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After more than a decade, due to circumstances beyond my control, I will not be continuing my weekly Liquid Assets features. I will be sending out bi-weekly Taste Trip updates directly to FBTI Supporters (please sign up). I greatly appreciate your continued support and hope that, in the meantime, you enjoy my biweekly newsletter - to see the August 20th edition click here.
Also, with over 400 Vintages items being delisted this month alone, check out the website home page for our exclusive delisting reports.
 August 19th Vintages Bin End
100+ new items on sale
August 5th Vintages Bin End
300+ new items on sale
My updated feature on Chardonnay will appear shortly. I left my tasting notes at last Sunday's Cool Climate Chard tasing event making it tricky to deal with all the wines assessed. Leaving for Nova Scotia on July 29th, so if it isn't posted by then, have a great holiday weekend.
Meanwhile, our August 6th edition is ready for our FBTI Supporters.
Also, here is a word from our current trade sponsors who help make this all possible:
 :
Here is our summary of 90+ wines featured in the last Vintages Release.
 Arlindo Beca owner of the Toronto-based importing-distribution agency FWP Trading continues to introduce Canadians to Portugal’s precious vinous treasures. He imports/distributes a vast variety of Portuguese wines and food products.
They start for as little as $7.35 for the Alandra Red (89961). Move over Fuzion, this crisp, bright, light, ready-to-drink blend  of Moreto, Castelão and Trincadeira. It has juicy, bright, plummy-strawberry flavours and is made by Herdade do Esporao.
Moving up, at $9.95 a bottle – the tasty, also quaffable Loios 2008 White (92114). Another tasty, unoaked, crisp, oak-free  effortthat’s a perfect foil for oysters and fish.
Best Buy of the Week
This Vintages Essential sleeper is without question one of the tastiest reds I have come across this year in the $20-30 range. Better yet, there is a $2 LTO ENDING July 17 – instead of $25.95, now only $23.95. I have been tracking this ever-improving Portuguese blend of Trincadeira, Aragones and Cabernet Sauvignon for the past couple of years and it is getting better and better.
For my taste, the current Esporão 2007 Reserve (Vintages cspc 606590) is the best to date. Note that it has a new a new label. I gave it a whopping ***/***+ or 93.5 points. A must buy at this price! Very deep intense dark purple colour, it has a very attractive, complex, fairly intense, roasted ripe plum, vanilla-sandalwood nose with some mocha notes. Dry medium-full bodied, rich, rounded, surprisingly mouthfilling, baked ripe, plummy, black cherry flavours with a lingering, slightly spicy, sandalwood, mocha-chocolate, albeit still bright finish. It all makes me think of spit-roasted wild boar. Ready-to-drink, but will definitely hold for a few years. In three words: rich, delicious, complex.
Regarding Thursday's Vintages Bin End Sale, there are 208 items hitting the chopping block. Discounts are quite modest - mostly 20%. What is quite shocking is that 70 items (almost 1/3 of the total) were never presented to the wine writers. It's tough to sell wines that have not been reviewed.
Of these, 56 (one in four) never appeared in a formal Vintages Release. Who knows if they are worth buying?
Fortunately, there are dozens of recommended wines meaning that you will definitely find something to buy. Some are sleepers like the red Portuguese Cabriz Reserva 2007, which is now only $13.95. Not much available - check with the LCBO infoline.
To see the full Bin End list
So there we were enjoying the warm sun and water. My friend served me a glass of something that would never appear in the Classics Catalogue. I didn't care; it was tasty and just hit the spot. When I asked, I discovered that it was part of the the LCBO's Summer Rose program and that the winis usually only found in those special seasonal LCBO displays
It turned out to be Banrock Station 2010 Pink Moscato Rose Wiith only 5.5% alcohol, it's a delicious, holiday, thirst-quencher with lots of smooth, honeyed, fruity, fresh, sweet, strawberry-melon flavours. It comes in an eco-friendly light-weight bottle and convenient screwcap closure. Very tasty at $10.95!
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Regaring tomorrow's Vintages Release, it seems that once the wine gods have spoken, the flock follows. Stylistically speaking, I really had to wonder how a few of these “great” 90-point (and higher) wines in the July 9th Vintages release ever received those grades. Yes there are many good wines: 10 of the 23 reds received my recommended and even best buy blessing.
 I love great wine, especially those that are reasonably priced. From my perspective, the best red wine buy of the release is from Sicily and costs only $15.95. No I didn’t give it 90 points, but a thoughtful 89 (**+ out of ***). Baglio Di Pianetto 2008 Shymer is in three words: big, intense and well structured. It has 14.5% alcohol and 299 cases are at the LCBO (cscp 219501). It has an extremely deep intense purple colour. Intense, spicy, baked, plummy-cherry nose with lots of vanilla-sandalwood notes. Dry, medium-full bodied, complex, well structured, slightly spicy, baked, plummy-cherry flavours with a lingering, somewhat cedary, mocha-chocolate finish. Remarkable value! Drinkability: { N S SM m } Lot: L013.11
This has been a fine year for Ontario wines, at least in Vintages. In the past 6 months there have been 113 wines released of which 35 were Recommended (21 being best buys) and another 22 being Explorer’s Selections (worth trying). In other words, one in two wines captured my attention, which is pretty good. Click here to see the list of all 57 Vintages Ontario releases from 2011 that are worthy of consideration.
Of course, there were many, and I mean many, other worthy wines that did not make an appearance. I am truly disappointed that the LCBO has not been of greater assistance in helping the numerous, often smaller, unsung wineries find a way of bringing their wines to customers. The same is especially true of fruit wines, which rarely, if ever appear on LCBO shelves. Here is my Dreamscapes feature where I featured a wide variety of fine fruit wines which have been virtually totally neglected by the LCBO to this day!
Bargains exist! Check out the 59 Ontario wines in the recent Ontario delistings posted on our website earlier this month.. Why not try Château des Charmes 2007 St. David's Bench Vineyard Chardonnay a steal at $16.50 (cspc 430991).
There are also great buys at the wineries. At Rief Winery near Niagara on the Lake, I was astounded by their delicious Reif 2008 Gamay Rose. One might be tempted to think that this rose might be over the hill because of its age – it isn’t. It’s bright, crisp and loaded with elegant, plummy-strawberry fruit flavours. At only $7.95 (regular $11.95 and definitely worth much more) it’s a bargain that cannot be beat.
coming up
 Recommended - Fri, July 22 - Sun, July 24
International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration
Join the three-day celebration of Chardonnay, as wine and food enthusiasts from around the world come together to explore what makes this terroir-driven superstar grape sing. Nestled beside the stunning Niagara Escarpment, the vineyards and wineries of Niagara will play host to over 56 international cool climate chardonnay producers and regional chefs for a weekend of wine and food heaven. From social tastings to casual, interactive sessions the world’s top cool climate chardonnay producers, guests, journalists and winemakers will explore and learn about what makes this varietal the coolest grape on earth.
[more info]
Coming UpRecommended
Nova Scotia Saltscapes Expo - Canada Day Weekend
Ontario Place (free entry)
July 1st - 10 am to 9 pm
July 2nd & 3rd - 10 am to 7 pm
The June 25th Vintages release features 124 items. It has an Argentine thematic featuring 13 selections - 9 are reds (5 Recommended) and 4 whites (1 Recommended Best Buy). To see our Argentine ratings click here.
The Summer Whites features 15 wines with several Recommendations. Don’t miss two terrific Bordeaux reds plus a fantastic Faugeres from the Midi. These and other recommendations appear in our bi-weekly publication. Click here to sign-up today.
Finally, there are 13 unpresented In-Store Discoveries. My highlight is BURROWING OWL 2008 CABERNET FRANC (960716 - $44.95). This VQA Okanagan Valley gem was not presented at the press preview in the LCBO lab. Thanks to the winery, I received a review sample. Wow, this may well be the best Canadian Cabernet Franc I have tasted. It has a very deep intense crimson-purple-red colour. Complex, intense, cedary, mocha-chocolate nose with some sandalwood-tinged, plummy-blueberry notes. Solid, dry, medium-full bodied, mouthfilling, slightly spicy, mocha-coffee flavours with baked plums and intense dried black cherry flavours followed up be a lingering, cedary, bright, high acid finish. It rated *** (out of 3 Stars). There are 55 cases in Vintages and has a hefty 14.9% alcohol.
Wine Dinner of the Week
On Tuesday June 28th, in association with Halpern Enterprises, Vertical is proud to host Lucio Mastroberadino, owner & winemaker of Terredora. The evening will commence at 6:30pm and will showcase the passionate wines of Terredora, paired with the cuisine of Vertical's Chef Giacomo Pasquini. The price is $110 all-inclusive - call 416 214 2252.
Fiano di Avellino 2009 DOCG
seared scallops, escarole puree, salad of morels,
spring green onion, grape tomato & watermelon
Falanghina 2010 IGT
risotto, fresh peas, ricotta 'infornata'
Rosaenovae Rosato 2010 DOC
halibut filled ravioli, clams, shaved bottarga
Aglianico Irpinia 2008 IGT
lamb saddle, fagiolini beans, lamb bacon,
ricotta & nut stuffed cubanelle pepper, herb jus
Taurasi Pagodei Fusi 2004 DOCG
bastardo veneto & ragusano cheese
STORY OF TERREDORA
Terredora is a story of a family that is closely linked to the history, land and people of Campania. Passion for winemaking has been passed down from generation to generation. Their substantial vineyard sites are the soul and great strength of Terredora. Since establishing Terredora in 1978, a key cornerstone has been the rediscovering and restoration of Campania's ancient varieties such as Aglianico, Fiano, Greco and Falanghina. These grape varieties are the main characters that have brought about the wine renaissance in the region.Innovation is vital to Terredora and it is found throughout the winery, in the vineyards and the cellars. A team of experts at Terredora master the challenge of the future while binding it with tradition.
 The May 28th Vintages Release features 116 items. It has a California thematic featuring 24 selections - 18 are reds (6 Recommended) and 6 whites (3 Recommended). It also has a mini-Alsace feature with 6 entries - only 2 Worth Exploring. The Ontario Rose mini focus has 4 selections, but a $11.95 Chilean Syrah Rose steal the show! There are also 3 Recommended Sparkling wines. Finally, 27 unpresented and untasted In-Store Discoveries .
Rather than waste time by giving you all my extensive hand-written notes, click here to see my fully linked Vintage Assessments May 28th California synopsis for all of 24 wines being released – 6 whites and 18 reds plus 2 untasted ISDs. Our Vintage Assessments search engine is the fastest anywhere with zero wasted time!
To get the full upcoming June 11th release in advance, sign up today. If you do, we will send you the current May 28th newsletter and release results today!
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Vintages Rhone Thematic
Vintages May 14 release
Saturday, May 14, 2011
The May 14th Vintages Release features 121 items. It has a Rhone thematic featuring 16 selections - 13 are reds (3 Best Buys) and 3 whites (2 Recommended). The Rose feature has 12 entries with mostly well-made wines with 3 Recommendations and 2 Best Buys.
Rather than waste time by giving you all my extensive hand-written notes, click here to see my fully linked Vintage Assessments May 14 Rhone synopsis for all of 20 Rhone wines being released – 3 whites, 13 reds and 3 roses - one of which, Château d’Aqueria, not rated as it was not presented at the media tasting.
For fans of pink, click here for my Vintage Assessments May 14th Rose synopsis for all 12 wines in the release.
Our Vintage Assessments search engine is the fastest anywhere with zero wasted time!
To get the full upcoming May 28th release in advance, sign up today. If you do, we will get you the May 14th newsletter and release results today!
My best buy of the release is the remarkable Burgundian white: Vincent Girardin 2008 Les Vieilles Vignes Pouilly-Fuissé ($24.95 - V207894), which received a fantastic score of ***/***+ (94 points). Forward medium yellow colour. Intense, complex, key lime pie nose with some vanilla notes. Dry, medium to medium-full bodied with some ripe, vanilla-tinged, key lime pie flavours and a slightly toasty, long, lingering, crisp finish. Has great acidity balancing all the flavours. Remarkable value. Try with lamb or poultry. Pouilly Fuissé doesn't get much better than this! Drinkability: { N S SM m } Lot: LPFu8 (298 Cases) (13%) [Hal Ent]
The April 30th Vintages Release features huge 132 items. It has a Australia thematic , a focus on Southern Italy (10 items) and 6 selections from the upcoming Somewhereness tasting of Ontario wines.
Let me cut to the chase and focus on the Australian wine release which features 11 of a 12 members collective called Australia’s First Families of Wine (AFFW). This is essentially a marketing group aimed at attracting the most attention possible for their wines.
They refer to themselves as “leading multi-generational winemakers” which no one would deny. I would be hard pressed, however, to say the members of AFFW are the best because there are certainly, newer, significantly better producers out there.
As in most Vintages releases, the offerings are not all consistently fine. Out of the 21 Vintages Catalogue offerings, there are, 4 Best Buys out of 7 Recommended wines, plus 3 Explorer’s Selections. Actually, that’s not too bad – one in three wines being Recommended.
 Rather than have you wade through a long verbal description of the results of the Release tasting, I am offering you my Vintage Assessments Austrialia Release Summary where every Australian item in the release (including the lone unpresented and untasted ISD) is linked to my detailed tasting note and a convenient LCBO search.
I will have an update after the two upcoming tastings this week. The first is a preview tasting on Tuesday of a tsunami of 40 new Aussi releases, which have recently hit the LCBO shelves. The second is Thursday afternoon, where the 11 AFFW wineries (only the 12th AWWF member Brown Brothers is missing) featured in the current Vintages Catalogue will be tasting their wines with the trade and media.
The April 16th Vintages Release features 118 items. It has a New Zealand thematic featuring 14 selections (6 are white) with a couple of fine buys.
Let me cut to the chase with some of the BEST BUYS of the release. Here are 6, the balance will be posted on Sunday!
#1 A Great Whisky - Smoky Baked Plums **+/***
PRÀBAN NA LINNE POIT DHUBH 8 YEARS OLD BLENDED MALT WHISKY
$49.95 (700 ml) - #32920 (126 Cases of 6) (43%) [Con Oen]
Bright ambering gold colour. Intense, slightly smoky, plummy-caramel nose. Solid, quite dry, fairly spicy, somewhat peppery, medium to medium-full bodied, slightly smoky, baked plum flavours with a lingering finish. This whisky has a whiff of sherry from to its partial maturation in sherry casks. Unchillfiltered.
#2 A Fantastic Sherry – Sweet Butter Tarts **+
GONZALEZ-BYASS ELEGANTE PALOMINO/PEDRO XIMÉNEZ SWEET CREAM SHERRY
$14.95 - #196824 (249 Cases of 6) (17%) [Rus Woo]
Medium deep amber colour with a yellow edge. Intense, sweet, figgy nose with raisin butter tart notes. Delicious, sweet, medium bodied, well balanced, honeyed, butter tart flavours with a lingering caramel finish.
#3 The Top Canadian White – Mineral Driven **/**+
HUFF ESTATES RESERVE RIESLING 2008
VQA Ontario
$19.95 - #23982 (111 Cases) (12.5%) [Huf Est]
Medium yellow colour. Intense, mineral-tinged, slightly spicy, baked ripe lemon-apple nose. Dry, medium-light to light bodied, very tangy, mineral-tinged, lemony, dried ripe apple flavours with a lingering, crisp, mineral-tinged, unoaked finish.
#4 The Best California White – Key Lime Pie ***
GRGICH HILLS NAPA VALLEY FUMÉ BLANC 2009
$29.95 - #346296 (111 Cases) (14.3%) [Rog Com]
Light straw colour. Complex, intense, slightly spicy, lovely, lime purée nose with some rhubarb notes. Dry, medium bodied, well structured, very slightly spicy, ripe lemon and key lime pie flavours with a touch of grassiness on the excellent, lingering, vanilla-tinged finish.
#5 AT LAST a terrific South African White – Fresh & Ripe **+
DORNIER DONATUS WHITE 2009
WO Western Cape, South Africa Fresh & Ripe **+
$18.95 - #597278 (209 Cases) (13.5%) [MCO]
This makes most of the whites in the “special” April 2nd South African release look rather miserable! Light straw colour. Intense, gently complex, bright, cedar tinged, melon-lime purée nose. Intense, alluring, medium bodied, slightly spicy, cedar tinged, ripe melon-lime flavours with a lingering, gentle, buttered toast finish. Has great refreshing acidity. Seems to be at peak. Consistently highly rated and excellent value. A new blend of 77% Chenin Blanc (in oak) and 23% Semillon. Screwcap closure. Best with poultry and curries.
#6 Austrian White for Asparagus - Nutty Baked Lemon *+/**
WEINGUT MÜLLER NEUBERGEN RIESLING 2009
DAC Kremstal
$18.95 - #211060 (149 Cases) (13%) [Cas Win]
I am not too keen on Sauvignon Blanc with fresh asparagus – green on green! Try this Riesling. Very light yellow colour. Slightly spicy, ripe apple nose with some nutty notes. Fairly dry, medium bodied, slightly spicy, honeyed, bruised ripe apple flavours with a very crisp finish. Screwcap closure. I am thinking of fresh asparagus in a hollandaise sauce.
more to come!!
 RECOMMENDED Continuing to Sun, April 17
Green Living Show
Direct Energy Centre
The Green Living Show is Canada’s largest green consumer show dedicated to educating the public about easy and workable solutions for leading a sustainable lifestyle. Visitors can shop the wide variety of exhibitor booths while gathering information and inspiration from a diverse selection of demonstrations, presentations and activities. [more info]
Michael Vaughan’s Top Biovino Pick
Les Clos Perdus 2006 Prioundo
A highlight at Biovino. Meet co-owner Hugo Stewart at the show. Prioundo contains 70% Grenache, 30% Cinsault from our vineyard in the Corbières hills, near the village of Villesèque. Intensive green work including de-buding, leaf removal and some green harvesting was required for the Cinsault vines. This enabled the berries to reach an excellent level of ripeness with a good balance of acidity.
[click here]
The April 2nd Vintages Release features 119 items. It has a Burgundy Basic Training thematic featuring 19 selections (9 are white) with a few classics worthy of a detour. There are 8 Splendour in South Africa entries, none of which were not up to expectations! From Ontario (Local Talent) there are 2 reds and 2 whites, the former being worthy of pursuing.
Wow, I sure didn’t expect the blast that the Toronto Star’s Gord Stimmell levied against today’s release of Burgundies. Entitled Where on earth are the great Burgundies? In case you missed it, here it is:
I have long adored the top Burgundies. Their chardonnays, known by exotic, village-enhanced names such as Chassagne-Montrachet, Pouilly-Fuissé, Chablis, etc., are among the wine world’s treasures, but priced to match. The reds, which are pinot noirs (except in Beaujolais) are problematic. Quality is always all over the map.
Saturday’s Vintages release serves up 10 selected Burgundy pinot noirs. With the exception of one, they are atrociously overpriced. That red, Daniel Rion Les Lavières Nuits-Saint-Georges 2008 (LCBO# 208454, $47.95, rating 90/100) brims with intense smoky beetroot and black cherry. It’s not great value, but it is excellent. The rest are swill I would not fork out $10 for per bottle. I won’t name names but here are prices and ratings: $24.95/84; $39.95/79; $26.95/83; $83.95/85; $49.95/82; $47.95/87; $17.95/79; $29.95/80. Most are weak-kneed, pallid, sweaty or vegetal.
Some of the whites are dogs, too. Best values are Alain Geoffroy Beauroy Chablis 1er Cru 2008 (#733501, $24.95, 89+) and Saint-Saturnin de Vergy Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits Blanc 2009 (#128686, $18.95, 89+). The best white is Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet Les Chalumeaux 1er Cru 2007, rating 91, but it is $84.95. I shudder until I realize there are so many alternatives.
Tasting these reminded me of meeting a Burgundian producer in France in 1995. I made the serious gaffe of suggesting one of his best reds reminded me a bit of a better Bordeaux. He stared at me blankly and intoned: “Bordeaux? I have never heard of this country. Where is it located?” Not much has changed, obviously. So instead we bring you this week’s fab five winners from the rest of the world. It does exist, seriously.
Contrast this to wine critic David Lawrason who feels that they are pretty terrific in his piece Burgundy Blooms.
… wine lovers have a grand opportunity to buy some very fine, generally well chosen white and red Burgundies on April 2. The over quality level is excellent, with several wines over 90 points, which is where Burgundy should always be when it’s about $40 or more. The real rarity is finding exciting Burgundy for less, and I am pleased to recommend DOMAINE GILLE 2008 CÔTES DENUITS-VILLAGES, $24.95, a pinot noir with surprising lift and precision and just a bit of edge. I expect this element of unexpected complexity in Burgundy, and this really delivers. I also enjoy gentler, fruitier pinot, although I might look more to New Zealand for this style, or perhaps California. But I also found it in some of the first Burgundies from the very ripe 2009 vintage that I encountered atVintages special event at the Art Gallery of Ontario earlier this month. There will always be debate as to whether the 2009s are classic or New World in style. I like them both.
