Tag Archives: Tuscany

April Wine: Top VINTAGES Values to Buy Right Now

April 12, 2012

How many times have you found yourself standing in the LCBO dumbfounded and lost in ambient wine distraction? Do you feel knocked upside the Medulla Oblongata by a monopoly’s shelves bedecked by every race, creed and colour of wine known to Ontario kind? Don’t get caught on The Bad Side of The Moon. Have no fear. Head straight to the VINTAGES section and choose one of these great IVR* and CVR** top picks.

http://blogs.canada.com/2012/04/12/april-wine-top-vintages-values-to-buy-right-now/

 
REDS
 
Current In VINTAGES Stores
Pietro Marini Malbec 2008 (268045, $13.95) Argentina
Petra Zingari Toscana Igt 2008 (244228, $13.95) Italy
Michele Chiarlo ‘Le Orme’ Barbera D’asti Superiore 2009 (265413, $14.95) Italy
Bodega del Abad Dom Bueno Crianza 2001 (244699, $14.95) Spain
Taurino Riserva Salice Salentino 2008 (177527, $14.95) Italy
Domaine De La Janasse Côtes Du Rhône 2009 (705228, $15.95) France
 
VINTAGES April 14th Release
Jorio Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2009 (134577, $13.95) Italy
Fabre Montmayou Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (261891, $14.95) Argentina
 
VINTAGES April 28th Release
Sister’s Run Epiphany Shiraz 2008 (269464, $15.95) Australia
Cannonica e Ceretto Chianti Classico Riserva 2007 (275867, $17.00) Italy
 
 
ROSÉ
 
Current In VINTAGES Stores
Tawse Sketches of Ontario Rosé 2011 (172643, $15.95) Ontario
 
 
SPARKLING
 
Current in VINTAGES STORES
Louis Bouillot Perle D’ivoire Brut Blancs De Blancs (48801, $18.95) France
 
 
WHITES
 
Current In VINTAGES Stores
Fielding Estate Chardonnay Unoaked 2008 (164491, $13.95) Ontario
Featherstone Black Sheep Riesling 2011 (080234, $16.95) Ontario
Studert-Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 2007 (114777, $17.95) Germany
Marimar Estate La Masía Don Miguel Vineyard Chardonnay 2007 (270090, $19.95) California
 
VINTAGES April 14th Release
Michael Delhommeau Cuvee Harmonie Muscadet De Sevre-et-Maine 2010 (164624, $12.95) France
L’Uvaggio Di Giacomo Vermentino 2009 (279281, $15.95) California
Tyrell’s Brookdale Semillon 2011 (269316, $19.95) Australia
 
VINTAGES April 28th Release
Vincent Girardin Vieilles Vignes Mâcon-Fuissé 2009 (264515, $19.95) France
 

IVR* – Vintage Direct Intrigue-to-Value Ratio

CVR* – Vintage Direct Curiosity-to-Value Ratio

 

 

Live Wine Chat on canada.com

April 12, 2012

Join in Today at 2:00 pm ET as I chat online about wine. I will be joined by Ruth Dunley (PostMedia), Rod Phillips (Ottawa Citizen), James Nevison (HALFAGLASS) and Gurvinder Bhatia (Vinomania)

http://www.canada.com/news/Live+Chat+wine+experts/6427822/story.html

We will be discussing wine media. Do you read wine reviews or make purchases based on what wine critics write … should you? 

 

 

 

Good to go!

Of Budgets, Bohemian Rhapsody, Intrigue and Curiosity

Saturday March 31, 2012

 

Search the newswires, blogosphere and the world of internet forums and you will sense, as my friend DL would say, a “guttural sadness” and general discontent. Talking here about comments voiced both in response to the Federal Budget and the latest VINTAGES release. The question as to which laid or hatched the bigger egg with Easter around the corner is oft debated and apparently, debatable. Even more current is the news video of a wasted Karaoke specialist in the back of an Alberta Police cruiser belting out Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. That this and talking dogs on YouTube draw the most interest really tells us that wine and politics remain parochial pursuits. I am actually drawn to the occasion by the March 31st group of wines. Nothing spectacular but several snookered in the curiosity and intrigue sectors.

