Burgundy lovers may want to stop reading. This Cali Pinot is the complete opposite of what can be found in the Cote-d'Or. It was tasty, but a little too big for my liking of Pinot Noirs.
Belle Glos Pinot Noir Clark & Telephone 2010 (Santa Maria Valley, California)
Dark ruby in colour. Very expressive on the nose. Aromas of bright red cherries, raspberries, cinnamon, all spice, and licorice. On the palate, loads of red fruit and spice. Good length and acidity, but a bit alcoholic on the finish (14.3%). Full bodied Cali Pinot! Hold on for the ride! Warning: Not for Burgundy lovers.
88 points
Monday, June 24, 2013
Syrah/Shiraz Wine Tasting Event
* If you would like me to run a structured wine tasting for
you and your friends, leave me a message. (Golden Horseshoe, GTA, and Muskoka).
About a year ago I started my WSET level 2 course during the month
of July. While attending this course, friends of my parents approached me and
were interested in having me run a sit down wine tasting event at their house.
I was really excited when they asked me and looked forward to booking a date.
Due to busy schedules and conflicting dates, it took a while for us to solidify
a date. Thankfully during the month of May we came to the conclusion that June
22, 2013 would work! Once we had the date set in stone, it was time to go to work!
In the past I have been to many structured wine tasting events.
I knew what tools and knowledge is needed to run a fun and educational tasting.
What I did not know was what theme to do? Or should I bother with a theme?
Through much debate in my head I ended up choosing to do a tasting around
Syrah/Shiraz from different places.
I felt very confident with this theme because two years ago
I visited the Mecca of Syrah in Tain-l’Hermitage, in the Northern
Rhone . As well, I drink this grape on a regular basis and
understand the different expressions that can be shown. This thick sink, dark
grape can be both elegant and powerful. In the past this grape has been know to
be a bit over the top (Aussie Shiraz), but thankfully producers are starting to
calm down that style and are emulate the Northern Rhone style.
My next step was to find the wines that I would want to
showcase. A very enjoyable stage as I get great satisfaction in the “hunt”. I
also needed to set a budget for each wine ($25-$30).This allowed me to specify
my search even more. So, what to choose??? A Syrah from the N.
Rhone is a given. Crozes-Hermitage or Saint Joseph would work under my budget. I also
wanted to showcase a Shiraz
from Barossa, but didn’t want to have a jammy, candy-land wine. Extensive research
was needed in order to refine my search. The final 5 were as followed (Shown in
order of tasting):
Delas Freres
Crozes-Hermitage Domaine des Grands Chemins 2010 (N.Rhone , France )
- Northern Rhone
representation. ($31)
Terlato &
Chapoutier Shiraz/Viognier 2011 (Victoria ,
Australia )
- Showing how Syrah/Shiraz can be blended with white Rhone varietals. As well this wine shows how drastically
different it can be from a Barossa Shiraz. ($25)
- This was the “value” pick of then bunch. I wanted to show
that good, tasty wine can be found under the $15 range. People were pleasantly
surprised with this wine. I cannot take full credit of finding this valued gem,
as I constantly checked Steve Thurlow’s Top
50 wine value picks. Which can be viewed here http://www.winealign.com/blog/tag/steve-thurlow ($11)
Reininger Syrah 2007
(Walla Walla , Washington )
- I really wanted to find an American Syrah. I was happy to have
found this Washington
state Syrah because I really enjoy wines from the Pacific North West. I was
also considering a Niagara Syrah, but was not able to find one that would
suffice. ($31)
Spinifex Bete Noir
2010 (Barossa/Eden Valley, Australia )
- This was the big Aussie that I was looking for. This was a
very bold wine that was not too over the top. ($35)
Now that the wines were bought and put away in the cellar
until show time, it was time to think about the finer details. Leading up to
the tasting I made the decision to rent ISO tasting glasses for the event. I
felt renting glasses would be an easier clean up. I would definitely rent
again.
A couple days before the tasting I thought that it would be
very educational and fun to have a platter of Syrah/Shiraz aromas/flavour
profiles for the group to experience. The group really enjoyed honing their
nose and palate. I had the following aroma/flavour profiles out for my group:
- Black Pepper
- Cloves
- Rosemary
- Tobacco (cigar)
- Bacon
- Orange zest
- Dark Chocolate
The group of ten had a wonderful time and learned a lot form
this unknown grape. Many of them have had/herd of Shiraz , but a majority have never tasted
Syrah before. Great questions were asked and I believe I changed some people’s
views on this thick skinned grape. At the end I had the group rate their wines
to see what the WOTN (Wine Of The Night) was. Their rankings and my own
rankings/tasting notes can be found below.
Delas Freres
Crozes-Hermitage Domaine des Grands Chemins 2010
(N.Rhone , France )
A great old world
Syrah. It's not going to please new world fans, but I really liked it. Dark
colour. Aromas of black fruit, orange zest, olive, pepper, and leather. Very
enjoyable mouthfeel. Dark fruit, pepper, and earth dominates the palate.