Over at the Globe & Mail, Beppi Crosariol says the despite a challenging growing season, the region's 2008 and 2009 vintages offer several gems in his piece entitled Enjoy the hard-won bounty of Burgundy’s ‘miracle’ vintages which can be seen today in the Globe & Mail.
As for me, you can check out my reviews on the two relevant pages posted here. The reds are a mixed bag with a couple of duds. Only the Rion was recommended. As the whites, they were much more successful with four Recommendations. Here is what appeared in Vintage Assessments which was posted earlier this week. I suggest that you go for for the whites!
Here are some more recommendations from the March 19 Vintages Release. I am disappointed that some California wines still seem out of whack when it comes to pricing - often 50% to 200% higher than in the US. This is a serious error. There often isn't any relationship between the selling price and the quality of what's in the glass. Of course, California is a popular wine destination, thanks to the help of the LCBO. At these prices, however, there is so much better value from other regions, especially Portugal. As always, one has to buy carefully, mediocity lurks everywhere. We will see how long the California kingdom lasts.
If you like Chardonnay, don’t miss this winner from South Africa:
Complex Lemon Meringue *** (91 Points)
HAMILTON RUSSELL 2009 CHARDONNAY
$29.95 – 931006 - 99 Cases of 6 (13%) [Chu Cel]
Medium yellow colour. Rather complex, maturing, toasty, spicy, baked ripe lemon nose with some vanilla notes. Intense, dry, medium-full bodied, well structured, slightly spicy, ripe lemon flavours and a lingering, lime-tinged, fairly high acid, toasty finish. Best with white meats and poultry. Drinkability: { N S SM M ml }
You don’t have to spend a mint to get great value. Try this taste treat from Argentina:
Slightly Smoky *+/** (87 Points)
SIETEFINCAS 2010 CHARDONNAY
$13.95 – 222752 - 251 Cases (13.5%) [Lam Int]
Bright light yellow colour. Intense, slightly spicy, smoke-tinged, baked lemon nose. Fairly dry, medium bodied, quite well structured, spicy, baked lemon flavours with a lingering, fairly crisp, slightly smoky finish. Ready-to-drink. Drinkability: { N S SM }
Finally, something very good and reasonably priced from California’s Montery:
Dry, Harmonious & Gently Grassy ** (87.5 Points)
MORGON 2009 SAUVIGNON BLANC
$18.95 – 411488 - 223 Cases (13.5%) [Sma Win]
Light yellow colour. Gently honeyed, slightly spicy, baked lemon nose with some hints of grassiness. Very dry, medium to medium-light bodied, bright, gently grassy, ripe melon-lemon-apple flavours with a lingering, very crisp, unoaked finish. Screwcap closure. Drinkability: ( N S SM m }
Even better is a very fine Vermentino from the DOCG of Gallura on Sardinia's northern coast:
Gently Complex & Flavourful **/**+ (88.5 Points)
SELLA & MOSCA 2009 MONTE ORO VERMENTINO DI GALLURA SUPERIORE
$16.95 – 203422 - 299 Cases of 6 (13.5%) [Maj Win]
Very light yellow colour. Fairly intense, slightly spicy, ripe lemon-melon-apple-pear nose. Dry, medium bodied, harmonious, bright, gently complex, ripe lemon-melon-apple-pear flavours with a very nice, lingering, crisp, unoaked finish. Versatile and ready-to-drink. Drinkability: { N S SM }
Moving on to reds, my Recommended/Best Buy from Puglia:
Tangy Ripe Black Cherries ** (87.5 Points)
VINOSIA 2008 PRIMITIVO
$14.95 - 203950 - 499 Cases (13.5%) [Bas Inc]
Extremely deep intense purple colour. Complex, baked, plummy-cherry nose with some sandalwood-vanilla notes. Dry, medium bodied, fairly bright, ripe, plummy-cherry flavours with a lingering, tangy, sandalwood finish. Tasty and ready-to-drink. Perfect with pasta in any tomato based sauce. Drinkability: { N S SM m }
From Spain’s Toro:
Ripe & Ready ** (87.5 Points)
FINCA SOBREÑO 2007 CRIANZA 2007
$17.95 – 40360 - 699 Cases (15%) [HHD Imp]
Very deep intense purple colour. Juicy, slightly spicy, ripe plummy-cherry nose with some faint hints of garrigue. Dry, medium-light bodied, very crisp, slightly spicy, juicy, plummy-cherry flavours with a lingering crisp finish. At peak and ready-to-drink. Drinkability: { N S SM }
The March 19 Vintages Release features 122 items. It has a Spain & Portugal’s Rivers of Gold thematic featuring 20 different selections (all but one under $20). Ultimately, the picks are few and far between. Then there are 8 California Superstars wines starting at $44.95. Well sticking out of the same-old, same-old, overpriced, California reds, the highlight are 4 reds from Jonata a dazzling relatively new small Santa Ynez winery. Finally, there are 39 untasted In-Store Discoveries (posted the website).
Yesterday, after tasting some 70 items in the LCBO lab, I had a chance to sit down and chat one-on-one with visiting Jonata winemaker Matt Dees. For those who don’t know it was the owners of Napa's overbearing icon Screaming Eagle vineyard who recently launched 101 Wine Company (aka Jonata). Another label, The Paring, is made from the younger vines that aren't quite ready for the Jonata. Matt Dees is winemaker for both.
I am pleased to report that all four of his releases are excellent and, perhaps even more important, fairly priced. I didn’t get the impression that the agent or LCBO were stiffing the customers. Unfortunately, quantities were small and it seems that many of my readers who received my advance issue of Vintage Assessments earlier this week had already swarmed Vintages stores picking many shelves clean. While some store stock was held back for tastings, there will certainly be very few bottles of the Jonas wines left by his Sunday.
Here is my top recommendation:
Complex Baked Cherries ***/***+ (94 Points)
JONATA 2006 TODOS 2006
Santa Ynez Valley
$59.95 – #218941 - 99 Cases (15.2%) [Rus Woo]
Very deep intense purple colour. Intense, very slightly, baked black cherry purée nose with some vanilla notes. Dry, medium bodied, quite well structured, slightly spicy, very juicy, plummy-black cherry flavours with a lingering, crisp, sandalwood-vanilla finish. A blend of 39% Syrah, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Sangiovese, and 15% Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, and Viognier. Ready-to-drink. Kuddos to the importer who made sure that the price at Vintages here in Ontario was comparable to US.
Drinkability: { N S SM M ML l }
Actually, my best buy was for his less expensive The Paring and I am happy to report that it is still available.:
Solid **+/*** (89.5 Points)
THE PARING 2008 PINOT NOIR
Santa Rita Hills
$32.95 – #218958 - 149 Cases (14.1%) [Rus Woo]
Very deep intense purple colour. Intense very spicy, baked black cherry purée nose with some vanilla notes. Dry, medium bodied, quite well structured, slightly spicy, very juicy, plummy-black cherry flavours with a lingering, crisp, vanilla-sandalwood finish. Ready-to-drink. Only 650 cases made with no fining or filtration.
Drinkability: { N S SM m }
Released every two weeks, we have always posted Vintages delisting sales for our readers. These are often hidden from sight. In fact, we are the sole source of this information and give it to you in a conveniently linked tasting note database. This is important because when you do a LCBO search, there is no indication that the price has changed.
In most instances, these delistings are paid for by the producer (not the LCBO) because the item in question didn’t sell through quickly enough! This quota system is a policy forced upon suppliers by the LCBO and seems to be applied in an arbitrary fashion.
With the excessive number of Vintages products fighting for shelf space, is it any wonder that they don’t make the cut. After all, as soon as an items sells through, there’s a new item to replace it. Most stores will not even reorder an extremely popular item that sells out immediately because of obligation to put new items on the shelf.
Customer choice is severely hampered by this situation. If I shop at the Summerhill store, for instance, and a recommended item sells out in a day or so after the release, then it’s permanently gone. Excessive inventory can sit totally forgotten in the warehouse. It’s an inconvenience to customers who are forced to visit another store, which may not be close-by. Unfortunately, stores do not like to order only a bottle or so of a wine for a customer. Even if it isn’t in the warehouse, inter-store transfers are not permitted on newly released items.
It takes six months for these items to be delisted. Of course, many of the items that don’t sell through are not very good. However, sometimes it is because too much was ordered or the timing was inopportune. Whatever the reason, there are always so excellent buys. Last Monday’s delisting had some destination wines all from the October 30, 2010 release. Here is the
My best buy was Mr. Riggs 2007 Shiraz/Viognier Adelaide Hills, South Australia. It was $24.95 and is now $21.50 click here
Sometime big discounts appear on specific items. From the Vintages Christmas gift catalogue one item stands out and is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. Here it is:
 Just in time for St. Patrick's Day 
Jameson Reserve Gift Pack
Was $99.95 - Now $77.95
Tomorrow’s March 5 VINTAGES RELEASE features 120 items. It has an ARGENTINA &
CHILE thematic featuring 10 different selections (all under $20). There are 6 NORTHERN ITALIAN wines again all under $20. For ST. PATRICK’S DAY there are three Irish whiskeys – all good. Locally, there are 3 from ONTARIO VIRTUAL WINERIES. Finally, there are 10 untasted In-Store Discoveries. All in all, there are some really great buys!
My #1 pick of the release is a white from Australia: Penfolds 2009 Thomas Hyland Chardonnay at only $19.95 (611228). It received my highest rating for any under $20 white over the past two years! My description: Intense Complex Key Lime Pie and final rating *** (90 points). Here is my Vintage Assessments tasting note: Bright medium light yellow colour. Excellent, complex, faintly smoky, toasty, pear purée nose with some key lime pie notes. Dry, medium to medium-full bodied, slightly spicy, ripe, lemon-lime-pear flavours with a very long, lingering,extremely crisp finish. Fermented and matured in French oak. Ready-to-drink. Screwcap closure. Very good value - better than the recommended 2007 (**/**+) released on December 5, 2009 at $19.95. The lot number is etched in the glass at the bottom of the bottle: 115200971629.
For fans of Sauvignon Blanc here is a classic from the Loire - Bernard Reverdy & Fils 2009 Sancerre at $22.95 (200055), which rated *** (90 points). It has a medium straw colour and intense, slightly spicy, gently grassy, ripe yellow grapefruit nose with some honeyed notes. Dry, medium to medium-full bodied, very well structured, harmonious, bright, ripe lemon-melon-grapefruit flavours with a lingering, very crisp, unoaked finish.
From Italy’s Lombardia comes Zenato 2009 San Cristina Massoni Lugana at $17.95 (200097). Honeyed, Spicy & Floral - it rated ** (87.5 points). Light straw colour, it has a very pleasant, floral, gently honeyed, slightly spicy, ripe melon-lemon nose. Dry, medium-light bodied and harmonious, it has slightly spicy, ripe melon flavours with a lingering, crisp, slightly floral, unoaked finish. This 100% Lugana is just another name for Trebbiano di Soave, which happens to be the second most widely planted grape in the world. Lugana sits on the border between Lombardy and Veneto on the south end of beautiful Lake Garda. Try with chicken.
It you are looking for something cheap and cheerful? There’s the easy-to-drink, fairly fruity, light bodied Loios White 2009 from Portugal. It really hits the spot at only $9.80 (cspc 92114) and is available in most LCBO stores. This white is produced in the Alentejo region, located in the south of Portugal. Its name originates from the title given in the 15th century to the members of the ancient Priest Congregation of St. John Evangelist, known simply as Loios. Loios monks have always had a deep connection to the history of Alentejo, especially to its wines. Thus, this wine has been named after them and is made from traditional grape varieties of the region. A 50-50 blend of Rabo de Ovelha and Roupeiro, the wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks. This is a young, fresh wine, which highlights the delicate, yet instantly approachable nature of these grapes.
Besides the price, the International Wine Review (October  2010) awarded it 88 points describing it as “Delicious & Easy to Drink”. It has “fragrant aromas of ripe pear and melon, herbs and nuts... light tropical fruit flavors & mineral notes on the palate - finishes clean”. Toronto sommeliers say that Loios has added fun & value to their by-the-glass wine list program. A tasty, versatile, popular pour from Portugal (see stores)
Moving on to reds, there’s an interesting French Loire red at only $14.95 that I believe is worth exploring. Domaine Matabrune Bourgueil 2009 (196865). Initially I rated a bit higher in the lab, but just bought a bottle and found that it was a tad tight when initially opened. It has a deep intense purple colour and slightly spicy, plummy nose with some slight hints of sage and licorice. Dry, medium bodied, very slightly spicy, Damson plum flavours with some hints of fraise des bois on the lingering, crisp finish. A well-made, accessible, 100% Cabernet Franc. Domaine de Matabrune is located in a small, shallow valley in Restigné and used to belong to the St Martin’s collegiate church. The vineyards face south for maximum exposure to the sun (the current 40 year old vines were first planted there during the Roman period). Only 900 cases were produced. It is quite ready to enjoy but benefits from being open for a couple of hours. Like Bordeaux, it would be excellent with rib steak.
Another great choice would be Strewn 2006 Terroir Merlot at $19.95 (22576). Described as Plummy Mocha-Chocolate, it rated **+ (89 points). This remarkable VQA Niagara Peninsula red has a deep purple red colour with a fairly intense, slightly spicy, ripe, plummy, mocha-chocolate nose. Dry, bright, medium bodied, harmonious, slightly spicy, ripe, plummy, mocha-chocolate flavours with a lingering, crisp, gently toasty finish. Very fine value.
In over 20 years, this is the biggest February release since Vintages began. The February 19th edition features 132 different items. One wonders where are they going to accommodate all these selections on top of the 117 items released two weeks ago? A whopping total of 249 new skus in only four weeks!
The current release has a Hail Cabernet Sauvignon thematic featuring 18 different selections (ranging form $14.95 to $84.00). There are 10 wines for Passover; with two exceptions most are on the pricey side. Locally, there are 7 Gold Medal Winning Ontario Wines - a very mixed bag indeed – some of these selections seem quite unexceptional and not worthy of a detour. Finally, there are 11 untasted In-Store Discoveries.
This happens to be a very good release with 32 Recommendations (24.2%) of which 14 (10%) are Best Buys. Plus there are 23 Explorer’s Selections.
Here are some of my Recommendations. My top scoring wine in terms of sheer enjoyment and value is Gloria Ferrer 2005 Blanc de Blancs. Wow, did they ever do a great job on this one – terrific quality at an amazing price.
Best value Chard of the release is New Zealand’s Kumeu River 2007 Maté's Vineyard Chardonnay 2007 (204032 -$39.95) Rich & Mouthfiling *** (92 points) Day-glo medium yellow colour. Intense, complex, toasty, key lime pie nose with some shortbread notes. Rather intense, dry, mouthfilling, medium-full bodied, warm hazelnuts and solid key lime pie flavours. Rich and quite Burgundian in style with some spicy, lingering, cedary notes on the finish. Screwcap closure.
Most exciting old world white is from Austria Leth Vineyards 2009 Steinagrund Grüner Veltliner (207282 - $16.95)
Spicy, Intense & Honeyed **/**+ (88.5 points) Bright light straw colour. Expressive, fairly intense, spicy, ripe lemon-melon nose with some wildflower notes. Dry, medium bodied, harmonious, slightly spicy, ripe lemon-melon flavours with a lingering, bright, floral finish. Screwcap closure.
Most interesting is an off-dry German white from Franken
Bürgerspital 2009 Silvaner Kabinett Würzburger Innere Leiste (197194 - $18.95) Honeyed, Spicy, Ripe Apple-Melon **/**+ (88.5 points) Light yellow colour. Fairly intense, very spicy, slightly honeyed, ripe melon-apple nose with some wildflower notes. Dry, medium to medium-light bodied, harmonious, spicy, zesty, ripe apple-melon flavours with a lingering, honeyed, very slightly bitter, wildflower finish. Screwcap closure. Great with cheese fondue. Ready-to-drink.
Best “gold medal winning” Ontario wine is which actually gets a very high silver (which could be gold) Wayne Gretzky 2007 No. 99 Estate Series Cabernet/Merlot (128652 - $19.95) Complex & Faintly Earthy **+ (89.5 points) Extremely deep intense purple colour. Slightly spicy, vanilla plummy-cherry nose with some cedary, notes. Dry, well structured, medium to medium-full bodied, slightly spicy, faintly earthy, plummy flavours with some cedary, cherry notes on the crisp, lingering, vanilla-tinged, mocha-chocolate finish.
Best buy from California comes from Mendocino County Bonterra 2007 Syrah (573709 - $19.95) Ripe & Spicy **/**+ (88.5 points)
Extremely deep intense purple colour. Slightly spicy, baked plummy-cherry nose with lots of vanilla notes. Dry, medium bodied, quite well structured, slightly spicy, ripe, plummy-cherry flavours with a lingering cedary finish. A blend of 83% Syrah, 11% Petite Sirah, 4% Grenache and 2% Mourvedre. The recommended 2006 (**/**+) was released on April 17, 2010 at $19.95. This organic red contains a still undetermined amount of free sulphur.
Best value Bordeaux Château Mazeris 2006 (199034 - $19.95)
Very Well Structured **/**+ (88.5 points) Very deep intense purple colour. Very slightly cedary, plummy, red licorice-tinged nose. Dry, medium bodied, quite well structured, rather tangy, plummy, dried red cherry flavours with a crisp, lingering, sandalwood-tinged finish.
Tastiest Italian value comes from Abruzzo Terra d'Aaligi 2007 Tatone Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (994616 - $15.95) Ripe Plums & Sandalwood **/**+ (88.5 points) Extremely deep intense purple colour. Fairly intense, very slightly spicy, baked ripe plum nose with some sandalwood, and mocha-chocolate notes. Dry, solid, medium bodied, fairly mouthfilling, harmonious, slightly spicy, baked, still-warm, plum flavours with blueberry-mullberry notes on the lingering sandalwood finish.
Best value red of the release comes from Portugal’s Alentejano
Herdade 2007 Paço Do Conde (131821 - $14.95) Spicy Mocha-Chocolate **/**+ (88.5 points) This 40% Aragones, 40% Triacadeira, 10% Alianta Bouschet and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon has a deep red colour. Complex, intense, spicy, plummy, mocha-chocolate notes. Dry, medium to medium-full bodied, harmonious, spicy, gently cedary, spicy, black cherry flavours with lots of mocha-chocolate notes on the lingering finish. Ready-to-drink.
And finally, hail the return of the user friendly Spanish Cava Codorníu Pinot Noir Rosé Brut Cava (665372 - $16.95) Tangy Strawberry **/**+ (88.5 points) This 100% Pinot Noir has a bright very light reddish pink colour. Gently spicy, honeyed, plummy, ripe apple-cherry-strawberry nose. Fairly dry, medium to medium-light bodied, bright, fresh, plummy, ripe strawberry flavours with a crisp, effervescent finish. Last appeared in Vintages (**+) on April 3, 2010 at $16.95 and was a Recommended/Best Buy.
The February 5th Vintages Release features 117 items. It has a Tuscany 2007 Red thematic featuring 17 selections ($15.95 - $63.95). There are 4 reds from Washington State and for Valentine’s Day there are 4 sweet wines, a tasty Bordeaux Rose and 5 sparkling wines. Finally, there are 11 untasted In-Store Discoveries.
It’s definitely a seesaw situation, from one of the more disappointing Vintages releases (January 22) to one of the best. In a nutshell, the selection from Chile in the last release was a bust. Contrast this to this weekend’s Italian stallions – especially the Tuscany focus, which has many fine buys.
Rather than give you a litany of what to drink, I am going to share with you page 8 of my current issue of Vintage Assessments. You will see a couple of my highlights all of which are linked to the LCBO database.
In addition, I am going public about my disappointment with the LCBO’s excessively high pricing of California wines ( with the exception of only a few items). Take a look at page 5, there isn’t a single recommendation because most prices are totally out of wack. There are some good wines but the quality-price ratios are wrong.
As for my 95-point Release Highlight, well that’s reserved for FBTI Supporters. There simply isn’t enough bottles to go around. Good luck, good hunting!
Willie loves Bordeaux!
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January 22 Vintages Release synopsis: This release features a whopping 129 items and has a Hot Chile thematic, which featuring 20 selections - 15 inexpensive reds ($12.95 - $19.95) a number of which are quite disappointing and 5 decent whites. Then there are 6 under-$20 reds from Southwestern France. For Robbie Burns Day there are 4 malt whiskies. From Canada there are 3 fine/recommended Ontario Rieslings. Finally, there are 10 untasted In-Store Discoveries.
