Vintages release - September 26, 2009

The theme of this release is the wines of California’s Napa Valley, a subject that needs little introduction from me. The Napa Valley produces superb wines of virtually every variety, although cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel and merlot predominate amongst the reds, and chardonnay (what else) tends to be the most common white. My biggest problem with them is that they often tend to be expensive.

Napa wines have a distinct style in that they tend to be approachable early, with lots of lush, up front fruit. They can be long lasting though. A couple of years ago, I went to a tasting of (at the time) 25 year old Bordeaux’s. The wines (admittedly not first rank Bordeaux’s from a less than stellar year) were all past their best, and on the downside, with fading, tired fruit, and lacking structure and balance... There was a mystery wine, which turned out to be a Napa cabernet, also 25 years old. The mystery wine was still fresh and young tasting, with lots of live fruit and good balance.

Best recent years in Napa: 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2007 (reds) and 1997, 1999 and 2002-2004 (whites).

WHITE WINES

The Domaine Allimant-Laugner Pinot Blanc 2008 ($15.95) from Alsace is a rich, slightly off-dry, offering with sweet grapefruit, peach, and a touch of tropical fruit. There are some white flowers on the nose, and a zesty mouth feel. Refreshing and very pleasant, but it will not appeal to anyone who likes their wines very dry and crisp. Would go well as a substitute for gewürztraminer, with spicy Asian food.

The Riff Terra Alpina Pinot Grigio 2008 ($13.95) from Italy is almost the opposite of the Allimant. It’s very crisp and dry with lots of lemon and grapefruit, and a slightly acidic, long finish. Good value for the money, and best with fried foods, since the acid will easily cut through the fat, or with soft, rich cheeses like brie.

The Sileni Cellar Selection Pinot Gris 2009 ($16.95) from New Zealand is a rounder, richer version of the Riff. It’s just as dry, but a little more fruit forward, with some peach and melon, as well as citrus, and a long, soft, finish with a touch of white flowers. Good on its own, or with chicken or a garden salad.

I really believe that the Dog Point Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2008 ($19.95) is one of the best sauvignon blancs on the planet. This is a very rich wine for a sauvignon blanc. It somehow manages to be lean and refreshing, while delivering rich flavours of tropical fruit, apple and green pepper. This is a delicious wine. Drink on its own, or with white fish, mild cheese, poultry or a salad. Highly Recommended.

You don’t have to go far to find a good chardonnay, since Tawse Sketches of Niagara Chardonnay 2007 ($19.95) is on tap. This is a rich, buttery chardonnay, redolent with vanilla and hazelnuts, and with butterscotch, yellow apple, pear and pineapple on the palate. Great on its own, or with chicken or tuna salad. There are some other good chardonnays in this release, especially some from California, but you won’t get better value than this wine.

RED WINES

There is a wealth of good, lower priced reds in this release – too many in fact for me to cover all of them, although I have tried to cover some of the highlights. This is one of those releases with a plethora of good wines, at decent prices, to choose from.

If you’re looking for a lower priced house wine, consider the Terres D’Avignon Cardinalices Cotes du Rhone 2007 ($13.95) from the Rhone. This a lighter wine, quite fruit forward, with blackberrry and forest floor on the nose, and those notes, plus sage, on the palate. There are some noticeable tannins, especially on the finish, but they will smooth out with a little decanting, and/or with food. Try burgers or pasta with meat sauce.

The Banfi Col di Sasso Cabernet Sauvignon/Sangiovese 2007 ($14.95) comes from one of Montalcino’s best known brunello producers It starts slowly, but becomes richer on the mid-palate and finish. There are cooked cherries, cocoa, currents, red plum, mineral and earthy notes. It’s a tiny bit jammy, but will appeal to most tastes, either on its own or with burgers, pizza or pasta.

The Torredora Aglianico 2007 ($15.95) for Campania is a big, big wine, reminiscent of a baco noir. There is a pronounced aroma of bacon on the nose, with leather, black plum, smoke, pencil box and bacon on the palate, with good mouth feel and a long, earthy finish and some fairly aggressive tannins. This is no wimpy wine. Drink soon, preferably with strong tasting, barbecued, red meat, or grilled portobello mushrooms.

The Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 ($22.95) is a very pleasant, easy drinking, soft California cabernet. There are very soft tannins, with dark plum and mineral flavours, and some vanilla/cedar notes. Not an exceptional wine, but it will appeal to most tastes, either on its own, or with red meat or cheese.

I reviewed the Terra Andina Carmenere 2008, from Chile, last August, and liked it but pointed out that you had to like cedar to cotton to that wine. This release contains the Terra Andina Reserva Carmenere 2007 for $1 more ($12.95) and from the same producer. If you liked the earlier version, you will definitely like this one. It’s very rich with black fruit, mocha, coffee, blueberry and vanilla, but without the overwhelming cedar flavours. A very nice wine for the price. Although you can drink it on its own, it will be better with food – red meat or hard cheese. Highly recommended.

The Richard Hamilton Hut Block Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 ($18.95) is also a very tasty wine, with ripe black fruit, pepper, spice, mocha and vanilla. It has lots of structure and a long finish. A very good wine that will only get better over the next year or so. Serve with red meat, preferably something with a hint of sweetness like spare ribs.

The Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec 2006 ($16.95) is out, together with its sister wine, the Luigi Bosca Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 (also $16.95). I loved, and bought, cases of the 2005 version of the malbec, and the 2006 version is just as good. Expect the cabernet to deliver cassis, plum, leather and chocolate on a long finish; and the malbec to be a nicely balanced melange of cassis, mocha, tobacco rich black plum and smoke. Both highly recommended.

It’s rare to find a decent Bordeaux under $20 (considering that you can easily pay more than $1000/bottle for some of the higher priced versions). I bought the 2000 version of the Chateau Ducla 2006 ($14.95) and, while it’s falling off now, the 2000 was good up until last year. The current version isn’t as good, but for the price, it’s a great deal, with lots of rich black fruit, spice, vanilla, oak and earth, and a faintly green pepper nose. There are soft but very noticeable tannins which will smooth out with a bit of decanting, and/or food – mushroom risotto or hard cheese. Do not store this wine, since I doubt that the fruit will last very long, but it’s good now.

I love valpolicella ripassos, which, done right, taste like mini-amarones. But sometimes I want something leaner, but something that still has the raisin, black cherry, plum and mocha flavours of a valpolicella, but without being as filling as a ripasso. The Zenato Valpolicella Superiore 2007 ($16.95) fills that bill admirably, and adds hint of roasted almonds. A really good wine, and a perfect complement to tomato based dishes.

Higher priced reds –

There a good few higher priced reds in this release that are well worth buying. These two are my favourites:

The Chateau Beauregard 2005 ($68.00) from Bordeaux is a rich amalgam of flavours – cassis, black cherry, smoke and earth – with a long, luxurious finish. This is a great wine which, in five or so years, will be a delight – especially when served with lean, rare beef.

The Ornellaia 2006 ($174.95) is one of the great, iconic wines of Italy (and the world). Expect a wonderfully balanced, extremely complex wine with black fruit, minerals, cassis, tar, herbs, vanilla and smoke. This is a collector’s wine, but it doesn’t get much better than this.