D'Angelo Vineyards 2002 Cabernet Franc

Click here to read the original review March 2007

(Re-Tasted August 2009) ... At first, I was not sure I was going to like this wine, nothing scares me more than seeing a plastic cork on a bottle of aged wine; more often than not I taste a little plastic in the glass. This time thankfully I did not, but it did seem to be bland, boring and nondescript ... at first. When this happens the question that is always asked to me is, what do you do, wait or dump? I have patience when it comes to wine (and so should you), thereby giving the wine a chance, after all it has been cooped up in bottle for quite some time, in this wine's case 5 years - see how you would feel, and how slowly you would open up, if that happened to you. Turns out the wine went from its original state of nondescriptiveness to something drinkable in a little under half an hour. The wine ended up smelling pretty good and matching well with food. The nose showed dried black fruits, oak and hints of graphite. Palate-wise there was licorice, vanilla, oak and still had a titch of spice, though it also managed to be quite smooth and easy going. This wine is not going to get any better the longer it sits, it's ready now - just give it some time before you pass judgement on it.

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Chateau des Charmes 2002 Estate Cabernet Merlot

Click here to read the original review from February 2007 - OWR Newsletter #49

(Re-Tasted August 2009) ... Another day, another re-taste, another surprise. Today's re-taste is a Chateau des Charmes Cabernet Merlot blend from the great vintage of 2002. I remember this vintage as one of the first great ones of the millennium. Now sure it pales in comparison to what we had in 2005 and 2007 but '02 was still a very collectable vintage, when it comes to red wines in Ontario - I have a rack ust full of these babies waiting for inclusion in the Taste it Again or Lost & Found columns. Tonight we're trying again one of my favourite wines from the '02 vintage (because I was just such a fan of the 1999 version of this wine). The nose has blackberry and cinnamon - but this takes some time to open up, that's why I used the glass-to-glass method (pouring wine from one big glass to another a number of times to coax the wine to open up - this is great when you don't have time to decant because you can accomplish it in a mere fraction the time). The taste is blackberry with some vanilla oak notes and some tannin bite. When the cork is first popped this wine has a bit of a bitter finish, but when opened it smoothes right out and is quite sippable. The colour of the wine is is still very youthful, but keep in mind this wine needs lots of aeration to get it to the point of easy enjoyment. Decant or try the glass-to-glass method. I have a few more bottles, and we'll be looking at this wine again in the coming years.

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Marynissen Estates 2002 Cabernet Merlot

Click here to read the original November 28, 2006 Taste the Season Report Original review

(Re-Tasted August 2009) ... Tonight was my mother's 71st birthday - it you've met my mother then you will not believe that last statement, but it is true. So tonight I thought 'let's try something special'; I scoured my wine rack in search of something old yet with the possibility of being wonderful. Marynissen has been making good reds since the very beginning, in fact these may be some of the oldest red grape vines in Ontario (vinifera I mean). John Marynissen passed earlier this year and in many of his bios you would have read about what a pioneer he was to the industry, planting Cabernet Sauvignon in 1978 when eveyone else thought it foolhardy. I remember trying this wine for the first time and being blown away by it's power and hopeful longevity - 2002, after all, was a very good vintage here in Ontario, paling now to the 2005 and monster 2007 vintage. Tonight I also tried my first experiment with a little aeration device called Vinturi.

The wine when poured directly from the bottle was a little on the harsh side, the Vinturi seemed to soften it ... something that time did on it's own (3 hours open in a glass on the counter) but the Vinturi did it in half the time and by the glass. Now back to the wine itself. The nose had pronounced forest floor, vanilla oak, dried sour cherries and dried blackberries aromas. The taste was of cedar and dried blackberry but very smooth (3 hours later and when Vinturied) ... there was also bits of grit and lots of sediment, so I should have used a filter. All-in-all a very impressive wine and an impressive first use of the Vinturi ... but I have to give the full nod to the wine - the gadget can only make a good wine better, it cannot improve a crappy wine; John Marynissen gave me that opportunity by producing something of excellent and long lived quality. He will be missed.

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