MASI Tupungato Passo Doble 2007

I was intrigued when I first heard of this wine for a few reasons. First it is by the large Italian winery MASI. Second it uses Corvina, an Italian grape, not common in Argentina. Third it uses the process of drying the Corvina grapes (concentrating the juice and sugars) and then fermenting them with the Malbec grapes (a double fermentation). Fourth, Passo Doble is a very macho bullfighting dance from Spain, so I was expecting this to be a very macho wine.

For those that have not heard of, or tried wines from MASI, here is a bit of info. The Boscaini family have been the owners of the Masi vineyards for six generations, starting in the 18th century. They started in the Venetian region and expanded to the Tuscany region. They then crossed contients and started a winery in Argentina. Most people probably know Masi for their Amarone wines, especially COSTASERA AMARONE CLASSICO. This wine is made of a mix of three grapes, Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara, which are dried on straw or bamboo mats before fermenting. You can expect from this wine to be dark red, and have a bouquet of baked fruit, plums and cherries, and a follow through of these flavours on the palate along with coffee and cocoa. Enjoy it with a hearty Italian pasta or meat dish.

And some info about the two grape varieties. Malbec is a grape used in Bordeaux, but never reached prominent status as it needs lots of heat to mature, and Bordeaux did not get hot enough, often enough. But Argentina, and in particular Mendoza, does have nice hot weather so that Malbec can fully ripen. The Malbec grape was brought from France to Argentina in the mid 1900s. It is now the signature RED grape of Argentina. The wines from this grape are typically deep purple in the glass, with plum and other dark fruit flavours and aromas. Sometimes some chocolate notes too.

The Corvina grape comes from the northeast part of Italy and is one of three grapes that go into Valpolicella. The grape has high acidity and sour cherry flavour and produces a light-medium bodied wine on it's own.

So how was the MASI Tupungato Passo Doble 2007 from Argentina? It was a bright purple in the glass. The purple to me coming from the Malbec grape. It had a very smoky, rustic aroma, but behind that was cherry, leather, menthol and cinnamon. On the palate, there was smoke, chocolate, sour cherry, some spice and a green herbal edge. There was not much tannins. It was a bit hot but had a slightly sweet finish, which could be a result of the dried Corvina grapes. There was also a fair bit of acidity which would have been from the Corvina grapes. I'd rate this wine in the interesting category. I'd suggest enjoying this wine with food, and not drinking it on it's own. You need some food to be a foil for the high acid in this wine.

The price in the BCLDB is regular $15.99 but right now is discounted to $14.99 (save $1).

A Taste of LaStella Wines

LaStella Winery is one of the new wineries in the Okanagan, opening it's doors in May 2007. It has a sister winery, which you may have heard of called Le Vieux Pin. I was recently invited to a tasting of LaStella's wines in Yaletown and was very impressed with their wines. LaStella operates their vineyards with a cross between organic and biodynamic practices. They also contract grapes from like minded, quality growers (which I will talk about shortly). They also take great care in the production of the wine, from hand-destemming grapes, to using whole berries for fermentation and using small open-top oak fermentors.

LaStella has both white, rose, and red wines. The two white wines I tried was the Leggiero Unoaked Chardonnay 2008 and the Vivace Pinot Grigio 2008. The Leggiero and Vivace grapes come from the Kalala vineyard. For those that have read my past posts, the Kalala Organic Winery in West Kelowna has produced some wonderful organic wines at a great price point. They also told me that they sell some of their grapes to other wineries. So I was VERY happy to see that LaStella is one of those wineries.

The Leggario had nice mango and pineapple aromas. It was medium body, with light acidity, lime and mineral flavours. The Vivace is a gorgeous, refreshing pinot grigio. It has a crisp citrus and pineapple nose. Good acidity, with pineapple, lime, and mineral flavours. Next I moved on to the Lastellina Rose 2008. This is a merlot based rose. It has a nice salmon colour and a ripe strawberry nose. It is medium bodied, with some spice (cinnamon), and strawberry flavour.

There were 3 reds to enjoy. I found out that the reds are all un-fined and un-filtered, which gives you the closest to a barrel sample experience as possible. The red first was the Allegretto Merlot 2006. It was medium garnet in colour. Ripe plums and light oak on the nose. Medium body and tannins, with black cherry flavours. Their premier wine that evening was the Maestoso Merlot 2006. This wine was deep garnet in colour. Ripe black fruit, cigar box and mocha nose. Ripe black fruit, cherries and mocha flavour, with a cherry finish. The tannins were very fine. This is an exceptional wine. Last but not least was the Fortisimo 2007. This wine will soon be bottled, so we were treated with a sneak taste of this wine. The Fortisimo is a Bordeaux blend, with approximately 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Cabernet Franc. This wine had a very complex nose and aroma. I unfortunately did not take detailed notes on this wine, but it had many flavour dimensions and a long finish.

What's upcoming for LaStella? I heard that they have Sangiovese grapes planted and will be harvesting them to blend with other red varietals to offer their first "Super Tuscan". I joked that maybe it should be a "Super Okanagan". Either way, I look forward to trying this wine. Enjoy!

Other Food and Wine

We all enjoy food with wine. Grilled steaks with a big Aussie Shiraz, or lamb chops with a BC Pinot Noir for example. But have you considered fruit or chocolate? Maybe as a dessert or for before dinner? Grapes are very refreshing to enjoy with wines. I usually have white grapes with white wine. The sugar and acidity in the grapes seem to bring out more flavour in the wine for me. Also chocolate can be fun. We all know that dark chocolate is good for you. While letting some of that 75% cocoa chocolate dissolve in your mouth, why not try a merlot? Merlot is fruiter and has softer tannins than a Cabernet Sauvignon. I have found that Merlot seems to go really well with dark chocolate. I think the chocolate gives the backbone or structure and the Merlot fills the structure with body. It's a nice pairing. Another pairing I like is a sweet wine, such as a Sauternes or a late harvest wine, paired with a sour fruit, such as raspberry. Experiment with other fruits. See what interesting wine/fruit combinations work together. Enjoy!