A Mixed Bag from Bubbly to Malbec to Dessert (France / Argentina / Ontario / Australia)

I have been a little lax about updating this blog because we re building a new website and I keep hoping we can move all blogs to one location ... But the change over is moving at the speed of IT, and anyone who has worked with an IT department knows exactly what that means.  Subsequently I have not posted anything here thinking that I would just have to move it or it would not get swept up in the move ... but since we find ourselves behind schedule I thought I best keep going with my wine finds ... this one goes back to a dinner party we attended in early January - with a friend who is as passionate about wine as she is for making great food, not sure which one comes first in her book:

We kicked things off with a hybrid of our own doing:  a Chateau des Charmes Sparkling Brut and a dash of Tawse 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine, on it's own the Icewine had strawberry, cherry and hints of spice, not too sweet, with nice balancing acidity.  Combined they made one hell of an impressive aperitif.  There was also another bottle of bubbly on the table that night, but alas I did not take note of what it was.

Our friend is a huge fan of Malbec, and I thought I grab one from the homeland and one from the adopted land (France and Argentina) - both wines had a fair bit of age on them.  The Argentinean was a Altos 2002 Las Hormigas, and it was head-snappingly atrocious in both smell and flavour ... granted, maybe it was a little too long in the tooth, but I can't believe that plastic cork helped in any way.  The French version was a Chateau de Gaudou 2005 Cahors Tradition, and it showed amazingly well with plum, spice and pepper notes on the nose; palate was well-balanced with black raspberry and a lovely cedar finish ... now it also wasn't all Malbec (80%), it also had some Merlot (15%) and Tannat in there as well (5%).

Final wine of the night was Lillypilly Estate 2002 Noble Blend, I thought it was lovely for its age: caramel, apricot, lemon, baked pineapple, and after a while develops marmalade notes, these all appeared on the nose; palate showed off honey-apricot with some lively acidity, creamy mid, and a floral-vanilla finish ... alas I was the only one who really enjoyed this ... but then sometimes my inner wine-geek takes over.

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Three Thieves 2009 The Show Malbec (Argentina)

It's been a nice lazy New Year's Day around our place.  I wish I could tell you we got a lot accomplished but we did not ... we watched the Winter Classic between the Leafs and the Wings ... we watched the Rose Bowl, where Michigan State won for the first time in 26 years ... and we ate a plate of nachos together.  As for the wine, the wife went for her usual standby, a Riesling, while I dug into the cellar for something a little bit more interesting, a Three Thieves 2009 The Show Malbec.  I really like The Show Cabernet Sauvignon from California, I find it rich a juicy and not too taxing on the palate - I had heard of the Malbec (which comes from Argentina) but until today I had not tasted it, I've had it in the cellar for no more than a year, maybe two.  The nose is blackberry and cassis with black tea and cloves backing it up - the palate keeps the cassis, adds black pepper, a little juiciness and some woody character to the finish.  After trying this wine I can definitely say I prefer the Cab in this line but the Malbec is more than serviceable.

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Michel Torino 2006 Don David Malbec (Argentina)

It's a Thursday, that has no real significance but I thought I would point that out - looking for a bottle of wine I go no further than my sideboard, which has been housing this bottle for a few weeks now because we did not open it at a recent gathering of friends (it was picked out to open but never made the table).  I have had a bottle or two of this wine in the past and find it not only good value, but exceptionally well balanced and enjoyable, especially in the fruit-department.  So far I can say all that for when it's young: it is deliciously easy to drink - thing is, now it is 7 years old:  will it be just as fun to drink?  The answer is a resounding yes.  The nose and palate seem to go hand-in-hand with plenty of chocolate, blackberry, cassis, and white pepper; palate adds an inkling of sour blueberry but is smooth with hints of black licorice on the finish.  It has held up well, and still has life left in it - looking at my cellar inventory it seems I have a bottle left and will be glad to have it within the next year or two.

