What I'm Drinking Tonight

Hecht & Bannier 2007 Minervois (France)

2012-02-08T22:00:00.000-05:00

There was no real reason for pulling out this bottle tonight ... it wasn't that it was going to pair particularly well with what we were eating, the label didn't grab me by the throat and compel me to drink it, nor did I feel like a Syrah-Grenache blend ... it was just a bottle of wine that I pulled out of a "save it" case and its time was up. Dinner was homemade beef pie and salad, so you can see dinner played no part in what I was serving with it. This wine revealed itself in stages and by the end I can tell you that I am glad to have another bottle stocked in my cellar because this wine has yet to resolve itself, but I think it will for the better ... let me explain. From the get go the wine smelled smoky with a whole lotta black fruit and spice - the palate followed this to the letter, though it had a roughness that made it a little tough to drink ... too much smoke. 45 minutes later I got the very distinct and perceivable smell of black raspberry and spice, a step above just general black fruit ... on the palate it was peppery with a touch of wood. Another 45 minutes passed and now I could smell blackberry and nutmeg, but the palate had started to layer itself: with a cornucopia a flavours: cocoa, nutmeg, cassis, spice with a peppery-wood smoke finish ... and an aftertaste that possessed a bit of a charring effect. All said and done I wrote down on a slip of paper: "lots of fruit ... tannins ... wood ... and spice - but will it resolve itself?" And I say yes, a few more years and I think the fruit will blossom and finally push that wood away - we'll check back in 2015 to make sure.

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Boutari 2000 Naoussa (Greece)

2012-02-07T21:00:00.000-05:00

Marinated some chicken in a "Greek" marinade and thought it only right to raid my wine cellar of something from Greece ... Turns out I am not a big Greek wine collector - I have some bottles of Mavrodaphne de Patras, some Assyrtiko and some Agiorgitko, and a bottle or two of Xinomavro and that's about it. So it didn't take me long to settle on this 12 year old bottle of Boutari. Now according to my records I paid a paltry $9.10 for this bottle - which now seems like a steal. The colour of the wine was an orangy-brown; I usually don't take note of the colour unless it is unusual, not that a 12 year old wine being orangy-brown is unusual, but it was interesting to note. The nose had lots of dried fruit and crunchy leaves smells - there was nothing fresh about the aromas, but it wasn't off-putting either - put it this way: I wasn't afraid to try it. The taste was of real interest and it kept changing through the night, but in a good way. Started off as forest floor with pencil lead notes, then dried cherry and dried blackberry took over followed by black currant and dried raspberry fruit leather ... the wine seems to have retained some great acidity with a touch of dried herbs on the finish ... a couple hours later there seemed to be some wood kicking around that wasn't there before. All in all a pretty good find for under $10, and to hold it this long and still be able to drink it with pleasure I can't complain one bit.

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Dr. Loosen 2010 Riesling Kabinett, Blue Slate (Germany)

2012-02-04T23:30:00.000-05:00

Seems like it has been awhile since I have written in this forum, but if you have been following my On the Road exploits you will know I was just in Italy tasting a whack of Amarone and Veneto wines ... hard to tell you what I am drinking in a night, when every night it's another 5 or so wines. But tonight it was back to one bottle. In Hamilton to see Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy as the last gift from my wife's Christmas presents - oh wait, I think there is one more coming up in June ... but that's neither here or there. We decided to stay the night so we got a room at a Holiday Inn and made a romantic evening of it ... she loves Riesling so it only made sense to bring one along. This is a real beauty by one of my favourite Mosel houses, and it was just released in Ontario earlier today. The nose is full of that mineral quality you expect in a Riesling with lovely lemon and white fruits; there's even a zing to the nose that really lures you in for that first sip. The palate is really something exciting as well, as the mineral comes roaring through along with sweet pear, apple and lemon notes ... there also seems to be a slight fizzante that grabs at the tongue - then again maybe it's a tingle from that mineral-acid combination ... great end to a really funny evening.

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5 Bottles on the Night Before Italy (Ontario / Italy / Washington)

2012-01-25T22:00:00.000-05:00

Tonight a buddy came over to wish me well the night before I head off to Italy for an Amarone tasting and winery tour in Verona. Fives bottles were opened, none of them finished. Dinner was a mini-bucket (8 pieces) of Kentucky Fried Chicken ... not the best food to be pairing with wine, but what the heck we had to eat something, especially something that reminds us of our misspent youth, and, as my buddy said, "what would be a better than this for your last meal on North American soil" (I still have lunch tomorrow but still he makes a good point). The wines we tried reached as far back as 2001 to as current as a 2009 ... here's how they all fared:

Bottle 1 - Cantina Tollo 2004 Colle Secco Montepulciano D'Abruzzo ... this turned out to be a quaffing wine, dark fruit oriented with a raisiny-pruny quality that intensified the longer it was opened.

Bottle 2 - Tawse 2006 Echos Bistro Red ... a little more on this on my Taste it Again blog, but this one has turned very much into a spiced wood concoction.

Bottle 3 - Charles and Charles 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon / Syrah ... I have reviewed this one in the past few weeks and my review still stands.

Bottle 4 - Southbrook 2001 Triomphe Cabernet Sauvignon ... another wine to appear on another blog (should be on the Lost & Found but ...) - no doubt about it, no matter how you slice it, this one was buggy, as in lady bugged.

Bottle 5 - Southbrook 2002 Cabernet / Merlot ... might be the best wine of the night, especially considering its age. Check the Taste it Again blog for my notes, but I this one reminds me of shish-kabob on the BBQ.

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Young Concha Cabernet + Old Wakefield Shiraz (Chile / Australia)

2012-01-22T08:47:00.000-05:00

Tonight it was a late dinner (for us), with friends we have been trying together with since before the holidays. I screwed up the pulled pork earlier in the day so we fell back on an old standby, meatloaf, with all the trimmings that should have surrounded the pork: baked beans and cole slaw (we scrapped the buns). As it turns out everything was a hit, including the wine. Started with a robust Concha y Toro 2009 Gran Reserva Serie Riberas Cabernet Sauvignon ... a full on raspberry assault of the senses, all that lovely juicy fresh fruit, tasty and ultimately sippable. I then took my buddy down to see the cellar, and while there put my hands on a 2003 Wakefield Clare Valley Shiraz. I have just recently become a fan of the award winning Wakefield Cabernet (the wine that put them on the map of Aussie wines ... little did I know I had bought a bottle of their wine many moons ago. Wine cellars can be a funny thing as in you luckily lose things and then find them not knowing you even had them ... love it. This older bottle of Shiraz had old smells and tastes but it was holding very nicely with earthy blackberry along with white pepper, herbs and graphite notes. Lots of muddy sediment at the bottom of the last glass and the inside of the bottle looks like it had been painted maroon. Glad to have opened this wine tonight as our friends found this wine more intriguing than the first - older wines just have more character (but they have their place, just like the young ones do) ... maybe I have sparked them to start their own cellar ... or just come over here more often - time will tell.

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Loredona 2009 Monterey Pinot Noir (California)

2012-01-20T08:38:00.000-05:00

Tonight on the menu: pork chops - on the wine list, a Loredona Pinot Noir recently acquired from the LCBO and set for release on Saturday ... having recently visited the Monterey area just this past September I was thrilled ot see one of their wines on the shelves here in Ontario and even more thrilled to see this bargain priced pinot wasn't just some crap they threw into a bottle and labeled as Pinot Noir. In fact, for a wine well under $20 this was a beauty of a Pinot Noir. A nose of sweet cranberry, black cherry and strawberry; and the palate was even better. Lovely sour cherry, good acidity, a lovely juiciness and nice spice. A well-balanced wine with good fruit, nice acidity and all that California juiciness of fruit you'd expect ... almost finished the whole bottle myself.

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LA Cetto 2001 Private Reserve Nebbiolo (Mexico)

2012-01-17T21:00:00.000-05:00

So tonight we decided to make taco salad for dinner and in my infinite wisdom I thought a Mexican wine would be nice ... but what is the national grape of Mexico? I've had Petite Sirah and Zinfandel from this same producer (LA Cetto) but what do the Mexicans consider as "their grape" - cerveza? What wine goes with tacos? All very difficult questions to answer. So when I saw I had a bottle of Nebbiolo, an Italian grape variety that`s used to make Barolo, I thought I just have to give this a whirl. Having been to the region of Piedmont (where Nebbiolo is most prevalent) I can tell you that the Italians believe there is no place else on earth that does Nebbiolo like they do ... and no where else on earth does this grape grow as well as it does right there in its "native" home. I have seen bottles of Nebbiolo from some odd places, nowhere odder than Ontario, but Nebbiolo from Mexico struck me as odd too - probably why I bought it in the first place. As for the wine in bottle, I would have to say it was pretty good. The nose had layers of dried blackberry, currants, cinnamon spice, spiced dried cherries and a hint of cedaryness ... these aromas didn't come out all at once, they seemed to pop up throughout the evening as the wine opened. The first thing noticed on the palate was the spiciness and acidity, that soon turned into black currants, spice, sour cherry and later hints of raspberry-balsamic and spice. All very interesting and quite a lot of fun on the tongue. Coating the glass was also a fine dusting of sediment and within an hour of opening tannins and woodsiness started to take over, making the wine seem drier than it previously had. I would have to say I was impressed with the wine ... it might not be their national grape, but it sure is one I wouldn't stop making wine from; though I have never seen a bottle of it since my original purchase many moons ago.

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Mildara Wines 2000 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon (Australia)

2012-01-15T21:30:00.000-05:00

When most people talk about Australian wine they think of the juicy, jammy, fruity numbers that many of us have tried over the years ... only the die-hards know that some of these Aussie wines are also great for the cellar ... not all of them mind you, you always have to be selective about what you lie down, but if you pick the right one your rewards can be great. Switching gears a little, I was watching Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on the weekend (I think my favourite of the series) it strikes me that what I said above can best be put into words by the knight who says to Indiana "You have chosen wisely" - meaning this wine was a good one to lie down. The nose was dried plum (but not pruney), chocolate liqueur, dried cherry and dried cranberry ... not at all the fresh fruit bomb one thinks about when they think Australian Cab. The palate also showed signs of those dried fruits, namely blackberry and black cherry along with touches of graphite, chocolate with a hint of balsamic on the finish. The nice part was this wine showed little sign of woodsiness, which means the wood it had seen had integrated with the wine nicely ... the bad part was the wine was ageing quickly in the glass - by the time I had reached an hour-and-a-half the wine was really showing it's age ... though it never got to a point where it was undrinkable.

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Lailey Vineyard 2009 Chardonnay Niagara Peninsula (Ontario)

2012-01-13T21:00:00.000-05:00

I rarely throw an Ontario wine into this column ... usually when I do it is because it was just recently released or reviewed and I can`t put it in one of my Taste it Again notations or into the Lost and Found. Tonight the wife was trying a new recipe with pork loin with lemon and capers ... she needed a little dry white wine to cook with. She originally told me half a cup, but after reading the directions again she found it was half a cup of chicken broth, and a tablespoon of white wine ... seriously? Why do recipes screw with you in that way? Why would anybody open up a bottle of wine to use just a tablespoon of it? It`s not like we live in the US where you can find a bottle of wine for two-bucks (Two Buck Chuck comes to mind). So I had to look through my white wines to find a good one (you wanna cook with a wine you like to drink - especially if you`re only using a tablespoon). I came up with this bottle of Lailey 2009 Chardonnay ... now, looking at my review just now I noticed I gave the wine 4.5 stars, and as I was drinking it on this snowy Friday night I said to my wife, "wow, this is better than I remember - it's a shame we had to use some to cook with." ... I think the wine is still available ... so that`s the good news.

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Charles & Charles Cabernet Sauvignon / Syrah (Washington)

2012-01-12T00:04:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting in a London, Ontario hotel (Hilton) after my Schott Zwiesel presentation at the London Wine and Food Show ... I'm also listening to the Cee-Lo Green song "F**k You" and drinking a bottle of Charles & Charles Cab / Syrah - which seems very appropriate(if you have seen their website you'll understand). Before starting the review of this wine I visited their website to get some background on these boys and I found they have one of the most irreverent wine websites I have ever seen ... though they do speak about bottling this very wine in early August of 2010 - so I am drinking this wine within 5 months of bottling - which kind of surprises me that the LCBO would get a bottle that soon after it's release ... they always seem to be months behind the curve instead of in front of it ... it's a nice change. So what about this wine: Well I have to tell you that it tastes more Californian than Washington - though it has a Washington smell (hard to explain but it you drink enough Washington wines you'll know what I am talking about). The nose is black cherry and plum with hints of chocolate; while the palate follows thru from the promise of the nose ...this is one succulent and juicy wine and one you can sit and sip on Lionel Richie style: all night long.

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Simonsig 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon (South Africa)

2012-01-11T21:00:00.000-05:00

My aging test with South African wines continue ... as I was logging in yesterday's wine I noticed I had a bottle by the same producer, same year, but a different grape. Curiosity set in and I wondered how it would fare ... I would have to say it did better than the Syrah did. The nose was pretty much a simplistic matter - while at first pop there was a little earthy and gritty smell it settled down pretty quickly into pleasant blackberry and vanilla aromas, those seemed to stick around through the length of the evening. The palate was the thing that changed the most ... at first it was non-descript yet pleasnat, then I started picking out dried blackberry and black pepper. A little later on vanilla and dried raspberries seem to be the focus, then about an hour and half in there was chocolate plain as day on the finish ... this was one nice drinking wine which I enjoyed very much.

