Vintages Release - December 6, 2008

Tomorrow’s Vintages release features something for just about everybody, especially if you’ve been keeping your assets in your mattress instead of in the stock market. There are some very good champagnes, some extraordinary red wines, a few good whites, and (for those whose faith in Wall Street is a little strained these days) several decently priced offerings.

Before you spend all your available dollars on Saturday, you should know that, starting Monday, Vintages will be holding a sale. It is way over-stocked, especially with higher end wines, and plans three more releases in January. There’s no list of sale wines, or prices, but there should be some pretty good deals. For example, the Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc, from New Zealand (one of the best sauvignon blancs I know, at $21.95) will be part of the sale, and hopefully less than $20. Check your local Vintages store on Monday.

SPARKLING WINES

Since it’s December, it’s a great time for champagne. We North Americans tend to think of it as a celebratory drink, and, with Christmas and New Year on the near horizon, it’s a timely purchase either as a gift or for quaffing. The French, however, would argue that champagne is an everyday drink, that matches all kinds of foods, from your breakfast eggs, to your dinner ham, poultry or steak.

Champagne, as everyone knows, must come from the champagne region of France in order to be called champagne, although many regions of the world produce sparkling wines. Real champagne can be made from only three grapes (chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier), although many champagnes use only chardonnay (known as blanc de blancs), while very few use all three.

Champagne makers generally hold on to a wine until it is ready to drink, unlike most vintners, who expect consumers to cellar the wines until ready. Vintage champagnes are only made in good years, but most winemakers in Champagne take more pride in their non-vintage cuvées than in their vintage wines. In their view, the weather is responsible for good years, but the real skill for winemakers is blending product from several different years, in order to produce consistent, and tasty, wines.

Sparkling wines (including champagnes) should be consumed cool, but not cold, or you’ll lose the subtle flavours. Letting the wine sit at room temperature for 10 or 15 minutes after taking it out of the refrigerator would be about right. Serve in flutes, which don’t allow the bubbles (ok, they’re CO2) to escape too rapidly.

This release features the Krug Grande Cuvée Champagne Brut which is available all the time as a Vintages Essential at $269.95. I cringe at the price, but this the best champagne that I’ve ever had – except for some of the vintage Krug’s (like the 1990, which was only released about 3 years ago). This wine is simply delicious, with lots of cream, toast, smoke, lime and brioche flavours, and a long finish. This is no wimpy champagne. It has some real density and weight, that will stand up to most foods (except perhaps strong, spicy red meat), but will drink delightfully on its own.

If the Krug price tag isn’t included in your price range, there are other (good) choices. They are presented in descending price order, which is not an indication of my preference:

- If you like rosé champagnes, consider the Louis Roederer Champagne Brut Rosé 2003 ($88.95). I must confess that rosé’s are not my favourite champagnes, but this is a very good example on the genre from a very good vintage. Expect strawberry and black cherry flavours, with floral and toast notes. This is a big wine that will be at its best with food, but there are lots of nuances that will come out on its own.

- Moving further down the price ladder, there’s the Charles Heidsieck Reserve Champagne Brut ($59.95). This has the quality of many $100 offerings, with toast, vanilla, citrus and a creamy chalkiness. Great mouth feel and a long finish. Good on its own, or with poultry, seafood, or cream based dishes. If it helps your decision, this is the champagne I bought.
- If $60 isn’t your price range, try Ontario’s own Henry of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Sparkling Brut ($29.95). It may not have the prestige of some of the more expensive labels, but there’s nothing to be ashamed of in the taste. It has lots of citrus notes (lemon and lime) but there’s pear and green apple, with some mineral as well. There’s plenty of acid, but it’s well integrated, so you get a crisp, clean mouth feel, and a long finish. I bought some of this too.

WHITE WINES

Winter isn’t white wine season, but there’s a place for a good white with your turkey dinner, as well as an aperitif. The Salterio Albarino 2007 ($17.95) from Spain isn’t going to blow your socks off, but it will complement your Christmas fowl quite well. It resembles a sauvignon blanc, with grapefruit and some sour gooseberry. There’s plenty of acid to counter the fat in the turkey, and to produce a clean, refreshing taste. It’s better with food than on its own.

