John Szabo’s Vintages Preview for October 13th 2012

John Szabo, MS

Image Makeover: More. Cooler. Australia; Top Ten Smart Buys and a Chilean Trio

In the span of a just few months, Australia’s image in Ontario has received a complete makeover courtesy of the LCBO’s Vintage department. It’s hard to say precisely how and why this occurred. Perhaps it’s owed to strong lobbying from Wine Australia. Or maybe it was a momentary engagement of reason and vision from Head Office. I’d like to think that it was due to the inevitable realization that Ontarian wine drinkers have grown up and want something more than a peanut butter and jam sandwich, at least once in a while. Whatever the reason, the Vintages October 13th release has a handful of absolute gems that will shift your image of Australian wines from PB&Js to haute cuisine.

The Top Ten is back of course, highlighting a quartet of sub-$15, dangerously drinkable bottles, as well as a pair of worthy $35+ wines that deliver high on the typicity scale, and a few more in between. I also recommend a trio of Chilean wines, the mini-feature of the release. Sharpen your corkscrews (or prepare to twist).

More, Cooler, Australia

The makeover started back in the summer, when a large feature covering the wines of Victoria hit the shelves at Vintages. WineAlign covered the release with undisguised enthusiasm, with both David Lawrason and I welcoming the long-awaited introduction of some of the more regionally distinctive and sophisticated wines from this cool state (re-visit my report from July 21st 2012, Australia’s New Cool). Subsequent releases have seen several more fine Australian wines trickle in, with another sizable batch arriving for the August 4th release. And now, the October 13th release features Australia yet again, moving beyond Victoria (although there are some excellent Victorian wines here again) into other regions, notably the Barossa Valley in South Australia, and Margaret River in Western Australia.

This release wasn’t the first time I have come across the wines of Spinifex in the Barossa Valley. That happy moment came courtesy of Wine Australia and educator Mark Davidson, who put on a master class dubbed the “finest shiraz tasting ever assembled outside of Australia” at the Court of Master Sommeliers first annual Conference in Pebble Beach, California in January 2010. The 2006 Spinifex Indigène Shiraz-Mourvèdre was in a line up that included wines from Wendouree, Clonakilla, Giaconda, Craiglee, Mount Langi Ghiran and of course Penfolds’ Grange, among several others, all astoundingly good producers. The point of the tasting was to remind a bunch of jaded master sommeliers that Australia has depth and diversity, not to mention class and elegance and regional diversity, within the repertoire of its flagship grape.

So I was delighted to spot the 2010 Spinifex Bête Noir Shiraz ($49.95) and the 2010 Spinifex Papillon Grenache/Cinsault/Carignan/Shiraz ($29.95), as I walked into the LCBO lab to cover the release back in early September. Spinifex is a decade-old, micro-negociant operation run by husband and wife team Peter Schell and Magali Gely. They source fruit from small growers in the Barossa and Eden Valleys, specializing in Mediterranean varieties (shiraz, mourvèdre, grenache, cinsault, carignan, ugni blanc, grenache gris, marsanne and semillon) – Gely’s family were vignerons in the south of France for generations, and Schell has worked six of the last ten harvests in France, in regions as diverse as Bordeaux, Burgundy, Provence, and the Languedoc. They produce a wide range of varietal and blended wines, all with a guileless purity.

Not surprisingly, there’s a distinctive old world sensibility to Spinifex’s wines, a refinement that comes without sacrificing the generosity and fleshiness that defines Barossa wines. The Bête Noir is an absolutely brilliant Aussie shiraz, with significant depth and grip, smoky-black pepper character, wild herbs and faded violets, along with pure cassis and black berry flavours. The palate offers outstanding poise and balance, tight acids, refined tannins and long finish. The intriguing Papillon blend is very nearly as good, with wonderfully pure and vibrant sweet red berry, strawberry-raspberry fruit, and loads of dusty earth and savoury herb character, not to mention a beguilingly pleasant bitter tinge on the finish. Both are paradigm shifters.

Fraser Gallop in Margaret River, Western Australia, is another decade-old operation whose sights are set at the top level. Site selection with the goal of producing top Bordeaux blends as well as chardonnay commenced in 1998, with the search quickly leading to the upper Wilyabrup district of Margaret River, just 6km from the Indian Ocean. With already established neighbors like Vasse Felix, Moss Wood and Cullen, it seemed clear that this was the ideal spot to realize their goals. In 2006, former Vasse Felix winemaker Clive Otto was brought aboard to lead the winemaking team, and the results are excellent.

Attention to detail is evident in the three Fraser Gallop wines in this release: 2009 Fraser Gallop Cabernet Sauvignon Wilyabrup, ($45.95), 2010 Fraser Gallop Cabernet/Merlot ($29.95) and the 2011 Fraser Gallop Chardonnay ($28.95). But for my money, I’ll save up and pay the extra $15 for the spectacular, arch-Bordeaux-like 2009 Wilyabrup cabernet. Be forewarned that it needs significant air to emerge from its shell – decant for an hour ahead – or cellar for another 2-4 years. But the palate is balanced and composed, succulent and dense without excess weight. All in all, it’s a refined and polished, elegant wine with a terrifically long finish.

There’s also a pair of chardonnays from Victoria well worth drawing your attention to, namely the 2010 Yabby Lake Single Vineyard Chardonnay ($39.95) and the 2011 Oakridge Over the Shoulder Chardonnay ($24.95). I had the opportunity to meet and taste with Yabby Lake founding vineyard manager Keith Harris this past July during the International Cool Climate Celebration in Niagara. Harris is a viticultural pragmatist, leaving nothing to chance, with as deep an understanding of Mornington Peninsula terroir as anyone. Tom Carson, formerly of Yering Station and Coldstream Hills in the Yarra Valley, was hired in 2006 to transform Harris’ fruit into leading regional wines. The 2010 is a polished, complex, subtle and mineral, distinctly cool climate style chardonnay, with succulent and fleshy yet focused palate and excellent length. It’s worthy of the premium price.

