Vintages Release - January 23, 2010

Hello Everybody

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The theme of tomorrow’s release is the wines of Argentina, a subject that I’m more than happy to talk about because I recently visited Argentina, and had the happy opportunity to visit many of the wineries featured in the release.

The centre of Argentina’s wine production is in the area of the city of Mendoza, which is situated close to the foothills of the Andes and the Chilean border, and in about the middle of the country’s north-south axis. Mendoza’s wine region are in a virtual desert, where temperatures during the summer often top 40 degrees and rainfall (at least during the summer) is essentially non-existent. The soil varies somewhat depending on the location of the wineries but is typically gravel, sand and clay. The growing season is relatively long, and grapes are usually picked in February and March, although some varietals (usually used in white or sparkling wine) are picked in mid-January.

Argentina is a relative newcomer to the international wine market. As little as twenty years ago, its wines were very poorly regarded. However, presumably as a function of the low value of the peso, hundreds of new wineries have opened in the Mendoza area, and there has been a massive inflow of capital, much of it from international wine conglomerates in Europe and the United States. As a result, there are now some 1,200 wineries operating in the Mendoza area, some of which are putting out more than ten million bottles per year.

The main Argentine grape is malbec, a varietal which originated in southern France, where it is mainly used as a blending grape. In Argentina, however, malbec is very often used on its own, although malbec blends with cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah and other grapes are also extremely common. Argentines eat a great deal of meat, particularly beef, and malbec is well suited as a complement to red meat dishes. It is a very juicy, concentrated grape which produces big, fruit forward wines, with soft tannins, which are generally ready to drink soon after bottling. Typically, malbecs have flavours and aromas of red or ripe black fruit, and chocolate, leather and tobacco notes are common. They are rich, fruity wines, but generally lacking the structure of cabernet sauvignons or pinot noirs. Because the growing season is so long and hot, sugar levels are generally high, and therefore alcohol levels are also usually on the high side, i.e. 14% and up.

Argentine producers have experimented with most international varietals, and cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and syrah are also common. Perhaps as a result of Argentina’s Spanish heritage, tempranillo, is also quite common, while pinot noir, sangiovese and petit verdot (and many more) are also grown. Some wineries are now trying to bring back bonardo, an Italian varietal which was very common in Argentina before malbec became popular. Bonardo is, at least in my view, quite similar to zinfandel.

The most common white wine grapes are chardonnay and torrontes, but sauvignon blanc and vigonier are also grown in quantity.

During my trip to Argentina, I had the opportunity to talk to a number of wine makers and their staffs, and I was impressed by their common determination to work on improving quality. They were clearly aware that there is a worldwide glut of wine, and were determined to go to great lengths to produce better wines. To that end, green harvesting (pruning the vines of grapes in advance of harvest to ensure that the remaining grapes are of high quality) is common. At one winery (Catena Zapata) they even prune away all but one bunch of grapes from each vine to make their top end wines, and at another they draw off 30% of the juice after crushing to enhance concentration.

I intend for this issue to abandon my normal format and to discuss the Argentine wineries covered in this release that I particularly enjoyed, on a winery by winery basis, rather than simply dealing with each wine individually.

Bodega Catena Zapata

This is one of Argentina’s oldest and largest wineries, and remains family owned. This release includes five wines from this winery, and I was very impressed with four of them. Three of these wines are produced under the Alamos brand label, all of which sell for $13.95, and all of them represent good value.

- The Alamos Torrontés 2008 is a very dry wine with overtones of sauvignon blanc (citrus and tropical fruit), muscat (orange peel), vigonier (white flowers), and chenin blanc (a very long, acidic finish). A very refreshing wine, with plenty of flavor, at a good price.

- The Alamos Malbec 2008 is a very good malbec for the money, with rich black plum and blackberry flavours, with raspberry and spicy notes. A big, flavourful wine that would go well on burger night.

- The Alamos Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 is a lovely cabernet for the price. It’s dominated by blackberry, with some spicy notes, and a long finish. Also a good choice to pair with burgers, pizza or virtually any other comfort food.

