Every now and again along comes a wine that you just know is going to be a game changer.
For some time now, leading edge wineries around the world have been experimenting with making wines in amphora, earthenware jars that closely resemble the earliest vessels used in winemaking. One of the most successful producers to date has been Chile's De Martino. De Martino turned heads with its Viejas Tinajas Cinsault 2012. I tasted the wine in London a couple of years ago and was amazed by its fragrance and freshness.
A couple of B.C. wineries have been experimenting with amphora, including Haywire and CedarCreek, whose winemaker Darryl Brooker has also been tasting and collecting amphora wines from around the world. (No doubt, De Martino is among them.) Brooker ordered a clay amphora from Chianti in early 2013 with a view to conducting his own trial and decided to make a natural amphora Cabernet Sauvignon from very stony Desert Ridge vineyard in Osoyoos. I wish there was space to relay the entire process he undertook
here, but here's how he summarized what he did with the hand-harvested grapes: After destemming, he added approximately 500 kilograms of berries to the amphora without any additions such as sulphur dioxide or acid. He then sealed the amphora and walked away. He said his biggest surprise was how hard it was to do nothing. All he wanted to do was open up the amphora and sample the wine, but that would have spoiled the trial.
Not only were no preservatives added but nor was any yeast or malolactic bacteria. It truly is a natural wine, 14.8 per cent alcohol, with no residual sugar. The wine was finished in stainless steel for eight weeks.
CedarCreek Amphora Wine Project: Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 VQA
It's really all about texture, suppleness and approachability that you don't expect from a less than two-year-old red wine. There's a discernible freshness of character and complexity, announced by intense aromas of lively, fresh red and dark berry fruits, followed by layers of redcurrant and herbal hints with mineral undertones and cedar, all unmasked by oak, a pure expression of the varietal (92 points). Only at the winery. Only 360 bottles produced. If you're a B.C. collector it's a must-have, although you may have to wait for the 2014.
Belly's Best: La Marca Prosecco
Here's one more reason why Prosecco is still on a roll: loads of tiny bubbles, floral, and a hint of honey on the nose, followed by citrus, apple and some nuttiness, with a pleasing creaminess. All of which makes it disappear very fast. Fun, flavourful and refreshing ($15.39 before tax at BCLS through July 25, 89 points).
Tim Pawsey writes about wine for numerous publications and online as the Hired Belly at hiredbelly.com. Contact: [email protected].
