Wines of the Week: Drappier & Quintarelli

Drappier 2010 Champagne Grande Sendrée               93

Drappier is one of those many esteemed Champagne houses that has a history spanning centuries: the Drappier family established its estate in 1808 close to the Clairvaux abbey near the town of Urville and still today grows not just Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but also some of the older varieties (once forgotten but now making a comeback) including Petit Meslier, Arbanne, Fromenteau and Blanc Vrai. Of their many fine Champagens I have always had a soft spot for their Grande Sendrée, a bubbly that takes its name from the devastating 1836 fire that ravaged the Urville area  and left the vineyard land covered with cinders and ash (given that origin, the wine’s name ought to be spelled with a “c”, as in “cendrée”, but a clerical error that took place upon creation of the new land register led to the spelling with an “s”). Bottled in a distinctly shaped Louis XV bottle that was rediscovered at the estate in, the Grande Sendrée is not only a very high-quality vintage Champagne, but an extremely fairly-priced one too, happily much less than what some other prestige cuvées will cost you.

The Drappier 2010 Champagne Grande Sendrée is bright straw yellow-gold in colour with a persistent mousse of small bubbles. Aromas of blood orange, lemon jelly, white flowers and acacia honey boast noteworthy vinosity and are very expressive. Medium-bodied and layered but very lifted thanks to obvious, piercing lemony acidity that gives the flavours of raspberry jam, quince, lemon peel and herbs noteworthy clarity and cut but also a slightly shrill disposition; almost as much like a still white wine as it is a bubbly wine. The building finish is long and complex and features a delicate chalky note. Not quite as harmonious as the 2008 Grande Sendrée but this 55% Pinot Noir 45% Chardonnay blend is a lovely Champagne that will check all the boxes and will win over its fair share of admirers. Drinking window: 2023-2033.

Quintarelli 2015 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico               96+

Quintarelli needs no introduction as the estate has always been considered to be one of Italy’s ten best wineries and their Amarone as an absolute benchmark of the wine category. What makes Quintarelli’s Aamrone so unique is its unparalleled combination of harmony and power, of silk and swagger, of sweetness and dryness, of perfume and brawn. It is no different with the 2015, which, mark my words, is one of the best Amarone wines the Quintarelliu estate has made in some time.

The Quintarelli 2015 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico is an exceptionally good wine, so light on its feet you will never guess it is made with air-dried grapes, or that it packs 16.5% alcohol. Good bright, full red. Ineffable high-pitched, very spicy, aromas of raspberry, pomegranate, sour red cherry, sweet and brown spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin), violet and Corvina’s very typical black pepper. Wonderfully sappy, very spicy and fine-grained, with outstanding inner-mouth floral perfume to the ripe, mellow flavours of sweet red berries, purple flowers and spices, complicated by a hint of milk chocolate. Boasts an inexorably rising, very suave tannic finish and great energy and lift for what is a huge wine but tastes much lighter than it is.  I think the slightly warmer 2015 vintage has proven to be a big help to an Amarone as refined and light on its feet as that of Quintarelli, gaining in size and flesh compared to the more refined, almost austere 2013s made here. Picking between Quintarelli’s Amarones of 2013s and 2015 wines will be a difficult task, and ultimately will amount to a case of different strokes for different folks; clearly, the wines of each of those two vintages, all magnificent, will have its fans. For sure, the 2015 will be readier to drink sooner but will last just as long. Drinking window: 2027-2038.