Enjoyable now, but will reward 5-7 years in the cellar. My #1, Groups #4. 91 Points
Terlato &
Chapoutier Shiraz/Viognier 2011 (Victoria ,
Australia )
Lighter in colour
than the rest of the Syrah/Shiraz tasted, due to cooler climate of Victoria . The 5%
Viognier really helps the aromas (really nice floral). Other aromas of
raspberries, blueberries, pepper, meat. Great mouth feel. Not a burly Shiraz . Dark fruit on the
finish. A great summer time Shiraz .
My #3, Groups #3.
90 Points
Cusumano Syrah 2012 (Sicily , Italy )
Great value Syrah. Aromas of light red fruit, pepper, and orange zest. Nice palate of red
fruit. Nothing amazing, but a good wine for the price ($11).
Surprisingly, this was my mom’s favourite. She normally does not favour the
value wines! My #5, Groups #5.
86 Points
Reininger Syrah 2007
(Walla Walla , Washington )
A blend of 3
vineyards ( Ash Hollow, Pepper Bridge & Seven Hills). Dark purple in
colour. This wine gave off aromas of blueberries, smoke, pomegranate, and
pepper. Rich mouth feel. The dark fruit dominate the palate. Alcohol is
prevalent on the finish, which was off putting. I found the single vineyard 2006
Ash Hollow Syrah more enjoyable. I tried this last fall. My #4, Groups #2. 88 Points
Spinifex Bete Noir
2010 (Barossa/Eden Valley, Australia )
Rich dark purple.
Aromas of blueberries, pepper, and cloves. Very powerful on the palate. Dark
fruit dominates the pepper and other secondary flavors. Great length. This is a
new breed of refined Australian Shiraz. WOTN for the group. I am very happy
with the progress happening with regards to Australian Shiraz. My #2, Groups
#1. Very close between this and the Delas. 91
Points
I would like to
thank Roland and Carol for allowing me to run this tasting. I had a blast and I
hope to do it again soon!
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Private Wine Stores: Ontario needs to wake up! (Vancouver Part I)
Last week I traveled to Vancouver with my wife to attend my
sister-in-laws graduation from UBC. What a beautiful part of the country! Vancouver had such a different feeling than Toronto , people seem more relax and I hardly heard any car
horns while staying in Kitsilano (a neighbourhood in Vancouver ). I really enjoyed my time
exploring Vancouver
and getting a feel for the west coast.
While attending my sister-in-laws graduation on the
spectacular UBC campus, I realized two things. 1) UBC knows how to graduate in
style as the PAC gymnasium at the University
of Waterloo does not have
the grandeur of the Chan Centre at UBC. 2) I wished I went to UBC!
Chan Centre UBC |
After the graduation we went out to an amazing dinner at
Bishops (see Vancouver Part 2). After the meal I began to think about which
private wine stores I would visit in the next few days. It would be a brand new
experience!
For those who are not aware, there are two sources in which
you can buy wine in BC. You can either go to their government run store (BC Liquor)
or buy from their many private stores. Sadly, Ontario does not have the option of private
stores to purchase wine. We only have one choice, the LCBO! I was very
interested to see how these private stores were run, the type of wines they
offered, and the overall vibe of the private scene.
During my stay in Vancouver ,
I visited three private wine stores and was very impressed with the overall
quality of the wine that they had and the friendly and knowledgeable staff. I really
enjoyed viewing different wines that are not available back home in Ontario . Thanks to the
great selection at Marquis, I decided to purchase a bottle of Domaine Tempier
La Tourtine 2008 which is mainly Mourvedre, from the Bandol region. I’m really
looking forward to opening that in the future! Wait, I’m getting off topic!
Time to get back to talking about private wine stores…
I visited the following private stores in Vancouver :
- Marquis Wine
- Liberty Wine (Granville Island )
- Kitsilano Wine
Kitsilano Wine (Home of the DRC!) |
I was very impressed, as each store had a great selection of
wines at different price points. I was especially excited to be able to view several
bottles of Domain de la Romanée Conti (DRC) and many First Growths up cloBurgundy at
Marquis and many different labels and regions that are not represented in Ontario . I really
enjoyed seeing the representation of the American Pacific Northwest (Washington
& Oregon )
at these stores. I’ve come to really enjoy wines from that region, but they are
hard to acquire and I feel this is an area that is very limited at the LCBO.
se at
Kitsilano Wine. Sadly these wines were in a glass case, so I was not able to
touch greatness (Many of the DRC were in the $4,000 range!) I also enjoyed
seeing the great selection of
My only complaint about these private stores is their
pricing. More often than not, the prices at these private stores are a lot more
expensive than LCBO prices. I’m not sure why this is the Vancouver
as a whole is pretty pricey (gas is 1.40 a litre!). So maybe that is the reason…
case. The only answer
I could think of is that
I was extremely impressed with the private wine stores in Vancouver . While walking
down the aisle I kept on thinking to myself “this be nice to have in Ontario ”. I would love
to know my local wine store owner by name, to buy from someone who is
passionate & educated, and to not have to deal with a government monopoly
when it comes to wine. That would be amazing! I would love to see private
stores open in Ontario ,
but I am not even sure if it will happen in my lifetime.
Kudos to B.C. and their private wine stores. Keep up the
passion!
Liberty Wines Granville Island |
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