New Year's Eve to me has always been a time for pulling out an older bottle of wine, and then after that it's a free-for-all. We started with ordering Chinese food from our favourite place, it took almost two hours for us to finally sit down and eat it, and we picked it up (they were just that busy), and to pair with it I chose a bottle of St. Urbans-Hof 2005 Riesling Kabinett, which was a real beauty: nose of apricot, hints of petrol, and a lovely bit of lime cordial; on the palate we found peach, pear, and apricot, flavours along with sweet lime notes which all lead to a nice long, lingering finish. The wine, although 8 years old still tasted fresh with that signature Mosel sweetness, but always backed by great balancing acidity. My wife stuck with Riesling after the Urbans-Hof bottle was finished, opting for an Ontario beauty in the form of a Featherstone 2012 Black Sheep Riesling. I went in another direction and picked out another Dave selection: an Elusiv Cellars 2010 Pinot Noir (Monterey County) from the wine fridge. Now, for those who have been following along this holiday season, you'll be glad to know the Elusiv is more Pinot-esque than my last bottle of "Pinot Noir" (Belle Glos Meiomi) ... nose is very raspberry, with black cherry and plum backing it up; as it warmed beets and white pepper also showed up. On the palate were sour cherries, black cherries and clove backed by good acidity, and some typical Pinot earthiness. As midnight rolled up on us I pulled a bottle of Hinterland 2009 Rose (from Prince Edward County) out of the fridge, which had been chilling most of the day - I managed to pop the cork at the exact moment the countdown reached zero - perfect sparkling to ring in 2014 ... Happy New Year - we left the old year with a magnificent Riesling and brought in the new with a marvelous bit of bubbly.
Showing posts with label Riesling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Riesling. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Rock Wall Winery 2011 Rock Hound (California)
The holidays are a time for the three 'F's': family, feasts and forgetting ... yup, we forgot one of my niece's gifts on Christmas Day which gave us the perfect excuse to have them over to our place to share in some beef stew and a few bottles of wine. Now I know the title of this post only refers to one wine, that's because it is the only wine I have not written about recently; the others, like the Rosewood 2011 Pinot Noir, the Malivoire 2011 Small Lot Gamay Noir and the Cattail Creek 2009 Riesling, have all appeared on my website in the past few years and it's too soon to write a "Taste it Again" piece, though the Cattail Riesling is getting close. I can say that all those wines are drinking very well, and of the 3 the Cattail received the most compliments. And so, without further ado we'll move on and take a look at the Rock Wall 2011 Rock Hound ... I did a little digging to find out what exactly the Rock Hound was made of, but my research could only bring up the 2010, which was a blend of Syrah (70%) and Petite Sirah (30%), though some further digging might have shown the 2011 is the same blend (depends what they were serving at the 2012 Rock Hound Event) ... I got this wine from my friend Dave, in Michigan, who works at Champane Wine Cellars, who told me this was a big wine that needed early opening and a decanter, so I did both. Aromas of cassis and black raspberry along with a mix of black and red licorice; palate showed quite a bit of milk chocolate, spiced-blackberry, some sweet dark fruit, nice pepper notes, licorice root and a long finish. I probably could have aged the wine a bit more or left it in the decanter longer to get more of the fruit out of it, but I liked the way it was drinking with those multitude of flavours, and it paired well with the stew.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Ten Birthday Wines - Starring a 1970 Bordeaux (France, Germany, Ontario, California)
'Twas the night of my birthday and friends were in the house - bottles of wine were opened and here's what we had:
Starting with a Dr. Burklin Wolf 2004 Riesling, which was quite an interesting older German Riesling full of honey and waxy notes with some apricot pit ... this was the first dead soldier of the night (some wines did not get finished). Other whites of the night were a Thirty Bench 2012 Riesling, Chateau des Charmes 2010 St. David's Bench Chardonnay, Cave Spring 2012 Dolomite Chardonnay, Vineland 2011 Elevation Riesling, and a Vineland 2005 Dry Riesling (this one did not show well). Speaking of not showing well, we also opened a bottle of Ruhlmann 2004 Sylvaner Bouquet Printanier - Cuvee Prestige, sealed with a cheese-o plastic cork, this wine should never have spend this long in my cellar, nor should it have been opened tonight - this wine should have stayed lost.
