Wines of the week | The affordable, discovery and guard

Be careful not to confuse minerality and acidity. It is not because a wine is acidic, light or not very fruity that it shows minerality. The Italian Pinot Noir is very simple and light, well done, but without real notion of link to the earth. The two Alsatian wines are quite the opposite: they offer aromas, flavors and textures that go far beyond what a simple well-conducted alcoholic fermentation provides; We feel a strong link with the earth that saw them being born.

Affordable

For hot days

The price can be a quality indicator, but it is far from always the case. There are very expensive wines that are not at all up to par, and others at low prices that are. Under the $ 15 mark, we are happy if the wine is well done and without faults. This is the case here with this Pinot Noir from northeast of Italy which is not reversing, but is very honest at this price. It displays the pale color of the grape variety and offers simple aromas of red berries and herbs. Very dry and very light, with a lot of freshness and devoid of tannins, it is a wine indicated for hot days. Served fresh, around 12 ℃, it will accompany a simple kitchen: sandwiches, beet salad, sausages and grilled vegetables.

Guard: to drink

Saints in the Pinot Noir Trevenezie 2023, 13.15 $ (11254313), 12.5 %, bio

Consult the SAQ file

Discovery

An underestimated grape variety

This area of Westhalten, south of Colmar, is led by Matthieu and his wife Marie, 11^e generation of the family at their head. Certified in biodynamics, they cultivate fifteen hectares in the Noble Valley, within the Ballons des Vosges Natural Park. Long underestimated grape, the Sylvaner gives here a singular and delicious wine. It is cultivated on hillsides of pink sandstone, hence its name, which gives it surprising magnitude and richness for 11.5 % alcohol! The nose is aromatic, complex, spicy. The mouth is based on a mature yellow fruit, and showing magnitude while remaining fresh and slender. Vegetable and spices notes bring relief and complexity and delicate bitters stretching the final on notes of zest. He invites conversations and the table: fish and seafood in crema or slightly spicy sauce, and raclette this fall!

Guard: from 3 to 4 years old

Domaine Léon Boesch Red Stones Sylvaner Alsace 2023, $ 26.30 (14532817), 11.5 %, organic and organic

Consult the SAQ file

Garde

A wine that challenges time

Reference area in Alsace, Ostertag develops real land wines, loaded with emotion. Some surprise, but all fascinate by their unique and sincere, even poetic expressions. This wine smells of riesling and Alsace and yet is like nothing else. The kind of wine where an enumeration of aromas seems futile, and difficult: everything is simply very attractive, complex and melted. And what an energy in the mouth! The wine is ripe, right, tense, complex and salivating. A ripe fruit, a lot of spices, a hint of honey, then a mineral, even saline impression, and delicate bitters. The long final offers a touch of firmness and suggests a good guard. The kind of wine that challenges time. But already delicious, and very versatile like all good rieslings, he will accompany Sashimi, Dim Sum, pan -fried scallops, roasted pork, fine leek pie.

Guard: from 8 to 10 years old

Domaine Ostertag Riesling Les Jardins Alsace 2023, $ 37.25 (11459984), 12.5 %, organic

Consult the SAQ file