 

Domaine De La Janasse Côtes Du Rhône 2009 (705228, $15.95) from a house approbate whose Châteauneuf-du-Papes are exchanged for proverbial left nads. Good vintage ad infinitum bleeds currant clabber through this replica CdP in as many ways as can be defined. Matthew Jukes calls it “an essential member of your everyday drinking armoury.” WS (89), Beppi (88), CT’s (88). Berry good IVR* stuff  88

Janasse CdR 2009

 

Studert-Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 2007 (114777, $17.95) brings it in every way. Spätlese at $18 from a producer paid fealty going back a millennium. Are you kidding me? Just enough late harvest age in its hose to petrol up the tank for a joyride in the here and now. Stimmel (91+) notes “sweet (but balanced)…hedonistic wine for patio sipping.” VanSickle writes “balance of racy mineral-toned acidity.” The Wine Ponce says it best, “…aroma seduces with wildflower honey poured over a wet stone.” At this price six go in the cellar, one IVR* for every year through 2017.  89

Studert Prum WS Spatlese 2007

 

Terre Nere Brunello di Montalcino 2006(208462, $35.95) gathers CVR** speed with every passing consideration.

Terre Nere Brunello di Montalcino 2006       

“Amply positive” notes from Franco at Vinowire

http://vinowire.com/2011/02/22/francos-top-picks-brunello-2006/

 

Richard Jennings on Wine (88+)

http://www.rjonwine.com/italian-wine/brunello-di-montalcino/

 

Monica Larner at WE (88)

http://buyingguide.winemag.com/catalog/terre-nere-2006-sangiovese-grosso-brunello-di-montalcino

 

Whine Dharma (96). “Peyton Manning of Brunellos, simply one of the best, most gifted, fiery, tenacious. Manning doesn’t play football, he is football.”

http://winedharma.com/en/dharmag/january-2012/brunello-di-montalcino-2006-draft-great quarterback-and-lot-asian-dishes-everyt

 

Todd B. Alexander’s Italian Wine report (86) from the guy who rates nothing over 90 and scores 85 for Siro Pacenti! “This is a brunello that will clearly shine with the right substantial fare or from a 5 year stint in the cellar.”

http://italianwinereport.com/brunello-di-montalcino-2006-top-notch-but-not-historical/

 

Bruce Sanderson (92) of WS, “complex and flavorful.”

http://www.scribd.com/doc/53472505/Insider-2011-04-20

 

 

Other Wines Of Note:

 

Corte Rive Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 (089318, $39.95) RP (93+)

Delaforce Corte Vintage Port 1997 (199695, $38.95) WS (95)

 

IVR* – Vintage Direct Intrigue-to-Value Ratio

CVR* – Vintage Direct Curiosity-to-Value Ratio

 

 

 

 

Good to go!

Hunger Games and Blind Wine Tasting

Monday, March 19, 2012    

 

Quince Bistro, 2110 Yonge Street, Toronto 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I play the hunger game all day in anticipation of the big night. Eating little, saving myself for what the chef will throw at me. “Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death.” Five courses and 10 wines later the thrill of victory is sweet. Chef Peter Tompkins takes the group on a Mediterranean wanderlust road trip with stops in no less than five European nations. Our leader generously gifts eight of the ten wines from his cellar. All in all, five continents and 10 countries are represented. A theme runs through the lot and the game is on. We speculate on the grapes, the country of origin and the producer.