Surprisingly, only two reds were opened, a Tom Eddy 2001 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, which proved to be a delightful wine, well aged, well balanced but certainly not the star of the night ... on any other night maybe, but tonight it was a 43 year old Bordeaux that stole the show. The Chateau Gruaud Larose 1970 Grand Vin was absolutely stunning, considering its age. To the average everyday wine drinker this is going to sound unappealing, but to wine geeks (like a couple around the table tonight) this wine kept changing and opening and giving different aspects of its character that were admirable: starting with Band-aid and forest floor on the nose and a bit on the palate, there were also welcome (and surprising) hints of raspberry that appeared, not strong, but subtle and appealing. No doubt the wine is very mature, but still very drinkable. The most surprising part is the acidity, which still stood up and kept the wine "fresh" or at least the palate from getting tired. The biggest and best compliment I can give this wine is that it is savoury and sexy - in its own kinda way. This is only the second wine I have ever had from my birth-year, this time it was extra special cause it was my actual birthday.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Darting 2006 Riesling Spatlese - Ungsteiner Herrenberg (Germany)
Riesling doesn't get anymore chuggable than this one on a hot day ... this Darting 2006 Spatlese was just the ticket as the sun beat down. Now Spatlese can be somewhat of a gamble in the heat (or anytime), too sweet and it's syrupy, too dry and ... let's just go with the sweet part, dry Riesling is good anytime. This Darting is a delight at 7 years of age, the nose has peach and apricots rolled in with a lick of honey and lemon. Taste follows the nose to a tee and still with enough acidity to cleanse the palate leaving enough sweetness behind for a long finish that gets you craving the next sip - quite delicious.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
J. Lohr 2005 Bay Mist Riesling (California)
In the midst of an Ontario Riesling extravaganza, which included a 2006 Rockway, 2007 Calamus and a 2012 Jackson-Triggs I found myself with a bottle of this J. Lohr from Monterey, California ... also funny to note that it was the oldest wine in our line-up today. I'm not usually a California Riesling kinda guy, so I'm not sure how this wine managed to find it's way into my cellar (obviously I bought it, but when?). I think I was most impressed by the initial subtlety of this wine and its under-expressive nose upon opening ... it's closing statement was one filled with fun and intrigue ... let me explain. When the nose finally started to come around there were aromas of lemon seed, yellow apple and a touch of pear ... the palate also took a little time to coax, at first it was mostly the sweetness of apple and pear and there also seemed to be a lack of bracing acidity, in fact there was almost no acidity at all. By the time the nose came on line and the palate started to show itself to have a rather pleasant sweet white fruit seam with (and this is where it got interesting) a funky / fun vanilla coconut finish - not flavours I readily relate to Riesling but it definitely added another dimension to this wine.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt 2002 Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese (Germany)
From the name alone you can probably tell this is a German wine ... thanks to two colliding incidents today I find myself drinking a bottle of von Kesselstatt Spatlese. One: today was the day of the German wine tasting in Toronto, over 100 wines of which 90% were Riesling - you would expect after leaving such a tasting that one would have no interest in tasting Riesling for quite some time, but that's where you are wrong, it only whet the appetite for something aged and interesting in the Riesling department. Two: on my way home from the tasting I tweeted from the train a choice of wines I was thinking of drinking, one was a local Gamay, the other a German Riesling (which I was pairing with fish) ... within seconds of posting my friend Alex Good from Calgary wrote back: "Riesling. Pick the Riesling." And so the table was set for the Reichsgraf. And how right he was. At 11-years-old this wine showed very little sign of its age, in fact the only thing my wife noted, when I poured her a glass, was the wine seemed dark in colour ... golden. From there it was all uphill ... the nose was apple and apricot with some lemon rind and minerality showing through. The palate just made you want to take sip after sip, and at only 8% alcohol it was so easy to do. A lovely sweetness filled the mouth mixing with it apricot, pear and some intense sweet lemon notes - my wife called it "apple juice" - but there was so much more here. The acidity helped to balance it out, but it did not get in the way of the gulpability of this wine ... I think my Riesling-loving friend, Alex, would have loved this one ... my wife will stick to her dry Rieslings ... but there's something to be said for a well-made, well-executed Spatlese that one just can't quite put into words except to say: "you've got to try this."