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Simonsig 2001 Shiraz (South Africa)

2012-01-10T21:00:00.000-05:00

Tonight was an experiment in aging South Africa. Many have noted that in young South African wines there's a note of tar and/or brett, in general a dirty note that is not always welcome. I have talked to South African winemakers and my favourite answer to date was "dirty barrels", as in "they are using dirty barrels", implying of course that their competitor is making wine improperly while WE are doing it the right way ... the funny part of the conversation was that I was smelling the exact same smell in their wine as well, so I just nodded my head as if I understood and moved on to another wine. Now I am not sure where the smell comes from, it could just be the terroir of South Africa or that they are making wines too close to the roadway, but I have learned to live with it and expect it (which is why I seem so surprised when I don't find it). Have no fear it was here in the glass and on the palate, but what I have noticed is that as these South African wines age they develop more interestingly than the average bottle of Chilean or Argentinean wine. The nose was an earthy very smoky number; the palate was full on earthy also while giving off some minor pepperiness to the tongue. Then about 20 minutes on there seemed to be some smoked raspberry that appeared on the mid-palate which then led to a very smoky finish. I have to admit that it was not a good pairing with BBQ chicken, but it was an interesting wine to have all on its own.

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Vina Leyda 2009 Las Brisas Bineyard Pinot Noir (Chile)

2012-01-07T21:30:00.000-05:00

Tonight we had some friends in from Toronto ... after a fun day on the road in Ontario wine country I learned a few things about the wine chugging male member of the couple. 1) He likes sparkling wine (who can blame one for that?). 2) He's always on the look out for good value, yet will also pay for good wine no matter what the price. 3) He likes aged Cabernet Franc (at least those from 1998). And 4) he does not like Pinot Noir ... (WHAT?!?). Now true, Pinot is an acquired taste, but it is a wine that people spend a lifetime trying to acquire a taste for - I have rarely met someone so wiling to discount the variety all together. So wouldn't you know that once I stepped back into the house I was going to find something to shatter his image of the grape. On our excursion I did determine that he leaned more towards the earthy than the fruity, but it was a slight lean and he could always pick out the Pinot in the crowd, and not "be a fan". So up from the cellar came this bottle of Chilean Pinot. Now Pinot from Chile sounds like it should be a jammy affair, but if you find the right one you can hit a sweet spot between the juicy and the earthy and have yourself a real good experience - and this was just that kind. There was a nice fruitiness here, but it was fruit that bordered on the sour variety: sour black cherry, cranberry cocktail and a touch of spice to bring it all together. There was also a fresh earth aroma and taste that really grounded the wine (couldn't resist that one). All in all a good wine and one my friend was pleasantly surprised about ... considering I didn't tell him what it was until it was too late, he had already commited to liking it. Next time I'll try him on something Australian - really there are good one's from there too, especially Tasmania.

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Justin Vineyard 2000 Syrah (California)

2012-01-05T21:00:00.000-05:00

Had a friend come over tonight bearing a ten year old bottle of Justin Syrah ... I have tried a few Justin wines in my time, but never something this old from this producer. I would have to say the wine did not hold up well - yet by the end of the evening was considered still drinkable. The nose was woodsy and leathery, more along the lines of what I would find in a bottle of South African wine than Californian. The taste mirrored the nose and added some other odd flavours: leathery, cedary and tarry kicked it off, then turned spicy, woodsy (non-descript wood) and cinnamon-y about an hour in. It started off disappointingly but ended on a high note - not too high, but high enough to be drinkable and enjoyable ... for those who like that kind of thing (an old wine I mean).

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New Year's Eve: German Riesling & Ontario Bubbles (Germany / Canada)

2011-12-31T20:00:00.000-05:00

It was double Riesling night chez moi on New Year's eve ... first we started with a bottle of CH Berres 2007 Riesling Kabinett (Urziger Wurzgarten) and paired it with ordered in Chinese food. Now before I get to the wine I want to take this moment to remind myself that ordering Chinese on New Year's eve is not a novel idea - no matter what you convince yourself of, in fact I think everybody and his dog had the same idea. Our usual place took an hour-and-a-half to deliver, the food was almost stone cold and the usual fabulous quality almost seemed pedestrian (the soup even tasted like dishwater) ... so note to self, pick it up next year. As for the Riesling, it was a delicious accompaniment and also by itself. It started off with a hint of petrol on the first whiff, but soon that dissipated and we were left with lemon, dried apricot and lime cordial on the nose. The palate started the same way but righted itself within 15 minutes: sweet citrus notes found their way to the back palate, baby powder nuances along with pear and lemon across the tongue - it had a dry start with a touch of sweetness on the finish ... lovely.

The second Riesling of the night happened to be of the sparkling variety as we opened a Maleta 2005 Old Vines Brut (Ontario) at the stroke of midnight. This wine has aged very well with baked apple and lemon pith notes on the nose, while on the palate toasted brioche with a slight buttery taste across the tongue gave way to a long lemon and lime pith finish. Happy New Year.

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Cline 2010 Cool Climate Pinot Noir (California)

2011-12-30T21:30:00.000-05:00

According to my American wine connection this is the first time Cline has made a Pinot Noir. Cline is known for making excellent single vineyard Zinfandel, and here in Ontario they have a good value priced Syrah that continues to impressed year in and year out ... but I had never seen a Pinot under their label and my connection further sparked my interest by telling me it is one of his favourites of the year (value-wise) ... now that's pretty big praise. I was also told that for years Cline has been growing these grapes and selling them off to La Crema, who are known for making some pretty awe-inspiring Pinots themselves, so if they liked the grapes this must be something special. The nose had lots of smoky strawberry notes along with sour cherry and spice. The palate doled out more of that smoky quality along with sour cherry, spice and some earthy notes. The finish was the most intriguing part of all as it laid down a delicious layer of smoked black cherry on the tongue. I would say this is a pretty good first effort from the folks at Cline.

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Concha y Toro 2005 Casillero del Diablo Merlot (Chile)

2011-12-29T22:00:00.000-05:00

Last night was pizza night and so I was looking for something Italian in the cellar when my hand found its way to the neck of this bottle ... and so I for-went (???) the Italian and decided to open this Chilean instead ... and what a wonderful surprise it was too. I know that Concha y Toro make excellent wines, but to find it here in the $12 range and to have it last beautifully for 6 years, and it could have gone longer, trust me, proves to me the winery is all about quality in the bottle ... The nose was blueberry, chocolate and cassis - lots of chocolate and cassis, which was followed on the palate with a smooth suppleness that carried along with it cassis and spice with a hint of woodsiness ... paired very well with the pepperoni pizza we devoured. Don't be afraid to lie some of these bargain wines down - you never know which ones will surprise you.

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Forchini Vineyards 2008 Old Vine Zinfandel, Proprietor's Reserve (California)

2011-12-23T20:00:00.000-05:00

While in Michigan this holiday season I visited my friend Dave at Champane Wine Cellars ... I was buying a bottle for my sister-in-law and needed some advise on something easy and fruity, as I am trying to find a way to convert her from the sweet reds to the drier versions ... then the inevitable question, I needed something for me. Dave knows my penchant for Zinfandel so he brought me over to the section and started showing me a few bottles that he has tried and admired over the past few months. One of which was this Forchini Old Vines. The nose was mainly spiced-plum though I did pick up a hint of volatile acidity; but the palate was perfect with lots of vanilla along with the spiced plum which showed up on the mid-palate and a lovely chocolate note on the finish which lead to something peppery ... very nice. Yes Dave sure did pick a winner here. On another note, while talking wine, as we usually do, Dave was intrigued by Pinot Noirs from Ontario, skeptically so, so I promised him a little tour through the world of Ontario Pinot the next time we meet ... I just know that's going to go well as I have already begun a list of my favs.

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Belle Glos 2009 Meiomi Pinot Noir (California)

2011-12-21T06:58:00.000-05:00

I find that when I do a lot of work or research on a grape I suddenly have a craving to have a glass or two of the wine made from it ... so upon my arrival home tonight I opened this bottle of the recently released (in Ontario anyway) Belle Glos Meiomi Pinot. Meiomi is a blended vineyard Pinot, as oppose to the single vineyard Pinots that Glos makes ... plus it's under screwcap, which is quite different than the stylized waxing put on the higher end Belle Glos wines. I found this wine to be really tasty and just what I was looking for, even though when describing it to my wife she thought I was nuts for liking it - I guess you just have to like reds and in particular be intrigued by Pinot Noirs many facets. The nose was of a smoky tobacco that really lured you in; the palate kept the smokiness and added black cherry with just a hint of the cranberry that was found on the nose - so far so good, right? But here is where the oddness came in, the finish retained the smokiness but with more of a cigarette ashtray finish; or for those who have smoked before, it was like the lingering sensation of a few cigarettes on the tongue. Now I was never a hardcore smoker, I have had the occasional cigar and flirted with disaster many years ago (I have my brother to thank for the habit not catching on) ... but I remembered the sensation. This is really an interesting wine, and yes, very tasty - even down to that ashtray finish.

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Cline 2005 Gnarly Head Old Vines Zinfandel (USA)

2011-12-18T06:37:00.000-05:00

In a post I did about Friday's wine (Bogle Phantom), I made mention that all Zin is good unless it is spoiled. In a related matter, I got an email the other day from a winery owner who was not happy with one of my posts in which I blamed pastic cork for the demise of his wine. Which bring us back to the Gnarly Head I held in my hands, struggled to open, and poured into my this past Sunday. At first the wine just seemed a little pruny - and with the plumminess of Zinfandel (usually) you can some how make the leap that an older Zin will become pruny (no?). But 20 minutes into the glass and this wine was shot, long-gone-to-the-Yukon, an absolute disaster ... and I blame, you guessed it, the cork, which was indeed plastic, stylized, but plastic. I suspect you have heard me talk about the bane of my existence being these plastic corks which act like sieves for air. They spoil wine that is usually wonderful in no time flat. And if you are unlucky enough to have stored away a plastic capped wine for any length of time you have a 80/20 chance that wine is not worth cleaning your toilet ... such was the case with this wine. In both smell and taste it was rancid and not worth drinking. My wife was actually shocked that I was pouring a glass of wine down the sink, and even more shocked that is was a Zin, saying, "I thought you said there were redeeming qualities in all wine" ... not one like this sweetheart, not one like this.

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Bogle 2004 Phantom (USA)

2011-12-16T06:22:00.000-05:00

I make no bones about it, I really like Zinfandel wines, and although I write a lot about Ontario, I know that my beloved home province will not be making Zinfandel any time soon (unless this global warming really takes off). I also find myself with a passion for Primitivo, but that's a story for another time. Tonight's wine was a Bogle Phantom, a wine made from Petite Sirah, Zinfandel and Mourvedre, two latter of the three grapes from "old vines". I occasionally hear a debate about Zin, whether it should be drunk young and fresh or put a little age to it and see the complexity come out - the argument there is that Zin has no complexity when its young so why would it get it when it's old? But enough with the naysayers, unless it's absoultely spoiled, Zin is great at any stage. Granted this isn't pure Zin but it sure has enough inside to give it real character. The nose is black cherry, raspberry, spiced blueberry with a whiff of cinnamon. The palate is a little tamer but still quite good doling out spiced cherry, raspberry and plum notes. It was an altogether very pleasant wine, not sure how much longer I would leave it in the cellar, but tasty it was.

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Mitchelton 2003 Blackwood Park Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (Australia)

2011-12-15T20:21:00.000-05:00

There are times that I pull a bottle of wine out of the cellar for no more important a reason than I wanted to ... there are other times I look a little deeper into the cellar and think I have to start drinking some of this older stuff ... this was one of those times (on both accounts). This Mitchelton Cab was stunning from beginning to end, it was one of those bottles that after the first sip I was wishing I had more bottles and after an hour I was wondering if I should have let it sit longer. But all that means nothing now as it is the only bottle I have and it is now open and gone, but what an enjoyable wine it was. The nose was full of black cherry and chocolate with a hint of rich vanilla cream. The palate was even better with fruit flavours of blackberry and black cherry, then dark chocolate and vanilla took on some of the chores of delivering flavour ... as the evening progressed the wine continued to be loaded with rich dark fruit on the tongue and the finish was cocoa ladened with lots of length. This was a delicious wine, so glad I got the chance to experience it - and while I wish I had bought more, I am glad I drank it during the sweet spot.

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Holiday Get Together wines and beer (Ontario / Australia)

2011-12-11T23:00:00.000-05:00

The evening started with a growler of beer and ended with a debate over an Ontario Meritage, the middle consisted of two wildly different Tasmanian Pinots. Sounds like a party, and it was.

The wife and I decided to invite some friends over to make up for cancelling on the US Thanksgiving get together we were originally planning (I had to go out of town that weekend). Our drinking started early because of the miracle bird - a turkey that was calculated to need 7 hours to cook somehow only needed 3 to be completely done ... it is our first Christmas miracle. My wife and I sat on the couch in the living room and knew we needed something to drink ... that's when we pulled out the growler (1.9L) of Niagara College Teaching Brewery Glutton free beer ... yes we wanted a beer but nothing heavy - we had guests coming after all, and this one hit the spot.

