January 26, 2012

Two Southbrook Wines 2001 and 2002

 

(Re-Tasted January 2012) ... In truth one of these wines should be in the Lost & Found edition, but out of the two: Southbrook 2001 Triomphe Cbernet Sauvignon and the 2002 Cabernet Merlot ... one was a complete failure and the note would read "blech" ... so instead I decided to put them together here.  Funny part is, the better wine is not the one you'd expect.  

Starting with the Triomphe Cabernet Sauvignon, the (at the time) high end wine on the Southbrook depth-chart - I am sad to report that this wine was 'buggy' ... what I mean by that is that in 2001 the big lady bug infestation in Ontario ruined a whole lotta wine ... Southbrook's 2001 Triomphe's seemed to have been immune to that until now, with ten years under its belt, with flavours and aromas becoming more delicate, the wine can no longer hide the fact the bug aromas and especially the flavour are in there.  The better of the two wines turned out to be the 2002 Cabernet Merlot ... this wine was on the complete opposite end of the scale as it was on the "low end" of the Southbrook portfolio.  Now some might not be partial to green bell peppers, considering it to be unripe fruit, but that aroma and flavour were real hallmarks in both the 2001 and 2002 of these wines.  Today it is showing a roasted and peppered green pepper on both the nose and palate ... reminded me of shish-kabobs or veggies on the BBQ.


Tawse 2006 Echos Bistro Red


(Re-Tasted January 2012) ... What a difference 6 years can make.  I just read over my review from October 23, 2007 about this wine, and boy was I crowing about it ... but in hindsight I should have seen this coming a mile away.  2006 was not the greatest of vintages in Ontario and yet there I was telling you this wine would out-last it's 2005 counterpart (something tells me I have to go back and try that wine just to see which is drinking better). I guess I was just so happy to see a wine under $25 from Tawse that I was blinded by everything else.  Now I am not saying this wine is over the hill and should be tossed immediately, but it sure isn't going to be getting any better any time soon, so waiting is not an option with this one.  When first poured all seemed fine, but within 20 minutes a touch of volatile acidity seemed to come wafting out of the glass, and I just could not get rid of it.  The flavours were all dried fruit and spiced wood, the buddy I was tasting with called it "fruit leather" (he has kids so he is more familiar with this confection than I am) - there was also the disjointed smell of blackberries and alcohol ... in the end the wine just seemed to be more wood-spice than fruit and that's too bad.  I would say drink with a grain of salt, but Iam not sure salt would help - just keep an eye, and your mind, on the age of the wine: as an older wine from a so-so vintage it's not bad.