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Nieto Senetiner 2008 Don Nicanor Malbec (Argentina)

A little family dinner and it came after a large Gallo tasting I had in downtown Toronto ... one of my rules of thumb after a tasting is that I want to get as far away from the tasting country as possible.  With lots of different wines in the Gallo portfolio it is hard to figure out where to go, but I figured Argentina might be a good place to start ... and this Nicanor is always a good wine (in fact I have a 2001 in my cellar that I might be trying sooner rather than later).  This aged Malbec really delivered the goods with blackberry, cassis and spice on the nose followed up with black raspberry and black pepper on the palate, quite a delight.  The wine was dark and brooding with a delicious peppered-cocoa powder finish.  Checking my cellar inventory I see I still have a bottle of this beauty left, might leave it a couple more years to see where it goes - on the other hand, maybe I won't, it really waits to be seen.

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Butternut 2011 Chardonnay and Catena 2007 Malbec (California / Argentina)

Truthfully there were three bottles of Chardonnay and a Malbec opened this evening; alas one of the bottles was atrocious, but thankfully the others were delicious.  One of the Chardonnays has previously been reviewed on my website, thus leaving me with only two wines to report about.  We invited our Chardonnay loving friend over for a little pulled chicken, Chardonnay and a chat about life, the universe and everything - after all it was a summer Saturday one dies for, not to hot, not too cold, and not a cloud in the sky.  We started our mid-afternoon get together with a bottle of Butternut 2001 Chardonnay, a bottle I picked up on my last foray into the States with her specifically in mind, I was told the grapes were "most likely" Dijon clone - but after reading the website I learned that was not the case, my buddy Dave can't be right all the time.  But what he wasn't lying about was that the wine lived up to its name:  butter and nuts were all over this thing along with caramelized banana, grilled pineapple, maple, and double double caramel Kernels popcorn (if you have never had it its a must try) on the nose ... the thrill of this wine was really the sniffer, on the palate it doled out the same kinda stuff, but the nose is where it was its most interesting - hazelnut, pineapple and butter rounded out the mouth.

After two more openings we served dinner, and with it a bottle of Catena 2007 Malbec ... aged to perfection, if I do say so myself: cassis and raspberry with good acidity to cut through the rich fruit, there was also some cranberry and sour cherry that appeared near the finish along with a touch of white pepper.  This wine delivered the goods and was a lovely match to the chicken.

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Vina Cobos 2008 Felino Malbec (Argentina)

After an array of Chardonnay, starting with a Closson Chase 2011 Loyalist, then two from Lailey Vineyard, I thought it about time in the evening to get something a little heavier and something with a little deeper colour, namely a red.  I had picked out a Malbec as an after dinner sipper, unbeknownst to me that our friend was a huge Malbec fan.  This Vina Cobos version I have had in the cellar for quite some time and was enthralled with it when I bought it - though I can't seem to find any previous notes on it.  The fruit and the oak have melded really well together here so they seem almost seamless.  Cassis and spice dominate with oak carrying them and not trying to over-shadow them - the fruit and spice rest delicately on the wood - heck I don't know how many more ways I can say it ... this wine drink real fine right now.

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Valdiviesvo 2009 Single Vineyard Malbec and Two Others (Chile / Ontario)

It was the day of Christmas and we stirred ourselves from where we had been stationed in Michigan for the last few days and came back home to the comfort of the surroundings of St. Catharines (where we call home).  Invited out for a Christmas get-together I thought it only right to bring some of the amazing Ontario juice I had tried in the past couple of months but also something that would blow the socks of guests from somewhere else.  The two Ontario wines I chose were favourites of both my wife and myself - her newest fav Riesling: Cave Spring 2011 Riesling, and my Gamay of choice from 2011: Malivoire 2011 Small Lot M2 Gamay - both will soon appear as reviews at www.ontariowinereview.com. The other was a Malbec form Chile - yes I know Malbec is making a name for itself on the other side of the Andes in Argentina but it seems there are some old vines in Chile and they seem to be doing a bang up job with the grape as well.  The Valdivieso 2009 Single Vineyard Old Vines Malbec is a wine I tried a few months back and really enjoyed it - and tonight I thought it would be fun to give it a try.  Rich in blackberry, smoke, vanilla and mocha notes were what made this wine a delicious addition to the night's poured wines.

