Delaine Syrah - Coyote Franc - 7 Deadly (Ontario / California)

So I won't bore you with too many of the details ... tonight we had some folks over for dinner and I think it tied in with March break some-way some-how.  Anyway, it's a Thursday night and I pulled out three bottles of wine for the masses.  Two were from Ontario: an one new and an old one, plus a little something from California.

We kicked things off with something I was really interested in trying, a Coyote's Run 2005 Cabernet Franc ... and thankfully it did not disappoint.  I reviewed it in full as part of my Taste it Again blog and it can be found here.  The other bottle from Ontario was a beauty of a Syrah from the Delaine Vineyard, part of Jackson-Triggs, it's too young to have a Taste it Again written about it so you can read my original review from November 2013 here.

So the focus of this What I'm Drinking is a 7 Deadly Zins from Michael David out of California ... this one is probably one of the most recognized names in Zin, no matter where I have gone and say I love Zinfandel inevitably someone will say to me, "Have you tried that Seven Deadly one?"  The answer is, many times.  The last one I had was showing some Syrah like qualities of smoked meat, this particular night it was an older 2009 version and while it was very tasty it was also quite typical of Zin:  smoked raspberry and cherry with a seam of vanilla running through it.  Delicious and just what I expected, but nothing earth shattering, I would have to say that the 7 Deadly is getting better than this standard version they put out in 2009.

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Brookland Valley 2002 Verse 1 Shiraz (Australia)

I will be totally honest with you here, I bought this wine strictly for the label ... I did not care that it was Shiraz, I did not care that it was Australian and I did not give one iota that it was from the famous Margaret River appellation ... I thought the label was interesting and there you have it, into my cellar it went.  Now I don't remember the price but I it had to have been good cause at one point I had 4 bottles of this sucker - but I am now down to my last bottle and I hoped I had not waited too long to drink it.  I can thankfully say that I had not, though it did show its age it was not over the hill.  A nose of dried blackberry and dried cherry kicked things off and with a little aeration it began to develop cocoa to go with the dried fruits.  Taste was also interesting, it started off still quite tannic with spiced-dried cherry and pencil shaving notes - but it also had a decent amount of acidity holding it together ... once again I tried to give it a little air through the aerator and that seemed to enhance the spice and pepperiness.  All-in-all a good bottle that not only had a pretty label but some nice wine inside.

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Fess Parker 2004 Syrah - Santa Barbara County (California)

This is a wine that was once described to me as "panty remover", for the simple fact that it had a whopping 16.4% alcohol ... that's massive and one of the biggest I've seen in a still wine.  I aged it to see what would happen to it and I can honestly say I'm not totally disappointed but neither am I super thrilled.  From the get go it was a little on the prune-y side, though it did also have a nice hint of plumy-ness to it - so it seems to be going from plumy to prune-y.  There are also touches of vanilla and chocolate with a big sweet middle palate (that's the alcohol talking) - that prune-y-ness seems to be hanging out in the background as if it is ready to jump out and fully consume the rest of the wine ... the finish shows some licorice all-sorts notes and there there's the imbalance due to the rampantly high alcohol.  Turns out I have a couple more bottles and I'm thinking I'll want to drink both within the next year before it becomes nothing but sweet stewed prunes.  Here's one time I am hoping for bottle variation.

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Richard Hamilton 2002 Colton's SGM & Pike 2002 Shiraz - Clare Valley (Australia)

Tomorrow I start the long process of re-organizing my wine cellar ... well, it shouldn't be that long, but it'll take me most of the day.  Tonight I have Syrah on the brain, but suddenly these two wines strike me as something interesting to try - they are in line with my original hankering, but the year and the comparison factor make them interesting to me on this night.  I first open the Richard Hamilton, a Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvedre combination (SGM) ...  it smells of pepper and alcohol (it clocks in at 14%) - in fact alcohol seems to be a dominating smell here.  Gave it a little bit of time and found some black fruit and spice coming to the surface, but always with that whiff and (as it turns out) overly alcoholic taste, it smells hot and tastes the same way (and by that I mean alcoholically so) - bad balance, or it did not age well, which ever it is not a favourite.  But if you get past that alcohol there is some pleasant white pepper and dark fruit, but you really have to find it.  From the same year I tried a straight Shiraz from Pike (Clare Valley), this proved to be a more elegant and smooth wine, and although it had .5% alcohol higher than the Hamilton, you hardly noticed the booze at all - and that's what I call a dangerous wine.  Red licorice, blackberry, and a touch of cocoa kick it off, but as it aerates it develops dried character and that adds some depth and additional flavours to this wine; it's smooth character made it a much more enjoyable wine than the Hamilton.

