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From Sizzling Sauvignon to Great Riesling
© Michael Vaughan 2004
National Post Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist
Saturday, September 11, 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).

From last week’s focus on some of the best new September Vintages reds, today I explore whites. Starting with Sauvignon Blanc, we have a stellar buy from Ontario at under $20. My top choice for Sauvignon Blanc fans is the terrific Peninsula Ridge 2003 Sauvignon Blanc (592303) at $18.95, certainly one of the best ever produced in Ontario. This Wine of the Week has a light straw colour with a fairly intense, gently spicy, grassy, refreshing nose that gives the best from New Zealand a run for the money. Unoaked and very expressive, the tasty, grassy, apricot-tinged flavours are followed up by a refreshing lingering finish. Now sold out at the winery, you will have to act quickly to connect with the 112 cases at Vintages.

At exactly the same price, fans of drier, grassier, gooseberry flavours will be happy with the new shipment of Palliser Estate 2003 Pencarrow Sauvignon Blanc (738997), which comes from New Zealand North Island’s Martinborough region.

At a few more dollars at $24.95, Starvedog Lane 2003 Sauvignon Blanc (606699) offers an alternative to those who don’t relish this grape’s excessively grassy notes. It is fresh, crisp and dry but much mellower with some honeyed notes and an abundance of ripe lemon, rhubarb, melon flavours. Originating in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills, it comes with a screwcap enclosure.

While the Loire has not had many head-turning Vintages whites as of late, there is a terrific ISD (in store discovery) that is a bargain at $16.95. Make sure you check out Pierre Luneau-Papin 2002 Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie ‘Les Pierres Blanches’ Vieilles Vignes (695643), which has a very attractive, fresh, slightly honeyed, ripe lemon-rhubarb nose. It is very crisp and dry but surprisingly juicy on the palate with lingering, ripe lemon-rhubarb flavours. Certainly the best Muscadet to surface in quite some time, you should move quickly as there are only 40 cases available. A perfect companion to freshly shucked oysters.

My best buy Chardonnay is Jackson-Triggs 2002 Chardonnay Proprietors’ Grand Reserve (593996) at only $18.95. This Niagara Peninsula VQA winner has a fairly intense, slightly smoky, toasty nose with lots of ripe lemon, lime and Anjou pear purée notes. On the palate it is complex and well structured with ripe lemon-Anjou pear purée fruit and a lingering, lifted, buttered toast finish. At its peak, try it with white meats and poultry.

If you have a few more dollars to spend, the refined Arrowood 2002 Chardonnay (270694), which goes for $39.95 – down from $48.90 just a year ago - is well worth a detour. Made from California Sonoma Country fruit, the nose shows good complexity with gently cedary, ripe lemon-melon fruit. The palate is well balanced, bright and harmonious with Anjou pear and ripe lemon flavours and a lingering toasty finish. Make sure to search out it out at the upcoming Sonoma wine fair – October 4^th at the ROM. For information on the upcoming Sonoma wine events click here.

Talking about wine fairs, I was amazed that the Germans have scheduled their trade tasting on September 22, the same day as the Aussis roll into town. Of course, everybody loves Australian wines, but it is going to be exciting to sample for the first time the sublime 2003 German vintage. For information on this exclusive German trade-only event click here.

It is also wonderful to uncover amazing German values. In next Saturday’s release, for instance, for a mere $21.95 you can find a sensational 10-year-old Riesling, which is at its peak of perfection. The estate bottled Schloss Reinhartshausen 1994 Riesling Spatlese from the Hattenheimer Wisselbrunnen vineyard in the Rheingau must not missed. Fairly deep yellow colour, the nose is loaded with honey, ripe apricot jam and spicy, lime-lavender notes. It is sweetish but still very refreshing on the palate with delicious, honeyed, apricot and dried pineapple flavours.

While a lot harder to pronounce than Yellow Tail or Little Penguin, serious wine connoisseurs are now starting to flock to the German section of restaurant wine lists. That’s not to say that there aren’t lots of great values from Australia. Dollar for dollar, you’ll be hard pressed to find anything tastier than the 65%-35% blend of Goundrey 2002 Cabernet/Merlot (585653) at $13.95. This newly released General list winner doesn’t need one of those trendy labels because it is what is in the bottle that counts. The nose is very juicy with ripe Damson plums and vanilla-tinged black cherries. The taste is lusciously accessible with lovely, black berry-cherry flavours. This versatile, hugely delicious, crowd pleaser is for my taste even better than their identically priced Shiraz!

2001-2002-2003-2004 Tasting Note Database
Our tasting note database from December 31, 2000 to August 2004, covers every Vintages release product for the past 43 months. There are more than 7,000 notes in the database data. Just enter the name of the product, supplier name or CSPC number. Or you can search by type of wine, country of origin, even wine agent! Nothing could be easier. Also you can get information on the agent by clicking on the agent’s name, as well as current LCBO store inventory by clicking on "Check LCBO Availability", which will automatically tell you the number of bottles at LCBO as of last night.

To use our winefind.ca Tasting Notes Database: click here

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Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada 2004
Prior written permission is required for any form of reproduction
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Contact Michael Vaughan at
mbv@total.net