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It’s go Gamay go time

First wild leeks of the season with grilled rib-eye steaks and burgers PHOTO: Michael Godel

First wild leeks of the season with grilled rib-eye steaks and burgers
PHOTO: Michael Godel

Not that there is ever a bad time to partake in the wonders of Gamay, but with the mercury rising, spring is the right time to be with the Gamay you love. If you’ve never experienced the nuanced pleasure of great Gamay, whether it be from Beaujolais in Burgundy’s southern reaches or from Ontario’s cool-climate hinterlands, its prime time you did.

Dr. Janet Dorozynski coined the hashtag #GoGamayGo and it’s a good thing she did. Sometimes a little catch is all you need to get a ball rolling. Rhys Pender MW has written two prime articles on the subject, Gamay – The Grapes of Wrath and Gamay in British Columbia. Canadian winemakers are expanding production so the Gamay train is puling into wine stations across the country.

Related – Go Gamay Go

In May of 2013 this column noted “I wait for the #GoGamayGo network to convince our councils, marketing boards and vintners to establish a Canadian Cru system, or at least a comprehensive tasting of Canadian Gamay.” A varietal togetherness has yet to materialize but the appreciation is growing. Ilya Senchuk of Leaning Post Wines will be releasing his first Gamay go round from Wismer Vineyard 2013 fruit. “Gamay costs half of what Pinot Noir and Syrah do,” he notes. Conclusion? A small operation like Ilya’s can make an “entry-level” and consumer affordable wine for less money and without compromising their winemakeing oeuvre.

Gamay from Beaujolais in east-central France is thin-skinned, low in tannin and (more often than not), in acidity too. It is extremely versatile in its chameleon-like abilities and matches to more types of foods that you can likely prepare with any sense of range or flair. It makes much better wine than you think and it can outsmart you. Dismissing Gamay as in any way inferior is short-sighted and lazy.

Recent Gamay sightings and tasting are the impetus for these tasting notes. Ontario renditions were on display at Somewhereness and at County in the City. Woodman Wines and Spirits presented the Fleurie of Villa Ponciago at a recent Burgundy tasting. This spring, it’s go Gamay go time.

Villa Ponciago La Réserve Fleurie 2012

From left to right: Manoir Du Carra Fleurie 2010, Villa Ponciago La Réserve Fleurie 2012, Malivoire M2 Small Lot Gamay 2012, Villa Ponciago Cuvée Les Hauts Du Py 2012, 13th Street Sandstone Old Vines Gamay Noir 2012, Villa Ponciago Cuvée La Roche Muriers 2011

Malivoire M2 Small Lot Gamay 2012, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario (Winery, $19.95, WineAlign)

A six-month lay in French oak for 60 per cent of the Gamay fruit sourced exclusively from Malivoire’s Beamsville Bench estate vineyard is just what the go doctor ordered. Only Malivoire’s Gamay smells specifically like this; of tart and savoury capers, of small, earthy gemstones, of peppery currants, of meaty braising Bouille. A striking wine from a fortuitous Gamay vintage and great value that puts me in mind of how special the Courtney will be. Though the soils may differ, proximity wise they are close cousins.  Tasted at @Somewhereness, April 2014

Huff Estates Gamay 2012, Prince Edward County, Ontario (winery, $25, WineAlign)

If $25 seems a premium to pay for Ontario Gamay, consider all that is on offer in winemaker Frédéric Picard’s take on the friendly French grape. Picard caddies for 13th Street (Niagara) fruit, vinifies it bone-dry with the minimalist edge of 14 months in 15 per cent new French oak.  The fruit is so very ripe, in raspberry and gritless, creamy blueberry. Like savoury adult ice cream, silky smooth and with nary a hint of chalky grain. Well-designed and consumer-friendly as any Gamay has ever graced the Ontario consciousness. So you’ve “got that going for you, which is nice.” Shack up with Huff’s Gamay treat.  Tasted at County in the City, April 2014

Leaning Post Wines Gamay 2013 (Tank Sample, Projected Release Price $25)

Guiltless and virtuous straight out of stainless, the meaty side of Gamay game boldly goes where few from the Bench have gone before. Like a rare venison steak sitting in a silky pool of lavender-scented demi-glace. Floral like Fleurie and despite zero new oak, vanilla joins the gravy. A Senchuk steal of quality Wismer fruit sets this Gamay up for easy sell success.  Tasted @LeaningPostWine, April 2014

Manoir Du Carra Fleurie 2010, Ac, Beaujolais, France (364992, $24.95, WineAlign)

When the Gamay from Fleurie is spot on, the smells of meat and of flowers work both aromatic ends of the Beaujolais spectrum. Add some age to a solid core of black cherry fruit and voilà, get a nose of this Manoir Du Carra.  Clearly humid and drifting into a soft decline, the claymation action here weighs down and grounds this Gamay in an earthy impression. Would benefit by the company of some serious salty, savoury and roasted fare. In the name of balance. Fun to drink now, improvement with time is not in the Carra cards.  Tasted April 2014

13th Street Sandstone Old Vines Gamay Noir 2012, VQA Four Mile Creek, Niagara Peninsula (130195, $29.95, WineAlign)

If roses were stones they would produce an aroma that only 13th Street’s Sandstone Gamay would recall. Some previous vintages have pushed the boundary to sky-high excess and a subterranean ferrous burrowing but in 2012 the perfume is both grounded and ethereal. The sandy tuff rock is so in that glass, like the smell of a rugged beach, mist and salinity spraying and rising off the rocks. The ’12 now knows “I don’t have to sell my soul.” Wholly singular Gamay and with hopes it will always be this going forward. Where as before it said “I want to be adored,” it now confirms “you adore me.”  Tasted at @Somewhereness, April 2014

Villa Ponciago La Réserve Fleurie 2012, Ac, Beaujolais, France (Agent Only, $30.00, WineAlign)

Slow ripening from up to 30 year-old vines on altitudinous slopes atop pink, granitic crystalline rock leads to increased elegance for La Réserve, beyond the paint and tar notes of the Millésime bottling. Cran-raspberry fruit gains density and vibrancy from the mineral-rich earth, transcending towards ripe strawberry. The lack of anxiety and tension is welcome and necessary for the simple pleasures given generously by this exemplary Gamay.  For the short-term, to 2016.  Tasted @WoodmanWines Burgundy event March 2014

Villa Ponciago Cuvée Les Hauts Du Py 2012, Ac Fleurie, Beaujolais, France (Agent Only, $37.00, WineAlign)

From a critical high ranging and angling vineyard of granite bedrock with a vein of quartz running through it. Les Hauts Du Puy suffered  during the 2012 season, with gloomy wet weather, storms and hail. Thanks to a September anticyclone return, the fruit was able to dry and then slowly mature, thus avoiding being blinded by the light. This single vineyard uses that white crystal like a thread of silk, allowing the coats of harder aromas to hang but never clamber aboard. More angst than La Réserve in the form of tannin and structure, something that can be attributed to the terroir of the Puy. Pure Gamay with a spring in its step, resolutely defined and with a cooler, blue fruit feel, tight, mineral-fed and charred on the finish.  Tasted @WoodmanWines Burgundy event March 2014

Villa Ponciago Cuvée La Roche Muriers 2011, Fleurie, Beaujolais, France (Agent Only, $60.00, WineAlign)

The harshest of the domain’s climatic and soil conditions lay a lashing of demand on this Gamay as much as any on the planet. It is nothing short of remarkable that it can maintain such a level of refinement and elegance so the fruit purity of this vineyard’s Gamay is noted and obvious. The most Burgundian of any Gamay out there today. Gone is the cranberry and tar of lesser locales, replaced by deeper tones and longer, elastic chains of tannin. A Gamay that nods knowingly and with impact.  Tasted @WoodmanWines Burgundy event March 2014

Good to go!

 

Synchronicity in three terroirs

Grapes

On Bachelder’s choice of grapes: “The great thing about making Pinot and Chardonnay is they take 16 months so you have to leave them alone, go away and let them be.”
Photo: PAO joke/Fotolia.com

as seen on canada.com

Thomas Bachelder is a quote sprinkler. Like this: “It’s not because you can’t tell something blind that it doesn’t exist.” On Monday, February 10th, the Quebec native courted and mesmerized a room of 50 Ontario Wine Society members, guests and wine writers at the University of Toronto’s Faculty Club. If there is another winemaker’s brain that can dish out dissertations with gifted, hypnotic babble like Bachelder, I’ve yet to hear it. All so unbelievable and believable at the same time. Whatever the former Le Clos Jordanne and Lemelson winemaker is selling, I’m buying.

I would crawl up any staircase, rearrange busy schedules and mobilize the troops to taste the wines of Thomas Bachelder. So, when the call came from OWS President Ken Burford to join Bachelder and partner Mary Delaney for another tasting of the Bachelder Project, mobilize I did.

For a brief history on the Burgundy, Oregon and Niagara terroirist, check out my November 2013 tasting report, with thanks again to Tony Aspler.

Related – Vineyards, winemakers and their sense of place: Bachelder and Leaning Post

The nine-deep tasting focused on the 2011 vintage, with one (2010) exception. While it was not a perfect storm of the entire (15 wine) Bachelder portfolio, it was a pretty damn good attempt. It’s hard to believe that a Canadian citizen who happens to make wine in three countries is forbidden to hoard enough of his own wines to conduct tastings at his leisure. Canadian cross-border restrictions meant Bachelder had to deliver his Oregons to a New York post office box and then carry them across at Fort Erie. Imagine the scenario. Customs officer: “What are the wines for?” Bachelder: “I am the winemaker and they are for a tasting in Toronto and for my cellar.” Beyond absurd. The rest were sourced from SAQ and LCBO stores scattered about the two provinces.

The serendipity and synchronicity of the three winemaking regions has meant the stars have aligned in Bachelder’s favour. These tastings simply write themselves. The year 2010 was warm in Burgundy, Oregon and Niagara, classic in 2011 and in 2012 warm again. The 2013 vintage looks to be another trifecta classic. “If the wines are all of a similar weight, you can really see each country’s terroir for what it is.”

Ontario Wine Society Bachelder Tasting

Ontario Wine Society Bachelder Tasting

“Burgundy is my favourite place to make wine,” admits the flying vintner. ”I’m not ashamed to say that (in a room full of Ontario Wine Society members) it’s exciting to be tasting wines from other places.”

On Pinot Noir: “If you push too hard and try to make that darker Pinot, you lose elegance.  You can’t try to make a hot vintage an elegant one. You have to live with it.”

On Niagara: “Are we still prejudiced against Ontario wines? If you are standing in a store with Oregon, Niagara and Burgundy in front of you and $50 in your pocket, what are you going to choose? No one ever passes a $50 Burgundy my way because I look like a nice guy.”