I also really like the Catena Malbec 2007. This wine is a Vintages essential (available all the time). The reason that I liked this particular malbec is that it has some structure, and avoids simply being a fruit bomb. While I do like malbecs generally, I do find that the massive concentrations of sweet fruit are, after a time, too cloying on the palate, and too rich for anything more than a glass or two. This malbec avoids that trap by relieving the rich fruit with spice, leather and cocoa notes. An elegant and well priced wine.

I cannot leave Cantena Zapata without mentioning its Alta range of wines, which are often available in Ontario, but are not featured in this release. The Alta range sells for a bit north of $50 when available, and the ’06 Alta Cabernet Sauvignon and ’06 Alta Malbec are well worth looking out for. These are opulent but not jammy wines with well structured rich black and red fruit, a long finish and a touch of spice. Either of them would be a great complement for beef.

Clos de Los Siete

This is an unusual winery, if only for its ownership structure, in that it is really seven wineries in one, with seven different owners, none of whom have spared any expense in terms of their investment. Although situated on one piece of property with 1800 acres under cultivation, each of the seven owners has a separate winery and vineyards. The only point of contact between the seven is that part of the production from each of the vineyards is reserved to make Clos de Los Siete, a wine which simply takes the name of the estate and is intended to represent the property as a whole. The remainder of each vineyard’s production is completely under the control of the individual owner to choose the varietals and types of wine to be made, and how they are to be distributed. Clos de Los Siete is made under the supervision of the famous (or, in some quarters infamous) Michel Rolland, an oenologist who has a huge reputation consulting with wineries all over the world. Mr. Rolland is also one of the seven owners. The 2007 vintage of Clos de Los Siete (which is included in this release at $23.95) is a blend of 48% malbec and the remaining 52% divided between merlot, cabernet sauvignon and syrah. This is very well made wine, which could easily command a higher price. Expect a very well integrated wine with soft tannins, rich but not overly sweet black fruit, soft oak, good mouth feel and a long finish. A good match for any red meat dish.

I also tasted two other wines from this property, a very good pinot noir, and a delicious cuvee blend, but neither of them are available in Ontario.

Kaiken

This winery is an off shoot of the well known and highly regarded Chilean winery, Montes, which intends to build a real presence on both sides of the Andes. Judging by its entrees in this release, it is succeeding extremely well. The Kaiken Malbec 2008 ($14.95) is a chocolate lovers’ delight without being cloying, and with notes of blueberry, raspberry, and spice. Expect a long finish, and good mouth feel. This is a really good buy and is available all the time as a Vintages Essential.

For only $5 more ($19.95), you can get the Kaiken Ultra Malbec 2007, which is essentially the more refined version of the last wine. There’s a bit more structure, and less chocolate, but with violets, cedar and mineral notes to accompany the rich, but not sweet, black fruit. Expect the finish to last a long, long time. Either of these two malbecs would go very, very well with grilled steak.

The Kaiken Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 ($14.95) is also a good buy. Expect a mélange of fairly rich black and red fruit, with mocha, spice, vanilla, coffee and cedar flavours. This is a warm weather cabernet, for those who like a softer, slightly smoother, version of the varietal with a bit less tannin than a comparable Chilean, but no less flavour. Also good with red meat.

Familia Zuccardi

This is another home grown, family owned, Argentine winery that has turned into a big international success story. In fact, this winery exports some 70% of its production, with Canada being the largest international market. The Zuccardi wines in this release come from two different product lines, the Santa Julia and the Q ranges, and it is easy to recommend them all.

The Santa Julia Reserva Chardonnay 2008 ($13.95) is another really good buy as long as you don’t like your chardonnay too buttery. There is some creaminess there, but it is mostly pear, ripe apple and tropical fruit – a sauvignon blanc lover’s chardonnay. It’s a bit leaner than most California chardonnays, but with well integrated fruit flavours and a lively seam of acid producing good mouth feel. It would go very well with a chicken caesar salad, white fish or mussels in broth.

The Santa Julia Magna 2008 ($13.95) is a blend of 50% malbec, 30% cabernet sauvigon and 20% bonardo (not syrah, as reported in the release book). The combination of the three grapes produces a very a big wine that manages to be soft and rich, without being overly sweet. Expect cocoa and plum mixed nicely together, good mouth feel and a long finish. Another really good buy, especially at this price.

The release contains two offerings from Zuccardi in the Q range, both priced at $18.95.

