Wine Tasting at Summerhill LCBO

It had been a while since I had gone to the sampling bar at the LCBO, so I decided to go a try a couple wines. The first wine I had was Chateau de L’Aumerade Rose 2011 $15.95. Rose wines from France are often much different than those from North America. To start, the colour of the wine tends to be very pale, like a salmon type colour. Next, they tend to be not quite as sweet as their counterparts overseas. Here are my tasting notes: There were citrus flavours and smell. A somewhat sweet wine, light and juicy. JC87

The second wine I had was an Italian Barolo. I don't have much experience with Barolo's because similar to Amarone, although not to the same extent, they are pricier wines. Patrizi Barolo 2008 $23.95. A oaky smell, reminding me of a nice cab-sauv. This is a heavy wine with a smooth taste that would be good with grilled red meat. JC88

Rafale Merlot

Rafale Merlot 2010 $8.05. This was the red table wine at a wedding I was at. It’s a French wine from the Pays D’oc region. The nose had a fermented grape aroma and the taste was smooth, but with noticeable alcohol. A decent table wine, but nothing special. JC85

Farina Amarone

Farina Amarone 1998. This was the first time I got to enjoy a glass of amarone. Up until this point, I had had a couple of samples, but bottles start at $35, so it has always been above budget. I had the opportunity to try a bottle of 14 year old amarone today. It was decanted for about an hour before drinking. It is a big wine, and at 14.5% alcohol you can smell it, mixed with a fruity scent. The taste was smooth but high in alcohol too. JC84

Tokaji Aszu

Tokaji Aszu 2003 ($20ish for a 500ml bottle). This was the first time I had tried this Hungarian desert wine. It seems like most countries/regions have their own desert wine version, whether it’s ice wine from Niagara, Vinsanto from Santorini, Port from Portugal, etc. There was no distinct smell and a pear taste. I still haven’t found anything better than a nice port to finish a meal. JC87