I had a solid total of 41 recommendations in the 129 items being released. Out of these 41, there were only 15 Best Buys. Here are three of them. Become an FBTI Supporter today and you will get the complete list of what to buy and what not to buy before the release!
The best buy Chilean white (out of 5 selections $12-95-$14.95):
Spicy & Ready-to-Drink ** (87.5 POINTS)
Emiliana Novas 2009 Limited Selection Chardonnay
Organic, Casablanca Valley
$14.95 – #4515 (274 Cases) (14%) [Bra New]
Bright medium straw colour. Gently tropical, fresh, pineapple-melon-lemon nose with some cedary notes. Fairly dry, medium bodied, very spicy, gently toasty, ripe melon tropical fruit cocktail flavours with a lingering, cedary finish. Ready-to-drink. Screwcap closure. This organic wine contains 16 mg/L of free sulphur. Drinkability: { N S }
The best buy Chilean red (out of 15 selections):
Solid & Well Structured **/**+ (88.5 POINTS)
Errázuriz 2008 Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Aconcagua Valley
$19.95 - #203364 (221 Cases) (14%) [Phi Dan] Lot: L10266
Extremely deep intense purple colour. Baked plum, complex, cedary, mocha-chocolate nose. Dry, well structured, medium to medium-full bodied, slightly spicy, baked ripe plum flavours with lots of mocha-chocolate notes on the lingering, crisp finish. Drinkability: { N S SM M ml }
The release best buy red comes from Southwest France
Cedary Toasted Coconut **/**+ (88.5 POINTS)
Cave de Fronton 2007 Capitolium
AC Fronton
$14.95 - #200022 (249 Cases) (12.5%) [MCO]
Extremely deep intense purple colour. Complex, Christmas cake and banana bread nose with lots of cedary-plummy notes. Dry, solid, medium to medium-full bodied, well structured, ripe baked plum flavours with a lingering, sandalwood, toasted coconut finish. The Vintages Catalogue says that this is a blend of 60% Negrette and 40% Cabernet Franc, while the back label also mentions Syrah – who knows. Drinkability: { n S SM M ml }
For Robbie Burns Day, I always do a mini single malt tasting. Here is a collection of my tasting notes of The Balvenie, which has witnessed 24 Vintages releases over the past decade.
It is amazing how a restaurant can seduce you with one dish, and yet manage to drive you away with another. Having lived in the High Park area for decades, I finally ventured into Inter Steer Tavern at 357 Roncesvalles, which always seemed more like a pub than a restaurant with its massive bar, loud jukebox, sports tv, pool table and handful of small tables with only a few larger tables for 4 or more.
It serves mostly under $10 finger food. If I had ordered the $9 pork schnitzel sandwich with the French fries, it would be goodby! “It comes with fries or salad” the waitress says. Rosie replies that last time she was able to have her sandwich with a small portion of fries and salad. “No, it doesn’t come that way; the chef doesn’t want to do that!”
Rosie forges ahead anyway. The slightly blandish breaded pork comes in a bun with a huge side of French fries. Alas, there are tastier schnitzel renditions on Roncesvalles without the bun and with more appropriate sides. Let’s hope that there is a change in thinking.
What saved the evening was the incredibly delicious hefty lamb shank sitting in a gorgeous wintry mélange of white beans, root vegetables, etc. At only $15, it's probably the tastiest, best value dish of the year! Only one main is served each evening and sometimes what is appearing isn’t announced until 6 pm. On Friday, it’s always fish. Call (416-588-8054) and chek out to see if it's something that you usually enjoy. If it is, then it’s a safe bet that chef Michael Cross will have you coming back for more.
By the way, my beverage of choice was a 500 ml bottle of Zywiec, a very tasty refreshing Polish lager with 5.3% alcohol ($245 – 331280), which only set you back $5.75 plus 13% HST.
It's great to see compounded taxes upon taxes.
Best Buy of the Week
This Vintages Essential sleeper is without question one of the tastiest reds I have come across this year in the $20-30 range. Better yet, there is a $4 LTO ENDING January 23rd – instead of $25.95, now only $21.95. I have been tracking this ever-improving Portuguese blend of Trincadeira, Aragones and Cabernet Sauvignon for the past couple of years and it is getting better and better.
For my taste, the current Esporão 2007 Reserve (Vintages cspc 606590) is the best to date. Note that it has a new a new label. I gave it a whopping ***/***+ or 93.5 points. A must buy at this price! Very deep intense dark purple colour, it has a very attractive, complex, fairly intense, roasted ripe plum, vanilla-sandalwood nose with some mocha notes. Dry medium-full bodied, rich, rounded, surprisingly mouthfilling, baked ripe, plummy, black cherry flavours with a lingering, slightly spicy, sandalwood, mocha-chocolate, albeit still bright finish. It all makes me think of spit-roasted wild boar. Ready-to-drink, but will definitely hold for a few years. In three words: rich, delicious, complex.
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Niagara Highlights
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Friday night’s Red Hot and Ice Gala at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls was a real blast: great cuisine, tons of wine and scintillating entertainment. My problem was that I was in the LCBO tasting room earlier in the day from 9 am until almost 4 pm doing a nonstop evaluations of some 130+ upcoming items for the February 19th Vintages release.
This is on top of the 118 items coming out on February 3rd and the 124 items being launched next weekend. One wonders, where are they going to find shelf space for all these new listings? It’s a problem facing importers who must sell have high sell through rates or wines are discounted at the agent’s expense. To see tomorrow’s January 17th Vintages delistings (a total of 8 items with two best buys) click here.
In any case, made it from Toronto to Niagara Falls in two hours, which isn’t too bad. Thankfully the roads were clear. In the foyer of the event I paused to gaze at the Guinness World Record icewine glass, which held some 27 litres of Ontario’s best. It broke the old record set three years ago in Italy. A total of 38 Ontario wineries poured bottles of their best icewine into a specially made four-foot-tall wine flute. “Now all we have to do is find people to drink it,” quipped one member of the invited media.
This was really not a tasting event, but rather a social soiree. With the exception of a few die-hards, such as fellow wine writer Michael Pinkus who was busy making notes, most of the well-dressed crowd was just having a good time. I was pretty much done by 9:30 and happy to collapse in bed.
It would have been great to sift through all the wines being presented but, alas, physically impossible. There were just too many! Also, icewine is always a difficult to judge. Until recently, I did an annual competition of Ontario icewines all from a specific year. To see my National Post feature on this major icewine competition click here.
Also, to see my 360 icewine reviews for Vintages releases click here
On Saturday, we drove to the village of Jordan for the Twenty Valley Winter “not just icewine” WineFest. It was a bit of a hike, first retrieving my car from the Hilton parking garage (there was a half-hour wait), then following the snow ploughs along the QEW. I eventually arrived just in time to catch a media preview of 5 wines a small, unheated tent. It was a first for me (tasting outside in winter) and I have to admit that I enjoyed it.
Both whites were top notch. The *** (out of 3 stars) Cave Spring CSV Cave Spring Vineyard 2008 Riesling (still in Vintages #566026 at $29.95) was better than ever with just a wink of sweetness showing through. It’s actually better than when I originally tasted in last August.
Winemaker Paul Pender presented his Tawse 2008 Robyn’s Block Chardonnay (an untasted Vintages release 204982 at $41.95). It showed lots of lovely, toasty, lemon-lime meringue flavours – another ***/***+ Burgundy-inspired effort. Some 4,800 bottles were produced.
The first red was presented by winemaker Sébastien Jacquey - Le Clos Jordanne Le Clos Jordanne Vineyard 2008 Pinot Noir, which is currently in Vintages (cspc 33902) at $40.00. Let me simply say that I am not a fan of this ** challenging 2008 red, even when chilled.
Rob Power presented his well-structured, somewhat earthy, faintly meaty Creekside 2007 Broken Press Shiraz ($39.95 – winery only). I gave it **+/*** and feel that it will be in *** territory with some additional aging. Quite honestly, this isn’t the best wine to taste chilled! It would be better warmer with osso buco.
The ***+ highlight of the tasting was Hidden Bench 2007 La Brunante. At $85 isn’t cheap, but it is extracty, rich, mouthfilling and classic. It also is in serious need of much more aging – probably 5 years.
The only other major surprise while cruising the tasting tables – by now my feet were freezing – was the Angel’s Gate 2008 Mountainview Pinot Noir, which I rated **+. To my palate, it was superior to Le Clos Jordan at $40. Only150 cases were produced and I suggest that you move quickly at $24 (Angel’s Gate winery only).
A New Italian Red from Zenato
In terms of non-Vintages LCBO selections, I was impressed with the appearance of a new Italian red from the venerable house of Zenato, which is currently celebrating its 50th Annversario. There are 11 Zenato items available at the LCBO (click here to see), but this new red is the best value ever at only $11.95. Zenato 2008 Veneto Rosso(cspc 208579) is a totally new blend of 40% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Corvina. I scored it ** (out of ***) with 87.5 points. It’s dry, medium bodied, smooth and gently juicy with slightly spicy, ripe, plummy-cherry flavours and a lingering, fresh, crisp finish. Versatile and ready to enjoy, it’s worth a detour and is definitely recommended. In three words: bright red cherries.
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Vintages Release Highlights
Next Weekend - Special Niagara Events
Saturday, January 8, 2011
IIt’s going to be a very vinous year at Vintages. The back-to-back twin January 2011 previews held last month means that we will be seeing some 230+ items hitting the Vintages shelves this month alone. It’s the biggest January release ever and one has to wonder if all these products are going to sell sufficiently well to make their minimum 90-day quotas as arbitrary established by Vintages.
Thankfully, this first release of the year has more good, decently priced wines than never before. Usually regarded as the graveyard shift filled with wines that are best avoided, I was delighted to taste so many best buys – an amazing 21 in total out of 106 release items.
Here are my two release highlights one red from Australia, the other a white from Germany. Ironically, neither of them appears in the Vintages designated “2011 Smart Buys”. Here they are:
White Table Wine – Germany - Mosel
Recommended by Vintage Assessments! - A Best Buy
Complex, Sweet & Delicious **+ (89 points)
Reichsgraf Von Kesselstatt Riesling Kabinett Piesporter Goldtropfchen 2007
($19.95 – 189654) 798 cases - alcohol: 14.5 %
Bright light straw colour. Intense, complex, slightly candied, Seville orange marmalade nose with some butterscotch notes. Lovely, gently sweet, harmonious, medium-light bodied, slightly spicy, ripe citrusy, Seville orange marmalade flavours with a long, lingering, crisp finish. Terrific value - great anytime. Drinkability: { N S SM m }
Red Table Wine – Australia - Barossa, South Australia
Recommended by Vintage Assessments! - A Best Buy
Spicy Mocha-Chocolate *** (90 points)
Grant Burge Miamba Shiraz 2008
($20.95 – 725127) 149 cases - alcohol: 8.5 %
Extremely deep intense purple colour. Complex, spicy, ripe black cherry fruit on the nose. Dry, medium full bodied, harmonious, plummy, ripe black cherry flavours with some cedary, mocha-chocolate notes on the lingering high acid finish. This repeat is even better than the recommended 2008 (**+/***) released on July 10, 2010 at $19.95. Drinkability: { N S SM M ml }
If you want to get the full details of all the items of the release, I suggest that you become an FBTI Supporter (limited time $20 discount) and you will receive all reports prior to the release. Sign up and you will receive our biweekly newsletter with all the details along with our buying guide TODAY. Send me an email if you want to become a trial FBTI supporter (only $29.95) and receive the next 10 issues for free.
Special Niagara Events
January 14-16
Meanwhile down in Niagara, you may want to consider attending one or perhaps both of next weekend’s upcoming Niagara wine events. The first takes place next Friday, January 14th Xerox Presents: Red Hot and Ice Gala which is described as a spectacular evening of Niagara cuisine, live entertainment and over 30 Niagara wineries who will be showcasing VQA wines and icewines from 8 to 11 pm at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls. Tickets for this formal gala event are $175.00 per person. Contact 905-688-0212 for more information
Twenty Valley Winter “not just icewine” WineFest is held in charming Jordan Village where you will be able to sample over 100 wines from 35 area wineries, with icewine sharing centre stage with some of Ontario’s best sparkling and premium VQA wines. It takes place on Saturday and Sunday (January 15-16) from 11am – 5pm. You will able to taste a list of specialty and reserve wines not offered at any other wine festival. In addition, there will be 10 gourmet food stations set among barrels and stainless steel tanks and live rockin’ sounds of “Broken Cadence”. You can Pre-order your Twenty Valley collectible tasting glass and 9 tokens for $25.00 thereby skipping the line-ups at the token stand! Click here to get all the details.
One of my destinations at the event will be the Angels Gate Winery which is serving three items only available at the winery: Mountainview Pinot Noir 2008; St. John Riesling 2007; Archangel Pinor Noir Rose 2008. I am looking forward to tasting this trio, but want to remind you that their LCBO listing of Angels Gate 2008 Gamay Noir (a Recommended Best Buy at $12.95) now comes with 4 AirMiles until January 29th.
We just tasted it at Toronto's Niagara Street Café and this bright, zesty, crancherry flavoured Gamay really hit the spot – hopefully it might appear on their wine list. Dinner highlights included the appetizer La Ferme Bison Pastrami with potato rosti, fennel apple sauerkraut and elderberry apple sauce ($13) and Slow Roasted Kings View Lamb Shoulder with butternut squash gnocchi, delicata, black kale, goat cheese cream and jus natural ($25). My only wish is that the wonderfully delicious, precariously thin slice of lemon tart was at least the twice its size.
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New Years Eve
The long good-by (2010) - hello meatballs (2011)
confessions of a meatball maker
Saturday, January 1, 2011
 Rosie and I opted for a quite New Year’s Eve with our friends Russell and Christine Woodman - who are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. We first had an early evening rendezvous at the local Revue Cinema (Toronto’s not-for-profit, community-run movie theatre) where we saw the film Fair Game (recommended). It was extremely stimulating and  highlighted (at least for me) the horrific consequences (in terms of lives lost and billions wasted) of the previous pro-war Bush administration. For questions of accuracy check out the article in Wikipedia.
In any case, seeing such stirring stuff was perhaps a great way to end a rather challenging year, which was filled with various disasters. In hindsight, perhaps the apocalyptic film 2012 might well have been an alternative.
We retreated to the comfort of the warm fireplace and pre-prandial, which included Codornui’s Reserve Raventos Brut Cava (a recommended best buy which was released in September 2009). Actually, it was even better today than when originally tasted.
Dinner was ultra casual featuring a Caesar salad (naturally with the right ingredients) and our co-production of spaghetti and meatballs. Rosie’s remarkable southern Italian-inspired genuine DOP tomato sauce recipe is a perfect foil for my famous meatballs.
Unfortunately, the latter never come out the same. It’s my meatball study in progress. They are usually made from fresh, course-ground, fairly lean, beef, pork and New Zealand lamb to which I have added a myriad of ever-changing spices, sautéed onion, chopped smoked bacon, porcini-encrusted bread cubes (soaked in flavored buttermilk), etc.
One of the most important things is not to over-process and over-compact the meatballs. You should let each of the components speak for themselves. Nothing is worse than those commercial, dense, salty, monotonously homogenous meatballs that have all too much in common with fatty, cheap pork breakfast patties. Woof!
At one time, I pan-fried my meatballs, but no more - now I simply bake them in the oven. This is much easier and doesn’t cause the meatball to toughen up. By putting them on an elevated large turkey rack sitting on a pan, you are able to let the excess fat escape. I add smoke-flavoured water to the pan so as to help keep the meatballs moist. And, as I make a big batch at a time, I hand-wrap each individual meatball (using my convenient, counter-mounted E-zeeWrap 1000 system with stretchable plastic wrap). I then freeze them in convenient pouches.
Of course, the final spicing is important, whether its adding a touch of pepper, herbes de Provence or just the right touch of finger-ground  Maldon Sea Salt Flakes (check it out). I abhor the impact of salt from the salt shaker, which is uniform and makes everything taste, just very salty. The secret with finger-ground bits and pieces is the presence of micro explosions of saltiness, which does not degrade but actually hightens the other independent flavours of the dish.
Of course, the right cheese (or combination of cheeses) will heighten the flavours. Add tiny slivers of Parmigiano-Reggiano ($40.99 kg) not some awful, salty, flavourless, grated knock-off. A year ago, I got an extraordinary deal in I southern Italy, while touring Puligia’s wineries with Steven Spurrier, three delicious kilos for under $50!
You might try various cheese combinations, including a highly recommended raw milk Cave-Aged Swiss Gruyere (deliciously nutty - $35 / kg) or perhaps Sbrinz which claims to be the oldest European cheese (Celtic ancestors of the Swiss were making cheese centuries before the birth of Christ). I have written about Sbrinz before. Many years ago it used to be available (in wheels) at very low prices from John Kalcevich who at the time ran Pasquale Brothers when it was still on King Street East. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find and the price has exploded. The kilo (half a block) I just bought at St. Lawrence market was good, but not worthy of a detour at just over $40. The Sprinz was quite hard and dense, making grating difficult (I managed to cut myself with one of my ultra-sharp expensive new knives).
Thankfully, this simple dish usually solicits some Ooh's & Aah's. As always, I served it with a number of reds in my never-ending quest trying to discover the best match. This evening I opened a bottle of 1970 Chateau de la Gardine Chateauneuf du Pape to celebrate the 40th wedding anniversary. I happened to be Russell’s best man some four decades ago! Bu they way, this tasty Rhone which was purchased in the early 1970’s at the LCBO for $5.95 and stored at 4°C (about 40°F) was mature but still in pristine condition with ripe baked plum flavours and a touch of earthy, sandalwood on the lingering finish.
the lonley meatball
Michael Vaughan's Festive Bubbly 
I was digging around looking for a tasty reasonably priced sparkling wine for the holidays. I remember tasting Trivento Brut Nature in the November 13th Vintages release. It was a Recommended - Best Buy at $14.95. This 50-50 Argentinean blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay has an attractive, slightly spicy, faintly honeyed, ripe, plummy-strawberry nose with some leesy notes. It has effervescent, dry, very bright, medium-light bodied, strawberry-driven flavours. Very tasty and ready-to-drink. Thankfully, it’s still widely available in some 70 stores.
An Old Friend from the Rhone
Friday, December 31, 2010
I first met Christine andEric Saurel, the owners of the certified biodynamic Montirius, at a winemaker’s lunch at Jamie Kennedy’s JK restaurant in August 2007. I was amazed by their wines and was impressed with their dedication and respect for the environment. They were accompanied by their three children. When not in school, each would be responsible for the multitude of vineyard related chores. These tasks included stuffing cow horns with manure, which were then strategically buried throughout the vineyards (apparently essential for the biodynamic process of capturing astral energy). I am sure that they always looked forward to going back to school.
I was happy that their 2008 was released in Vintages as an In-Store Discovery on December 11. Only 44 cases were bought and thanks to Louis Banyard of Signature Wines & Spirits, I was able to assess this most recent shipment.
This exceptional southern Rhone vineyard was classified as a “cru” in 1990. Vacqueyras is just a few kilometers south of Gigondas and shares much of the same terroir (map). While it may not be a perfect match with turkey, it excels with duck and game (especially venison) along with osso buco.
The Montirius 2006 Vacqueyras Le Clos (ISD - cspc 76547) at $28.95 rated *** (90 points). This biodynamic blend of 50% Grenache  and 50% Syrah has an intense purple colour and a slightly earthy, spicy, baked, plumy, black cherry nose with lots of black licorice notes. On the palate it is dry, tangy, medium to medium-full bodied and fairly extracty with slightly earthy, licorice-driven, spicy, baked plum-cherry flavours followed up by a lingering, mineral tinged, fairly high acid, crancherry finish. This organic wine contains 13 ml of free sulphur. You will have to move quickly to get the remaining bottles. Let me give you an advance that 199 cases of the regular
Montirius 2009 Vacqueyras (108779) will arriving in Vintages on February 5th at $23.95. I will have a tasting update for you on January 8th.
Treats for the Holidays
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Last night it was The King's Speech , which is by far the best film I have seen this year. The theatre was packed and unfortunately the guy beside me was eating popcorn through two-thirds of the film. Rattle, rattle, rattle as his hand went into the bag - mouth open munch, munch, munch with the occasional slurp, slurp punctuated by a symphony of stomach noises and some light burps. Unbelievable, am I in a theatre or visiting a pig farm? Thankfully the film was so good, the side show was merely a distraction.
