Vintages February 16th Release

Michael Vaughan
Friday, February 15, 2008

Welcome to Friday First, here is an update for tomorrow’s February16th Vintages release, which has a Cabernet is King theme featuring 33 selections. Our Vintage Assessments biweekly publication has details on all 110 items, which include 19 In-Store Discoveries (aka ISDs). As Vintages does not permit wine writers taste these ISD releases, I rely on agents to bring any ISDs worth writing about directly to my attention. If you have not seen my publication, as a courtesy you can access the February 2nd Vintage Assessments by clicking here.

Of the ISDs tasted, Two Paddocks 2006 Picnic Pinot Noir (14548) at $25.85 cut the mustard. This screwcap effort from New Zealand’s Central Otago is very pleasant. In fact, I found that it was better the following day after sitting chilled overnight in the bottle. It’s dry, very bright, medium-light bodied, slightly spicy, plummy, tangy ripe red cherry and cranberry flavours with a crisp, Kirsch tinged finish. Best served very slightly chilled with cold salmon and a creamy dill sauce.

For Sherry fans, Tio Pepe Extra Dry Palomino Fino (242669) at $15.95 is back. It has 15% alcohol and a slightly spicy, intense, bright, dried ripe lemon peel nose. Great with Spanish tapas, it is bit of an acquired taste with intense, very dry, slightly spicy, dried ripe lemon peel flavours with a bracingly crisp finish. Serve chilled by itself or with appetizers and soups.

If you are looking for something to pair with cheese, try Fonseca Bin 27 Reserve Port (156877) at $16.95. It has a very deep intense purple colour and sweet, fairly well structured, spicy, baked plum and ripe apple flavours with a lingering finish. It’s still pretty youthful and can improve with some breathing.

In terms of whites, Chardonnay fans will enjoy Chateau St. Jean 2006 Chardonnay (421644) at $19.95. It hails from Sonoma County and has a complex, gently cedary, ripe lemon custard nose. On the palate it is very bright and well structured with rather spicy, ripe lemon, spicy pear and meringue flavours plus a long, lingering, cedary finish.

A definite best buy white is Austria’s Freie Weingärtner Wachau 2006 Grüner Veltliner Smaragd (61127) at $18.45, which comes from the Wachau region just north of Vienna. It has a light straw colour and fairly intense, attractive, gently spicy, honeyed, ripe melon nose. Lovely on the palate, it is dry and crisp and yet with lots of fruit - ripe melon and apricot - and even some fatness in the mid palate. Made 100% from Grüner Veltliner grapes, it shows lots of class, good acidity and fine length.  Drinkable today, it will still show well in a year or two!

A best buy red would include Saurus Patagonia 2005 Select Cabernet Sauvignon (61986) at $13.85, which comes from Argentina’s Patagonia. It has a slightly spicy, bright, plummy, crancherry nose with a pleasant hint of vanilla stick. On the palate it is spicy, dry, medium bodied and quite harmonious with ripe plum and cherry purée flavours along with a lingering, cedar tinged finish.