On barrel aging: “It’s not about the oak flavour, it’s about the texture. That’s aging Chardonnay in oak. What’s happening in the barrel is a reduction sauce, a demi-glace, sucking the moisture out of the wine. Humidity leaves the wine and the alcohol stays. It’s a permeability stage, in the fight against residual sugar and low acids, which are poison to balance.”

On his choice of grapes: “The great thing about making Pinot and Chardonnay is they take 16 months so you have to leave them alone, go away and let them be.”

On Stelvin (screwcap) vs cork, he avoids the question and says it’s the bottle with the thick neck he wants, the one that pours with ceremony.

1,500 cases is just about the maximum Bachelder intends to make in each of the three regions. On expansion: “There’s only so much you can do in a person’s cellar without them saying what the hell are you doing here.” These refreshed tasting notes are transcribed in the prescribed order poured by Bachelder and though I’m still not sure of the method behind the line-up’s madness, call me crazy if I wasn’t transfixed.

From left: Chardonnay Classique Niagara 2011, Pinot Noir Oregon 2011, and Chardonnay Oregon 2011

Chardonnay Classique Niagara 2011, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (302083, $29.95, SAQ 11873721, $29.95, WineAlign)

From three blocks, Wismer, Saunders and Wismer-Foxcroft. Has gained fleshy weight and waxy polish in three short months, despite the tightness of the vintage. Juicier now, with zest akin to Clementine. Should this upward trend continue, cool down often and always with this exemplary Niagara Chardonnay. From my earlier November 2013 note: “Lean and mean Niagaran, in a hue and a style that brings Burgundy to mind. Comblanchien layers of limestone salinity, like a villages from Côte de Beaune. Tang, pine forest, Warheads sour candy and just a hint of the barrel but you know it’s there. A simple, Chuck Berry three chord arrangement. “I was anxious to tell her the way I feel,” even if I had no particular place to go.”  90

Pinot Noir Oregon 2011, Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA  (333278, $34.95, WineAlign)

On a night like this Bachelder’s recently gravelly Oregon Pinot ’11 seems to have shed its tough outer layer. Signals the evolutionary advance with a Parliament Cordell Boogie Mosson space bass note, which then blows quickly away. The wine exudes spirited cherries, Barbarescish tar and duly scented rose. Thomas notes that Burgundy should be the reference point though it does not specifically emulate Chambolle-Musigny. Built of a specific Oregon mindset but with a broad inter-connectivity to Bachelder’s other terroirs, especially considering the 2011 vintage kismet between the mothership convention of Niagara, Oregon and Burgundy. Thomas describes this Pinot as, “just shy of perfect ripeness, but not green, which is a perfect indicator of terroir.” She is perhaps advancing quickly. Is she too beautiful.? From my earlier September 2013 note:  “Bleeds Willamette terroir. Punctiliously phenolic from marine sediment and seemingly obvious early-ripening. Provocative in ruby, sugar-sour cranberry meets redolent raspberry. Chalky, tannic and serious. It’s tough on me right now. Come on Thomas, would ya please lighten up? I don’t want to have to wait to drink the first case.” 90

Pernand Vergelesses 1er Cru ‘La Creux De La Net’ 2011, Burgundy, France (SAQ 12089524, $38.50, WineAlign)

A metallurgical slant this time around and iodine, though sweet, like a geologist’s preferred cocktail. The palette is Rothko maroon and in cohorts with what is ascertained by the palate, scheme fruits and hearts both red and black.  From my earlier November 2013 note: “Has the sense to be subtle, effortless and akin to Chambolle. Not so much openly ripe fruit but more the flowers that come before. Cherries dabbed by a citrus fragrance, or the spritz of squeezed zest and an unusually smoky musk. Insinuates new world (think Oregon) though it tells a rubble tale of its limestone slope climat.” 90 

Pinot Noir Lowrey Vineyard 2011, VQA St. David’s Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (361816, $44.95, WineAlign)

Legerdemain from what must be posited as a parcel capable of proliferating the richest and most structured Niagara Pinot Noir. Remarkable purity out of this magic vineyard, lissome tannins and an unmistakeable blooming rose note here now, fragrant like never before. Yet unknown but very known vineyard, especially if you have also made the acquaintance of Five Rows and Leaning Post. Peerless local Valentine’s Pinot. From my earlier October 2013 note: ”Springs eternal from an ocean of cranberry and an island of spice. The somewhereness of this St. David’s vineyard can’t be denied, and in the hands of Thomas Bachelder the extraordinary happens. I am simply blinded by the light, by the weight and the weightless gravity. By a sweetness that just isn’t sweet, like exotic red fruit that knocks you sideways upside the cerebral cortex. Not to mention an iron madness that “plays that song with the funky break.”  94

Pinot Noir Johnson Vineyard 2011, Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA (SAQ, 12065338, $44.25, WineAlign)

Devastating underestimation on my part when first sampled back in November. How could I have been so blind to the depth, density and irresistible pastry chef layering. The Bachelder Chardonnay may be the stuff of demi-glace but the Pinot is so much more a thing of chemistry. A wall of sound, of no moving parts, with no separation and if an astringency was ever there, it has since departed.  Since November, this has improved more than any other wine in the room. From my earlier November 2013 note: “Here there wafts an increased “blister in the sun,” more terroir from a tight vintage full of pumped over tannins. An accented aromatic membrane envelops this Johnson, of orange zest and studded rind, in violet tendency, with more flesh. Even if she speaks in Frainc-Comtou dialect when she walks through the door, she walks out distinctly Oregonian singing as a Violent Femme. Pure and clean up front, she builds, then leaves a trail of tangy fruit behind. Tangled web of Pinot.  93 

Chardonnay Oregon 2011, Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA (273334, $29.95,  SAQ, 11845359, $29.95, WineAlign)

Yet another three months later re-taste to show Bachelder’s Oregon terroir may be the most difficult to assess in its infancy. This short slumber has changed everything. Oregon distinction, smell it, commit it to memory and you’ll never forget it. “Picture yourself staring at a loved one in a restaurant,” says Thomas. “Would you be able to pick this out as Chardonnay?” Some ciderish activity, from sedimentary and volcanic soils that used to mingle with ocean waters, give this a sea salt and fossilized lava stillness. More buttery (dare I say, popcorn) goodness than the rest. And restrained tang. And length. Wow.  From my earlier November 2013 note: While Burgundian in hopes and dreams, this is very much a $29 Oregon white.  No mask, no hidden altruism, simply the right Chardonnay for the right price. Bone dry, orchard driven, high acid, void of harmful terpenes. There is a salinity and piquancy not influenced by PH, perhaps by the ocean, by sandstone, but regardless it’s unique to place, unlike Niagara, Prince Edward County, or for that matter Burgundy.”  91

From left: Chardonnay Saunders Vineyard 2011, Chardonnay Wismer Vineyard 2011, and Bourgogne Chardonnay 2010

Chardonnay Saunders Vineyard 2011, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario  (324103, $44.95, WineAlign)

Saunders is quiet right now, in cool waiting and in display of the most elegance I’ve encountered from any Bachelder Chard, at anytime, anywhere. Background spice, backing vocals are in the isolated spotlight. This I am keying on as much as any note, in any wine here tonight. Not giving it up as easy as before. Extra swirl time required. Will re-visit in the summer. Right, Thomas? From my earlier July and November 2013 notes: “From Beamsville, right beside 30 bench, has a texture, a depth and a mouth feel  in ’11 that bounds and leaps towards the ethereal. A dancing stag, displaying, performing a mating ritual dance.  Melons, ripe and fleshy are in this Saunders. “What’s carrying this wine is site, site and site.” A great clay slice of the Beamsville Bench. From my earlier note: ”Takes the baton from Wismer ’10 in a transfer of power, tension and excitement. Clarity of textural fruit is driven by Beamsville Bench clay-silt soil. Highly dependent on yeast chains, sticking, spreading and expanding. Savoury, buttered stones show negligible encumbrance due to vines that will not carry an excess of new oak.”  93

Chardonnay Wismer Vineyard 2011, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (345819, $44.95, SAQ 12089591, $44.95, WineAlign)

Increased richesse and oomph and though I continue to hesitate to admit it, Saunders is the (Jackson Browne) elegant bottling in ’11. Wismer the (Warren Zevon) gregarious, mineral character werewolf of Niagara, what with its a touch of anxiety, fuller texture and “bite down…draw blood!” From my earlier November 2013 note: “From the Wingfield Block within the 20 Mile Bench grand cru vineyard, ’11 Wismer is greener, in apple and sapid behaviour. The tension is palpable, quarryful, querulous, more calciferous. Fruit here is picked at an altitude as high as the lowest part of Flat Rock’s vineyard. Can a spot be pinpointed, anywhere on the peninsula that produces more piercing Chardonnay in 2011 as this Wismer micro-block?”  91 

Bourgogne Chardonnay 2010, Burgundy, France (272005, $29.95, WineAlign)

Bathed in medicinal permeate, a white rose mingling with marigold floral tone. Waves the hot flag of the vintage draped like a humid blanket over the wholly palatable, imbued netherweave, mineral tang. Still the omnipresent Bachelder acidity tempers the heat. It’s not oxygen on the nose, it’s more carbonic, oleaginous too, with a solar aromatic, malolactic presentation that gives this Chardonnay soft, stable, holistic age. Qualities unique to Puligny and Mâconnais.  90  

Good to go!

Three Rieslings to believe

Grape leaf

More reviews have been written, designed and pushed down your throats on Canuck Riesling than on any other grape. What’s up with that? Quality, that’s what.
Photo: hayo/Fotolia.com

as seen on canada.com

There are many reasons to believe in Riesling, that versatile and brutally honest grape. Riesling holds no punches, speaks its mind, tells it like it is. Grown worldwide and vinified in so many varying styles, Riesling is not so much a chameleon but rather a mutant. It takes root in every vineyard, marking its terroir, expressing itself singularly and without apology.

Canucks make Icewine from many different varieties; Vidal, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and most often, Riesling. This coming weekend the most passionate Icewine lovers will gather to get silly with Niagara’s nectar gift to the gods. The annual #icewinefest is set to begin on Friday, roll through the weekend and continue on for three more activity filled weeks. Wine Country Ontario has all the details. For more information, click here.

In 2006, a Gothamist author made a poignant call in the column A Riesling to believe. Quote, “there was so much going on in the glass that it truly captured our undivided attention.” There’s one rub. In 2012, The BC Wine Guys stated in their post, You Give Me a Riesling to Believe, “thankfully, a hand full of the original vintners in the province held to the belief that world-class Rieslings could, and would, be made in BC.” True that. Wineries of Niagara on the Lake also employs the catch phrase in their discussion on several local wineries fashioning excellent versions of Riesling, notably Between the Lines, Cattail Creek, Konzelmann and Strewn. Montreal Gazette wine columnist Bill Zacharkiw‘s more than appropriate recent rodomontade stated that 2014 will be the year of Riesling. His stance? “It’s time to spread the gospel about this glorious and misunderstood grape.”

