August 29, 2011

Mountain Road Wine Company 2006 Reserve Chardonnay

Found August 2011

I had this bottle twice over a 4 day span ... not the same bottle mind you, two different bottles.  The first was last Saturday when we had some friends over for dinner and they brought not one but two bottles of this Mountain Road Reserve with them - I am never opposed to two bottles in a night but when we only went through the one I figured I would age the other a little, then it hit me "salmon".  I think I have lost you so let's backtrack to Saturday. 

Saturday night we were having a nice lemon, dill cod and I opened this heavy Chardonnay and although I liked the wine on its own, and it paired so-so with the fish I figured I hadn't given it its proper due.  After-all cod is a very light fish and this was a very heavy Chardonnay.  So on Tuesday night it was back to the drawing board.  I put the second bottle in the fridge and whipped up a dill salmon ... now let's see how the wine performs.  The nose (on both bottles) was one of the wines best features: buttery, vanilla, caramel; and as the wine sat in the glass things melded together giving up smells of buttered almonds and vanilla peaches - hot damn!  Next came taste and it was quite a treat too: hazelnut, butter, vanilla; nutty and buttery all at the same time, there was also a creamy sensation but with good mouth cleansing acidity so that it did not weigh heavily on the tongue.  Turns out it paired much better with the salmon than the cod and would even stand up to some fuller red meats without being sacrilegious.  Bottom line is the wine is well integrated and compelling enough to drink right now, I'm not sure further aging is going to help this one, so drink up and enjoy.    Lost & Found Rating:  Treasure


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August 28, 2011

The Ice House 2006 Northern Ice Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine

Found August 2011

I have a buddy who is not a wine drinker, how we remain friends I am not sure?  His passion for wine ends at the occasional rosé.  But then I learned there was hope for him yet.  He's a fan of Port and just this weekend I learned his passion for the sweeties extends past Oporto and into Ontario: Icewine.  So it was with great pride that I went into my icewine collection in search of something interesting to drink with him.  Now as every Canadian knows, we don't drink icewine, we hold on to it and give it as gifts, even the ones we get as gifts we re-gift somewhere down the line - it is the great Canadian re-gift ... I like to equate it to Christmas cake which seems to get passed along from generation to generation with nary a bite taken.  I was thrilled to locate this 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine from the Ice House, one of Canada's few Icewine only wineries.  At the time of its production few were making such a beast as a straight Cab Sauv sweetie, which makes this unique and, now 5 years later, really very tasty.  With regrets to Riedel and other glass manufacturers who insist Icewine needs its own vessel, I disagree (and you know my feeling on proper glassware) - Icewine is sweet enough that is cuts through whatever you are drinking it from and makes even a shot glass the right thing to drink it out of ... and tonight that is exactly what we did.  The wine has a beautiful strawberry sensation in the mouth with lovely acidity to balance it out and it's very good.   How did I know that, well first of all I tasted it, but secondly my buddy must have downed 6 shots of it in an hour - not bad for a guy that does not like wine.  Lost & Found Rating:  Treasure

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Hillebrand 2005 Trius Red

Or even look at the previous Taste it Again review - March 2009

(Re-Tasted August 2011) ... It's like a re-taste of a re-taste; it seems that every two years I pull out a bottle of this and re-taste the wine, and now it's my third go round with the 2005 Trius Red.  '05 was a good year in Ontario and the reds loved the weather.  According to the most recent LCBO vintage chart they rate Niagara wines from 2005 a 9A (meaning a nine out of ten and "A" for can be aged longer) ... I would agree.  This red blend is drinking well now but could stand another 5 years or more without too much degradation.  The nose is black currant, black raspberry, vanilla and cinnamon spice.  The palate doles out oak from the get go before the wood relinquishes its hold and lets the spice and the the black fruit emerge, so some patience when drinking now is a must.  If you have some in the cellar, like I do, drink one now just to get a frame of reference and we'll talk about this one again in a couple of years.  Cheers.