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Final Dinner at the ACWC (Germany / California / Italy / France)
It's the last night of the All Canadian Wine Championship and as usual we meet at a restaurant with a BYOW license and many of the judges have something they want to showcase. The first that shows off something interesting is a bottle of Dr. Hermann 2007 Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Spatlese an absoultely gorgeous Riesling that a real balanced beauty that is just a fabulous pairing with the butternut squash soup (and not bad with the mussels). The Banfi 2010 Centine is a good bridge wine that seems to be fruity enough to pair with the beet salad; juicy red berries that prove to be supple and succulent. The main is beef tenderloin and the choice is between the Domaine du Pegau 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape or the Enkidu 2010 Diener Ranch Red Hills, Lake County Zinfandel, both an excellent pairing with the beef. The Pegau was earthy with plenty of dark fruit, this bottle had plenty of life left in it as it was a 1500ml bottle, so we popped the cork way to early, but all are thankful it made its way to the table (thanks AG). The Zinfandel was a beauty of a plummy, spicy wine with 15.6% alcohol that was smooth and sexy. Another great year at the ACWC where I believe Ontario should have done much better than in previous years. Next year we'll do it all again, with more great Canadian wines and great international bottles for dinner.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
New Year's Eve 2012 (New Zealand / Ontario / France)
A quiet night at home, just the way we like it ... ordered Chinese from our favourite place (Magnolia in St. Catharines), got our favourite oriental dishes to send off the old year and bring in the new - even made us a plate of brownies to eat before the new year's diet kicks in on the 2nd ... plus a few movies sure to keep us entertained until midnight: Barney's Version, The Gauntlet and The Expendables 2 (that should bring the New Year in with a bang). Thing is ... we never made it to midnight, we fell asleep about an hour short, but we still had great wines, a great meal and each other to ring the whole thing in with, both the night before and the morning of ...
The wines we rang old the Old Year with were eclectic: My wife, the Riesling fan, chose a 2011 Quarry Road Riesling from Tawse (she finished the whole bottle) from right here in Ontario. I went outside the province, the country and the continent - going all the way to New Zealand for a bottle of Akarua 2011 Rua Pinot Noir for its black cherry, cranberry, coffee and licorice nose, which leads to an earthy, cassis, black cherry and licorice palate - think I'll let my other couple of bottles sit a few more years and come back to them. I'm sure the Riesling paired better with the Chinese than the Pinot but it was still a delicious bottle of wine.
The next morning we did what all great alcoholics do - start the day with a drink - we did not pop the cork on the Champagne the night before so it seemed only right to pop it at 6:30 the next morning (only 6 and a half hours late): Louis Roederer Brut Premier (non-vintage) with delicious almond biscotti and crusty bread notes ... after a nice hefty glass to ring in the New Year we did the unthinkable (to some - sorry Carolyn) we made Mimosas (you know combined orange juice and sparkling wine, I would say 75-25 in favour of the wine) ... and that really got the day started right ... we also finished the last half of the Expendables 2. Happy New Year Everyone.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
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.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
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.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Dr. Loosen 2011 Red Slate Dry Riesling
A rainy Saturday, and as we tried to figure out what to have for dinner we opened a bottle of Dr. Loosen 2011 Red Slate Dry Riesling. I am a fan of Loosen wines, not all the time mind you but I find myself liking these wines more often then not. This was one of those wines that I thought was quite a lot of fun and interesting when I tasted it during the Vintages media tasting here in Ontario (which is when the media gets to taste the wines prior to their release). There seemed to be a bit of effervescence on the tongue initially, I would think that comes from the wine being under screwcap and not how the wine was intended, as the fizziness seemed to dissipated within about 15 minutes. What it left us with was lemon, and lime peel with hints of mineral kicking in and out from sip to sip and a lovely seem of mac apple that also seemed to be dancing around those citrus zest notes.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Winebow 2011 Clean Slate Riesling (Germany)