People started to arrive some 3 hours later - the beer was gone but we had plenty more, including a NCTB Oatmeal Stout that proved to be popular with us and a few guests. For dinner I twisted the cap on a bottle of Josef Chromy 2009 Pinot Noir "Pepik" - which was delightfully Pinot-esque with that sour cherry, cranberry and slight earthy tinge, this was a very good Pinot Noir from a country not known for making great pinot (Australia) but from a region I have grown to really enjoy Pinots from (Tasmania). I wanted to have a bit of a contrasting Pinot in bottle number two, so I twisted another cap on a bottle of Tamar Ridge 2007 Pinot Noir 'Kayena Vineyard'; another Tasmanian offering but this time from the 2007 vintage, which must have been way hotter because the alcohol was a whopping 14% where as the first was only 12. This one showed more of a cooked fruit flavour, more robust with more plummy and black fruit qualities - more along the lines of what you expect a delicate grape like Pinot to become in a hot region like Australia ... but there was still some finesse shown in the making of it so it wasn't jammy ... it past muster.

After dinner a debate began over a bottle of Ravine 2010 Meritage - someone mentioned that had seen my review and wondered what wine I had tasted, as they had tried the same wine and was nothing like what I had described. I quickly ran downstairs and grabbed a bottle and poured some glasses - I was vindicated, but my guest insists that the wine we tried tonight and the one they had tried previously, while labelled the exact same, were not the same wines ... curious.

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Between the Lines 2009 Merlot (Ontario)

2011-12-07T21:00:00.000-05:00

I'm on an Ontario kick this week as I pulled out this bottle of Between the Lines 2009 Merlot tonight - looking at my site I thought I had reviewed this wine already, but it seems I have not posted said review; could be because there was not much of this wine left at the winery (the only place you can get it), and as I was drinking I thought "why should there be any of this wine left, it's bloody delicious" (obviously my inner-Brit comes out when I drink). Not only is this iwne delicious but a real value at only $13.00. Smooth and fruity it's exactly what people think of when they think of Merlot. Most Ontario Merlot needs some time but this one is ripe and ready now. Here's a pre-holiday suggestion .. call up Between the Lines and see if they have any of this wine left, if they do get some, it's a real people pleasing, party starter kind of wine.

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Columbia Crest 2007 Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (Washington)

2011-12-06T07:07:00.000-05:00

I would have to say that the Washington wines I have tasted of late have been pretty awesome stuff. I was really blown away by a tasting of this wine a few months back and now that I got a chance to put this wine into a nice big glass and consume more then a few mouthfuls (without having to spit them), I am even more impressed. The nose was full of ripe inviting fruit like blackberry and black cherry, but there were also lovely aromas of vanilla, spice and mocha. The palate didn't disappoint in any way, starting with chocolate and cassis, then moving on to blueberry and black cherry, before allowing pepper and spice to take center stage. The wine did have some fairly aggressive tannins that seemed to soften with more swirling in the glass, but they kept popping up even after an hour. This wine shows some great potential for further aging over the next 5+ years, but it sure is drinking well right now.

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Ravine Vineyard 2010 Chardonnay - Estate (Ontario)

2011-12-05T21:00:00.000-05:00

Finally got my hands on a bottle of this wine to take home and it is just as good in the glass here in my living room as it was sipping it at the winery with Peter Gamble. Paired with salmon this wine truly does satisfy - I always remember something that Thomas Bachelder said when talking about Chardonnay: "where's the salmon?" and I think he is completely right, it was a delicious match. As for the wine, best I just send you over to my original review from a few weeks ago:

http://ontariowinereview.com/wine-reviews/ravine-vineyard-2010-chardonnay-estate-

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Mission Hill 2005 Reserve Shiraz (British Columbia)

2011-12-04T20:00:00.000-05:00

I don't know why, but the idea of having something from BC just stuck in my head and I couldn't shake it. I must have been looking through a magazine or something, and Mission Hill just kept coming up - even though I have other BC wines to chose from. One that's really got me Jonesing to finally open it is a 2005 Twisted Tree Merlot - but I guess I am saving that for another day. Tonight it was a beef pot roast and Shiraz that had my attention on the wine and food front. The wine proved to be quite good over the short term with a nose of black currant, cedary and cinnamon notes along with some spice and pepper (hard to tell them apart at this point in the evolution of the wine). On the palate the cinnamon came through along with blackberry, cassis, white pepper and cedary notes ... and as the night wore on the cedary notes became more prevalent to the point of being more like dry pencil shavings ... but then there was also some pleasant smoked meat spices that complimented those woody flavours, when I took the last sip of the night the wood was over-shadowing even the spices. Held up nicely but not sure it has too much longer to be called "fresh".

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McKinley Springs 2007 Bombing Range Red (Washington)

2011-11-29T21:00:00.000-05:00

This is a really interesting blend from Washington state that came out just this past weekend at the LCBO (Ontario): Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah with dollops of Mourvedre, Malbec and Petit Verdot. I think the last three add the complexity to the wine while the first two give it that typicity we all know and love - thus making it an interesting blend. The nose starts off with plum and clove, then after about an hour turns into sweet spiced-raspberry (nice evolution) ... flavour-wise you get pepper, spice, cedar, cassis, black cherry and clove all woven into a pleasant drink-it-slow package as it changes on the palate from sip to sip, adding more and more enjoyment to your evening. The funny thing about this wine is the label - a cartoon drawing of a pilot holding a glass of wine and beside it a three panel cartoon showing a wine bottle being dropped like a bomb - here in Ontario the brain-trust at the liquor board decided it would be a good idea to cover up the glass of wine the pilot is holding in the name of social responsibility; obviously they don't want us to get the notion that drinking and flying (and dropping wine bottles from on high) is acceptable. Really? I needed that reminder? Thank goodness they stepped on on this one.

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Montgras 2005 Quatro (Chile)

2011-11-22T07:38:00.000-05:00

After my fiasco with the Spanish wine (a rarity in my experience with Spanish wines) I moved on to another Spanish speaking country, Chile, and a bottle of Montgras Quatro, a blend of four grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenere and Malbec. This proved to be a nicer drinking red than its Spanish counterparrt. The nose was minty with blackberry and vanilla aromas encircling it. The palate delivered on the promise of the nose's minty notes, but turned the blackberry into cassis and sweet raspberry on the mid-palate and turned that pretty vanilla note into cedar. The fruit still dominates here but its time to be drinking this wine and not sitting on it and with two more bottles in my cellar its time to locate and drink (which is a different initiative then if the wine were bad, then it would be search and destroy).

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Bodegas Campina 2007 Sabor Real Vinas Centenarias Tempranillo (Spain)

2011-11-21T20:26:00.001-05:00

Not too sure about this one. The first bottle was corked and uninviting (as corked wines usually are) - I took a sip to make sure and wish that I hadn't. Then I opened a second bottle and it was not much better than the first. I really liked the nose on this one, really very pretty with lots of plum and vanilla notes, but the palate does not co-operate with the signals the nose is sending, it's too something: too woody, too dry, too unappealing, too much of a foul finish. There was really not much to be excited about here. I let it sit in the glass for about an hour with the occasional swirl and re-sniff - the wine had a great nose - but the palate just continue to be all wood all the time. Maybe the first bottle tainted my palate, but the nose and palate just didn't mesh here and that was its biggest problem.

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JanKris 2004 Paso Robles Tres Ranchos Zinfandel (California)

2011-11-18T08:26:00.000-05:00

Something special on a Friday night ... not wanting to go downstairs to the wine cellar I stayed upstairs and wondering into the dining room to see what kind of "last minute bottles" I had lying about. I found this 7 year old JanKris Zin that I remember being a big fan of and have probably written about more than a few bottles on this very blog (I had 6 at one point). For those that think ZIn is a drink-now kinda wine, think again, this one is even better than I remembered it. Lots of vanilla, plum, and cherry with white pepper and spice were all over the nose and moved to the palate. As the night wore on there was some cherry liqueur on the palate mixed in with vanilla and plums ... lovely and very smooth without being sweet.

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LA Cetto 2005 Petite Sirah (Mexico)

2011-11-16T08:15:00.000-05:00

Mexico is known more for its Cerveza (por favor) then their wine, but they do make some wines and some good ones at that. This is pretty much the only Mexican wine we see in Ontario and its been a staple for the last few years (if not more). And the price is pretty reasonable ... once under $10, now just over. I thought I'd age one to see if the value continues, and I am glad to report that yes for under $10 you can get a wine to sit in the cellar for a few years without having it turn to vinegar. This one still had lots of fruit with blackberry, cassis, and plum with some spice holding it together ... the aromas came off as sweet so it was nice to have the spice there. On the palate there was lots of that good fruit coming through and loads of black pepper and spice. Perfect pairing on taco night - which is just what we did.

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Stalking Horse 2008 Mclaren Vale Shiraz

2011-11-11T23:00:00.000-05:00

After an evening of talking about Ontario wines, specifically the ones from the Lake Erie North Shore region,at the Sarnia Fusion festival for local wines and foods, I retired to my room for a little R & R. It's now 10:30 at night and I am cracking the cap on a bottle of Stalking Horse Shiraz, forget abut the cutesy label at the moment (heck the wine is worth buying just for that), but as we all know it's what's in that bottle that counts, and this wine has a real wow factor. Brimming with chocolatey, plummy, raspberry goodness this wine delivers all kinds of silkiness across the tongue, and while the nose is incredibly alluring it also has the ability to deliver flavours that are off the chart in their richness. But it's not jammy and sticky as you might think, there's some finesse behind this bruiser and it finishes with a spiced-raspberry note and lingers with chocolate - a real party of flavour in the mouth. Being released in Vintages (Ontario) Saturday November 12 - and worth every penny of the 17.95 price tag.

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Duckhorn 2008 Decoy (California)

2011-10-31T07:34:00.000-04:00

Seems like its been forever since I wrote about a wine I drank for the shear pleasure of it all and not something I was examining to see if it stood the test of time or had it as part of a winemaker`s dinner - it`s the busy season and every night there seems to be another tasting happening. Anyway, it`s Halloween and it seems only right to have a wine in a disguise ... or at least name after one. This Duckhorn Decoy is heavy on the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with mere hints of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot backing it up. A pretty sprawling wine with lots going on right from the get go, my notes say `ballsy beginning`and it sure was. I finally had to decant this wine to bring out the dark fruit, spice and vanilla delicacy within, but all with a nice firm tannic backbone ... very flavourful, dark and ... well, just a good Halloween wine.

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Sogevinus 2008 Veedha Douro Red (Portugal)

2011-10-21T20:30:00.000-04:00

So far I have talked many people into buying this wine by just word of mouth alone, so now it is time to tell it to the rest of the world - I drank a bottle myself to much fanfare in my mouth. I first tried this wine a week or so ago at the wines of Douro tasting, a tasting that encompassed mostly Ports but with a few interesting table wines along the way. I tried this one and loved it, especially when I heard the price was a mere $12.95 - which I soon found out was on the high end of the Portugal wine pricing on the LCBO's General List ... but I found it to be more than worth it. The nose is blackberry and raspberry with some vanilla, plum and black cherry notes also to be found throughout the evening. The nose doesn't lie, as the palate is also filled with all that nice fruit flavour; it's fresh and smooth with just enough tannins to keep things interesting, there's also a lovely bit of spice on the tongue to be found on the finish. Within an hour in the glass this wine was smooth and easy drinking pulling out dark fruits, namely plum and black cherry, with hints of cocoa that make it even more enjoyable in the second hour than the first (which was tasty to begin with). Sure it ticks the high end of Portuguese wines, but I still find this to be one of the best values on the Portugal wine shelves at this moment.

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Marchesi de Frescobaldi 2009 Terre Mare dell Ammiraglia (Italy)

2011-10-18T21:00:00.000-04:00

This wine hit the Ontario market the Saturday before (Oct. 15) and I was one of those that just had to get my hands on a few bottles ... a Bordeaux blend with a twist of Syrah added. So we have Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah in a bottle of Italian wine ... and it is delicious. The nose is cherries sprinkled with cinnamon and vanilla, very pretty. The flavours are smooth and lush with lots of red and black fruit and a touch of spice and best of all it gets better with some time in the glass. My only disappointment with this wine came when I opened it and found a plastic cork underneath the capsule, that means attempting to age this wine is out of the question ... so drink up within the next 1-3 years. This one's not for collectors, it's for drinkers.

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A Double Dose of Syrah / Shiraz (California / Ontario)

2011-10-16T21:00:00.000-04:00

It was a sad day for older Shiraz / Syrah tonight ... I kicked off with a bottle that had been brought over and left unconsumed a few night ago: Karly 1995 Amador County Syrah ... from the pictures on their website it looks like Karly wines, even today, is run out of someone's kitchen, or at least the tasting room is. It also seems that Karly is known primarily as a Zinfandel producer; so what am I doing with a Syrah from them? Oh well, I did not buy it but I am willing to try it. It was an impossible bottle to get into as the cork just crumbled into a million pieces all over the sink and the floor, I'll clean it up later. I ended up creating a hole in the cork and siphoned off the first quarter of the bottle trying to get a clean look to the glass (no cork pieces). Once that was done it was time to taste the wine ... the smell was atrocious and the taste was no better ... all oak and dried something, possibly a cross between leaves and bark with a very bitter finish, the wine was not corked but the finish had the feel of licking cardboard to it, and a similar taste (probably from being filtered through the cork to the glass), but something tells me even if I could have gotten that cork out clean this wine was long dead.