- The Zuccardi Q Malbec 2007 was, by a short hair, my favourite pure malbec of the release. It is extremely well balanced, and well structured. This was the most complex of the malbecs in the release, with oak, coffee, blackberry, and ripe fruit which avoided becoming too lush. Many malbecs are somewhat too fruit forward, but this one kept the fruit in balance with the acid to produce more elegant flavours.

- The winery is also very proud, and rightly so, of its Zuccardi Q Tempranillo 2006 which has won prizes in Spain, the home of the varietal. This is a light to medium bodied wine with lots of structure, subtle tannins, licorice, black cherry and plum. I liked this wine a lot, and, while this may be a while in coming, it would be perfect on a hot day, or as an accompaniment to a pork or chicken dish, or even a paella.

I should note, by the way, that the Zuccardi prices in this release are substantially lower that the cost of the same wines at the winery. I did not check to see if that was true of the other wineries involved.

Alta Vista

I don’t want to leave Argentina without mentioning the winery which, I think, is my favourite producer in the country, even though it was not part of the release. Alta Vista is a medium sized, 19th century winery, which had its ups and downs until, in the 1980s, it came into the hands of the d’Aulan family, which also owns wineries in Argentina and Hungary. Alta Vista wines are often available at Vintages.

The winery produces the best torrontes that I had in Argentina (and I had a good bit) and its Alto range of malbecs blends was some of the most complex and best priced (at about $20 Canadian) wines I tried. It also produces three extremely good, and very sophisticated, single vineyard malbecs, which are all quite distinct. Winemaker Mathieu Grassien and his team are doing an extraordinarily good job, and I would recommend that you keep an eye out for Alto Vista wines.

THE REST

White Wines

The Pierre Sparr Réserve Gewurztraminer 2008 ($17.95) from Alsace is back. This is a very reliable gewurtz from an excellent producer. Expect lychee and pear flavours, and white flower aromas on a very good wine that is just perfect with spicy Asian food.

The Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc 2009 ($18.95) is also back. No matter how you like your sauvignon’s, this offering is likely to please, with scads of tropical fruit, apple, lime and gooseberry. A very refreshing wine with good mouth feel and great acid balance. Pair with chicken, white fish or a salad.

Red Wines

The Gemtree Vineyards Tadpole Shiraz 2008 ($16.95) from Australia is a spicy concoction of red fruit with cherries and raspberries. This is a rich shiraz, with a long finish, that will drink well on its own or with burgers or steak.

If you have a few extra coins in your jeans, and a fondness for Bordeaux’s, I have two suggestions, either of which should be really good in about five years.

- The 2006 Château Branaire-Ducru Cabernet Sauvignon Blend ($65.00) comes from St. Julien on the Left Bank. Although 2006 was not the best year in the region, this wine is worth the money. Expect black fruit with tobacco, cedar and earthy notes on a big, brooding wine that is built to accompany food – red meat, strong cheese or even chocolate. You can drink now (with at least an hour’s decanting) but it will be better in a couple of years.

- The Château Calon-Ségur 2006 ($85.00) also from the left bank (St. Estephe) will need more time in the bottle. Expect a complex mixture of blackberry, smoke, vanilla, mushrooms and herbs, on a full-bodied wine with a long finish that will repay the wait. This wine is a good investment in your future pleasure.

Vintages Release - January 9, 2010

Despite my (more than occasional) criticisms, I am, on balance, a fan of the LCBO. Although its prices are not the lowest in the world (sometimes by a long shot), it does do a good job of a number of things:

- It has a set of very knowledgeable wine consultants, and spends a good deal of money training them;

- It provides a good selection, especially a good selection of wines;

- Its wine testing programme is as good or better than anywhere in the world (it was the LCBO which first exposed the Austrian anti-freeze additive scandal of a few years ago);

- It will never give you trouble about returning a bottle of wine, even if it’s just because you didn’t like it;

- It is a terrific source of funding for the provincial government (up to you whether you think that the money, once received, is spent wisely); and

- It can sometimes deliver really good value in wines. As the largest retailer of alcoholic beverages in the world, it has massive clout as a purchaser. Most of the time, the real value can be found at the top end of the market, where it usually does not mark up really expensive wines as much as other retailers, but sometimes, as with this release, it can deliver good value at the lower end of the price spectrum well.

