Wine appreciation classes often have students compare simple wines versus complex wines, say, a fresh and lemon-scented pinot grigio beside ripe and rich barrel-fermented chardonnay, to illustrate different styles as well as potential differences in quality. What value is placed on approachable and easy-drinking samples versus ones with depth and intensity of flavour?
When it comes to evaluating wine, complexity is one of the most important characteristics for judging quality. Possessing a variety of aromas and flavours makes a wine good or, perhaps, great even.
Like a memorable story or movie, great wines have a beginning, middle and an end. A complex wine doesn’t offer a consistent character; its flavour evolves in the glass and it shows us something new and exciting every time we taste it. Different notes pop up in a kaleidoscope of flavour.
A bottle of wine is the result of the contribution of numerous people and many decisions, including which grape varieties were used, where and how those grapes were grown, and when they were harvested for processing. The winemaking team’s choices about how to handle, press and ferment the juice also are reflected in the finished wine. For instance, to produce a bottle of riesling, did they select a yeast culture or multiple yeast strains from a laboratory designed to give reliable results every time or work with the native (often called “wild”) yeasts present on the grapes and in the winery, which are more unpredictable but yield a different range of flavours and texture in the finished wine?
The size and types of tanks or barrels used for fermentation and aging and other winemaking techniques along the way all contribute to the finished product.
Complexity makes some wines more desirable. The best examples convey an element of surprise that makes them unforgettable. Not all wine is complex, but many of the most compelling ones are. (Purity and precision describe a different sort of wine, like a silken and refined Chablis Grand Cru with a lit-from-within, illuminating quality that’s compelling in different way, which we can discuss another time.)
The danger of complexity comes from producers and consumers who view it simply as more flavour, more intensity, more concentration. The result can be ego-driven wines that demand attention, but lack the fascination, the element of surprise that makes for wines with complexity.
Research shows that the wines most consumers describe as complex are ones with intense smoke or vanilla notes from oak aging. As a result, it’s not surprising to find many affordable red and white wines that have obvious oak-derived flavours, often from oak chips or wood staves used in place of more expensive oak barrels.
Complexity is one of the elements that makes wine pleasurable. It needs to work in concert with other characteristics, notably balance and length, to result in wines that are desirable and delicious.
There’s no shortage of ripe, rich and flavourful wines, even ones that have polished character that earn high scores and accolades, but I wouldn’t say they all qualify as being complex wines. Here are my weekly recommendations, a selection of red wines that offer a range of complexity.
Bertani Catullo Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore 2019 (Italy), $26.95
This stylish red wine is produced from a blend of corvina, corvinone and and rondinella that underwent a second fermentation with the skins used to produce Bertani’s Amarone. The process adds more alcohol, richness and flavour to the finished wine. This shows interesting complexity in its mix of dried cherry, peppery spice and leathery notes that suggest a nice balance between sweetness and savoury elements. This is rich, flavourful and refreshing in style, which makes it enjoyable on its own or with a meal. Drink now to 2027. Available at the above price in Ontario.
Luigi Bosca de Sangre Malbec 2021 (Argentina), $26.95
Made in a rich and polished style, this robust red wine captures the personality of the malbec grape with its dark fruit, floral and spicy aromas and flavours. The vanilla and coffee notes from oak aging are integrated into the wine, which is approachable now but has the structure to develop. Drink now to 2028. Available at the above price in Ontario, various prices in Alberta, $27.75 in Quebec (2020 vintage), $29.97 in Newfoundland.
Tedeschi Amarone della Valpolicella 2019 (Italy), $49.95
A top producer of wines in the Veneto, Tedeschi is a family operation that specializes in Amarone production. This shows that this typically powerful style of wine can be rich (16.5 per cent alcohol) and refined in nature. There’s really appealing fragrance, with some spice, cherry and tea-like notes, and bright flavours on the palate. There is plenty of juicy red fruit that is rounded out by some raisin and spice flavours. Drink now to 2027. Available at the above price in Ontario, $64.99 in British Columbia ($59.99 until March 2), $48 in Quebec, $51.49 in Nova Scotia.
The Black Chook Shiraz/Viognier 2021 (Australia), $21.95
Blending a small percentage of the fragrant white wine grape viognier into ripe and meaty shiraz (syrah) has long been a way to add perfume, stabilize the colour and soften the tannin and acidity in the finished wine. The Black Chook from McLaren Vale in South Australia suggests an appealing mix of berry/cherry fruit flavour with pepper, floral and licorice-root notes. The full-bodied and smooth nature is easy to appreciate. Drink now to 2026. Available at the above price in Ontario, $22.99 in British Columbia and Nova Scotia, various prices in Alberta, $23.99 in Saskatchewan, $25.95 in Manitoba, $23.99 in Newfoundland.
Travaglini Gattinara Tre Vigne 2018 (Italy), $74
Established in 1958, Travaglini Estate Winery has 50 hectares of vineyards, mostly planted with the nebbiolo grape. The limited edition Tre Vigne is a blend of grapes from what the family believes are the three best sites in their estate. It’s always a step up in concentration and complexity from the family’s traditional label, which shares the unique asymmetrical-shaped bottle designed to catch sediment. The 2018 vintage is a classic expression: a pale ruby-coloured wine with an intense fragrance suggesting rosehips, cherry and orange notes, with a balsamic note on the palate. Drink now to 2029. Available at the above price in Ontario, various prices in Alberta.
Christopher Waters