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From Beer to Sweet Wine the Holidays Officially Get Underway (Ontario, France, Lebanon)

Tonight there were eight different bottles opened, well nine actually, but one was corked, as friends came over to kick off the holiday season.  The first thing to be cracked was a bottle of beer, we had made a trip to Oast Brewery in Niagara-on-the-Lake on Saturday afternoon and walked away with a 6-pack of beers (two different) to start our evening off for those who wanted suds with their pigskin (total blowouts the 4pm games were).  Those who wanted to start their evening off with wine chose the Colio 2011 CEV Sauvignon Blanc or the Tawse 2011 Quarry Road Riesling (linked to full reviews on my website).  As we plowed our way through appetizers and on to the main course (pot roast, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, roasted cauliflower, and fresh homemade cast-iron skillet bread - all lovingly prepared by my kitchen maven wife); I offered up dinner wines.  Cave Spring 2011 Dolomite Chardonnay (reviewed on site) was the white of choice but it was the next four wines that proved very interesting and the ones I had not tried in quite some time (if ever).  Kicking off with a Chateau Lagrezette 2000 Cahors (France) ... this was old school Cahors Malbec, before they started making them all drink now, a la Argentina, this needed time - and we gave it 12 years - and it still needed an hour in the decanter to mellow and give it that smooth, lush, black fruit quality with barely a hint of those robust tannins it once had in its youth.  Next up a Lailey Vineyard 2007 Niagara Peninsula Pinot Noir (the first bottle we opened was corked, rats!), this proved to be quite a lovely wine that still has plenty of time in front of it.  An hour and a half in decanter could not subdue the tannins and rough around the edges spices, but the fruit was coming out quite nicely and seem to be holding the middle ground defiantly against the tannins and spice on either side.  This one still needs time and I have a few bottles left so I am quite prepared to give it what it needs ... let's see what happens in two years or so ... my guess and hope is that as the tannins subside that rising fruit quality we found tonight will advance further. The surprise of the night was the Chateau Musar 2008 Musar Jeune (Lebanon), this wine had a sweet fruit edge, middle and core and a youthfulness to boot - it was the wine most asked for seconds of, I only had the one bottle open, I'm sure I could have gone through two or three.  Lastly, with the multitude of desserts served I took a flyer on a non-vintage sweetie out of France: Croix-Milhas Maury - Mute Sur Grains, Vin Doux Naturel ... not sure how this one went over as many did not finish their glass - that should tell me something - so I can only speak for myself here: the wine was drier than expected, with a spicy edge to it that might have been a turn off for some ... when you think sweet you rarely think about a spiciness to go along with it.  Then again with all the wines consumed previous, maybe it was just one too many bottles in a fantastic evening of food, wine and friendship.  Thank you all for coming and let's do it all again next year - with different wines of course.

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Kaiken 2008 Malbec (Argentina)

On the menu tonight was bison steak and so I needed something to stand up to that smoky meat flavour ... out came this bottle of Kaiken - I have been a fan of these wines since they arrived on our shores (Ontario) and have put a few away to see how they age, both from the regular and the ultra line.  This one is some 4 years old and still drinking beautifully. Aromas of blackberry, black raspberry, cassis, cherry and hints of kirsch (which is where the alcohol comes into play).  The taste is also quite lovely with cherry, blackberry, mocha, raspberry liqueur along with spice and peppery notes - but there don't seem to be many of those.  All-in-all a great BBQ wine with little to get in the way of that big fruitiness.

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Chateau Haut-Monplaisir 2004 Cahors (France)

Funny, but true story ... early this morning I walked into my wine cellar, knowing we were having steak for dinner I wanted to grab something big.  My hand was guided by fate (sure, let's call it that) to a lone bottle in a box ... a French wine from the Cahors region ... known in the past for big, ballsy and tannic wines that need meat or time, made from the Malbec grape.  Let's step back in time a moment ... long before there was Argentinean Malbec there were the wines of Cahors - the traditional home of Malbec.  I then headed out for an Argentine tasting in Toronto.  And why today?  Because, unbeknownst to me, it is World Malbec Day.  On this day you are suppose to celebrate the Malbec wines from Argentina ... well it seems that I am celebrating with the proper grape, but I've gone old school.  Alright maybe not so funny as it was fateful and interesting that I had done that without realizing it.  Anyway, this wine turned out to be really old school Malbec with lots of leathery, earthy and brambly notes and huge drying tannins ... the steak helped tame those tannins but the wines was still quite aggressive ... says something about those smooth lush Argentine wines - they are much more approachable and much sooner, this one could still use a few years to mellow.