Bottle two proved to be a little better but not by much ... the good news, I guess, is it was still alive and drinkable: Pelee Island 2005 Vinedressers Shiraz ... 2005 was a good year for reds in Ontario and the southern most point, Pelee Island, got a real nice flavour out of these grapes, as per my notes of September 2009. But now some 4 years later the wine seems to be falling apart. The nose has gone all cedary and black pepperish, while the palate has spice, black pepper and a real cedary flavour, and all tertiary flavours without a spec of fruit. Granted the wine seemed to smooth out a bit over the course of an hour, dropping some of the harsh tannins, but it remained all woody and black pepper in flavour. While it was drinkable it worked better with the food than on its own.

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Dominus 1990 Proprietor's Red (California)

2011-10-13T21:30:00.000-04:00

Looking back at my blog posts it turns out that this is the oldest bottle of American wine I have ever reviewed for the "What I'm Drinking Tonight" blog. A friend called us up and said she was coming over for dinner with two bottles of wine under her arms. Both bottles were American, one from 1990 and the other '95 but the one we opened on this night was the 1990 Dominus. She let me know about the Dominus beforehand and I looked it up to see what people were saying. In 1997 Parker said it would drink well up to 2017 while the folks on CellarTracker seemed a bit confused, saying things like "fishy" and "Any longer in the bottle this may not have been as good", yet still giving it low to mid 90's ... I had a different take. The nose and taste followed similar lines: plenty of dried leaves and oak dominant, with tannins providing most of the flavour. I wouldn't exactly call the wine dead, but it sure has crested the hill of aging and is on its way down ... Nice to see that a well-known label can still add a few mercy points to a score. I, on the other hand, am totally in agreement with this Cellar Tracker user who said in December 2009: "Losing it's fruit. I think this is on a downward spiral." ... and I'm trying it almost two years later.

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Tin Roof Chardonnay and 2002 Dunn Howell Mountain (California)

2011-10-12T22:00:00.000-04:00

What an interesting day for wine (and food) ... I trundled down to Kitchener to meet with the folks heading up the new regional wine and food shows that should be hitting that market in late-November and April (just from my few meetings I can safely say these are going to be excellent shows). We ended up at a delightful new restaurant called Marisol Restaurante for lunch. Marisol has only been open for about three weeks, but is already generating some buzz in Kitchener, and I can see why ... or more like taste why. Their menu for lunch is a handful of dishes (6 in all) with three "First"s (appetizer stuff) and three "Second"s (mains) along with 3 available sides. You can also order some stuff off the dinner menu if whatever is being served for lunch does not appeal. We started our meal off of the dinner menu with a plate of mussels, then moved onto the lunch menu where I ordered a fabulous Roasted Garlic Soup with crumbled blue cheese that was out of this world (especially if you don't want to have to talk to anybody the rest of the day) and for my main a Pan Roasted Wild Halibut on a fennel and radish salad. The halibut was prepared simply but deliciously and with each forkful combined more with the flavours in the salad added even more flavour to the fish. But you probably aren't too worried about my culinary review (though if you are in Kitchener ... I`m just saying); I know you are interested in what wine I had. For lunch I had a 2008 Tin Roof Chardonnay that seemed multi-purpose through the meal. Touch buttery but with enough fruit to carry the wine through the mussels and soup, though a tad jarring with just the halibut, you needed the rest of the dish to liven it up.

That evening I was teaching a wine class and the generosity of students continues to amaze me. Some sit and take it all in (which is what they are suppose to do I guess) but others jump in with both feet. Since we were doing California on this particular evening one student stopped by the LCBO and purchased his favourite California Cab (producer, not vintage) a 2002 Dunn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon - Howell Mountain. What makes this more impressive is that the bottle was over a hundred bucks and he was willing to share it with the entire class. I had brought in a $11 Cab and thus we did a blind experiment to see if a wine worth 10 times as much was identifiable as such. Interesting to note that we went down gender lines, the woman enjoyed the lighter $11 wine while the men preferred the more expensive bottle. The class misjudged the price, as the majority thought the younger Cab the more expensive bottle - but I wonder how many have experience with aged and over $100 bottles. As for the wine it had some forest floor notes, spice, blackberry, menthol and herbal tobacco on the nose (showing its age) ... but the palate was more forgiving of its longevity showcasing more fruit and other flavours: blackberry, spiced-oak, sweet floral, and a Dr. Pepper character that I rather enjoyed (though the class laughed at that little descriptor). The finish was a pleasant vanilla-cherry-tobacco. A big thanks to OM for this bottle.

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Carrick Gravel Run Cider (Ontario)

2011-10-11T10:57:00.000-04:00

Sausage and Cider, what could go better together? Yes I hear you purist saying that beer is also a perfect accompaniment but we had Cider on hand so that is what we went with. Smoked garlic sausages from the Best Little Pork Shoppe (Shakespeare, Ontario), served with a side of Sauerkraut (from the same shoppe) and a little Kraft Dinner with extra cheese on the side, to round out the meal. I had recently acquired some wines from a little winery in Midway, Ontario and I felt the best way to get a taste of their Cider was with a meal. This Gravel Run Cider is their lightest offering of the Cider varieties (they make two), it's off-dry and slightly carbonated. Light and crisp with a touch of sweetness this one is very gulpable and with a finish that had some length. Maybe a little too light to accompany the dinner we had, but on its own it was a delight.

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Bernardus Chardonnay and Musar Jeune (California / Lebanon)

2011-10-06T10:28:00.000-04:00

Bit of a double whammy tonight in the wine department. A friend showed up with dinner and dessert under their arm, they also had a bottle of 2000 Baco Noir Reserve from Henry of Pelham. Now back in June, the Wine Writers' Circle did a tasting of nine Henry Reserve Bacos, one of my least favourites was the 2000 ... but we cracked it and tried it anyway. My opinion did not change, and our friend asked for something else ... "do you have anything?" Now I am never at a loss for wine in the house so I grabbed a bottle of Chardonnay out of the fridge that I picked up on my tour of Monterey, California: Bernardus 2009 Sierra Mar Vineyard. Now, if memory serves correctly these vines are in their first year of producing viable fruit, and the guy who let me taste it in the tasting room said they were expecting great things from this vineyard in the future. While I think it has great things going for it now. The nose is buttery caramel and honeyed-hazelnuts along with peach pit and candied almonds. The palate isn't as candied as the nose giving off both fruit and sweet sensations on the tongue: vanilla-butter, apple, peach with a slightly nutty-spicy finish ... my friend remarked that it tasted older than one would expect from a 2009 wine. I have to wonder what sitting in the belly of a plane did to the wine, but it was still a delight to drink.

Dinner was awhile in the oven, who knew that a lasagna would take 2 hours to cook (okay so it was frozen, but still), so when we finally sat down we had to open another bottle, and this time it was a Chateau Musar 2008 Musar Jeune from Lebanon. This is a blend of Cinsault, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, from the old old world. Musar (at least the bottles I have had) never have that fresh fruit flavour so it is an acquired taste. The nose is dried leaves along with herbs and spice; palate-wise there was cran-cherry and spice with a touch of herbal notes. I enjoyed it very much and seemed to match with the noodles, cheese and meat very well. Then again it was also good on its own.

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Kaiken 2005 Ultra Malbec (Argentina)

2011-10-02T21:00:00.000-04:00

Back in 2007 I called this "an absolutely stupendous bottle of wine" in a private review. I also would have recommended it to my Vintages readers (September 1, 2007) ... now some 6 years from vintage date I am not as enthralled with this wine, though it is still quite enjoyable. In its youth the wine was vibrant with flavour both big and subtle (from my review: "Woody, oaky, coffee, licorice and black fruit are all in the nose; while black fruit, black licorice and [with] a mouth-drying tannin backbone") - but as it is aging it is showing its heavy handed 14.5% alcohol and the wood is overly compensating for the loss of fruit. This was the first version of the Ultra to appear on the shelves here in Ontario, and being a big fan of the regular Kaiken I jumped all over this one ... the cork gave me a load of trouble breaking halfway through opening, and then broke into three more pieces before I was finally able to get it out. With the cork extracted I had to pour some out to get the grit from the cork out of the wine. But then it was time to taste and smell (not necessarily in the order). The smell was spicy as hell, but also gave up quite of bit of alcohol burn that more than tickled the nose hairs; there was also an element of dark fruit and dried leaves to be found. Flavours started out dark fruited and very woodsy, the woodsy calmed down with time in glass (say 45 minutes) but what took over was the alcohol heat, on some sips it almost burned going down ... I'm not in the habit of shaking a bottle of wine like I am a bottle of V8 juice to mix in all the flavours, but maybe that is what this bottle needed to integrate the alcohol ... just a thought. Overall it was still a good wine, but not the stupendous bottle I remember from back in September 2007.

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Josef Chromy 2009 Pepik - Pinot Noir (Australia)

2011-09-30T21:00:00.000-04:00

Turns out I have a small collection of Josef Chromy wines, all Pinot Noirs and all Tasmanian, from Australia, what the folks down under proclaim as "true cool climate". Of the three I have this is the one with the least amount of alcohol (12.5%) while the others have 13 and 14.5. Pepik is a nickname for Josef in Czech - or so the back of the bottle says ... it also called this wine an "approachable, easy-drinking" wine, and I am apt to agree. The fruit is forward in this wine with lots of cherry and hints of cranberry on the nose, along with sweet spices and some vanilla. The palate shows the acidity of this wine first and foremost, then displays really good red fruit flavours, some spice which then leads to a cranberry, raspberry, strawberry finish. Lovely mouth-feel and good taste, one of the reasons I like the Chromy wines, and why I have quite the collection going on. Might I suggest you pick up a bottle from the store nearest you and see if you don't agree. And for you white drinkers, his Chardonnays are pretty good too.

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Seifried Estate 2005 Nelson Riesling (New Zealand)

2011-09-24T21:00:00.000-04:00

I find myself at the Festival Inn in Stratford enjoying the evening with my wife after we returned from the events that took place on the Saturday afternoon at Savour Stratford (a report will follow in the next few days on the On the Road blog). I brought along a little something special to while away the evening ... at least I am hoping it is special. Not sure why I have been holding onto this wine like it was gold, I guess I am impressed to have some white other than Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand in my possession. A curious wine because it started out a little too funky but then seemed to reclaim itself ... let me explain. The nose started off too petrolly and almost hard to drink, but the palate didn't have that problem, there was little to no petrol there. So I decided to let it sit and see what happened (our fridge might have also been a little too cold). Yes petrol was hanging out in the background but there were also smells of apricot and lemon peel. The taste also proved to be rather interesting with citrus notes in the form of lemon pith, over-ripe pear and some apricot. As the wine warmed and opened up; after another hour there were hints of green apple and some minerality thru the mouth that disappeared into an apricot-lemon pith finish. I think this wine has held up rather nicely.

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Cline 2005 Ancient Vines Zinfandel (California)

2011-09-24T20:30:00.000-04:00

Even sittin' at home on a Friday evening I found myself in a California State of Mind, so I opened up an old bottle of this favourite from Cline. They say the vines they use are between 80-100 years old, that's pretty ancient indeed. Now at first I was not sure about this wine, things did not smell good and the taste was suspect. The nose was plummy to a degree but also had quite a bit of pruney and foresty floor nuances. The taste also rode the line with vanilla, oak, creme de cacao but with a long slightly pruned-oaked finish. But with more time in the glass and some more aeration to the wine it began to sprout. In the end I got chocolate with dried plum, but not yet prune notes and some spice started to show up to give the wine a nice kick. Yup, a decanter and an hour would have helped this wine, but I could not wait to get to the good stuff - patience is a virtue and sometimes I have none of it.

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Trinchero 2009 Zinfatuation (California)

2011-09-18T19:26:00.001-04:00

As the label suggests this is another in a string of Zinfandels I have been drinking here in California over the past week. This one is an exclusive to Cost Plus World Market, where I had purchased a few bottles in San Francisco. It's rich and plummy with hints of vanilla and black cherry on the nose. The palate is plummy with some spice and loads of vanilla - an easy sipper for an afternoon staring out at Monterey Bay trying to pick out sea otters in the bay and on the rocks. Thinking back to the past week, my favourite Zin on the trip was the first one I tried, but this one is quite lovely and another steal for 8.99 or something ridiculous like that ... like seriously how can you go wrong with a wine that inexpensive, worse case scenario you dump it in the stew. Well I guess it's cheers from California, tomorrow it's back to the Great White North where I will be screwed at the cash register for even the simplest bottle of wine at our liquor monopoly (good bye free enterprise, hello rubber glove).

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Chock Rock Vineyard 2006 Syrah - Chalone (California)

2011-09-17T21:38:00.002-04:00

A beauty of a Syrah that I tried while touring around the Carmel Valley area of Monterey, and happened across this winery tasting room, the project of Dan Karlsen, winemaker for Talbott Vineyards. I was impressed by this reasonably priced ($18.00) Syrah that had so much actual Syrah character; probably because the grapes come from the cool Chalone appellation of Monterey. I liked it in the tasting room and I'm loving it even more now that I have it in a larger, more appropriate glass. Smells are of dark fruit and smoked meat while the palate has some lovely peppery notes, raspberry fruit and plenty of spice, Dan has also managed to trap some good acidity here so it's not a heavy jammy Syrah and it'll pair well with meat and cheese, I have no meat in the room but I am munching on some cheese as a pairing and it is just heavenly, especially with those cheeses that have a bit of a bite to them.

