is the slightly textured finishing grip (from the Schiava side of the family tree, of course.)
The Abbazia (Abbey) was founded in the village of Novacella in 1142 by the Augustinian Order of Canons Regular. Yes, we’re talking Mountain Monks. They have taken all the traditional vows that most monks do, but their primary goal and foundation is to support the local community as stewards of the land. They grow grapes (and make incredible wines) as well as farming other local staples like apples and vegetables, to help feed the community. They are also the local historians and run a viticultural focused school. This vital resource has grown to be such an important part of the region’s growth in regards to producing high quality wines – so much so that the Abbey’s enologist Celestino Lucin was recognized by Gambero Rosso as Winemaker of the year in 2009.
Sometimes it’s those “easy drinkers” that bring the most joy to people’s palates, and oftentimes Kerner can fit gently into that category. This wine, although super easy to love, is more of a mineral forward karate kick Kerner where Sancerre faces off with Kamptall. Think of a mountain spring in a blooming wildflower meadow, rolling over broken granite and topped up with lemongrass and microplaned grapefruit skins and beeswax. Ripping crunchy acidity works over the salivary glands, but with just enough of a sweet kiss of guava on the finish to make it all say AAAaaaaaah.
The hybrid Kerner was created in 1969 in Württemberg and named after a local poet, Justinius Kerner.
KOFERERHOF
Isarco, Alto-Adige, Italy 2019
SYLVANER [sihl-vah-ner]
An Austrian native grape that shows incredible ageability… but also very rarely considered to produce great quality wines. It shares the distinction with Mŭller-Thurgau (a more popular cross between Riesling and Sylvaner) as being the most widely planted grape in the Isarco Valley and there are many small vineyards peppered throughout these mountains that were planted post World War II. So the potential in these old-vine Sylvaner vineyards are most certainly there – it just seems to take producers like Günther Kershbaumer who think outside the local traditions to coax the potential out of them.
If you can imagine the narrow Isarco Valley bookended by terraced vineyards, it is really easy to understand that land ownership is a complicated subject at best. What little developable space there is lies between steep inclined terrain, pointed straight up into the Alps. So it is no wonder that Günther Kershbaumer runs out of wine, he just doesn’t have enough vines. His white wines are sought after and gobbled up quickly as there are many that consider them to be some of the best in Italy. His white wines are powerful and precise, coming from maticiculsy tended vines at 700-800 meters. The Sylvaner grape does not get any better than this in Italy.
Sylvaner does not always follow suit with the typical Alto-Adige white grape profile when it comes to their distinct floral aromatics, however, minerality and vibrancy level-up this expected comparison. Spicy on the nose and in the mouth, like coriander and white pepper with a herbal lemon thyme and lime leaf backbone. The mid-palate is like a bag of dried apple chips and salted almonds and it displays an edge that is more than just crisp acid; more like a green limestone switchblade cutting through fresh granny smith apples.
Like many other estates in the Valle Isarco, the family previously sold their grapes to the Abbazia di Novacella and only began bottling their own wine in 1995.
ANDRÉ ET MICHEL QUÉNARD
ROUSSETTE DE SAVOIE
Chignin, Savoie, France 2020
ALTESSE [AHL-tess]
Altesse could easily be one of the more intriguing white grapes in France, if anyone had much chance to try it. Sadly there is very little. And the confusing names like Seyssel or, in this case, Roussette do nothing good for its personal brand recognition either. But the good news is that the quality of wines made from it has increased substantially in recent years. There is some debate as to where it originated (Hungary? Cyprus?) but there is little question that its current home nestled amidst the French Alps is the perfect place for its roots to grow.
Michel and his son Guillaume Quénard are the current stewards of this winery, passed down from Michels grandfather. The extended Quénard family in this area is a bit ubiquitous, in that when you reach the Chignin area and glance at a roadside directing you to a local winery, it’s more likely than not that it contains the Quénard surname. A&M Quénard is one the most important producers, however, as they are considered masters of the Chignin (Roussanne) grape, and have also helped champion and bring to prominence other local varieties as well.
The Pear rarely gets its just due. It is such a unique fruit, aromatically as well as in flavor, that when it can be distinctly identified in a wine, it is actually pretty exciting. Well this is a just bowl full of mountain pears, sprinkled with lemon zest and drizzled with a fresh quince jus, being enjoyed on an early spring day after a good long snowshoe along a softening glacier. Clean yet expressive, lean yet dynamic. Wines like this can be unjustly overlooked sometimes, like the pear, but the nuances can be much better experienced after the wine has warmed up and opened up in the glass. Drinking this cold and quick is the easy route, and there’s no blame there either.
The Savoie is portioned out over long distance but the region all told is under 5,000 acres and only accounts for a mere 0.5% of French wine. And 70% of its production is white.
DOMAINE GIACHINO ‘MONFARINA’
Montmélian, Savoie, France 2020
JACQUÈRE [jah -KEHR]
The Jacquère grape is the most widely planted of Savoie’s 23 grape varieties, yet few take it very seriously. This early budding, generously yielding variety is primarily planted on lime-rich glacial material and scree, at altitudes ranging from 800 to 1800ft. For a long while it was made into very low alcohol, meh wines, which were consumed primarily by thirsty ski tourists. But a recent shift in attitude has flip-floped its fate, and now a number of growers are limiting their yields, employing progressive winemaking techniques, and bringing us nuanced, expressive and terroir-driven Jacquère.
Frédéric Giachino has been producing wine in his domain for more than 20 years, and utilising Organic farming techniques for half of that time. Located in the Chartreuse Hills, his vines grow along the limestone slopes of Mount Granier. The soil here is a result of an ancient tragedy of local legend. In 1248, a huge landslide sent 500 million square metres of rock crashing down onto the surrounding villages, completely destroying five of them. The soil today, rich in limestone and clay, is made up of that rock tragedy. With an average altitude of 1,500 metres, with 36 peaks reaching more than 3,500 metres, the Savoie climate can be unforgiving, and the landscape offers only limited space for viticulture… and yet the land is actually indeed perfect for growing these vines.
Mint, Thyme, Sprite. Well, kinda? There is no denying that “Li-mon” quality. But clearly there is so much more to this wine than that. Let’s start with that alpine minerality just pouring out of the glass – what we like to call glacier milk. Second, there is that blend of bright young herbs and a zip of spiciness to lend some structure. The fruit here is a circus of citrus as well as lick of lychee and a satisfyingly, salivatingly skosh of saline.