Christmas Tastings

Christmas is a time to enjoy friends and family, and what better way to celebrate the season than with a glass of wine. I've had a few nice wines over the last few days.

CHABLIS 1ER VAILLONS - CHRISTIAN MOREAU CUV GUY MOREAU 2005
For Christmas Eve I decided to try something special to go with the Dungeness Crab that my Dad was preparing. I decided to go with a nice Chablis, a white from Burgundy, which consists of the Chardonnay varietal. It was nicely balanced, quite acidic, and was reminiscent of a Sauvignon Blanc. I felt it lacked finish. Aged in 60/40 stainless/barrel, yet not very oaky.
Chablis known for best value Burgandy white. According to Jancis Robinson, author of How To Taste - A Guide To Enjoying Wine, young Chablis shows high acidity, and then goes through a five or six year period of maturation, afterwhich the beauquet opens up in complexity. I would like to try this same wine in about 2012.

Score:

POACHERS BLEND - ST.HALLETT 2006
When the Chablis ran out, Dad popped open a bottle of Poachers Blend. I had been wanting to try this as it had recently been named best value blended white by Wine Access magazine. Very fruity. Reminded me a bit of champagne.

Score :

SATURNA ISLAND VINEYARDS - PINOT NOIR 2006
Accompanied turkey dinner on Christmas night. Colour of raspberries. Very light, flavour of raspberries and cranberries. Overall, lacked depth.

Score:

Kettle Valley Winery - Pinot Noir 2005
Smokey and earthy. Blackberries, currants. Deep, rich red colour. Solid tannins. Level of acidity to be expected in Pinot Noir. Long finish. Very nice.

Score:

Note: you have probably noticed the new ratings system. I think that the 100 point rating system used by many publications is dumb since they only seem to give ratings over 80 (granted, they tend not to publish any ratings less than 80). One would think that you would want to stay away from anything rated lower than about 75. Furthermore, how can you really tell an 88 from an 89? Therefore, I tried to simplify my ratings to three simple choices. Wines rated one wine glass are ones I would tend to pass over in favour of trying something else. A two wine glass rating is a solid choice. A three wine glass is really great wine that is worthy of cellaring or opening for a special occasion.

SANDHILL - CABERNET MERLOT 04/05

A nice gift from our friend Pam who wasn't able to attend our little soiree last week. The oak is very apparent - not surprising considering it spent 16 months in American and French oak. We both detected blackberry flavours. The Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc all contribute to the beautiful dark red colour. Delicious and bold!

Score: 88
SKU #541144 / UPC #00058976360260

KETTLE VALLEY CHARDONNAY 2004

We had this wine in Whistler at a very fancy restaurant called Araxi. Of course when you go to a restaurant like that there is always an uncomfortable awkwardness when the Sommelier (or wine specialist) pops open the cork. He hands you the cork and expects you to take a sniff. Then he pours a small portion of wine to taste to make sure the bottle has not gone sour. Now, imagine if they did this with your food.

So after the big production, we went on to actually drink the wine. We had both ordered seafood and it complemented the food very well. I believe I tasted apples and peach notes in the wine. It truly screamed "I am from the Okanagan"

This wine is not in BCLS

http://www.kettlevalleywinery.com/