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Taking a Shine to Argentina
Best Buys in today's Vintages Release

© Michael Vaughan 2004
National Post Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist
Saturday, December 18, 2004

LIVE WINE LINK
www.winefind.ca
(CLICK ON THE NAME - All listings are automatically linked to the LCBO database)
If there is a product that interests you, just click on the name below and you will instantaneously connected with the LCBO database. The product will appear in blue and all you have to do is click on the name again and then the next screen will provide details along with the store search. Just click on store search. The number of bottles in each store is updated nightly. You should call the store first to see if stock still remains (each store phone number is listed).

With Christmas just one week away, I find myself staring at today’s Vintages release of 42 items (the smallest this year). If you are looking for a reasonably priced Chardonnay from Burgundy, look no farther than Domaine Moillard 2002 Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Nuits (642033) at $19.95. The nose shows some charm with its gently honeyed, spicy, ripe lemon, melon and red apple notes. It is dry and well balanced with fairly bright, ripe lemon-pear flavours with a crisp clean finish. Happily, it is also available in half bottles (642090) at $10.95. This wine will go well with your turkey and is in peak shape, especially the half bottles, for immediate consumption. Full bottles can be held for another 12 months.

Those searching for a slightly juicier style shouldn’t miss CJ Pask 2002 Chardonnay (677062) at $19.95, which comes from the Gimblet Road region of Hawkes Bay, North Island. With 13.5% alcohol, the nose is quite seductive. Look for gently honeyed, ripe pear purée fruit. On the palate it is surprisingly well structured with fine, dry, gently toasty, ripe pear purée flavours and a lingering finish. A great value, this one actually hit the shelves two weeks ago and is still widely available.

If you want a white to provide a lift to those extra plump oysters, you will be very pleased with the excellent whistle wetting qualities of Springfield Estate 2003 Special Cuvee Sauvignon Blanc (589689) at $19.95 the from South Africa’s Robertson region. The gently grassy, ripe lemon, grapefruit peel nose is a perfect pick-me-up, while the crisp, dry, very zesty, ripe lemon-melon flavours are a perfect foil for the brine tinged critters. For those who find this grape to be somewhat overly austere, this one is blessed with gently grassy notes.

Those searching for that perfect seasonal red for rejoicing will be pleased to discover that Argentina is on a roll. On the heel of last month’s stellar 2002 Clos De Los Siete, we have another red stealing the spotlight. Make way for the debut of Bodegas Nieto Senetiner 2001 Don Nicanor (640938) at $16.95, which would have been a wine of the month but December’s release card was fully booked. Fortunately, there are 858 cases available meaning you don’t have to worry about being able to track it down.

This blend of equal parts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Merlot hails from the Lujan de Cuyo department of the upper Mendoza River region, which has with some 350 wineries. Made from 30-year-old vines, this deep intense purple coloured red has been aged for 12 months in French oak and is bottled without any filtration. The nose is complex and cedar-tinged with juicy, plum and black cherry fruit. Although nicely structured, it is only medium bodied and quite accessible with rounded tannins and fairly bright, ripe plum and cherry flavours. It shows good versatility and is capable of matching a variety of dishes from roast beef to lamb chops.

If you are looking for something more robust, say to tame a hearty stew, two reds from the south of France beckon. First from the Coteaux du Languedoc region of the Midi is Château de l’Engarran 2001 St. Georges d’Orques (957282) at $17.95. With 14% alcohol, this isn’t for the faint of heart. The spicy, slightly smoky, stewed black cherry nose has some herbal garrigue notes. On the palate it is complex, medium-full bodied and extracty with roasted plum and red pepper flavours. A big one that will improve with decanting and is capable of evolving nicely over the next 12 to 18 months.

Perrin & Fils 2001 Nature Perrin Rouge (948059) at only $15.95 is perfect for those desiring complexity but not wishing to wait for the wine to evolve. This very well priced Côtes-du-Rhône has fine structure with mouthfilling, smoky, baked cherry flavours. There is no question that sweetish, meaty, stewed prune nose may not ring everyone’s bell. While a bit of an acquired taste, this blend of Grenache and Syrah should work wonders with a cassoulet or confit of duck. A bonus is the fact that it is organic with only 15 ppm of free sulphur.

Finally, those thrashing around for a sweet fortified wine to match some fine cheeses might consider trying an unfortified rich Italian red with 15% alcohol and bursting at the seams with juicy sweet plums and cranraisin flavours.