Canapés

  • salt and cod fritters, lemon aioli
  • herb and gruyère cheese profiteroles
  • mushroom and goat cheese arangini

Tarlant Brut Zero NV Champagne races out of the gate, unabashedly revealing all. Brioche, apple skin, lemon meringue and Pomello. She’s easy to like, maybe too easy. “My, my my. Once bitten…twice shy.”   87

 

Grilled Portuguese Cornbread, chicken liver pâté, pickled apples

Henry of Pelham Cabernet-Merlot 1998 brings the house down. I think it droit de la Gironde. Who would believe a 14-year old Niagara Bordeaux blend and its milk chocolate, oak domination would not only survive but thrive? From Ontario’s long-growing, patio summer.  Best tomatoes too.  89

Viña Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon Casa Real 1997 may wander off over the Chilean hill yet shows continence in a continent away, IGT way. Soft, curvy, lovely. Where tobacco, spices and rich vanilla once fused fusible fruit, there now exists a quiet calm. Good show though.  88

 

Crispy Braised Lamb Shoulder, du puy lentils, lamb jus, mint salsa verde

Odem Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 from the folks who bring us Alfasi out of the Golan revelates in its own way. Oz-like in constitution (Margaret River comes to mind), the vernal persistence is admirable. There is a feeling of disjointedness for some. A summons to Israeli wine guy Rogov (86) to taste again and show some new love.  88

Cathedral Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (328567, $14.95) the non-ringer, South African VINTAGES essential electrifies blind. I reckon oak/fruit bomb Argentine Cab, a la Michel Rolland but wrong again. Alcohol is very present, green mint and eucalyptus dominate and dark chocolate lingers on. Like Lindsay Lohan.  86

 

Grilled New York Strip Loin, celeriac purée, potato rösti, haricots vert, assorted mushroom sauce

Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 1996, the last of Robert’s great wines. Everything changed in 1997  and “…history, like love, is so apt to surround her heroes with an atmosphere of imaginary brightness.” Wex waxes on about “a Tel Aviv Cab” but that roadster was seen flying down Dizengoff in the last flight.  This Napicon has reached high tide and is now a pig in shit, cool, uncoiling  in the mud. AZ announces he is “hanging up his wine shingles.” We have come to the crossroads of the evening and all is good.  93

Château Léoville Barton 1999 is unequivocably the best value, never mind the vintage, in classified growth Bordeaux that some extra cash can buy. Now I’ve done it! MG notes “lead on the right”, as in the right (wrong) hand side of an Aussie road. Common to the Mondavi, a bretty, farmyardy character no longer dominates as a red hot mama. Now smokey berries and if there was thought of fruit not waiting for tannins to evolve, think again. Will rank with the best of ’99. WOTN for most.  94

 

Assorted Cheese Plate, toasts and chutney, piave, delice de bourgogne, 5-year aged perron cheddar

Antinori Guado al Tasso 1999 is closed down and phasing dumb. Pencil shavings fill the glass but no fruit, herbs or spices. Sink smell too, metallurgic and iodine. I’ve had the 2000 twice recently and both examples were expressive, blood thirsty Tuscan specimens. Could this ’99 be years behind its window with fruit lurking in mountain shadows? I find myself walking away in high dudgeon.  NR

Clarendon Hills Hickinbotham Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 noses funky pork and seafood, gamboge and gammon. Phantom palate of d’Agen plum, prune, fig and raisin. Pitchy black ink, an operatic meteor shower on a moonless sky. MS says “a sipping wine, with cheese, a fireplace and a boar stew.” To me, crazy Mclaren Vale Cabernet, perverse to look at, deadly to consume.  91

Alois Kracher Scheurebe TBA #4 Zwischen den Seen 2004 is dessert all on its own. Fanta orange, quince (of course), marmalade and honey. Lazer acidity by way of AM, sweet and syrupy. Could imagine pouring it on Austrian Palatschinken.  92

 

 

Good to go!

Would Air Canada Serve These Wines?

 

March 19, 2012 

http://blogs.canada.com/2012/03/19/would-air-canada-serve-these-wines/

Union disputes, factory closures, protests, pilot book-offs, flight delays. Rachel Sa was grounded. Did Air Canada spoil your March break party? More importantly, if you did manage to fly on time, did they pour you stellar wines? Not likely. My March break concluded with a defrosting lake and a growing fort. Also with a little help from friends, family, food, sunshine and of course, fine wine.

