QUPÉ SYRAH CENTRAL COAST 2006

Qupé is a winery in Central California that specializes in Rhone style wines and Chardonnay. The Syrah Central Coast has a 2% touch of Grenache and is comprised of grapes from Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. This inky, mellow wine has a jammy nose and coffee flavours with a peppery finish.

WILLM RIESLING 2008

I have always been intrigued by the long necked bottle and yellow label of wines from Alsace. They are some of the classic fragrant whites - Riesling and Gewürztraminer. Today I tried a Riesling from Willm. It has a very pronounced nose with notes of orange and pear. It shows flavours of Macintosh apples and lemon zest. Would go well with oysters.

WHITEHAVEN SAUVIGNON BLANC 2007

New Zealand wine has an excellent reputation world wide, and is especially know for pinot noir and sauvignon blanc. As of 2005, New Zealand was the 24th highest producer of wine, having bottled 120,000 metric tonnes. (Canada ranked 32nd with 50,400 tonnes, behind countries such as Japan, Mexico, and Moldova.) New Zealand's cool climate is similar to that of France's Bourgogne region, which is ideal for growing pinot. I wonder whether a New Zealand chardonnay would have the same minerality of Chablis...

But I digress. The 2007 Whitehaven sauvignon blanc shows celery, grapefruit, and fresh cut grass on the nose. The citrus is undeniable. On the palate, I detect lots of green fruit, such as kiwi fruit, key lime, granny smith apples. It has a mouth-watering acidity and a long finish. Though sauvignon blanc is not my most favourite wine I definitely look forward to enjoying a bottle of Whitehaven again.

TWENTY ROWS THE GRAPPLER 2005

A wonderfully complex blend of 53% Zinfandel, 32% Syrah, and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Cherries, black pepper, and hints of chocolate. Very fruity with a smokey oak finish that lingers.

JOSEPH FAIVELEY BOURGOGNE CHARDONNAY 2006

Part 2 of our tour-de-Bourgogne. This chardonnay has a nice pear nose with notes of banana, maple, and cat pee on the palate. Still holds acidity without a lot of the honeys, caramels and vanillas we get in other Chardonnays. C'est manifique!

LOUIS LATOUR MARSANNAY 2006

I am currently reading Red, White, and Drunk All Over by Natalie MacLean. The book starts with a description of the Burgundy wine region, one of the coldest in France. Burgundy is famous for pinot noir, a seductive, fragile, temperamental grape that is often the favourite of sophisticated wine aficionados. It is extremely sensitive to growing conditions thanks to its thin skin, earning the nickname “heartbreak grape.” Its fragility adds to its allure. Most Burgundois wine makers, however, seem to focus on the terroir – the soil, the vineyard, the region – which adds minerality and complexity to the wine.

In the spirit of this first chapter I decided to pick up a couple bottles from Bourgogne. We first drank the Louis Latour ’06 from the Marsannay appellation. This wine made a big first impression on me, but not for the reason you might think. I cut off the foil, about to remove the cork, and I noticed the foil was THICK. It was firm to bend, almost like a thin piece of steel. Next, I opened the bottle, and I noticed the cork was (a) real, and (b) in pristine condition. I have had some bad luck with corks recently, including one that was rotten resulting in corked, undrinkable wine that tasted like vinegar. This bottle, on the other hand was sealed with quality. A great first impression.

Oh, and it tasted good too! Despite its light, strawberry juice colour, the nose on this wine reminded me of a deep inky smell like when my pens used to break in elementary school. I could also smell a lot of alcohol. This wine was silky on the tongue, and Julia picked out flavours of black currants. It reminded her of a Gamay we had a few months ago. Overall, a delicious, complex Burgundy that I would happily drink again.

