The vineyards of GranMonte Winery
Alright, as promised in my Meeting the Vintners article on GranMonte Asoke Valley Winery last week, I want to share some impressions on the wines I tried. We had the chance to try these wines with dinner, and some without, and that definitely shaped some of the impressions. All in all, I think the line up was pretty impressive. The wines expressed a ton of flavor, making them very appealing.
Let me start with a couple of whites:
The 2012 Sole Chenin blanc Viognier, which contains 93% Chenin blanc and 7% Viognier grapes, was fermented in stainless steel and French oak barrels and spent four months on the lees. It has 13% ABV, 5.4 gr of acidity/liter and 3.8 gr of residual sugar/liter, which under German wine laws puts this in solidly dry territory. The wine poured in a clear, light yellow and had an incredibly fresh nose with banana and citrus aromas. On the palate, it showed good fruit in the beginning, mostly citrus, then it became quite creamy on mid-palate to be followed by bitter orange rinds which were surprising but not unpleasant. The acidity kept the wine refreshing, which made it a great companion in the tropical heat.
The 2012 Verdelho poured in a stronger yellow color, and showed a nose full of tropical fruit: a bucket full of papaya and passion fruit. Absolutely loved it. On the palate, it was almost medium-bodied, silky and creamy, with good acidity and nicely lingering finish with some lemon pepper aromas. I enjoyed this wine for its great drinkability. I wasn’t quite sure how to pair this with food, but with a wine like this I don’t actually feel like it needs pairing. Again, very enjoyable white wine.
The 2013 Verdelho, which had just been bottled, in contrast was of very light color, almost as clear as water. The nose had mostly gooseberry aromas (which I underlined four times in my notes), papaya, some chewing gum, and just jumped at me in its fruitiness (yes, even after the previous two wines!). Again, this wine was more on the medium-bodied side, passion fruit the dominating aromas. The mid-palate seemed a bit wobbly, but that might be due to its recent filling, and the finish came through strong with a nice peppery touch. Strong showing.
I really wasn’t expecting the whites to be this fruity and light given the climate. That was a very nice surprise.
In the winery shop.
We then moved on to the reds, and we were in for some treats.
We started with the, again recently filled, 2012 Heritage Syrah. Made from only Syrah grapes, this wine ferments in stainless steel and then spends 12 months in French oak. 13% ABV, and a healthy acidity of 5.67 gr/l. It poured in a medium ruby red, and the nose showed cassis, sour cherries, some branches and slightly earth aromas which were complemented by violets. I really enjoyed the fruitiness of this wine on the palate, with raspberries and some jam. It was earthy, had great tannins, and combined subtlety with a good backbone. The finish was just beautifully long, it lasted and lasted and lasted (I wrote down 25 seconds +). The coolest thing about this wine was how it stood up to steaks paired with super spicy oils. We just couldn’t believe how this wine worked with such heat. Incredible.
We then tried the 2009 Orient Syrah, one step up from the Heritage Syrah. The grapes come from their three oldest and lowest yielding blocks in the vineyard, were fermented in stainless steel, and then moved to 83% French, and 17% American oak barrels for 12 months. The wine had 14% ABV and 5.1 gr/l acidity. The color was decidedly darker than the Heritage Syrah. The nose was very restrained, seemed much more old world in style than the previous wine. There was some leather, some prunes. On the palate, this full bodied wine showed great balance, was just the right amount of dark fruits with earthy aromas ( I really enjoyed how earthy this one was), tannins to hold it up. It also showed a long finish and was a pleasure to drink. Not as exciting as the Heritage, but definitely well made.
Probably Nina’s favorite of the night was next: The 2009 Asoke Cabernet Sauvignon Syrah, GranMonte’s flagship wine. Made with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Syrah grapes, the must ferments in stainless steel before spending 14 months in 83% French and 17% American oak barrels. The final product has 14% ABV and 5.8 gr/l of acidity. It was pitch dark in the glass, almost black. Wow. The nose was decidedly Cabernet Sauvignon, branchy, a bit green peppers, with red berries and vanilla aromas. Very expressive nose, intense. On the palate, all I got initially was cassis, cassis, cassis, so strong. The wine had great tannins, showed some tobacco, heft and a good mouthfeel. The balance was there, the finish was good. Everything came together in this wine. As I said, Nina really really liked this wine. For me, it was too powerful, I think. I am not a fan of these big reds. Again, this was a great wine, it was just not meant for me. I am more at home with the earthier, less expressive wines.
The final wine was, how could it be otherwise with me, the just filled 2013 Bussaba Chenin blanch Semillon, a white made in the late harvest style. It contains 60% Chenin blanc, 35% Semillon, and 5% Canadian Muscat grapes. The color was very light, almost watery (not what I expected in a late harvest style white). The nose showed intense aromas of honeydew, mango, and mint. On the palate, it was most of all refreshing, again showing this great acidity that Nikki is capable of expressing in her whites, that never make this boring or feel too sweet. It retains a lightness and seems to have the right ingredients to also age well.
All in all, as you can probably tell, I was quite impressed. The wines showed finesse and craft, and most of all, were pretty tasty. I was told by the owners that some of their wines are now available in San Francisco, and when I did a quick Google search, I found the Thai restaurant Koh Samui & The Monkey at least offered some GranMonte wines in mid 2013. Might be worth checking out!
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