 

Cline Zinfandel Live Oak Vineyard 2000 ($30) was the price I paid through VINTAGES Classics a decade ago. Intuition (and 15.5% alcohol) at the time suggested a lengthy cellar slumber. Good thinking. Heavens to murgatroyd! Ten years on the power of this Zin sets a land mine off in the mouth. Imbued of chewy caliginous thew, berries super concentrated still while tannin and acidity proliferate. Milk Chocolate character acts out the vineyard’s name. Fruit could last at least five more years.  91

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beni di Batasiolo Barola Vigneto Corda della Briccolina 1998 may not be a wine to blow my mind yet there remains enough ro, ro rosey to be the apple in my cherry pie. Faintly herbal, sweet as fiori d’arancio. Expertly evolved tone, sound down low and baked of a colour as if weathered bricks that fashioned the backyard oven.  91

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2007 (512384, $29.95) posolutely states its case as spokesperson for modern CCR. User-friendly, ruber-rich tree fruit cup runneth over. Chroma of pigeon’s blood corundum. Molto crema; gelato, cassis and anglaise.  89

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the fort is really taking shape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good to go!

Seeing Red on a Green Day

 

Friday March 16, 2012

 

http://blogs.canada.com/2012/03/16/seeing-red-on-a-green-day/

 

A link to the March 17, 2012 VINTAGES release:

http://www.vintages.com/circular/circ_main.shtml

 

If only it were just the reds of Spain falling mainly on these VINTAGES pages. Kudos to our very own Friendly Wine Giant David Lawrason for calling out the LCBO by noting that something is amiss in the land of the monopoly. The catalogue does indeed look like a Food and Drink issue, minus Lucy and Nancy’s journalistic integrity. Perhaps it’s the social responsibility stance that drives the heavy food component but this is the business of wine promotion and selling. So the question begs. Who’s penning this plane crash with no survivors? Poor Bob Homme must be rolling in his grave. That said, four big picks for Pattys everywhere.

 

Bodega del Abad Dom Bueno Crianza 2001 (244699, $14.95) the red is my 2nd Abad reco and Godello abides. My favourite Wine Ponce exclaims “…most $15 wines are not built to last, but this red still has the good stuff.” From Bierzo, a Mencia munificent spice box of aromas and flavours, savoury, herbal, smoothed out by its age. Great IVR* I say.  mjg 88

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

San Filippo Le Lucere Brunello di Montalcino 2006 (146175, $49.95) is the better of the two ISD Brunelli. Suckling (95) calls it “…refined and gorgeous.” Sanderson of WS (93) says “…dense and tannic, with a long spicy finish.” Kyle Phillips-IWR (2 stars) writes “…it’s an austere wine, in a traditional key, and very young.” Biggest shout out comes by way of Jonathan of the Grape Life (97), “…excellent finesse. Balanced fruit, acidity, tannins…rather moreish.” Entrenches me in that recurring dream, the one inside Enotecca La Fortezza, tasting through an endless sea of Brunelli.

Lucere Brunello 2006

 

St. Hallett Blackwell Shiraz 2009 (535104, $29.95) bests Barossa at this price point and on that limb for matter, anywhere in the land of Oz. From lands Ebenezer, Seppeltsfield and Greenock, receives extended elevage (20 months) in American Oak and shows off like a multi-coloured bruise. A favourite of Aussie writers from Perth to Sydney. RJ (96), JH (96), GW (94), JL (94), KG (93) and Sarah the Wine Detective, “…well-defined and bright, it’s a thoroughly modern Barossa bruiser!”

Hallet Blackwell Shiraz 2009

 

 

Other Wines Of Note:

Opus One 2008 (158063, $364.95) is what? 

Quintarelli Valpolicella Superiore 2002 (986117, $79.95) price is spot on

Concha Y Toro Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 (315176, $79.95) tag has burst through the roof. I paid $42 for the 2001!

