Every so often I have some customers who comment that they ‘only drink blends’ or ‘only drink straight varietals’ implying that the opposite is somehow lesser. As if only cheaper wines are blended, or vise-versa. I’m here to tell you that there is zero quality correlations between wines that are blended or not. Some of the world’s very best wines are both blends or single varietal. Look no further than Burgundy or Bordeaux: Burgundy reds are always 100% Pinot Noir. And Bordeaux reds are for the most part always blends. While Bordeaux reds are allowed to be 100% single varietal, but they rarely are. And both regions are some of the most historic, traditional, and expensive wines in the world.

But it is common for people to think terroir is better showcased through a single varietal wine. There’s definitely arguments to be made for that, particularly if tasting comparatively against other wines, it keeps varietal variables limited to the same grape flavours involved. But there is an equally as strong case for the traditional reasons behind regional blends and the varieties native to the area. So this week we’re going to explore some of the most famous traditional red blends from the old world and why they’re blended.

This week we continue our weekly Saturday Lockdown Zoom tastings featuring any of these Traditional Red Blends. If you’d like to participate, here’s what you need to do:

1) Buy any of these wines featured this week, either by-the-case from Lifford or stop by the Byward Wine Market and grab a bottle, or order online for in-store pickup or delivery within Ottawa. Since we don’t carry Italian Wines at the Wine Market, we will have the two Speri wines featured next door at La Bottega this week.
2) Then just email me to let me know which bottle you have and that you’d like to join the Zoom.
3) I’ll reply with the Zoom link and see you online Saturday at 7pm!

I thought this week we would narrow it down to just 3 different regions/styles for the Zoom tasting featuring the Rhone Valley, Valpolicella, and the Douro Valley. I’ve given 2 different options for Rhone and Valpolicella just for style and price point, but you can certainly taste the varietal nature with any wines from the 3 regions, you don’t need all 5 wines.

RHONE VALLEY, FRANCE

Old Grenache vines and the incredibly rocky soils of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, with the town in the background.

One of France’s most famous regions, the Rhone Valley. In the northern Rhone, Syrah is King. Think Côte Rôtie, Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Cornas, or Saint-Joseph. All either 100% Syrah wines or sometimes blended with some Viognier—that’s right, with some white wine! But the southern Rhone is all about blends. Think Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Rasteau, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, or even the famously accessible Cote-Du-Rhone wines. Down there, Grenache is the maestro that leads the choir, with Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault and a coterie of others filling out the chorus line. Grenache is originally from Spain (aka Garnacha or Garnaxa), and by volume is still mostly produced in Spain, but is probably most internationally famous today from France. Chateauneuf-du-Pape Reds are the crown jewel of Rhone wines and can include up to 15 varieties including 4 whites. On top of that you have very stony soils, low rain fall, and harsh winds that help cool the hot summer days and also keep disease pressure down. Depending on where it’s grown and how it’s made, Grenache can go from fruity and juicy to spicy and leathery. It’s a complex shape-shifter that gets even more interesting when the rest of the band joins in.

CHATEAU DU TRIGNON, COTES-DU-RHONE | FRANCE, 2018
$21.99 x12 from Lifford Wines, or $25 per bottle from Byward Wine Market
As classic an example of Cotes du Rhone as you’ll find. 50% Grenache, 40% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre, 5% Cinsault. It’s floral and balanced with 13.5% alcohol showing nice cherry and plum notes with a bit of peppery spice from the Syrah. Chateau du Trignon has been owned for generations by the Quiot family. They’re based in Gigondas and have always specialized in Grenache-based Gigonas, Vacqueyras, and Cotes du Rhone wines. A killer value for everyday wine that shows what Grenache in Rhone is about while also showcasing Syrah in a very prominent way. These also come from estate vineyards specifically designated for great Cotes du Rhone, it’s not the 2nd or 3rd pressing of Gigondas or Rasteau declassified to Cotes du Rhone that taste cheap. This is the real deal that’s smooth enough to drink on it’s own, but really delivers with a richer meal.

