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Seeing Red at Vintages
Reds
with "flay-vah" to tame your BBQ ribs
© Michael Vaughan 2002
National
Post Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist
National Post • Saturday,
August 10, 2002
From
heater beater whites to rock and roll BBQ reds, this month’s Vintages
release has something for everyone. When I douse those meaty ribs with
my special, homemade, smoky, “Kill-ah” marinade, those meek mild
reds had better stand back. We need some flay-va – reds with cohunes!
Fortunately,
there are some standout values in this release. Let me kick off with
Syrah one of my favourite grapes. No I know that I have waxed poetic on
how much I relish the French expression of this grape. Unfortunately,
many of the smoky Northern Rhone devils don’t seem to cut the mustard
with sweet, smoky, fall-off-the-bone ribs. “No-sir-ree Bob,” as New
Orleans master chef Paul Prudhome used to say, they are just a tad too
dry.
 So
what to choose? Let me kick things off with a tasty effort from
Argentina’s Mendoza region, the intense, deep purple coloured Trapiche
1999 Syrah “Robles”. The
opulent, sweetish, dried black cherry nose and chocolaty, plum purée
flavours are perfect for ribs, be they beef or pork. It is rounded but
still reasonably well structured. The vanilla-driven finish is the
result of 12 months aging in American oak and at $13.65 it is definitely
worth a try.
 For
less than a buck more you can dig into a pleasing Australian effort - Amberton 2000 Barossa Valley Shiraz
at $14.85. It is somewhat bolder on
the palate (13.6% alcohol) with very spicy, bright, slightly smoky, red
pepper purée flavours. It may not be the wine if the month but there is
good value here - Vintages liked it enough to bring in 1,100 cases.
Getting
down to the best buy red of the release, make sure you check out the
Languedoc region of southern France. Often ignored, you better hold on
to your hats because this area holds the key to the future to French
wine in terms of price-quality ratios. Many are astounded to discover
that this area alone produces ten times as much wine as all of
Australia!
 Don’t
miss getting a bottle or two of Saint-Chinian
2000 Domaine De Cabrio from
Vins de Roquebrun. At $11.65 you can’t get better value. The nose is
quite lovely, complex and slightly smoky focusing on baked plums and
raspberry purée. While it might not have the structure of an Aussi red,
the rounded, fruit-driven, spicy, smoky, ripe black cherry-raspberry purée
flavours dance on the tongue.
 Another
even-cheaper Midi red was a VdP (or Vin de Pays) from the Coteaux du
Libron - Domaine La Colombette 1999 Puech
d’Hortes at
only $10.95. It is weightier on the palate (13.5% alcohol vs. 12.5% for
the St-Chinian) with firm, slightly smoky, garrigue-tinged, plumy, black
cherry flavours. The problem here was a second bottle, which had some
off-putting notes on the nose. It is recommended with the proviso that
if you have an unhappy sample, the LCBO will give you a refund. Do not
down the entire bottle before returning it for credit!
 If
you want to set up three Midi reds for a mini tasting, I suggest a
bottle of the cedary, dried cherry-driven 1999
Château de Gourgazaud Réserve at
$16.70. This tasty Syrah-Mourvèdre blend from the estate’s Minervois
La Livinière vineyards has 13% alcohol is aged in new French oak and
has performed very well in the past.
 Italian
reds are not normally suggested for BBQ ribs because elevated tannins
may leave some harshness in the mouth. Fortunately, there are
exceptions. In particular, from the baking hot vineyards of Sicily comes
Planeta
2000 La Segreta at only
$14.65. The spicy, cedary, ripe plum and black cherry nose augers well.
It is solid, dry but rounded and nicely structured with ripe plum and
red pepper purée flavours. The complex, chocolaty finish makes it a
best buy. The blend consists of the indigenous Nero D’Avola (60%), the
balance being Merlot. It has lots of flavour, but most important – it
is very accessible with ripe, rounded, not astringent, tannins.
Planeta
dates back some three centuries and is one of the island's leading
estates. It was owner Diego Planeta who convinced master winemaker Carlo
Corino, a Piemontese, to come to Sicily in the late 1980’s. Corino had
worked in Australia for 12 years and has added a real dimension of
quality to Sicily’s quantity equation. If
anyone knows who the agent for this wine is, please let me
know because there is no listing for the agency name given to me by the
LCBO; no one returns telephone calls; nor is the email address provided
to me by the LCBO functioning.
Moving
on, I am sad to report that California disappointments litter this
release. They include five no-shows - especially Bonny
Doon 2000 Syrah ($31.95) and Gallo 1999 Sonoma Merlot
($19.55); the seriously oxidized,
organic Frey
2000 Syrah ($19.85);
an overpriced, fading Newland
1997 Zinfandel ($31.95);
a jammy, sweet, out-of-character (albeit tasty), Syrah driven Delicato
1999 Merlot Monterra ($22.80). The
latter, by the way, should be great with ribs as it has 24.5% Syrah
blended in without a single word about this grape appearing anywhere on
the bottle!
 Finally,
for the throngs hitting the Taste
of the Danforth this
weekend, my first choice thirst quencher is Keo
available on the LCBO general list
for $1.75 (330 ml). To some that my sound like a cop-out, but there are
times when nothing beats a brew! It comes from Cyprus and is found in
almost every Greek restaurant in town.
Keo
is a Pilsner styled lager made in accordance to the Bavarian Purities
Act. It uses no colouring or preservatives and received a Gold Medal as
the “world’s best lager” at the International Brewing Awards in
the UK. It has a light yellow colour; a clean, bright gently hoppy nose;
its slightly spicy, bright, dry, wheaty flavours are smooth, refreshing
and yet unobtrusive on the palate.
 As
for wines, I recommend a pair also from the LCBO’s general list. The
first is the newly released vintage of the Greek white Kouros
2001 Patras at
$8.95. Made from the indigenous Rhoditis grape, it offers pleasantly
dry, refreshing, light bodied, tangy, lemon-melon flavours. While it
isn’t going to create a buying frenzy, it is certainly one of the
better value Greek whites I have tasted and is a winner with chicken
kabobs.
 The
other is a just-listed, inexpensive VdP Iles de la Mer Egée red from
the southern Agean islands of Rhodes and Paros. Made from another native
Greek variety called Mandilaria, Kourtaki
1999 Aegean Islands has fairly
light bodied, crisp, bright, ripe cherry flavours that will tame a spicy
lamb souvlaki. The style is reminiscent of good Beaujolais Nouveau at a
fraction of the price. With only 12% alcohol, it is best served around
18 C.
 Also
taking place this weekend is the Toronto
Festival of Beer at
Historic Fort York. More than 200 brews from macro to micro will be
available for sampling. For $25 each visitor will receive ten sampling
tickets, a souvenir-sampling cup and a commemorative festival program.
Live music, seminars and food will be featured. For details Click
Here The Ontario agency Rubaiyat
(416-462-1577) has an interesting
portfolio of Belgium brews. For those who like something out of
the ordinary try the new General List Floris Passionfruit Gardenbeer
at $2.65 (330 ml – CSPC #913129). The sweet, very tangy,
lively passion fruit flavours have a delightful Caribbean air. With only
3% alcohol it is even safe for your designated driver.
Now available
The
list of 384 products being featured in the upcoming August 17th Vintages Sale
This PDF file (usually reserved for Vintage Assessment subscribers) is
complete with evaluations, agents and cases in warehouse (as per our
July report). Naturally, we hope that you decide to become a supporter.
There are more than a dozen best buys and many recommended items. To see
Click Here
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