Whitehaven Pinot Noir

Whitehaven Pinot Noir 2010 $22.65. I tried a sample of this New Zealand pinot at the LCBO. It is currently $2 off. This is so far my favourite pinot. I’m not sure if it’s due to the region, but it didn’t have the dirt taste that I’ve associated pinots with in the past. It had a nice juicy taste and a fruitful scent. I may have to explore pinot from New Zealand in more detail. JC87

Luigi Bosca 'Finca La Linda' Malbec

Luigi Bosca ‘Finca La Linda’ Malbec 2010. The Spanish phrase in the title of this wine means the pretty farm. There are a couple of malbecs from Luigi Bosca at the LCBO, and a couple of ‘Finca La Linda’ wines but not this particular one. It was $38.95 at the restaurant. Right off, this wine had a really nice scent. It was a deep smell of fruit blended with oak and vanilla. I can often tell if I’ll like a wine by the scent. This was no exception. The wine was full-bodied, flavourful of fruit and a nice finish. I really enjoyed it, and the others I was dinning with seemed to as well. JC91

2 Nice Wines for under $10

Farnese Casale Vecchio Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2010 $9.90. This wine is a great value. It has a nice fruity scent and juicy yet clean and dry taste. It would be interesting to try this wine against its slightly cheaper sibling: Farnese Montepulciano D’Abruzzo $7.45. I’m not sure if I would be able to tell the difference or not, as they are both very nice tasting wines for a very decent price. I will have to try that experiment someday. JC88

Woodbridge White Zinfandel 2008 $9.95. This is a nice mellow wine, floral on the nose, and easy drinking. I recommend this for relaxing on the patio with a book or having with light appetisers. JC88

Hawkeye Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

Hawkeye Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2005. This was a wine that I received as a gift in December 2010 and had been aging gracefully in my wine fridge since then. It is a big bold California Cab, made by large winemaker Kendall-Jackson. It’s not actually sold at the LCBO, but it retails for about $45 in the U.S. The weather is getting nicer, so I decided to pair this wine up with a steak off the bbq, baked potato and asparagus. I let the wine decant for an hour beforehand. It poured a very dark red, almost black. There was subtle oak and black cherry on the nose. The taste was a nice juicy full-bodied wine with a lot of fruit on the pallet and a smooth finish. In my mind it tasted how a nice Cali Cab should taste. JC90

Boutari Agiorgitiko

Boutari Agiorgitiko 2008 $11.95. I had this wine last night at a Greek restaurant ($30 for the bottle). I haven’t had good luck with Greek wine in the past, and this was no exception. The wine was fairly light in colour had a hint of vinegar on the pallet. Although not a terrible wine, it wasn’t something that I’d want to drink again.  JC83

Sandeman Ruby Port & Santa Carolina Cab/Merlot

Sandeman Ruby Port $14.95. I received this port for my birthday and decided to give it a try. It didn’t have much of a scent. The taste was fairly medicinal. It tasted like I was drinking cough syrup. JC83

Santa Carolina Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 2010 $7.95. This wine received decent reviews and the price is right, so I decided to buy it. It was a nice fruit smell on the nose. The wine had a nice smooth taste with subtle cherry and oak. It’s not a complex wine, but it’s a nice to-the-point table wine. JC86

Hungaria Sauvignon Blanc

Hungaria Sauvignon Blanc $9.95. I decided to try this white because it’s from a country that I don’t have a lot of wine drinking experience from: Hungary. It’s made by the same winery that makes a nice $12 sparkling wine. The wine has a nice floral scent, however tasted more like a chardonnay than a sauv blanc due to the sweetness and the density of the wine. Another thing, I didn’t notice this until I started writing this review, but there isn’t a vintage year on the bottle. JC83

A Couple of Italian Reds

Fontella Chianti 2010 $11.95. We had a couple of friends over for dinner and they brought over this Chianti, which we had with dinner. It was a very nice wine with black cherry notes and subtle oak and earth on the palette. Very smooth drinking. JC90

During the same evening, following dinner I opened a cheap Italian wine I had in the ‘cellar’: Dragani Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2010. At $6.95, I believe it’s tied for the cheapest 750ml bottle of wine that you can buy at the LCBO. You can also buy a 2000ml bottle for $16.95, which is even a better deal. The common rule with dinner parties is that you shouldn’t open a nice bottle after guests have already been consuming a decent amount of alcohol. Since people had been enjoying beer and white wine as well as the Chianti already, I pulled the Dragani out. It was a nice simple, smooth tasting red. Nothing special, but enjoyable all the same. JC86

Chateau Canada

Chateau Canada 2007 $12.10. I picked up a bottle of this French Bordeaux wine after it was announced that it was discontinued at the LCBO. There are only a handful of bottles left in the system. I had held onto this bottle for 4 or 5 months, but figured I’d open it and enjoy it with a pork roast and potatoes. I recommend letting this wine decant for an hour before drinking. The wine seemed to have an earthy smell. It was a smooth tasting wine and quite dry. Nothing wrong with it, however it was not exciting and did not have a long finish. JC85

Kittling Ridge Kingsgate Port

There are a few different Canadian ports offered at the LCBO. They are all under $10. My friend gave me one for my birthday. I wasn’t expecting anything much, but after tasting the Kittling Ridge Kingsgate Port $9.95, I realized that a bargain Canadian port is not bad. The smell was quite nice: sweetness with a mix of fruit, and similar to other ports I’ve had. The downside was the taste. There was not a lot of fruit flavour and a more pronounced alcohol taste than of the more expensive Portugal ports I’ve previously had. JC86

Castillo de Monseran Garnacha

Castillo de Monseran Garnacha 2010 $8.95. This was one of the two bottles of wine I had bought my mom for her birthday at the end of January. We ended up opening it during my birthday. It had black cherry on the nose. The wine was very smooth, easy drinking. This is a nice wine to have on its own or with pasta. JC89

Trius Red Event

The 2010 Trius Red has been released at the Hillebrand winery, however will not be available at the LCBO for at least a couple of weeks. We had the opportunity to pre-order the 2010 for a small discount to retail, hopefully getting our 6 bottles this coming week. For people who pre-ordered, the winery held a couple of Trius Red events. The first event was a drop in event offering tastings of the 2010 and 2000 Trius vintages as well as sampling a burger with Trius Red as an ingredient. The second event was a structured tasting led by Trius winemaker and head winemaker for Peller, Craig McDonald. We got to sample the 2010, 2009 and 2003 Trius Red vintages. It’s interesting how different the vintages tasted.

2010: As Craig McDonald said, he has no excuses for not making a good wine in 2010. The weather conditions were ideal in Niagara, with nice hot temperatures and the right amount of rainfall at fairly regular intervals during the season. The wine had medium oaky notes mixed with fruit. The taste is fairly smooth with nice fruit flavour coming through. This wine is supposed to hold up for 10-12 years. It will be interesting to see how it ages. JC92

2009: Scents aren’t as sharp as the 2010. A bit harsh taste. JC86

2003: Plastic/leather smell, unlike any wine I’ve smelled before. A smooth mild berry taste. JC88

2000: Strong earthy scent. Did not notice any oak. A very mello tasting wine with not a strong flavour, yet still enjoyable. JC89

At the end of the tutored tasting, Craig had a small amount of the 2010 Trius Grand Red that is still aging in the barrels. I managed to get a taste and I was thoroughly impressed. It was smoother than the Red and had excellent flavours already. However it won’t be released until the fall.