DOMAINE DUCLAUX, CHATEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE, | FRANCE, 2013
$58.99 x6 from Lifford Wines, or $65 per bottle from Byward Wine Market
Named for when the Pope moved to nearby Avignon in 1309, Chateaneuf-du-Pape is the famous crown jewel of the Southern Rhone. The Duclaux family is one of the oldest in Chateauneuf and were one of the first members to join the official appellation in 1904. The Duclaux family of Chateauneuf were friends with the Quiot Family of Gigondas for generations, and when the Duclaux’s had no heirs to continue their legacy, they bequeathed their vineyard to the friends the Quiots, as they knew they would carry on their legacy with pride. To this day, nothing has changed about Domaine DuClaux’s traditional winemaking, the style, or even the label. They have only added the same Famillie Quiot foil top that goes over all the corks on the rest of their family wines. Traditionally Chateauneuf reds are at least 60% Grenache with the rest of the varieties filing in after that. In this case, we have 67% Grenache, 22% Syrah, 5% Mourvedre, and the remaining 6% is a blend of other varieties. Aging in large wood vats for 24 months, really allows the varietal characteristics to develop; and with some nice age developing since 2013 you really begin to see its beauty. It tastes like stewed strawberries, licorice, dried herbs, leather, and hints of smoked meat and white pepper. A real beauty.

VALPOLICELLA

Luca Speri, overlooking his family vineyard, from my 2015 visit.

Wine has been made in the Valpolicella region north of Veneto for thousands of years. And Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara are the holy trinity of grape varieties. The made the most classic, juicy and easy drinking, prototypical Italian reds. Having Pizza or pasta? You can default to a nice Valpolicella Classico. The wines are usually unoaked made in large neutral oak or cement vats with a blend of the 3 grapes with Corvina leading the charge. Amarone is the flagship wine of the region, for this they dry the 3 grape varieties on straw mats for around 100 days. They lose about half of their water weight and shrivel, secreting the sugars and essentially making raisins out of them. These raisin grapes are then pressed and fermented creating a powerful wine that tastes like earthy dried fruit. It smells sweet, but drinks dry and elegant. Then, Ripasso was later created by adding the pressed skins of the dried friut from the Amarone to the still fermenting unoaked Valpolicella Classico juice. This gives the Valpolicella Classico a bit more body, and a richer, dried fruit nuance from the Amarone skins. They call this Ripasso, because the Valpolicella Classico is being “re-passed” through the Amarone skins. Some people refer to Ripassos as Baby Amarone’s, but the winemakers prefer to call them more muscular Valpolicellas…because nothing really compares to an Amarone. This week we skipped the Amarone, as they’re all very pricey and we wanted to keep this accessible, but we have an excellent Classico and Ripasso from one of the most famous houses in Vapolicella. If you’re still interested in the Amarone, click here for details. It’s one of the very best.

SPERI, VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO | ITALY, 2019
$21.99 x12 from Lifford Wines, or $25 per bottle at La Bottega Nicastro
Luca Speri is the…I don’t know, 7th? 9th? Generation of Speri family making wine in Valpolicella. They own the ‘Sant Urbano’ vineyard that makes their famous single vineyard Amarone. But Luca always says his grandfather’s adage was that you cannot judge a Valpolicella winery by it’s Amarone, as everyone puts all their best fruit and best efforts into that top wine. You need to judge a winery by their Valpolicella Classico, because that wine is raw and naked. No oak, no drying of the grapes, nothing. Straight up terroir and transparent winemaking. Here is where you taste quality. And Luca’s grandfather believed if your base wine is the best, the rest of your top wines will also be. So as famous as their Amarone is, the Valpolicella Classico was their most important wine. Think lighter bodied, juicy, minerally, a bit spicy and herbaceous awesomeness that begs for a piece of Pizza. And then a second glass.