These days it takes a greater education to read a back label than it does a German front label - both can be extremely confusing and sometimes you just never seem to get to the bottom of anything. I was studying the back label of this bottle and still to this moment have no idea who the producer is ... a quick check of the LCBO website and I see its Moselland (but I have caught them with errors in the past) ... Winebow seems to be who ordered up this wine to be made, so for the moment let's go with that. This is quite the pleasant German Riesling from the Mosel region. The nose was full of peach, green apple with hints of lime and nice mineral notes. When cold the wine is crisp and minerally, has a green apple mixed with delicious apple undertones and all is wrapped with a hint of sweetness and good acidic balance. I noticed that as the wine warmed to a "cool" temperature the wine lost a little of the bracing acidty and green apple and instead went all peach and delicious apple- easier to drink for those that don't dig on acid. Well priced here in Ontario at $12.95.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Giesen 2011 Marlborough Riesling (New Zealand)
I first tasted this wine at the New Zealand tasting event in Toronto, and I really liked it, giving it 4+ stars out of 5. Now that I have bought and tried an entire bottle I can safely say that yes, I still like it - but now have more to say about it. The nose is talc, green apple and limeade which is very appealing. The palate is a mix of green and delicious apples - with a hint of Fuji thrown in for good measure; there's also a great lemonade note along with a mango finish. It seamlessly blends the sweet and the tart so that you constantly get a different take with each sip, plus there's a lovely mineral note to the wine that appears with each sip. As the wine warms in the glass the sweet starts to dominate, I guess the tartness is brought on by the chill ... but at 10.5% alcohol this one can easily be consumed while it is still chilled with little to no difficulty - and with very little headache at the end.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Kendermanns 2004 Kalkstein (Germany)
A hot summer day, fish for dinner and a Riesling on the tasting menu. An older Kendermann that I once enjoyed but was interested to see what age would do ... and it has improved this wine dramatically as it is better than I remember. The nose has the merest hint of petrol with lively mineral and peach pit. The taste was amazing with the mineral taking center stage with green apple on the mid-palate and hints of fresh, ripe pineapple on the finish with some really zesty acidity from both fruits in all the right places. There was a medium-length to the finish that just made you want to keep sipping. I was really impressed with this wine.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Double Shot of Delicious (Germany / California)
A lazy Sunday afternoon filled with friends, sun and leftovers. And yes I was bellying up again to the pulled pork trough from last night, but before that we'd poured something very interesting for our guests. The afternoon began with a Furst Lowenstein 2005 Hallgartner Schonhell Riesling Kabinett, a beautifully made Riesling that is currently 7 years old. Honeyed apricot, poached pear, hint of orange peel and some lovely lemon zest on the back palate with great balancing sweetness ... a perfect opener for the afternoon. But the fun did not stop there. When pulled pork is on the menu Zinfandel has to play a part, that's why I opened a bottle of Ravenswood 2009 Sonoma County Old Vines Zinfandel. Ravenswood is a master of the Zinfandel and this one was not different ... it had complexity and paired beautifully with the pork - most prevalent of the flavours: plum and chocolate, but there was black cherry, hints of cola and the right amount of spice.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Riesling, Two Chardonnay and a Pedroncelli Zin (Ontario / California)
Tonight we had someone coming over to the house, which means bottles of wines will be consumed ... tonight four in total (tomorrow a big headache). Starting with a new winery's 2011 Riesling, Di Profio Wines just opened here in Ontario (June 15) and we took some wines home with us from the open house. The wife loved this green apple and lemon laced dry Riesling and it made for a great little wine to sit on the deck in the early part of the evening. This was followed by two Chardonnays - both from Ontario. Starting with the incredibly mouth filling Southbrook 2010 Whimsy! Chardonnay (previously reviewed in full) and then followed up by the leaner, but just as equally impressive, Chateau des Charmes 2010 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay (soon to be reviewed). But for dinner tonight was a mess of pulled-pork and there is but one wine I can think of that goes with that, and unfortunately Ontario does not make it, Zinfandel. Pedroncelli 2007 Bushnell Vineyard Zinfandel was a perfect pairing for the sweet meat with nicely spiced plums, hints of soft leather, dark cherries, cassis and just a touch of earthiness to ground it (ha ha). A lovely end to the evening. No wait, we did open one more, a bottle of Quinta do Infantado Ruby Port ... now the evening was complete ... let the headache, and the midnight nap on the couch, begin.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Ravines Wine Cellars 2006 Riesling (New York)