The Malivoire Gewurztraminer 2006 ($26.00) from Niagara, is an intense, medium bodied wine with a variety of fruit flavours – pineapple, pear, lychee, grapefruit, orange - and spice flavours. It is a very balanced offering, with pear and white flowers on the nose. It will go well on its own, or with turkey, soft cheese, nuts or savoury pastries.

Getting a little pricier, and especially for chardonnay lovers, there’s the Domaine Bouchard Pere & Fils Beaune du Chateau 2006 ($44.95), from Burgundy. This is a rich, concentrated wine with pineapple, vanilla, oak, brioche, green apple, and some herb de Provence. Certainly concentrated enough to accompany a turkey dinner, but elegant enough to go well with virtually anything else, including soft cheeses, ham, or seafood. Delicious on its own.

RED WINES

You can spend a lot on the red wines in this release, but you don’t have to. At $16.95, there’s the Zolo Reserve Malbec 2005 from Argentina This is a very concentrated wine, with sour cherry, cocoa, vanilla, spice and blackberry. It’s a little fruit forward, with a spicy finish, that would also suit a turkey dinner.

The Campomaggio Chianti Classico 2004 ($21.95) from Tuscany isn’t from this release, or a typical chianti. It tastes like a new world style wine, in that it’s much more concentrated and full bodied than most chiantis, with lots of well integrated sour cherry, leather, oak and spice, and finishing with liquorice and a bit of graphite. It came out in the last release and I missed it, but there’s still plenty of it around. It did need decanting, and is better with food – pasta with meat and tomato sauce would be ideal, but turkey would work too.

The Gigondas La Cave La Reference Gigondas 2006 (also $21.95) from the Rhone is dominated by ripe, lush fruit – blackberry, plum, strawberry – with coffee, cedar and spice. It too needs some decanting, but will go nicely with beef or lamb, or even dark chocolate.

The Kilikanoon Killerman’s Run Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 ($20.95) from Australia is back. This wine is an old favourite. I buy it every year, and never seem to get enough no matter how much I buy. It’s drinking well now, but it seems to just get better and better for at least a couple of years. Expect a classic, new world cab, dominated by cassis, ripe blackberry, oak and cedar, with soft tannins and a long finish. Good on its own, or with any red meat dish.

A little higher up the price spectrum, there’s the Ridge Three Valleys 2006 ($29.95) from California. This is a big, opulent zinfandel, with rich black cherry, ripe plum, leather and smoked meat. As with all zins, it will go well with the sweetness of sparerib sauce, but it has enough structure to go with any red meat dish, or with chocolate dessert after dinner.

At the north end of the price continuum, there are some wonderful wines in this release, although many of them need time in the bottle. These are wines to impress both your palate and your friends:

Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 ($140.95) from the Napa Valley is one of California’s best known wines. Expect a well integrated blend of plum, blueberry, oak, cherry liqueur, cedar and smoke, with soft tannins and a finish that goes on and on. It will go well with red meat or strong cheese, or pretty well anything else.

The Concha Y Toro Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 ($61.95) from Chile is ready to drink now, and, despite the price, is pretty good value. It was very highly rated in a number of quarters. It has masses of well integrated black fruit (plum and blackberry) cedar, pencil shavings, and mocha, with very soft tannins. Good on its own or with red meat.

The Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2006 ($90.95) from the Rhone, comes from the best known winery in its region. This is not a wine to drink anytime soon (like the next five years) but, if you have the patience, it will be worth the wait. This is a huge wine, with layers of black fruit, mushroom, spice, smoked meat, tar, green pepper, earth and smoke. Decant well (even five years from now) and serve with red meat, or with strong cheese, nut and figs.

Ornellaia 2005 ($158.95) is one of Italy’s best known, and consistently highest rated wines, and deservedly so. This is another wine that should not be uncorked for at least three years, but will repay the wait. Dominated by black current and dark plum, this is a wine where you should savour every sip, preferably with a really good cut of beef, or some hard cheeses.

There are three Masi amarones in this release, and you won’t go wrong by getting any (or all) of them. But, if you have to choose, go for the Masi Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico Campolongo di Torbe 2003 ($93.95). I love amarones, and this is one of my favourites, and it’s from a great year. Expect a classic offering, very concentrated, with cherry liqueur, raisin, cassis, vanilla, pencil shavings and earthy flavours. This is a huge, almost port like, wine that needs strong meat (like lamb or venison) to complement it. Alternatively, serve it (but not for a couple of years) in place of port, with strong cheese, dried fruit and nuts.