Riesling held centre stage in this column twice last year. In the post, 100 kilometre wine for spring, there was this: “A modern-day Riesling narrative takes place less than a 100 kilometres away, along the Niagara Escarpment and above the pictorial towns of Beamsville, Jordan and Vineland.” In June, there was the Brock University Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute’s Riesling Experience 2013. It was there I asked the $128,000 question, “are you wine experienced?” It was also there in St. Catherines that Nik Weis of the Mosel’s St. Urbans Hof winery furtively suggested, “Riesling is better than an isotonic sports drink.”

Over the past two-four months I have exonerated and upheld with the highest Riesling belief that Canada does the variety justice above and beyond the pale, in the vineyard and in the glass. Gushing praise has been doled out to Tawse, Greenlane, Flat Rock, Angels Gate, Sperling, Hidden Bench, Thirty Bench, Rosewood, Charles Baker (Stratus), 2027, Cattail Creek, Chateau des Charmes, 8th Generation, Featherstone, Fielding Estate, 13th Street, Calamus, Cave Spring, Tantalus, Colaneri, The Foreign Affair, Hinterland, Vineland Estates, Malivoire and John Howard. More reviews have been written, designed and pushed down your throats on Canuck Riesling than on any other grape. What’s up with that? Quality, that’s what.

If there is a better place to produce Riesling than up on the Beamsville Bench and the upper reaches of the Niagara Escarpment (the Mosel in Germany notwithstanding) then I’d like to know about it. With no disrespect to the Rheingau, Pfalz, Baden, Nahe, Rheinhessen, Alsace, Wachau, Clare Valley,  Eden Valley, Marlborough or the Finger Lakes, Ontario’s Niagara Peninsula and to a lesser extent, British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley should and will be making some of the planet’s finest juice.

As if the list of nearly 25 Niagara producers was not long enough, here are two more to add along with their three combined terrific Riesling interpretations.

From left: SUE ANN STAFF LOVED BY LU RIESLING 2012, SUE ANN STAFF GRACE'S DRY RIESLING 2011, and HINTERBROOK RIESLING 2012

From left: SUE ANN STAFF LOVED BY LU RIESLING 2012, SUE ANN STAFF GRACE’S DRY RIESLING 2011, and HINTERBROOK RIESLING 2012

SUE ANN STAFF LOVED BY LU RIESLING 2012, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario  (322636, $16.95, WineAlign)

Perhaps camping in that gray area between a laugh and a tear, ostensibly off-dry and simple in succulence yet an undeniable stonking acidity manifests its ability for give and take. Honey, lemon, melon and yellow plum combine for fruit forgiveness, with no petrol and “I know there’s a balance, see it when I swing past.” Really terrific.  88  Tasted December 2013  @SueAnnStaff

SUE ANN STAFF GRACE’S DRY RIESLING 2011, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (367086, $18.95, WineAlign)

Hard lemon drop sour candy, beautifully medicinal and waxy Riesling, dry yet intimating something more, something hung and harvested longer. More lemon, freshly squeezed and grapefruit too, with Alsatian promise but with a bent towards what I don’t know. Intriguing, beguiling and herbal, like a lemon balm tisane. “I know that you are strong enough to handle what I need.” Very unique Niagaran giving yet another reason to believe in the Peninsula as a dashboard confessional for Riesling prayer.  89  Tasted December 2013

HINTERBROOK RIESLING 2012, VQA Niagara Lakeshore, Ontario (270512, $17.95, WineAlign)

Despite the pale hue this has body and a certain, distinct clarity. Nearly but not quite off-dry, this makes use of lake-effect for balance. There are fresh herbs, the tang of yellow plum and even an odd licorice note. Springs a full stein of mouth-watering Riesling belief, so much so that a “congregation gathers down by the riverside.” Another hymn to Riesling is sung.  88  Tasted December 2013  @Hinterbrook

Good to go!

13 Canadian wines that rocked in 2013

Here are 13 Canadian wines that rocked in 2013

Here are 13 Canadian wines that rocked in 2013.
Photo: valeriy555/Fotolia.com

as seen on canada.com

It has been a remarkable year in the evolution of the Canadian wine industry. Some will rant and others argue over the lack of cohesion and togetherness when the idea of a Canadian wine culture is discussed. What is of greater interest, at least in terms of the year in retrospect, is the wines themselves. When the wines are assessed and considered in part or as a whole, who would dare to say there are no great wines being produced?

I have personally tasted nearly 1,000 Canadian wines in 2013. This thanks to friends, colleagues, events, winery visits, LCBO media and vintner tastings, restaurant wine lists and agents. Not to mention the necessary organizations such as The Ontario Wine Society and the Wine Council of Ontario.

There was Cuvée 2013 and the Expert’s Tasting at Brock University. Somewhereness, County in the City, The Riesling Experience, Cool Chardonnay and Taste Ontario 2013 were just a few of the many events to discover the wonders of Ontario and Canadian wine. A summer visit to the west coast opened a window to the wonders of the Okanagan and B.C. Wine.

This was a very difficult list to narrow down. It is based on wines tasted but not necessarily released in 2013, though I did try to focus on more current selections. In the end, these choices are meant to offer both a cross-section and a definitive compilation of what Canadian winemakers do best. That is producing unique, cutting edge and brilliant takes on cool climate grapes. They also match beautifully with the songs referenced in their tasting notes. Here are 13 Canadian wines that rocked in 2013.

From left: CHÂTEAU DES CHARMES CHARDONNAY MUSQUÉ 2010, 8TH GENERATION VINEYARD RIESLING 2012, FIELDING ESTATE CABERNET FRANC 2011, QUAIL’S GATE PINOT NOIR 2011, and HUFF ESTATES CUVÉE JANINE SPARKLING ROSÉ 2010

From left: CHÂTEAU DES CHARMES CHARDONNAY MUSQUÉ 2010, 8TH GENERATION VINEYARD RIESLING 2012, FIELDING ESTATE CABERNET FRANC 2011, QUAIL’S GATE PINOT NOIR 2011, and HUFF ESTATES CUVÉE JANINE SPARKLING ROSÉ 2010

CHÂTEAU DES CHARMES CHARDONNAY MUSQUÉ 2010 (318303, $16.95, B.C. 230961, $18.99, WineAlign)

The song: The Rolling Stones, If You Can’t Rock Me

Intensifies in juicy, bright, nearly candied fruit cut by sour patch and blanched nut. Clean, cool Chardonnay and right on. My earlier note, from ‘It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll’ (but I like wine) is the unoaked result of aromatic Clone 809 combed from the heavier clay-based soils from the St. David’s Bench Vineyard and the silty, mineral rich soils from Seven and Seven Vineyard. Tropical, strutting stunner with “a thousand lips I would love to taste.” Tell Ms. Musqué if you can’t rock me, nothing can.  90  Tasted April 2013  @MBosc  From: Hot weekend wines and cool Chardonnay

8TH GENERATION VINEYARD RIESLING 2012 (B.C., $20.90)

From Okanagan Falls bolts rapido from the gate with the ripest fruit (pear, plum) and though there is citrus, it’s really quite semi-dry. At 12.9 per cent alcohol and 24gr/L of residual sugar this may as well be Mosel Trocken Spätlese. Fantastic presence and awesome winemaking from Bernd and Stefanie Schales. Got me by the vines and will be on my table. 92  Tasted July 2013  @8th_Generation  From: B.C. Wine: From Vancouver to your table

FIELDING ESTATE CABERNET FRANC 2011  (36194, $21.95, WineAlign)

Sets the pepper mill on speed dial and certainly knows the inside of a barrel but what more could you possibly ask for? Unabashed, unbridled purple goodness. From my earlier note: “…has to be the best yet from Richie Roberts.  From a 35-acre Grand Cru (Five Rows) vineyard in the making in the heart of the warmest Niagara locale (St. David’s Bench). Zanthoxylum, capsicum and pencil shaving. Ropy grain, chewy, sylvan charm. On the card at Barque.  90  Tasted March 2013  @FieldingWinery  From: Masters wines in purple, yellow and green jackets

QUAIL’S GATE PINOT NOIR 2011 (585760, $26.95, WineAlign)

With a flat-out ambrosial aromatic entry bequeaths extremely ripe, fleshy red stone fruit and a hit of java, hold the crema and the splinters. Toss in some cool eucalyptus to that tincture, perhaps, like De Loach Van Der Kamp. Intimates a Sonoman dream in confected perfume unlike any Okanagan predecessor. This is flamboyant stuff for OV, toothsome, and were it from California I might think it OTT but from B.C., not so. Expertly judged fruit/acid balance and such plush texture. Gobs of fruit with just enough grit to keep it real. “The clamorous owl, that nightly hoots and wonders at our quaint spirits.” 91  Tasted July 2013  @Quails_Gate  From: A midsummer night’s chill red wine 

HUFF ESTATES CUVÉE JANINE SPARKLING ROSÉ 2010 ($29.95, winery only, WineAlign)

The song: Genesis, In The Cage

100 per cent Pinot Noir grapes is a phenomenal, inaugural genesis effort. More sanguine in colour than one would imagine, this sparkler is wonderfully sweet but also ”turns sweat, turns sour.” Pinot Noir is always potentially so dramatic but who knew it could be like this, like blood swirling in the glass. “Bottled in a strong compression,” with black raspberry, noticeable yeast and impressive finesse.  Out of the cage.  91  Tasted May 2013  @HuffEstatesWine  From: You can lead a county to the city

From left: NORMAN HARDIE COUNTY PINOT NOIR UNFILTERED 2012, PELLER ESTATES CABERNET FRANC ‘SIGNATURE SERIES’ 2010, PEARL MORISSETTE CUVÉE DIX-NEUVIEME CHARDONNAY 2011, and BURROWING OWL SYRAH 2010

From left: NORMAN HARDIE COUNTY PINOT NOIR UNFILTERED 2012, PELLER ESTATES CABERNET FRANC ‘SIGNATURE SERIES’ 2010, PEARL MORISSETTE CUVÉE DIX-NEUVIEME CHARDONNAY 2011, and BURROWING OWL SYRAH 2010

NORMAN HARDIE COUNTY PINOT NOIR UNFILTERED 2012 (125310, $35.00)