 

 

 

IVR* – Vintage Direct Intrigue-to-Value Ratio

 

 

 

 

Good to go!

Triumphant Wine Dinner

 

http://blogs.canada.com/2012/03/12/triumphant-wine-dinner/

 

Six Farceurs, Four Courses, Eight Wines

Count me in when this troupe convenes. The comedy is relentless, la comida outstanding. Wine brings us together and we take care of the rest. Thanks to the E-man for a flawlessly executed feast.

 

BRAISED FENNEL, tomato, parmesan, baguette 

3630 Bubbles 2008 endowed of a fine mist. De-yeastified. Quenched yet the sea refuses no river. Saprolite hue and “pictures itself set up for good in a whole other life…where nobody knows us well.” A shaddock, as if southern hemisphere grapefruit in winter. Bill Turnbull turning fizz on its head. “When we decide what freedom is, turn water into wine.” Procured in the mystery zone.   88

Creekside ‘X’ Blanc de Blancs 2000 is experimental fizz, kept on its lees for a decade. 110 cases made. Leesy, cheesy, big and bouncy. Ever-evolving in the glass, the micro-bubbles coming and going like a teenager in the wee hours. Mr. C. abides despite the sulfuric launch and the thin to win finish. Ample brioche and salinity. Just when the fade out seems inevitable, another act ensues. Disk retry and success. In appreciation of the operating system.  88

  

CAULIFLOWER SOUP, leek, cream, truffle oil, parsley, thuet sourdough

Hidden Bench Nuit Blanche Rosomel Vineyard 2008, Bordeaux blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, the latter shrouding a would be goosey bench performance by the SB actor. The man in him says more sulfur and for me, marzipan. Musky and risky, on the edge of a roasted, toasted Nutella thing. Lack of brack but balance and superb silky texture the saving grace. Complex Beamsville white.  87

 

CASSOULET, pork hock, bacon, barese sausage, white beans, greens salad 

Louis Jadot Beaune Theurons 2006 casts a mirrored clarity of white-capped mountains upon a lake. A whiff of woodsmoke and the kettle filled with sour cherries simmering in clear sap. Brooding and yet to be chivalrous. Won’t hold the door open so wait three more years for the concierge to be of service.  88

Hartford Court Arrendell Vineyard Pinot Noir 2005 the open box of Queen Anne cherry chocolates that carry on through perfume and palate. Rich lacquer, juicy liquor and just now mellowing. “Now witness the quickness with which we get along.” The group can’t resist the next pour from this one. “There’ll be peace when you are done.” Only 320 cases made. Never left in the lurch by Hartford and the Pinots not mailed in. By way of J.  90

Tenuta Ponte Taurasi 2003 from argute vines so deep they find moisture in the ancient refuse of dinosaurs mixed with volcaniclastic debris within Campania’s subterranean core. Nose this sucker and be pummeled by a violet explosion, sun-dried San Marzano and Strega. Remarkably integrated, the shrewd beast already tamed-ish. Ode to Daniel.  92

Castellare Di Castellina I Sodi di San Niccolo 1997 of Colli Della Toscana Centrale IGT origins and the fountain of youth. How can it be so fresh? 85% Sangioveto and 15% Malvasia. The Sangiovese clone, also known as Sangiovese Piccolo is here a sweet and beautiful elixir. Polished deep purple Amethyst dipped in smokey, black raspberry water. No hard lines, void of animale and free from Tuscan iron. “No matter what we get out of this, i know, i know we’ll never forget.” Better with the cheese course to come.  93

 

CHEESE, 6-month manchego, boschetto al tartufo, niagara gold

Corte Sant’Alda di Marinella Camerani Amarone della Valpolicella 1998 and crumbled cork signals trouble but the wine was born to be alive. Acutely aware of the confident voice noting “roast beef beneath a blanket of cherry sauce.” The group concurs with a “hmmmn.” Black cherry bomb of oily syrup spiced like plum pudding. Impeccable balance at 15.5%. just great. Good on ya Remington.  92

 

 

 

Good to go!

