A 10 Month Rest

This is my first post on here in almost 10 months. My how time flies. I could say the hiatus was because I stopped drinking wine or moved into the wilderness away from all that scary technology, but that wouldn't be true. I really don't have any good excuse. I did stop making notes on wines, but I've decided to start this up again. So for today, the bad news is this post is just me rambling on, I don't actually have a review for you . The good news is that I'm once again attending the Gourmet Food and Wine Expo here in Toronto! On Nov. 16th I plan on writing many reviews on here, so mark it on your calendar.

A couple months ago I was in Napa, but no I didn't write any notes down so I can't post any of my traditional reviews. I did taste and subsequently buy a bottle of the best Pinot Noir I've ever had, very smooth with a nice finish. The wine is from Napa Cellars but unfortunately is not available at the LCBO. If you are thinking of going to Napa, I recommend doing your own tour. I found the bus tour to be too restrictive and I feel that the samples were smaller than if I had come in on my own. I also found out from the bus driver that some wineries in Napa no longer let buses come in because they feel on average not as many people buy their wine. Although Napa tends to get all the attention, I recommend touring around Sonoma (right next door) and also further south in Cali to Paso Robles.

I couldn't believe how much cheaper wine in California was compared to here in Ontario, Canada. I was able to buy a bottle of J. Lohr Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon for $13. Whereas back home that same bottle costs $22. An even bigger difference was Moet & Chandon  Brut Imperial. It costs $62 at the LCBO, but only $37 at BevMo in California! It worked out to being cheaper than when I bought a bottle last year where it is made in Epernay, France.

2 Chateauneuf-du-Pape Wines

I have never tried wines from the Chateauneuf-du-Pape area of France before, mainly because they tend to be priced in the $30+ range. I had the opportunity to try two different wines from this area over the holidays.

The first wine I had was Les Hautes Brusquieres 2009 $56.00. Even though it had been decanted for about an hour, it was still very dark and dense. The wine had a noticeable alcohol taste to it and was fairly chalky in taste. It was not too enjoyable and I wouldn't buy this even if it were $10. Perhaps a longer decanting time would help. JC83

The second wine was Anselme la Fiole $34.95 . I know bottle of this wine quite well because it stands out. It is slightly slanted and is purposefully dirty. Perhaps this is a homage to C-d-P's rustic roots, before Robert Parker touted this style of wine on the world stage, increasing the price four-fold. I enjoyed this wine more after letting it sit out for a while. It was a dense, full-bodied wine, but not quite as dark and thick as the Les Hautes. There was no vintage on the bottle that I could notice, which I found odd. JC85

All in all, a similar experience to when I first had amarone. Again, a wine that you can't really find for under $30 at the LCBO, and like the C-d-P's, a strong, deep-bodied wine that perhaps I had too high expectations for given the price and prestige surrounding it.

Hardy's Butcher's Gold

Hardy's Butcher's Gold 2011 $15.00. This Australian wine is a combination of shiraz and sangiovese, something that I've never tried before. The wine is a deep red colour and the nose had a deep fruit smell.  The sangiovese smooths out the strong shiraz, although there is still a peppery finish. This wine is on the heftier side and would go well with a nice steak. JC86

 

It's hard to believe it's been over a month since my last post. I attribute this to a few things, including getting a new computer, getting a new job and drinking mainly "home-made" wine that I've discussed on this blog in the past. I am very excited for a few weeks from now for the annual Gourmet Food & Wine Expo! 

 

Gran Feudo Reserva 2006 $15.95. The wine is a combination of tempranillo, cabernet sauvignon and merlot. As to what the percent breakdown is, I cannot say. This wine has a pleasant smell, hints of green vegetable. It was fairly smooth tasting, with herbal notes. This is a full-bodied wine that went well with my filet mignon. I would recommend red meat to pair this with, as it's not a sans food sipping wine. JC87

Blackstone Merlot

Blackstone Winemakers Select Merlot 2010 $15.95. I ordered this bottle at a restaurant for my wife’s birthday. It was $35, so not a ridiculous mark-up. I recommend letting this wine decant for at least 30 minutes to open it up. It had a subtle fruit-oak mixed scent and was a nice tasting, fairly smooth wine. JC88

Pelee Island Monarch 2011

Pelee Island Monarch Red 2011 $10.45. The 2008 vintage of the Monarch Red was the first wine that I bought multiple bottles of. It was the wine that introduced me to the Pelee Island winery and it was my go-to wine for a period of time. Then along came the 2009 vintage and it was noticeably sweeter, making it not nearly as good. There was a lot of anticipation for the 2010 vintage, hoping that it would be more like ’08 than like ’09. It turned out that there was no 2010 vintage. I was thinking that the Monarch Red was now a thing of the past, something I would only have in memories.

 

You could imagine my surprise and excitement when I was in the LCBO yesterday and spotted a Monarch Red 2011! I was cautiously optimistic and had to drink it that evening to see how it was. There was a fruity scent with subtle oak in the background. The taste was smooth, but still sweeter than I would have liked. I may buy another bottle, but unfortunately it won’t be my go-to wine. JC86

Beronia Tempranillo

Beronia Tempranillo 2009 $11.45. A friend brought this Spanish wine over before he left for Spain. Powerful scents of fruit and oak. This is a full-bodied wine that would go well with a steak or a hardy stew. JC87

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

Santo in Santorini

After France, the next leg of our honeymoon was in Greece. We visited the beautiful island of Santorini, where grapes have been grown for wine for thousands of years. Unlike pretty much everywhere else in the world, the vines are grown close to the ground and as the vine grows, it gets woven around in a circle to keep the grapes safe from the winds.

The Santo Winery is a cooperative and the largest wine producer on the island. Rather than doing expensive wine tours offered by our hotel, we walked 15 minutes to the winery ourselves. For under 9 euros each, we got a screening of a short film on the history of wine in Santorini and Santo Wines, a private tour around the winery and three tastings each.

Even though the grapes are still picked by hand the same way it has been done for generation after generation, the wine making process at Santo is totally modern. The winery itself is at the top of the cliff overlooking the caldera, a truly beautiful view that didn’t get old the entire time we were on the island.

We asked them to pour 6 different wines and we shared.

Assyrtico 2011: This white wine and one of the most popular indigenous grapes on the island had a citrus smell. The taste was light and refreshing, reminding me of a sauvignon blanc. I really enjoyed it. JC90

Nykteri 2011: Another indigenous grape, this white wine had a wine cellar smell to it. It was more full-bodied and not as smooth. I think this would be better with food. JC87
Ageri semi dry Rose 2011: There were floral and strawberry notes. A somewhat sweet wine with a smooth finish. JC89
Kameni 2010: This dry red wine is aged in oak for 12 months. There was a strong oak smell. A fairly easy drinking wine, however no real flavour. It may do better in the bottle for a little while longer. JC85
Imiglikes 2011: This wine smells and tastes sweet. It is chardonnay-like, but sweeter. The Greek version of semi-sweet is what I’m used to as sweet. JC85

Vinsanto 2004: I get the feeling that this wine is what Santo is most proud of, and they should be given the number of international awards it has won over the years. This wine was aged for three years in oak barrels and is made up of 75% assyrtiko and 25% aidani. The grapes are sun dried for 8-10 days. The wine had an amber colour, reminding me of a well-aged port. It had an oak and caramel scent and a honey and caramel taste. It reminded me of a low alcohol port. JC88

We ended up buying a bottle of the assyrtico to take home with us.