BENSON FERRY VINYARDS OLD VINE ZINFANDEL 2006

Julia and I stopped at Beacon Hill Wine & Spirits on the way back from a great Malaysian dinner in Boston's Chinatown. We grabbed a bottle of Benson Ferry Vinyards Old Vine Zinfandel 2006 and popped it open when we got home. It was definitely a big, bold, fruity Zin, with juicy notes and a smokey after taste. Not much noticeable on the nose, and a deep cherry red colour. I wasn't overly impressed by this wine given its price ($16.99). I found it too sweet and lacking complexity.

Valréas “Cuvée Prestige” Côtes du Rhône Villages 2007

God bless the United States of America. Wine here is just so darned inexpensive! I recently moved to Boston to start a new job (Julia will join me soon) and discovered Trader Joe's, a grocery store chain that sells many reasonably priced wines. They seem to average between $6 and $9, and there is a great selection from all major wine producing countries (sadly, none from Canada). They even sell a brand called Charles Shaw for $2.99!! This just blows my mind; in Canada you will never find a wine for less than $8.

Today, I'm drinking Valréas “Cuvée Prestige” Côtes du Rhône Villages ($5.99), an extremely dry blend of 75% Grenache and 25% Syrah. Definitely spicey but not especially complex. A good table wine that stands up well to tomato sauces or meats.

I also purchased a bottle of Beringer Founder's Estate Merlot 2006 for $7.99 (CAD $9.23). Just to illustrate the high price of wine in Canada, the same wine sells in B.C. for CAD $18.99!

THIRTY BENCH RIESLING 2006

Highly crisp and citrus-y, this Riesling is a great specimen of the Niagara region's best grape varietal. Its dryness is very noticeable in the beginning, so I would advise letting it breathe for a few minutes. It is an award winning wine: Silver Medal (Best in Class) - International Wine & Spirits Competition, UK 2008; and Silver Medal - Canadian Wine Awards 2007. Knowing that Thirty Bench is famous for its Rieslings, we saved this special bottle until the very last moment. (We are currently packing up to move to Boston, and so our reviews will soon feature wines available in shops around the city.) I don't expect to find any Thirty Bench in Massachusetts, which is a shame.

ALVARO PALACIOS PRIORAT LES TERRASSES 2006

To celebrate the completion of a major milestone of my MBA I went to the LCBO in search of something special. The Vintages section had a number of selections on sale, and at very steep discounts. I picked up a bottle of Alvaro Palacios Priorat Les Terrasses 2006 for $30, a savings of ten bucks! Honestly I had never heard of this wine before but I figured it must be a great wine to justify a $40 price tag. Then again, Vintages had to discount it to clear out their inventory, so it must not be that good...

Alvaro Palicios is a very well known wine producer from the Priorat region in Spain. The region has a distinctive soil called llicorella that is has concentrations of slate and quartz. The harsh growing conditions in Priorat produces low yields of highly concentrated juices. As a result, Priorat wines are very lively and flavourful. Les Terrasses is the least expensive of the three produced by Alvaro Palicios, the other two being L’Ermita and Finca Dofí.

Les Terrasses is a blend of roughly 30% Garnacha, 60% Cariñena, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cabernet comes through very strongly on the nose, with strong notes of plum and chocolate. Overall, the wine is fruity and vibrant, with undertones of minerals and mint. It is a great example of why I tend to prefer blends over 100% varietals - if a blend balanced right it offers an incredible complexity that is difficult to beat.

ZIG ZAG ZIN ZINFANDEL 2005

Looking back over my blog posts from the past couple of years, I realized that there are definitely some under-represented wine types and regions. With this in mind, I decided to pick up something different and new when I visited the Vintages section of my local LCBO. As I passed through the California section I was intrigued by the selection of Zinfandels. I spotted one in particular that had only a few bottles remaining - always a good sign.

Zig Zag Zin is delicious! I was struck by its dryness and the strong tannins that give that "fuzzy teeth" sensation. On the nose I detected hay, strawberries, and a hint of rust. On the pallatte, toffee, spice, and licorice. This wine was big, juicy, and oh so tasty. I have never been a big drinker of this quintessential California grape, but now I think I will have it a little more often.