A number of years ago I went down to see how a real wine festival was run when I attended the Finger Lakes Wine Festival in New York state ... being from a province with an all powerful monopoly and alcohol rules that date back to prohibition era, it was nice to see how things could run if you trusted your populace with the booze they consume and your organizers to get it right ... but I digress. While there I found a winemaker who was doing the right thing in a sweet wine loving state - and that was making serious dry wines. The next day I went out to his property in Hammondsport on Keuka Lake and was further impressed by the wines he was making. So impressed in fact that I bought two bottles from him, a Cabernet Franc, which I recently reviewed, and this bottle of Riesling - which I opened tonight with some Chinese food that the wife and I thought would be a nice romantic dinner before I headed off to Germany for a week of wine tasting. This bottle has stood up very nicely: citrus rind, lemon / lime pith, peach pit and hints of petrol (and I do mean only a hint) on the nose. The palate pulls things off a little better. Where the Nose seemed to be aging the palate still seemed young and vibrant: peach pit, lime acidity and a nice chalkiness with a dry finish. Wonderfully complex and deliciously satisfying ... I do still hope they are making them this way at Ravines.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Dr. Loosen 2010 Riesling Kabinett, Blue Slate (Germany)
Seems like it has been awhile since I have written in this forum, but if you have been following my On the Road exploits you will know I was just in Italy tasting a whack of Amarone and Veneto wines ... hard to tell you what I am drinking in a night, when every night it's another 5 or so wines. But tonight it was back to one bottle. In Hamilton to see Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall and Larry the Cable Guy as the last gift from my wife's Christmas presents - oh wait, I think there is one more coming up in June ... but that's neither here or there. We decided to stay the night so we got a room at a Holiday Inn and made a romantic evening of it ... she loves Riesling so it only made sense to bring one along. This is a real beauty by one of my favourite Mosel houses, and it was just released in Ontario earlier today. The nose is full of that mineral quality you expect in a Riesling with lovely lemon and white fruits; there's even a zing to the nose that really lures you in for that first sip. The palate is really something exciting as well, as the mineral comes roaring through along with sweet pear, apple and lemon notes ... there also seems to be a slight fizzante that grabs at the tongue - then again maybe it's a tingle from that mineral-acid combination ... great end to a really funny evening.
Check out OntarioWineReview.com for wine reviews and On the Road articles, plus much more about the Ontario wine scene.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
New Year's Eve: German Riesling & Ontario Bubbles (Germany / Canada)
It was double Riesling night chez moi on New Year's eve ... first we started with a bottle of CH Berres 2007 Riesling Kabinett (Urziger Wurzgarten) and paired it with ordered in Chinese food. Now before I get to the wine I want to take this moment to remind myself that ordering Chinese on New Year's eve is not a novel idea - no matter what you convince yourself of, in fact I think everybody and his dog had the same idea. Our usual place took an hour-and-a-half to deliver, the food was almost stone cold and the usual fabulous quality almost seemed pedestrian (the soup even tasted like dishwater) ... so note to self, pick it up next year. As for the Riesling, it was a delicious accompaniment and also by itself. It started off with a hint of petrol on the first whiff, but soon that dissipated and we were left with lemon, dried apricot and lime cordial on the nose. The palate started the same way but righted itself within 15 minutes: sweet citrus notes found their way to the back palate, baby powder nuances along with pear and lemon across the tongue - it had a dry start with a touch of sweetness on the finish ... lovely.
The second Riesling of the night happened to be of the sparkling variety as we opened a Maleta 2005 Old Vines Brut (Ontario) at the stroke of midnight. This wine has aged very well with baked apple and lemon pith notes on the nose, while on the palate toasted brioche with a slight buttery taste across the tongue gave way to a long lemon and lime pith finish. Happy New Year.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Seifried Estate 2005 Nelson Riesling (New Zealand)
I find myself at the Festival Inn in Stratford enjoying the evening with my wife after we returned from the events that took place on the Saturday afternoon at Savour Stratford (a report will follow in the next few days on the On the Road blog). I brought along a little something special to while away the evening ... at least I am hoping it is special. Not sure why I have been holding onto this wine like it was gold, I guess I am impressed to have some white other than Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand in my possession. A curious wine because it started out a little too funky but then seemed to reclaim itself ... let me explain. The nose started off too petrolly and almost hard to drink, but the palate didn't have that problem, there was little to no petrol there. So I decided to let it sit and see what happened (our fridge might have also been a little too cold). Yes petrol was hanging out in the background but there were also smells of apricot and lemon peel. The taste also proved to be rather interesting with citrus notes in the form of lemon pith, over-ripe pear and some apricot. As the wine warmed and opened up; after another hour there were hints of green apple and some minerality thru the mouth that disappeared into an apricot-lemon pith finish. I think this wine has held up rather nicely.
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