Vintages Release - May 29 - 2010

Tomorrow’s release features wines from Mendoza, Argentina, and wines from the Loire.

I’ve recently been in Mendoza, and have some pronounced views as to Mendoza wines. This is a very hot weather climate, which features malbec as its main grape, although the region also produces chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon.

Mendoza produces some excellent wines. The climate and terrain is almost desert like, with essentially sandy soils and a long, hot growing season. Malbec does very well in that environment, and cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay do well also. The major issue in my mind is that, with all that heat, the vines get very little chance to rest during the growing season.

In Bordeaux (the spiritual home of cabernet sauvignon), or in Burgundy or California (where chardonnay does extremely well), night times are relatively cool. This gives the vines an opportunity to rest, and promotes complexity in the wine as sugar levels do not overachieve.

Mendoza vines, by and large, do not have the same opportunity. The climate is so unrelentingly hot during the long growing season, and nights are so warm and dry, that sugar levels and juice concentration reach much higher levels. As a result, you get less complex, but very powerful, wines with huge fruit and intense flavours. In the end, it all depends on whether you like your wines with more complexity or more intensity. There’s no right or wrong – just a question of what you prefer.

The Loire region of France is known for its white wines and spectacular chateaus. The main white wine grapes here are sauvignon blanc, muscadet and chenin blanc. The region also produces pinot noir and cabernet franc.

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The most important thing you need to know about this release is that, despite a few decent wines, you won’t miss much if you skip it entirely.

DESSERT WINES

The Grahams Vintage Port 2007 ($85.00) is reputed to be exceptional. If you want a port that has it all, and don’t care about price, this may be for you. It’s still very young, and will last for decades, but you may also have to wait decades to get a better port. Expect hazel nuts, black currents, liqueur, kirsch, marmalade in perfectly integrated layers. This port will impress, especially after an exceptional meal, and, perhaps, 10 or more years, but don’t discount it as a special treat for some, far off, occasion.

If waiting 10 years, and paying $85.00 doesn’t do it for you, the Dalva Colheita Port 1997 ($27.95) is a very good, drink now, alternative. This is a nutty, intense, after-dinner concoction of toffee, hazel nut, fig, and candied fruit, that will go very well with dried fruit, chocolate and blue cheese. The perfect end to a rich, satisfying meal.

WHITE WINES

The Domaine Lecomte Quincy 2008 ($18.95) from the Loire is a fairly concentrated sauvignon blanc, with white grapefruit, melon and quince. This wine will drink well on its own but, I think, would be better with food – preferably with soft cheese, fried white fish or a chicken salad.

I’ve always liked lean muscadet’s with oysters or mussels, and the Domaine Des Quatres Routes Muscadet Sevre & Maine 2008 ($11.95) is great value, whether on its own or with those dishes. You’ll get grapefruit, green apple, and notes of orange peel on this well priced, well integrated wine.

The Domaine Hubert Reyser Clevner Sonnenberg 2008 ($16.95) from Alsace is a combination or aromatic varietals – I’m guessing Riesling and Sylvanner. This slightly off-dry wine, with aromas of diesel and white flowers, and notes of grapefruit and orange. It would work really well with dishes as diverse as quiche lorraine, barbecued sausage, cheese or roast pork.

The Stag’s Leap Winery Chardonnay 2007 from California will set you back $34.95, but it’s wrth it as a special treat. When California does chardonnay well, it does it really well. Expect mineral, green apple, and white flowers, with toasted hazel nut, smoke, vanilla and a touch of well integrated, buttery oak. Serve with roast chicken, tuna salad, or on its own.

RED WINES

The Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec 2007 ($17.95) is just a great malbec for the price. Expect black plum, cocoa, tobacco and a mildly mineral finish. Serve with virtually any red meat – hamburgers to grilled steak – and you won’t be disappointed.