FLAT ROCK CELLARS THE RUSTY SHED CHARDONNAY 2007

Yet another bottle I picked up during a tour of the Niagara Peninsula. I had been very impressed by the Flat Rock Cellars winery itself. Perched atop a lookout, the tasting room ajoined a deck from which I could view the vineyards. The Rusty Shed Chardonnay is made in small batches, and each one is marked with the bin number (mine was number 05007). At $30, I had high expectations for this wine and I have to admit I was a little disappointed. The nose had apples, toast, and a slight fishiness. It wasn't offensive, but it was there. On the palate I had expected the rounded, honey-and-vanilla character of other Niagara chardonnays, but the Rusty Shed was quite different. Very dry, with a sharp citrusy finish, I could detect granny smith apples and minerals, much like a Chablis. Julia detected a creamy smoothness before the sharp finish, which was quite short. Again, rather than the golden straw I had expected, this wine had a very pale almond colour. Overall, the Flat Rock Rusty Shed Chardonnay had very distinctive and unique characteristics, and would pair well with a light garlic seafood dish.

INNISKILLIN CHARDONNAY 2006

Whenever I travel I usually stop in to the duty free to pick up a bottle of something to bring home. In a foreign country I am always curious to see how Canada is represented in the world of wine and spirits. Canada seems to be best known for two types of booze: Canadian whiskey, and ice wine. Canadian whiskey is often referred to as "rye" whiskey due to rye comprising a primary ingredient. However, Canadian whiskey is not always purely made from rye. Lower rye content prevents Canadian whiskey from being labeled as "rye whiskey" in the United States. When it comes to brands, the two that I often find in any duty free store are Canadian Club and Crown Royal. The other type of liquor I often find is ice wine. Canadian ice wine wins many international awards and is popular domestically and internationally. Whenever ice wine is available at a duty free store I will often find the brand Inniskillin. Often credited with producing the world's first ice wine, Inniskillin has built an international reputation. The harsh, cold winters of Niagara-on-the-Lake provide the right conditions for producing high quality ice wine.

Inniskillin also produces table wine, both red and white. Julia and I were given a bottle of Inniskillin Chardonnay 2006 at a recent party we threw. Last night we opened it to accompany a chicken curry and a few games of Wii. The nose and taste was dominated by one single note: strawberry! It was all I could think of. Julia was able to detect some cranberry, however I found that there was very little else I could get from this wine. Overall the lack of depth and complexity was very disappointing. I think Inniskillin should focus on what it does best and stick to ice wine.

FARNESE MONTEPULCIANO D'ABRUZZO 2007

For a recent party Jules and I picked up several magnums of inexpensive Italian and Chilean wine. Turns out we totally overestimated the amount that would be consumed, so many bottles remained unopened and we have been slowly sampling them ever since (oh, what a world). I particularly like the Farnese Montepulciano D'Abruzzo, which only cost $12.65 for a magnum (1.5 L) at the LCBO. I had noticed Farnese wines for their low price in both B.C. and Ontario liquor stores, but was always hesitant about the quality. Recently, I noticed that Farnese had been mentioned a couple of times in the most recent Wine Access International Value Wine Awards results so I decided to give this one a try. It really was quite decent, with hearty, earthy tones that worked well with the lamb stew I made. This wine reminds be of a cab sav or merlot because of its full bodied flavour and distinct tannins. Montepulciano D'Abruzzo is a wine grape grown in the Italian region of Abruzzo, and is known for its fruitful flavours.




As a side note, I received a Peugeot of France double action wine and champagne pump set for Christmas. This acquisition is well overdue as I had previously just used a cork to close unfinished wines - a definite no-no that results in oxidisation. The pump is especially ideal for these magnum bottles that can last for days.