After the film we went to Messis Restaurant at 97 Harbord Street for a late bite. It is celebrating it's 18th year under the guidance of Eugene Shewchuke, who is still very hand's on and last night was behind the stoves. The secret of this success? Fine ingredients, great cooking, generous portions, reasonable prices and good service. Indeed, they may have the best Caesar's Salad in Toronto with just the right hint of tasty, unoxidized, anchovies, crisp flavourful greens and excellent cheese. It's certainly the best value Caesar I have ever experienced in Toronto. Ted the sommelier has a decent, fairly-priced wine list that won't break the bank. I am still dreaming of their curry lamb cannelloni with sauteed mushrooms & spinach in a tomato cream sauce (not currently available).
Last week on Friday, December 24th, we went to an afternoon performance of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum starring one of my favourite actors Bruce Dow (who was the amazing lead in the wonderful 2009 production of Cabaret at Stratford). We took advantage of special promotion (posted on our website Time Out Toronto) and received a huge holiday ticket price reduction. I had seen it before but never so close - middle of second orchestra (row BB). Being so close, it was a pleasure to see the actual expressions on the actors faces. wAll in all, great fun and our two young guests guests, Lynda and Silka, loved it. They are the charming daughters of Frank Hsu & Irene Shen owners of Backalley Woodfire BBQ & Grill located at 188 Augusta Avenue. I should mention that their BBQ ribs (he serves three types) and oven pizza are worth a detour. They will reopen in the New Year.
A Tasty Thursday
Taste Treats for the Holidays
Thursday, December 23, 2010
With Christmas just a few days away, I tried tracking down some cranberry wine, which is a perfect foil for the seasonal turkey or ham. According to my records the reliable Stoney Ridge 2008 Cranberry Wine was last released in Vintages on September 26, 2009 at $14.95. Well when I checked the LCBO database, I discovered that it was still available in some five-dozen stores - only 40 had 5 or more bottles. Moreover, it was the 2009, which had not been tasted and was shipped out last Thanksgiving without any fanfare.
As I will not recommend anything that I have not tasted, I contacted CEO/winemaker Jim Warren and he sent me a sample. I liked the new label and felt that the 2009 is just as good, perhaps even a tad better with higher acidity, as the recommended 2008. It has a bright medium reddish rose colour and fresh, crisp, slightly spicy, crancherry nose. It’s dry, attractive and medium-light bodied with ripe crancherry flavours and a lingering very faintly sweet, tangy finish. I gave it 87.5 points (**/**+ out of 3 stars). If you can’t get it at your local LCBO (a real deal at $14.95), you can order it from the winery where it is priced at $16.20.
For those looking for an alternative to icewine, may I suggest the truly fantastic Stoney Ridge 2009 Cranberry Ice. This terrific item (***) is the essence of sweet ripe cranberries with tone of flavours and a long, lingering, refreshing finish. A little goes a long way. And while it costs five times as much per ounce as the regular cranberry, it’s worth every penny, at least for this palate. Keep in mind that it is only available at the winery and can be ordered for next day delivery at $40.05 per 375-ml bottle.
An Eclipse of the Moon
Cognac
Tuesday
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
 Another busy day - the shortest of the year. Corresponding with various friends in the UK about the dreadful whether conditions. Last May I flew to London for the 50th Anniversary dinner of the UK Circle of Wine Writers. It was being held on Monday night at the National Gallery. Imagine my horror while en route to hear the pilot announce that Monday's arrival in London was cancelled due to Iceland's volcanic ash and would be diverted to Paris. It meant that I would not make the dinner and the two guests I had invited would be on their own.
Then miraculously, only half an hour before arrival, we got clerance to land in London. I was great to be able to attend the afternoon Ontario Chardonnay tasting at Canada House and the wonderful CWW 50th Anniversary Bordeaux dinner that night. It was a treat to meet up with my friend Hugh Johnson who attended the first tasting of Canadian wines that I personally organized at Canada House in 1976 (see photo above).
It was exciting to see all the old familiar faces, including Steven Spurrier, CWW President, who I toured Puligia with exacly one year ago. I remeber that the flying conditions at that time were almost as horrible as this year. It took me two days to get back to Toronto (staying in a frozen Rome for a night after my flight was cancelled).
COGNAC
From Cheerful to Classy
The last time I did an exhaustive review of Cognac was five years ago was for the National Post - here is the complete article. Because of the price of better quality Cognac isn’t cheap, combined with the recession, Cognac sales in Canada have been relatively flat. The least expensive brand tasted five years ago was in the VS Class (meaning minimum aging of 2 ½ years): Dorlan Cognac VS (#895185 - $34.05). At the time, it came in an unsightly bottle and, quite honestly, wasn’t very good. Having said that, Dorlan was better than most French brandies and was fine in mixed drinks, say with Ginger Ale or perhaps with a wintery Cognac Eggnog.
Just a few days ago, the agent George Bozzo showed up with an appealing new bottle. It looked great and certainly tasted better than ever. I was surprised to see that this was designated as a usually pricey Fine Champagne.
I tasted it out of two glasses. The first was the ISO glass with its narrow opening. It made the nose somewhat peppery with caramel and plummy-prune notes. On the palate there were caramel and plummy-prune flavours with hints of dried flowers and pear. The cognac snifter, like the ISO glass with its narrow opening, intensifies the nose and funnels the spirit down the centre of the tongue bringing out those spicy pepper notes.
The wider-rimmed, tulip-shaped Whisky glass softens the nose, while highlighting the floral, vanilla-caramel notes. The Cognac is much gentler and softer in the Whiskey glass. The best? If you prefer smoother then the latter is for you! If your mixing Cognac with ginger ale, this is the one you should buy. A good entry-level Cognac, I gave the Dorlans fairly decent 86-points. By the way, you can buy these glasses for uder $10 each.
Moving on to one of my favourite Cognacs, Hine Rare VSOP (#356857 - $83.25)
is a totally different creature: Fairly intense, rich, gently complex somewhat spicy, warm, caramel-butterscotch nose with fine plum notes. Dry, fairly elegant, gently honeyed, vanilla-caramel tinged, slightly spicy, ripe plum flavours with a lingering finish. The peppery notes are gone, replaced by harmonious flavours the result of much longer aging. I honestly wondered whether the 6-point difference (92 vs. 86 points) really reflected the significant qualitative difference. This, of course, is the problem with points. In terms of stars Dorlan got a respectable *+, while Hine ***. The star rating really brings out the qualitative difference.
A Nouveau Monday
Monday, December 20, 2010
Today’s best buy is the tasty Beaujolais Villages just released in Vintages on Novemebr 18th. Today the price falls from $14.95 (by $5.00) to only $9.95 making the *** (90) RECOMMENDED Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau at BEST BUY (cspc 932780). This red is ready-to-enjoy It’s very crisp, dry, lightish red (although the most well structured of the "Nouveau" group at the LCBO) has respectably fruity with fairly ripe, plummy-cherry flavours that would go well with turkey or even salmon.
Check out today's Vintages delistings - to see click here.
For something completely different, I did a quick search on the LCBO website and turned up 158 vodkas (including 22 discontinued vodkas) . Of course, there’s no way that I am going to taste them all blind. Thankfully, when trying to find something special, you don’t have to. The very last one on the list is a favourite of mine – Zubrovka Bison Vodka at $25.95 (35840). Now known as ZU, the bison grass is harvested in the wild by hand, the grass is picked at its peak. It is then spread on screens and then the vodka flows through it extracting the soft, unique, gently grassy flavours. Each bottle has a blade of bison grass and makes for a great cocktail or just neat over ice.
 
A Sauvignon Sunday
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Today’s best buy is the wonderful Sauvignon Blanc released in Vintages on December 11th. Finally a terrific Napa Valley white that is actually worth the money, although still above it’s more reasonable $22 price tag in the US. Cliff Lede 2009 Sauvignon Blanc ($29.95 – 675025) is Ripe, Crisp & Peachy scoring 91 points and a full *** (out of 3 stars). It has a bright light straw colour and an intense, slightly spicy, ripe peach nose with some grassy notes and a  faintl hint of vanilla. Dry, medium bodied, well structured (14.5% alcohol), harmonious, lovely, slightly spicy, ripe melon-lemon-grapefruit-peachy-pear flavours with a lingering, fairly crisp, faint vanilla-tinged finish.
It’s a tribute to the clones of Sauvignon Blanc used and the winemaking techniques. A portion of the Sauvignon Blanc fruit is sourced from a vineyard in the southeastern hills of Napa Valley, which contributes an intense brightness and mineral austerity. In addition, there is fruit from a cooler climate vineyard on the east side of Napa, which imparts vibrant acidity and finesse. The portion of grapes from the Rutherford vineyard provides richness. Finally, their newest addition is a Sauvignon Musque clone from the Yountville appellation, which provides “explosive aromas” and some spicy notes.
In terms of winemaking, the fruit was hand-harvested and arrived at the winery at dawn and then held in controlled conditions of low oxygen and cold temperatures. Following hand-sorting, some of the fruit underwent gentle whole-cluster pressing and another portion was subjected to 16 hours of skin contact prior to pressing. The juice was fermented in 60% stainless steel tanks, 29% French oak barrels (15% new oak, 14% neutral oak), 6% stainless steel drums and 5% concrete eggs, all at cold temperatures to preserve the freshness of the fruit and build complexity. The wine was then aged on its lees and underwent weekly battonage (stirring). Secondary fermentation was suppressed.
A Sparkling Saturday
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Looking for a classy Ontario sparkler made in the classic methode champenoise? Check out the Vintages newly-released 13th Street Premier Cuvée Brut Sparkling ($29.95 - 142679). This VQA Niagara Peninsula blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay was aged for 36 months on the lees. It received an excellent 89 points and a **+ rating out of 3 stars. It has a very light yellow colour and rather spicy, tangerine-tinged, ripe, lemon-apple-melon nose. Dry, quite crisp, medium to medium-light bodied, spicy, ripe, lemon-melon-apple flavours with a lingering, fine, very effervescent finish. By the way, my congratulations to their new winemaker Jean-Pierre Colas (ex-Peninsula Ridge) who is continuing his ways by making some great new wines (especially the whites) at 13th Street Winery.
ISD Discovery - A Great Vintage Madeira
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
One of the best dessert wines *** (91 points) to appear in Vintages for some time is Henriques & Henriques 1998 Medium Rich Single Harvest Madeira at $33.95 (500 ml). Thanks to the unflagging efforts of the agent Miguel Jardim, I was able to preview this ISD as Vintages no longer permits wine writers to taste ISD releases This  wonderful 1998 vintage Madeira (ostensibly for political reasons it can only be called “single harvest”) has a golden light amber colour. The nose has fine intensity with lovely, mature, gently sweetish, caramel, flan notes along with touch of rancio balsamico. It’s medium bodied with very tangy, flavourful, bright, caramel-butterscotch-flan flavours supported by rancio, plummy-raisiny fruit verging on Christmas fruitcake. The lingering high-acid finish makes it a perfect foil for fans of older-styled Madeira.
Today’s Release - One Great Rioja
plus an outstanding Gran Reserva
Saturday, December 11 (11:15 pm)
Welcome to the last Vintages release of 2010. This is the 20th year I have been publishing Vintage Assessments and I would like to wish you all the best for the holiday season.
The December 11th VINTAGES RELEASE features a whopping154 items. It has a Holiday Celebrating thematic featuring 16 higher-priced selections many of which have received awards and/or high scores. The mini Pop Quiz thematic is with 15 sparkling wines. Be prepared - there are many fine buys in this release and some real bargains. Finally, there are 33 In-Store Discoveries (designated as ISD). To see the complete list of all187 items appearing click here
Here are a handful of recommendations, mostly based on value. To  see all of my tasting notes, I suggest that you become an FBTI Supporter (regularly $95 – now with a $20 holiday discount – now only $75). This will get you my detailed bi-weekly comprehensive buying guide listing every item for free. Designed for professional buyers and discerning wine lovers, it has appeared prior to every Vintages release for the past 20 years. It is the only comprehensive, consistent, buying guide of its kind in Canada. It is the only guide that documents all the Vintages release items!
Unlike most guides, it is exclusively based on my own personal tasting notes. It offers you a consistent view of all wines and spirits presented – new and old releases. Moreover, all wines are compared – one-on-one – with the previous Vintages release. Is it better, worse or just the same? Check out our November 27th edition.
With so many wines to taste, the December 11th Vintages preview LCBO lab tasting was spread over two days. This is important because it would be physically impossible to assess so many releases in a single day. Having said that, spending five hours each day, doing two non-stop tastings is extremely exhausting. Of course, I am still searching for that special palate to assist in these biweekly evaluations. I know that the gifted person is out there and it is only a matter of time before we connect. Needless to say, label-worshipers need not apply.
Before, talking my recommendations from this release, I want to mention a fantastic red from the November 27th release, which was initially corked. Last night I enjoyed a stunning New Zealnd lamb osso buco, which was prepared over two days by chef extraordinaire Rose Zgodzinski. The wine pairing could not have been better. Thanks to Woodman Wines & Spirits, I was able to try a second bottle of 940965 Beronia 2001 Gran Reserva Rioja (the first bottle was corked). Let me say with ***/***+ (94 points), this is the best Rioja in Vintages tasted this year – a real bargain at $31.95 (cspc 940965).
Of course, tasting it out of a decent large glass (vs. the small ISO glass), made a world of difference. Here is my note from the more compressed ISO glass:Deep intense deep dark red colour. Intense, complex, slightly earthy, baked plum nose with lots of cedary-sandalwood notes. Dry, medium full bodied, hamonious, fairly rich, mouthfilling, baked plum and dried ripe cherry flavours with a long, lingering, very smooth, mocha-tinged, sandalwood-cedar finish. A real classic.
Moving on to another terrific, well-priced Rioja in today’s release: Bodegas Franco Espanolas 2004 Rioja Bordón Reserva at only $17.95 (cspc 19 4753). It gets a whopping *** (91 points) which is amazing at the price. This blend of 80% Tempranilo, 15% Red Garnacha and 5% Mazuelo has a fairly deep intense purple red colour. Fairly deep red colour with a reddish-ambering edge. Intense, complex, gently earthy, sandalwood-tinged, ripe, baked plum nose. Dry, medium bodied, harmonious, flavourful, ripe baked cherries with lots of vanilla-sandalwood notes on the lingering crisp finish. Classic, remarkable, ready-to-drink value. Barrel-aged for 24 months.
Still What Not to Drink: Ontario 2008 Pinot Noir?
Last September I told readers to exercise extreme caution when buying 2008 Ontario Pinot Noir releases. I still have not tasted one that I consider worthy of a detour. I am sure that there must be some fine examples out there, but they just haven't touched my lips (yet).
Nobody likes criticism; so I guess I wasn’t too surprised not to be invited to the recent winemaker’s preview of Le Clos Jordanne’s 2008 line-up. I wasn’t the only one. Several important wine reviewers were excluded. Naturally, one would think that Vincor, which is owned by the world’s biggest wine company (the US mega Constellation) would really like to get wine writers on side, not burn bridges. Just in case you don't know, I honestly do not relish dissing a wine, especially when I personally know and respect the winemaker and how much effort went into making it.
Let me say in passing, that even without retasting the Le Clos Jordanne 2008 Chardonnay releases, I believe that they are the best on record. You can see my detailed notes first-hand on pages 3-4 of the November 27th issue of Vintage Assessments (click here).
One of the best dessert wines *** (91 points) to appear in Vintages for some time is Henriques & Henriques 1998 Medium Rich Single Harvest Madeira at $33.95 (500 ml). Thanks to the unflagging efforts of the agent Miguel Jardim, I was able to preview this ISD as Vintages no longer permits wine writers to taste ISD releases This wonderful 1998 vintage Madeira (ostensibly for political reasons it can only be called “single harvest”) has a golden light amber colour. The nose has fine intensity with lovely, mature, gently sweetish, caramel, flan notes along with touch of rancio balsamico. It’s medium bodied with very tangy, flavourful, bright, caramel-butterscotch-flan flavours supported by rancio, plummy-raisiny fruit verging on Christmas fruitcake. The lingering high-acid finish makes it a perfect foil for fans of older-styled Madeira.
* * * *
Michael Vaughan’s November 26 Update
Best Buys
Upcoming Vintages Release
The NOVEMBER 27 VINTAGES RELEASE features a whopping158 items. It has a HOLIDAY thematic featuring 26 higher-priced selections most of which have received 90+ scores in US publications. The mini-thematic is TUSCANY with 9 not inexpensive reds. There are 3 Ontario wines featured under BORDEAUX IN OUR BACKYARD. Finally there are 25 untasted IN- STOREDISCOVERIES (designated as ISD). To see the list of the 183 items appearing click here
Here are a handful of recommendations, mostly based on value. To see all of my tasting notes, I suggest that you become a FBTI Supporter (regularly $95 – now only $75 annually), This will get you my detailed b-weekly comprehensive buying guide listing every item (spirits, wines, etc.). It has been sent to discerning wine lovers for every Vintages release for 20 years and is exclusively based on my personal tasting notes. Check out the recent November 13th edition.
Best Buy Spirit: Honeyed Caramel *** (out of 3 stars)
GLENFIDDICH
21 YEARS OLD GRAN RESERVA HIGHLAND SINGLE MALT
VINTAGES Item # 981381 $164.95
Fairly deep golden amber colour. Gently honeyed, slightly sweet, spicy, fairly floral, ripe plum nose. Harmonious, fairly smooth, very slightly peppery, gently peaty, plummy, honeyed-caramel flavours with a hint of smoky lemon custard on the finish. Last appeared in Vintages (***) on November 21, 2009 at $155.00.
Best Buy Port: Sweet Spicy Plummy Cherries **/**+
NEWMAN'S CELEBRATED PORT
VINTAGES Item # 134908 - $14.95
Very deep intense purple colour. Intense, spicy, cinnamon-tinged, ripe plum and sweet chocolate nose. Solid, sweet but balanced, fairly well structured, medium to medium-full bodied, fairly creamy, ripe plum and black cherry flavours.
Best Buy Port: Seductive Sweet Cassis ***
SANDEMAN
VAU VINTAGE PORT 2000
VINTAGES Item # 973768 - $29.95
Very deep intense purple colour. Spicy, gently complex, vanilla-caramel-tinged, sweet, ripe plum purée nose. Sweet, medium-full bodied, rich, ripe, plummy, cassis-tinged flavours with a lingering, slightly spicy, mocha-plum-tinged finish. A very attractive, relatively harmonious, accessible style. A repeat of the recommended 2000 (***) released on October 24, 2009 at $29.95. This 2000 Vau was originally released on November 6, 2004 at $53.95, with the half-bottle selling for $27.95.
Best Buy White (Ontario): Complex Spicy Grapefruit ***
PENINSULA RIDGE
FUMÉ BLANC 2008
VINTAGES Item # 8102 - $24.95
Bright light yellow colour. Attractive, complex, intense, spicy, honeyed, ripe ruby grapefruit nose with some hints of vanilla bean. Medium bodied, tangy, ripe grapefruit-lemon-melon flavours with a lingering grapefruit-tinged finish. Quite delicious and ready to enjoy. Better than the recommended 2006 (**/**+) released on November 7, 2008 at $24.95.
Best Buy White (South Africa): Lemon Meringue **+
DELHEIM
SUR LIE CHARDONNAY 2009
VINTAGES Item # 956219 - $18.95
Bright light yellow colour. Fairly complex, intense, spicy, lemony, toasty, hazelnut nose. Dry, very crisp, bright, medium to medium-full bodied, ripe lemon meringue flavours with a lingering, toasty finish. Similar to the recommended 2007 (**/**+) released on February 14, 2009 at $17.95.
Best Buy Red (California): Smoky Black Cherries ***
MACROSTIE
PINOT NOIR 2007
VINTAGES Item # 674911 - $24.95
Deep purple red colour. Spicy, very slightly smoky, maple syrup, ripe black cherry purée nose. Dry, well balanced, medium bodied, attractive, very slightly sweetish, gently juicy, ripe plum and black cherry flavours with fine length and mid palate. Some tropical fruit cocktail notes on the finish. Ready-to-drink. Better than the 2006 (**/**+) released on December 5, 2009 at $25.95.
