January 10, 2010

Jackson-Triggs 2004 Proprietors' Reserve Shiraz


(Re-Tasted January 2010) ... There are two kinds of wine in this world: 1) the right wine at the right time, and 2) the right wine at the wrong time; and we've probably all experienced both. The right wine/right time is when you are drinking a wine and the mood, place and taste is perfect - everything just seems to come together in the right way. Then there is the right wine/wrong time bottle - the one you thought you were going to enjoy but something happened on the way to the glass and in the end that wine just didn't "do it for you". I think this was one of those wrong time wines. The colour was good, the smell was okay and the flavour was there, but I am not sure it is what I wanted to be drinking this Sunday evening. So I looked at it with my reviewer's eye, instead of my drinker's palate. There was pepper and cassis all the way through the wine, though about 15 minutes in there was a strong smell of wood alcohol and a woody aftertaste; but then given another 20 minutes that disappeared. Now almost an hour after opening and pouring, there seems to be an intermingling of white and black pepper with a long cassis, black pepper finish. Drinkable but nothing that'll knock your socks off. I seem to have a couple more bottles left, I think I should give one a little more time and see where it ends up. For now it drinks well but won't leaving you screaming for more.

January 9, 2010

Cave Spring Cellars 2002 Pinot Noir Estate Bottled

Found January 2010

This one goes out to all you good little boys and girls who have been cellaring your 2002 Ontario wines: Kids, it might be time to start looking at these wines and in fact, breaking into them; not that they are over the hill, far from it, but some are starting to drink very, very well, let's take for example this this 2002 Pinot Noir from Cave Spring. Starting from the nose this wine had everything your looking for in aged Pinot, smells of sour cherry, dried cranberry with a slightly smoky nuance. On the palate those cherries turned black with a delightfully delicious smoothness and a touch of tannins - this was a real pleasure to drink, I'm not stretching it at all when I say, "what a beauty", especially when given a little air through decanting. I recently reviewed the 2007 version of this wine, and if it ages as nicely (and I suspect it will), I suggest making a multiple purchase of the '07, the '02 is long gone (unless you have some in the cellar). Lost & Found Rating: Treasure +

January 2, 2010

Cave Spring Cellars 2006 Dolomite Riesling


(Re-Tasted January 2010) ... Sipping on this wine January 2nd in the late afternoon with my fiancee watching Angels and Demons (starring Tom Hanks), she turns to me and says, "I think you finally got one" ... she is referring to the wine I have poured for her of course. Erica is one of my toughest critics for the wines I pour, probably because she has a very limited scope of wines she really likes, Rieslings top the bill while she merely tolerates most other wines, especially reds. But not just any Riesling will do, it has to fall into a certain kind - and this one did. The first thing that popped from the glass was the minerally-lemon and faint hint of petrol; the palate was a blockbuster of flavour for the mouth: apple, peach pit, mineral bits, lemon and lime, lip-smackingly good and quite dry. The finish was long and had citrus-mineral notes all over it with a lovely bit of acid bite. The only thing that betrayed the age of this wine was the label and the colour. I know my previus review on the website reads "2005 Dolomite", but if I am not mistaken, 2006 was the first year the Dolomite Riesling came out at Cave Spring, and now I am too late to fix my error on the site. No matter, this is still a beauty of a wine and I look forward to sipping on it more in the future as I have a few more bottles in my collection.