Cuts a rug with immense, stepping out juicy behaviour. It’s both turntable old-school, astatic in smooth groove rotation, but also digitally forward thinking towards a perdurable future. The nose is Norm’s most intense floral burst to date, with incredible brightness and sparkling acidity in the key of fresh plum. This brings to mind indelible Burgundy, enveloped in PEC’s warm ’12 blanket. Hardie’s measure of consistency abides in a Pinot of parity and undemanding polish.  93  Tasted October 2013  @normhardie  From: Top wines shine at Taste Ontario 2013

PELLER ESTATES CABERNET FRANC ‘SIGNATURE SERIES’ 2010 ($40.20, winery only, WineAlign)

The song: Frank Zappa, Joe’s Garage

Has got the funk in dark and dank waves. Top-tier barrel selection out of Four Mile Creek, this one is tight, tense and ready to jam with “a Stratocaster with a whammy bar” in Joe’s garage. Saw through to 100 per cent Malolactic fermentation after 20 months in barrel. If you are jonesing for Cab Franc, don’t miss this player.  91-92  Tasted March 2013  @PellerVQA  From: A long and winding tasting road

PEARL MORISSETTE CUVÉE DIX-NEUVIEME CHARDONNAY 2011 303602, $40.00, WineAlign)

A child of a hot and dry summer, a stress-free winter slumber and a non-invasive spring awakening.  Sets out lean, tight and mean, but the dry extract invites spicy, stone fruit and an emergence of tropical lushness. Can there be another specimen that so rightfully defines Pearl Morissette, the top of the Bench or Niagara as a whole in 2011?  93  Tasted July 19, 2013  @PearlMorissette  From: Nine big November best buy wines

BURROWING OWL SYRAH 2010 (73072, $41.95, B.C. $39.99, Alberta $44.99, WineAlign)

The song: The Beatles, Dig a Pony

This Syrah will cure so many ails. Vouchsafe for a pepper-laced, plasmic mouthfeel, a maroon liquid pewter party of rocks and stones in the mouth. Playful and childlike, digs a pony, playing and offering really good fun. Does its own Okanagan thing becuase “ev’rything has got to be just like you want it to.”  92  Tasted October 4, 2013  @BurrowingOwlBC  From: Nine big November best buy wines

From left: STRATUS WHITE 2006, HIDDEN BENCH TÊTE DE CUVÉE CHARDONNAY 2009, BACHELDER WINES PINOT NOIR LOWREY VINEYARD 2011, and BENJAMIN BRIDGE BRUT RESERVE MÉTHODE CLASSIQUE 2007

From left: STRATUS WHITE 2006, HIDDEN BENCH TÊTE DE CUVÉE CHARDONNAY 2009, BACHELDER WINES PINOT NOIR LOWREY VINEYARD 2011, and BENJAMIN BRIDGE BRUT RESERVE MÉTHODE CLASSIQUE 2007

STRATUS WHITE 2006 (660704, $44.20, WineAlign)

Was a “great recovery year,” after the winter damage of ’03, ’04 and ’05. A cool vintage, which required careful picking. The Sauvignon Blanc driven ’06 has the highest melon component, not to mention Boxwood. Yet that rose/floral/honey medicinal note is even stronger. Not over the hill at all and developing a graceful white wine character. Very French with late acidity and verve. Remarkable. Love this one. “This is a style of aged wine where I want to go,” says J-L. Nutty finish.  93  Tasted September 2013  @Stratuswines  From: Select tasting through the years of Stratus Red and Whites

HIDDEN BENCH TÊTE DE CUVÉE CHARDONNAY 2009 ($45, winery only, WineAlign)

From Big wines from California and the Bench from HB’s oldest, most highly regarded and meticulously maintained vines shows ravishing and refined restraint in elegance. Warm pineapple and mango coagulation jarred by the vintage’s piercing acidity and immense length. Head of the class, rings the bell, nails the lecture.  93  Tasted March and May 2013  @HiddenBench  From: Around the world in eight Chardonnays

BACHELDER WINES PINOT NOIR LOWREY VINEYARD 2011 (361816, $44.95, WineAlign)

The Song: Bruce Sprinsgteen, Blinded by the Light

Defies logic in laying out the welcome mat. Fleshy St. David’s fruit, relentless aromatics, a glue of tannins pushing on the pedal. From my earlier note in Top wines shine at Taste Ontario 2013 “springs eternal from an ocean of cranberry and an island of spice. The somewhereness of this St. David’s vineyard can’t be denied, and in the hands of Thomas Bachelder the extraordinary happens. I am simply blinded by the light, by the weight and the weightless gravity. By a sweetness that just isn’t sweet, like exotic red fruit that knocks you sideways upside the cerebral cortex. Not to mention an iron madness that “plays that song with the funky break.”  94  Tasted Oct. 10 and Nov. 6, 2013  @Bachelder_wines  From: Vineyards, winemakers and their sense of place: Bachelder and Leaning Post

BENJAMIN BRIDGE BRUT RESERVE MÉTHODE CLASSIQUE 2007 (275396, $74.95, NSLC 1012526, $74.79, WineAlign)

The song: The Jam, Town Called Malice

Peter Gamble struck gold with this Gasperaux Valley, Nova Scotia Sparkling Wine project. This Bridge comes from ”radically and frighteningly low yields” (3/4 ton per acre, as opposed to the new 6 ton world of Champagne). The ’07 is spun so fine and endowed with a prominent and great leesy nose, along with baking biscuits and lemon purity. To taste there is zest, white pepper and ultimately this is streamlined and refined. A Gamble style that will integrate in ’08 the idea of emulating grower’s Champagne. One will find no holes and no holds barred, in tension and in ease. Like Iggy Pop, Paul Weller, Brandon Flowers and David Bowie rolled into one, a thin white duke with a lust for life in a killer town called malice. Eight some odd cases of the 2005 are still floating around in the monopoly’s system so keep an eye on the labels. You just might get lucky. Price tag, $75? Cost, “priceless.”  93  Tasted November 2013  @Benjamin_Bridge  From: Crack open these Canadian made apolitical wines

Good to go!

Top 20 under-$20 wines of 2013

Top 20 under-$20 wines of 2013

Putting out a top list of wines is not so much an exercise of commendation as it is a look back at an amazing year of tasting and writing about wine.
Photo: michalzak/Fotolia.com

as seen on canada.com

Last year I chose to highlight wines that fell into the under $15 niche.  A subsequent column focused on the $30 threshold as the next level to make picks for wines of the year. In retrospect that made it very difficult for wines in the consumer sweet spot, the $15-20 set, to make it onto either list. So, $20 is the over/under this time around.

Ontario is well represented here, taking up five of the 20 spots. If prohibitionist Canada, and especially Ontario would FreeMyGrapes and allow us to taste more than just a handful of Canadian wines produced beyond these borders, I have little doubt that other provinces would have made an appearance here, especially British Columbia.

Countries conspicuously missing are Italy, Argentina and the United States, whereas Portugal, South Africa and Chile are represented twice and Greece once. Value is always found in wines that are good and original, unfortunately the parts that are good are not always original.

Putting out a top list of wines is not so much an exercise of commendation as it is a look back at an amazing year of tasting and writing about wine. It’s a retrospective view, a compilation to sum up the pulling of words like taffy until they become something altogether more pliable and palatable. Just like the swirled, sniffed and tasted wines they describe. While tasting notes are so often chewed and spit out as amphibological waste, the process of formulating them is base and necessary to the culture. Without them we would all just be drinking.

The wine agents that move thousands of diverse wines through our provinces face Herculean tasks to get their wines to the public. It is through their generosity that I am able to taste so many in a calendar year. I’d like to thank Robin Sirutis and Julie Hauser of the Licensee program along with Kelly Taylor, Jim Sheridan, Douglas Webster and team for allowing me into their LCBO home to sample 1000′s more wines from the bi-weekly and shop on-line VINTAGES releases. Not to be forgotten are the many world-class sommeliers who give so much of their time to offer memorable wine experiences, no matter the effort required. So, thanks to all of you, here is my list of top 20, under $20 wines in random order, tasted and reviewed in 2013.

From left: MARÉCHAL BRUT CRÉMANT DE LOIRE, TAWSE ‘SPARK’ RIESLING 2009, CHÂTEAU D'ANGLES LA CLAPE ROSÉ 2012, CALITERRA SAUVIGNON BLANC RESERVA 2013, and ANDRÉ BLANCK ET SES FILS ROSENBOURG PINOT BLANC 2011

From left: MARÉCHAL BRUT CRÉMANT DE LOIRE, TAWSE ‘SPARK’ RIESLING 2009, CHÂTEAU D’ANGLES LA CLAPE ROSÉ 2012, CALITERRA SAUVIGNON BLANC RESERVA 2013, and ANDRÉ BLANCK ET SES FILS ROSENBOURG PINOT BLANC 2011

Sparkling

MARÉCHAL BRUT CRÉMANT DE LOIRE, Loire Valley, France (141077, $15.95, WineAlign)

Foams frothy forth alive and expansive out of a yeasty starter, spins lightly on its A16 axis and revolves tightly wound around a citrus spindle. A working class Marechal, real and made for the people. Perhaps not La Grande Illusion but a wine that will “show the common humanity present across these divisions.” About as good as Méthode Traditionnelle sparkling Loire Chenin Blanc can be and priced to fly.  89  Tasted April 2013  From: See the humanity in real value wine

TAWSE ‘SPARK’ RIESLING 2009, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (winery only, $18.95)

May just be that bottle of persuasive interrogation and torture to turn even the toughest hold-outs against Sparkling Riesling. A veritable homeland crush of signature grapes, put to a not so traditional test, emerge in piercing, capital dry scintillation. Sparks fly in Beamsville when winemaker Paul Pender and team, “the boy prophets walk it handsome and hot.” This sparkler does the E street shuffle and dances in the dark. The new deal in Ontario bubbles.  “You can’t start a fire without a spark.”  89  Tasted October 2013  From: Top wines shine at Taste Ontario 2013  @Paul_Pender  @Tawse_Winery

Rosé

CHÂTEAU D’ANGLES LA CLAPE ROSÉ 2012, Languedoc Roussillon (Midi), France (323386, $15.95, WineAlign)

Goes classic holy trinity Midi in Mourvedre, Syrah and Grenache. Creamy, frosty and savoury in strawberry, rhubarb, balmy tarragon and shrubbery. Finishes with salinity pressed like a salt herring.  91  Tasted June 2013  From: Hot weekend wines and cool Chardonnay  @chateaudangles

White

CALITERRA SAUVIGNON BLANC RESERVA 2013, Casablanca Valley, Chile (275909, $9.95, WineAlign – WWAC 2013 Judges’ Choice)