Oakridge was one of the pioneers of the Yarra Valley, opening up shop in 1978. The Over the Shoulder range is the estate’s entry line, aimed at delivering a fresh, vibrant, low alcohol, pure varietal expression. The 2011 Chardonnay does just that; it’s restrained, with no oak detectable, while acids are tight and taught. I love the cut and vibrancy of this, a great ceviche wine.

Highlights from the Top Ten Smart Buys

Fans of superb value, zesty, food-friendly wines should consider adding these four sub-$15 wines to their shopping lists:

2011 Beauvignac Picpoul de Pinet, Coteaux de Languedoc, France $12.95

2010 Terredora Falanghina, Campania, Italy $14.95

2010 Henry of Pelham Gamay, Short Hills Bench, Niagara Peninsula $14.95

2008 Quinta de Baixo Tinto, Bairrada, Portugal $14.95

The Beauvignac picpoul has been coming into Ontario for many years now, but this is easily the best to date. It’s delightfully fruity and fresh, with inviting citrus and just-ripe orchard fruit (pear, nectarine, white peach) flavours. Acids are brisk, and the finish remarkably long. Not at all what you’d expect from the deep south of France – a perfect seafood/shellfish wine at an unbeatable price. Terredora’s falanghina is a remarkably rich and concentrated wine for the money, with a real sense of tight minerality, ripe orchard fruit and generous body. Acids swoop in on the finish to cleanse the palate, leaving you salivating and ready for the next bite or sip.

Henry of Pelham’s 2010 gamay is a fresh and juicy, infinitely drinkable version, with tart red berry fruit and mouth-watering acids, the sort of wine you can drink all day (and night) without tiring. Bairrada’s notoriously grippy grape baga is given a softening touch of touriga nacional in Quinta da Baixo’s example, yielding a lively peppery and fruity red with gritty texture and firm, saliva inducing palate. A tidy little value here. Both wines are designed for the table, best enjoyed with a light chill.

A dollar more than these gets you another vintage of the cracking 2009 Falernia Reserva Syrah Elquí Valley ($15.95), a wine with an astonishing amount of flavour packed into a $16 bottle, as well as the 2010 Artemis Karamolegos Santorini, Aegean Islands ($15.95), a typically restrained and stony example of assyrtiko from the volcanic Island of Santorini, one of my favorite paces to go shopping for concentrated, minerally whites.

At the premium end of the value scale, Ontario is well represented by the 2009 Hidden Bench Felseck Vineyard Chardonnay, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula ($38.00).

This should be counted among Canada’s top chardonnays in my view, an intense, evidently concentrated wine from Hidden Bench’s Felseck vineyard. It has the intriguing “rancid” character of fine Meursault, with no shortage of chalky minerality to back the resemblance. While on the palate, it offers terrific flavour intensity, with plenty of nutty, hazelnut, green walnut, tart citrus fruit and green apple flavours, and on and on it goes. I’d put this in the cellar for another 1-3 years to allow it to unwind – it’s still taught and barely penetrable.

See the full top ten here, which also includes three Italian classics.

Chilean Trio

And finally, three wines from the Chile mini-theme stand out for their excellent value/quality/typicity, and are well worth a look:

2011 Casa Lapostolle Cuvée Alexandre Chardonnay, Casablanca Valley ($24.95)

2011 Leyda Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, Ledya Valley ($16.95)

2008 Tres Palacios Family Vintage Cabernet Sauvignon Fundo Santa Eugenia de Cholqui Vineyard, Maipo Valley ($17.95).

Gourmet Food & Wine Show

Don’t miss the annual Szabo vs Szabo no holds barred jiyu kumite (with wine, not swords) at the Gourmet Food and Wine Show on Friday, November 16th, 7:30-9pm.

Cutting Edge Wines
John Szabo MS & Zoltan Szabo
Renowned Sommeliers

$95 | 7:30 – 9:00 Friday November 16th, 2012

The dynamic duo of master tasters returns for what promises to be another sold-out seminar. John and Zoltan both currently work with the famed Trump Hotel in Toronto while they continue to consult, write, judge and travel. As leading sommeliers for over a decade, they are in tune with the most progressive winemakers, interesting grapes and dynamic new wine regions. Learn from Canada’s foremost wine experts as they present eight cutting-edge wines.  Order Tickets here.

Cheers,

John Szabo, Master Sommelier

From the October 13, 2012 Vintages release:

Top Ten Smart Buys
Top Aussie Wines
All Reviews

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Filed under: News, Wine, Australia, Chile, John Szabo, Top 10 Smart Buys, Vintages, Vintages Preview

John Szabo’s Vintages Preview for September 29th 2012

Switching Your Pleasure Meter From Price to Typicity; Top Ten Smart Buys; Top Ten Tuscan Wines

John Szabo, MS

This week’s report comes live from Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the country’s top six wine professionals are competing for the title of Canada’s Best Sommelier. So I’m busy marking papers and putting these wine pros through the wringer of mock restaurant service and blind wine tasting (it’s far easier to be on the judges’ side of the table). The winner and runner-up will move on to represent Canada at the Pan-American sommelier championships in Brazil later next month. I have a great deal of admiration and respect for anyone willing to put their reputations on the line and push themselves to the limit; it’s the only way of discovering your strengths and weaknesses. Those who don’t test themselves never truly know where they stand. Regardless of the final results, each of the candidates will be, well, stronger for it.

Sara d’Amato will be doing a full report on the competition in a forthcoming posting. So I’ll focus on a revolutionary way to get pleasure without necessarily spending a fortune on wine, as well as a quick round-up of my Top Ten Smart Buys from the September 29th Vintages release. I also lay out my top ranked wines from the main thematic of the release, Tuscany.

Pleasure Without the Price

Last week I was in the Loire Valley, traveling from Sancerre to Nantes (Muscadet country) getting reacquainted with the region’s wines. A full report will be published next week, but I wanted to share a thought with you this week that came into focus while talking to a particularly thoughtful vigneron, Claude Papin of Château Pierre Bise in Anjou. In the business we’re forever talking about things like quality and value. And I know that anyone who shops for, and drinks wine, considers those notions, at least from time to time, and maybe even all the time. I wrestle with the subject often – as regular readers know, it’s one of my great preoccupations.