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Ninquén Mountain Vineyard 2010 Antu Syrah (Chile)

It was a long drive to Michigan (not really longer than usual, but when it is done later in the day it feels longer), and when I got to my in-laws I allowed myself to unwind with a big red.  I've had this Antu Syrah before, and in fact have a number of bottles in my cellar, and for good reason - it's really good and it's getting better.  The nose was so full of raspberry it seemed to almost take over the glass, there was other stuff there too but the raspberry was the most noticeable and very welcome.  As it sat in the glass the raspberry mellowed, but it was what was on the palate that made this wine:  mocha, pepper, smoked meat, and of course, raspberry.  A beauty of a bottle to unwind with.

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Cline 2006 Syrah - Sonoma County (California)

It's been a long day, amongst the things I've accomplished are the household finances and the recording of 23 new videos for my YouTube Channel ... so I feel I need a drink.  I decided to dig through a box of "hold 'em" wines and found this bottle of 2006 Cline Syrah.  Now if memory serves I paid $12.95 for this bottle back when I bought it, and it's always interesting to find out how those bargain bottles are aging.  Nose is initially smoky with raspberry notes ... so far pretty impressive.  As it opens there's a peppery-ness that creeps into the aromas and maybe a touch of smoked meat ... then again maybe I'm just hungry.  On the palate there's a oaky-spiciness and also some fruit coming out as dried and peppered-raspberry ... all in all it's quite smooth and that bite from the spice and pepper doesn't get in the way of a pleasant drinking wine ... now if that oak will just hold off getting in the way it'll be a good wine to continue drinking.  Half and hour in and it looks like it is dissipating ... nice bottle of under-$13 ... my patience on this one has turned into a virtue.

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Two Big Reds: Zinfandel (California) and Shiraz (Australia)

The night started with a lovely bottle of Chateau des Charmes 2012 Cuvee d'Andree Rose and ended with a big Aussie Shiraz, a bond fire that did not quite get going and a morning after with wax on the ground and burnt holes in chairs (you know it's a good party when ...). We had some new friends come over for dinner, something simple really, a little pulled pork (so you have to know what wine is coming), beans, slaw, and my wife's famous pea salad.  We started with a light welcome wine (the Rose, listed and linked above) ... we then moved to a Gamay from Malivoire (full review coming to the website) and then dinner was served.  With pulled pork or ribs you just know I'm pulling out a Zinfandel and so tonight's gamble was with a 2006 L de Lyeth Sonoma County Zin:  this one was good, not great, but passable for all the right reasons, yes it is 7 years old but I have tried some amazing older Zins ... this one stood up, but seemed a little muted, even after an hour of being open.  Dried plum (but not prune-y) with a hint of pepper and subtle vanilla, silky yet drying, it was a good match to the pork.  One of our guests was driving so he was out for the next round (in fact he does not drink red, so he partook in a little white wine with my wife); but his wife expressed an interest for Shiraz, so down to the cellar I went for a bottle of Sister's Run 2011 Epiphany Shiraz - smooth and supple with lots of dark fruit, hints of cocoa and not too much spice on the finish, but with some pepper to make you know it's still Shiraz, a perfect wine for in front of the fire.  Which is where we enjoyed it; to steal from an old phrase:  We drank while wood burned.  Let's hope we can all get together to do it again very soon (minus the holes in the chairs of course).