The Laura Hardwig Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 ($13.95) from Chile is a great deal for the money. This wine is a little one dimensional, but it’s a soft, smooth, well integrated wine with red plum, apple, vanilla, oak and spice. A very good burger/pizza wine.

I’m not normally a fan of Mexico’s L.A. Cetto winery, but the L.A. Cetto Private Reserve Nebbiolo 2004 ($17.95) is a good imitation of a Piedmont original. It’s full of black plum, tobacco, cocoa, leather and tar, and will work well with barbecued beef. One caution, the wine is 14.5% alcohol, and the result is a slightly off-dry sensation as a result of the extra glycerin.

The Domaine Calvet-Thunevin Cuvee Constance 2007 ($16.95) is an interesting, if slightly unusual, offering from the Rhone. This wine is also high in alcohol (15%) and has an immediate nose, and flavour, of caramel. There’s also cooked cherry, and green apple, with very soft tannins, and a medium body. This is a good food wine. I wouldn’t match it with beef though because there’s too much in the way of sweet fruit. Try spareribs, or even crème caramel as a complement.

The Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi Tenuta di Castiglioni 2007 ($21.95) comes from one of Italy’s best producers. It’s essentially a Bordeaux blend (cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc) with sangiovese, and yields a tasty, structured wine with notes of earth, black cherry, dark plum, oak and vanilla. Serve with grilled red meat or hard cheese. A very good, well balanced wine.

Bordeaux lovers (includes me) should get some of the Chateau Beaumont 2006 ($21.00). There are notes of roasted green pepper, violets, vanilla, plum and earth, with soft tannins and a long finish. This wine is at its peak now and goes very well with roasted red meat. Do aerate for at least an hour before serving.

There’s a limited amount of the La Brancaia Tre 2007 ($25.95) from Tuscany, but, if you can get your hands on some, it will be worth your while. This wine resembles a good brunello, but at half the price. Expect luscious fruit flavours of raspberry and blackberry, with chewy coffee, butterscotch and vanilla notes. Decant for an hour and serve with a veal chop.

Vintages Release - May 15, 2010

Tomorrow’s Vintages release features the wines of Burgundy; California chardonnays; and rosés from around the world.

Burgundy

I’m not going to rattle on about burgundian wines. This is one of the great wine regions of the world, and produces some of the best, as well as the most expensive, wines you can buy. Burgundy is a fairly unique region in Europe in that it produces almost all of its wines from essentially three grapes – pinot noir in the Cote d’Or, gamay in southern Burgundy (reds) and chardonnay (whites). Amongst the whites, most of the wines from the Chablis sub-region are unoaked, while southern Burgundian chardonnays are almost all oaked.

Best recent years for red wines in Burgundy: 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. 2005 was a spectacular year. 2005 and 2006 vintages are generally considered too young to drink.

Best recent years for white wines in Burgundy: 1999, 2002, 2005-2007. 2002, 2004 and 2005 could be aged more.

California Chardonnays

California is pretty well the spiritual (pun intended) home for new world chardonnays. The state produces some extremely fine examples of the varietal, many of which are characterized by buttery, vanilla and nutty notes, as well as oak, tropical fruit and butterscotch. They are often very big wines for whites, and are good complements for food.

Best recent years for California chardonnays: every year since 1995, except 2001. 1995 and 1997 were rated exceptional. 2000, 2004 and 2005 could be aged more.

BTW (and it may be redundant)

It’s easy to talk about good years, so-so years and requirements for more aging, but these are only averages and, at best, only a very general guide. A good winemaker will make a good wine even in a bad climatic year, and micro-climates will have a drastic impact.

Rosés

It’s my impression that rosés are becoming more common in North America. They used to be viewed (rightly or wrongly) as light, hot weather quaffers, not to be taken seriously as anything other than as thirst quenchers, or as a form of alcoholic soda pop. More and more, however, wine makers are paying attention to quality and producing blush wines of good quality. I’m still not hugely enamoured of them, but they are becoming increasingly popular.