SPERI, VAPOLICELLA RIPASSO | ITALY, 2018
$29.99 x12 from Lifford Wines, or $35 per bottle at La Bottega Nicastro
True, classic Ripasso is meant to be dry and elegant as well…like traditional Amarone but a little lighter. Unfortunately in the last 20 years there has been a trend toward pandering to the international mass palate of sweetness and a lot of traditionally dryer wines have been made sweeter. Ripasso in general has suffered from this, but there are still many excellent classic examples of “proper” Ripasso. And Speri is one of the really good ones. And it’s so perfect for this time of year. It’s like the comfort food of wine. And part of the reason for it’s quality and elegance goes back to the Speri family making their Valpolicella Classico quality of the utmost importance, because it is the same Valpolicella Classico juice that gets re-passed through the Amarone skins, making the Ripasso top quality as well. It’s like the Classico is the foundation, and as long as it’s awesome, everything built on top of it will be too.

DOURO VALLEY, PORTUGAL

It’s hard to capture the expansive beauty of Quinta da Romaneira’s terraced vineyards, down towards the Douro River at the bottom. From my visit in 2017.

When most people think of Portugese wine, they think of the sweeter, fortified Port Wine from the Douro River Valley made from predominantly Touriga Nacional, the most famous local grape. But Touriga and all it’s friends make some less famous, but equally as amazing and historic red blends. Grapes had been grown and wine made on the terraced slopes of the Douro River since the end of the Roman Empire in 3rd and 4th centuries. And as far back as records on quality wine go, blends have been where it’s at for showcasing the strength of this region as well. These are mostly big varieties that require lots of sunshine and heat units to ripen. So they’re planted on carefully terraced vineyards into the rocky, interesting terroir of the Douro River hillsides. All the best wine is made on the north side because it is south-facing slopes that get the majority of the good daytime sun. This area is about 3-4 hours inland from the port city of Porto. Historically all the wines were made at the vineyards and loaded onto riverboats and shipped downriver into the city for aging, warehousing, and selling. A real site to see and a UNESCO World Heritage Site for it’s historic human achievements in its development.

QUINTA DA ROMANEIRA, ‘R DE ROMANEIRA’ | PORTUGAL, 2016
$22.99 x12 from Lifford Wines, or $25 per bottle at Byward Wine Market
And when you consider that epicness of the Douro wine region overall, Quinta Da Romaneira is something to behold as one of the largest and most impressive properties with over 400 hectares that spans 3 whole kilometers up the river—but only 86 hectares planted to vines, right along the slopes. I’ve been there and it is one of the prettiest sights in the wine world. And the wines are phenomenal. We don’t have any of their fortified Port Wines in stock at the moment, but we do have their ‘R da Romaneira’ which is a big, dry, red wine that’s made mostly from the traditional grapes of the region. I say mostly because there is a small bit of Syrah blended in that they have planted as an experimental plot. Otherwise this features Touriga Franca in the lead, with Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, and Tinto Câo rounding it out. If you wonder what that tastes like, picture a firm, structured wine with floral aromatics that are perfumed and peppery mixed with blackberries and plums interlaced with fresh mineral notes.

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The Byward Wine Market will remain open throughout the lockdown for take-out and wine shopping. We are constantly cleaning and have several ways to safely get you some amazing wine during the coming stay-home orders: You can stop by in person to pick out your wine for take-out, we can offer curbside pickup with online orders, or you can choose local delivery within Ottawa at the online checkout.

Just a reminder that the order deadline for Friday case delivery is Wednesday at 9:30am. Reach out if you have any questions, and check out the archive of past FEATURES if you’re interested in other recommendations. Lastly, please feel free to forward this to anyone in Ontario who may be interested in home wine delivery and follow us on instagram for daily wine content at @bywardwinemarket and @capitalwine.ottawa!