Talk about a nightmare for a wine lover - here I am packing up to move and I decide it's time for a glass. I am working on my 2002 wines (I organize my cellar by year, not by producer) and decided to lighten the load by pulling out a bottle (Masi 2002 Modello delle Venezie) which has turned to prune juice - I blame myself for waiting so long to consume it, but also some of that blame rests on the plastic cork. Then I grab out another (Firestone 2002 Merlot), this one is corked beyond all recognition, it never stood a chance. And I try yet another (Vendage 2002 Shiraz) - this wine also had a plastic cork. There was no sign of any fruit, just lot of oxidization and a dry-Port like taste - I'm don't want to drink dry Port. Interestingly the bottle was coated with red sediment on the inside, this might have been a good one had the seal been better. Finally, a Castano 2002 Monastrell - something drinkable: it's smooth with cocoa, peppery nuances and wood notes, there's even hints of spice from another life. I thought of giving a piece of dark chocolate a try with it and it sure did liven the wine up, bringing out the cocoa aspect (no surprise) and the pepperiness. Good work Spain, sticking with cork, the rest of you, what were you thinking?
Friday, July 9, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
NK'Mip Cellars 2002 Merlot (British Columbia)
Having yet decided what to have for dinner I turn my attention to the wine I wanted to drink - a much more important decision. This Merlot is produced in British Columbia, Canada, by the Inkameep Indian Band - North America's first aboriginal owned and operated winery. The nose is smokey, slightly leathery, with hints of dried dark fruit. The palate is dried blackberries and spice with just a touch of cedar. The finish has nice length in the secondary fruit and oak tones, meaning you can taste the age of the wine, but it's not over the hill; in fact it's still quite lovely and sippable. This wine is on the downward swing of its life span but still very enjoyable - think I'll try a little pasta, that might work here.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Blackstone Winery 2002 Merlot (California)
Another one of those last minute wine decisions. Dinner was pan fried halibut, so the conventional wisdom should have steered me towards white, but instead I went with an older (8 years) California Merlot - what was I thinking? Whatever it was, it was a good call. The tannins on this wine had soften to a point where this was a smooth drinking wine - still enough plum along with black and blue berries to make it simple yet enjoyable, there was even a hint of licorice root to bring it all together. Funny thing about this wine is that at the time that I bought it I wrote "now" on the back of the bottle, meaning that I should have drunk it much sooner than I did; but I found it to be a heck of a lot more fascinating wine 8 years on then I would have back in the early part of the 2000's when I bought it. Just goes to show you, losing a bottle can be interesting and worthwhile. Of course I'm drinking wine for purely educational purposes, honest.
Cantina San Pancrazio 2008 Brachetto (Italy)
It's about 100 degrees in the shade - well where I am in Toronto it is. It's one of those blisteringly hot days of summer, with humidity up to here (you know the level where I am referring to - put your flattened hand above your head) ... and on a day like today nothing goes better then something simple and refreshing. Found a bottle of Brachetto in the fridge, popped the cork and found some big glasses to pour the wine into. This is not a complicated wine, the smell of grapes, some black raspberry (if you look for it) and ginger ale, with a little bit of fizz - this is the perfect wine to sip or even chug-a-lug at a time like this and at only 6% alcohol either way works. I know I'll open something later for dinner, but this makes for a great afternoon break.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
L.A. Cetto 2004 Petite Sirah (Mexico)
L.A. Cetto wines are always fun to bring to a BBQ and the reason is simple: people inevitably pick up the bottle (after they have tried it) and they take a second and sometimes a third look at the bottle, "I didn't know Mexico made wine". They do and it's usually pretty good, especially the ones from Cetto. I have tried their Zinfandel from them along with Nebbiolo and this Petite Sirah; and I find they offer great value. This one is 6 years old and still delivered a lot of pleasure and enjoyment: the nose smelled of black fruit and white pepper while the palate was plummy and peppery, quite a tasty treat for BBQ season.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Cattail Creek 2008 Gamay Noir (Ontario)
I reviewed this wine not too long ago, so I can’t legitimately look at it as one of my taste it again wines, therefore I will just tell you what I did with my day before going into my thoughts about the wine. Highlight of the day was the great lunch I had at About Thyme Bistro, pulled pork sandwich and an ice tea, broke up the tedious day of painting nicely. As for this Gamay, it is one of those wines with a funny smell – no bad just funny – but the taste more than makes up for it, and it’s so juicy and quaffable with flavours of fresh cherry juice, had I been thinking I would have put it in the fridge an hour ago, to give it a little chill so that the red fruit would pop and crackle, kinda like the fireworks going on outside, must be some kids lighting off the one’s they didn’t get to last night.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Christian Moueix 2000 Merlot (France)
It’s amazing what you find when you clean up a little. I am moving from one house to another, which means I have to take apart my existing wine cellar and move it to another location – this is probably the hardest part of the move, and yet the most exciting. That’s because it has to be done bottle-by-bottle and I get to touch and look at wines I have lost track of over the years and re-acquaint myself with them; like this Christian Moueix 2000 Merlot. I was surprised to see it as part of my inventory, and today I moved three racks worth of stuff to the new house (that’s about 135 bottles) so I decided to celebrate with this decade old Merlot. Smells were of forest floor, dried red berries, a touch of green veggie and some spiced vanilla oak. The palate was much better, I can’t say it was lively and fruity, but I can say that the dried fruit mixed well with the foresty floor and spiced oak – thankfully the green veggie was only on the nose. Now I know you are going to tell me it’s Canada Day and I should have opened a bottle of my Home Country’s wine; but I feel I did my part, I visited no less than 5 wineries today and here’s what I discovered: I was thoroughly impressed with Wes Lowrey and his Five Rows Vineyard offerings, Pondview has a wonderful array of well priced wines (and some stellar stuff in barrel). The Sauvignon Blanc from Strewn was as tasty as I remember it. Chateau des Charmes 2007 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay remains a favourite and Lailey, well their barrel burning BBQ isn’t till Saturday, so I’ll tell you about it then.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)