Great show savvy, really great show. Outright fast flint, white pepper, citrus and fresh herbs. Luscious texture, convincing up the middle and goes deeper than many. Grapey and succulent. Clean, concise winemaking.  90  From: He spits, he scores: World Wine Awards of Canada results  @Caliterra  @imbibersreport

ANDRÉ BLANCK ET SES FILS ROSENBOURG PINOT BLANC 2011, Ac Alsace, France (626606, $14.95, WineAlign)

High on lime citrus and heavy in stones, so much more so than in ’09 and ’10. Green apple in tart tonality, lean and mean.  Much juicier and riper to taste, with the faintest lees note to ground it firmly on Alsatian terrain ferme.  Love this designation. Same vintage release from a year ago.  89  Tasted July 2012  From: A paradox of wine accents  @drinkAlsace

From left: DR. HERMANN ÜRZIGER WÜRZGARTEN RIESLING SPÄTLESE 2007, 2027 CELLARS RIESLING ‘FALLS VINEYARD’ 2012, ROSEWOOD ESTATES SÉMILLON 2011, DE WETSHOF LESCA ESTATE CHARDONNAY 2012, and TE AWA CHARDONNAY 2010

From left: DR. HERMANN ÜRZIGER WÜRZGARTEN RIESLING SPÄTLESE 2007, 2027 CELLARS RIESLING ‘FALLS VINEYARD’ 2012, ROSEWOOD ESTATES SÉMILLON 2011, DE WETSHOF LESCA ESTATE CHARDONNAY 2012, and TE AWA CHARDONNAY 2010

DR. HERMANN ÜRZIGER WÜRZGARTEN RIESLING SPÄTLESE 2007 (313528, $16.95, WineAlign) clocks in at a mere 8 per cent abv and is a nasal microchamber filled with dry ice but taste it and be soothed by its unguent goodness. Minerals, spice and everything nice out of red sandstone, slate soil and just barely beginning to act its age. OK, it may be a touch disjointed but at $17 they are giving it away. I could drink it like wheat grass all summer long.  90  Tasted March 2013  From: Masters wines in purple, yellow and green jackets

2027 CELLARS RIESLING ‘FALLS VINEYARD’ 2012, VQA Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (294041, $18.95, WineAlign)

In contrast to brother Foxcroft, this is the more serious vineyard in my estimation. Falls compresses less limestone chalk and instead thunder rolls out glacial boulders. Here there is less grass, herbs, citrus and sea, but rather garrigue blanc, the windswept plain studded with gorse and deeper, sweeter, earthly purity.  91  Tasted October 2013  From: Top wines shine at Taste Ontario 2013   @2027Cellars

ROSEWOOD ESTATES SÉMILLON 2011, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (177758, $17.95, WineAlign)

The leader of the pack. The honey is uncanny. From an earlier note: “is frighteningly honeyed and its blatant acidity brings out all the right zest notes in the seafood. Major (three times) cropping from a “disease control vintage” by Orwinski who “knows the vineyard. It really is his home.” He’s still chanting “drop the crop!” in his sleep. The citrus and soda are glaring, exciting and invigorating in ’11, as is the aforementioned honey, the trump card keeping the Sémillon from being confused for Riesling.  Fascinating study.”  91  Tasted twice, May 2013  From: Showcase Showdown: Rosewood Sémillon  @RosewoodWine

DE WETSHOF LESCA ESTATE CHARDONNAY 2012, Wo Robertson, South Africa (355438, $18.95, WineAlign)

This is exactly what I come to expect and hope for in calcareous, gravel and clay Cape Chardonnay. Robertson study in balance, fortitude and anxiety. Palpable proof of De Westhof’s self-professed attitude towards “site-specific vineyard management and wine-making.” Really pretty white flowers, citrus in C minor and piercing acidity. Proficiently ripe, toasted without tempting caramel and really well-judged. All in for $19. No ifs and or buts.  91  Tasted November 2013  From: Twelve days of wine for Christmas

TE AWA CHARDONNAY 2010, Hawkes Bay, North Island, New Zealand (301135, $18.95, WineAlign)

Gives off a good dose of char but in a Penderish way with knowledge that it will dissipate, integrate and elevate this stony ‘River of God’ into a fine, swirling eddy of hard bop goodness. Gorgeous green enamel Ngaruroro meandering to gold. Oleic, alluvial consistency, with a sense of creamed corn, barren straw and built of a gravel verve, taking risks like a Sonny Rollins riff.  91  Tasted February 2013  From: A march of French grapes to dinner  @TeAwaWinery

MARC BRÉDIF VOUVRAY 2011, Ac, Loire, France (685362, $19.95, SAQ $19.55, 10267809, WineAlign)

Indicates grapevines grown of a mineral-rich terroir, like land left after the draining of a lake. Travels into the Loire Valley’s heart of darkness but also shows some increased honey in ’11, fattening the ever-present lemon drop, candied peel, ginger and stony goodness. Chenin as a man in pink pajamas. There is just no worthy value adversary to this tight, racy and wondrous Vouvray.  91  Tasted July 2013  From: Alternative wines for the August long weekend  @ProfileWineGrp   @LoireValleyWine

Reds

BOUTARI NAOUSSA 2008, Pdo Naoussa, Greece (23218, $12.95, WineAlign)

Like other Xinomavro shows that combination of pure fruit and ancient wisdom. Juicy and rustic at the same time, erupting in cherry and a lava flow of hot rocks. There is leather, dry spice and sun-dried fruit. Already bricking like Sangiovese, as if rustic Vino Nobile Rosso. There is simply no earthly reason not to drink this every night for the rest of the summer.  89  Tasted July 2013  From: A midsummer night’s chill red wine  @boutari

QUINTA DOS CARVALHAIS DUQUE DE VISEU RED 2009, Doc Dão, Portugal  (546309, $13.95, WineAlign)

Simple, straight cut, hedonistic Dão pleasure from winemaker Manuel Vieira and the Sogrape Vinhos’ empire. Nothing wrong with that except that at $14 it feels like stealing. An evincive blend of 50 per cent Touriga Nacional, 20 Tinta Roriz and 30 Jaen. Red and black fruit, mineral tension, somewhat gritty but lush in plum, licorice feel and flavour. Really good stuff.  89  Tasted November 2013  From: Twelve days of wine for Christmas  @winePortugalCA

LAILEY VINEYARD WINES CABERNET MERLOT 2011, VQA, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (winery only, $15)

Speaks the language of vinous accommodation. Abundant very berry fruit if less knotty and peculiar and more accessible than most Niagara Bordeaux blends. No bones about it, languid Lailey in mind of its own wonder. Could drink it straight from the tap.  89  Tasted October 2013  From: Top wines shine at Taste Ontario 2013  @Laileywinemakr

TSCHARKE BAROSSA GOLD MARANANGA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2010, Barossa Valley, South Australia (289884, $15.95, WineAlign)

This is really good stuff. Tight attack, bold and tannic, brimming with figgy black fruit, dark chocolate, spirit cake and white pepper. The oldest Barossa Neoproterozoic Schist and Siltstone rocks impart piercing minerality as if the Marananga were blasted out of a cannon.  Tests any Napa Cab under $50.  89  Tasted January 2013  From: Iconic wines, affordable prices  @tscharkewines

VIA CHILCAS SINGLE VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2009, Colchagua Valley, Chile ($17.95, 309757, WineAlign)

From the Maule Valley, is graced by amazing freshness and vigorous, new wave energy. With an imagined dragon’s foot securely planted in the ancestry of Chilean wine, this radioactive red is a portal to the industry’s future. Roasted and brewed, in espresso yes but mocha, no. “Welcome to the new age, to the new age.”  91  Tasted September 2013  From: A Chile wind is blowing  @ViaWines

ANETO RED 2009, Doc Douro, Portugal (314930, $19.95, WineAlign)

Reminds me of the deepest, earthbound southern French reds, like Minervois or La Clape. Stygian and shadowy, the Aneto’s rusticity is borne of xistous terra, baking spice and dried fruit. Puts on her make up for prevailing balance in a show of hydrated, in vogue, darling pretty maturity. She can “heal my aching heart and soul.”  91  Tasted January 2013  From: Super Bowl wine prediction: Red 49ers over black Ravens  @liffordwine

DOMAINE MANOIR DE CARRA JULIÉNAS 2010, Ac Beaujolais, France (290981, $19.95, WineAlign) The pearl finally puts some funk into “an otherwise empty room.” Dandy, candied peony, cracking good, cinnamon scented and jammy in Rhôneish behaviour. More structure than most.  Beaujolais’ daughter.  91  Tasted May 15, 2013  From: Go Gamay Go

THE FOREIGN AFFAIR THE CONSPIRACY 2011, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (149237, $19.95, WineAlign)

Kissed, re-passed over and threatening to push boundaries as if it were singing “if I could stick a knife in my heart, suicide right on stage.” This Ilya Senchuk beauty may only be ripasso but I like it. Eases my pain and my brain. Excellent verve and honed of a rock star’s capacity to be loved, with tart, red and black fruit in waves, tar and charcoal. Svelte balance in fruit, alcohol, sweet and sour. This is THE vintage for this wine. Ten plus years lay ahead for a long affair and it will be rewarded with praise in future tastings.  92  Tasted April 2013  From: ‘It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll’ (but I like wine)  @wineaffair

JOURNEY’S END SHIRAZ 2007, Wo Stellenbosch, South Africa (337642, $19.95, WineAlign)

Initiates serious sanguine Stellenbosch intimacy with dusty black cherry and black pepper. Hard to break, like the Northern Rhône, or even Syrah-heavy Châteauneuf-du-Pape but swirl and she will open up. Meaty, gamey, anise, metal-mineral fruit. Hedonistic and certainly clothed in heavy coat but there is an underlying velvet dignity here, though it has not yet shed its bacon baby fat. I would follow this highly complex and intriguing South African for five to 10 years. Already a few years in and not nearly at its peak.  Has ancient experience in its blood.  92  Tasted September 2013  From: Free my Canadian grapes and other love songs  @JourneysEndWine

Good to go!

Top wines shine at Taste Ontario 2013

Mary Catherine Wasilik, (Merry Bee) the Assistant Winemaker of Rosewood Estates Winery checking out the Pinot Noir pick at Wismer Vineyard in Balls Falls, Ontario
PHOTO: KRYSTINA ROMAN, QUEEN SOCIAL BEE/ROSEWOOD ESTATES WINERY

as seen on canada.com

Taste Ontario is a special event. The VINTAGES prescribed gathering of Ontario wine, the makers and the marketers should never be missed. The Royal Ontario Museum is a terrific setting for such a palooza and the Bronfman Hall a cozy, comfortable and airy room to showcase the wines.

