The Latest Wine Kids On The Indian Block

Towards the end of 2015, there was a new wave of imported wines that splashed the Indian shores. Fratelli Wines- an Indian domestic producer, literally went the whole hog by augmenting their erstwhile portfolio of imported wines from 6 to 22 in an apparent bid to lay a greater claim to the Indian wine market. The only other domestic Indian producer in the imported wines space is India's largest  producer Sula with 30 imported wines augmenting it's bestseller domestic labels.

I had the privilege to be at the showcasing of these wines at Hyatt regency New Delhi. The overall event has been described in my piece published in the Jan 16 issue of vino india. In this post, my aim is to familiarise you with the wines straightaway . Wines that you are likely to encounter on your next visit to a shop in India.

(Retail prices indicated are ex New Delhi).

Zardetto (Italy)

Zardetto is located in the Conegliano hills in the heart of Prosecco vineyards. Fabio Zardetto (Owner) was present to show two of his wines:

Fabio Zardetto proudly showcasing his wine

Prosecco Cuvée Brut (₹ 1730): A crisp dry and a straightforward sparkler well suited for casual drinking. Fabio told me that this label is quite popular for use in cocktails as well.

Prosecco Extra Dry (₹ 2660): A tad sweeter than the above, this one was rounder on the palate with a fruity/ floral character. A suitable aperitif as well as with food.

Boisset - La Famille des Grands Vins (France)

Proudly calling itself a "family of families" with wines from Burgundy, Jura, Beaujolais, Rhone, Sud de France and California, this family owned business puts across their credo metaphorically – "oceans separate us, great wines unite us". Olivier Medigue (Export Manager) was present to explain the wines with fluid ease:

Maison Bonpas Côtes du Rhone Villages (₹ 2600): A full bodied wine with black fruits/ spice aromas and flavours. Appeared quite suitable for the average Indian preferences with its silky tannins.

Fortant de France Chardonnay (₹ 2340): Dry and light bodied on the palate with subtle tropical fruits flavours.

Fortant de France Grenache Rosé (₹ 1800): Refreshing, dry with red berries flavours and a long finish.

Fortant de France Grenache (₹ 1800): Intensely fruity wine with a luscious well rounded palate and pleasant tannins.

Fortant de France Cabernet Sauvignon (₹ 2340): Deep ruby wine with a full body, round tannins accompanied by ripe blackberries and cassis flavours.

Maison J Moreau & Fils (France)

Considered a specialist in Chablis wines.

J Moreau & Fils Chablis AOC (₹ 6030): A refined expression of Chardonnay with well balanced fruit-acidity and a minerally complexity.

Jean-Pierre Moueix (France)

A négociant (trader) from Bordeaux.

Château Bernadotte AOC Haut-Médoc 2008 (₹ 8175): A wine with half-half blend of Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot, which is quite uncommon for a left bank (of Gironde estuary) wine. The wine has delightful aromas of dark fruits, fruit cake and chocolate. A good choice for Christmas.

Château Chantalouette AOC Pomerol 2008 (₹ 10545): A full bodied wine with a firm stucture and flavours of ripe red fruits. Long on the finish.

Château Laujac AOC Médoc 2012 (₹ 6635): A surprisingly friendly wine with a savoury palate that makes it a very good gourmet wine.

Châteaux Vieux Lartigue Saint-Émilion Grand Cru 2008 (₹ 7490): A wine with rounded fruit flavours and silky tannins. Fruity and sweet spice aromas make it an indulgence! Likely to be an excellent companion with rich Indian preparations - I'm thinking Butter Chicken (tandoor roasted chicken in creamy gravy) and Dal Makhani (slow cooked lentils with a smoky flavour).

Viña Edmara (Chile)

A producer that has a presence in the Central Valley as well as coastal area of Chile. The wines in the Fratelli portfolio come from the Central Valley.

Viña Edmara Chardonnay (₹ 2450): A typical warm weather Chardonnay replete with tropical fruit flavours and rounded mouthfeel.

Viña Edmara Pinot Noir (₹ 2550): A juicy delight on the palate this wine had ripe red berries and vegetal aromas.