The theme of this release is “Great Wine, Great Value”, and it has presented a good selection of very decent wines, most of which are under $15.00. There are a lot of good choices for well priced wines in this release. The following are just a few of my favourites.

WHITE WINES

If you like sauvignon blancs, it would be hard to go wrong with the Cathederal Cellar Sauvignon Blanc 2008 ($11.95) from South Africa. This is a fairly grassy sauvignon, but with a well balanced seam of acidity, and lots of citrus (lemon and lime) with some green apple and pea pod. This is not a Kiwi style wine, with rich gooseberry and passion fruit, but rather a leaner, more minerally, offering that would go very well with fried white fish or shellfish in broth. A good wine at a very good price.

If the Cathederal Cellar doesn’t suit your palate, there are two more sauvignon blancs that are easy to recommend:

- The Tabali Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2008, from Chile, is only $1 more at $12.95. It still has a bit of that new mown grass/chive flavor, and lots of lemon/lime, with good acidity and minerality, but there are also notes of sweeter fruit, like passion fruit, on the finish. It has great mouthfeel, and would do well with white fish or shellfish, but also with chicken or chicken salad.

- The Wild Rock Elevation Sauvignon Blanc 2008 ($16.95) from New Zealand, is mostly sauvignon blanc, but with some vigonier and riesling added in. These additions serve to make a slightly richer, more floral, offering than most sauvignon blancs, but do not detract from the lemon/lime core. There are notes of pear and green apple as well, This wine is tasty on its own, but would complement grilled pork chops very nicely.

Pinot grigio fans should not miss the Maculan Pinot Grigio 2009 ($15.95) from Veneto. This wine is a perennial favourite from an excellent producer, and this year’s offering is at least as good as any other vintage I’ve tried. It manages to maintain a bright acidic seam, which enhances the mouthfeel, in combination with rich peach and pear flavours, and a lime finish. Vintages suggests combining with truffles, and I don’t disagree, but I think this wine would go with virtually anything with a white sauce.

Chardonnay lovers should try the Dona Paula Los Cardos Chardonnay 2008 ($12.95) from Argentina. This is a rich, but not oaky, blend of tropical fruits with melon, peach and pineapple predominating, and with a long, soft finish. Very good value for the money.

RED WINES

I don’t know how you get much better value for $13.95 than the Santa Julia Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 from Argentina. This is a lush, concentrated cabernet, dominated by blackberry, but with other black fruits (black cherry and cassis) chiming in, and with a hint of mint. The finish goes on and on. If you like a really rich, fruit driven wine, this is for you, especially at this price. If this were a Californian, or even a Rhone, they would be asking twice the price. Serve with red meat, or on pizza night.

I’ve always liked the Ortas Tradition Rasteau ($15.00) from the Rhone, and the 2008 version is no exception. It has lots of rich black fruit, with blackberry and black cherry predominating, but with notes of leather, pepper, tar and earth that add complexity and would complement a spicy lamb or beef stew. This is not a simple wine despite the price.

The Gnarly Head Old Vines Zinfandel 2007 from California is also $15.00, and is an old favourite of mine from a good and reliable producer. Expect a rich, full bodied, well balanced wine with plum, licorice and earthy characteristics, with smoke, cherry cordial and vanilla notes. It will go well on its own or with virtually any red meat, but I like to pair zinfandels with spareribs because the wine picks up the sweet sauce so well.

The Mitolo Jester Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 ($19.95) from Australia would be another good choice for spareribs, but an even better choice for a good, grilled steak. This is another rich red, with good complexity - lots of cassis, earth, mint and dark plum with some herb de provence and smoke – and a long finish. The tannins should keep it for at least three or four years, but are soft enough for immediate consumption (preferably with at least an hour of aeration).

I’m not normally a big fan of Tedeschi wines, but it’s hard to resist the Tedeschi Vigneto Valverdi Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2007 ($14.95) from Veneto. This wine goes extraordinarily well with tomato based dishes because the acid is so well integrated. Expect a rich wine, dominated by blackberry, but with blueberry and raisin notes, with a long finish, and a little bit of anise to wrap things up. A good wine for a pasta dinner on a cold day.