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Hardys 2005 Bankside Shiraz (Australia)

Oh Baby what beauty of a wine this is ... was.  We were grilling up some inch thick steaks on the new charcoal grill tonight and it seemed only right to pull out something with a little heft.  I had my choice between a 15% Kaesler blend (also from Australia) or this Bankside (at 14%) ... and I am glad I picked this one.  The nose had a beautiful spiced-raspberry aroma, along with some white pepper that really brought out that fruit.  The palate was loaded with dark berries, cassis, pepper with touches of smoke and vanilla notes for extra accents.  This wine was delicious with the steaks and was nicely aged ... nice job Hardys and good for me for having the patience to wait.

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Tyrrell's Wines 2003 Rufus Stone Shiraz (Australia)

Earlier this week I mis-posted a 2001 Merlot as a 2003 wine, I knew I had 2003 on the brain for some reason and it's because I had pulled this wine out at the same time I yanked out the Merlot ... while the Merlot was impressive at twelve years old I thought this 10 year old Shiraz was even more impressive.  The nose had an absolute crap-load of cassis on it when first opened, then along came black raspberries and balsamic strawberries ... pretty intense.  The palate changed over the course of about an hour and a half.  It started out with cassis, cocoa nibs and a rather rough / raw finish; within about 15 minutes the finish started to develop those tell-tale peppery notes that Shiraz is known for ... the wine just kept smoothing out and becoming more recognizable as Shiraz and by the hour-and-a-half mark it proved that it had been amazingly well preserved (screwcap closure) with great dark fruit and pepper notes and just a touch of something dried ... really very impressive if you have the patience to let it sit.

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Three Wines on a Saturday Night (Australia / France)

Truth be told there were more than three wines consumed on this evening - there were 2 bubblies, a Riesling, a Chardonnay, and a number of reds ... but for the time being, while my head stops throbbing, I'll focus on the following three wines:

Jip Jip Rock Sparkling Shiraz ... I have had quite a few Sparkling Shirazes in my day and each time I do I tell myself I'm to never have another - that was until I tried this one.  As one of the members of our group stated: "This is what Shiraz has been missing for me ... bubbles."  It's light and fruity - not what you would expect from a heavy-weight grape like Shiraz - it manages to keep the fruit intact without getting syrupy or too heavy handed with tannins, this is a delicious sparkling red.

Abbotts & Delaunay 2010 Reserve Corbieres ... I've written about this wine extensively for Ottawa Life, but this is my first tasting of the wine since I bought a few in early January (and tasted the wine in November).  It was even better than I remembered and it was a good compliment to the pork tenderloin served as the main: cherries, blackberries, violets, plum, anise, so well-balanced and just a delicious wine.

Le Ferme du Mont 2009 Premier Cote, Cotes du Rhone ... this was a big red fruit with cherry, raspberry and strawberry notes - not much more to say about it, it was a simple pleasure to sip on at the end of the evening.

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Colaneri 2009 "Visione" Syrah (Ontario)

In a Twitter discussion with Colaneri I mentioned that I would be drinking a bottle of their wine tonight ... it's too early to call this a Taste it Again review - seeing as I only reviewed this wine a little over a year ago - but I can give you my impressions of the wine a year later ... heck, it's still very good (I gave it 4.5 stars back in November 2011).  The nose still has a strong aromas of smoked meat, adds dried and smoked cherries to the mix with hints of blackberry.  The palate comes off as sour black cherry and pomegranate to start, then comes the Montreal smoked meat with extra white pepper rub, then there's also a nice spiced-smoked-cherry on the finish.  The wine is holding up nicely and has managed to smooth out a bit, but still enticingly delicious.

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Finca El Retiro 2001 Syrah (Argentina)

A few days ago I tried a bottle of the 2004 version of this wine (see review here) - I was impressed that an eight year old bottle of Argentinian Syrah could taste so good ... well I can now also tell you that an eleven year old bottle did not fare as well.  The 2001 Syrah was a wooden, earthy, long-gone-to-the-Yukon mess that showed little sign of what must have been a beautiful past.  Little to no fruit (actually I didn't taste a drop), the nose was wooden and earthy with forest floor running through it all the way to the finish.  The palate was like drinking pressed wood with a cedar mid and a hint of something smoky (which is the best flavour I could find in the bottle.  Not sure I'm going to let the other bottles get to be this old so I know what I'll be drinking during BBQ season this year.  Sorry Finca El Retiro Syrah - at 8 you were tasty, at 11 you were gone.

