Worth Buying & ISD Avalanche
September 27 Vintages Release

Michael Vaughan
Friday, September 26, 2008

So here it is, yet another Vintages release. It has a Burgundy thematic, which should get the juices flowing. It features 19 selections – 11 whites (2 being ISDs which the media were not permitted to taste) plus another 7 reds.

First, let me admit to being a great Burgundy fan, so much so, that I was inducted into the elite Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin at Clos Vougeot decades ago. Back in the 1970s I co-founded the Canadian Chapter with Brigadier W. Preston Gilbride. After being elevated to Commandeur, I acted as Chambellan (keeper/buyer of the wines) for the Toronto contingent. When I started my seafood distribution biz, I ran out of time and threw in the towel.

Of course, prices have continued to spiral out of control. Finding well-priced Burgundy is not an easy task. I have to admit that somehow Burgundy seemed to be better then. Perhaps it was the onslaught of disappointing 2004s that were recently foisted on the public by Vintages. While 2005 and 2006 were far superior vintages, it would seem that once again LCBO buyers failed in bringing home an outstanding collection.

In terms of value, today’s release doesn’t have any startling bargains, although in general the whites are much better than the reds. Perhaps the best value is Raphael Dubois 2006 Côte De Nuits-Villages Les Monts De Boncourts (84905) at $31.95 **+. It has an intense, toasty, ripe lemon nose and dry, slightly spicy, harmonious, ripe lemon- pear flavours with a tangy, toasty, persistent finish.

Cheap and cheerful is Moillard 2006 Mâcon-Azé (84632) at $16.95 **. The nose is intense, complex and quite nutty. On the palate it is dry and well balanced with well-structured, ripe lemon flavours and a lingering, harmonious finish. It’s ready to drink now, perhaps with seafood or even poultry.

As for the reds, there is really only one worth considering and it ain’t cheap. Domaine Chanson 2005 Beaune Teurons (84426) at $52.95 *** has a fairly deep purple red colour. The nose is quite intense with slightly spicy, plummy, dried ripe red and black cherry notes. On the palate it’s very tangy, medium to medium-full bodied and very well structured with plummy, dried ripe red and black cherry flavours and a long, fairly high acid finish. It should evolve well over the next decade.

The highest scoring/lowest priced Pinot Noir on release comes from Santa Barbara. Belle Glos 2006 Clark & Telephone Vineyard Pinot Noir (652883) at $47.95 ***. It has an intense deep purple colour and spicy, plummy, stewed cherry nose with some cedary, capsicum notes. On the palate it’s medium-full bodied, intense, spicy and somewhat cedary with sweetish ripe red and black cherry flavours and a lingering finish.

Chardonnay fans will enjoy Wolf Blass 2006 Gold Label Chardonnay (606186) at $20.95 **/**+. It has a complex, gently toasty, ripe lemon and key lime pie nose with some very faint hints of sulphur. On the palate, it’s dry but not austere, very bright and medium to medium-full bodied with slightly honeyed, ripe lemon-lime-pear flavours and a lingering, toasty finish. This is the first release of the 2006, the 2004 (**/**+) was released in Vintages on November 10, 2007 at $19.95.

A big Aussi worth laying down is the very deep intense purple coloured Nugan Estate 2006 Mclaren Parish Vineyard Shiraz (72603) at $26.95 **+. The nose has spicy, plummy, baked black cherries with some mint-tinged, cedar notes. On the palate, solid, dry, medium-full bodied, extracty, plummy, dried black cherry flavours with a long, slightly earthy finish. Give this another two year to evolve – that or decanting and big glasses.

The best value red of the release is the South African Boekenhoutskloof 2007 Porcupine Ridge Syrah (595280) at $14.95 **/**+. Don’t worry 1500 cases are available. It has an extremely deep intense purple colour and a slightly sweet, spicy, smoky, ripe plum and black cherry nose. On the palate it’s dry, medium to medium-full bodied, very spicy, plummy, black cherries and juicy, raspberry jam flavours with smoky notes on the lingering finish. It comes with a screwcap closure and would be perfection with BBQ ribs.