Best Buy Red (Australia): Solid Black Cherries & Cassis **+
LEASINGHAM
BIN 61 SHIRAZ 2005
VINTAGES Item # 448241 - $24.95
Extremely intense dark purple colour. Intense, plummy, slightly earthy, cassis and vanilla on the nose. Dry, well structured, medium bodied, spicy, dried black cherry flavours with a lingering, tangy, slightly cedary finish. The recommended 2005 (**+) was released on March 14, 2009 at $25.95
Best Buy Sparkling (California): Plums & Strawberries **/**+
MUMM NAPA BRUT ROSÉ
VINTAGES Item # 205641 - $29.95
Light pink colour. Slightly spicy, honeyed, ripe, plummy-strawberry nose. Dry, medium to medium-light bodied, slightly spicy, honeyed, ripe, plummy-strawberry flavours with a lingering, crisp finish. Has good effervescence. A ready-to-drink crowd-pleaser that would go well with seasonal festivities
November 22nd Vintages Sale
13 items are now on sale
click here
I will be doing some Black Friday bargain shopping today
Only 3 stores (1 in Toronto) still have 9 bottles each of my best buy Riesling
KRUGER-RUMPF RIESLING KABINETT 2008
#721928 on sale at $14.90
Lots of stores have the delicious best buy organic red from Australia
TEMPLE BRUER ENOOMAH BORE SHIRAZ/CABERNET 2007
#165894 on sale at $13.70
Lots of stores have the delicious best buy red from Portugal
CALLABRIGA TINTO 2007
#682591 on sale at $14.45
* * *
Michael Vaughan’s November 17 Update
2010 Nouveau Release
It's Nouveau time again. Two new wines, including an Ontario Gamay, are part of this year’s eight nouveau wines going on sale at more than 400 LCBO stores on November 18.
Hailing from France, Italy and Ontario, the nouveau wines (including two from VINTAGES) are being offered in a range of prices to suit different budgets.
The annual release of Beaujolais Nouveau and other nouveau-style wines on the third Thursday of every November is celebrated around the world (actually the northern hemisphere). While these wines used to be among the fastest-selling products at the LCBO, there always seems to be some left over inventory at reduced prices.
The arrival of the 2010 nouveau wines will also be celebrated with free customer tastings at two LCBO stores in the GTA on Thursday, November 18 from 11 am to 2 pm:
LCBO Queens Quay, 2 Cooper Street (Queens Quay east of Yonge)
LCBO Olde Oakville Market Place, 321 Cornwall Drive, Oakville
The nouveau wine tradition began in the vineyards of France’s Beaujolais region more than 100 years ago when winemakers developed a quick maturing wine to toast the completion of the harvest with their workers. The result was a wine that they dubbed Beaujolais Nouveau or Beaujolais Primeur. News of this tradition
spread and the annual release of nouveau wines eventually evolved into an international celebration. In the 1980s, Italy began exporting nouveau-style wines called vino novello and Ontario has, in some years, produced gamay nouveau wines. There are three this year and only one at the LCBO.
Here is my initial analysis of what is appearing Thursday, November 18th.
France
*+ (86.5) Mommessin Beaujolais Nouveau - $13.95 (1,300 cases)
** (87.5) RECOMMENDED / BEST BUY
Duboeuf Gamay Nouveau - $8.95 (2,300 cases)
**/**+ (88.5) RECOMMENDED
Primeur Catalan Syrah Merlot - $9.95 (1,000 cases)
VINTAGES - France (two items)
**/**+ (88.5) Drouhin Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau - $14.95 (800 cs)
*** (90) RECOMMENDED
Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau - $14.95 (1,700 cases)
Italy
*+/** (87) RECOMMENDED
Mezzacorona Novio Vino Novello - $9.95 (1,176 cases)
*/*+ (84) Negrar Novello del Veneto IGT - $9.95 (2,200 cases)
Ontario
*/*+ (84.5) Reif Estates The Fool Gamay Nouveau - $10.95 (500 cs)
VQA NIagara Penninsula
RECOMMENDED - Only at Magnotta winery outlets:
** (87.5) Magnotta Estates Gamay Nouveau - $9.95
VQA NIagara Penninsula
*/*+ (84.5) Hillier Creek Estates Gamay Nouveau - $14.95 (20 cases)
VQA Prince Edward County - only through Hillier Creek Estates
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Vintages November 13th Buys
The NOVEMBER 13 VINTAGES RELEASE features 125 items. It has a HOLIDAY thematic featuring 26 higher priced selections most of which have received 90+ scores in US publications. The mini-thematic is TUSCANY with 9 not inexpensive reds. There are 3 Ontario wines featured under BORDEAUX IN OUR BACKYARD. Finally there are 23 untasted IN- STORE DISCOVERIES (designated as ISD). To see the list click here
White
Recommended Best Buy *** (91 points)
CHÂTEAU DES CHARMES 2008 CHARDONNAY MUSQUÉ 2008
VQA NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE
(640516 - $16.95) (168 Cases) (13%)
This 100% Chardonnay Musqué (clone 809) has a medium straw colour. Fairly intense, spicy, ripe, melon-lemon-apple nose. Dry, medium bodied, fairly well structured, very spicy, ripe lemon-melon flavours with a lingering, faintly toasty finish. This 2008 is the best to date and much better than the 2007 (a pretty terrible vintage for white winesa). Screwcap closure. The recommended 2006 (**) was released on June 21, 2008 at $16.95. DRINKABILITY: { N S SM M }
Recommended ***/***+ (94 points)
INNISKILLIN 2007 RIESLING ICEWINE
VQA Niagara Penninsula
(558288 - $69.95 375-ml ) (150 Cases of 6) (9%) [Vin Int]
Light golden colour. Intense, sweet, spicy, ripe apple purée nose with some caramel notes. Very sweet, intense, spicy, medium to medium-full bodied, ripe, melon-lemon-apple flavours with a lingering, caramel finish. DRINKABILITY: { N S SM M ml }
Recommended ** (87.5 points)
CHÉREAU-CARRÉ 2009 LA GRIFFE BERNARD CHÉREAU MUSCADET SÈVRE ET MAINE Sur Lie
France - Loire
948182 - $13.95 (300 Cases) (12%) [HHD Imp]
This traditional Loire Melon de Bourgogne has a very pale straw colour. Slightly leesy, ripe lemon nose. Dry, very crisp, medium-light bodied, tangy, ripe lemon-apple flavours with a clean mineral-tinged, unoaked finish. A classy oyster white. This cuvee is sourced from vines between 5 and 20 years of age. It originated in 1977 following the creation of the sur lie designation and is intended for drinking young. DRINKABILITY: { N S SM m }
Red
Recommended Best Buy **+ (89 points)
ROLF BINDER 2007 HALES SHIRAZ
Barossa Valley, South Australia
(54239 - $19.95) (699 Cases) (14%) [Hal Ent]
This blend of 90% Shiraz, 6% Mourvèdre and 4% Grenache has an extremely deep intense purple colour. Attractive, slightly spicy, fairly intense, dried red and black cherries on the cedar tinged nose. Dry, tangy, medium bodied, very spicy, well structured, plummy, gently juicy, ripe cherry flavours with a very bright, lingering, cedar-tinged finish. A ready to drink crowd pleaser. Screwcap closure. DRINKABILITY: { N S SM m
Recommended Best Buy **/**+ (88.5 points)
KWV CAFÉ CULTURE 2009 PINOTAGE
WO Western Cape, South Africa
(72710 - $13.95) (839 Cases) (14.5%) [Dia Can]
Very deep intense purple colour. Intense, slightly smoky, complex maple syrup, black cherry, mocha nose with some hints of ripe lime. Fairly dry, medium bodied, juicy, slightly smoky, plummy, black cherry flavours with a long, faintly sweet, lingering, caramel-mocha finish. Note that Winemaker Bertus Fourie is no longer at KWV and had nothing to do with this release. Screwcap closure. This is not for everyone-liked by many, hated by some! DRINKABILITY: { N S SM m}
Sparkling
Recommended Best Buy **/**+ (88.5 points)
TRIVENTO BRUT NATURE
Método Charmat, Argentina
(183871 - $14.95) (700 Cs of 6) (12.5%) [Sel Win]
This blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is made in the cost-effective Charmat method and sports a very pale orange pink colour. Attractive, slightly spicy, faintly honeyed, ripe plummy-strawberry nose with some leesy notes. Effervescent, dry, very bright, medium-light bodied, strawberry-driven flavours with a lingering, crisp, faintly bitter finish. Tasty and ready-to-drink. Perfect with your turkey. DRINKABILITY: { N S SM m }
Michael Vaughan’s October 30 Update
Vintages October 30th Buys
Today’s October 30 Vintages Release features 123 items. It has a California thematic featuring 22 skus - 2 great sparklers, 3 whites and 17 reds. There are some outstanding buys. The mini thematic is Hearty Fall Flavours with 8 reds. Then there are 4 spirits under Distilled Treasures. Finally there are 23 untasted In-Store Discoveries.
Here are some Michael Vaughan Highlights
Best Buy Spirit
Classic Harmonious Islay *** (90 points)
My best buy spirit is KILCHOMAN ISLAY SINGLE MALT SCOTCH ($34.95 700 ml – #187823). Pale straw colour. Intense, slightly smoky, iodine-tinged, ripe lemon nose. Dry, intense, harmonious, flavourful, very slightly sweetish, smoky, plummy, ripe lemon flavours with a lingering, vanilla-tinged finish. Exceptional value. (300 Cases of 6) (46%) [Cas Win]
Best Buy Port
Plums & Black Cherries **+/*** (89.5 points)
Here is an exceptional, well-priced Port - QUINTA DO NOVAL 2003 LATE BOTTLED VINTAGE PORT 2003 ($21.95 – #677815). Extremely deep intense dense purple colour. Youthful, fairly complex, spicy, stewed plums and caramel on the nose. Firm, medium-full bodied, fairly extracty, sweet ripe plum flavours with lots of candied black cherry notes on the lingering caramel finish. Better than the recommended 2001 (**+) released on January 19, 2008 at $24.75. Drinkability: { N S SM M ML l } (220 Cases) [Lif Age]
A Best Buy & Most Highly Rated Canadian Release
Intense Key Lime ***+ (95 points)
Don’t miss snagging a few bottles of NORMAN HARDIE 2008 UNFILTERED CHARDONNAY ($35.00 - #184432). This remarkable VQA Prince Edward County Chard has a deep yellow colour. Intense, spicy, key lime pie nose with some refined vanilla notes. Intense, dry, medium bodied, very bright, ripe key lime pie flavours with a lingering, very crisp, slightly spicy, somewhat toasty, lingering, very faintly sweet finish. Screwcap closure. Best PEC Chard I have tasted to date. Drinkability: { N S SM M} (112 Cases) [Har Win]
A Fine Dry New Zealand Riesling
Refined Ripe Lemon-Melon **+ (89 points)
TORLESSE 2008 RIESLING ($18.95 - #24158). This Waipara, South Island Riesling has a medium straw colour. Tangy, fairly intense, refined, mineral-tinged, ripe lemon nose. Fairly dry, bright, medium bodied, ripe, lemon-melon flavours with a lingering, crisp, unoaked, refreshingly high acid finish. Screwcap closure. These food-friendly mineral-driven notes may not be for everyone. Drinkability: { N S SM } (223 Cases) (12%) [Hob Com]
Classic Chablis Value
Bright & Spicy **/**+ (88.5 points)
ALAIN GEOFFROY 2007 BEAUROY 1er Cru CHABLIS ($24.95 – #733501). This lovely effort has a bright light yellow colour. Slightly spicy, ripe lemon nose with some hints of ripe apple. Dry, slightly spicy, medium bodied, harmonious, ripe lemon-melon flavours with a lingering, crisp, faintly nutty finish. The 2006 (**/**+) was released on September 27, 2008 at $31.95. TERRIFIC value here. Drinkability: { N S SM m ml } (250 Cases) (13%) [Edw Win]
The Ultimate Oyster White
Dry, Crisp & Spicy ** (87.5 points)
Never heard of the rarified grape PICPOUL DE PINET because this gem from the southern Midi will not let you down. ORMARINE CARTE NOIRE 2009 PICPOUL DE PINET ($12.95 – #525287). Light yellow colour. Intense, slightly honeyed, ripe melon aromas. Dry, medium-light bodied, spicy, ripe lemon-melon-apple flavours with a lingering, crisp, unoaked finish. Screwcap closure. An excellent, ripe, ready-to-drink example. The recommended 2005 (*+/**) was released on June 10, 2006 at $11.95. Drinkability: { N S SM } (250 Cases) (12%) [Sel Win]
An Excellent Ontario Red - he shoots, he scores!
Solid, Plummy & Slightly Cedary **+ (89 points)
It’s ripe and very tasty – perfect with a steak. WAYNE GRETZKY 2007 ESTATE SERIES SHIRAZ/CABERNET ($22.85 – #162180). Extremely deep intense purple colour. Spicy, very slightly reedy, complex, fairly intense, ripe plum nose with some mocha-chocolate notes. Solid, dry, quite well structured, medium-full bodied, spicy, plummy mocha-chocolate flavours with a lingering, cedary finish. Drinkability: { N S SM M ml } (168 Cases) (12.7%) [PMA Can]
Not to be missed Classic California
Refined & Well Structured ***/***+ (94 points)
RIDGE 2007 LYTTON SPRINGS 2007 ($44.95 – #982413). This Sonoma County blend of 71% Zinfandel, 22% Petite Sirah and 7% Carignan has an extremely deep intense purple colour. Spicy, fairly juicy, plummy, cassis-black cherry nose with some vanilla stick notes. Dry, well structured, medium-full bodied, spicy, plummy, black cherry purée flavours with a lingering, cedary finish. Better than the 2006 (***) released on March 28, 2009 at $58.95. Drinkability: { N S SM M ML l } (179 Cases) (14.4%) [Rog Com]
Cheap & Very Cheerful
Juicy Ripe Cherries **/**+ (88.5 points)
From the heart of Mendoza comes ZOLO 2009 CLASSIC MALBEC a steal at only $12.95 (#183905). Deep intense purple colour. Slightly spicy, very spicy, attractive, ripe black cherry-cassis nose with some vanilla notes. Dry, medium bodied, harmonious, slightly spicy, juicy, plummy-cherry-cassis flavours with a lingering, crisp, vanilla-tinged finish. Terrific ready-to-drink value. Drinkability: { N S SM m } (700 Cases) (13.8%) [Dav Ben]
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Michael Vaughan’s October 27 Update
Coming Up Monday, November 29th
Seventh Annual Wine Tasting Challenge
In the spirit of fellowship and fun competition, The Renaissance Project was established by Phil Sabatino, owner of Toronto’s award-winning Via Allegro Ristorante. He created the first annual Wine Tasting Challenge in November 2004. In 2005 Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute became the organizing presenting body. With an ever-growing purse in excess of $100,000 in prizes, cash, trips, stemware and scholarships this competition is the largest and is absolutely unique in North America. The event is truly world class in its scope, with prizes covering the entire globe and contestants flying in from all over North America.
Directed and operated by volunteers only, this competition is open to all professional sommeliers, servers, wine industry professionals, students and all wine enthusiasts who wish to challenge themselves. Most importantly, the Wine Tasting Challenge is all about “giving back” celebrating excellence in front line wine service and supporting the future excellence in the Toronto/Ontario food and beverage industry.
Participation in the challenge is by appointment only and registration is free of charge. A serious list of outstanding prizes will be awarded to the winning contestants. It all takes place on the 32nd floor of the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto. For more information visit www.winetastingchallenge.com
As a previous Bronze Sponsor, Vintage Assessments is pleased to once-again to offer one of the prizes: Spend a day assessing some 100 Vintages releases with Michael Vaughan, one of Canada's leading critics, columnist and editor of Vintage Assessments. Join Michael on his hectic schedule into the LCBO tasting lab. See how he sources the best offerings from the LCBO while discovering the upcoming bargains. Prior booking is necessary to ensure availability.
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Michael Vaughan’s October 20 Update
2010 British Columbia Wine Awards
I have just returned from the recentlyly-revamped annual Fall Okanagan wine judging, which was just held in Kelowna at the beautiful Manteo Resort. I was one of 12 judges (to see the panel click here) in this year’s launch of the newly-named British Columbia Wine Awards competition.
The British Columbia Wine Awards (aka BCWA) is basically a revamp of the traditional Fall competition that has been organized by the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society (aka OWFS) for the past 30 years. Having had the pleasure of judging this event in the past numerous times, I always enjoy assessing what our western brethren are doing.
In the past, only wineries that are were actually members of the OWFS (meaning Okanagan and Similkameen wineries making grape wines) were eligible to enter. Now all wineries of British Columbia, including the fruit wineries, are able to enter. Keep in mind that most of BC’s 175+ wineries are located in the Okanagan, although not all are members of the OWFS. By paying a higher entry fee, wineries which are not members of the OWSF can now participate. It seems, however, that not very many non-member wineries took advantage of this window.
This year’s entries totalled 450 wines. There were 34 gold medal winners, 93 silvers and 119 bronze awards – 246 awards in total. The judging was split up into three panels of 4 (red, blue and green) each judging various classes of wines. We began on Sunday, October 3 and tasted Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, all twelve judges came together as a group to make final judgement on the wines were put forward by the three teams.
Going forward was collectively decided by each of the three panels and included all wines awarded a Gold medal. The panels also had the power to also submit high Silver wines, which might be collectively be awarded a gold by the group. Of course, there is never going to be perfect consensus. The wine that one panel of judges award a Gold, it might end up with a Silver on another panel. There is no perfect judging because each judge has his or her set of stylistic preferences.
Fortunately, problems are usually rare. However, I remember a few years ago a deadlock over Riesling. I and one of the other senior judges awarded a double gold to one of the submitted wines. The other two judges said no award. No amount of coaxing could get them to change their minds. So the wine ended up with no award, which was a good thing because: 1. it was invisible - nobody knew that it was in the competition and didn’t wine an award; and 2. receiving a bronze medal would have hurt the wine’s reputation. The wine ended up as being one of BC’s top Rieslings, sold out immediately. In this situation, one wonders whether a winery might have the right to not show an award.
In general, I was satisified with this year’s judging. Of course, I wish we could have tasted out of the professional ISO tasting glass, which is the glass of choice for most competitions. It is the only glass that I have used (in over 20 years) in assessing wines at the LCBO & Vintages. Believe it or not, it comes to my lips over 30,000 times a year! By the way, the reason I exclusively use this glass is that I want a consistent set of tasting notes and scores. Change the glass and you will alter the impression and possibly the score.
The second point is that if time had permitted, I would have liked to have been able to taste more the wines - most certainly some of the classes, such as Pinot Noir, Riesling and Syrah. I must thank the organizers for letting me indulge and taste all the wines in the first two groups.
Here is the link for the complete medal list of gold, silver and bronze medalists along with the comments of my colleague and co-judge John Schreiner. John is currently working on his 16th book on BC wines and is a treasure trove of knowledge. The most recent is the 2010 updated and revised paperback Okanagan Wine Tour Guide, which is essential if visiting the region.
Twenty-seven wineries shared in the gold medals. The only multiple gold winners were Jackson-Triggs (five) and Sandhill (four). They also did very well in the silver and bronze categories. Traditionally, these two wineries have often taken home more medals than their peers. It is true that they enter more wines but both are very accomplished producers.
Here is what John Schreiner had to say:
As always when I am judging, I find surprises among the results, especially when these results are compared with other competitions during the year.
For example: Painted Rock Winery’s Red Icon 2007 received one of the 11 awards in the Lieutenant Governor’s Awards of Excellence in June but a bronze in the B.C. Wine Awards. That should tell you that wine judging is not an exact science. It should also tell you that, if you cannot find gold medal winners in the wine stores, there are some awfully good wines among the silver and bronze medals.
Other surprises on reading the awards:
* The judges did not like oaked Chardonnay. The two gold medal Chardonnays are fruit-driven examples. I note that with some sadness because I think wine judges are reflecting an unfortunate bias in the market against complex, barrel-fermented Chardonnays in favour of cocktail-party Chardonnay.
* Two fruit wines won gold medals. The Mulberry Pear dessert wine from Rustic Roots of Cawston is unusual and delicious while the Raspberry from Summerland’s Sleeping Giant Winery busts firm the glass as only good raspberry wines can.
* While the competition was open to Vancouver Island wineries, I am only aware of one that entered. That is hard to understand, given the quality of the 2009 vintage on the island. Perhaps the cost of entering deterred those wineries. Some may still be labouring under the misconception that the odds are against them in any Okanagan competition.
The competition handed out four super awards. The best white wine was judged to be Mission Hill’s Reserve Riesling 2007. The best red wine award went to Desert Hills Estate Winery for its Syrah Select 2007. The best dessert wine award went to Inniskillin Okanagan for its Dark Horse Vineyard Riesling Icewine 2008.
And the best “new” winery award went to Cassini Cellars of Oliver, which opened in 2009 and won four medals in what I assume was its first time competing in the Okanagan Wine Festivals Society’s fall competition. The award is made by the society, not by the judges, providing recognition to industry newcomers.
Here are some additional comments from Vancouver-based judge Tim Pawsey:
First of all, it's fair to say that this was a red wine haul. For the most part, white varieties from '08 and '09 didn't show as well as some years, leaving the field wide open for a parade of red, led by Syrah/Shiraz, to ride up the middle.
That said, the folks at Summerland's Silk Scarf should be pretty excited about their aromatic and lush '09 Viognier (Gold). And, hopefully, Road 13 hasn't quaffed all of that artfully fruit and acid balanced Sparkling Chenin Blanc (Gold).
