Tasting - Any Fine Wine Partie Deux

This tasting had no set theme, much like the last one I posted, but by chance ended up with more of a French twist to it. The wine we were all excited to try was the 2005 Domaine du Pegau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée, a great vintage, producer, and the rave reviews didn’t hurt either. The Pegau didn’t disappoint, but it certainly wasn’t the only nice wine that we had that night. Let’s get to the point, shall we?

NV Blanc de Blancs d’AΫ – Gaston Chiquet
Not a bad NV if a little simple. Loads of green apple at the fore followed by doughy yeast, sweet floral and spice notes. Clean finish, quite refreshing. Bottled 2007. Around $50 89

2005 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc “La Crau” – Domaine Du Vieux Télégraphe
Châteauneuf-du-Pape is better known for its red wines but the whites can be interesting too, like this one. Brandy flambéed pears, honey and apple with some oak evident (vanilla and a slight sappiness). It has good weight in the mouth, but is not overly complex. The 2006 is $54.95 90

2005 Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Réservée – Domaine du Pegau
After a three hour decant this wine still seemed a little closed so we returned to it again at the end of the tasting, and although it had improved it was obvious that this wine will require some time in the cellar to show its full potential. The first whiff carried a lot of white pepper/grains of paradise and herbs (bay leaf) with bright red fruit notes playing under the surface (mostly raspberry). More air time softened the dominance of herbs and spice allowing some chalky mineral to come out and for the fruit to deepen. Good length, but I was expecting a little longer. Great with food! If I get any it’s going into the cellar for 4 years before I even consider trying it again. 92-94 Wine Advocate: tar, roasted meats, Provencal herbs. 95 International Wine Cellar: seductive dark berry, kirsch aromas, musky garrigue, black olive, dark chocolate, blackberry, bitter cherry, licorice, tangy red berry fruit. Around $75 depending where you get it. 93+

1997 Roccato – Rocca della Macie
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese from Tuscany. I was put off by the leathery barnyard straight out of the bottle but this diminished quickly leaving faint wood, almond, dried cranberry, and floral notes. Elegant but rustic at the same time. It really grew on me the more I drank it. To my palate the Sangiovese is the dominant grape with the Cab lending some substance. Drinking well now, no need to hold this in the cellar. 92 International Wine Cellar: truffles, wet earth, leather, tobacco, anise. $56.55 91

2003 Clos Apalta – Casa Lapostolle
I wasn’t impressed with this wine. Not that it was bad, but I was expecting more for the price and reputation. It didn’t seem to be flawed in any way but it also didn’t resemble the positive reviews it’s received. Sweet tobacco, cherry, dusty tannins, sweet edged fruit, with a bit of heat on the finish. The attack is woody with some mineral in the background. Soft. My notes for the 2004 are similar with the same sweet fruit and tobacco so maybe I’m just not a fan of the style or the bottle was an underperformer. I think it’s a little of both. 94 Wine Spectator: plum, blackberry, boysenberry, mocha-infused toast, mineral and spice notes, fleshy finish has some serious grip. 94 Wine Enthusiast: deep blackberry, prune, earth and chocolate. $90 or more, less in the US 89

1998 Dominus
The long sweetish finish is the first thing that jumped out at me after a sip. Quite sophisticated with smooth smoke, raspberry, sweet vegetation, cassis and plum. The red fruit comes first with the black fruit following through, the two ends of the spectrum balance out nicely. Pretty wine. 91 Wine Spectator: earthy, elegant, refined Cabernet blend, currant, tar, black cherry, cedar, coffee, anise, sharply focused. 90 International Wine Cellar: cherry, raspberry, smoked meat, roasted tomato, earth, tobacco leaf. Price will vary greatly, around $100 93

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon – Caymus
As expected the tannins are velvety and easy going with less aggressive barrel toast than other vintages I’ve tried (a positive in my books). Vanilla, cookie dough, lots of milky malolactic and cassis. Suave and easy to drink but as one taster put it “not remarkable” in any particular way. The general consensus is that it good but not worth the price tag. 92 points from both Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate. Around $80 90

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

2007 Gourmet Food & Wine Expo

As usual the Vines Fine Wine Tasting Lounge and the Vintages booth were the really the only place to find the most coveted wines, the other exhibitors were only pouring entry level plonk. I did try some nice wines at the Germany booth, but the real draw for me was the high end stuff I would almost never buy a whole bottle of.