My recommendation from a fairly good crop in this release is the Chateau La Croix de Queynac Bordeaux Rosè 2009 ($13.95) from Bordeaux. It is fairly pale coloured with a faint raspberry nose. Don’t be fooled by the nose and appearance though. This wine is very dry with concentrated strawberry, raspberry, cranberry and mineral notes. It’s very refreshing with good mouth feel and a long finish. A good hot weather quaffer but it packs a bit of a wallop with 13% alcohol It will drink well on its own, but will stand up to burgers, pizza or a salad with raspberry vinaigrette.

WHITE WINES

The Glass Mountain Vintner’s Selection Chardonnay 2008 ($13.95) is a really good wine for the price. It’s lightly oaked, with a nose of tangerine, pear and, especially, peach. Those flavours replicate on the palate with some honey, tropical fruit, and vanilla. If you’re not looking for butterscotch and too much concentration, this wine is for you.

The Alta Vista Premium Torrontes 2008 ($13.95) from Argentina is also a good deal for the price. Expect white flowers and lime on the nose, with lime, honeysuckle, mint, apricot and lychee on the palate. This is a light bodied, very refreshing offering that drinks well on its own, but would go well with a salad (at least absent the tomato).

You get more good value with the Sileni Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2009 ($15.95) from New Zealand. This perennially reliable producer has done it again with a very tasty, well balanced sauvignon at, if memory serves, a lower price than last year. It has lots of well integrated acid, with green apple, lime, grapefruit and some slightly grassy, herbal notes, good mouth feel and a long finish. Match with a baguette and some soft cheese, or with fried white fish, or sip it on its own.

The Robert Oatley Pinot Grigio 2009 ($17.95) from Australia is a complex wine for a pinot grigio. There’s grapefruit and new mown grass on the nose, with sweet grapefruit, lime and red apple on the palate. It’s quite soft and very well balanced with a medium finish. A very enjoyable wine.

At the upper end of the price spectrum for whites, I have two suggestions, either of which should impress:

- The J. Lohr Arroyo Vista Chardonnay 2007 ($29.95) from California is everything a California chardonnay should be, with rich, creamy flavours of butterscotch, vanilla, tropical fruit, red apple, cinnamon and hazelnuts, with a core of well integrated oak. This is a lovely wine. It should be paired with food – ideally anything in a light cream sauce – but try it on its own first. You may not be able to wait for the food.

- The Domaine Roux Père & Fils La Chateniere Saint-Aubin 1er Cru 2007, from Burgundy will set you back $39.95, but everybody should have a bottle like this occasionally. This wine offers rich layers of well integrated flavours, with hazelnut, almond, ripe peach and apple, and a long, buttery finish. If your bank manager won’t spring for this wine, there’s a younger sister, the Roux Père & Fils Clos Des Mollepierres Rully 2007 in this release for $23.95. The younger sibling is a good wine, and I’m happy to recommend it, but the Saint-Aubin really is a special experience that is a lovely treat. I’m sure you can think of some reason why you deserve it.

RED WINES

The deal of this release is the Domaine La Croix Belle Cuvee Syrah 2008 ($11.95) from the Midi. Expect leather on nose, with leather, cherry, sour black plum, cocoa and spice on the palate, and a finish that won’t quit. Go to the store early and buy this wine (it won’t last long), then serve with barbecued sausages or any spicy dish.

If it wasn’t for the La Croix, I’d be saying that the Blue Pyrenees Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 is the deal of the release at $16.95. The Australians do cabernet sauvignons really well, and this wine is proof. It’s a big, well structured combination of concentrated cassis, plum, cedar and dark chocolate with a long, long finish. This wine needs red meat. It’s drinking well now, but if you popped a case into the basement, I think it would be even better in a year or so (if you can leave it for that long).