One of the best consistent sweet wine buys from Ontario is Chateau Des Charmes 2006 Late Harvest Riesling (432930) at $19.95 ***. This lovely Niagara VQA effort has a honeyed, sweet, Seville orange marmalade nose with ripe lemon notes. On the palate it’s sweet but balanced with vibrant, intense, orange citrus acidity. The harmonious, Seville orange marmalade, fresh melon and ripe lemon flavours go on and on. Note that the recommended 2005 (**+/***) released on October 13, 2007 is still available at various Vintages stores.

Capping off the release is Taittinger Brut Reserve Champagne (814723) at $63.95 **+/***. This blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay has a light yellow colour and a very classy, ripe lemon nose with some warm buttered toast notes. It’s dry, nicely structured and gently toasty with ripe lemon flavours and a lovely, lingering, elegant finish. Excellent effervescence and mid palate – it’s even better than the last shipment of October 27, 2007.

The big surprise was the sudden appearance of 40 ISD Italian Venetian reds. Designated by Vintages as a "flagship" ISD release, it is obviously one of the many "best kept secrets" at Vintages - so much so that even the folks at the LCBO infoline knew nothing about it about it! The only agent on the ball was Eurovintage who did a pretasting of some their Fabiano wines. The best of the group was the well-made 2004 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico Rugola (96867) at $45.95 **+/***. For a full list of these 40 items, click here.

Planning ahead on Monday, October 6 there will be a Madeira Trade Tasting, which will be held at the University Club - 380 University Avenue, from 3:00 to 6:00 pm. For information contact William Delgado at 416-921-0259 or email william.delgado@portugalglobal.pt

From Fall Fairs
to Wine Dinners

Michael Vaughan
Friday, September 19, 2008

It's been another one of those 300+ tasting weeks. On Tuesday I retasted the entire September 27th release with the LCBO wine consultants and then attended two additional tasting events later in the day. On Wednesday night I went to Globe Bistro for an excellent Stratus winemaker's dinner. Charles Baker, who presented his tasty **+ 2007 Picone Vineyard Riesling, was the congenial wine host. My *** highlight was the 2005 Stratus White, which is showing lovely mouthfeel and lots of spiciness. The 2004 Stratus Red served from a double magnum showed lots of plums and surprising accessibility, while the 2007 Stratus Red Icewine *** was the best ever at $39. It is an upcoming Vintages Essential and will be reviewed in the near future. Chef Kevin McKenna came through with first-rate dishes – my highlight being the slow braised, crispy, Cumbrae farm pork belly. It was a real treat to taste the flavourful, organic vegetables grown by Brent Preston and Gillian Flies of The New Farm, especially their carrots and candy-sweet beets. The farm is located in Creemore and their vegetables appear at some of Toronto's top restaurants, such as Globe and Cowbell. Also a big thank-you to Globe owners Ed Ho and Adrian Amara who had the foresight to invite Brent and Gillian to attend and introduce their outstanding produce.

On Thursday, it was a busy afternoon trade tasting of some 70 Sonoma wines. And then today, Friday, September 19, I have just returned from LCBO lab after a five hour non-stop pretasting of the 100 items scheduled for the October 25 Vintages release. I know it sounds like fun, but believe me, doing this every day adds up to a lot of work – especially if you have to publish your comments on what you have tasted. Please accept my apologies for not being able to attend or taste everything – it just isn't physically possible.