Last week I found myself enjoying dozens of wines, I mean, really enjoying. But it was causing some consternation because the vast majority were inexpensive, and some even downright cheap, the sort of wine that you’d see on a shelf and keep right on walking by, thinking to yourself that wine that cheap couldn’t possibly be any good (I’m talking below $15 on an LCBO shelf). But these inexpensive wines were offering a lot of pleasure. Then I began to realize that the more I travel and taste and learn, the less direct the relationship between price and pleasure becomes. In fact, more often than not, I prefer the less expensive wines in a given winery’s range, or some of the less heralded producers in an expensive, name brand appellation, or even the wines of a totally unknown region.

Viticulture lesson with Claude Papin

So my terroir hunting colleague Bill Zacharkiw of the Montreal Gazette and I arrived at Papin’s estate late one afternoon just before sunset. We immediately jumped into his station wagon and headed out to the vineyards, the beginning and the end of the story that relates what’s in the glass. In the midst of a thesis level discussion of terroir and viticulture that was admittedly beyond my grasp at times, we got on to the subject of wine, pleasure and value. Then Papin, rather matter of factly and without any hesitation, issued forth a truth so basic and unassailable that it could only have been arrived at after years of thoughtful deliberation. “Well”, he said, “quality is purely subjective, but typicity is objective. You can measure typicity, and it can also give you pleasure”. It took a moment for the profoundness of the simple statement to sink in, but suddenly all was clear. Once you’ve understood and accepted that anyone’s notion of quality is indeed purely subjective – what I like or you like or she likes – and that wines of typicity, that is, wines that reflect a place and grape, can be identified and quantified (as happens in blind tastings), you can free yourself from the shackles of price and re-orient your entire notion of pleasure.

I realized that I have been drawn ever closer to wines of typicity, that my greatest pleasure comes from identifiable wines. It also made clear why I care less and less for many of the world’s most expensive wines, those that are stuffed full of wood and alcohol and unnatural concentration, the ones that score all of the points in most publications, but that you’d be hard pressed to identify in a blind tasting. I quickly felt comfortable again about enjoying inexpensive wines, knowing that typicity can come at all price points. I know I get more pleasure from a $15 wine with sense of place and made with minimal intervention than I do from a $100 bottle chock-full of winemaking techniques that could have been made in any part of the world.

At the same time, I also realized that Papin’s deep insight is discomforting for the majority of wine consumers. Price is easy to understand. Impact impresses. A personal notion of quality is self-evident and takes no expertise. But typicity, on the other hand, has the disadvantage of requiring significant context. You have to know what typicity is to recognize it. And it’s not easy to know what all of the world’s wines are supposed to taste like, unplugged, without a thousand enological adjustments (not to mention that typicity is still being established in many new growing regions). This also explains why top sommeliers and wine geeks are always switched on to wines that most people frankly don’t like, at least not on first sip, because they have the context that we don’t always have. You need to build some context before you can, enjoy, say, a searingly acidic Gros Plant du Pays Nantais that most people would use to clean windows. That is, until you understand that it’s supposed to be that way.

So if you’re tired of needing to spend $30 or $50 or more to really get your kicks, try switching your pleasure mode from price/quality to typicity. Get to know a region, taste as much as you can, and build your context. Familiarity breeds pleasure, not contempt, in the world of aromas, flavours and tastes. Then the next time you come across a wine whose profile matches what you know the region/grape typically produces, you will derive pleasure, guaranteed. You’ll see how a $13 “classic” Muscadet, to give just one example, can make you happier than a $30 non-distinctive, designer bottle of chardonnay from anywhere. It’s fun. And barring significant effort for context development, you can always count on my top picks to deliver high on the typicity scale, at least the way I see it. I’ve got a decent measure of context, and my only goal is to build it up more and more.

Smart Buys with Typicity

In the spirit of typicity, here are a half dozen highlights from the September 29th release. They’re not all cheap wines; some are even expensive by most standards, but they are distinctive.

LA CRAU DE MA MÈRE CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE 2010 $44.95

Richly aromatic, spicy, immediately recognizable southern Rhône character here with full, concentrated, fleshy savory fruit, massive extract and concentration but likewise so much fruit depth to compensate. This wine should last for at least a couple of decade, but is also delicious now – imagine a savory slow-grilled leg of lamb or lamb barbacoa Mexican style and you’ll be happy.

ELK COVE PINOT NOIR 2009 $37.95

A very pretty, classy, elegant example of Willamette Valley pinot noir, a little riper than many (though still in a cool climate idiom). Fruit covers a nice range of tart red berries, fresh black berries, old wood spice and fresh earth. The palate is firm and well structured, while 14.2% alcohol is perfectly integrated. This has the stuffing to age and improve to be sure. Lovely wine.

JACOPO BIONDI SANTI SASSOALLORO 2008 $35.95

Richly aromatic, complex and spicy on the nose, with a fine blend of red and black berry fruit, earth, resinous herbs, licorice and on and on. The palate is succulent and juicy, firm and fresh, deceptively concentrated despite the medium weight impression – this has genuine depth without recourse to excess ripeness or oak. Very fine, in an elegant style.

DEI VINO NOBILE DI MONTEPULCIANO 2008 $28.95

Here’s a fine, fragrant, elegant style of Vino Nobile, more floral than fruity, with light vanilla and cinnamon spice notes. The palate is medium-bodied, balanced, with fine-grained tannins and vivid acids; very good length. A feminine wine all around, with lots of appeal.

HOFFMANN-SIMON PIESPORTER GOLDTRÖPFCHEN RIESLING SPÄTLESE 2011 $21.95

A classy, perfumed, inviting spätlese from one of the top vineyards in the Mosel. The warmth of this full south-facing precipitously steep site shines through in this example, delivering succulent, fully ripe peach, pear, nectarine and yellow plum flavours underpinned by acids and minerality. Excellent length and depth. Terrific wine, excellent value.

GILLES BLANCHET POUILLY-FUMÉ 2011 $19.95

This is a lively, stony-mineral, yet also fleshy and succulent (quite ripe and concentrated) version of Pouilly-Fumé. There’s an extra measure of depth and ripe fruit flavour on the palate, with evident density and weight, plus excellent length. Fine wine, nice price.