That this gathering is conspicuous as much for its omissions as it is for the unparalleled quality and consistency of the wines does not need to be overly debated. The figure of “80 wines from over 30 of Ontario’s most passionate and talented winemakers” is certainly a drawing card despite VQA Ontario‘s contention “there are over 125 Ontario wineries producing VQA wines of various appellations – all backed up by VQA Ontario’s assurance of origin and quality.”

The VINTAGES say in what specific bottles should be poured was certainly in evidence last Thursday and succeeded for the purposes of presenting the licensee and the consumer with a cross section of Ontario’s signature grapes. Chardonnay was not high in representation but considering the recent run from and following #i4C2013 (Cool Chardonnay) that was to be expected. What the general public does not know for certain is the quality potential in and necessity of Ontario’s production of Sparkling wine, Gamay and Syrah. Three categories virtually ignored at Taste Ontario 2013.

PHOTO: Michael Godel
Red wines at Taste Ontario 2013

Taste Ontario was held in Ottawa (The Westin Hotel) on Monday, October 7th and in Toronto (ROM) on Thursday, October 10th with essential support from Wine Country Ontario. Thanks must go out to Hilary Dawson and Magdalena KaiserSmit for their pampering and generosity. The grand tastings were partnered with the LCBO “SHINE {ON}” campaign that ran from September 15 through October 12.

My reviews of wines that shone is specific to the event and let it be known there are dozens more to form best of lists, from producers represented and those who were not involved. Here are 16 top wines from Taste Ontario 2013.

From left: Jackson-Triggs Entourage Grand Reserve Méthode Classique Brut 2009, 2027 Cellars Riesling ‘Falls Vineyard’ 2012, Thirty Bench Small Lot Woodpost Vineyard 2006, and Charles Baker Wines Riesling ‘Picone Vineyard’ 2011

Sparkling

Tawse ‘Spark’ Riesling 2009 (winery only, $18.95) may just be that bottle of persuasive interrogation and torture to turn even the toughest hold-outs against Sparkling Riesling. A veritable homeland crush of signature grapes, put to a not so traditional test, emerge in piercing, capital dry scintillation. Sparks fly in Beamsville when winemaker Paul Pender and team, “the boy prophets walk it handsome and hot.” This sparkler does the E street shuffle and dances in the dark. The new deal in Ontario bubbles.  “You can’t start a fire without a spark.”  89  @Paul_Pender  @Tawse_Winery

Jackson-Triggs Entourage Grand Reserve Méthode Classique Brut 2009 (234161, $22.95) in just under a year has evolved to a grandiloquent level of sophistication.  Fino arid bubbles, with an elevated level of aromatic sweetness, ginger spice, lime and charcoal. Quite complex, jumpy, with pepper on the finish.  90  From my earlier note: “is a sweet-smelling misty mousse waterfall where white grapefruit replays from vapor to flavour. Driest fizz yet playing the Angostura angle. Good length.”  88  @Jackson_Triggs

Riesling

Cattail Creek Estate Winery Riesling 2012 (241547, $14.95) from Four-Mile Creek suggests peaches in every way; juice, flesh and pit. A battle cry bottle for the adage and generational anthem, “when in Niagara I drink Riesling for peace.” Really fine evolutionary Creek example for the price, located somewhere on the dry to off-dry line.  Palate cleansing, with solid rhythm and length, like Les Brers in A Minor. Makes me want to eat a peach.  88  @CTCWinery

2027 Cellars Riesling ‘Falls Vineyard’ 2012 (294041, $18.95) in contrast to brother Foxcroft, is the more serious vineyard in my estimation. Falls compresses less limestone chalk and instead thunder rolls out glacial boulders. Here there is less grass, herbs, citrus and sea, but rathergarrigue blanc, the windswept plain studded with gorse and deeper, sweeter, earthly purity.  91  @2027Cellars

Thirty Bench Small Lot Woodpost Vineyard 2006 (winery only) has achieved green patina and diesel in D minor as the wine is just beginning to act its age. A crisp, crunchy green apple bent persists and the fruit remains confidently perched on top of the wood pile. A smoulder of wood seems ghostly present, or at least as rusty ties keeping it upright. A self-supporting slice of Beamsville Bench recent history here. Really quite fantastic.  92  @ThirtyBench

Charles Baker Wines Riesling ‘Picone Vineyard’ 2011 (241182, $35.20) does not so much pick up where cracking ’09 left off (with no offence meant to the soothing and tuneful ’10) but rather re-writes the Baker book. From the almost famous windswept vineyard atop the Vinemount Ridge, this Picone, from older Riesling plantings is crazy lively. That ’10 is now imbued with rich, oily glück. The ’11 will realize such a future, but much further along and in combination with its inborn tension. Right up there with Baker’s “perfect vintage” 2006.  93  @cbriesling

Chardonnay

Lailey Chardonnay 2011 (193482, $19.95, Alberta, 739220, $35.67) butters toast with delectable lemon curd and a sprinkle of brown sugar. Well-articulated, bundled Chardonnay fruit, in spice cadence, big but never brawny. A measure of Niagara balance.  90   From my earlier note: “is right on brother Derek. This not only joins the right excellent Chardonnay club; it’s the incumbent President. Lifted honeysuckle, honey and bright lemon aromas, the deftest kiss of oak and just a punch of spice. Tingles and lingers.  If ’10 was “almost great,” ’11 is. Mikey likes this very much.  90  @laileywinemakr

Tawse ‘Quarry Road’ Chardonnay 2011 (111989, $34.95) carries that classic Paul Pender perfume; rocks and stones, flaxen, refulgent toast and the verdure Vinemount terroir. A free flying, linear, atmospheric smear of thermal fortitude and backbone. A polemic Bowie Chardonnay to make you believe “the strangest things, loving the alien.”  92  From my earlier (barrel tasting) note: “resides on the mineral, slate and lime side of the tracks. The calcareous quality imparted by its eponymous SV terroir makes it the antithesis of David. Creamy, 24-karat fruit.”  91-93

From left: Rosewood Estates Winery Sémillon 2012, Coyote’s Run Pinot Noir ‘Red Paw Vineyard’ 2011, Flat Rock Cellars Gravity Pinot Noir 2011, Norman Hardie County Pinot Noir Unfiltered 2012, and Fielding Estate Winery Gamay 2012

Sémillon

Rosewood Estates Winery Sémillon 2012 (winery only, $18.00) drifts along, like a city swan, a white Beamsville white cut from a different cloth, wholly unique. Rosewood’s Sem is the case and the point for others to follow, to plant, cultivate, embrace and perfect this grape in Ontario. The ’12 is immense, articulate, hungry. It makes cause to say, ”I’m starving in your gravity. You’re made from something different than I know.”  90  From my earlier note: “is their most intense ever. An exceptional growing season amps the honey sounds to 11, speeds up the sugars to 33 and while there is obviously no sign of chapitalization, added acid stabilizes the high tropical nuance. Huge style for Sémillon, mulched in miele, fruit flavours amplified and lengthened by 14.6 per cent alcohol. Une cousine to J.L. Groux’s Stratus SV, if less grapefruit and increased value.”  90  @Rosewoodwine

Pinot Noir

Coyote’s Run Pinot Noir ‘Red Paw Vineyard’ 2011 (79228, $22.95) gets the best value nod because it’s just oh so pretty, in hue, bouquet, essence and mouth feel. Four-Mile Creek dusty wind, dried leaf grain and a unique sense of soil imparts earthly elegance and poise. Excellent stuff.  90  @coyotesrun

Flat Rock Cellars Gravity Pinot Noir 2011 (1560, $29.95) may at first strangely seem that it had ”stepped out of the wilderness all squint-eyed and confused” but my how a swirl elicits gorgeous red berries and an emphatic oomph, even without a sip. Impressively ripe, blooming red rose and cinnamon from the heart of a winemaker’s boots. A mineral streak brings to mind Volnay, in spirit and tragically hip Pinot essence.  92  @Winemakersboots  @UnfilteredEd

Norman Hardie County Pinot Noir Unfiltered 2012 (125310, $35.00) cuts a rug with immense, stepping out juicy behaviour. It’s both turntable old-school, astatic in smooth groove rotation, but also digitally forward thinking towards a perdurable future. The nose is Norm’s most intense floral burst to date, with incredible brightness and sparkling acidity in the key of fresh plum. This brings to mind indelible Burgundy, enveloped in PEC’s warm ’12 blanket. Hardie’s measure of consistency abides in a Pinot of parity and undemanding polish.  93  @normhardie

PHOTO: Michael Godel Bachelder Pinot Noir ‘Lowrey Vineyard’ 2011

Bachelder Pinot Noir Lowrey Vineyard 2011 (361816, $44.95) springs eternal from an ocean of cranberry and an island of spice. The somewhereness of this St. David’s vineyard can’t be denied, and in the hands of Thomas Bachelder the extraordinary happens. I am simply blinded by the light, by the weight and the weightless gravity. By a sweetness that just isn’t sweet, like exotic red fruit that knocks you sideways upside the cerebral cortex. Not to mention an iron madness that “plays that song with the funky break.”  94  @Bachelder_wines

Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Cabernet Franc

Lailey Vineyard Wines Cabernet Merlot 2011 (winery only, $15) speaks the language of vinous accommodation. Abundant very berry fruit if less knotty and peculiar and more accessible than most Niagara Bordeaux blends. No bones about it, languid Lailey in mind of its own wonder. Could drink it straight from the tap.  89  @Laileywinemakr

Cave Spring Cellars Cabernet Franc Estate Bottled 2011 (72751, $24.95) attains a level of varietal purity near categorically Niagara Escarpment perfect. A mess of sweet and tangy red fruit, namely berries, currants and cherries cut fine to licorice and the evolutionary effects of magnesium-rich limestone. Imagine cutting a cross-section of rock to project a swirl of this multifarious Cabernet Franc. An example to examine at an Expert’s Tasting 10 years on.  91  @CaveSpring

Gamay

Fielding Estate Winery Gamay 2012 (winery only, $17.95) is, without question, Richie’s best to date. A gleaming, ebullient, shining glass of rich Gamay fruit with an undercurrent of currant and gleaning vineyard floor. A Buddy and Gene snare drum attack. Takes the baton and parades about the province. Will lead the #GoGamayGo charge for the rest of 2012 and well into 2013.  89  @Fieldingwines  @RichieWine

Good to go!

Money back guarantee wines

Here are five wines that will present no reason to be looking for a refund or an exchange. PHOTO: ARCADY/FOTOLIA.COM

as seen on canada.com

Ever opened a bottle of wine, had a sip or two and decided you just didn’t like it? Happens all the time, right? The thing is, in most cases you can return that wine, especially if it was purchased at one of the many provincial monopolies in Canada. Here’s a short primer on refund, return and exchange policies across Canada.