The first edition of
Savour Stratford 2008
Before I forget, I want to mention this weekend's events in Stratford. After an all too long absence, I finally went down to catch Cabaret (rated *** out of three stars), which turned out to be really great. I lucked into a seat in the front of the orchestra and loved being able to see the body language and amazing expressions of the faces of the outstanding cast. It's a must see, especially if you are planning to attend Savour Stratford 2008. The list of things happening is almost endless and features the best of Stratford's culinary & arts culture all celebrating Stratford chefs, Perth County farmers, food artisans and the Stratford Chefs School's 25th Anniversary Alumni Weekend. There are outdoor concerts, BBQs and arts and craft shows nestled between the downtown heritage district in the heart of Stratford's beautiful garden district and the Avon River. For more event information click here. To see what's on stage at the Stratford Festival from Friday to Sunday click here.

When I visited earlier this summer, I dined at Pazzo Ristorante and was impressed with the quality of cuisine and wine list. We ordered a bottle of Le Clos Jordanne 2004 Pinot Noir 'Village Reserve' at $65.00, which was showing nicely, especially with the remarkably fresh, flavourful, tender pickerel ($28). Note that these are unsolicited comments - neither dinner or wine weas on the house. If you want something casual, downstairs you will find Pazzo Pizzeria, which features tasty casual fare. Reservations for either are suggested. For more information visit www.pazzo.ca

On the way the Stratford we stopped at Oak Grove Cheese Factory, which is just to the right of the Highway 7 West in New Hamburg at the Peel Street exit. It's only open 9-5 on weekdays and 9-1 on Saturday. The cheddar was particularly good and very well priced – the medium is $7.35 lb, while extra old is a bargain at $9.95 lb. The cheese factory has been operating here since 1879. It is currently owned by the Langenedder family, who bought it1927. It's about as casual and countrified as you can get. Here is the map – to check directions call 519-662-1212. Bring a cooler - don't miss it!

Biodynamic Finds
Last Tuesday at a tasting organized by Mark Cuff of the The Living Vine at the Fine Wine Reserve, I uncovered three delicious finds. The first two come from Jim Fetzer's Ceago Vinegarden in northern California's Lake County, Clearlake AVA. The first was the zippy, fresh Ceago 2007 Sauvignon Blanc Kathleen's Vineyard with 13% alcohol and a screwcap closure. Certified biodynamic by Demeter®, this tasty white has a ripe lemon-melon nose with a hint of rhubarb. For a Sauvignon it shows nice complexity and weight on the palate with lingering, crisp, ripe lemon-melon flavours. Some 2600 cases are produced and it is available for approximately $25.95 a bottle.

My personal highlight was Ceago 2006 Syrah del Lago with 13.5% alcohol. The nose/taste was surprisingly classic with some smoky, white pepper tinged, plummy, dark cherry and mocha-chocolate notes. Great texture and harmony with a long lingering finish. Terrific value at $30.95.

From Italy, I was impressed with the fine plummy fruit and fine accessibility of the Erbaluna 2004 Barolo, which sells for $54.95. At this point in time, it is more attractive that the firmer, more expensive ($67.95) Vigna Rocche. For information on the Living Vine click here.

Lots of Laughs
The most fun I had all week was seeing Spamalot **+ which is back to taunt Toronto for a second time! Winner of the 2005 Tony Award for Best Musical, this musical comedy sensation was lovingly ripped off from the film classic "Monty Python and The Holy Grail". I have to admit that I didn't see the multi-award winning original, which I am sure must have been absolutely fantastic. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the production. Toronto Star theatre critic Richard Ouzounian comments "Spamalot is like sex: when it's good, it's terrific, but even when it's slightly less than excellent, it's still pretty good fun." Also, it's worth sitting near the front centre section right side for a real surprise. I was in row D, which happens to be 12 rows back from the stage. Be forewarned, balcony seats start 17 rows back from the stage. Playing at the Canon Theatre - 244 Victoria St. For tickets and more information call the box office at 1-800-461-3333 or visit www.montypythonsspamalot.com
Here are the orchestra seating plans.

Coming up: Vintages September 28th release recommendations and recent highlights from the Feast of Fields and the Picnic at Brick Works. Also, our September 28 edition of Vintage Assessments is now available and is posted on the FBTI Supporter section of the website. To see click here.