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Kaiken 2005 Ultra Malbec (Argentina)

Back in 2007 I called this "an absolutely stupendous bottle of wine" in a private review.  I also would have recommended it to my Vintages readers (September 1, 2007) ... now some 6 years from vintage date I am not as enthralled with this wine, though it is still quite enjoyable.  In its youth the wine was vibrant with flavour both big and subtle (from my review: "Woody, oaky, coffee, licorice and black fruit are all in the nose; while black fruit, black licorice and [with] a mouth-drying tannin backbone") - but as it is aging it is showing its heavy handed 14.5% alcohol and the wood is overly compensating for the loss of fruit.  This was the first version of the Ultra to appear on the shelves here in Ontario, and being a big fan of the regular Kaiken I jumped all over this one ... the cork gave me a load of trouble breaking halfway through opening, and then broke into three more pieces before I was finally able to get it out.  With the cork extracted I had to pour some out to get the grit from the cork out of the wine.  But then it was time to taste and smell (not necessarily in the order).  The smell was spicy as hell, but also gave up quite of bit of alcohol burn that more than tickled the nose hairs; there was also an element of dark fruit and dried leaves to be found.  Flavours started out dark fruited and very woodsy, the woodsy calmed down with time in glass (say 45 minutes) but what took over was the alcohol heat, on some sips it almost burned going down ... I'm not in the habit of shaking a bottle of wine like I am a bottle of V8 juice to mix in all the flavours, but maybe that is what this bottle needed to integrate the alcohol ... just a thought.  Overall it was still a good wine, but not the stupendous bottle I remember from back in September 2007.

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Quail's Gate 2005 Merlot and La Posta 2008 Malbec (British Columbia / Argentina)

This is the tale of two wines and a Saturday night family BBQ:  a Quail's Gate 2005 Merlot and a La Posta 2008 Malbec.  Both wines were good but it was the Quail's Gate that had the complexity and structure to go with the steak dinner.  Woody with cassis and pepper notes on the nose; while the palate benefited from the constant stirring and aeration of the Schott Zwiesel Bordeaux glass  The flavours were of spiced blackberry and pepper along with decent tannins (that held up to the meat) and a slight woody character ... the fruit was starting to subside so it was definitely time to drink this one.  On the other hand, the La Posta, while good, was a one note song after the complex and tertiary flavours of the Quail's Merlot, rich dark fruit that was smooth and easy, good for the after dinner sit around and chat-fest.  Best part of the Quail's Gate Merlot is that we could all feel like outlaws drinking it, I brought it back from my trip out west a few years back, so we were all consuming contraband.

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Finca Flichman 2000 Malbec (Argentina)

So yesterday I pulled a bottle of Flichman's 2000 Syrah off the shelf and promised myself to try the Malbec I had resting beside it the next day - well that day has arrived and here I am with the bottle in my hand.  The colour is still pretty dark for a 10 year old wine and there seems to be plenty of fine sediment in the glass and on the inside of bottle.  The nose is dried plum (almost prunish) with other dried dark berries and a hint of chocolate.  The palate shows signs of dried currants, sweet oak and a bit on the earthy-side; there's also a long finish of dried cranberry.  About an hour later the wine has solidified itself with a fruit build middle (mainly dried) with a cedary vanilla finish.  I thought I heard be told that Malbec is not a very ageable wine, so far, from what I have tasted with this bottle and a few in the past, I would beg to differ.