Another winemaker who should be mighty proud is Roger Wong -- who used to make the Tantalus wines and now works with Gray Monk -- for his newly unveiled, North Okanagan-grown, Intrigue Riesling '09 (Gold), from his own label.
Best White of show, Mission Hill petrol-toned Riesling Reserve '07 (Gold) gave a hint of what's to come.
As mentioned, some standouts included no shortage of good Syrah, proof positive that this variety has gained an impressive foothold in the Okanagan. Licorice, spicy and mocha-toned Desert Hills Syrah Select '07 (Gold) also garnered best red of show but had stiff Gold competition from Tinhorn Creek Oldfield Series '07, Sandhill Small Lots Syrah '07 (Gold) and both Jackson Triggs Grand Res. '06 and Prop. Res. '07.
Overall, it was gratifying to see such quality across the red varietal spectrum. For example, the consistency of Howard Soon's Sandhill Small lots wines is now readily apparent, with the likes of Small Lots Barbera '07 (Gold) and Small Lots Petit Verdot '08 (Gold) easily able to go head to head internationally.
Also not to be overlooked, Twisted Tree Tempranillo '08 (Gold) from another rising South Okanagan star, as well as Hester Creek Cab. Franc Res. '07 (Gold); and Laughing Stock Portfolio '08, (Gold) fast becoming a benchmark B.C. Bordeaux blend.
The competition's new fruit wine inclusive format didn't appear to attract much in the way of outside entries. However, the remarkable purity of Sleeping Giant's Summerland grown raspberry '09 wowed for a Gold, as did the intriguing '09 mulberry-pear combo of Rustic Roots dessert wine (Gold).
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Michael Vaughan’s October 8th Update
Label Worship is for Turkeys
I am leaving this morning for Kelowna where I will be judging the annual Fall Okanagan Wine Competition with an panel of well seasoned judges. I wanted to give you a bit of head's up on one or two wines for your turkey.
There are a host of factors that will influence your final decision. White meat, dark meat, with cranberry sauce (it's a dry red wine killer), something sweet that mom will like, something hefty for dad. It isn't an easy choice.
My first suggestion is to buy local. It was with this in mind when I started writing a turkey wine feature back on September 22nd. Here is what I wrote: Maybe it’s the full moon, but man, I’m on full alert. There’s grumpy and extra grumpy. It’s the latter that’s taken hold and, unfortunately, I have mislaid my ration of anti-grumpy, special, calming attonement pills.
The thought of three more months of dwindling, ever-shorter days doesn’t help. Whatever, I have become very impatient when it comes to dealing with those know-it-alls who often don’t have a clue about what they’re talking about.
At yesterday’s afternoon trade tasting of Ontario’s finest at the AGO, I discovered some mighty fine recently released local wines. So did some of my fellow tasters, who wanted to inform me of their highlights. As useful and well intentioned as this might be, it can occasionally be disheartening.
This is especially true after having recently spent a huge amount of time tutoring one extremely intense label-worshipping fan. The fellow next to me was going on and on singing praises about the $70 bottle of Le Clos Jordan 2008 Le Grand Clos Pinot Noir, which will be appearing in Vintages on October 16.
While I respect Clos Jordan’s winemaker (now ex-winemaker) and all the effort that went into making this wine, it just wasn’t up to expectations. Alas, all the work in the world doesn’t always add up to amazing results.
I quietly mutter, mostly to myself, “Are you nuts?” Now I have to admit that this isn’t exactly the most poetic of openers. I lift up my glass and say: “look at this”.
Alarmed, my new friend doesn’t know what to do. “At what” he replies. “At the colour – it’s light and has some ambering on the edges”. It’s an ominous sign for a youthful 2008 Pinot Noir. “But people tell me (he pauses) the experts say – that this is a great wine” he replies defensively.
I reply: “It’s got a muted crancherry nose and lightish, crisp, plummy-cherry-apple flavours with some hints of sun dried tomato and tart crancherries. This isn’t a $70 wine, I think it should have been declassified.”
There, right or wrong, I said it. My friend has a stunned look and I now feel badly for bursting his bubble. After all, thank God that not everyone shares my taste. It would be a very boring world and the wines I happen to adore, would no longer be affordable.
In fact, 2008 was a very tough year for Ontario’s late ripening, thin-skinned, rot-susceptible, Pinot Noir. That’s why it’s called the heartbreak grape. Bottom line, most or certainly many of the 2008 Pinot Noir are not worth the price tag! It isn’t easy being a wine maker in such a difficult year. I will keep looking, but I didn’t taste one upscale Pinot Noir that I could really recommend! It’s too bad because these wines are often great with turkey. Nevetheless, I will keep searching for that high-end winner.
Moving on. Unquestionably, the finest value sparkling wine in Canada is Jackson-Triggs Proprietors' Grand Reserve 2005 Méthode Classique Brut, which appeared in the Vintages September 18 release at only $19.95. If you enjoy a Champagne style, don’t miss it. Here is my note: This blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir has a light yellow colour with a faint hint of pink. Fine, bright, ripe lemon-apple nose with hints of lees. Dry, medium bodied, fairly well structured, fairly intense, harmonious, ripe lemon flavours with excellent mousse. Made in the traditional Champagne method, the complexity, fine mousse and slightly toasty notes come from being aged in the bottle for 25 months on the lees before being disgorged.
There is also a fine 2007 Ontario white. Let me preface this by saying that I was very surprised by all the media hoopla stating that 2007 was the vintage of the century. I pointed out that many of the 2007 whites were not phenolically ripe. The high heat slowed the development of true varietal flavours and resulted in coarse, high alcohol whites.
There were some exceptions, like the delicious, toasty, complex Huff Estates 2007 South Bay Chardonnay at $29.95 (88955), which appeared in the September 4th Vintages release. This *** (out of three stars) Prince Edward County effort was a highlight of the vintage: This 100% estate grown Chardonnay has a medium deep yellow colour. Impressive, intense key lime pie and buttered toast nose. Dry, medium-full bodied, well structured, slightly spicy, key lime pie and buttered toast flavours with a high acid, dried pineapple-tinged finish. Ready-to-drink and best with poultry and white meats.
One of the top 2008’s tasted at the AGO event was the Huff Estates 2008 South Bay Chardonnay, which is even better with higher acidity. Being a cooler vintage, I was happy to see those subtle tropical fruit notes disappear. It’s a bit lighter in terms of structure but really delivers those lovely, lingering, key lime and vanilla-tinged favours. This has an amazing Licensee price of under $22!
Meanwhile I have also recently tasted some reasonably priced 2008s that might well be eschewed by the wine snob set. Some wine writers don’t bother with these “general list” wines because they are too commonplace – too cheap – and too accessible to anyone who walks to a LCBO store. It seems many collectors simply want great labels that have to be expensive and hard to find. Just see how the collector gloats as casually mentioning that only 10 cases were permitted to appear in Canada and that he bagged nine!
Of course, there’s the avalanche of low-priced, sexy label, Ontario blends springing up in LCBO stores thanks to the LCBO initiative requesting this type of wine. There’s no question that the recent success of the Sibbling Rivalry blends for the young-at-heart have prompted this initiative. As an economist, however, I fear that these flashy new releases may devour their seemingly duller, single-variety labeled family members. For instance I love Riesling, it’s something that we can really do well in Ontario. I wonder, however, whether the appearance of all the new Riesling blends, however, will jeapordize the survival of the real thing?
To this end I did a mini horizontal tasting of Angel’s Gate LCBO releases. They all were inexpensive and while some didn’t catch my fancy a number were definitely worth a detour. The tangy Angel’s Gate 2008 Gamay Noir at only $12.95 , for instance, has lots of dry but not tart, crisp, spicy, fresh, crancherry flavours – a perfect for your turkey. This is wine that has to be drunk soon, while it is still fresh and vibrant.
The whites were even better, especially the very spicy Angel's Gate 2008 Gewurztraminer $13.95 (58594) and their honeyed, ripe melon-apple 2008 Sussreserve Riesling (620104). Great value at the price and sure to please most of your Thanksgiving Day guests. My hearty congratulations to winemaker Philip Dowell (pictured above with his daughter) who has managed to make very tasty, fun-to-drink wines at very reasonable prices.
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Michael Vaughan’s October 2 Update
Vintages October 2nd Release
Today’s October 2nd Vintages Release features features 141 items. It has a Top Aussi Red thematic featuring 19 skus. There are some outstanding buys. The mini thematic is The Magnificent Seven - Italian Reds with 7 reds, including 2007 Ornellaia the best wine of the release. Finally there are 16 untasted In-Store Discoveries.
Today I am sharing with visitors to my website a selection of some recommended worthwhile selections that may not be on everyone's radar.
White Table Wine
Ontario - VQA Niagara River (WHITE)
Recommended - (87 points) *+/** out of *** stars
REIF ESTATE GEWÜRZTRAMINER 2008
$14.95 127985
(111 Cases) (13%) [Rei Win]
Bright light yellow colour. Intense, very spicy, slightly sweet, lychee nose. Very slightly sweet, rounded, honeyed, medium bodied, lychee flavours with a lingering, crisp, unoaked, very faintly bitter finish. Try it by itself or with hot/spicy curries. Drinkability: { N S SM }
Australia - Southern Tasmania (WHITE)
Recommended - (89 points) **+ out of *** stars
FROGMORE CREEK CHARDONNAY 2006
$23.95 186379
(215 Cases) (14%) [Chu Cel]
Very bright light yellow colour. Slightly spicy, vanilla-tinged, lemon-melon-pear purée nose. Dry, medium to medium-full bodied, very well structured, slightly spicy, gently toasty, ripe lemon-melon flavours with a lingering, crisp, ripe pear-tinged finish. Showing well. Drinkability: { N S SM m ml } Lot: L06SBCH
Austria - Lower Austria (WHITE)
Recommended - (87.5 points) ** out of *** stars
WEINGUT SOELLNER TONI GRÜNER VELTLINER 2009
$14.95 (18408)
(249 Cases) (12%) [CEW Orl]
Pale straw colour. Pleasant, very slightly honeyed, fairly spicy, ripe apple-lemon nose with some wet stone and mineral notes. Dry, medium-light bodied, slightly spicy, honeyed, ripe yellow-plum and apple-lemon-melon flavours with a lingering, very crisp, unoaked finish. Versatile and refreshing. Screwcap closure. { N S SM }
Germany - Mosel (WHITE)
Recommended - (87 points) *+/** out of *** stars
DR. LOOSEN DR. L RIESLING 2009
$13.95 (599274)
(599 Cases) (8.5%) [Sel Win]
Extremely pale straw colour. Fairly attractive, albeit somewhat shy, ripe melon-apple nose. Crisp, just off-dry, honeyed, medium-light bodied, spicy, ripe melon flavours. Excellent value. Drinkability: { N S SM }
Germany - Pfalz (WHITE)
Recommended - (87.5 points) ** out of *** stars
LINGENFELDER BIRD LABEL RIESLING 2009
$13.95 (568654)
(250 Cases) (11%) [HHD Imp]
Pale straw colour. Fairly intense, honeyed, ripe melon-apple nose. Crisp, just off-dry, honeyed, medium-light bodied, off-dry, spicy, ripe melon-lemon-apple flavours with refreshing lifted finish. Screwcap closure. Drinkability: { N S SM }
Hungary (WHITE)
Recommended - (88.5 points) **/**+ out of *** stars
PUKLUS CELLAR SZAMORODNI SWEET TOKAJI 2002
500 ml $18.95 (179374)
(125 Cases) (13.5%) [Kar Kov]
Medium yellow colour. Intense, sweet, spicy, yellow plum and raisin nose. Sweet, medium bodied, intense, slightly spicy, raisiny, ripe fleshy yellow plum flavours with a lingering, caramel-tinged finish. Szamorodni means "the way it was grown". Since the botrytis-affected grapes are not separated from the bunches during the late-autumn harvest, the resulting wine can be either dry or sweet depending on the proportion of Aszú berries. In this case there was a high proportion of such berries and the wine is sweet and surprisingly fresh for a 2002. A Gold Medal medal winner at the 2009 Hungarian National Wine Competition. Drinkability: { N S SM m ml } Lot: L10091
Red Table Wine
South Australia - Barossa Valley (RED)
Recommended - (89 points) **+ out of *** stars
ST. HALLETT BLACKWELL SHIRAZ 2008
$29.95 (535104)
(223 Cases) (14.5%) [Sel Win]
Extremely deep intense purple colour. Intense, cedary, complex, baked plum nose with cedar-mocha notes. Solid, dry, medium-full bodied, very cedary, intense, faintly jammy, ripe plummy-cherry flavours with a lingering, baked black cherry finish. Spent 20 months in American oak. Screwcap closure. Drinkability: { N S SM M ml }
West Australia - Margaret River (RED)
Recommended - (88.5 points) **/**+ out of *** stars
STELLA BELLA CABERNET SAUVIGNON/MERLOT 2007
$24.95 (47639)
(383 Cases) (14%) [HHD Imp]
Very deep intense purple colour. Fairly intense, spicy, cedary, baked plumy-cherry nose with slightly herbal, mocha notes. Dry, medium, very gently cedary, ripe plummy-cherry flavours with a lingering, garrigue-tinged finish. Screwcap closure. Drinkability: { N S SM m }
Italy - Veneto (RED)
Recommended - **+ (90points) out of *** stars
ZENATO AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO 2006$47.95 - 413179
(699 Cases) (16%) [Cip Win]
Extremely deep intense purple colour. Intense, slightly spicy, harmonious, baked plum nose with some vanilla notes. Dry, intense, medium-full bodied, extracty, slightly spicy, baked plum flavours with a lingering, slightly sweetish, prune-date-chestnut finish. Drinkability: { N S SM M ML L xl }
ISD - French Rose Sparkling Wine – Loire - Chinon
Recommended - (88.5 points) **/**+ out of *** stars
COULY-DUTHEIL BRUT DE FRANC ROSÉ
Methode Taditionelle
$18.95 (182584)
(19 Cases of 6) (12.5%) [HHD Imp]
It’s really a shame that these ISD’s are not presented to the wine writers for evaluation. Here is a well-priced, great example of an attractive pink sparkler from the Loire. Refined, ripe, plumy-strawberry nose. Fairly dry, slightly honeyed, flavourful, plummy, fresh strawberry flavours with a fine, bright, effervescent finish. Lot: 2600204
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Michael Vaughan’s September 18 Update
Vintages September 18 Release
Once a year - on my birthday - I gift my current issue of Vintage Assessments to website visitors. So here is our limited time link to see my current September 18 issue, a biweekly which is now in its 20th year! All the tasting notes are mine - nobody tastes for me!
The September 18 Release features 121 items. It has an Ontario Cream of our Crop thematic featuring 17 skus. There are some fine buys, including Chateau des Charmes 2007 Riesling & Jackson-Triggs 2005 Sparkling Methode Classique. The mini thematic is Portugal’s Red-Hot Douro with 5
reds and one excellent buy.
our limited time link
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Michael Vaughan’s September 4th Update
Vintages September 4 Release - The Stats
Today’s September 4th Vintages Release features 114 items. It has a Southern Rhone Reds thematic featuring 15 skus. The mini-thematic is British Colombia featuring 3 reds and 3 whites. The winner from Ontario in this release is the Huff 2007 South Bay Chardonnay from PEC at $29.95. Italy’s Zenato struts his stuff with a return of the excellent Cormi 2006. Meanwhile there is only 1 rosé and thankfully a best buy organic. There are also 18 untasted In-Store Discoveries. In total, there are an amazing 20 Best Buys – almost one in six! To get all the details you have to be a FBTI Supporter – so sign up - Save $20
Today I am sharing with visitors to my website a selection of my September 4th recommended best buys.
Outstanding value: Canada / Ontario – White
91 points - Toasty & Complex ***
88955 SOUTH BAY CHARDONNAY 2007 $29.95
VQA Prince Edward County
(HUFF ESTATES) (111 Cs) (12.8%) [Huf Est]
This 100% estate grown Chardonnay has a medium deep yellow colour. Impressive, intense key lime pie and buttered toast nose. Dry, medium-full bodied, well structured, slightly spicy, key lime pie and buttered toast flavours with a high acid, dried pineapple-tinged finish. Ready-to-drink and best with poultry and white meats. Drinkability: { N S SM m }
Outstanding value: Canada / Ontario – White
88.5 points - Ripe & Harmonious **/**+
148817 SILVER MERITAGE 2007 $24.95
VQA Niagara River
(REIF ESTATE) (111 Cases) (13%) [Rei Win]
This blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc has a medium yellow colour. Intense, complex, slightly spicy, toasty, pineapple, tangerine and baked apple nose. Dry, medium to medium-full bodied, harmonious, slightly spicy, complex, tangerine citrus flavours with a lingering, rather toasty, finish. Best with poultry. Drinkability: { N S SM m }
Outstanding value: Chile – White
88.5 points - Crisp & Peachy **/**+
93914 NATURA SAUVIGNON BLANC 2009 Organic $15.95
Casablanca Valley
(EMILIANA) (349 Cases) (13%) [Aut Win]
Extremely pale straw colour. Attractive, fresh, slightly spicy, honeyed, peachy, ripe melon-grapefruit nose. Dry, tangy, bright, medium-light bodied, slightly spicy, peachy-lemon-grapefruit flavours with a lingering, crisp, very gently grassy finish. Screwcap closure. Unoaked and perfect for seafood or oysters. This organic wine contains 21 mg/L of free sulphur. At peak. The recommended 2007 (**/**+) was released on April 11, 2009 at $15.95. Drinkability: { N S SM } Lot: L714610
Outstanding value:South Africa – White
88.5 points – Toasty Lemon Meringue **/**+
172601 1685 CHARDONNAY 2008 $15.95
WO Coastal Region
(BOSCHENDAL) (219 Cases) (14%) [Pre Mat]
Forward medium yellow colour. Intense, very toasty, slightly spicy, pear-tinged, lemon meringue nose. Fairly dry, intense, medium-full bodied, with some toasty, ripe lemon meringue flavours with a lingering, fairly crisp finish. Drinkability: { N S SM m } Lot: L0013
A Classic: France / Burgundy – White
91 points – Firm Lime Purée ***
661322 MEURSAULT LES CLOUS 2007 $44.95
(BOUCHARD PÈRE & FILS) (99 Cases) (13%) [Rus Woo]
Bright light straw colour. Complex, slightly spicy, ripe lemon-lime nose with light vanilla notes. Dry, medium bodied, harmonious, fairly fleshy, ripe lime-lemon-pear flavours with a lingering, slightly cedary somewhat bitter, lingering finish. Needs time to evolve. The slightly riper recommended 2006 (***) was released on November 22, 2008 at $52.95. Drinkability: { N S SM M ml } Lot: L10042713
Delicous: Argentina – Red
89 points – Ripe Spicy Baked Cherries **+
677559 MALBEC 2007 $14.95
San Rafael, Mendoza
(VALENTÍN BIANCHI) (1199 Cases) (14.5%) [Maj Win]
Extremely deep intense purple colour. Juicy, ripe plum and baked black cherry nose with some mocha-vanilla notes. Dry, quite well structured, medium to medium-full bodied, spicy, ripe plummy-cherry flavours with a lingering, vanilla-tinged finish. The recommended/best buy 2006 (**+) was released on March 14, 2009 at $16.95. Drinkability: { N S SM m } Lot: L8138
Excellent: France/Bordeaux – Red
89 points – Ripe, Mature & Tasty **+
171207 CHÂTEAU VERDIGNAN 1998 $21.95
AC Haut-Médoc
(399 Cases) (13%) [Cla Imp]
Assessed at the LCBO Consultant’s tasting. This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc Has a slightly ambering deep red colour. Slightly spicy, faintly earthy baked plum nose with some cedary-sandalwood notes. Dry, very slightly herbal, medium bodied, spicy, ripe plum flavours with a lingering, licorice-sandalwood finish.
Outstanding value: France/Rhone – Red
88.5 points – Slightly Earthy **/**+
177634 VACQUEYRAS 2007 $18.95
(LES HAUTS DU CASTELLAS) (799 Cases) (14%) [Cip Win]
This blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre has a very deep intense purple colour. Spicy, stewed purée nose with some earthy notes. Dry, medium to medium-full bodied, well structured, slightly spicy, baked plummy-apple-cherry flavours with a lingering, fairly crisp, vanilla-tinged finish. Drinkability: { N S SM M ml }
Outstanding value: Italy/Veneto – Red
89 points – Ripe Plummy-Cherries **+
108282 CORMI MERLOT/CORVINA 2006 $17.95
IGT Veneto
(ZENATO) (349 Cs) (13.5%) [Cip Win] Lot: L0869
This blend of Merlot and Corvina has a very deep intense purple colour. Slightly spicy, plummy, ripe cherry nose with some sandalwood notes. Dry, well structured, medium to medium full bodied, plummy, ripe cherry flavours and a lingering ,slightly spicy, licorice-sandalwood finish. Last appeared in Vintages (**/**+) on May 2, 2009 at $19.95 and was a Release Highlight/Best Buy.