FINCA NUEVA FERMENTADO EN BARRICA BLANCO 2010 $15.95

Never mind the totally nondescript label; This is an intriguing, ripe, creamy but still fresh example of white Rioja, with marked but reasonably well integrated, and good quality, oak. The depth and length are impressive for the money to be sure. Worth a look for fans of barrel-aged wines, especially when serving white meat or rich seafood.

Cheers,

John Szabo, Master Sommelier

From the September 29, 2012 Vintages release:

Top Ten Smart Buys
Top Ten Tuscan Wines
All Reviews

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Filed under: News, Wine, John Szabo, Top 10 Smart Buys, Tuscany, Vintages, Vintages Preview

John Szabo’s Vintages Preview for September 1st 2012

A-List Champagne for the TIFF; Resto Wine Lists: Creative Expression or Esoteric Alienation? Top Ten Smart Buys.

John Szabo, MS

Since you’re probably not even reading this, unless there’s WiFi on the dock or at your campsite, I’ll be brief. In fact, I’m camping, and would rather hear from you instead of writing a lot. If late summer leisure allows extra-curricular thoughts to displace your common concerns, I’d like to know what you think about restaurant wine lists.

There’s a sea of change underway across the city and across North America, and wine lists have never been so diverse and unique. But maybe in some cases they’ve become too esoteric? Do you want comfortable old friends or an introduction to someone new when you dine out? Let me set it up for you to comment below.

I’ve also got a couple of A-list champagnes at B-movie prices (relatively), and the Top Ten End of Summer Smart Buys from the September 1st VINTAGES release. Happy camping.

Smart Buys

Since we’ve already established that it’s cool again to like chardonnay: here’s a trio of fine examples:

2010 Séguinot-Bordet Vaillons Chablis 1er Cru ($29.95)
2010 Antica Chardonnay Napa Valley ($35.95)
2008 Marimar Estate la Masía don Miguel Vineyard Chardonnay Sonoma County ($25.95)

All three are regional classics, with an extra degree of class and balance at fair prices. But if provenance and recognizability are trumped by extreme value for you, than check out the following:

2010 Château Ka Source Blanche Bekaa Valley, Lebanon ($15.95)
2010 Jean Perrier & Fils Abymes Cuvée Prestige, Savoie, France ($12.95)
2010 Tbilvino Tsinandali Dry White Kakheti, Georgia ($12.95)

These won’t set the world on fire (when’s the last time the world was ablaze from a $13 wine?), but are well worth a look for everyday-delicious wines from not-so-everyday places and grapes.

Also in the top ten you’ll find a solid, neither overly traditional nor modern Rioja (this one’s juuust right), a meaty, savory southern French red, an exceptionally classy pinot blanc for less than $14, and a fine local Riesling made by (labeled under the name of) a Canadian sports hero.

Check them out here.

And How Would You Like That Wine List, Sir?

From the days of house red and white, to comfortable lists with recognizable regions, grapes and brand names, to lists filled with esoteric, limited production wines from obscure places or virtually extinct varieties known only to a small handful of sommeliers, the restaurant wine list has undergone almost as dramatic a revolution as menus have since the bad old seventies. Many voices, pro and con, have weighed in on the subject, particularly in the United States where the likes of Jon Bonné in a recent article for the San Francisco Chronicle and Eric Asimov for the New York Times have examined the development of wine lists in recent years (a change that has been mirrored here in Canada, albeit to a lesser extent thanks to our archaic, diversity-hindering monopolistic system of alcohol distribution), and raised some interesting questions about the direction many wine directors are taking.

In the most recent rounds of thoughtful criticism, both Bonné and Asimov take New York Post writer Steve Cuozzo to task for his controversial rant entitled Sour Grapes, railing against unfamiliar wine lists. Cuozzo begins his discourse: “Wine is one of dining’s, and life’s, great pleasures. Yet it can seem anything but when an esoteric or pretentious list leaves you stumped over what to order. You’re at the mercy of a sommelier determined to teach you a thing or two, when all you want is a nice, affordable Bordeaux to go with chicken and summer greens.”

He continues: “Ordering wine can be a nuisance even in the easiest case. You’re making a pricey decision that will affect everyone’s meal. You poke through the list under guns of time and noise in an under-lit room while thirsty friends beg you to get on with it. Seasoned diners can cope. What’s tougher is when a restaurant sets out to prove a point with its “wine program,” a strategy that results in a list that’s 100-percent inscrutable.”

Cuozzo’s argument amounts essentially to the belief that diversity beyond a handful of well-recognized grapes and brand names, is a hindrance for diners. So the real question is, should all restaurants offer something for everyone, or, are some restaurants smart to stay true to a unique vision, even if the inscrutable vision will likely alienate some guests?

Asimov counters Cuozzo’s argument with: “Restaurants are not intent on annoying people. Even the proudest, most rigid chef wants you to share a vision, not walk away unhappy. I treasure restaurants that do not pander as long as they succeed on their own terms. The same questions apply to wine. Must a restaurant offer bottles that even the most timid diner will recognize? Or can a wine list reflect a restaurant’s best conception of itself, no matter how unconventional? The world is dominated by the ordinary and the mass-market. Most restaurants, even in New York City, conform to a mainstream vision of food and wine. For that reason alone we should celebrate the departures, not feel threatened by them. If a restaurant is so unorthodox that you feel discomfited, plenty of more conventional choices beckon.”

It’s interesting to note that discussions of mainstream versus innovation and diversity used to be centered on food menus. Most reasonable people seemed ready to accept a chef’s right to remain uncompromisingly true to his or her culinary vision. The ultra successful Terroni Group of Restaurants (including five in Toronto and one, soon to be two, in Los Angeles) is a case in point. Owner Cosimo Mammoliti is infamous for his no modifications, no substitution policy. They wont even cut your pizza for you at Terroni. Why? “We simply want our customers to have the experience of eating those dishes in the same way that they’ve been enjoyed for generations” is the answer. The implication is that if you don’t want to eat what Italians have been eating for generations, there are plenty of other restaurants you can go to. (Incidentally, the wine list is also filled with inscrutable wines you won’t find anywhere else, since Terroni imports dozens of Italian wines exclusively, which doesn’t seem to deter diners from drinking.) Terroni’s success vindicates their no mods policy.