If you prefer shiraz to cabernet sauvignon, go for the Evans & Tate Shiraz 2007 ($19.95) from Western Australia. Some shiraz’s are too jammy, more like fruit bombs that overwhelm your palate at first taste. Not this one. It has lots of big fruit – ripe plum and rich blackberry, with vanilla and coffee, but structured into layers of flavour; with a big finish and a chewy texture. Vintages suggests pairing with rotisserie chicken or barbecued Portobello mushrooms, and I agree, but I wouldn’t hesitate to have it with a striploin or spareribs either.

I love valpolicella ripassos because they’re so rich that they’re really mini amarones, but occasionally I like to go back to the classic valpolicella, which is much leaner and not quite so overwhelming on the palate. They’re also generally easier on the wallet. To that end, go for the Brigaldara Valpolicella 2008 ($14.95) from Veneto. This reliable producer has put together a good wine, which will go well with tomato based dishes or red meat, with notes of sour cherry, spice, plum and pencil box. Before you buy, though, check to see if your store has any of the Cantine Francesco Minimi Valpolicella 2008, which will set you back only $12.95. It isn’t in the release but a number of the stores have it. If you can find it, expect an interesting palate of sour cherry, cocoa and smoked meat. These are burger/comfort food wines, but they are reliable wines for everyday and a wide variety of foods.

For Bordeaux lovers, the Chateau Lafon Cuvee Classic 2005 ($19.95) comes from the stellar 2005 vintage, and has lots of cassis on nose, with notes of black plum, cassis, earth, oak, mushroom, forest floor, tobacco, smoked meat and blueberry on the palate. This is a complex wine with a long finish, that will beautifully complement most red meats. Don’t, however, keep for more than a few months (at most) or aerate much before serving.

The Quails' Gate Pinot Noir 2007 from British Columbia will set you back $24.95. It is starting to attract a bit of a cult following. Expect a medium bodied wine with well integrated, earthy layers of cooked cherry, spice, raspberry, tobacco and dark chocolate with a long finish. I like new world pinots with barbecued salmon or pork.

At the upper end of the red price spectrum, try:

- the Fontanafredda Barolo Serralunga D'Alba 2005 from Piedmont is only $27.95. Part of the reason for the price is that this is only a 500 ml. bottle (as opposed to the standard 750 ml.) but the rest is that this is good value. This is one of the best known Barolo producers, and you can confidently expect great mouth feel, with soft tannins, cassis, and a hint of the classic tar and roses. This is a well put together, medium bodied wine, which can be drunk now, or any time in the next three of four years (maybe longer). Pair with a hard cheese or lean red meat.

- The Domaine Daniel Rion & Fils Les Grandes Vignes Nuits-St-Georges 2007 ($44.95) from Burgundy comes from a producer that’s an old favourite of mine, and has yet to let me down. This may not have been a stellar vintage in Burgundy, but you can still expect a chewy, well structured, elegant wine with classic sour cherry, raspberries, blackberries, smoke, leather, earth, and a tinge of chocolate on the finish. Vintages suggests pairing with veal or roast beef, and I agree.

- Good brunellos don’t come cheap, but they’re usually worth a premium. At $49.95 the Castelgiocondo Brunello Di Montalcino 2004 from Tuscany is well priced, and comes from a very good vintage, and an extremely reliable producer. Soft, silky tannins, smooth texture and expressive black fruit are what brunellos, including this one, are all about. Add smoke and violets and you’ve got a wine that will complement virtually any meat dish.

- Silver Oak is one of my favourite cabernet sauvignon producers from California, and the Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 isn’t cheap at $84.95, but neither are good California cabs from very well rated years and good houses. You’ll get a great wine for your money, with concentrated black cherry, vanilla, licorice, plum and smoke. This is a big, velvety wine with long, supple tannins, and a long, slightly spicy, glycerin finish. It compares well to California cabs at twice the price or more. Aerate for at least two hours before serving with a good cut of beef.