Saina Nieminen
Saina Nieminen
This week, I have been mostly drinking Southern French wine. I recently ordered a case of various wines from Domaine Treloar, Roussillon. And very nice they were, too. IIRC the owners are from NZ, hence the English language names on some of these, but these were all natural and light on their feet and very moreish - though a few did have a bit of new oak influence.
Domaine Treloar One Block Muscat 2010 - Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes
Quite pretty Muscat aromas; dry and mineral. Good, but a bit safe compared to their other wines.
Domaine Treloar La Terre Promise 2010 - Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes
13% abv. Grenache gris, Macabeu & Carignan blanc. Quite a lovely scent. A bit of oak, but not disturbingly so. A mixture of chlorine, cellery and vanilla - it smells much better than what I write here; it is a VERY attractive scent. (Was it Pythagoras who wrote that the whole is not the sum of its parts?) Quite rich but with wonderful acidity and liveliness. Very nice.
Domaine Treloar Le Ciel Vide 2009 - Côtes du Roussillon
14% abv; unoaked from Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Carignan. Though it does have a little bit of a candied character suggestive of the hot vintage, this is isn't at all raisiny or overdone and is actually a very refreshing and moreish wine. Dark, sweet and gamey fruit; sweet and ripe but refreshing palate. A very attractive wine - especially for 4,60 this costs ex-cellar.
Domaine Treloar One Block Grenache 2009 - Côtes du Roussillon
14% abv; 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre. A ripe, slightly sugary aroma (warm year, I guess) but otherwise wonderfully pure, garriguey Grenache aroma. Nicely structured and refreshing and light for Grenache. Long, refreshing finish. I love how this wine manages to have all the sweet allure of the main grape yet still have such vivacity and moreishness. Very nice.
Domaine Treloar Three Peaks 2008 - Côtes du Roussillon
13,5% abv; Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Yummy. Very dark colour. Wonderfully meaty and slightly vegetal aroma that is savoury and sweet like a pomegranate (is that the Mourvèdre? must be since it reminds me a bit of the few Bandols I have had?). Notes on CT mention that this is an oaky wine - but if I don't find new oak aromas, I doubt anyone else will be bothered by the oak. As nice as the aroma is, the palate is even better: crunchy, savoury and light on its feet despite the ripe fruit - it's alive! Refreshing finish.
Domaine Treloar Le Secret 2008 - Côtes du Roussillon
13,5%. A Syrah-based blend. A ripe, perhaps touch reductive, lactic and oaky scent. Once it opens up the scent is all about figs and pepper. Lively but powerful and thick. A fair wine, but not among my favourites. Needs time.
Domaine Treloar Motus 2009 - Côtes du Roussillon
80% Mourvèdre and 10% each of Syrah and Grenache; it spends two years in oak of which 20% was new.
And though the oak is apparent, I still thought this was a fantastic wine. Dark, slightly gamy fruit; lovely tanginess and grip on the palate but friendly, fruity and moreish rather than too structured. Really lively and refreshing despite being a big wine (14% abv). Though obviously young and ideally needing more age and despite my oak allergies, I thought this was fantastically drinkable already!
And I also tried one of their "icon" wine, which was the only I found to have too much oak.
Domaine Treloar Tahi 2007 - Côtes du Roussillon
14% abv. 55% Syrah, Mourvèdre 27% & Grenache 18%. 18 months in French oak of which 55% was new. This has strong aromas of new oak and dark fruit. It doesn't seem very promising for one as quercophobic as I, but air does improve it. The fruit underneath the oak seems to be of excellent quality: ripe and savoury but in no way jammy. The palate is now in a better place than the scent since I don't find the oak so overpowering. Good tannins, very pure fruit, refreshing and savoury.
So, in sum, mostly lovely wines at very fair prices. I'll certainly be ordering more of the cheaper ones - even of the Mourvèdre though I did sense a bit of oak on that; I don't think I'll get more of the Tahi.
Domaine Treloar One Block Muscat 2010 - Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes
Quite pretty Muscat aromas; dry and mineral. Good, but a bit safe compared to their other wines.
Domaine Treloar La Terre Promise 2010 - Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes
13% abv. Grenache gris, Macabeu & Carignan blanc. Quite a lovely scent. A bit of oak, but not disturbingly so. A mixture of chlorine, cellery and vanilla - it smells much better than what I write here; it is a VERY attractive scent. (Was it Pythagoras who wrote that the whole is not the sum of its parts?) Quite rich but with wonderful acidity and liveliness. Very nice.
Domaine Treloar Le Ciel Vide 2009 - Côtes du Roussillon
14% abv; unoaked from Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Carignan. Though it does have a little bit of a candied character suggestive of the hot vintage, this is isn't at all raisiny or overdone and is actually a very refreshing and moreish wine. Dark, sweet and gamey fruit; sweet and ripe but refreshing palate. A very attractive wine - especially for 4,60 this costs ex-cellar.
Domaine Treloar One Block Grenache 2009 - Côtes du Roussillon
14% abv; 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre. A ripe, slightly sugary aroma (warm year, I guess) but otherwise wonderfully pure, garriguey Grenache aroma. Nicely structured and refreshing and light for Grenache. Long, refreshing finish. I love how this wine manages to have all the sweet allure of the main grape yet still have such vivacity and moreishness. Very nice.
Domaine Treloar Three Peaks 2008 - Côtes du Roussillon
13,5% abv; Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Yummy. Very dark colour. Wonderfully meaty and slightly vegetal aroma that is savoury and sweet like a pomegranate (is that the Mourvèdre? must be since it reminds me a bit of the few Bandols I have had?). Notes on CT mention that this is an oaky wine - but if I don't find new oak aromas, I doubt anyone else will be bothered by the oak. As nice as the aroma is, the palate is even better: crunchy, savoury and light on its feet despite the ripe fruit - it's alive! Refreshing finish.
Domaine Treloar Le Secret 2008 - Côtes du Roussillon
13,5%. A Syrah-based blend. A ripe, perhaps touch reductive, lactic and oaky scent. Once it opens up the scent is all about figs and pepper. Lively but powerful and thick. A fair wine, but not among my favourites. Needs time.
Domaine Treloar Motus 2009 - Côtes du Roussillon
80% Mourvèdre and 10% each of Syrah and Grenache; it spends two years in oak of which 20% was new.
And though the oak is apparent, I still thought this was a fantastic wine. Dark, slightly gamy fruit; lovely tanginess and grip on the palate but friendly, fruity and moreish rather than too structured. Really lively and refreshing despite being a big wine (14% abv). Though obviously young and ideally needing more age and despite my oak allergies, I thought this was fantastically drinkable already!
And I also tried one of their "icon" wine, which was the only I found to have too much oak.
Domaine Treloar Tahi 2007 - Côtes du Roussillon
14% abv. 55% Syrah, Mourvèdre 27% & Grenache 18%. 18 months in French oak of which 55% was new. This has strong aromas of new oak and dark fruit. It doesn't seem very promising for one as quercophobic as I, but air does improve it. The fruit underneath the oak seems to be of excellent quality: ripe and savoury but in no way jammy. The palate is now in a better place than the scent since I don't find the oak so overpowering. Good tannins, very pure fruit, refreshing and savoury.
So, in sum, mostly lovely wines at very fair prices. I'll certainly be ordering more of the cheaper ones - even of the Mourvèdre though I did sense a bit of oak on that; I don't think I'll get more of the Tahi.