So why should wine directors and sommeliers be accorded any less latitude to express a vision than a chef/owner? If it doesn’t work, they won’t be in business for long in any case.

The Canadian dining landscape is ever more interesting. Young chefs who have trained under our most celebrated culinary artists are opening restaurants at an alarming (comforting) rate, adding culinary multiplicity to the dining scene of myriad neighborhoods. It’s virtually a pre-requisite for survival in the hyper-competitive market. And so many young, and seasoned, sommeliers are seeking to reflect that diversity and distinctiveness with the beverage program.

So, the question is, are you as afraid of unknown wines as you are of unknown ingredients? Or is dining out an adventure in discovery? Let me know what you think.

[Ed. note: At the bottom of all WineAlign articles you will see this comment box. Go ahead; engage John! Leave your thoughts on his blog below. All you need is a free Disqus account and you can chat with us anytime!]

Oxymoron: Value Champagne for TIFF

VINTAGES is splashing out (or re-splashing) on champagne for the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival, which runs from September 6th – 16th. After all, champagne is a virtual sine qua non for the A-list beat. You, too, may have champagne wishes and caviar dreams, but reluctantly live in reality. And for you, I have two “value” options from the release. In lieu of the predictable names on offer, namely Dom Pérignon 2003 (which was not available to taste), and the really very fine 2005 Cristal Brut Champagne (any wine at nearly $300 could scarcely be considered a value), head instead to the Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve Champagne for $54.95. This has long been one of my favorite non-vintage champagnes with vintage-like quality, and might rightly fall in the value realm. The secret is a significant proportion of reserve (old) wines, which gives the Charles its distinctly toasty, fully mature profile. Add to that a rich, creamy, dry but generous, mouth filling impression packed with peach cobbler and toasted oat flavour, and you’ve got a serious bubbly that could easily pass for one of the pricier labels.

Very nearly as good but stylistically contrarian is the 2004 Piper Heidsieck Brut Champagne ($75.95). The same company owns both Heidsiecks, and there’s a purposeful division of style between labels: Piper is the lighter, fresher, more citrusy bubbly, and the 2004 vintage is true to form. I particularly liked the rare combination of power and elegance. And again, considering the price of most vintage champagne, this could almost be considered in the value category. For A-listers, this would be embarrassingly cheap.

From the September 1st, 2012 Vintages release:

Top Ten Smart Buys
Champagne Picks

Cheers!

John Szabo MS

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Filed under: News, Champagne, John Szabo, LCBO, TIFF, Top 10 Smart Buys, Vintages, Vintages Preview

Top Ten Smart Buys – John Szabo’s Vintages Preview for May 26th 2012

John Szabo, MS

Consensus on Greatness: Is it Possible? You Bet.  May 26th sees the annual Vintages release focused on 90+ point wines. By most standards in the world of wine ratings, 90 is the magic number, the dividing line between good and very good, between satisfying and special. Where and how that line is drawn depends entirely on the reviewer, yet I never fail to marvel at the consistency of the definition of “very good” from experienced tasters, even if from incredibly diverse backgrounds. As though to hammer the point home, I spent the last week in Hungary judging wines at the 13th annual Pannon Wine Challenge, with panelists from the UK, Poland, US, and Hungary. Though we may have warbled on about acceptable degrees of technical flaws and other granular details, and though each of our scales were calibrated differently, in relative terms, there was remarkable agreement on the wines that stood above the others. The middle ground, however, was much more variable.

This leads me to believe that there is such a thing as great wine. It’s not a single beacon in the sky, but more like a bunch of circles of light that overlap. Where all the circles intersect you’ll find consensus on greatness. Moving out from the center it gets more and more individual; agreement on the fringes is less consistent. And I love that the characterization of excellence in wine remains intangible and elastic, and changes as you change. By most definitions it must incorporate elusive and brackish concepts like “balance”, “terroir expression” or “varietal character”, which become evident only after years of tasting wine. At this point, it’s more of a feeling than a rational explanation of greatness.

Though all of the judges at the Pannon competition have had dramatically different life experiences and exposure to wine, the one point in common between all is significant tasting experience. And this leads to another shaky truth: the more you taste, the more the image of greatness emerges out of the mist and comes into consensual focus. Beauty shouldn’t, nor couldn’t, be pinned down to a standard rational definition. Experience seems to lead us all to a remarkably similar vinous landscape – the converging points of light – beyond the rational.

One 90+ point score could thus be an outlier, but when consensus is found among a diverse group of experienced tasters, there has to be something there, a mutually shared feeling, however un-definable and intangible. Here, the greatness is not the sole proprietorship of the experts; even if you don’t taste a thousand wines a month, these mutually commended wines will most likely touch you, too. Outside this convergence, you’re back in the land of personal experience.

It’s a bit like how I imagine it must be for a figure skating judge. I suspect that even for judges with vast experience watching skaters, the feeling of witnessing a great performance arrives first, before the degree of technical prowess comes into focus. That feeling is shared by the audience – when you see a top skater you feel they are great, even without the ability to describe a perfect triple Lutz, or even knowing what a Lutz is, and you expect a top score. The judges can then rationalize the feeling of a great performance through analysis of the skater’s technique and artistry, but the scorecards have already been selected. When the performance is less than great, the audience waits in anticipation; rational analysis has taken over, and it’s not clear to the inexperienced which way it will swing.

When I taste a great wine, I get a little shiver first – I feel that it’s something special. That’s past experience tickling my frontal cortex, saying, hey, this is worth paying attention to. After that I’ll set about trying to describe rationally why it’s great. A tasting note that gushes with worn out superlatives is a start towards sharing that feeling. But when words are inadequate, as they invariably are, I can flash up my scorecard to draw a line in the sand and make my position clear. In the absence of the shiver, the technical analysis starts first, and the results between reviewers are more variable. Paradoxically, it’s a feeling of greatness that leads to the intersecting points of light in the sky. Rational thought leads to greater discrepancy, less consistency and greater variability.