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La Posta 2008 Pizzella Family Vineyard Malbec (Argentina)

I tasted this wine for the first time in early December 2010 and was immediately attracted to it so I put it on my must list of wines to buy for the new year.  When it hit LCBO shelves in early January 2011 I was eager to try it again to see if I had been right the previous month, or was I just happy to be finished with mass wine tasting for the year (every second Friday 120+ wines).  I'm happy to report this wine delivered sip after sip, mouthful after mouthful, with delicious pleasant ever-changing flavours and an array of aromas.  The nose started blackberry with sweet black licorice and hints of strawberry.  As it opened in the glass the dark fruit turned red in the form of a red berry bowl of raspberry and strawberry.  The palate had the same kind of reaction to aeration, it started out dark but the mid-palate was really juicy and with an hour in the glass raspberry started to show up in greater quantity.  The finish kept intriguing me as it developed throughout the course of the evening finishing up with smoky-cocoa and cassis notes.  This wine will still be wonderful in a few years and I have laid some down to prove it.  I suggest doing the same while there is still some in the market (Ontario).

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Lapostolle Merlot 2003 ... Senetiner Malbec 2001 (Chile / Argentina)

Is it old, corked or just woody?  That is the question I am faced with this evening as I have opened a bottle of Casa Lapostolle Reserve Merlot 2003 ...  I swirl and snort and there is some fruit here but there is also a big alcohol masking everything, especially the taste. I check the bottle and see a 14.5 staring back at me.  But the flavours are dull and dumb, not dried, which is what it would be if it were old.  Sure there is lots of wood notes coming through but they are overshadowed by the alcohol on the palate, almost wood alcoholish.  So I am left with the conclusion that this wine is indeed corked (slightly, but will get worse with time in glass), and as I sip on it and swirl it around in the mouth it becomes more and more prominent, especially on the finish.  So, one down and time to move on.

I have now moved from a corked wine to a wine with a crummy cork ... this one not only breaks in half but it crumble all over the place, I have to push the last few centimeters of cork into the bottle - so now I actually have cork in the wine.  The first glass goes down the drain, to many bits in it.  Next glass is fairly clean so now let's see how this Nieto Senetiner 2001 Malbec Reserva tastes.  The smell is cherries coated in alcohol so I check the by volume rate and see it is only 13%, not astronomical.  Palate is a little thin and the cherries are most definitely sweet and dried ... this one is almost too thin to deal with, but I think I will give it some time and see what develops.  Now some 20 minutes later and the smell is cherry-sherry, lots of maturity on the nose but the palate is smooth and those cherries, although not fresh, are still playing across the tongue.  Bits of cork add a little grit to the palate but it is quite drinkable - as long as your like your wines with a little age on them.  Finish lingers around pleasantly.

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Toso Sparkling Malbec and a Closson Chase Chardonnay (Argentina / Ontario)

Halloween day ... we got the house ready for guests (kids coming to the door), which meant we had to dump candy in a bowl, we also thought about watching something scary and what to drink with it.  Turns out we watched an episode of the Next Iron Chef, scary if you consider all the knives that are flying about ... and there was plenty of blood and guts as they cut into the fresh fish.  While watching I opened a bottle of Toso Sparkling Malbec from Argentina.  Not a usual bubbly, but I had put it in the fridge a few days previously and thought it a good time to sample it.  The nose was quite lovely with raspberry and cherry notes; these translated to the palate but the cherry turned strawberry across the mid-palate. The only drawback to this wine was the bitter finish ... maybe it would have paired better with something other than the soup and sandwich we scarfed down.  But on its own it is good until the last drop, could this be a bubbly for steak?  Feel free to try it and let me know.

In the evening we headed over to some friends' house - after the trick-or-treaters had had their way with our candy bowl, for pizza and wings.  I brought along a bottle of Closson Chase 2009 Sans Chene Chardonnay ... one attendee remarked, after seeing Deborah Paskus' name on the back of the bottle "this is so unlike Deborah, I can actually taste fruit, she usually masks it all in wood."  "Sans Chene" means unoaked so it stands to reason this wine would be fresh and fruity, but with ... well heck, why repeat the review I just published, check it out here.

