The Wine Log Blog

A blog of my wine tastings and reviews for anybody who likes wine or just wants a good wine recommendation. This site will be especially useful to those in Ontario, Canada shopping at the LCBO. You can search my reviews by using the search bar located at the top of the page. ----Note: Try refreshing the page if you don't see anything new!----

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Tasting - Any Fine Wine

There was no particular theme to this tasting, just whatever we had kicking around. Some of the wines were tasted blind for fun and there were some odd wines thrown in the mix too. It turned out to be somewhat educational and a little test of our tasting skills.

Also interesting to note is how some wines that you’ve previously enjoyed by themselves can wilt when compared to other wines in a tasting (e.g. you realize how green a wine is in comparison to riper ones).

NV Brut – Piper Heidsieck
Citrus notes of lemon and lime candy, nutty cashew, leesy/toasty bouquet, slight grassy note. I’m not a connoisseur of Champagne but I was pleased with the weight and length of the finish as well as the fine bubbles. Lacks the carbonated/sulfite sharpness that sometimes affects lesser Champagnes. Reasonable price for this quality of bubbly makes it a nice standby. Rated 90 Toronto Life online: cookie, lemon custard, toast, good length. $55.20 90-91

1999 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – Caymus
After other vintages flopped in previous tastings we were determined to find one that would show well. Considering that this vintage scored 93 and 92 points from Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator respectively we thought things should play out differently this time. The barrel toasting turned off some tasters again, especially as it became more evident with air, but I think it was a touch better than the 2003. Lots of cassis and some green pepper, still has well defined fruit despite bottle aging, cigar box, and some savoury thyme/tarragon notes. Velvety and rich but lacking some complexity. $55+ USD (the 2005 is $80 at the LCBO) 91

2004 Finca Altamira Malbec – Achaval Ferrer
This wine was tasted blind and when I assigned the rating I had no idea that it had scored 95 and 98 points from Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate respectively. After assessing the wine I was sure it was a Malbec (the characteristics were so overt), but my score was low because I though the wine was a little overdone and awkward. Usually my scores are a little closer to the critics, but not in this case. Overtly fruity: salty sour preserved plum (a Malbec indicator for me), cherry, almost tutti-frutti, and blueberry pie. Very expressive aromatically almost perfumed. A little leather and straw. Obviously malo’ed with silky milk chocolate character. Love the powerful nose (one of the best things about Malbec I think) but the experience in the mouth was too fruity and cumbersome for me. $90-115 USD from online search 89-90

2005 Explorateur Barossa Valley Shiraz – The Colonial Estate
Loads of fruit, jammy, full of black olive and iodine which make the varietal hard to miss. Sweet coffee notes. Super ripe, and to me bordering on alcoholic pop, but pleasant enough if you enjoy the style. The fault for me is the lack of tannins which fail to balance the ripeness, they are too soft. 90 in Wine Spectator. 95 Wine Advocate: blockbuster, white pepper, licorice, graphite, finesse and elegance (I really don’t know where Parker got elegance from, maybe he’s had to many over the top wines). $28.80 91

2004 ‘Vieilles Vignes’ Chablis – La Chablisienne
Very nutty! Overt hazelnut in nose and palate, clean mineral with light citrus. 90 from Wine Spectator, but no mention of the hazelnut in the review: “taut and steely…lemon and mineral flavours”. Interesting. $24.95 89

2006 Petalos – Descendientes de J. Palacios
This one was a wild card that we tasted blind. Didn’t have a clue as to what it was. This wine comes from a region that none of us were familiar with, Bierzo. Tutti-frutti, cherry pie, spice (white pepper), grippy phenolic smell, pencil lead, weird! 91 International Wine Cellar: cherry, minerality, rose, “this smells like a great Chambolle-Musigny” (what? maybe bad Chambolle-Musigny), raspberry, brisk acidity. $23.75 87

1998 Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon – Penfolds
Strong menthol, red fruit, muted barrel toast, cassis, bitter tannins on the finish, tobacco. Almost like menthol cigarette. Interesting for the strong mint character, but a bit monodimensional. Not surprisingly, several others note mint/menthol on Cellar Tracker. 90 from Wine Advocate on release. Thoroughly overpriced, had no idea it was this expensive when I tasted it. $140-200 (depending where you get it) 90

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