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Finca El Retiro 2004 Syrah (Argentina)

I have to admit that some things in life come as a complete surprise - like finding an older vintage of a wine in your wine cellar that you had no idea you had.  That came to me the day after I had the wine mentioned in this title of this post:  Finca el Retiro 2004 Syrah - in the next few days I will be posting my notes from a bottle of 2001 I seem to have lolly-gagging in my cellar.  But let's first move on to this bottle.  There are time when I am a totally inappropriate wine drinker - that does not mean I get sloppy drunk and lounge about the house without any pants on (heck I do that second thing on a day-to-day basis) ... by inappropriate I mean I drink things that are not suppose to go together.  Take tonight's dinner: Pesto crusted Cod, and pair with it a Syrah from Argentina - I find these experiments fascinating and fly in the face of the white-with-fish, red-with-meat crowd.  Now would I recommend this pairing, not really, but I can tell you this the dinner was good and so was the wine and if that's the case you don't necessarily have to put them in your mouth together if they don't compliment one another - this one was hit and miss as far as a pairing; but this 8-year-old Syrah was very interesting and inviting right from the get-go.  Nose and palate seemed to be in unison most of the way through.  Aromas of mocha, spice, coffee with a touch of wood and/or cedar (depending on the sip) coming through.  Where the palate seem to diverge was with the fruit - while there was nothing on the nose the palate showed signs of blueberry, black cherry and dark raspberry nuances before being enveloped by the aromas that turned into flavours.  A very tasty bottle - can't wait to see how the 2001 has stacked up.

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A Tri-Fecta of Rosemount Wines (Australia)

I was prompted to pull out a bottle of Rosemount wine by my mother, who called to tell me she had just had a lovely Rosemount wine the night before in a restaurant and wanted to know where she could get the same bottle.  I told her that I believe it to be readily available at the LCBO (Ontario's liquor monopoly) - this prompted me to check my CellarTtracker account for bottles of Rosemount I might have in my possession.  Turns out I have (had) 6 bottles of Rosemount wine - three from 2002 and three Show Reserve GSM from 2006.  Thought I would try one of the older bottles ... then another ... then another.  The first bottle I opened was a 2002 Shiraz/Cabernet - I believe part of the diamond line -  yuck, alcohol laced raisins, this bottle had gone very sherry-like, somewhere between PX and off-putting ... I looked more closely and found the offending plastic cork at the end of my corkscrew ... I ran downstairs and grabbed the other two bottles.  The second to be opened was a bottle of 2002 Cabernet/Merlot, part of the same series, it was a little better but hardly worth drinking - it was laced with sherry notes but also had some elements of dried fruit - but not appealing in any way.  Again sealed with plastic - this stuff is a blight on bottled wine.  Finally, with a heavy heart I opened the 2002 Merlot (it had a purple label) and was sealed with a cork, a natural cork.  There was NO sherry noticeable on the nose or palate.  There was a forest floor aroma, dried fruit, wood-derived tannins - but with some hints fruit roll-up (fruit leather) ... then came mocha which lasted to the finish combining all aspects of what the mid-palate was experiencing:  forest floor, dried raspberry and strawberry ... while not the best wine I have ever tried I found this 10 year old Merlot to be quite exciting and interesting at the same time.