Top Ten Smart Buys (also 90+)

Of the 75 wines I tasted for this release, 21 gave me a little shiver – See the smartest ten buys of those here. I’ve yet to see the reviews of my WineAlign colleagues, but I suspect there will be some convergence, and that’s where you should start. Hopefully you’ll get the same shiver, unless of course, you’re the Russian judge.

For more details on the Pannon Wine competition, see thoughtful American wine blogger Alder Yarrow’s posting at Vinography.com or UK author and blogger Dr. Jamie Goode’s popular wine Wineanorak.com. Results of the competition can be found on the competition’s official website,  Pannon Bormustra. I’ll post a selection of my notes shortly.

From the May 26, 2012 Vintages release:

Top Ten Smart Buys
All Reviews

Jump to the Profile on Portugal article.

Cheers,

John Szabo, Master Sommelier

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John Szabo’s Vintages Preview for May 12th 2012: Golden California, Spring into Pink, Limestone in Israel; Top Ten Smart Buys.

 May 12th shines the spotlight back on the Golden State, though California is already golden in the eyes of LCBO-Vintages buyers – it’s the number one selling region in Vintages. I explore the secrets of their success and pick out the highlights from the release. Israel is featured with a selection of eight wines designed to underscore the country’s potential (it’s not a kosher wine feature). I take a closer look at one estate in particular, Clos de Gat, and pick out a pair of intriguing wines worth highlighting. And rosés are back on drinkers’, and LCBO buyers’ minds, with a dozen on offer May 12th. There was the usual wide variation in style, and my preferred three also made it into the top ten smart buys, covered in this report.

Top Ten Smart Buys: Rosés

Rosés are featured in the May 12th release, and I found three exceptional bottles. The 2011 Château la Tour de l’Evêque Rosé Côtes de Provence is a long-time favorite and regular yearly listing at Vintages. It’s in the top-end price category (with two others at $18.95), but well worth the premium for fans of classic Provençal rosé. The château comes by its name honestly: in centuries past it was the summer residence of the Bishops of Toulon. In 1958 the property came into the hands of the Soumeire family, and in 2005 the vineyards became certified organic. The 2011, the first vintage made in a new gravity-fed facility, is typically dry and medium-full-bodied, with plenty of red berry fruit and wild Mediterranean herbal flavour, like a stroll through the Côtes de Provence at dusk.

The nearby Costières de Nîmes, on the other side of the Rhône delta, is the source of another excellent French rosé, 2011 Mas des Bressades Cuvée Tradition Rosé ($13.95). From a family with six generations of winemaking experience in vineyards from Bordeaux to Algeria, Mas des Bressandes is among the leading estates in the appellation. The rosé is a typical blend of grenache, syrah and cinsault, and is generously proportioned with ample wild herb and red berry flavour in a plumper, fuller style.

And rounding out the recommended rosés, we go across the Pyrenees to Rioja and the delicate 2011 Muga Rosé ($12.95). Muga’s vineyards are in the Rioja Alta sub-region, where it’s notably cooler than the lower lying areas of the appellation. Like the French rosés, this too is based on garnacha (grenache) with 10% tempranillo and 30% of the white variety viura (aka maccabeo). The inclusion of viura makes this a particularly juicy example, bone dry, fragrant and lively, with tart, mouth-watering acids and light, red berry-strawberry-currant flavours.

Other top ten smart buys include a classic ten year-old Rioja for under $25, an excellent and characterful garnacha from the little-known Montsant DO next door to trendy Priorat, and an indigenous plavac from the Peljesac (pell-yeah-SHATZ) Peninsula in southern Croatia, a country whose wines have seen a huge surge in interest of late thanks in large measure to a visit from everybody’s favorite gastro bad boy, Anthony Bourdain, to film an episode of No Reservations. See the full Top Ten.

California

As mentioned in the intro, California is hot. Total US wine exports, driven 90% by California, were up over 25% by revenue from 2009 to 2010. And Canada is the number one country by value, purchasing almost $308 million worth of wine. (The entire 27 member European Union accounted collectively for $435 million, but breakdown by individual country is complicated by trans-shipments between EU members, so we’ll claim nº1).

But what’s most interesting to note is that volume of US exports to Canada was actually down by 23%, while value was up over 27% – that’s a huge swing, showing clearly that people are paying more, much more for California wine than in previous years. What’s the reason for this success? Aside from obviously very good wines with reputations to match, and a recovering economy, I’d say it has much to do with the relentless and effective marketing efforts of the California Wine Institute, of specific regional associations, and of individual wineries. Virtually every week I’m invited to at least one trade tasting of California wines, with producers or winery principals on hand to lead it. And consumers have plenty of opportunities to taste as well; for example, I’ll be co-hosting a WineAlign-promoted tasting with Etude’s (Sonoma) Jon Priest on May 16th, an event that sold out in a day at $65/person. The lessons to be learn? The market responds to education and to direct contact with wineries; marketing pays off.

But back to the wines: there’s a pair of terrific chardonnays in the May 12th release, which underscore a now-several vintages old trend towards, lighter, less oak-driven and more refreshing wines. The 2009 Talbott Logan Estate Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Chardonnay from the Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey County ($26.95), is an excellent example, and a super value at that. Don’t worry, Cali hasn’t gone all Chablis on us; this is still rich and generous, and with 14.9% alcohol can hardly be called light and stony, but it has marvelous depth of flavour that’s certainly the equal of many wines at twice the price.

And at about twice the price but also worthy is the 2009 Sonoma-Cutrer Les Pierres Vineyard Chardonnay ($49.95). Les Pierres has always been my favorite from Sonoma-Cutrer’s range of single vineyards, sitting atop an ancient riverbed thick with cobblestones and heavily moderated by fog off of San Pablo Bay. It consistently yields a tighter, leaner more minerally style of chardonnay. The excellent 2009 vintage resulted in a wine of distinction and class, with terrific length carried on generous but balanced 14.5% alcohol. It’s drinkable now, but will be better in 1-2 years.