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August 5, 2011

Colchester Ridge Estate Winery 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon

 

(Re-Tasted August 2011) ... Since I am going to the Lake Erie North Shore on the weekend to give a talk about one of my favourite Ontario grapes, Cabernet Franc, at their annual Vintage tasting (Sunday August 7) - I thought it only right to re-taste a wine from the region.  I have two sitting in my current Taste it Again box, one from Colchester Ridge and another from Sprucewood, both wineries will definitely be in attendance at the event ... but in this case Colchester has home field advantage as it is there were the event will be taking place, so I plucked that one out of the case for a re-taste.  Smell was a little funky and vegetal which made me believe I was going to have a problem but I am always willing to give a bottle a second or third chance so I swirled and sniffed again with much the same result.  I decided to take a sip and see how the palate had fared, and I was pleasantly surprised.  First thing I noticed was the acidity was quite pronounced, which helped to bring the wines flavours out, they thankfully did not match the nose.  Yes there seemed to be a lot of wooden character along with cassis and spice notes which begin to emerge the longer the wine remained open - but I would say this wine is on it's downward spiral so drink now but let stand open about an hour before diving right in.

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July 30, 2011

Cave Spring 2006 Riesling "Dolomite"


(Re-Tasted July 2011) ... Seems I have sipped on this wine in this column before (January 2010) and I still can revisit this wine a few more times in years to come and I'm thrilled by that because this is a classic:  the first bottling of this soil specific Riesling by one of the preeminent Riesling producers of Niagara.  This wine is still a beauty with smells of apple, mineral and apricot on a soft pillow of petrol that just gently wafts through without being intrusive.  On the palate there is mineral and apple with some spiced peach syrup and another hint at some petrol to carry it along to the finish, it really is just a soft titch.  While the finish is lime based with some excellent length ... still hold up beautifully, can't wait to open the next bottle.

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July 20, 2011

Southbrook 2002 Triomphe Cabernet Sauvignon

Found July 2011


What a treat this was, even if most in the room had no idea what they were trying.  It was the after affair of my wine tasting duties of my annual Pine Island visit.  We had just finished a 6 wine tasting of New Zealand (only 1) and Australia (5 wines) – of course, as expected, the reds were a big hit – Aussie’s big bold and recognizable flavours usually are.  But for dinner I had brought a special bottle that I was looking forward to tasting, and it was this Southbrook number that was 9 years old.  After the robustness of the Aussies this was a subtle experiment and most stayed with the knock-over-your-head with flavour of the Down Under Wines, which left more for me, and I could not be more thankful.  The wine is at its peak (or maybe just slightly off peak) still holding on to fruit like cassis and sour cherry with vanilla wood backing.  The palate is having a heyday with a touch of green pepper (so slight that it disappears with time - after 3 or 4 sips) giving way to a brilliant smoothness that is flavoured with cassis and vanilla-wooden notes.  Deliciously amazing, smooth and easy sipping.  If you have a bottle or two I suggest bringing some out, firing up the grill and matching it up with something medium-rare … I hope you too will be stunned.  Lost & Found Rating:  Treasure


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July 7, 2011

Chateau des Charmes 2005 St. David's Cabernet Franc


(Re-Tasted July 2011) ... This was a pleasant surprise of a wine to pull out of one of my Taste it Again boxes: one, because I love Cabernet Franc and two, because the folks at Chateau des Charmes seem to do it quite well - and they are particularly ageable, especially when it is the single vineyard series.  So, needless to say I was thrilled to pop the top on this one.  2005:  good vintage, nice heat, ripe grapes, so this one should do just fine in the glass some 6 years later.  At first I have to admit I was a little skeptical, woody and cigar notes lead the aromas to the nose, but then as it opened there was some raspberry notes that also started to come up.  With a little more time the wood started to subside and the fruit and cigar ash rose ... very pleasant.  On the palate the same thing occurred, but it unfolded a little quicker, instead of half an hour to start to mellow (which was the time for the nose to start) it took half that time for the palate to start coming around.  Spice, tobacco, cedar, and a cocoa powder dryness on the finish - there was also that woodiness, but as I mentioned it started to dissipate within a quarter of an hour and replaced itself with a the oomph and bite of a spiced characteristic.  This wine needs some time in a decanter, and make sure you have a big glass to pour it into or this bruiser will get the better of you.  Advice: Drink or hold a few more years.


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