Michael Vaughan’s August 21st Update
Vintages August 21 Release - The Stats
Today’s August 21st Vintages Release features 121 items. It has a New World Wonders thematic featuring 10 pairs of wines from 10 grapes originating in 10 different regions. The mini thematic is Germany featuring 9 items. There are 3 Ontario “assemblage” wines, 3 rosé and 2 organic wines. There are also 5 untasted In-Store Discoveries (designated as ISD). Overall there are 20 Best Buys (out of 39 Recommended wines), plus another 22 Explorer’s Selections.
I always taste and review more items each Vintages release than any other writer in my bi-weekly publication Vintage Assessments (to see the August 7th release). Today I will share with visitors to my website some of my recommended best buys.
This year’s best buy Champagne:
91 POINTS - Refined Toasty Ripe Lemon *** out of 3 stars
CHARLES HEIDSIECK RÉSERVE BRUT CHAMPAGNE
($54.95 - 36962) (99 Cases) (12%) [Sel Win]
Bright light yellow colour. Complex, ripe lemon, lees-tinged nose with some toasty notes. Dry, bright, medium bodied, ripe lemon-melon flavours followed by a lingering, very gently toasty finish. Harmonious with fine effervescence. Terrific value. Last appeared in Vintages (***) on December 6, 2008 at $59.95 and was Recommended Best Buy. Too bad there are only 99 cases available. Drinkability: { N S SM m ml } Lot: L100347
My release highlight: Argentina (RED)
89.5 POINTS - Solid Plummy-Cherries **/**+ out of 3 stars
Trivento 2007 GOLDEN RESERVE MALBEC 2007
Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza
($19.95 - 588731) (560 Cases) (14.9%) [Sel Win]
Extremely deep intense purple colour. Intense, spicy, black cherry purée nose with lots of vanilla notes. Very dry, medium-full bodied, well structured, extracty, roasted plums and black cherries fruit with hints of cassis, vanilla and mocha-chocolate followed by a long, lingering finish that shows good acidity. Great with a rib steak. Better than the 2006 (**) released on June 20, 2009 at $24.95. Drinkability: { N S SM M ml l }
A top Argentina (WHITE):
88.5 POINTS - Spicy, Honeyed, Lychees **/**+ out of 3 stars
Bodega Andana Accuro 2009 CLASSICO TORRONTES
Mendoza
($14.95 - 179416) (299 Cases) (13%) [Red Clu]
Very light yellow colour. Intense, very spicy, honeyed, Muscat nose with some lychee notes. Dry, medium to medium-light bodied, very bright, flavourful, intense, spicy, Muscat-lychee flavours with a lingering, very crisp, unoaked finish. Ready to enjoy. Screwcap closure. Drinkability: { N S SM }
Outstanding value: France Burgundy (WHITE)
88.5 POINTS - Dry, Bright & Elegant **/**+ out of 3 stars
Alain Geoffroy 2008 DOMAINE LE VERGER CHABLIS
($18.95 -181289) (299 Cases) (12.5%) [Edw Win]
Very pale straw colour. Slightly spicy, fairly crisp, faintly honeyed, ripe, lemon-melon nose. Very dry, medium-light bodied, bright, ripe lemon-melon-apple flavours with a lingering, very crisp, unoaked finish. Great to find a classy Chablis for under $20. A splendid pour for restaurant wine lists. The 2004 (*+) was released on May 13, 2006 at $21.95 (cspc 684654). Drinkability: { N S SM } Lot: L001257
Outstanding value: New Zealand (WHITE)
89 POINTS - Zesty Grassy Rhubarb **+ out of 3 stars
Mount Riley 2009 SAUVIGNON BLANC
Marlborough, South Island
($14.95 - 981670) (979 Cases) (13%) [Dia Est]
Extremely pale straw colour. Intense, very zesty, grassy nose with some rhubarb notes. Very dry, medium-light bodied, slightly tart, grassy flavours with a lingering, crisp, tangy, ripe lemon-rhubarb-lime finish. Try with fresh oysters on the half shell. Screwcap closure. Better than the recommended 2008 (*+) released on November 21, 2009 at $15.95. Drinkability: { N S SM }
Outstanding value: Germany - Rheingau (WHITE)
91 POINTS - Intense, Complex, Sweet *** out of 3 stars
Balthasar Ress 1997 RIESLING SPÄTLESE HATTENHEIM
NUSSBRUNNEN
($21.95-160762) (104 Cases) (9.5%) [Chu Cel]
Medium deep yellow colour. Complex, intense, sweet, Seville orange marmalade nose. Sweet, medium bodied, honeyed, mature, mouth filling, complex, mature but still with good acidity, Seville orange marmalade flavours with a lingering, warm buttered toast finish. Try a glass with your Sunday brunch. Drinkability: { N S } Lot: APN 3105902098
Best Buy: Canada - Ontario (RED)
89 POINTS - Complex Mocha-Chocolate **+ out of 3 stars
Wayne Gretzky 2007 NO. 99 ESTATE SERIES CABERNET/
MERLOT
VQA Niagara Peninsula
($19.95-128652) (223 Cases) (12.7%) [PMA Can]
This blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot has an extremely deep intense purple colour. Slightly spicy, vanilla plummy-cherry nose with some cedary, notes. Dry, well structured, medium to medium-full bodied, slightly spicy, faintly earthy, plummy flavours with some cedary, cherry notes on the crisp, lingering, vanilla-tinged, mocha-chocolate finish. A repeat of the recommended 2007 (**) released on August 29, 2009 at $18.95. Drinkability: { N S SM m }
Recommended Value: South Africa (RED)
87 POINTS - Juicy Mocha-Chocolate ** out of 3 stars
Val de Vie 2009 BARISTA PINOTAGE 2009
WO Western Cape
($15.95 - 172585) (299 Cases) (14%) [RKW Win]
Very deep intense purple colour. Spicy, ripe plummy-cherry nose with some chocolate-coffee -vanilla notes. Intense, mouthfilling, medium to medium-full bodied, slightly spicy, rich, juicy, plummy-cherry, mocha-chocolate flavours with lingering, coffee-driven finish. Screwcap closure. If you liked Cafe Culture then you are sure to enjoy this one. Drinkability: { N S SM } Lot: L20464
Recommended/Best Buy: France Bordeaux (RED)
89 POINTS - Solid, Fairly Earthy **+ out of 3 stars
CHÂTEAU ROQUETAILLADE 2006 VIEILLES VIGNES LA GRANGE
AC Graves
($21.95 - 125666) (250 Cs) (13.3%) [Sch Age]
This blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot has a very deep intense purple colour. Intense, slightly spicy, plummy, baked red cherry nose with some mocha-chocolate notes. Dry, medium bodied, quite well structured, plummy, dried red cherry flavours with a lingering, sandalwood finish. The recommended 2005 (**+/***) was released on August 15, 2009 at $21.95. Drinkability: { N S SM M ml }
Michael Vaughan’s August 7th Update
Vintages August 7th Release
The August 7th Release features 117 items. It has a Central & Southern Italy thematic featuring 10 reds and 5 whites. There are 8 rosé, 7 organic wines (including one serious Semillon – see below), some great red values from Australia, a number of key California buys, delicious well-priced sparklers and even 2 sake. There are also 7 untasted In-Store Discoveries (designated as ISD).
Here are a handful of various selections from extended list of recommended wines - some, but not all are best buys. Get the complete detailed Vintage Assessments list (before the release date) by becoming a FBTI Supporter today (click here to save $20). This is the only place where you can access all the best buys. For instance, the insider’s scoop on 3 terrific under-$20 Shiraz from Australia.
British Colombia (WHITE) – A fine ready-to-drink Pinot Gris
88.5 POINTS - Crisp & Spicy **/**+ out of 3 stars
118638 PINOT GRIS 2009 $19.95
VQA Okanagan Valley
(GRAY MONK) (280 Cases) (12.7%) [Cha Hob]
Light yellow colour with some faint with a hints of pink. Intense, spicy, ripe lemon-melon nose with a strawberry-rhubarb crumble notes. Solid, dry, medium bodied, quite well structured, slightly spicy, ripe lemon-melon-rhubarb flavours with a lingering, unoaked, fairly crisp finish. Ready-to-drink. Great with poultry. I liked this individualistic style - it would be great with spicy Asian cuisine. Drinkability: { N S SM }
California (WHITE) - A tasty good Sauvignon Blanc
87.5 POINTS - Gently Grassy ** out of 3 stars
340208 SAUVIGNON BLANC 2008 $17.95
California
(GEYSER PEAK) (565 Cases) (13%) [Kir Gro]
Very pale straw colour. Bright, ripe lemon-melon aromas with some gentle grassy notes. Dry, tangy, medium to medium-light bodied, very gently honeyed, ripe lemon-melon flavours with a crisp, slightly grassy, unoaked, lingering finish. This crowd-pleaser is fresh and ready to drink. Screwcap closure. Drinkability: { N S SM }\
Australia (WHITE) – An extraordinary Semillon not to be missed
90 POINTS - Classic Semillon *** out of 3 stars
108092 LOAN SEMILLON 2006 Organic $16.95
Barossa Valley, SA
(Loan Wines) (500 Cs of 6) (13.5%) [Le Som]
Light yellow colour. Intense, slightly spicy, complex, gently toasty, ripe apricot nose. Dry, medium to medium-full bodied, very well structured, slightly spicy, ripe apricot purée with some toasty notes from 10 months in old French oak. This outstanding organic wine contains 11 mg/L of free sulphur. Screwcap closure. Bargain priced, versatile and great with roast chicken. Will keep and evolve for years. Only 515 cases of 12 produced. Drinkability: { N S SM M ml l }
Austria (WHITE) – A thirst quenching Gruner Veltliner
87 POINTS - Very Bright *+ out of 3 stars
180778 LÖSSTERRASSEN GRÜNER VELTLINER 2009 $14.95
Kremstal
(STADT KREMS) (180 Cases) (12%) [Bog Coj]
Light straw colour. Subdued, dry, mineral-tinged, ripe lemon nose. Dry, medium to medium-light bodied, mineral-tinged, ripe lemon flavours with a extremely crisp, very faintly bitter, unoaked finish. Great with oysters and fresh seafood. Ready-to-drink. Screwcap closure. Drinkability: { N S SM }
British Columbia (RED) – A well-priced Pinot Noir
87.5 POINTS - Spicy Ripe Cherries ** out of 3 stars
183541 RESERVE PINOT NOIR 2008 $18.95
VQA Okanagan Valley
(INNISKILLIN OKANAGAN) (224 Cases) (14%) [Vin Int]
Medium-deep red colour. Fairly attractive, slightly spicy, ripe cherry-plum nose with some vanilla notes. Dry, medium to medium-light bodied, harmonious, plummy-cherry flavours with a lingering, gently savoury, crisp finish. Ready-to-drink and fairly versatile. Might be served just slightly chilled. Decent Pinot Noir value which is an excellent choice for the restaurant wine list. A Licensee Selection. Drinkability: { N S SM }
California (RED) – A very classy Shiraz
91 POINTS - Solid Spicy Mocha-Chocolate *** out of 3 stars
185264 ESTATE SYRAH 2007 $32.95
Santa Ynez Valley
(STOLPMAN) (167 Cases) (14.5%) [Twe Bri]
Extremely deep intense purple colour. Intense, complex, slightly spicy, herb-tinged, bright black cherry purée nose with some, very faintly smoky, vanilla-licorice notes. Dry, medium-full bodied, very well structured, slightly spicy, faintly herbal, ripe, plummy-cherry-vanilla flavours with a lingering, faintly smoky, mocha-chocolate finish. Made with the addition of 5% Viognier - only 2,200 cases produced. Drinkability: { N S SM M ML l }
Sicily (RED) – An earthy traditional flavourful red
86.5 POINTS - Earthy Baked Plums *+ out of 3 stars
180208 MURGO ETNA ROSSO 2008 $13.95
DOP Sicily
(Emanuele Scammacca del Murgo) (350 Cs) (13%) [Bas Inc]
This blend of 90% Nerello Mascalese and 10% Nerello Marlellato from the slopes of Mount Etna has a deep purple colour. Slightly spicy, baked, plummy, sandalwood nose with some gently earthy notes. Very dry, medium bodied, quite well structured, cooked plum flavours with a lingering, gently earthy finish. A tad rustic and shows lots of flavour for the money. Best with tomato-based dishes. Drinkability: { N S SM }
France (ROSE) – A fine dry rosé
87.5 POINTS - Spicy Ripe Plum ** out of 3 stars
739128 ROUVIÈRE ROSÉ 2009 $14.95
AC Côteaux Varois en Provence
(CHÂTEAU ROUTAS) (300 Cases) (12.7%) [Mer Vin]
Very light salmon colour. Fairly intense, spicy, faintly honeyed, ripe plummy nose. Attractive, fairly dry, medium-light bodied, slightly spicy, faintly honeyed, ripe plummy flavours with a lingering crisp finish. Ready-to-drink. Screwcap closure. A blend of Cinsault, Syrah, Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon that stands up and says hello! Drinkability: { N S SM }
Italy (Gently Sparkling) – Honeyed spicy fizz
87.5 POINTS - Spicy Effervescent Muscat ** out of 3 stars
72272 MOSCATO D'ASTI 2009 $14.95
DOCG, Antica Casa
(RICOSSA) (350 Cases) (5.5%) [Sel Win]
Pale straw colour. Honeyed, spicy, ripe, floral, apple-melon nose. Fizzy, gently sweet, spicy, juicy, Muscat-driven, ripe, apple-melon flavours with a bright, effervescence finish. Deliciously low in alcohol (5.5%) means a second glass. Made from Piedmont's classic Moscato Bianco grapes and grown in the foothills of the Italian Alps. Drinkability: { N S SM m }
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Michael Vaughan’s July 24th Update
Vintages July 24th Release
Great Best Buys
Here is the lowdown on the July 24th Vintages release. There are 109 items. It has a Southern France thematic featuring 19 products with 12 reds, 3 rosé, 2 sweet fortified wines, 1 white and 1 sparkling wine. There are several fine under $20 buys. Then there are 8 Australian whites including a great Riesling and 4 Ontario Chardonnay.
My bi-weekly Vintage Assessments newsletter sent out last Monday details 22 Best Buys ranging from, $12.95 to $19.95. Here are some of my key choices:
From Ontario (white):
430991 St. David's Bench Chardonnay 2007 $19.95
VQA St. David's Bench, NP Ripe Pear Purée **/**+ out of 3 stars
(Château Des Charmes) (167 Cases) (14%) [Cha Des]
Light yellow colour. Spicy, complex, tasty, nutty nose with ripe lemon-melon-apple notes. Dry, medium bodied, bright, quite well structured, slightly spicy, ripe pear flavours with a lingering, slightly toasty finish. Perhaps even a bit better than the recommended 2006 (**/**+) released on October 24, 2009 at $19.95. Drinkability: { N S SM }
From Australia (white):
942953 The Dry Dam Riesling 2008 $16.95
McLaren Vale, SA Crisp, Classy & Mineral-Tinged **+
(d’Arenberg) (199 Cs) (11.5%) [Chu Cel]
Very pale straw colour. Intense, slightly peppery, lemony, ripe apple-melon nose with lots of mineral notes. Fairly dry, medium bodied, slightly spicy, ripe lemon, red apple and melon flavours with a very crisp, lingering, unoaked finish. Very good length with some mineral notes. For fans who understand what Riesling is all about. A versatile, refreshing, great by-the-glass effort for licensees. Drinkability: { N S SM m ml }
From Germany (white):
995746 Riesling 2008 $15.95
QbA Mosel, Estate Btld. Honeyed Spicy Melon **/**+
(St. Urbans-Hof) (249 Cases) (9.5%) [Fre Hou]
Pale straw colour. Very bright, honeyed, fruity, ripe lemon-melon nose with a hint of minerality. Lovely, sweetish, medium-light bodied, flavourful, spicy, honeyed, ripe melon flavours with a refined, lingering, bright, racy, crisp finish. An extremely well-priced, versatile, delicious, summer sipper. Drinkability: { N S SM m }
From Australia (red):
24091 Shotfire Quartage 2007 $19.95
Barossa, South Australia Solid & Cedary **/**+
(Thorn-Clarke) (1199 Cases) (14%) [Sch Age]
This blend of 45.4% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10.9% Malbec, 25.1% Petit Verdot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 13.7% Merlot has an extremely deep intense purple colour. Complex, spicy, slightly minty, plummy, black cherry nose with some cedary notes. Fairly intense, medium to medium-full bodied, plummy, baked cherry flavours with a lingering, cedary finish. The winery web page says that this wine has 13.5% alcohol. A repeat of the recommended 2007 (**/**+) released on November 7, 2009 at $23.95. Drinkability: { N S SM m }
From France (red):
65797 Mas de La Devèze 66 2007 $17.95
AC Côtes du Roussillon-Villages Juicy & Ripe **/**+
(299 Cases) (14.5%) [Mer Vin]
Extremely deep intense purple colour. Spicy, cedar, juicy, ripe black cherry-raspberry nose with some vanilla notes. Dry, medium bodied, gently juicy, quite well structured, harmonious, plummy-raspberry-black cherry flavours with a long, vanilla-tinged finish. Harmonious and ready-to-drink. A blend of 60% Grenache with 30% Syrah and 10% Carignan. Drinkability: { N S SM m }
From Portugal (red):
168765 Vinha Longa Reserva Red 2006 $16.95
DOC Alentejo Smoky Plummy-Cherry **+
(Encostas de Estremoz) (219 Cases) (13.5%) [Vinya]
Deep intense purple colour. Attractive, spicy, plummy, black cherry nose with some vanilla notes. Dry, spicy, medium to medium-full bodied, harmonious, quite well structured, slightly smoky, ripe plummy-cherry flavours with a lingering, mocha-chocolate-coffee tinged finish. Versatile and ready-to-drink. A seamless blend of Touriga Nacional, Trincadeira and Aragonês, Drinkability: { N S SM m }
Fortified Dessert Wine:
972109 Oloroso Dulce Solera Sherry 1847 $15.95
(Gonzalez Byass) Complex, Smooth & Sweet **+/***
(300 Cases) (13%) [Rus Woo]
Deep amber colour with a faint hint of yellow on the edge. Complex, gently nutty, sweet caramel, brown sugar, butterscotch nose with some lovely rancio notes. Medium-full bodied, rich, sweet, gently raisiny, viscous, spicy, plummy-figgy-caramel flavours with a lingering finish. ‘Solera 1847’ means that this wine’s Solera system was first established in 1847. This shipment really is quite terrific and should not be missed - a dessert wine highlight.
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Michael Vaughan’s July 17th Update
Getting the Most from your Wine
Glass & Temperature
Unlike some wine traditionalists, I believe in doing whatever it takes to make a wine taste better. Perhaps the most important considerations the shape of the wine glass. As a professional, I always use the small tulip shaped tasting glass known as an “ISO”, which conforms to the design established by the International Standards Organization. While this glass works well with some wines, it fails to deliver the best with others. Before you do anything, try out a few different glasses to see which one makes the wine taste best for you! This is the #1 rule when it comes to enjoying wine. Remember, there is no single wine glass that makes the wine taste best for everyone – so choose your own.
Next. Reds are normally served at room temperature. This British-based rule at assumes that the room is a tad chilly, say between 64-68° (19° C). Again, this works for some reds and not for others. In general, the cooler the wine, the more restrained the flavours. A restrained Bordeaux, for instance, may call for a higher temperature than say a flamboyant fruity Aussi red with more alcohol. Of course, it’s what you personally like that’s of utmost importance.
While recently was assessing the most recent shipment of Shingleback 2007 Red Knot Cabernet Sauvignon (General List CSPC 91702 – $15.95 with a LTO until Sunday, July 18). For a Cabernet Sauvignon, this McLaren Vale effort is  loaded with spicy, ripe, black cherry flavours. While the plums are present, there’s also a fair amount of cedar and vanilla. It’s a very different style from what we might find in Bordeaux, and as such, it has to be treated differently. Given the recent, hot, humid weather, I was quite amazed to find how much more I preferred Red Knot chilled. Not just a little bit, but right down 42° (5-6° C).
Also surprising is the wine and food pairing. A Cab Sauv from Bordeaux is a great match with a steak and roast beef, but not so great, in fact it can be quite awful, with smoky, sauce-laden, BBQ ribs and chicken. The sweetness in the sauce kills the Bordeaux fruit. Not so with the Red Knot Cab Sauv, which is much juicier with its own cherry-driven natural fruit sweetness. Red Knot stands up admirably to well-sauced ribs, sausages, and even juicy tomato-based lasagna. It’s a versatile crowd pleaser and especially well priced at the current $15.95 LTO promotion.