On the red side, there’s a pair of Zinfandels worthy of note, a grape to which I am rarely drawn even if it was first brought to California by a Hungarian, Agoston Haraszthy. It’s so frequently made in a likeness to motor oil (or sweet blush) that one could be forgiven for all but writing it off. If you, too, have become jaded, then try a little remedy in the form of Storybook Mountain Estate’s 2009 Mayacamas Range Napa Estate Zinfandel ($46.95). Zinfandel has been made at Storybook Mountain since 1880, and such history tends to regard current fashion with some disdain. It’s hardly inexpensive, but considering how classy, elegant, well balanced and above all lively this is, it may just make you a believer. In any case it’s a zinfandel of rare depth, intensity, minerality and freshness with a degree of complexity that should be the envy of those from the over ripe/raisined school of production.

I was happily surprised by the 2009 Ravenswood Old Vine Zinfandel, Sonoma County ($23.95). Joel Peterson of Ravenswood, considered one of the godfathers of California Zin, is also well known for his motto of nullum vinum flaccidum, or, “no wimpy wines”. So when I tasted this balanced example I could only guess that maybe Peterson’s getting a little wimpier (for the better) with age. This is still big and ripe to be sure, but with complexity well above the mean. There’s intriguing licorice, cherry, dried flower and spice aromas/flavours, while the palate is dense, full, well-structured but also balanced with bright acids, firm but moderate tannins and generous but not excessive (14.5%) alcohol. Terrific length, too, and well priced for discovery.

And speaking of tasting opportunities, if you missed getting a ticket to the Etude event, there’s a large Vintages-sponsored “Zinfinite Possibilities” Taste & Buy event on the same evening in Toronto where you’ll taste dozens of different wines in every style imaginable. Visit the Vintages website for details. See the full list of top rated California wines here, including wines from Shafer and Far Niente.

Israel

Israeli wines are also featured in the May 12th release, and though some are kosher, that’s not the theme, but rather a look at what the country can do. But despite the tight selection, there was evidence of erratic winemaking and over-exuberant use of wood. There was nonetheless enough to generate some real excitement for Israel’s potential. Of the estates on offer, Clos de Gat was clearly the most interesting, with vineyards in foothills of the Judean Mountains surrounding a 3000 year-old wine press (“Gat” is Hebrew for winepress). Thin topsoil over limestone bedrock is particularly well suited to quality grape production, and natural yeasts are used for fermentation. The 2009 Clos de Gat Chardonnay ($47.95) is an intriguing blend of old and new world style, offering generous alcohol, ripe orchard fruit flavours and full body, but underneath there’s significant minerality and marked leesy, nutty, rancid butter notes that’s more reminiscent of Burgundy. It’s well worth a look if you were under the impression that Israel couldn’t make fine wine. The red counterpart from the same estate, the 2007 Clos de Gat Ayalon Valley ($47.95), was less successful in my view. Although there’s the same sense that the terroir is really quite exceptional, the winemaking is heavy handed and obscures the potential distinctiveness.

My preferred Israeli red is the 2007 Recanati Reserve Single Vineyard Merlot, Galilee ($28.95). It’s crafted more in an old world style with marked herbal, crushed leaves and black tea flavours alongside ripe black berry fruit.

From the May 12, 2012 Vintages release:

Top Ten Smart Buys
Golden California
All Reviews

Cheers,

John Szabo, Master Sommelier

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Filed under: Wine, John Szabo, LCBO, Rosé, Top 10 Smart Buys, Vintages, Vintages Preview

John Szabo’s Vintages Preview for February 18th 2012: Santa Barbara; Terroir Reflected, Austrian Values; Top Ten Smart Buys

John Szabo, MS

The February 18th Vintages release features the self-explanatory theme of customer favorites, a sort of greatest hits of LCBO-Vintages wines. Names like La Crema, Duckhorn, Dominus, d’Arenberg, Pirammima and Allegrini are likely familiar friends on the shelves. It’s interesting to note that fully 1/3 of the thematic favorites are from California, a reflection of the current wave of popularity on which the Golden State is surfing. But rather than bump boards with the crowds in Napa and Sonoma, I surf a less well known beach, in a report on my own little ‘sideways’ journey to Santa Barbara County.  Skip to the Top Ten Smart Buys.

Terroir

The mini theme is a focus on terroir, a comparison of the articulation of different places by the same winemaker. Forget the rather pointless side by side of the Champy wines (go for the cheaper 2009 CHAMPY SIGNATURE PINOT NOIR BOURGOGNE AC, a much better wine, not to mention value, at $21.95), and skip the showdown between the two 13th Street Rieslings (the 2010 OLD VINES RIESLING VQA Creek Shores, Niagara Peninsula $23.95 is a top smart buy this week, the June’s Vineyard is not).

  

If you’re really after a compelling side by side, pick up the three 2009 Chardonnays made by Thomas Bachelder (ex. Clos Jordanne, Niagara) and get to work:

2009 BACHELDER NIAGARA CHARDONNAY VQA Niagara Peninsula $31.95
2009 BACHELDER BOURGOGNE CHARDONNAY AC $34.95
2009 BACHELDER OREGON CHARDONNAY Willamette Valley $36.95

Bachelder’s take is a textbook reflection of regional character: same grape, same vintage, same winemaker, but… The Bourgogne is the tightest and leanest of the three, the Oregon the fleshiest, fruitiest and most ‘new world’, with the Niagara version sitting comfortably between the two. The latter was also my preferred, offering the best of both fruit and minerality, but I’ll leave your opinion up to you. Interestingly enough, last week I moderated a panel of winemakers that included Isabel Meunier, who heads winemaking at the Oregon outpost of Evening Land Vineyards, a company which also has operations Santa Barbara, California and in Burgundy (she was Bachelder’s assistant at Clos Jordanne, too). With her experience in these four chardonnay-focused regions, her descriptions of typical wine styles at the event were the mirror image of what Bachelder delivers. Looks like there might be something there.

Austria

Search the site for more than a dozen recently reviewed Austrian wines, including the always excellent Schloss Gobelsburg and their 2009 Kammerner Renner Grüner Veltliner Kamptal, a superb value at $31.00, and a terrific single vineyard 2009 Rudolf Rabl Grüner Veltliner Käferberg Kamptal Reserve $24.95, both available directly from their respective agents, by the case via the consignment program.