Related – more current releases

“The SAQ exchanges or refunds any product purchased in an SAQ outlet less than a year before. You must present the sales receipt when requesting a refund. For exchanges, the sales receipt is optional.” The LCBO used to offer their customers that same level of respect to offset the negative impact a monopoly’s policies can effect upon a helpless consumer (monochromatic and or lack of quality choice, lottery selections for small lot and hard to acquire selections, indifferent deference to local product, hyperbolic inflation on comparable US supermarket wines, archaic laws towards inter-provincial shipping, import agent strong arming, to name a few). As of April of 2012, you now have only 30 days to return a bad bottle and unlike the SAQ, you need the receipt for a direct exchange. For LCBO returns, wines “must be in ‘saleable condition’ and accompanied by the original receipt. Saleable means that the product must be unopened and have the label intact, for example.  Defective product is treated differently.” Manitoba follows suit. Who brought these guys to the party?

The same applies to defective products; wines with perceptible flaws, such as TCA (cork taint) or VA (volatile acidity). The 30-day LCBO rule is a sham, I mean shame. The open-ended return policy made up for so much of the monopoly’s shortcomings. Alas, no more.

British Columbia’s Liquor board is no piece of cake either. You can only “return a product in B.C for a full refund, provided the product is unopened, in saleable condition an official BC Liquor Stores receipt for the product is presented.” At least they’ve thrown a bone to caterers who can now return unopened liquor products. Nova Scotia follows Quebec’s policy. “Defective or broken product may be returned to any NSLC store for full exchange or refund and does not require a receipt. All customers returning defective or broken product must be willing to provide name, address and telephone number to the NSLC store representative.”

In Saskatchewan it appears that only “permittees can return any unopened spirit and wine bottles and sealed, full beer cases that were purchased for the event provided they provide the original sales receipt.” Remind me not to purchase defective wine in that province. As far as New Brunswick is concerned “at the discretion of the Liquor Store Manager, Alcool NB Liquor will accept product returns for full refund. The sales slip should accompany the returned item.”

Newfoundland’s system, at least on paper, is very fair and civilized, though all returns seem to be in the powerful hands of a store manager. “NLC will accept product returns, at the discretion of the Liquor Store Manager. In the case of defective merchandise, NLC will permit product returns or exchange, at the discretion of the Liquor Store Manager for a full refund where the product is no more than half empty and he product was listed by NLC within the last 12 months. Better than the LCBO. Best of all may me Prince Edward Island. “At the discretion of the Liquor Store Manager, the PEILCC will accept product returns for full refund. The sales slip should accompany the returned item. All returns will be on a “bottle-for-bottle” basis.” Civilized.

Alberta’s Gaming and Liquor Board only accepts “refunds for the following types of faulty products; returned due to customer complaint; a sealed bottle(s) which: is partially filled; has a damaged cap or cork; or is contaminated with a foreign material. A claim for a refund for a faulty product must be received by the AGLC Product and Pricing Department within 30 days of receipt of product by the claimant.” Quality retailers in provinces with a private system (like Alberta) will also take back an unwanted bottle, though they might not be so lenient when you try to bring back that bottle of First Growth Bordeaux. Some wines are sold with an unwritten rule. You lay down your money and you takes your chances.

Everybody’s got a hungry heart. “Lay down your money and you play your part.” So, to avoid disappointment and disappointing your local monopoly or retailer, here are five bargain wines, one for each day of the week beginning today, Monday June 10th. Five wines that will present no reason to be looking for a refund or an exchange.

From left: Place In The Sun Shiraz 2012, Fielding Estate Gewürztraminer 2010, Lealtanza Crianza 2009, Flat Rock Cellars Riesling 2012, and A & G Papaioannou Estate Agiorgitiko SV Nemea 2007

The Grape: Shiraz

The history: New range of fair trade and sustainable wines from 321 year-old Stellenbosch winery Zonnenbloem

The lowdown: This is not a cheap bottle of fermented sugar. A breath of restrained, balanced and fresh grapes awaits

The food match: Grilled Rib-Eye Steaks and Local Asparagus

Place In The Sun Shiraz 2012 (286088, $13.10) is a balanced effort “at half the price” of many similar South African wines, here crafted by the Cape’s Zonnenbloem Winery from vineyards cooled by False Bay. Campfire smoke, grilled meat, spice and antipasti char attribute this chewy, biltong red. Characterized by a musical, magical, folk spirituality. A Hoodoo Guru.  88  @APlaceintheSunSA

The Grape: Gewürztraminer

The history: Grape King Curtis Fielding and winemaker Richie Roberts are swiftly crafting a mid-range, diverse portfolio into the Ontario wine industry, unparalleled in execution and success

The lowdown: This Gewürz leans Alsace in a sweet sense but not in heft or a serious, contemplative way

The food match: Grilled Cumin Salmon

Fielding Estate Gewürztraminer 2010 (146753, $15.95) acts likes lees dessert as almond vanilla pudding with a side of lychee preserve. While I heart more the Riesling and Pinot Gris from winemaker Richie Roberts, this sugarplum Gewürztraminer has earned a rightful place at the table.  88  @FieldingWinery  @RichieWine

The Grape: Tempranillo

The history: Tempranillo specialist from Spain, located in Fuenmayor, in the heart of Rioja

The lowdown: Consistent value Tempranillo from a modern facility crafting wine with a foot in the austerity of the past

The food match: Barque Smokehouse Brisket

Lealtanza Crianza 2009 (114835, $16.95) exhibits more heat and caramelization than previous vintages. Vivid Sangria, pumped up by cherries in simple syrup and fleshy plum fruit. Accented by fennel and basil. Good length and even better value.  89  @bodegasaltanza  @ProfileWineGrp

The Grape: Riesling

The history: Founded in 1999 on the Jordan Bench and operated today by Ed Madronich and his father Ed Madronich Sr. Winemaker is Jay Johnston

The lowdown: This just might be the most trocken Ontario Riesling on the market today

The food match: Grilled Veal Chops and Wild Leeks

Flat Rock Cellars Riesling 2012 (43281, $16.95) is a single varietal conundrum, intensely dry, dusty yet dripping in grape concentration. Huge soda nose, I mean a crazy proboscis. Love the dry entry and off-dry tangent. Twenty Mile Bench issue reminiscent of Rheinhessen. Admirable length and trebled finish.  90  @Winemakersboots @UnfilteredEd

The Grape: Agiorgitiko

The history: Main cultivar from a modern winery of the Ancient Nemea, located in the district of Corinth

The lowdown: A 100% indigenous Greek varietal, aged for one year in oak barrel and further matured in the bottle for six months

The food match: Halloumi

A & G Papaioannou Estate Agiorgitiko SV Nemea 2007 (47977, $19.95) has reached a ripe oxy age but this weathered and sensuous, sun-kissed by gods Greek red is still a classic beauty. Quintarelli-like toffee, tobacco acetic reduction and spiced plum seem like high praise I know but the acidity renders it a wash. Look out, buckets of cherries, tart currants and tar join the fun in this very interesting and intriguing Nemean single vineyard stunner.  89  @KolonakiGroup

Good to Go!

Part Two: A 30 march of value reds

PHOTO: MONKEY BUSINESS/FOTOLIA.COM

as seen on canada.com

Today’s date may read April 5th, 2013 but as far as I’m concerned, it’s still March. Winter chill hovers like a suffocating raft over a simmering cauldron of consommé. We are the suds, the weather our nimbus and we can’t wait to rent our effervescent clothes, break free from the mackerel sky and walk into spring.

Related – More March wine reviews

The coming weeks worth of frosty nights and their refusal to hightail on out of here must then be quelled by belly warming, hearty meals shared in kind with big, bold red wines. Here is a 15-strong list available now and in a store near you.

From left: Domaine Les Yeuses Les Épices Syrah 2010, Calmel + J Joseph Faugères 2009, Château Gadet Terrefort 2010, Herdade Penedo Gordo Vinho Tinto 2010, and Otazu Premium Cuvée 2007

The French

Domaine Les Yeuses Les Épices Syrah 2010 (177584, $13.95) is a remarkable price for a Vin Pays d’Oc acting as a ringer for a Mark Kent (Boekenhoutskloof) Franschhoek meets the Northern Rhône. A dish of roasted pork belly, boar musk, lacquer, black olive and sun-baked earth would work. Good follow-up to the 2009 Septaguanarian of pork perambulations. Impossible balance for a pittance.  87

Château Agnel Cuvée Phillipe Minervois 2009 (309195, $15.95) is no pretender, this disciplined study in equilibrium. Blessed with a freestyle swimmer’s ability to master strokes in one varietal medley. More Grenache than Syrah, more Yannick than Michael. Exercises a learned rusticity, acts “old enough to face the dawn.” An angel of the morning bursting forth in floral scents and reaching out with a graceful length. Languedoc red as microcosmic study in an Olympian, southern French pool.  88  @FrontierWine

Calmel + J Joseph Faugères 2009 (310193, $16.95) conjures up full-on hedonism in roasted mutton, garrigue, black raspberry jus and a shot ‘o java. Full-bodied, mochafied richesse, juicy, easy to consume if  never to be seen again. All for $17.  89  @LanguedocWines

Château Gadet Terrefort 2010 (307231, $20.95) waltzes out in empeltre olive, plum sangria and creamy chocolate. Turns roast meaty in gritty tannin, struts great intensity for Médoc, like a “black-haired flamenco dancer,” de color rojo oscuro, not unlike modern Montsant. “Pass me a bottle, Mr. Jones.”  90  @ProfileWineGrp 

Château Senejac 2009 (193037, $28.85, 11350145, SAQ, $26.85) walks a rustic, oxygenated Bordeaux tightrope threatening to fray but an earth, tar tincture and Mediterranean sense of longevity keeps this Haut-Médoc wound tightly together. Olive, licorice and Sambucan spice infuse in smokey tones.  91

The Portuguese

Herdade Penedo Gordo Vinho Tinto 2010 (218339, $13.95) from Alentejo, Portugal is very modern, full of lush, dusty berry fruit and void of hard lines. Licorice tang, suet roasted meat built on local grapes (Alicante Bouschet, Touriga Nacional, Aragonez and Trincadeira). Refines the nature of its origins.  87  @winesportugalCA

Quinta Do Penedo 2009 (313676, $18.95) of Syrah-like sheen jonesing to purple sets out muted but after a swirl opens to black cherry bubble gum. Alfrocheiro and Touriga Nacional work effortlessly together to fashion a Dão whose “white clouds have turned it black.”  This one can come away with me anytime.  88  

The Spanish

Otazu Premium Cuvée 2007 (313809, $16.95, SAQ 11387298, $18.70) plays an intense, gritty Navarran riff full of earthy expletives. Addictive, salty, marinated olive, black cherry plethoric red that stops you in your tracks. Makes use of Tempranillo, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Reminds me of the Hecula or the Manga del Brujo but is so much edgier, crazed, frantic. Wild stuff.  88  @bodegaotazu

