Bolla Valpolicella

Bolla Valpolicella 2010. This wine is not available at the LCBO. I had a nice dinner at a restaurant and this bottle cost $34. Not a premium-priced wine by any stretch if it was available at a store, but like many Italian wines, the value is good. The wine has spicy and light fruit notes on the nose, with a gentle spice finish. I enjoyed this wine, it was fairly light-bodied with a slight sweetness to it, which went well with the ribs I had for dinner. JC87

When at a restaurant, I tend to order bottles that aren’t available at the LCBO. One reason is that I often know how much I can buy them for at the store and therefore how ridiculously large the mark-up of the restaurant is. Another reason is I like variety. If it’s something I can get from the LCBO, then why not pay a lot less and get from there to try. I like restaurants that have some lesser-known, but still good quality wines on their menu.

Chateau de Gourgazaud 2009

Chateau de Gourgzaud 2009 $12.95. There were scents of earth and an acidic earthy taste, which was not enjoyable. This wine was a disappointment after Wine Align gave it a 90. I had bought this wine for my mom at Christmas time, but we didn’t get around to drinking it until her birthday. At least she seemed to enjoy it, which is what really counts. JC82

Cathedral Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon

Cathedral Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 $14.95. This is a Vintages Essentials at the LCBO and was highly rated on Wine Align, so I had been wanting to try this wine for a while. It was a Cab Sauv unlike I’d had before. There were notes of oak and meadow and a lot of fruit flavour drinking it. This had a strong scent and a somewhat different taste than most North American cab sauvs I’ve had. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this wine and thought it was well made and a good value given the quality. On the other hand, my fiancé did not care for this wine at all. JC88

Chateau Bel Air

Chateau Bel Air 2010 $11.95. This is not a complex tasting wine, but nice non-the-less. It has cherry notes and a nice smooth finish. I had this with pasta and it went well. JC87

Mouton Cadet (White)

Mouton Cadet (White) 2009 $13.45. I had the red Mouton Cadet in September and was somewhat disappointed. The white redeemed the Mouton name. It had apple and subtle floral scents with a nice finish that was well balanced between dry and sweet. JC88

Happy New Year! Cheers to 2012!

Happy New Year to everyone! I have three more wines below that I tasted in 2011, but didn't get a chance to post until today. By my count, that brings the total number of wines reviewed in 2011 to 98. I plan on surpassing that in 2012 since this year I will have a full year to review.

I had two samples at the LCBO, from the New Zealand winery, the Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2011 $17.95 and the Oyster Bay Chardonnay 2010 $16.95. I`ve enjoyed the sauvignon blanc at work functions in the past. It had pleasant floral notes and is a clean crisp wine. I tried the chardonnay for the first time and was hit by a sickeningly sweet scent and taste. Unlike the pleasant sweetness of nice ports and ice wines, this had a sweetness that I imagined would give me a headache after one glass.

Sauvignon Blanc: JC87; Chardonnay: JC75

Jean Bousquet Malbec 2010. I had this wine at a restaurant (the Keg) and it is not offered at the LCBO. I hadn’t had a malbec for a while, so I thought I’d go for it with my steak dinner. It was nice, with floral and earthy scents. The wine had a hint of oak and enjoyable fruit flavour. JC88

Pelee Island Pinot Noir 2010 (non-VQA)

Pelee Island Pinot Noir 2010 $10.95. Pelee Island Winery makes two different Pinot's: a VQA (all Ontario grapes) and a blend of Ontario and international grapes. This wine, which I tried at a friends' house, is the non-VQA. Although I’ve yet to try a pinot that I really enjoy, I found this to probably be the best one yet. It had notes of raspberry and a smooth taste. However, the finish was too short and dry for my liking. JC85

Two Wines over the Christmas Season

Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate and Season's Greetings to all of you who don't. Over the past number of days I have been enjoying the season by eating and drinking more than usual, as tends to be the case during gatherings with family and friends. The two wines below are ones I enjoyed with my family over the holidays.

Valpantena Amarone Della Valpolicella 2008 $34.95. Hint of spicy notes and after getting some air into it, there were some oak notes as well. It was a nicely made wine with a long finish. JC87

White House Riesling Pinot Grigio 2010 $12.95. This wine has nice floral aromas with a somewhat sweet finish. I enjoyed it with my Christmas turkey dinner. JC86

Negrar Amarone

Negrar Amarone Classico 2008 $34.95. I had a free sample of this wine at the LCBO. It was quite alcoholic at 15.5%, and I could taste the alcohol. It’s a powerful wine that would be nice with red meat. Decanting for an hour before serving would probably soften it somewhat. Notes of oak and a smoky flavour. JC84

Greatwall Cabernet Sauvignon

Greatwall Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 $15.95. I had some extra peach schnapps, so I thought I’d exchange it for this wine, the first I’ve tasted, let alone seen, from China. It didn’t have much of a scent to it. The taste was fairly one dimensional with a hint of cardboard at the finish. I enjoyed this wine more than my fiancée who did not care for it. It had a fairly smooth taste and was drinkable. I’m glad I tried it, because it’s from a new region, but I won’t be running back to the store to buy more wines from China. JC83

Southbrook Connect Red

Tasted December 2011: Southbrook Connect Red 2009 $14.95. This is an organic wine from Niagara-on-the-Lake. Although it does not say on the bottle, it is a combination of cab sauv (73%), cab franc (20%) and a little bit of Merlot (7%). It had an oaky/murky scent to it and the taste was fairly smooth. It wasn’t a terrible wine, but not really too enjoyable. JC82

Jackson Triggs Cab Sauv

Jackson Triggs Proprietors’ Selection Cabernet Sauvignon $9.95. This wine was given to me as a gift. I normally wouldn’t have bought it because it is a blend of Canadian and international grapes. Although it does not specify where internationally. Also, there is no vintage year on the bottle, another giveaway that it is not a high quality wine. I’ve grown up to think that if an Ontario wine is not VQA, meaning 100% of the grapes used to make the wine came from Ontario, it is a low quality, less than satisfactory tasting product. This wine is sold at Wine Rack locations in Ontario, which the parent company Vincor operates.

Upon opening the bottle, I found the wine in need of some air, which is usual for a cab sauv. It had a nice, fairly smooth taste to it. Notes of black cherry. Overall this was a nice tasting cab sauv that was an alright value. JC85