Il Casone (Italy)

The winery is situated in a small town called Trebaseleghe, at the junction of three Venetian cities Treviso, Padua and Venice.

Il Casone Pinot Grigio (₹ 2310): A refreshing wine with citrus and dried flower aromas. Delicate on the palate with subtle flavours of tree fruits. A good wine wine on its own or light food.

Caliterra (Chile)

Established in 1996 as a joint venture between the Robert Mondavi family and Viña Errazuriz from Colchagua, Chile. "Caliterra" is amalgamated from "Calidad" (quality) and "Tierra" (land). The name hence signifies the respective strengths of the partners.

Caliterra Chardonnay (₹ 2340): Straw coloured wine with an expressive nose of citrus, dry fruits, and a hint of spice. Delicious on the palate with a good balance of acidity and ripe fruit.

Caliterra Merlot (₹ 2340): An intensely fruity wine with ripe aromatics and flavours of red berries and rounded tannins that make it an easy drinking wine.

Casa Sola (Italy)

The vineyards of Casa Sola are located in the centre of Chianti Classico area in Tuscany. The region prides itself on its rich biodiversity that comprises of forests and olive groves interspersed with vineyards.

Casa Sola Chianti Classico (₹ 3600): A medium ruby wine with blackberries and spice aromas. Medium bodied on the palate with rounded tannins and a hint of oak.

The augmented import portfolio launched by Fratelli signifies an increasing trend among major domestic winemakers in India to expand market reach amongst a wider crossection of wine consumers. 

I also had the opportunity to converse with Kapil Sekhri, Managing Director Fratelli Wines who said that the whole idea behind adding imported wine labels to their portfolio was to offer a complete range of wines to the consumers. It is a welcome thought that more domestic wine producers could do well to emulate in the interest of  well rounded portfolios.

Something that the increasing number of Indian wine lovers would welcome with open arms.

Chardonnay- all the way

It is no secret that blind tastings  offer a reality check on your wine temperament. I have  extolled

enough, the virtues of  tasting wine blind  in my earlier post. This time I'm taking you to a Chardonnay blind tasting that we (a.k.a. my blind tasting group)  recently had at ITC Welcomhotel Dwarka in New Delhi. Our tasting room on second floor of the hotel had an optimum atmosphere  with a serene space and natural  lighting from the glass facade. This brings me to  list out the essentials of an ideal  wine tasting setup:

• Ample room for  comfortable seating and service facilitation.
• Table(s) big enough to accommodate several wine glasses, spit buckets,breads - and if ambitious- a cheese platter.
• Natural or white lighting. Coloured lighting interferes with observing the wine colour
• Insulated from kitchen/ food service area.
• White table linen for a neutral background to enable uninfluenced observation of wine colour.

For this tasting, we had the luxury of 8 wines brought in by the 8 attendees. It afforded us a good range to taste. Chardonnay is known to be a versatile grape varietal easily grown in different parts of the world. It offers a multitude of flavours. These broadly range from  "cold climate"  tree fruit/stone fruit to "warm weather"  tropical fruit flavours. The other attributes are  oak, minerality and dairy nuances et al depending on the terroir. The main challenge for the varietal however remains to maintain the acidity level especially when  cultivated in warmer areas.

Having handed over the shrouded wine bottles to the earmarked service staff dot on arrival, we were good to go by the time everybody assembled. The tasting started soon enough with the first of the wines poured out at just the right temperature.

I present to you the view from my seat. My immediate reactions  being denoted in italicised purple :

Wine #  1

Colour: Medium gold.
Aromas: Citrus fruits, apples, vanilla, hint of spice.
Palate: Dry, light body, semi crisp, ripe peaches, pears, oak towards finish.
My take on the wine's provenance: South Australia.
Reason: Looked like a warm climate chardonnay with medium acidity and ripe flavours.
What it turned out actually: Westend Estate Down Under Chardonnay 2013  , South Eastern Australia

I was elated with a sense of pride - only to be grounded with the next wine.