Beronia Gran Reserva 2005 (940965, $32.95) has smoothed its cigar smoked extremities with vanilla cream. The sour cherry tang is a necessary advocate for balance and structure. This classic and classy Riojan is ready and willing to sit at the dinner table along side Chorizo, Jabali and stuffed Piquillos.  89  @WoodmanWines

The Argentines

La Puerta Reserva Bonarda 2009 (67801, $18.95) is a serious, brooding, dark and mysterious gem from  Famatina Valley in the north-west of the Province of La Rioja. Red stone fruit, vanilla bean and an Andean rock face of tannin. Once you go cool-climate, altitudinous Argentinian Bonarda, you may never go back to Malbec.  88  @LaPuertaWines

Versado Malbec 2010 (317008, $24.95) takes on Argentina by way of Southbrook (Ontario) and Sperling Family Vineyards (British Columbia) in the estimable hands of winemaker Ann Sperling. Husband and oeno-guru Peter Gamble joins forces to beeline straight for Luján de Cuyo typicity in deep cherry, pitching to black, solder spice and herbs smoldering in oak.  Cool and minting in its alveolate void. Interesting to say the least.  88  @VersadoWine

Versado Reserva Malbec 2009 (316984, $59.95) seems to travel a Hobbsian path laid out like Cobos cobblestone. At nearly two and a half times the cost of the Versado normale you might expect a revelation and you get one or two, if you allow your senses to drift out-of-body, into a lead crystal, Malbec state of consciousness. Tons of charcoal clouding the infundibular annals of the wine. Emerges as a scherzo in velvety tones, texture and structure.  90  @ArgentinaWineCA

The Californians

Langtry Guenoc Petite Sirah 2011 (19935, $17.95) is a more than commendable example out of the less than glamorous Lake County. At only 13% abv, the Langtry is modest and shy by PS standards, heavenly scented by blueberry, white chocolate and eucalyptus. California PS can be formidable stuff but here “I got a California rainbow to come give them thunder clouds a rest.”  87  @LangtryGuenoc

Highway 12 Highwayman 2010 (319186, $27.95) is a proprietary blend of Cabernet Franc (50%), Cabernet Sauvignon (30%) and Merlot (20%) from Sonoman Michael Sebastiani. Present but not overbearing 14.3% alcohol, decadent despite its roots but tempered by good chocolate, olives and herbs. The kind of brambly, inky blend you might swear had some Zinfandel or Syrah in the mix but straight Bordeaux it is. A whack of wine for $28 originally released down south at $42.  90  @highway12winery

The Australian

Dandelion Vineyards Lion’s Tooth of McLaren Vale Shiraz/Riesling 2010 (311233, $19.95) is not a typo or a joke. Riesling does round out this McLaren Vale Shiraz, not Viognier. Only an Aussie would take this risk and help me Rhonda if it doesn’t work. “I can give you lots a reasons why” this works and number one is balance. The dash of white kicks the red into gear – it may be a strange sensation for which there is no prior frame of reference, but boy if it don’t put me on a beach.  88  @mrkcstr

Good to go!

100 kilometre wine for spring

PHOTO: CHRIS KLUS/FOTOLIA.COM

as seen on canada.com

If you adhere to the 100 km rule, this wine’s for you.

Riesling. Can there be a more versatile white grape? From natural, mineral spring, bone-dry to concentrated, candied sweet, this grape runs the diversity gamut like no other. Riesling’s origins are from Oberrhein (Upper Rhine) Germany and it is the natural offspring of parent varieties Weißem Heunisch, Vitis sylvestris and Traminer. The earliest documentation of the name was in 1435, in Rüsselsheim. Riesling migrated to the Danube in Austria and to Alsace in France near the end of the 15th century but it has recently sunk roots all over the Diaspora. Australia’s Eden Valley, Marlborough in New Zealand and Washington State all produce exceptional examples.

A modern day Riesling narrative takes place less than a 100 kilometres away, along the Niagara Escarpment and above the pictorial towns of Beamsville, Jordan and Vineland. Representing the bench lands along the Niagara Escarpment, west of St. Catharines to Grimsby, this complex region encompasses three sub-appellations: Short Hills Bench, Twenty Mile Bench, and Beamsville Bench. ‘The Bench’ is home to a mineral wealth of local Riesling, singular in composition not only by way of a global comparison, but also from plot to plot, soil to soil and vineyard to vineyard. The well moderated micro-climate diversifies away and down to Niagara-on-the-Lake, where Riesling finds and reinvents itself again and again.

As the sun climbs higher into the spring sky and the steady unfurling of buds, patios and backyards begins, what better time can there be to indulge in the fresh and spirited nature that is Niagara Riesling. Here are four examples to seek out and enjoy.

From left: Rosewood Estates Natalie’s Süssreserve Riesling 2010, Château des Charmes Old Vines Riesling 2010, Greenlane Estate Riesling 2011, and Thirty Bench Vineyards ‘Steel Post’ Vineyard Riesling 2011.

Rosewood Estates Natalie’s Süssreserve Riesling 2010 (258806, $14.95) is a throwback, where (16%) unfermented juice is added back into the fermented, finished wine. Tang, twang, vim and jump-kick honey-driven sensations sidle up to bursting aromas of tobacco, apricot and Ida Red apples. I’ve heard the makers say the pain in the arse Süss just wants to continue fermenting. Last October I noted, “arresting that and demanding a doffing is key, but when you choose a pioneering path, you get what you pay for.” 88  (From the VINTAGES March 30, 2013 Release)  @RosewoodWine

Château des Charmes Old Vines Riesling 2010 (277228, $16.95) from 30 year-old vines on the Paul Bosc Estate Vineyard is big sniffer assertive in flint, struck stone, seltzer and funk. Gold patina visage veers away from the Bench and leans lighter, down to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Darkness prevails and “French cream won’t soften them boots,” thanks to a piercing note on the finish, on the edge of town.  89  (From the VINTAGES March 30, 2013 Release) @MBosc

Greenlane Estate Riesling 2011 (327247, $15.95) streams citrus from the get-go with more juicy, stone fruit than winemaker Dianne Smith’s more serious bottling. Picks up verve and sapor on the palate, sparks the tongue and crashes down the hatch with a hallucinatory beat. Slides away, like a floating baseline, “A Storm in Heaven.”  89  (From the VINTAGES April 13, 2013 Release)  @GreenLaneWinery

Thirty Bench Vineyards ‘Steel Post’ Vineyard Riesling 2011 ($30, winery only) from the Andrew Peller stable leans late-harvest or Spätlese, with 18.5 grams per litre of residual sugar. Clean, crisp, precise and near perfect Beamsville Bench expression. Flinty minerality and fantastic whorl by way of winemaker Emma Garner. Equal to if not more of a bomb than the stellar ’09.  93  @ThirtyBench

Good to go!

Just say no to pink wine for Valentine’s

PHOTO: KUBAIS/FOTOLIA.COM

as seen on canada.com

If you have spent some quality time with @mgodello you will know by now that he is not shy to champion rosés, especially Ontario’s ambient, rich pinks and the savoury, dry versions from the south of France. Valentine’s Day is traditionally a magnet for blush and fizz but it is my wine imperative to think outside the bottle.

The wines I will be seeking out this coming Thursday will need to be possessive of verve, show the sufferings of slings and arrows and display an irresistible, animal attraction. My advice is to just say no to pink. This year, you gotta be cruel to be wine for Valentine’s.

The grape: Chenin Blanc

The history: From winemaker Charl du Plessis and the 1997 Charles Back founded Swartland winery

The lowdown: Predominantly Chenin Blanc from a 34-year-old vineyard on the Rheeboksfontein farm blessed by just a kiss of oak-aging

The food match: Crab and Hearts of Palm Gratin

Spice Route Chenin Blanc 2011 (174623, $16.95) of oxy/petrol, almond/vanilla extract and nutty, molasses/honey is a veritable reeking pantry. Not for the weak or meek, only South African Chenin Blanc smells like this. A complex, drawn out affair, land specific, desensitizing to the mouth. I wasn’t so sure at first but a second attempt attacks my emotions and reels me in.  89  @SpiceRouteZA

The grape: Riesling

The history: Sourced from three separate vineyard blocks within two vineyards, Richie Roberts went cold, cold, cold on this Riesling’s behind, in fermentation and stabilization

The lowdown: Early picked fruit, self-promoted as a “crowd pleaser” but it is so much more than that

The food match: County General Two Way Fried Chicken, hoisin bbq, mint, thai basil, coriander, green onion, avocado, sesame and steamed buns

Fielding Estate Riesling 2011 (251439, $18.95) jumps out like a thunder crack with an instant emergence of gassy soda, lime and stone fruit. The citrus remains in attack mode and “her brains they rattle and her bones they shake.” Does the “jump back jack” and dances all around in the mouth, on the tongue and down the hatch. Very long persistence, almost glycerin in texture which for NP Riesling is simply awesome.  90  @FieldingWinery @RichieWine

The grape: Nebbiolo

The history: From the hillside of Monforte d’Alba, Località Ornati in Piedmont, Italy

The lowdown: It really does not get much more modern than this but Nebbiolo of this quality for $22? AYFKM?

The food match:  Red Beans and Rice Soup with Andouille Sausage

Tenuta Rocca Ornati Langhe 2006 (309369, $21.95, SAQ, 11599320, $23.15) is serious Piemontese juice for nothing less than a miracle of quantification. Perfumed like a starlet and of an extraction the colour of modern Hermitage. Verve and ragu guts, confident in bold espresso, tempered chocolate and holds an acidity to pair with anything. There isn’t a pasta on earth I wouldn’t drink this with. The question is, who are you and would you drink this kind of wine? In the nick of time for Valentines, “Cruel to be kind, means that I love you baby.” Emphatic yes.  91

The grape: Merlot

The history: From Wismer Estate vineyards on the 20 Mile Bench

The lowdown: Has improved so dramatically in just three months I am serving a self-imposed penance for my earlier mini-dis

The food match: Balsamic Baby Back Ribs With Truffled Baked Potatoes

Rosewood Estates Merlot 2010 (211896, $22.00) has evolved way past “enjoyable if unremarkable.” Continues to show a reductive note in the form of vanilla and maple syrup, no honey actually, but all signs point to further excellence. High quality chocolate spiked by cherry, orange and a peppery, nasal tickle open up beautifully and expressively towards the dusty, berry main event. Knock your baby’s socks off with this double-stuffed Oreo and let the night unfold.  89  @Rosewoodwine

Good to go!