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White Blend - Murietta, Chardonnay - Lockwood and Syrah - Qupe (California)

2011-09-16T01:56:00.000-04:00

Dinner at Shake's Old Fisherman's Grotto on Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey was wonderful and the entire Jazz-FM party seemed to congregate at the place, all 26 of us, give or take one or two. Jazz-FM is the group I find myself with to attend the Monterey Jazz Festival, and our first night in Monterey finds us here a day earlier than the festival begins to take in the sights. Which is why tonight we find ourselves at the above mentioned restaurant.

I find myself at a table with two other couples and they look to me for some interesting wine choices for dinner. Each couple is responsible for a bottle, and with 25% off anything local it makes the wine selection a little easier. We start off with a poached pear and Gorgonzola salad and pair it with a Murietta's Well 2010 The Whip, a blended white from 6 different grapes including Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Semillon, Pinot Blanc, Orange Muscat and Muscat Canelli. The nose is very aromatic with lemon, floral and sweet grass while the palate has a slightly sweet-grassy flavour along with lemon, floral, apple and hints of limeade on the finish, there is also a touch of pear and some great orange creamsicle notes that make it creamy and delicious.

Moving to the main I have, as well as 4 of my table-mates, a sesame encrusted walu ... which I just learned is also known as the ex-lax fish because of its laxative effects it has on humans (according to a January 2010 CNN report) and has been banned in such places as Japan and Italy (good to know now). I can say it was very tasty especially with its coating of sesame ... we paired that with a Lockwood 2009 Chardonnay that had lovely smells of pineapple, apple and hints of vanilla on the nose followed by nectarine, peach, and pear fruit in the mouth along with a subtle spiced-vanilla finish.

Ending the evening with a little creme brulee topped with fresh strawberries and a Qupe 2009 Syrah that was loaded with black raspberry and white pepper on both the nose and palate, there were also some decent tannins on the finish to keep it from being jammy.

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Peachy Canyon Winery 2008 Incredible Red - Zinfandel (California)

2011-09-15T19:39:00.000-04:00

View from room in Monterey

I never miss a chance to buy a bargain Zinfandel, especially from a company I have heard about. I tried some Peachy Canyon wine many months ago back in Toronto at the California Wine Fair and was impressed with their brand and style of Zinfandel, so when I saw a bottle in a Trader Joe's in San Francisco I figure I just had to grab a bottle and give it a(nother) go. This is their "Incredible Red", not my evaluation just what they call it, and it is a rather tasty little Zinfandel, especially when you consider it cost a mere $8.99. It has the plum, vanilla and cherry fruit that we Zin fans look for in our wines and it follows pretty closely in the mouth with a velvety smoothness across the tongue ... it really all comes down to that lovely cherry finish that lingers long time, like a lonely sailor at a whore house. Well enough with the silly similes, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my wine and looking out at Monterey Bay.

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Hahn Winery 2009 Meritage (California)

2011-09-13T22:25:00.002-04:00

After a day of touring around Fisherman's Wharf and taking the Cable Car here in San Francisco we are now relaxing in the hotel room with some nuts, cheese and (but of course) wine. This is a straight up Meritage with all five of the Bordeaux grape varieties present (Cab Sauv and Franc, Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot) heavy on the Sauv (45%) and Merlot (29%). This is a pretty powerful wine, and I'm not just talking the alcohol (14.5%), the nose is plum, black cherry, with a heavy reliance on spice and some black licorice nuances. The palate real zings with its spicy character doling out a lot of pepper and spiced plum, though I have a feeling giving this wine a few more years, say 5, would be quite beneficial to its smoothness, the tannins are a bit raw - if I were allowed more than two bottles back into the country I would definitely be bringing back a bottle of the Hahn and of the OZV from last night. A delicious wine, again, and for such a cheap price (sorry, inexpensive) this one was purchased for around twelve bucks, twelve bucks?!? ... unbelievable.

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Oak Ridge Winery 2008 OZV (California)

2011-09-12T23:40:00.000-04:00

First evening in San Francisco sees me asking the concierge in the hotel if there is a good wine shop near by (what else?); I am pointed in the direction of a nearby Cost Plus, so I make the 5 block walk in search of a good bottle of California wine ... what I find is an interesting store that sells everything from soup to nuts, including ... you guessed it, wine. This bottle is on sale for a mere $9.99 at the front door, so I put it in the shopping cart and continue on my way. The guy manning the wine section is very helpful, telling me that the OZV (stands for Old Zin Vines) that I have chosen is oneof the better values on Zin that they have presently. The wine is made from vines that are between 50-100 years old and boy does that make all the difference in the world. This is one sexy Zin with dark plum, chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon, cherry-cola, nutmeg and allspice all piling on board to make this one of the most interesting Zins I have tried in a while. As it sits in the glass the spiciness get a little better and starts to develop clove notes. The palate follows in pretty much lock-step with the nose (this is nort a bad thing) and the palate seems to have one of those forever finishes that goes on for days... this is a spectacuar Zin..

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Wakefield 2004 Merlot (Australia)

2011-09-09T23:22:00.002-04:00

This is one juicy and delicious Merlot with sweet fruit that brings to mind blueberry and blackberry with an almost creamy sensation through the front to mid-palate, but then the finish has lots of black pepper and bite that brings this wine to a very satisfying conclusion. 6 years old but you still have a few years before all that fruit goes bye-bye.

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Stone Cellars by Beringer 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon (California)

2011-09-08T20:11:00.004-04:00

I'll be honest with you here - as I always try to be - I had no faith in this wine what-so-ever, none at all. This is a cheapo bottle of California Cabernet Sauvignon from 2000, sure it has the name Beringer on it, but other than that I had no hope for a good drink and even had a younger bottle of Australian hooch on stand-by. The nose had a teenage smell to it (meaning the wine was not old but it wasn't young either) still with a fair bit of fruit amongst a forest floor nuance. But the palate really popped, smooth and supple dark berries like blackberry and black cherry seemed to come out with a over-ripe raspberry sensation along with some vanilla and a finish that had a flavoured toothpick quality. Fantastic wine? No, but very friendly and very consumable ... I have to hand it to Beringer, even the bottom end stuff stands up. Cheers.

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Gandia 2002 Hoya de Cadenas Reserva (Spain)

2011-09-07T19:32:00.003-04:00

Tempranillo with a hint of Grenache aged 12 months in barrel then it sat in my cellar for what seemed like forever, until tonight. I plucked it from a box of wines to be tried "later", and later has come now. The question about a wine like this is how old is too old? There is no fresh fruit in the glass what-so-ever and there is almost a faint hint of Sherry (does that make it okay because it`s from Spain?) ... but there is also something alluring about the wine on the palate. It grabs hold of the tongue with spice and a hint of wood, and yet seems almost sweet through the mid-palate. 8 out of 10 people would tell me to dump it down the sink and reach for something younger, but I kinda dig the funky old wines - they have character, they`re not the same old juicy jammy wines we have come to know and love - and that`s what makes them so interesting to sit and sip on ... this one might kick the bucket in an hour (so I`m gonna get right to it) but until then I will sip on it and enjoy the funky flavours of old age.

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Bubbles, Two Reds, and Aussie Port (Australia)

2011-09-05T23:30:00.000-04:00

It seems we had an Australian evening chez moi, mate. My buddy from the night before decided to stay over, sleeping-in from the party hard style of wine drinking we did the night before, and we moved into holiday Monday the same way we ended holiday Sunday, with wine.

Kicked off the day by tasting through some 30+ wines I had sitting around for review. One of those wines was a Yellow Tail wine called Bubbles, which is coming back into the Ontario market with a new kind of closure. In truth this is not a wine that is going to take the world by storm like some of the previous Yellow Tail offering, and it is not going to change the drinking habits of Champagne lovers - but what is will do is make bubbly more accessible and more pleasurable for a lot of people not looking for the breadiness found in Champagne and replacing it with fresh, crisp and lively fruit along with enough sweetness to make it a wine that's easy going down and easy to party with every single night - because bubbly is not just for special occasions.

After a bite to eat to clear up all that wine from the palate, we threw in a movie (District 9) and opened a bottle of Peter Lehmann 2008 Layers, a peppery black fruit number with lovely cassis and spice notes throughout ... the tail end of the bottle paired well enough with the burgers we BBQed before the rains came. Dinner's entertainment was the movie Taken with Liam Neeson (if you haven't seen this revenge flick it is well worth it) and mid-way through a Thorn-Clark 2005 Terra-Barossa Cuvee was opened. The cuvee was a blend of Shiraz, Petit Verdot, Cab Sauv and Cab Franc and mixed together to make a sweet and succulent fruity blend that concocts licorice, coffee, mocha, and vanilla cream into all that fruit.

After dinner, IronMan (one and two) were the movies served alongside a Dutschke "Old Codger" Fine Old Tawny Port from South Australia, a nutty, cherry and caramel sweetie that had just enough spice to make it interesting ... It was a day where two guys, without their wives, watched guy movies and drank guy wines, all we needed was the cigars (but my wife would kill me if we smoked 'em in the house).

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Two Whites - One Red (Ontario / Australia)

2011-09-04T22:00:00.000-04:00

Pretty simple day really. Buddy came over after the Burlington Rib Fest and we sat around and drank my booze ... frees up space for more, is the way I look at it; free booze is the way he looks at it.

Started with the Reif 2007 Kerner, which proved to be quite delicious after some time in glass. My buddy, like myself, is not a huge Chardonnay fan, claiming his favourite was way back in 1992 and was made by JL Groux when he was still with Hillebrand. I pulled out one of my recent favourites, a Coyote's Run 2008 Black Paw Chardonnay, needed some time to open up but once it did it had all I was looking for, my buddy drank it but claims nothing compares to his '92 - stuck in the past obviously. Finally we opened a bottle of D'arenberg 2008 D'arry's Original (Shiraz Grenache blend) that had lots of spicy black pepper and dark fruit ... this one needed no time in glass to open up, it was ready upon pouring.

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Two WInes - Two Different Results (Ontario / Washington)

2011-09-03T19:30:00.000-04:00

Due to an interesting scheduling conflict (and that's all I'm going to say about that) my wife and I celebrated our anniversary two days early ... and of course wine was a big part of that celebration. We started with an afternoon toast with lunch (homemade fish tacos grilled up on our new panini grill), our toast to one year could only be with one wine, the one we got engaged with: Chateau des Charmes 2005 Rosé Brut ... a wine that so far is getting better with age.

Wine two was a major disappointment and, typically, was one I had so been looking forward to trying, a bottle of 2005 Eroica from the combined efforts of Chateau Ste. Michelle and Dr. Loosen, grown in Washington State. I have tried this wine at trade tastings in the past and have been blown away by its freshness and delightful flavour; but this was one nasty bottle of wine that lacked everything I loved about the previous ones I have tried. The nose seemed to be alright doling out petrol, stewed pineapple and some hints of apricot ... in the mouth the wine had a buttery (?) sensation with hints of mineral notes. There was some apple and pineapple flavours with a semi-sweet finish that hinted at apricot and lemon pith. We had ordered Chinese from our favourite place in St. Catharines (Magnolia), and while the food was good (as usual) the wine disappointed ... next time maybe we'll just go with a second bottle of bubbly.

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Pondview 2009 Bella Terra Cabernet Franc (Ontario)

2011-08-31T18:00:00.000-04:00

Way too early for a taste it again review but I did want to see how this wine stood up in a proper Bordeaux-style glass. Pulled the cork and noticed the wine has seeped it's way up, and the neck smelled oxidized, so I had a brief moment of worry ... but because it was still a young wine it overcame this problem and my review of the wine still stands:

http://ontariowinereview.com/wine-reviews/pondview-2009-qbella-terraq-cabernet-franc

Best way to check to see if you have a leaky bottle , not just of this wine but any wine under a cork seal, is to twist the plastic capsule and see if it turns easily, if it is hard to turn, or does not turn at all you might have a problem, and the older the bottle the more the problem will be ... this is not a fool-prrof method but has worked for me 95% of the time.

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BBQ Night Zin and Dessert Time Late Harvest (California / Ontario)

2011-08-30T19:00:00.000-04:00

A full house for a BBQ on the back deck: burgers, dogs, salads, chips, the only thing missing were the baked beans and potato salad - but hey, you can't have everything. I pulled out a 7 year old Zinfandel from Ravenswood (Ravenswood 2004 Vintners Blend Zinfandel) and was blown away by the dark fruit: plum, black cherry and hints of vanilla along with an element of spice that still existed in this wine - it still tasted young and fresh ... plus there was a bit of chocolate on the finish.

Speaking of chocolate the peanut butter chocolate fudge cake that my wife made was a huge hit and I paired it with a 2008 Pillitteri Select Late Harvest Gewurztraminer (a bit of a curious oddity wine) which was spicy and floral with nice balancing acidity ... another hit. A tasty dinner was had by all ... I'm sure the drinks played a key part in everyone's enjoyment.

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Wines from the Weekend and Beyond (Ontario)

2011-08-30T07:22:00.000-04:00

For those of you who think I have not been drinking over the weekend, or even over the last few days, shame on you, I've just been posting reviews on a variety of other blogs like:

Taste it Again ...

Hillebrand 2005 Trius Red

Lost & Found ...

The Ice House 2006 Northern Ice Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine

Mountain Road Wine Company 2006 Reserve Chardonnay

So there.