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Friday Night and Four Wines Down (Chile, Australia, Washington)

Twas the night before my birthday, and into the house, we welcomed some friends to take part in a souse (sousing that should be, and actually it was for dinner it turned into a sousing, for one of us at least).  This evening, four bottles were consumed and one stumble away into the darkness - thankfully his wife was sober enough to get him home.  The evening started with a Chilean Chardonnay (Vina Maipo 2011 Vitral Chardonnay) - turned out to be a very quaffable wine with good acidity, nice fruit, hints of vanilla and a creamy smoothness on the finish.  Next up, to pair with tonight's "classic" pork roast dinner (the "classic" moniker was on the packaging), I pulled out two Penfolds wines: 2005 Koonunga Hill Shiraz-Cabernet and the 2005 Thomas Hyland Shiraz ... I wanted to see how these two wines had aged.  The supposition, before I opened the bottles was that the straight Shiraz would outperform the blend because of its price and quality on the Penfolds scale.  Unfortunately, the Shiraz-Cabernet was never given a fair shot at trying to out-best its pricier counterpart as it was sealed with a plastic cork.  While my guests were generous (to a fault - no pun intended) about the blend it was obvious that the Shiraz was the one more up to the task.  While the Koonunga Hill was slightly oxidized (and got more so with each 5 minutes that passed) and according to my guests, "drinkable as a third bottle" - the Hyland was nicely peppered and spiced with lovely dark fruit and could stand to be aged another few years if not more.  I knew it was time for one more when I saw my guests pour themselves from the skanky-ass Koonunga bottle.  I quickly asked what they would prefer and a Washington Merlot was suggested.  Columbia Crest 2007 H3 (Horse Heaven Hills) Merlot ... what a stark contrast to the aged Aussie.  The Merlot was juicy without being jammy, smooth and mellow, as one expects Merlot to be, with some sweet fruit driven elegance.  Everyone tried at least a sip - the aforementioned wobbler/stagger-er polished off most of the bottle, but all agreed it was one of the best Merlots they had had in quite some time.  Thanks for coming over (and you know who you are) - let's do it again soon, it was a lovely evening ... even if (I am sure) one of us had a massive headache the next morning. 

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Two Aussies and a Californian (Australia / California)

The title of this post sounds like the beginning of a very bad joke ... but the only joking was during the evening as we had friends over for plenty of wine, lots of laughs and a trip down memory lane.  My wife opted for beer and the other spouse decided she was driving so it was just the men who polished off the following three bottles - much to my head's chagrin the next morning:

We started with a bottle of Thorn-Clarke 2009 Merlot from Australia, which we paired with the simple dinner of meatloaf and potatoes we consumed.  My wife was appalled by her new potato recipe, which she made in the crock-pot.  The taste was alright but the red skinned potatoes leached a funny colour into the concoction.  Everybody still ate them with gusto.  As for the wine: smooth blackberry and nice spice.  I continue to like this Merlot as it ages.  The next wine was also an Aussie: Thorn-Clarke 2008 Terra Barossa Shiraz ... why so much Oz tonight?  Because that's what my guest was thirsty for.  The Terra-Barossa Shiraz was a plummy, vanilla and chocolate affair that is a quintessential Aussie Shiraz ... not too jammy, and very delicious.  Finally it was time to introduce our guests to a bottle of Californian Cab, Rebel Wine 2006 The Show Cabernet Sauvignon.  The bottle is a lot of fun with its old time circus style logo - this was the one with the cowboy on the front - and the wine inside was a showstopper: mocha, dried blackberry, cassis and plum; it showed itself to have a little elegance after the jamminess of the Shiraz.  Once we all come down off our hang-overs (a problem one of us did not participate in) it'd be nice to see them again, or as the hanging ornament in our living room states; "I like the nights I can't remember with the friends I can't forget" - or something like that.

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Two Hot Climate Reds (South Africa / Australia)

Tonight I had a past winner of the Wine Tasting Challenge over for dinner ... I have to admit I totally forgot that until my wife asked what prizes they had won ... after that the night became its own challenge, to see if I could stump the champ (or is that chump); which is actually a lot easier to do than you would think - when someone is put under that kind of pressure to be right they usually start to second guess themselves ... I know that each time I have participated in the Challenge (at which in 2008 I came in fourth place, professional category) I felt enormous pressure to be right - especially in 2009 because I had an award to live up to.  That all being said I will tell you that my chump-friend missed both wines: guessing one as a California Zinfandel and the other as a Merlot ... as for what the wines really were:

We started the night with a little bubbly and a white - but those were not the stars of the show so they will not be mentioned here - they were warm ups for the main attactraction.  Staritng with the Ayama 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, a wine I had bought a few years back as one of the best Cabs I have ever had out of South Africa and a great value to boot.  It was smooth and fruit driven with lots of red fruit goodness and a dark cherry finish - yes, there was a hint of that South African tarry note, but it was masked very well by all that fruit.