Academy Awards Wines

 

Oscar Night

February 26, 2012

 

The Oscars. Ritual television rivaled only by the Super Bowl. The AA’s speak to a wine crowd while the SB leans Wings and Beer fest. Here some recent tastings from VINTAGES to help transition from cliché opening number through three hours of pomp and pride.

 

 

ALOIS LAGEDER BENEFIZIUM PORER PINOT GRIGIO 2008 (231274, $16.75) dumbs down in a most descendant,  positive way and explains why one wine is an open book and another a deep well. PG so often a Limp Biscuit, insipid, pale, lifeless. This more of an every day Sexsmith crooning Costello, writing the book. From Alto Adige and punched up, acting more like Gris, or even Kabinett from a closer neighbour across the Alps. Watercolour of pomade and propellant. Wheat grassy, honey nut, marzipan cheery. Some evolution on it, as if almost oxidized Chardonnay but fresh still. On the card at Barque.   88

ALOIS LAGEDER BENEFIZIUM PORER PINOT GRIGIO 2008
  

TOMASSI RIPASSO VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO SUPERIORE 2009 (9014304, $19.95) is Tony Calabria’s tipple of choice for Oscar night. Sibilated sweet, reductive treacle and red licorice Lola in a bottle. Kinky, tangy and tasty like cherry cola, “C.O.L.A. Cola.” Will flatter the best available Pizza on Award’s night, like the one at Mama’s at Yorkdale, circa 1978. “This is this.”  87

TOMASSI RIPASSO VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO SUPERIORE 2009

NOTTOLA VINO NOBILE DI MONTEPULCIANO 2006 (184960, $15.95) seeps searing Sangiovese, Earl Grey Tea at the seams so drink up. A whiff of Brett huffs and puffs but the artist‘s house is all Siena brick and no straw. A sophisticated palate tears the roof of the sucker so this VNM Gives Up The Funk. Calcium Carbonate, cherry, licorice and umbrella pine dominate the wafts from this actualized, mellow member of the noble Tuscan wine parliament.  89

 NOTTOLA VINO NOBILE DI MONTEPULCIANO 2006

 

 

 

Good to go!

Family Day, Snow Forts and Sangiovese

It appears frozen but the lake likewise tempts as a precarious proposition. Look out and note just one (who is that guy?) ice hut, a solitary walking man and (thankfully) no snowmobiles.  Chewing repeatedly on the cud of weary winter thoughts has become this coming vintage’s obsession. Yet for one glorious weekend a foot of snow falls, the temperature hovers around a degree of perfection and the sun cozily kisses rosy-cheeked faces.  The family fortifies the wood garrison with brandy spirits. Pardon me, that was the Port. The fort is buttressed with more fallen branches. Best of all, packing snow is available so we fashion a brick house. “Mighty mighty, just lettin’ it all hang out.”

CASTELLARE DI CASTELLINA CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA 2006 (508507, $26.95) was released through VINTAGES back on June 12, 2010. A CC Riserva that resides in my wheelhouse and rings my bottiglia bell. This unassuming yet infamous winery first entered my Sangiovese psyche when I tasted the ’90 Riservas (including the wonderful SV Il Poggiale) with the proprietors’ daughter in their tasting room back in the summer of ’95. The price here is perfect; it’s over $30 US in Europe and very little is shipped to the States. Now fully resolved, suspended in mellow sanguis Jovis animation, plums floating in a cloud of vanilla hinted cream foam. The afternoon sun lighting up the face of an exhausted and content child laying down in the snow after a day of  igloo construction.  90