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Palivou Vineyards 2000 Agiorgitiko (St. George) - (Greece)

2011-08-24T21:08:00.012-04:00

I don't showcase a lot of Greek wine because I don't have a lot of Greek wine in the cellar, but after tonight's bottle I have to ask myself why? I just finished putting together a blog entry for Ottawa Life, that will appear in September, about a tasting of Greek wines I did back in May. I was then looking through the earlier part of my wine cellar (organized by year) and found this 2000 Agiorgitiko and thought it would be appropriate to open that up for dinner. Funny thing is I used to drink quite a bit of Greek wine, one of my early favourite reds was a light bodied easy drinker from the Aegean Islands.

I have learned over my time of drinking and writing about wine that I am not always going to get those fresh fruit flavours just because I open a fresh bottle of wine. Wine ages, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, but when you open a ten year old bottle you're definitely gonna get something interesting. Which brings me to this bottle: It's old, but it's definitely still quite drinkable with dried fruit mixed with cedary-oak notes (more wooden than fruity) with hints of acid and spice. It seemed to go pretty well with the goat cheese stuffed chicken breast I made. I'm surprised at how well it stood the test of time ... about 20 minutes into the drinking I noticed a bit of that foresty floor aroma and taste, but not in a rotten way, more in a character nuanced way ... I must admit I was shocked, amazed and surprised that the wine was still as alive as it was.

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Don Sebastiani 2007 SKN Cabernet Sauvignon (California)

2011-08-22T18:43:00.013-04:00

SKN - what in the world could that mean? Could be Skin minus the I but no, it actually is an acronym for Screw Kappa Napa. With its eye catching orange label this wine grabs your attention, not surprising the producer is listed as Three Loose Screws ... but forget about the packaging and marketing for a minute, because label will get you to buy a wine a grand total of once, what`s in the bottle will have you coming back time and time again. This is a relatively easy recommend because most people recognize the Napa brand as being wine of quality (but still crap does come from the region), this is a pretty basic Napa Cab but a tasty one at that. The nose is full of chocolate, blackberry, black cherry and plum while the palate is dark fruited with pepper and spiced-plum gives length to the finish with just a hint of mocha on the linger ... seemed to go well with the Venison Honey Garlic sausages I paired it with.

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Hollick Wines 2004 Red Ridge Cab / Shiraz / Merlot (Australia)

2011-08-20T21:19:00.019-04:00

I think I am starting to doubt my sanity ... I know I have seen the bottle, I even drank from a glass poured directly from it, but for some reason I can't find any information about this wine. Tonight we had dinner at a grillhouse called Wildfire in St. Catharines, dinner was excellent with steaks the size of your head and ribs that were delicious and saucy. Ordered a bottled off the Bin End menu, when it arrived I tasted it and it was getting older but still with lots of spice and tannins to match with our main courses. I turned the bottle around and saw the name of the producer as Hollick and knew it was Australian (so said the label on the front) - but as far as anyone ever tasting or seeing this wine on Yahoo, Google or CellarTracker, no dice. I can tell you the nose had good spice character and the palate had a decent amount of dark fruit, though it was fading in favour of the ramped up spice with hints of pepper while the finish turned out to be a pleasant linger of spiced plum. All in all a decent wine for the evening meal.

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Two Reds and a White on Meatloaf Night (Ontario / Argentina)

2011-08-19T22:58:00.000-04:00

It's not often I have a three bottle night, but it is not everyday you get to celebrate a birthday and an anniversary. My parents came to visit on Friday afternoon (it had been my mom's birthday and their anniversary in the past week). We were making them dinner, but because of their early arrival there was time to catch up before dinner was served. What better way then out on the deck in the beautiful sunshine and nice weather. Mom was talking about a wine she had had earlier in the week with a friend that she thought was quite nice; turns out it was a 2008 Gamay from Malivoire. I said, "If you liked that one then you're going to love this one," and I grabbed a bottle of Malivoire's 2009 Small Lot Gamay, this one is a stunner and one of the best Gamays I have tasted out of Niagara so far. My wife is a white drinker, so when she returned and joined us on the deck it only seemed fair that she get a great wine too, which lead me to pull out a Cave Spring Cellars 2009 Dolomite Riesling. Finally, with dinner a special meatloaf with my first attempt at an Israeli couscous salad (turned out pretty good), for this I pulled out a bottle of Finca El Retiro 2004 Tempranillo Reserva Especial (from Argentina) - this was a spicy number that still had some good dark fruit to balance off the spiciness. Smooth and enjoyable, especially with the meatloaf.

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Two Ontario Whites - Semillon and Riesling (Ontario)

2011-08-18T23:28:00.016-04:00

Friends came over tonight, and because it was hot outside and later in the evening, white wines took center stage ... two wines I have previously reviewed and have enjoyed - now I am enjoying them again. How about I just link 'em up here and you can read them at your leisure:

Rosewood 2010 Semillon (**** 1/2)

Calamus 2008 Vinemount Ridge Riesling (*** 1/2)

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EOS 2004 Paso Robles Zinfandel (California)

2011-08-17T19:35:00.000-04:00

Last time I was in Michigan to visit my wife's family I took a few minutes to check out this liquor store everyone said I should ... alright so it was more like an hour, I don't spend "a few minutes" in liquor stores. So while the family visited I shopped for booze and found a number of interesting bottles, mostly Zinfandel - a real American staple and their gift to the vinous world (if you can get past the pink stuff) - and I feel When In Rome ... (you know the rest). Anyway, I got this a few weeks ago and yes it was already 7 years old when I picked it up (as I look at the EOS website I see they are selling the 2008 version) ... but boy am I glad to have put my hands on this one, it is drinking exceptionally well right now. The nose is plum, blackberry and vanilla while the palate was smooth going in then grabbed the tongue with a hint of pepper and a decent amount of acidity on the finish. Through the mouth there was dark plum, spiced cherry and vanilla and the finish ended slightly sweet (probably due to the 14.5% alcohol) with a delicious spiced-plum. I paired it was a balsamic glazed chicken and it was one of the best pairings I have had in a long time as the wine melded with the slight char on the chicken ... I thought I had gone too bold with my wine tonight but now I am glad I don't listen to myself or the "experts" who say Zin can't go with chicken. Goes to show that on paper pairing isn't perfect, you have to experiment to gain knowledge.

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Perrin & Fils 2008 Rasteau L'Andeol - Part 3 (France)

2011-08-15T23:22:00.000-04:00

Alright ... so here we are on the fourth night of this bottle being open and the Wine Shield is in the bottle (installed correctly?) - theory is that the Shield should protect the bottle from oxidation for longer than if the bottle was left unprotected. Truth is the wine has port like flavours and smells, which is a sign of oxidation. So did it protect the wine better? I'd have to say that my findings are really inconclusive on the matter ... one bottle does not a test make. I'm going to have to give it another go in the next couple of weeks, but this time I will have to open two bottles of wine so that I have a control bottle and one under the wine Shield, to see if it makes a difference; and I think I know just the bottles to do it with For now I wouldn't rush out and get Wine Shield unless you want to experiment with it as I am going to do.

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Perrin & Fils 2008 Rasteau L'Andeol - Part 2 (France)

2011-08-13T06:40:00.023-04:00

So yesterday, if you remember, I inserted a Wine Shield into my partly consumed bottle of Perrin & Fils 2008 Rasteau L'Andeol ... the shield is suppose to protect the wine from the air and let it last longer after opening ... so the second glass should be just as good as the first, in theory. Truth is I thought the second glass was even better than the first with big raspberry notes on both the nose and taste, just a hint of that pepperiness on the palate from yesterday, but it was there. Now, would this have happened anyway had I not used the wine shield, I think it might have - the more I think about this experiment the more I realize I have to sacrifice two bottles to see if this will work, obviously 2 of the same wine ... Let's see if I am wiling to do that for the sake of "science". For now I will continue with my bottle of Rasteau and skip Sunday's glass to see what happens with Monday's by then the wine has been open four days and by then I am usually ready to dump it down the sink - though I have to admit a bottle rarely, if ever, gets past the first night in this house, it's a shear sign of will-power that I have allow a bottle this delicious to last this long.

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Perrin & Fils 2008 Rasteau L'Andeol - Part 1 (France)

2011-08-12T06:38:00.000-04:00

So tonight I did my first trial with a product called Wine Shield which is a product designed to prolong the life of your wine after it has been opened. It's a bit of a complicated process to get the Shield into the bottle and I am still not quite too sure I did it right - guess I won't know till I finish the bottle - but from my reading it is a plastic food grade blanket that sits on top of the wine protecting it for the air so that each glass tastes as good as the first, or at least the wine won't spoil as quickly. Tonight I gave it a try with this Rasteau from the Cotes du Rhone region of France, and a good one at that: Perrin & Fils. I read somewhere that their name on a bottle is as close to a guarantee of quality that you are going to get - and I have to admit that I am rarely disappointed in their wines. This wine is a blend of Granache and Syrah, with the majority being the Grenache (usually about 80%) ... upon opening it had a lovely nose of plum, dark cherry and spice; the palate showed lots of spice with dark berries and black pepper bite. Dinner choice was marinated steak and it went quite well together. I then installed my Wine Shield (hopefully correctly) and now we wait until tomorrow to see what happens.

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Newton 2004 Napa Valley Claret (California)

2011-08-09T23:58:00.000-04:00

"Claret" is what the English would call wines from Bordeaux ... but this is not a Claret in the traditional sense of the word, claret, as a Bordeaux, would contain a blend of 5 specified grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and/or Malbec; but this version of California Claret forgoes the Malbec in favour of Syrah (8%). The result is a wine that is smooth yet with a peppery bite ... dark fruit leads the charge on the tongue, doling out blackberries especially, but spiced/peppered plums are also found on the palate. A delicious wine with meat stew, which is what I had for dinner tonight at my parents house - though I did not ask what kind of meat, maybe I did not want to know - afterall these were the folks that served me tongue at a young age.

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Zinsational 2008 Old Vine Zinfandel (California)

2011-08-06T23:27:00.011-04:00

I love visiting the U.S. Sure I now have family there and we get together for a drink (or 12 - you get a chance ask my wife about Friday night), but the real draw is the wine stores on every corner and the variety you find on the shelves (and the family of course). But while my wife is catching up with her sister-in-law or friends I find time to slip out and check out a local liquor establishment (even if its just the Wal-Mart around the corner). This time I ended up at a Parkway Liquor Store (?), at least that might have been what it was called ... they had floor to ceiling liquor, beer, coolers and, from what people told me before I went, they had recently renovated to expand their wine selection. Needless to say I just had to check it out, and while there bought a few bottles (mainly Zinfandel). One I specifically bought for dinner that night, which was going to be some BBQ from a place in New Balitimore, MI called Bad Brad's BBQ (place was excellent, the brisket was amazing and so were the St. Louis style ribs) ... anyway I got this bottle of Zinsational for just such an occasion and shared it with my father-in-law (I had no idea he was a wine drinker) ... the wine was full of plum and spice with black cherry and vanilla notes and went very well with the BBQed fare ... granted we drank the wine out of juice glasses, but it was the kind of wine (and dinner) that suited juice glasses perfectly.

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Cline 2005 Red Truck Cabernet Sauvignon (California)

2011-08-03T18:31:00.001-04:00

If you read the little red truck's license plate on the front label you'll see that it says Cline, but otherwise you would have no idea this wine is from one of the top Zinfandel producers in the US - just thought I'd mention that as an aside. But don't worry about that for a minute and think about this easy drinking juicy red (when it was first released) what has now happened to it at 6 years from vintage date? Well I can tell you that it is really at its peak - especially if you like a layered juicy Cab. The nose is black cherry, cassis along with some vanilla and cinnamon. The taste is even better and continues to evolve over a two hour period. It starts out as a smooth red, almost creamy, with plum, black cherry, vanilla with a hint of pepper on the finish, which mixes with subtle tannins ... 2 hours later it's the finish you'll most remember: plum- chocolate and some alcohol soaked cherries, a few more sips and I was thinking back to black forest cake ... now that's a wine that keeps on giving: great for dinner and then great for dessert.

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Double Shot of Road 13 Wines (British Columbia)

2011-08-01T19:49:00.028-04:00

As a freak occurrence I ended up with a number of bottles of Road 13 wine (formerly Golden Mile Cellars) and tonight, with friends in attendance on this holiday Monday I opened a couple of those bottles. The first to be opened was on the deck and turned out to be the beauty of the batch: 2010 Old Vines Chenin Blanc. This was just the cat's ass (if you'll excuse the language) with aromas that filled the air the moment I poured it (even outside you could smell the tropical fruit plain as day coming from the glass), this wine had what I like to call "sniff-all-day-edness" to it. The palate was just as inviting loading on those sweet tropical fruit flavours of pineapple and hint of mango, yet also with some restarined mineral notes and citrus flair, especially on the finish where grapefruit and lemon pith intermingled to keep that sweet fruit at bay and bring out all the lovely enjoyment of the wine. It was on this high that we then opened the 2010 Rosé, a primarily Gamay Noir based pink wine to go with the pork dish for dinner ... alas, it could not stand the scrutiny of the crowd won over by the Chenin's charms, nice but nothing spectacular; maybe we should have started with the rosé.

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L. Mawby M. Lawrence "Wet" (Michigan)

2011-08-01T13:12:00.000-04:00

It's Friday night, time to celebrate the weekend so I went deep into the cellar to find something unusual but tasty. Here's a bottle of bubbly I picked up in Michigan a couple of years back at a sparkling wine house called L. Mawby, a place that now boasts 15 sparklers with names like "US", "Consort", "Jadore", "Detroit" and "Sex" ... this one is just plain "Wet". Wet is a blend of Pinot Gris and Pinot Meunier done in the Cuvee Clos method ... flavours are of sweet almond biscotti and over ripe apple. This wine was probably a little fresher a few years back but it was interesting to taste it with a little age ... and in truth it was delicious and as advertised: Wet.