Next up was a favourite I was sure my friend was going to figure out in a heartbeat ... surprisingly their significant other nailed it first shot ... who knew that my friend had a block when it came to Shiraz: the Stalking Horse 2008 Shiraz is textbook Australia with big alcohol, rich jammy black fruit, chocolate, vanilla and white pepper notes that carry through to the jammy yet spicy finish.

To my friend, all I can say is "Better luck next time" ... and there will be a next time ... because if there is one truism about wine - it always brings people (back) together.

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Maycas del Limari 2008 Reserva Especial Syrah (Chile)

Back in October of 2011 I got a taste of the great Maycas wines line-up, I was super impressed by the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2009 Syrah - which I assumed was the current release of both wines.  So how in the heck did the LCBO (Ontario's liquor monopoly) get their hands on the 2008 Syrah and, even more head scratchingly, finally get it to market in June of 2012 ... Not that the wine suffered from the ageing but I still would have liked to put my hands on the wine I tried (maybe they'll release that one in 2014).  As for this 2008 version, I was still impressed, just not as impressed as the '09 - which, if you can find some in your area, is a fantastic wine and I recommend it highly.  The 2008 Syrah starts off as a very violet wine, both on the nose and in colour, it has aromas of blackberry, black pepper, cassis and black cherry along with hints of smoked meat lingering in the background.  The taste is peppery, smoky and spicy, reminding one of roasted game, yes there's dark fruit in there but all paired with those peppery/spicy attributes: peppered-cassis in the mid-palate with a smoked raspberry finish.  I would give this one a four+ if I were rating it, just below the 2009 ... but neither wine disappoints on any level.

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World Tour on a Friday Night (France / Australia / Ontario)

Friends from Toronto came over in the evening (9:23pm) and the wine started following - as well some game meat sliders hit the BBQ (wild boar and kangaroo) ... so the big reds seemed to be the ones to bring out.  In honour of the kangaroo the 2008 Stalking Horse Shiraz seemed the good option, plummy, chocolate and dark fruited, big alcohol, really full in the mouth.  For no apparent reason I also opted to open a beauty of a French wine from the Languedoc, Domaine de Bachellery 2007 Grenache Fut de Chene.  The dark fruit shines on this one with touches of vanilla and spice; a seemingly delicate wine that proved to be delicious with both burgers, but still showed power and boldness once you got a few sips in.  The evening ended a few hours later with a bottle of Peninsula Ridge 2010 AJ Lepp Vineyard Merlot (http://ontariowinereview.com/wine-reviews/peninsula-ridge-2010-aj-lepp-reserve-merlot-); which proved to be the best wine of the evening (and I'm not just saying that because I live in Ontario) - it was delicate with mocha and coffee notes on the nose, and proved to be a complete opposite to the big-and-bold-ness of the French and Aussie wines.

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Penmara 2001 Five Families Shiraz (Australia)

This was the last of my selected 2001 trial bottles and boy was this one a disappointment ... let's start where this wine went wrong ... the closure: a plastic cork (which were big in the early part of the 2000's) this nasty-ass closure should be banned - and anybody who is still using it should either mark that you are using it on your label (preferably in  BIG BOLD print), or close your doors ... this "cork" is ruining your wine.  This wine was oxidized beyond belief to the point of it being a sweet sherry, brick coloured with lots of sediment in the bottle - this tells me there was some real potential in the bottle, but has turned so nasty and I can honestly tell you I have tasted vinegar with better depth of flavour.  What an absolute waste of what could have been a beauty of a bottle.  Yuck.

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