Chardonnay is an easily cultivable varietal in different wine growing regions of the world (Pic: Jordan wine estate, Stellenbosch, South Africa)

Wine # 2

Colour: Deep lemon.
Aromas: Floral, tree fruits (apples, pears).
Palate: Dry, light body, refreshing acidity, complex yet subtle flavours with a mineral accent.
My take on the wine's provenance: Old world (Not sure but I bet on Italy).
Reason: The acidity level, discernible minerality, restrained flavours made me narrow down to Old World. For this tasting I had brought an Italian wine from Friuli. Not having much exposure to Italian Chardys earlier I  ruled out the other regions by exception.
What it turned out actually: Finca Don Cano  Chardonnay 2012, Mendoza, Argentina

Oops! Had it totally wrong. My next mission should be to try more wines of this style from Argentina. 

Wine # 3

Colour: Medium gold with green highlights.
Aromas: Citrus fruits, ripe peaches and wet leaves.
Palate: Dry, light body, gooseberries, stone fruits, leafy. medium acidity.
My take on the wine's provenance: South of France
Reason: The typical flavour profile  experienced umpteen times earlier.
What it turned out actually: Laroche Chardonnay de la Chevalière 2012, South of France.

A wow feeling again but this time with the much required humility.

Chardonnay vineyards in Chablis AOC, France (Pic: winefolly.com)

Wine #  4

Colour: Pale lemon with green highlights.
Aromas: Citrus and stone fruits (peaches, apricots).
Palate: Dry, light body, medium acidity, grapefruit, mineral.
My take on the wine's provenance: Burgundy.
Reason: Appeared as a cool climate chardonnay with subtle flavours,  balanced acidity, minerality and no oak.
What it turned out actually: Fratelli Vitae 2013, India.

This one had me completely foxed!  It shattered the text book interpretation of a "warm climate" Chardonnay. If Fratelli is able to maintain the style (note that deviation from style is the bane of most Indian wines due to absence of  appellation regulations) then I would love to buy this wine often.

Wine # 5

Colour: Medium lemon with green highlights.
Aromas: Citrus and tropical fruits and hint of peppercorns.
Palate: Dry, light-medium body, medium acidity, pineapple, gooseberries, black pepper and oak towards finish.
My take on the wine's provenance: South Australia
Reason: Distinct tropical fruits, acidity level and oak that was reminiscent of the South Australian style.
What it turned out actually: Lindeman's Premier Selection 2013, South Australia.

Confidence restored encore.

Wine #  6

Colour: Medium lemon with green reflections.
Aromas: Citrus, dairy and brioche.
Palate: Appeared off dry first but quickly developed to dry, light body, low-medium acidity, buttery, oaky,
My take on the wine's provenance: California.
Reason: Dairy and buttery character indicative of malolactic fermentation. Moderate acidity and oak treatment suggesting warm weather and new world respectively).
What it turned out actually: San Simone 2012, Friuli, Italy.

Ah there! This was the wine I brought. My palate certainly requires more  pixels on the American and Italian fronts.

Wine # 7

Colour: Deep lemon with green highlights.
Aromas: Very expressive nose of tropical fruits and mixed pastry shop  aromas.
Palate: Dry, light-medium body, medium acidity, mineral, alcoholic finish.
My take on the wine's provenance: Chile.
Reason: Looked like a typical warm weather new world unoaked Chardonnay.
What it turned out actually: Norton Chardonnay 2013 Mendoza, Argentina.

A saving grace, since the wine came from the other side of the Andes.

Wine # 8

Colour: Light lemon
Aromas: Citrus and stone fruits
Palate: Dry, light body, crisp acidity, spice, mineral, long finish.
My take on the wine's provenance: South America.
Reason: Again a new world like feel without oak treatment. The taste looked familiar of the region as well.
What it turned out actually: Cosecha Tarapaca 2014, Chile .

 I had played safe by specifying the region rather than a country and it seemed to work. But no wishing away the  practice  required to distinguish between wines from the two countries.

The reality check complete , we finally settled down to enjoy the respective wines that each one of us liked.

Lessons learnt and conclusions drawn until the next rendezvous.

The wine repertoire (Pic: Gagan Sharma)

Our tasting group
(L-R) Karanbir Gulati, Palki Singh, Ravi Joshi (me), Sumit Gulati,
Pankaj Balachandran, Gagan Sharma, Atul Tiwari, Arjun Sachar