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An Afternoon of Ontario Riesling (Ontario)

2011-07-30T19:53:00.028-04:00

After a morning of gardening (or should I say weed ripping, frustration and sweat) we decided to spend our afternoon tasting the products of a few wineries in the area as I was looking to complete an article on Gamay Noir I had been working on and needed a few more tasting notes to add. My wife is a Riesling fanatic and thus a stop at Featherstone for a taste of their Black Sheep 2010 and to Cave Spring for a glass of 2009 Dolomite were a must (both also produce Gamay, so it was two birds with one stone) ... with 7 Rieslings on the menu my wife was prompted to call Cave Spring "Riesling heaven". It was then time to head home, and once there, we decided to keep up the Riesling high as two more bottles of the grape's output were opened. A sumptuous 2010 Norman Hardie offering and we also dug back in time and pulled out a bottle of 2006 Dolomite from Cave Spring. Each wine we tried seemed to get better than the last ... summer afternoons, and evenings, were made for Riesling.

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Malivoire 2009 M2 Small Lot Gamy (Ontario)

2011-07-29T06:14:00.000-04:00

Way to soon for a Taste it Again review, but not too soon to pull out another bottle and give it a try. I am working on an article for Tidings about Gamay Noir and it reminded me of this beauty from Malivoire - a barrel selection of interesting Gamay from the 2009 vintage - which was a stellar vintage for Pinot Noir in Ontario so why wouldn't the Gamay Noir grape benefit!?! They, the folks at Malivoire, have now repeated this barrel selection process for the 2010 vintage, but there's just something about this inaugural bottling that has something special. Is it the super delicious flavour of black cherry with enough spice to hold it all together? Or is it the fact that you can cool or even chill this wine to make it all at once better and to watch it blossom as it warms up to that perfect temperature in the glass? I paired it with a garlic pork chop dish and had a great time sipping it before, during and afterward (who's kidding anyone, it is such a gulpable wine that the before was even more enjoyable) ... this is one wine not soon forgotten and just in case you were wondering here is my original review: http://ontariowinereview.com/wine-reviews/malivoire-2009-m2-gamay-small-lot-.

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Tinhorn Creek 2002 Pinot Noir (British Columbia)

2011-07-26T20:17:00.020-04:00

I was just sorta wondering about in my cellar (well looking at the management program really, but it sounds better the other way) and noticed that I had a 9 year old bottle of Pinot Noir from Tinhorn Creek in British Columbia, siiting there (I also have an 8 year old bottle of the same wine) but the 9 year old one struck me as something I must put my hands on and drink right away - and so I did. What a fantastic beverage this turned out to be ... the nose was still alive with fruit: black cherry and cranberry with a touch of earth and lots of red fruit, which seemed to pop out after the wine had been opened about half-an-hour (and with a slight chill). The palate was just as engaging with earthy red fruit and great palate cleaning acidity, there was also just enough spice to keep it all very flavourful. I tried the wine three different ways ... right from the cellar - where the fruit ended up being darker and the tannins more aggressive; with about half an hour of chill in the fridge - this is where the fruit really popped and seemed very good, it was the best temp for the wine; and with a full chill to it (some 2 hours kin the fridge) - robbed the wine of much of the flavour. This wine also made me think that I am possibly not drinking enough Pinot.

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La Puerta 2007 Shiraz (Argentina)

2011-07-25T18:30:00.022-04:00

Not everybody agrees with me on the plastic cork issue ... well not everybody that sells wine. Most winemakers and winery owners know the effects plastic (synthetic) corks have on their product and my own experience has shown me that about 80% of the bottles I open that are closed with plastic or synthetic have some kind of fault. So when I unwrapped the capsule from this bottle I was skeptical as to what I would find in the bottle. Thankfully, to a degree, this was one of the wines in the 20th percentile that seem to be, for the most part, unscathed by a bad closure decision. The nose was mostly pepper and blackberry with a hint of an oxidative quality that was so slight it took awhile to come out. On the palate more dark fruit and white pepper with a port-like mid palate that may or may not have been produced through too much air getting past that cork. Not as bad as I anticipated, but once again I wish producers would mark somewhere on their label that they used an alternative closure so I (and you) wouldn't hold onto these bottles past there prime (which is no more than 2 years).

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Dynamite Vineyard 2008 Zinfandel - North Coast (California)

2011-07-24T19:19:00.021-04:00

Tonight's dinner was bbq back ribs, and that means a no-brainer to drink: Zinfandel. I had recently acquired this bottle of Dynamite Zinfandel (not a review just the name) from Michigan for under ten bucks, around $8.99US, and with the exchange rate being what it is that means I got it for even less than that. I couldn't have asked for much more from an under $10 Zin - it had lots of plum, vanilla and black cherry aromas to start with, the palate followed pretty much the same way with hints of wood-spice as the opening bite. As the wine opened further and I got deeper into my mound of ribs the wine developed a cinnamon plum sensation and gentle spice through the mouth. Not dynamite, but pretty darn good.

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Josef Drathen NV Wiltinger Scharzberg Riesling Extra Dry Deutscher Sekt (Germany)

2011-07-22T19:05:00.000-04:00

First let me say that if you pronounce the word for German sparkling wine wrong in the liquor store, you might get slapped, especially if you ask the wrong person. German sparkling is called "Sekt" - but saying it wrong could wind you up in a lawsuit, in jail or worse ... but when acquired can make the world a happier place (I'm talking about the wine, although the other works too). Anyway, enough preamble, let's get right down to it (which is how most men like it anyway). This is a delicious German bubbly made from the Riesling grape and is full of Riesling smells and flavours and even has the minerality you expect to find in a good Riesling from the Mosel region. The nose is apple, peach and even has a citrus-mineral note ... on the palate it is more refined down to the apple-mineral with a touch of sweetness. The wine is fresh, lively and tasty and perfect for the kind of hot temps we've been having here in Southern Ontario.

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Montrail - Gervais - La Posta (France / Argentina)

2011-07-17T22:14:00.040-04:00

Last night of this short and sweet trip to Pine Island (Lake Nipissing) and it seems we have a Mediterranean flair to our last supper. Have no fear, I'll put a stop to that by showing up with three wines, two from the Rhone Valley in France and another from Argentina - and all red blends.

Kicking off the last supper was the pre-dinner Cave de Montrail 2009 Segruet - Cotes du Rhone Villages ... this one was fairly harsh on the old palate. Starting with the nose the aromas were blackberry, cassis and a hint of pepper, obviously fairly inviting. Palate-wise there was some beautiful red fruit with black fruit backing along with some rugged pepper corns and the drying effect of cocoa powder. Very good but very grippy, this wine will need a few years to settle down.

With an extra two years under its belt the St. Gervais 2007 Le Reserve du Crouzau - Cotes du Rhone Villages has smoothed out making it a wonderful match with the hopped up Medi-chicken. Red fruit, blueberry and spice on the nose hints mildly at what is to come on the wonderfully full and enjoyable palate: spiced-vanilla-blueberry with a mixture of white and black pepper and a chocolatey finish ... it glided smoothly across the tongue with just a mere hint of tannin. Lovely.

At this point it was not hard to convince everyone they needed to try one more (for the road) so I opened a bottle of La Posta 2008 Cocina Blend (bought specifically for the cottage experience). A blend of 60% Malbec and equal parts Bonarda and Syrah this Argentine wine really delivered on the fruit. Nose was a little bit of everything to everyone: cassis, pencil shavings and a touch brambly in nature, but the palate was focused and delivered rich dark fruit, vanilla, plum, black cherry, cinnamon and sweet pepper ... turned out to be a favourite around the table ... as I knew it would be.

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Southbrook 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon – Gonzalez Byass Nectar (Ontario / Spain)

2011-07-16T23:00:00.000-04:00

Night two of the Pine Island excursion (in Lake Nipissing) could not have turned out better … yes the Aussie wines went over very well … but the best part was the after party with dinner and a few wines on the table to go with it. While people feasted and sipped on steak and Australian wine, I open a bottle of Southbrook 2002 Triomphe Cabernet Sauvignon – a subtler and much older version of the grape than what most had been accustomed to over the past couple of hours. You can read about the wine on my Lost & Found Blog.

For dessert another wine that most people shunned until they tried it. In a room of 19 people you mention Sherry and 2/3 of them will shy away for you quicker than they would from a floating piece of poo in the pool. But some stuck around look enough for a taste of a delicious Pedro Ximenez grapes (read: sweet) Gonzalez Byass Nectar Dolce sweet Sherry – the best way to describe it is the innards of pecan or raisin pie. Of the 7 who tasted a sip, 6 took a glass or two and thanked me at the end of the evening for the experience. Gotta love those open to new vinous experiences.

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3 Cousins – 3 Wines (Italy / France / USA)

2011-07-15T23:46:00.000-04:00

The tale has begun on this year’s Pine Island visit, a 5-acre island in Lake Nippissing near North Bay, Ontario. Every year I host a Saturday evening wine tasting here (this year is New Zealand and Australian wines), I also stay for a few days in the peace and quiet of island living. First night we had some great steaks on the Bar-B cooked to perfection by my cousin Jim. I bring a box of personal wine with each visit, somethings I want my cousin Jim to try – he’s the one who appreciates the variety of reds (in return he provides his favourite beverage, Scotch, for the Sunday afternoon tasting) … my cousin Rhonda will occasionally have a sip or a slug of white (or try the red), but that depends on her mood. My final cousin on the island (Joel) does very little in the way of alcoholic drinking, but the boy is about to go to University, so something tells me that might change.

Wine 1 – with the steaks we consumed a Tenuta San Guido 2008 Le Difese … this is the same winery that makes the famous Super Tuscan Sassacaia, so you know I was looking forward to this one … The wine was a perfect match for the steaks with an earthy-cassis nose that delved into spice, vanilla, allspice, and black cherry pit – very complex and sniffable, but then it was palate time and that’s where this wine really took off: black fruit, spice, vanilla-wood, earthy with big spices. Sure it needs time to mellow but that steak with this wine was sublimely delicious.

Wine 2 – theoretically an after dinner wine is usually sweet, but I knew the night was far from over, we had catching up to do, so out came a Perrin & Fils 2009 Vinsobres “Les Cornuds” a Rhone blend that’s loaded with big red and black fruit and floral notes on the nose, while on the tongue black fruit, licorice root and lovely spices graced the palate. Not as complex as the first, but just as delicious.

Wine 3 – Finally, we’re fireside on the beach and out comes a Trentadue 2006 Old Patch Red (a wine I have been saving for just such an occasion) – it is a blend from California and screams juicy: Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignan, Sangiovese and Syrah. The nose is pure plum and vanilla soaked cherries. The palate is just as fascinating: big fruited, vanilla, plum with just the right hint of spice and acidity that keeps the fruit in check so that it doesn’t come off as jammy – but boy is that fruit robust and delicious.

3 days, 2 nights to go … be interesting to see what wines come out next, only I know.

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Quail's Gate 2005 Merlot and La Posta 2008 Malbec (British Columbia / Argentina)

2011-07-09T21:12:00.020-04:00

This is the tale of two wines and a Saturday night family BBQ: a Quail's Gate 2005 Merlot and a La Posta 2008 Malbec. Both wines were good but it was the Quail's Gate that had the complexity and structure to go with the steak dinner. Woody with cassis and pepper notes on the nose; while the palate benefited from the constant stirring and aeration of the Schott Zwiesel Bordeaux glass The flavours were of spiced blackberry and pepper along with decent tannins (that held up to the meat) and a slight woody character ... the fruit was starting to subside so it was definitely time to drink this one. On the other hand, the La Posta, while good, was a one note song after the complex and tertiary flavours of the Quail's Merlot, rich dark fruit that was smooth and easy, good for the after dinner sit around and chat-fest. Best part of the Quail's Gate Merlot is that we could all feel like outlaws drinking it, I brought it back from my trip out west a few years back, so we were all consuming contraband.

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JL Wolf 2006 Villa Wolf Rose ... (Germany)

2011-07-07T20:57:00.000-04:00

Yikes ... here we are on a Thursday night looking for something to pair with a little fish dish and I come across something in the cellar that I suspect I might have held too long, but might be an interesting compliment: JL Wolf 2006 Villa Wolf Pinot Noir Rose ... I remember liking this when I bought it and kept looking forward to a good summer occasion upon which to open it ... this seemed it. The capsule came off revealing a plastic cork and it went downhill from there. The wine was oxidized and off tasting, I passed it to my wife, thinking maybe I am just being sensitive to the plastic closer and letting my predisposition get the better of me. She was on the phone at the time of glass presentation, but paused in the midst of her conversation to take a sip, made "the face", passed it back and made a thumbs down gesture. I guess it wasn't just me. We settled on a Creekside 2009 Sauvignon Blanc from Ontario as alternative, and it is still a beauty of a wine.