2003 La Chapelle Hermitage – Paul Jaboulet
Ridiculously tight at the moment, but with some vigorous swirling the nose opened up revealing ripe black, slightly raisiny fruit. I got notes of ripe plum, faint caramel, savoury black olive (typical of most big Syrah for me), cedar, burnt underbrush, maybe a bit ferric/bloody. Spicy finish, like Grains of Paradise (floral and peppery). It was very closed and tannic on the palate, but shows great potential to age. I’d give it 5 years at least. Wine Spectator 96: blackberry, boysenberry, black currant, mocha, mineral and tar. International Wine Cellar 91-95: blackberry, blueberry, licorice and camphor, along with a suggestion of exotic spices. Wine Access 95: creme de cassis, crushed flowers, truffles, and licorice. $159 94+

2003 Château d’Yquem
Wow! This was the wine of the show for me. It had been open for a day but showed no sign of fading, if anything it probably helped open it up. The nose explodes with seductively smoky beeswax, guava paste, coconut, apricot – it smells rich and fat if that’s possible. So unctuous, it coats your mouth and then infuses it with its essence. The finish goes on and on. Like a caramel candy in the aftertaste, but much better. Little citrus rind and a subtle greenness in there too Wine Spectator 98: lemon rind, vanilla cream and dried pineapple. Wine Access 94-96. $250 for 375 mL 97

2002 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz – Barossa Valley Estate
This has some fruity and medicinal elements that I enjoy: iodine, blackberry and plum. Loads of black pepper, just as the name suggests, with some black olive, floral (violets), cedar, and blueberry. Great acid, demands some hearty food to go with it. Barrel toast is evident and the pepper is a bit aggressive. This is more floral than La Chapelle, but overall it doesn’t have the same structure and balance. I think the 97 Wine Spectator rating is overly generous, especially when comparing this to La Chapelle. 90 from Wine Enthusiast. $ 99.95 92+

2003 Riesling Spätlese Rüdesheimer Berg Rottland - Balthasar Ress
From a vineyard near Rüdesheimer mountain in the Rheingau this late harvest wine has great balancing acidity and distinct mineral/slate elements. Mild almond, custard, green apple, and white peach with a refreshing finish. This won gold at a competition I can’t remember (Ottawa?). $26.95 91

2003 Keyneton Estate The Euphonium – Henschke
This was initially good at first sip but for some reason became less impressive the more we drank. Lots of spicy toasty oak, cassis, black and red fruit, and thyme. The balance is nice but the finish is average. International Wine Cellar 91: fruitcake, molasses, anise and dark chocolate, smoky, musky tobacco and cured meat notes, sweet blackberry and blackcurrant flavours. I can’t say I noted most of those elements in my tasting other than the blackcurrant, sounds like he had a richer wine. $51.95 90

2004 Clos Apalta – Casa Lapostolle
This was a bit of a disappointment for me because I have wanted to try this wine for a while and expected a little more for the price and reputation. Tobacco, refined spices (cloves, cinnamon, pepper), sweet fruit (black cherry and strawberry), vanilla, and a hint of sage. Not easy to put my finger on, but it did remind me of Carmenere I’ve had before (especially that sweet fruit and tobacco aspect). 86% Carmenere with the rest being Merlot. 91 Wine Acess: pain grille, spice box, blueberry, and blackberry liqueur. $96 90

1999 Brute Rosé Champagne – Pol Roger
I’m far from being an expert when it comes to champagne but I was not fond of this at all. Lemon zest, cranberry and an unpleasant sharp sulfite smell which I’m told is the style. I don’t think the small tasting portion helped either because I find I need a larger portion to evaluate sparkling wines as the carbon dioxide tends to mute the nose. Either way I thought it was poor value. 90 Wine Spectator: candied berry and lemon meringue. $88.95 85