Don’t ignore carignan, aligoté
In my continuing effort to promote wines made with lesserknown grapes, here are a white and red that play second fiddle to other more “name brand” grapes in their respective regions. Why try them? Because they are worth it. Remember that it is up to us as consumers to help protect the rich fabric created by the diversity in grape varieties. And how do we do that? By buying and trying. Carignan
Up until the early-2000s, carignan was France’s most planted red grape variety, with the majority found in France’s LanguedocRoussillon. But, for the last two decades, carignan has been the object of a vine pullout scheme whereby grape growers were paid to rip them out and replace them with what were considered “better grapes,” like syrah.
The reason for the hate was that carignan was being blamed for the Languedoc’s reputation for producing way too much poor quality bulk wines. And the view was not completely unfounded. Carignan is a vine that can, if allowed to do so, produce extremely large yields, and many grape growers were happy to let it do just that. It’s not a particularly “exuberant” grape in flavour and aromas, so when the vines are allowed to yield so high, the results are rarely memorable wines.
But carignan is coming back. When I was in the Languedoc a few years back, many carignan-loving winemakers mentioned that the problem was that there was simply too much of it planted, and often in the wrong places. Because it was considered a workhorse grape, there to add colour, acid and tannin to a blend, the best growing sites were often given to syrah, grenache or mourvèdre, while carignan was relegated to the plains.
Another thing they mentioned was that the carignan vine really only starts to produce grapes with more complexity after it is 30 or 40 years old. So from an economic standpoint, it requires a certain patience if it is to be used to make great wines either on its own, or as a dominant part of a blend.
Despite the pulling out of the vines, there are still many that are over 60 years old. Many winemakers see these older vines as part of southern France’s heritage and have started to produce wines that are 100-per-cent carignan. And they are fantastic. The aromatics can be stunning, very floral and with a decidedly earthy edge. For younger vines, many winemakers are using carbonic maceration, a technique used in Beaujolais, to coax out these aromatics.
There are a number of winemakers, from France to Chile to California, who love the grape. When I was judging the Chilean National Wine Awards two years ago, two of my top five wines were made entirely with carignan. One of those wines was from De Martino, and winemaker Marcelo Retamal told me he found old vines down in the Maule region that were being used in blends for basic table wines. But when he started reducing the yields and working the vines, he was amazed by the quality. And during my last trip to California, one of my favourite wines I tasted came from Randall Grahm who, like Retamal, found old carignane (as they spell it in California) vines in the Contra Costa area.
So what do you serve with carignan-based wines? Because of their tannic structure, these are wines that are made for red meat. And because they can bring a defin-
NAME-BRAND GRAPES THEY ARE NOT, but these two are worth a second look
ite note of licorice and other spices, it can match up with some flavourful meat dishes.
In honour of this much-maligned grape, International Carignan Day is Feb. 29. You can read more about the grape at carignanday.net. All they ask is that you try one. Check today’s suggestions for some ideas. Aligoté
It’s the other white grape of Burgundy. While wine-heads love to wax poetic about the glories of Burgundian chardonnay, very few ever even drink aligoté. Most often, its claim to fame is that it is technically supposed to be the base wine for a kir (white wine with a drop or two of crème de cassis). But even then, aligoté is so disrespected that most people will gladly replace it with whatever inexpensive white wine is hanging around in the fridge.
But much like Alsace’s sylvaner, which is considered by many to be the poor man’s riesling, aligoté can produce some great wines. Yes, aligoté rarely produces what is referred to as “complex” wines, but part of that problem is due to a prejudice by many critics and consumers against wines whose beauty lies in their simplicity. Think Muscadet here.
DNA profiling has linked aligoté to both pinot noir and an ancestral grape of eastern France known as gouais blanc. As the vine is hardier than chardonnay, it can withstand cooler growing conditions. It flowers earlier and ripens faster, and it is often planted in higher altitudes and less sunny locations. In this way it is much like dolcetto in Italy’s Piedmont region.
As is often the case with these earlier ripeners, the wines tend to show high acidities and minerality as opposed to a ton of fruit. If there is a bias against it, it is because all too often grape growers have pushed the vines to yield too many grapes, which produce wines that have little depth.
But things are changing. As freshness and drinkability in white wines are becoming increasingly desired by consumers, many wineries are starting to take pride in their Bourgogne aligotés. You should try the 2009 Henri Naudin Ferrand ($17.30, SAQ # 11589703), listed below in today’s suggestions, for a great example of what aligoté can be. It might raise the price of the bottle by a few dollars, but many consumers are prepared to pay a little more if a wine is well made.
And with warmer summer temperatures becoming more frequent in northern climates, maybe a new respect for aligoté might bring grape growers back to the days when a small amount of the grape was co-planted with chardonnay, so that if the chardonnay got too flabby because of a warm growing season (like 2009), aligoté would be there to bring some much-needed acidity.
So what to drink with aligoté? It is the perfect white for an apéritif, with or without the cassis. And because of its minerality, it is also a great match for any lighter seafood, like oysters, shrimp or squid. Your turn to taste
One of my favourite tastings is back. Organized by Raspipav, the wine agencies who specialize in private import wines, La Renaissance des Appellations is a tasting that celebrates biodynamic grape growing and natural winemaking. With more than 60 producers offering 250 wines to taste, if you are interested in wines that are made without the helping hand of chemical interventions and other manipulations, this is your chance. When: Wednesday Time: 5:30 to 9 p.m.
Where: The Loft Hotel, 334 Terrasse St. Denis, 514-439-1818
Cost: $38 To register: larenaissancedesappellations.eventbrite.ca