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Hillebrand 2009 Ghost Creek Riesling (Ontario)

2011-07-04T21:43:00.008-04:00

I'm back on the boozy bandwagon. After a month of (almost) nothing I have started having something to drink at night - not every night, I'll work up to that gradually, but there will be a vinous beverage at least 3 to 4 nights a week. To kick off my welcome back I pulled out something for me and the missus ... she likes Riesling and it seemed only right to pour a pretty piece of work from the 2009 vintage here in Ontario. My review of this wine still stands and is current enough that I think I will just link you over to it:

http://ontariowinereview.com/wine-reviews/hillebrand-2009-ghost-creek-riesling-

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Vignoble Verzier 2008 Chante-Perdrix Empreinte (France)

2011-06-05T20:59:00.025-04:00

When friends come over and you`re `low carbing` it makes drinking a little difficult. You can`t have beer, because that beverage is just full of carbs (all carbs and nothing but carbs), but wine is fine, if you are not on what they call `the induction phase` - now considering I just started 5 days ago, and induction lasts 2 weeks ... well you see the dilemma. I nursed a white wine until a friend, who had just visited France`s Rhone region pulled out this bottle. Well, one little taste can`t hurt, can it? Turns out it was more than a taste because the wine was so good (a glass is alright, right?) The nose was raspberry and strawberry with hints of white pepper - the smell was absolutely beautiful and had a sniff-all-day quality to it. The palate pretty much found a way to mirror the nose with the red fruit and pepper notes being mainly black cherry with a mix of white and black pepper and a great mouthfeel. So it was two glasses, big deal, that seemed only right, didn`t want to be rude to my friends, and nobody likes to drink alone (I have a ton of excuses why these two glasses were okay) ...

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Wakefield 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon (Australia)

2011-05-28T20:12:00.004-04:00

My wife has got me on a low-carb diet and during induction to said South Beach diet I am not allowed to partake of any wine (I know I was as shocked to hear this as you) so I had a few glasses before this crazy diet began and I will be doling them out a glass at a time over the next couple of weeks so that I can seem like I am drinking a glass of wine and reporting on it when in actual fact I am not, sigh. The good news is I am allow a glass (or two) a day after induction ... as you can see I am looking forward to that day and going through a little withdrawal at the same time. The Saturday before D-Day (that's diet day) I opened a beauty of an Aussie, a Wakefield Cabernet Sauvignon that just screamed Australia in my ear and in my mouth. It was a fruity thing from nose to palate and was big on raspberry jam ... not delicate, just delicious - I am salivating right now remembering it ... it's the kind of wine I needed to lead me to my first step along my weight loss path ... something memorable and delicious.

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Ravenswood 2004 Vintner's Blend Zinfandel (California)

2011-05-27T20:27:00.000-04:00

Another Zinfandel this week ... love this grape. I just grabbed a bottle quickly off the wine rack in my dining room and saw that it was a Zin, then I thought about what was for dinner (mini-korean bbq steakettes) and thought it might be a good match. The nose was full of cassis, black plum, and blackberry with vanilla-cedar backing; the palate was spiced plum and black raspberry - all slightly dried yet with a certain kind of juiciness that was pleasant on the tongue.

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Cono Sur 2010 Reserva Carmenere Rosé (Chile)

2011-05-26T21:48:00.001-04:00

A buddy came over in the afternoon to help with some much needed fixing up in the backyard (you know, man type work, not planting and such); afterward we started pulling some corks to see what floated our boat. We started with an Ontario Gewurztraminer that was slightly oxidized, I was surprised by that because it was still quite young. So that went down the sink. Next an Organized Crime 2009 Fume Blanc that proved to be very delicious ... we finished that bottle within a couple of hours. I figured, as we started making some dinner, that we would move into the reds, but instead my buddy thought a nice rosé would go with the chicken dish he pulled out of his head from 15 years ago (feta and onion stuffed chicken with a garlic-honey-mustard glaze) ... my job was to find the right rosé. I found this bottle of Cono Sur 2010 Carmenere Rosé, and what a find it was, it drank more red than pink. A blend of 85% Carmenere and 15% Syrah it retained qualities from both grapes: dark strawberries flavour with a hint of spice, very food friendly, but I would not call this one a quaffer ... it was not your typical back-deck-hot-and-sunny-day type rosé; it was a grab-something-with-substance-and-eat-it-along-side type of rosé. After dinner we watched a few uncensored episodes of the Family Guy ... Geoff, if you're reading this, the words "Tikka Masala" should get you laughing again.

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Long Point Winery 2004 Zinfandel (New York)

2011-05-26T09:29:00.000-04:00

I love a wine with a story to tell, and this one definitely has one, not about the wine in the bottle but about the purchaser, me. I bought this one at the Finger Lake Wine Festival, it was the year I realized what a civilized folk New Yorkers are about wine and how antiquated Ontario's laws regarding wine festivals really are. I actually bought this wine from the guy manning the booth (after trying the wine) and speaking to him about growing Zinfandel in New York. Turns out he doesn't actually grow Zin in NY he brings it in from California, but hey ... So now, some years later, I sit here with corkscrew in hand ready to pop the cork on this 7 year old Zin. I can definitely say I waited too long with this one, it has an old Zinfandel smell: prunish with vanilla, hints of cinnamon and spiced cedar. The taste followed the nose with plumy-pruneyness, vanilla, a touch of cinnamon but a slightly bitter finish from the overly hot-tannic-cedar laced finish, which I find surprising since the bottle is only 13.8%. Perfect example of nostalgia getting in the way of drinking a bottle, I kept waiting for the right time and now it's too late.

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Reh Kendermann 2008 Carl Reh Riesling Kabinett (Germany)

2011-05-23T20:44:00.028-04:00

On the Victoria Day long-weekend we spent our time roaming from winery to winery in the Niagara-on-the-Lake region (Wine and Herb festival); so by the time we got home (after 12 wineries a day) there was no room left for more ... in fact next weekend we are going back to finish off the two we could not fit into our schedule ... but I digress. On the holiday Monday we found ourselves in the garden sprucing up the outside of the house in-between some afternoon showers. When it was all done, the flowers and veggies were planted, the grass was mowed, and the weeds plucked we sat down on the deck for 15-minutes to admire our handy-work and enjoy this wonderful bottle of thirst quenching Riesling in the late day sun. With only 8.5% alcohol this baby went down too quick, what with all that wonderful peach and lime with just a hint of easy-going sweetness and nice balancing acidity to keep the sugar in check ... it truly was a hot weather gulpper wine and I believe we admired the flowers for 5 minutes and the wine the other 10, by then the bottle was done and it was time to head in for dinner.

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Hillebrand NV Trius Brut (Ontario)

2011-05-20T20:13:00.015-04:00

It's the first long-weekend of "summer" (and the rapture is coming) so there was no better time to celebrate, and while looking through the wine cellar I put my hands on a bottle of Hillebrand Trius Brut. It seems that I am developing a pattern of kicking off the weekends with a little bubbly, and why not, with two days of weekend ahead can you think of something better to celebrate ... and now with three ahead, oh boy, bubbly is definitely in the cards. I have written about the Trius Brut before but it deserves saying again, this is a really nice bottle of sparkling that is good for any and all occasions, and as a kick off to your weekend (which is an occasion all its own) nothing could set the mood better.

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Vinifera Wine Co. 2009 "The Pier" Zinfandel (California)

2011-05-19T21:34:00.000-04:00

This is a simple wine, but a delightful one. The alcohol shows restraint from the usual monsters that can be found in wines from this grape (one released this weekend at Vintages was 16%) ... Plum leads the charge on the nose with vanilla and cherry backing it up. Those flavours are found on the palate and glide gently across the tongue. Just a hint of spice gives the wine a little bite so that its not a syrupy plummy fruit bomb. Very sippable.

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Grand Vins Villa Ponciago 2009 Fleurie, Beaujolais-Villages (France)

2011-05-09T20:02:00.000-04:00

Although it's been said,

Many times,

Many ways,

I really enjoy a

Good Beaujolais

I hope you sang along with that one ... What? Not a fan of good Beaujolais? Shame on you. A good Beaujolais is worth its weight in gold, especially on a nice spring or summer afternoon - and especially when chilled. Last night a little chicken on the bar-b and instead of yanking something out of the cellar with some heft and balls I grabbed for a light and easy drinking Beaujolais-Villages. This wine isn't going to set the world on fire, but it won't set your throat or tummy on fire either. The nose is pure black cherry with a hint of floral to make it really pretty to smell. On the palate those black cherries are there with a touch of spice to round it out and keep it from being one-dimensional ... with a nice little chill (say 30 -60 minutes in the fridge) it's a real pleasure ... and the deeper the chill the more lift to the fruit (until you kill it with too much, that will deaden it altogether, stick with the hour up to a maximum of 2).

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Rosenblum 2004 Syrah (California)

2011-05-08T21:25:00.016-04:00

The first thing I will say about this bottle of wine is that it has held up amazingly well given the circumstances of its inferior closure (plastic cork) ... I would say it might have something to do with the 15.3% alcohol. it was luscious and delicious, just loaded with blackberry, black pepper, plum, chocolate, hints of vanilla and sweet dark fruit - incredibly sippable ... then came the piece-de-resistence, after about an hour-and-a-half open the wine developed port like nuances - so what started out as a table wine became a dessert wine in due course ... nice.

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Lots of Wine on a Saturday Night (New Zealand / Australia / Ontario)

2011-05-07T23:03:00.001-04:00

On a night where 7 bottles were opened I am surprised we did not visit more countries in the process ... but looking at the list now I see we only went to three places on the world wine map.

Two wines from Ontario kicked us off: 2009 Cattail Creek Riesling and a 2009 Between the Lines Riesling - both wines I have review in the past and are linked. A third Ontario was opened, but it was a bubbly that was never meant to be a bubbly - a Gewurztraminer that was refermenting in the bottle - ick. I can not forget the third Ontario wine that was the intermezzo to accompany the split pea soup: Five Rows 2009 Sauvignon Blanc. The dinner main was salmon and there are two wines that scream for salmon (or so I am told) Chardonnay and Pinot Noir ... well we visited New Zealand for both of them: a 2006 Two Paddocks Pinot, which I thought was amazing and delicious; and a Te Kairanga 2004 Pinot that had a plug of wine diamonds at cork level - even a knife poked through them didn't release them all and the wine ended up being filter through the ring left behind ... I thought it gave the wine a bit of a bitterish taste (not sure if you have ever tried those crystals that form on some corks and in some bottles but they can be quite bitter ... harmless but bitter. Finally, it was time for something with some balls and power - you can always trust me to bring a wine that will not match with dinner just for a lark ... I heard salmon and my mind immediately went to Australian Cabernet Merlot, a 2005 Raw by Kingston Estate. All in all - except for the re-fermenting Gewurzt, a great night of wine - and the food was incredible too.

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Finca Flichman 2000 Malbec (Argentina)

2011-05-05T22:41:00.018-04:00

So yesterday I pulled a bottle of Flichman's 2000 Syrah off the shelf and promised myself to try the Malbec I had resting beside it the next day - well that day has arrived and here I am with the bottle in my hand. The colour is still pretty dark for a 10 year old wine and there seems to be plenty of fine sediment in the glass and on the inside of bottle. The nose is dried plum (almost prunish) with other dried dark berries and a hint of chocolate. The palate shows signs of dried currants, sweet oak and a bit on the earthy-side; there's also a long finish of dried cranberry. About an hour later the wine has solidified itself with a fruit build middle (mainly dried) with a cedary vanilla finish. I thought I heard be told that Malbec is not a very ageable wine, so far, from what I have tasted with this bottle and a few in the past, I would beg to differ.

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Finca Flichman 2000 Syrah (Argentina)

2011-05-02T20:04:00.000-04:00

Tonight I was looking for something old and something that might be interesting, so I went to the "Year 2000" section of my cellar and yanked out a bottle of 2000 Syrah from Finca Flichman in Argentina (turns out I also have a Malbec from the same winery, same year - it was a toss up but the Syrah won the coin flip tonight). I opened the bottle and poured the wine, excited to see very little degradation in the colour. Smells were also fairly vibrant with strawberry and white pepper, very appealing and almost fresh considering its an eleven year old wine. Of course the flavours might have faltered, but that was not to be either, lots of white pepper with a touch of vanilla, though very little, if any, fruit, and what there was seemed to be on the redder side of dried. Within an hour any fruit that might have been there completely disappeared and the wine became very cedary .. oh well, that first hour was worth the open ... maybe tomorrow night it's the Malbec, but that awaits to be seen.

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Four Ontario Whites and a Big Red Zin (Ontario / California)

2011-04-30T22:44:00.000-04:00

A beautiful Saturday afternoon - the last in April, and some friends came over for a little get together and BBQ. We started our time outdoors by opening a series of Ontario whites, with differing results. The Reif 2009 Pinot Gris, should have been drunk last summer, as it tasted tired and not very lively. Then we turned our attention to the Hillebrand 2009 Trius Sauvignon Blanc, still amazing, in my opinion one of, if not the, best Sauvignon Blanc made in Ontario in '09, and for less than fourteen bucks it was a steal. Next the crowd called for more and another Savvy B hit the bottom of the glass and just as quickly the top of the grass, Strewn's 2009 Sauvignon Blanc just did not stand the test of time, it would have been drinkable (as someone said) if not for the amazing wine that came before it. The last white was a Pondview 2009 Riesling, now this has not only held up well but is worth holding onto for a few more summers to come. Final wine was a big juicy red from California to match up with the steaks we threw on the Bar-B ... Pedroncelli 2007 Bushnell Vineyard Zinfandel, plum, vanilla and spice has never matched up so well. Great afternoon and evening.

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