BODEGAS ALEJANDRO FERNANDEZ TINTO PESQUERA CRIANZA 2007 (341461, $27.95) sold through at VINTAGES beginning on November 13, 2010. Fernandez does Tempranillo in the Ribera del Duero like no one else. While Parker’s Pesquera moniker from 1985 “the Petrus of Spain” may have been hyperbole, the lively and silky quality of this campesino Crianza never disappoints. My vertical goes back to 2001 and I find myself pining for a Pesquera on every visit to the cellar. Baking spices are a common aroma denominator and like Ridge‘s noticeable Draper “perfume” there is always a distinct Pesquera “bouquet.”  The wine is now showing Crimson and Clover, “over and over.” It is beginning to change colour, like maples in October. Also sugaring, as after a few hours in the kettle in March.   91

PETRA ZINGARI TOSCANA IGT 2008 (224228, $13.95) from the VINTAGES August 6, 2011 release deals value in quarto from varietals Sangiovese, Merlot, Syrah and Petit Verdot. An unusual blend from the Maremma coast for sure but throw me down in the snow if it isn’t unmistakably Tuscan. Iron, leather, pure snappy, fennel fruit and tannic tang are all there. Primary yes, but what more can you ask from $14? Held up 24 hours later for a second go round.  88

 

 

Good to go!

 

VINTAGES February 18th Release, Wines Tasted

13th STREET OLD VINES RIESLING 2010 (272617, $23.95) carries on in the tradition of the house style. Eerily similar to the Palette, reeking of Viognier and Gewurztraminer. It’s round, easy to like, if negligent of grip.  85

DOMANE WACHAU TERRASSEN FEDERSPIEL GRÜNER VELTLINER 2010 (31534, $17.95) shows a playful, youthful exuberance. Simple broth here, properly seasoned and will work well as a base when combined with more mosaic ingredients. Adds touches of water spinach, mossy root vegetable and a faint hint of sweet pepper.  87

TOWNSHIP 7 SYRAH 2007 (263665, $24.95) gives off a stickum smell so much so VA comes to mind. Hard and brutish, the township ungroomed, full of moody character, barely penetrable. Hold a feather over the glass to see if it’s alive. Hard to assess.  85

CLOS DU VAL ZINFANDEL 2009 (590216, $23.95) though muted, noses mezzogiorno Primitivo so I question its origin. Primitive for Napa Valley Zinfandel, the CdV is silver-tongued and toothsome.  86

KENDALL-JACKSON VINTNER’S RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2009 (331603, $22.95) simplifies Sonoma CS. Compartmentalized by its oak; cocoa dust, black cherry and empletre olive. Cherry pie recipe for plain sailing consumption.  85 

CHAMPY SIGNATURE PINOT NOIR BOURGOGNE 2009 (1149, $20.95) is palatable if unrecognizable as French Pinot. Nothing wrong with it aside from its ambiguity. Sweet, tart, savoury, floral and smokey but could easily be Niagara, Oregon or NZ.  86

DONNAFUGATA TANCREDI CONTESSA ENTELLINA 2007 (990424, $25.95) is housed by a hard to crack tough shell. Puckers the mouth with a caramelized, ozbek orange Sicilian sun-kiss. Scented by eucalyptus, wild strawberry and corbezzolo.  87

CASTELGIOCONDO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2006 (35295, 375 mL, $26.95) is made impassable by a mountain of oak but breaking off bits of chocolate will open it up to the world. Mouthfilling for sure and Paulliac-like with cedar, cigar box and coffee. Potentially great.  90

ALLEGRINI PALAZZO DELLA TORRE 2008 (672931, $24.95) the ‘Customer Favourite’ and WS (90 and #60, Top 100, 2011) is indeed a gritty performer, raging bull, Chianina nero. Flavours of vanilla, root beer, chocolate syrup, whipped cream and Maraschino cherry. “Drink your big black cow and get out of here.” Points for staying power. Will drink well in five to seven.  89

MASI BROLO DI CAMPOFIORIN 2007 (976092, $24.95) also a ‘Customer Favourite’ and another Tybalt, dark lord, villainous. Rich, concentrated, black almandine, bruising yet freshly acidic.  88

BODEGAS LAN CRIANZA 2007 (166538, $15.95) noses low tones of game, bitter herbs and dried roses but wears it well. Colli Senesi comes to mind. Traditional Rioja here, pueblo issue, arid, yet pretty. “A little old fashioned but that’s all right.” 86

 

Good to go!