Sizzling Reds from Portugal
Moving on to undiscovered, non-Bordeaux steak wines that should not be served chilled. There are two items that were recently released from Portugal and neither are based on Cabernet Sauvignon based. Quinta da Urze 2007 Tinto Reserva (Vintages CSPC166595 - $17.95) is an estate-bottled (quinta is equivalent to a Bordeaux chateaux) Douro blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and  Touriga Franca that has an extremely deep intense purple colour. It has a spicy, baked, plummy-cherry nose with some mocha-chocolate notes. It’s dry, quite well structured, medium to medium-full bodied, spicy, plummy-cherry-apple flavours with a lingering crisp finish. The slightly more mature Quinta de Chocapalha 2006 Tinto (Vintages CSPC 166678 - $17.95) is a very slightly earthy blend from the Estremadura region that has a very deep intense purple colour and a slightly spicy, baked cherry nose with some vanilla notes. It’s dry, quite crisp and medium bodied with slightly spicy, baked plummy-cherry flavours with a lifted finish. Either would be a great match for a sizzling steak off the barbeque.
Thumbs Up
A new Spanish Rosé on the General List
One more thing. Don’t miss trying my favourite Spanish Rosé, which is now available on the General List at an amazing price: Chivite Gran Feudo Rosé (General List 165845 - only $11.95). Distributed by Churchill Cellars in Ontario, here is a dry, bright, gently fruity, plum-raspberry-cherry flavoured rosé that has a clean, crisp, lingering finish. A versatile, crowd-pleaser, for the price it gets a double olé.
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Michael Vaughan’s July 11th Update
Spain Wins World Cup
Spanish Mice Celebrate
I was happy for my many friends in Spain who have been suffering through the worst recession in memory. What made things even more poignant was that my buddy Felipe González-Gordon was pouring Tio Pepe Sherry (Vintages CSPC 242669 - $15.95) at Cava Restaurant last Tuesday July 6th. Nothing could have been better than a chilled bone-dry glass of fino. It reminded me of the time I was Jerez and visited the famed sherry house of González Byass. During a tour of the cellars, I spotted a small glass of sherry along with a tiny, well-used ladder. Imagine my surprise when I saw a mouse go up the ladder and have a drink of sherry. Here’s my photo:
You can click here to see the full story, which was published with my pictures in one of 400+ weekly columns I did for the National Post. Finally, a resounding olé for the imaginative selection of tapas from owner/chef Chris McDonald.
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Michael Vaughan’s July 9th Update
More Vintages Buys
On Monday, July 5th another small batch of Vintages discontinued wines, this time from the February 5th Vintages release, were put on sale. As mentioned before, these sales are hidden from the public and the discounts are not listed anywhere (not even the LCBO website), except here! FBTI Supporters get the first notice directly from me by email, usually before the sale date. There are a number of very good buys that you may want to purchase. Here is the July 5 Sale List.
 With respect to the July 10th Vintages release, I invite you to look at a sample of 20 of my selections from the July 10th Vintage Assessments notebook. All items are complete with LCBO details along with comvenient links to see what is available at your local store. The notebook is a new idea that is now made available (for all items in the release along with In-Store Discoveries) to all FBTI Supporters prior to the release along with our bi-weekly easy-to-ready Vintage Assessments newsletter. Save $20 and get both the notebook and newsletter by becoming a FBTI Supporter today.
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Michael Vaughan’s July 1st Update
Happy Canada Day
Canada's Liquid Gold
It's Canada Day and I am trying to figure out what to drink. Obviously, it would be unpatriotic to drink something foreign, even if it was Cellared in Canada. Ironically, this is the most profitable segment of the Canadian wine business. Only a handful of wineries are entitled to bring off-shore bulk wine and sell it. This gives these larger wineries a huge advantage when it comes to “making ends meet” since CIC wines are considered to be a very profitable segment of the wine business.
It certainly drives some wine writers nuts. For example, my friend Michael Pinkus (publisher of Ontario Wine Review) is undoubtedly Canada’s leading crusader against CIC wines. This especially true when they are masquerading as “genuine” Canadian wine, which is made exclusively from Canadian grapes and usually appears with a VQA designation. While I agree with his stance against such misrepresentation, I seriously doubt that most consumers are aware, or even care about this issue. And as much as I hate to admit it, there have been cheaper CIC wines, which have occasionally outperformed their higher-priced VQA cousins.
For many years, Inniskillin, the stalwart of Ontario wines, has been selling such international wines at surprisingly elevated prices. Better or worse, isn’t so much the issue. What is at stake is the discriminatory nature of Canadian legislation, which permits a foreign- owned “Canadian” winery to buy, import, bottle and sell in their own stores finished foreign wine that costs 50-cents-a-bottle. Meanwhile the vast majority of Canadian-owned wineries are prevented from doing the same thing. In fact, even if you decided to buy that same 50-cent-a-bottle wine, the LCBO’s ultra-protective, minimum floor price system hrevents it from coming in at a low price
Normal taxes and mark-ups would mean that the CIC wine could sell for say under $4 a bottle. The LCBO’s minimum floor price, however, drives the price much higher - almost $7 a bottle. This basically eliminates competition and greatly increases potential CIC wine profits. The floor price has been around so long that nobody bothers to talk about it anymore. As Fats Domino would say, ain’t that a shame. It discrimates against importers, the majority of Canadian wine producers (only 11 Ontario producers are eligible to produce CIC blends), and consumers.
Meanwhile, starting this month the CIC designation has been replaced by something called International Canadian Blends. Unfortunately, this does not address the minimun floor price trade restraint. Indeed, some stand-alone Ontario wine stores are now advertising that they are now selling imported wines. Of course, not all eligible CIC-ICB wine producers are taking advantage of this window to import low-cost off-shore wine to make their 70-30 blends. Chateau des Charmes, for instance, uses only Ontario grapes in all their wines and produces no ICBs.
At Last - Something to Drink
All this CIC-ICB talk made me reach for a good Canadian whisky. One of my favourites is the10 year old Centennial Limited Edition Canadian Rye Whisky at $24.80 available in most LCBO stores (cspc 387209), which gets a rating of 90/100. Here’s an abbreviated review by Chip Dykstra (aka Arctic Wolf):
Centennial 10 year old rye is a blend of disstilled and aged Canadian Rye whiskey. All of the whisky in the blend is aged for a minimum of 10 years. Founded in 1974, Highwood Distillers, which are in my home province of Alberta, uses soft winter wheat and rye grains instead of corn… when making their rye whisky. The wheat provides a smoother more subtle spirit and the rye more flavour, which is evident in the tasting of this Canadian Rye.
In the Bottle 4/5
The Centennial comes in an elegant tall slender bottle… To crown the
presentation the sleek bottle is capped by a straight sided high density cork. The only drawback is that
the bottle is too tall for my liquor cabinet. A very minor quibble.
In the Glass 9/10
The rye is pale brown with amber tones, with honeyed caramel aromas which rises
from the glass. The liquid displays very little oil in the glass and the rye notes are somewhat mellowed when
compared to a normal Canadian Rye. Highwood’s master blender use of wheat and rye combination in
the distilled mash which provides a more mellow and polished nose than a straight rye would have.
In the Mouth 54/60
A clean crisp rye, which oozes honey and spice. This is polished and subdued. The spices are light and enjoyable
and I find the balance to be superb. A purist ofCanadian rye some may complain that the rye sits too far backward
in the taste profile, but I disagree. Theentire presentation issmoothness and mellowness.
No awkward heavy notes spoil the parade and the
Character remains true irregardless of previous taste experiences on my palate indicating a
very robust flavour profile even though it is mellow.
In the Throat 14/15
Smooth and clean right through to the finish. The faintest touch of bourbon appears on exit and the
experience is well worth enjoying again and again.
The Afterburn 9/10
Highwood Distillers are truly one of the best-kept secrets of the whisky world. The entire experience of
this rye was completely enjoyable… I would consider the rye to be a mood
whisky. The mood is mellow and smooth almost to the point of suave. It is possible that the consumer
may occasionally want alittle harder kick in the throat when he chooses rye to drink. But for a more
sublime rye experience, this is one of the best.
The Centennial Splash
2 oz of Centennial Rye
Crushed Ice
Splash of Ginger Ale
Garnish with a lime wedge
Nothing fancy here, a nice glass of rye in crushed ice. Splash in a little ginger ale to taste, and garnish
with a slice of lime inside the glass.
If you are looking for something with even better, try Century Reserve Custom Blend Lot 1525 Canadian Rye Whisky at $30.05 available in most LCBO stores (cspc 105858). I rate it at 92/100. Slightly lighter in colour, this has an average age in excess of 15 years and shows even more finesse on the nose with a touch less caramel. A real sipping Rye Whisky, it shows perfect harmony without too much vanilla. Extremely well balanced with elegant, gently spicy, buttered toast flavours that go on and on.
At Great Ontario Sweetie!
While talking about Canada’s liquid gold, I am just tasting the recently-released Reif Estate Winery 2006 Select Late Harvest Vidal which was released last month in Vintages without ever appearing in the Vintages release catalogue. Worse yet, it was not presented to either the wine writers or the LCBO consultants meaning that they can’t recommend it nor has anyone reviewed it. Well I have and I must say that it is quite delicious and amazing value at only $14.95 per 375 ml bottle (cspc 282855 available in some 70+ Vintages outlets). Of course, that isn’t the regular price. It should sell for $19.95, but the folks at the LCBO asked the winery to help sell the product by reducing the price to $14.95!
Now that takes a lot of nerve. First the LCBO excludes it from the Vintages release catalogue and then doesn’t present it to their own staff (nor to the wine writers). Instead of fighting this injustice, Reif gave in and dropped the price. So here it is a *** (90-point) mini-icewine at a steal. Oh yes, my tasting note: Sweet, pungent, tropical fruit cocktail nose. Smooth, rich, very sweet, spicy, honeyed, pineapple-pear flavours with a lingering, tropical fruit cocktail finish. Terrific value - perfectly affordable for home consumption or as a gift. Every restaurant should pour this by the glass on the dessert wine list at a reasonable price. Make it a real Canada Day!
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Michael Vaughan’s June 25th Update
Great Vintages Buys
Some of the best buys in Vintages are things that go "flop" in terms of initially selling through the LCBO system. These sales are hidden from the public and the discounts are not listed anywhere, except on this website! FBTI Supporters get the first notice from me personally by email, usually before the sale date.
Non-FBTI supporting visitors to my website get the list after the fact - giving my supporters the first opportunity to take advantage of whatever bargains are out there. Keep in mind that some of the wines flounder because they are crappy and/or overpriced.
On June 6th there was another of these Vintages sales - items that did not sell through Vintages (usually within the LCBO-imposed requisite 90-day period). The suppliers-producers are penalized by the LCBO having the entire discount - usually 25% - automatically deducted by the LCBO from their invoice. In other words, the sale doesn't cost the LCBO a cent - in fact, they probably make extra profits!
In any case, here are my deatiled notes on the 13 items on sale, which were released on January 23rd. There are some terrific buys and still lots of availability. Note that all the items are linked to show current LCBO store availability (as of close on the previous day).
June 6th Vintages Sale
Let me catch up with some great Father’s Day buys in the last June 12 Vintages Release, which featured 110 items plus 8 untasted In-Store Discoveries (designated as ISD). It has a 2010 FIFA World Cup inspired South African thematic with 9 reds and 7 whites. It’s a very mixed bag - but thankfully - there are a few
highlights.
First, let me mention my single best buy Release Highlight for Father’s Day. If you missed buying a bottle this year, buy one for next year - it will still be perfect!
Portugal - Fortified Dessert Wine:
90 POINTS - Sweet Plummy Cherries *** (out of ***)
638924 VINTAGE PORT 2003 $19.95
DOC DOURO, BTLD. 2005
(JOSE MARIA DA FONSECA & VAN ZELLER)
(180 Cases) (20%) [PHI DAN]
Not presented in the press preview, I purchased a bottle two days before the Saturday release date. It has a very deep intense purple colour. Attractive, sweet, plummy, baked cherry nose with spicy, raisin-mocha notes. On the palate it is sweet, dense and yet harmonious with spicy, intense, ripe, black cherry and baked plum flavours and a lingering, fruitcake finish. It is showing very nicely and is accessible now! The recommended 2000 (**/**+) was released on September 6, 2003 at $54.95 and the 2002 at $52.40 (cspc 87585) on November 22, 2008. A steal at $19.95! Drinkability: { N S SM M ML L xl } June 12th Release
Here is a Vintage Port at an incredible price. In fact, I haven’t seen a Vintage Port in Ontario - or anywhere - for under $20 in over 20 years! I though that the LCBO price was wrong (it should be at least $60) only to discover from the local agent that the producer let the last remaining 180 cases go at an unbelievablylow one-time price. Keep in mind that only 800 cases were made. Why? Perhaps it was the silly rock bottom rating it got in the Wine Spectator. Or maybe it was the fact the collaboration between Cristiano Van Zeller and Fonseca has apparently been ended. In any case, I was the only wine critic to buy, review and recommend this phenomenal value. Run to get a remaining bottle or two!
There are two fine whites, both from Morgenhof Estate a Sauvignon Blanc and a Chenin Blanc:
South Africa - White: An fine Sauvignon Blanc - don't miss it::
88 POINTS - Tangy Grapefrui **/**+ (out of ***)
18507 SAUVIGNON BLANC 2008 $13.95
WO Simonsberg-Stellenbosch Tangy Grapefruit **/**+
(Morgenhof Estate) (399 Cases of 6) (13.5%) [Vin Vin]
Pale straw colour. Fairly intense, quite lovely, slightly grassy, ripe lemon-melon-pear nose with some hints of tangy grapefruit. Slightly dry, crisp, medium-light bodied, well balance gently grassy, harmonious, ripe melon-lemon flavours with a lingering, lifted, crisp finish. Screwcap closure. Drinkability: { N S SM } June 12th Release
South Africa - White: An extremely good Chenin Blanc.
88 POINTS - Bright **/**+ (out of ***)
978544 CHENIN BLANC 2008 $14.95
WO SIMONSBERG-STELLENBOSCH
(Morgenhof Estate) (399 Cases of 6) (13.5%) [VIN VIN]
Bright light straw colour. Fairly complex, gently nutty, ripe lemon nose. Attractive, honeyed, well structured, medium bodied, slightly sweet but harmonious, ripe lemon-melon flavours with a lingering slightly toasty finish. The recommended 2004 (**+) was released on April 15, 2006 at $13.95. DRINKABILITY: { N S SM } June 12th Release
Portugal - White: A unoaked tasty Arinto – perfect with seafood:
89 POINTS - Spicy Ripe Melon-Pear **/**+ (out of ***)
166587 ARINTO 2008 $14.95
DOC Bucelas
(PROVA RÉGIA) (349 Cases of 6) (12.5%) [FWP Tra]
Medium straw colour. Very pleasant, slightly spicy, faintly honeyed, ripe melon nose. Dry, refined, medium bodied, fairly well structured, ripe melon-pear flavours with a lingering, unoaked, fairly crisp finish. Ready-to-drink and terrific value. Drinkability: { N S SM } June 26th Release
USA - California - RED: Classy & well priced:
88.5 POINTS - Smooth Toasty Ripe Juicy Merlot **/**+ (out of ***)
658534 RESERVE MERLOT 2005 $24.95
Napa Valley
(ARTESA) (199 Cases) (14.6%) [Rus Woo]
Very deep intense dark red colour. Very spicy, cedary, plummy, vanilla-coconut-tinged nose. Spicy, medium-full bodied, fairly well structured, very slightly peppery, dried black cherry flavours with a cedary, sandalwood, mocha-chocolate finish. Ready-to-drink. The 2000 (**/**+) with 13.3% alcohol was released on July 9, 2005 at $31.95. Drinkability: { N S SM m ml } June 26th Release
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Michael Vaughan’s June 1st Update
Six Buys - Vintages May 29 Release
Let me catch up with the May 29 Vintages Release which features 104 items plus 14 untasted In-Store Discoveries (designated as ISD). It has a Argentine “Mighty Mendoza” thematic with 11 reds and 4 whites featuring a few best buys. Then there are 14 items in the “French Loire” thematic - 10 whites, 3 reds & 1 sparkling. There 4 whites from Ontario - only one in the press preview. To get the full scoop on each of the wines, become an FBTI Supporter today with a $20 discount!
Here are six recommended best buys:
South Africa - White: An extremely good Sauvignon Blanc - don't miss it::
88 POINTS - Crisp & Spicy **/**+ (out of ***)
714212 SAUVIGNON BLANC 2008 $16.95
WO Walker Bay & Elgin
(NEWTON JOHNSON) (200 Cases) (13%) [MCO]
Very light straw colour. Very pleasant, bright, lively, grassy, ripe melon-rhubarb aromas. Dry, medium-light bodied, bright, ripe melon flavours with just a touch of grassiness on the lingering crisp finish. Screwcap closure. Ready-to-drink. Better than the recommended 2006 (*+/**) released on April 14, 2007 at $16.95. Drinkability: { N S SM }
France - Loire - White: Another very good Sauvignon Blanc:
87 POINTS - Tangy Yellow Grapefruit *+/** (out of ***)
168914 TOURAINE 2008 $13.95
(DOMAINE DE LA GITONNIÈREE) (599 Cs of 6) (12.5%) [Ola Spe]
Bright very pale straw colour. This 100% Sauvignon Blanc has attractive, slightly spicy, honeyed, ripe, grassy-grapefruit aromas. Dry, slightly spicy, medium to medium-light bodied, faintly honeyed, ripe lemon-melon-grapefruit flavours with a lingering, very crisp, unoaked finish. Quite charming and ready-to-drink. Drinkability: { N S SM }
Germany - White: Delicious, low alcohol, slightly sweet Riesling:
87.5 POINTS - Rich Sweet & Very Zesty ** (out of ***)
721928 RIESLING KABINETT Munsterer Kapellenberg 2008 $18.95
(KRUGER-RUMPF) (140 Cases) (8%) [Chu Cel]
Very pale straw colour. Spicy, tangy, slightly honeyed, ripe lemon nose. Slightly sweet, zesty, medium to medium-light bodied, attractive, very spicy, ripe lemon-melon-apple-grapefruit flavours with a lingering, crisp, unoaked finish. A great summer sipper which has some refreshing hints of CO2. Better than the recommended 2004 (*+/**) released on October 28, 2006 at $17.95. Drinkability: { N S SM m }
Argentina RED: Amazing value:
91 POINTS - Complex *** (out of ***)
79293 RESERVA MALBEC 2007 $17.95
Luján de Cuyo
(LUIGI BOSCA) (1520 Cs) (14%) [FamWin]
Extremely deep intense purple colour. Complex, fairly earthy, slightly spicy, smoke-tinged, ripe plum and dried cherry nose. Dry, medium to medium-full bodied, fairly extracty, plummy, ripe cherry purée flavours with a lingering, slightly cedary, mocha-tinged finish that sports just a touch of cassis. Superb value and even better than the recommended 2006 (**/**+) released on September 26, 2009 at $16.95. Drinkability: { N S SM M ml }
France - Bordeaux - RED: A consistent winner - don’t miss it:
89.5 POINTS - Complex & Well Structured **+/*** (out of ***)
562975 CHÂTEAU BEAUMONT 2006 $21.00
AC Haut-Médoc
(Ulysse Cazabonne) (114 Cases) (12.5%) [Tas Sel]
Extremely deep purple red colour. Quite lovely, intense, medium-full bodied, refined, gently spicy, plummy, black cherry nose with some lime purée and cedar notes. Intense, medium bodied, well balanced, slightly spicy, smoke-tinged, ripe plum and vanilla flavours with a lingering, mocha-chocolate finish. While the vineyard plantings are 35% Merlot, 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot, in 2006 the actual blend was 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon! This 2006 is showing better and is even cheaper than the recommended 2005 (**+) which had 51% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot - released on June 20, 2009 at $25.00. Drinkability: { N S SM m ml l }
Italy - Tuscany - RED: Very classy & well priced:
89.5 POINTS - Flavourful & Well Structured **+/*** (out of ***)
145920 TENUTA DI CASTIGLIONI 2007 $21.95
IGT Toscana
(MARCHESI DE' FRESCOBALDI) (1350 Cases) (13.5%)
Extremely deep intense purple colour. Slightly spicy, licorice-tinged, baked ripe plum and vanilla stick nose with some faintly herbal, dried cherry notes. Dry, slightly spicy, medium to medium-full bodied, very well structured, plummy, sandalwood, cedar-licorice flavours with a long, lingering finish. A revitalized blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Sangiovese.
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