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6 Wines this evening: Ontario, Argentina, France and Portugal

Had a few friends over for dinner to see if we make good hosts in the new place ... the new house is two-thirds ready, just the upstairs needs some work - we also wanted to test out the new BBQ.  We started with a bottle of Applewood Mac Meade, a perennial double gold winner at the All Canadian Wine Championships ... the bad news is that I think I have held this bottle a little too long, the usual fizzy nature of the wine had gone flat, but it is still a very tasty beverage.  Next, a bottle of 2009 Nyarai Cellars Sauvignon Blanc - this is the flagship wine of a virtual winery in the Niagara region of Ontario.  The nose is wonderful - I have had this wine a few times in the past few months and with each passing month the smell gets better.  The palate is a little short when first opened, but I know from experience this wine needs time to really explode on the palate - funny to say about a white, but you should open this wine a day before you need it, stick it in the fridge and let it breathe the chilly air.  Next up a Malivoire 2007 Moira Vineyard Chardonnay, a delicious drink now Chard with plenty of wood - I can't see this one getting much better than it is drinking right now - and right now it drinks beautifully.  For dinner I poured a Trivento 2007 Golden Reserve Malbec: lots of juicy fruit and some great tannins, plummy, cherry and chocolate all meld together in this one.  Finally, a bottle of Sauvion 2008 Les Bousquets, a medium dry Chenin Blanc from the Loire that has great balance and acidity - hard to tell this one was sweet in any way.  As a nightcap before sending people into the rainy night I opened a Vinzelo Ruby Port, you can't go wrong with Port ...

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Franck & Jacques Rigal 2008 The Original Malbec (Argentina)

This is a juicy fruit forward Malbec ... I hate to say that there is little else to say about this wine - juicy and fruit forward.  That is it, that is all.

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Kaiken, Moet and Southbrook on New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve 2009 ... It was a night of family and movies, and wines, some worked, some did not. My first attempt to get the evening rolling was with a few wines that were in my fridge, a Chardonnay, a mixed fruit wine, a couple of Meads (I withhold the names to protect the innocent), nothing seemed to spark this rather tough crowd and all found their was down the drain quickly. It was not till I got serious with my selections that everyone started to enjoy. Kicking things off I decided to go big or go home with a Kaiken 2005 Ultra Malbec from Argentina, this was a blockbuster with 14.5% alcohol and blackberries, spice and bramble ... went down smooth and easy with the first half of the film Public Enemies (Johnny Depp as John Dillinger); we also sampled assorted cheeses, sushi, crackers and other appetizers.

Next up, we ordered a simple pizza with extra cheese, pepperoni and half onions / half green pepper - to pair out came a bottle of Southbrook 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon, which gave a little maturity to the evening. The film now over and eyes drooping all around we sipped on the remnance of the Southbrook wine while watching Elvis Costello interview Tony Bennett for to TV show Spectacle (I got the DVDs over Christmas).

Finally, it was all hands on deck and eyes wide open as we searched for a countdown to the New Year with a bottle of Moet & Chandon Nectar Imperial Champagne ... the cork popped with not a drop lost of the precious nectar (it pays to be a professional at times like this). The nose was of fresh apple bread, the palate had a touch of sweetness, while the bubbles in the glass were persistent all the way till one in the morning, when we all decided enough was enough and sleep was of the essence. I took a few last sips and still found the wine to have the sweet lemon and pear finish that it had when it was first opened, with hints of mac apple through the mid-palate ... wonderfully quaffable for New Year's Eve; and a nice assortment of wines throughout.

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Michel Torino Estate 2006 Don David Malbec Reserve (Argentina)

Malbec is the grape on everybody's lips these days, especially when you are referring to Argentinean wine. I was speaking with an Argentine sommelier the other day and she said that nobody is interested in any other grape coming out of Argentina, "it's Malbec every time all the time." That's too bad because Argentine wine fans should be on the lookout for Cabernet Sauvignons and Bonardas coming out of that country. Tonight I didn't try either, Malbec was on my mind too ... I was doing bbq chicken with a smoky sauce and thought a Malbec would go well ... oh heck, who's kidding who, I had picked the wine out long before I had even thought about dinner and I am lucky that the two went decently together; for me it's all about the wine. This one had a nose of blackberry, vanilla, pepper and cinnamon - not surprising since the wine saw 12 months of new oak, and because of that I was surprised not to see more oak influence on the wine. The palate has lots of big black fruit with loads of spice and pepper Decanted there's sweet black fruit on the nose with juicy black fruit on the palate and plenty of fruit and oak tannins. I'm glad I have a few more bottles of this wine left cause I see myself enjoying this one again in 2-3 years.

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