Rat Pack Picks, List of Icons, VINTAGES Classics, February 2012

 

PAUL AUTARD CUVÉE LA CÔTE RONDE CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE 2007 (221911, $59) arrives en retard and my elation is ushered in by a bard’s prose. Cassis in all its gratifying forms is the critical buzz code. Noticeable oak for CdP, black beauty, decadent filly. The coast is clear for the Côte to cellar for a decade or more. Côte Ronde is a cuvée fellow Rhône winemakers line up to purchase, the wine equivalent to restos local chefs go for grub on days off. JM-WS (95), RP (95), RJ (93), JR-ST (92+), CT’s (93) and RR (94) noting “…not a hard edge to be found. The wine has stunning balance.”

Autard Cote Ronde 2007

BODEGAS SAN ROMÁN 2006 (250985, $49) is the toast of Toro, Mr. T. to me. A $60+ US release that is so freaking CVR** I pity the fool that takes a pass. Displays black, inky and masculine like a Gombe Chimpanzee, tannins thrashing madly. A dictator with a stern warning that no challenge to power will occur for a minimum five to ten. Touted by TM-WS (93) and MS-WE (94) who claims “San Román is once again one of the two or three best wines from Toro.” Iberian conociendo Quentin Sadler of now defunct Catavino calls it “a great wine.” RP (93) and JR-IWC (92) round out the reviews.

San Roman 2006

Another Wine Tasted:

CASTELLO DI AMA, CHIANTI CLASSICO, VIGNETO BELLAVISTA 2007 (163337, $159). Now this is something other. One foot not just in the new world inhabited by the likes of Kosta Browne, but in the future of what Chianti Classico will be. The other sends me back to an August 1995 afternoon in Lecchi, beckoned down a narrow flight of stairs by una signora vecchia and offered a taste of the ’90 Bellavista in Ama’s cluttered enoteca. Lorenza Selasti-Pallanti tells me the woman still pours in that shop and is now 80 years-old. Guess she wasn’t so old in ’95…this ’07 shares an affinity with that ’90, of burgundy plum, earth, spice and smoke. Would like to read its tea leaves in 2025.  mjg 93

Other icons of note:

CHÂTEAU D’YQUEM 2007 (99382, $895)

E. GUIGAL EX-VOTO ERMITAGE 2007 (54130, $325)

DOMAINE ZIND HUMBRECHT VIEILLES VIGNES BRAND RIESLING 2007 (271866, $89)

HENRIOT CUVÉE DES ENCHANTELEURS BRUT CHAMPAGNE 1996 (83774, $225)

IL CABERLOT 2007 (167296, 1500 mL, $354)

ROMANO DAL FORNO AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA 2004 (711440, $399)

QUINTARELLI AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO 2000 (224485, $399) 

PENFOLDS GRANGE 2005 (336388, $499)

ACHAVAL FERRER FINCA BELLA VISTA MALBEC 2008 (178103, $95) 

CATENA ZAPATA NICOLÁS CATENA ZAPATA 2007 (662702, $99)

JONATA LA SANGRE DE JONATA 2007 (220517, $145)

JOSEPH PHELPS INSIGNIA 2007 (737346, 1500 mL, $575)

STAGLIN 25th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2007 (716258, $229)

SHAFER HILLSIDE SELECT CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2007 (735712, $279)

Disappointed by the Price Increase:
CIACCI PICCOLOMINI D’ARAGONA PIANROSSO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2006 (162958, $95)

IVR* – Vintage Direct Intrigue-to-Value Ratio

CVR** – Vintage Direct Curiosity-to-Value Ratio

Good to Go!