California’s Inner Self
The Central Coast Part One: Santa Barbara

While Napa and Sonoma may be household names wherever serious wine lovers reside, there are some 500 kilometers stretching from the Golden Gate to the suburbs of Los Angeles that merit a great deal more recognition. Known as the Central Coast and encompassed in an official AVA of the same name, these are some of the original vineyards of California, planted by Franciscan monks in the late 1700s as they moved north along El Camino Real, now better known as the iconic highway 101.

The Central Coast is, as you’d expect, a broad and sprawling area that covers a dramatic range of growing conditions. But the region’s potential comes into greater focus when examining the several dozen smaller sub-AVAs contained within, which more directly reflect specific climatic conditions. In early December I went on my very own Sideways adventure up the coast from LA to San Francisco along with Montreal Gazette Columnist Bill Zacharkiw to check in on this dynamic stretch of grape growing land (minus the convertible). We planned to focus on three of the Central Coast’s most promising regions: Santa Barbara, Paso Robles and The Santa Cruz Mountains. Here are some of the highlights, along with some recommended wines currently available in the market, including a few from the Vintages February 18th release.

Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara gained a huge surge in popularity thanks to the 2004 film Sideways, which follows two dysfunctional characters on a road trip through the County. One of the leads, Miles, is a pinot noir fanatic, and he’s come to the right place: pinot noir, along with chardonnay and syrah, are Santa Barbara’s greatest strengths – a quarter of Santa Barbara’s acreage is devoted to pinot. We stayed a night in the surreal town of Solvang, a Danish settlement straight out of a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale complete with windmills and a disproportionate percentage of blond hair, blue eye citizens. Our purpose was to visit Sideways’ ground zero, the Hitching Post Restaurant, a mile down the road.

Tasting with owner Frank Ostini turned out to be a real treat: not only were the food and ambience anything but Hollywood, but the wines, mainly several cuvees of pinot noir, turned out to be some of the finest of our journey. Check out the 2008 HITCHING POST HOMETOWN PINOT NOIR  $26.95 for a taste of how poised and balanced west coast pinot can be, and look out for the even better 2007 Hitching Post Perfect Set Pinot Noir $70.00 (10 cases coming to the Classics Catalogue May 1, 2012) – this was perhaps the finest pinot encountered on our journey.

What makes Santa Barbara, and it’s sub-AVAs, the Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Rita Hills and Happy Canyon, a particularly suitable spot for Burgundian grapes is the result of a queer geological phenomenon. A tectonic event during the formation of the coastal mountain range caused this piece of the continental shelf to split and rotate 90º, so that the normally north-south range was oriented east-west instead.

Whereas most of the rest of the California Coast is somewhat protected from direct ocean influence by the Coastal Range, the Santa Maria and Ynez valleys experience the direct cooling effect of ocean breezes. Curiously enough, the growing season is unseasonably cool; the warmest month on average is October. Throughout the summer, the North Pacific High – a high-pressure system as regular as a Swiss train out of the northwest that pushes strong winds, and in turn causes an upwelling of frigid deep ocean water right off of the coast – acts like the ultimate summer air conditioner. The high breaks down around October, reducing the cooling influence of the Pacific.

As one would expect, the cooling effect is most dramatic in the west end of the valleys nearest the coast: according to local winegrowers, the average temperature rises about 2ºC for every 2.5kms moving inland. This makes the Sta. Rita Hills, the western sub-AVA of the larger Santa Ynez Valley AVA, the coolest in the county and the source of finely etched pinots, chardonnays and Rhône-like syrahs.

Happy Canyon AVA on the other hand, the furthest inland on the east side of Santa Ynez about 60kms from the coast, is the warmest, and the only reliable source of fully ripened Bordeaux varieties. The difference in temperature between Happy Canyon and the town of Lompoc at the western edge of viable viticulture can be as much 10-15ºC during an average summer’s day.

The Santa Maria Valley AVA, the northernmost in Santa Barbara, takes in all of these extremes and is thus a candidate for further sub-division in the future. The renown of vineyards like the 800 acre Bien Nacido, origin of fruit for several of the county’s top wines, and the success of larger operations like Cambria (part of Kendall-Jackson) have already established the Santa Maria Valley as a serious source of wine.

But of course it’s not just about the complex soils and high-pressure systems. Fine wine requires a culture of making wine, and the spirit of innovation is alive and well in the county. Few are the grand château; flash is traded for practical exigency, and nowhere more obviously than the Lompoc Wine Ghetto. The Ghetto is a collection of functional winemaking facilities in an industrial park on the outskirts of Lompoc. Romantic it is not, but it’s home to some of the region’s best known and emerging labels such as Evening Land, Palmina, Flying Goat, Fiddleheads and Ampelos. There’s a decidedly single-minded focus on making great wine, and especially on expressing the variations afforded by the diverse growing regions. Tasting in most cellars in Santa Barbara requires patience and the desire to sift through minor variations on the theme of pinot or chardonnay as articulated by vineyard site, as all wine lovers love to do.

Generally speaking, the wine style of pinot and chardonnay is a little tighter and firmer than Napa or Sonoma, and a little fleshier and softer than Oregon. But soon enough the wines will come to speak for themselves rather than via comparison I suspect. Here are some wines from the area to consider for your own sideways adventure (available from their respective agents):

2009 CAMBRIA PINOT NOIR, JULIA’S VINEYARD SANTA MARIA VALLEY $31.95
2008 KENNETH VOLK SANTA BARBARA COUNTY PINOT NOIR  $36.95
2008 KENNETH VOLK SANTA BARBARA COUNTY CHARDONNAY  $27.95
2009 CAMBRIA CHARDONNAY, KATHERINE’S VINEYARD SANTA MARIA VALLEY $28.95
2009 THREE SAINTS PINOT NOIR SANTA MARIA VALLEY $24.95

And if only to prove that Santa Barbara makes top notch Rhône-style blends, don’t miss the exceptional 2009 Beckmen Cuvée Le Bec Santa Ynez Valley $26.95 available through Abcon International. Beckman is a biodynamically farmed operation in the Santa Ynez Valley. I remarked on a special smell here in the vineyards: very pure, unapologetically natural. Le Bec is a blend of grenache, syrah, mourvèdre and counoise, with a very pretty, markedly floral, spicy character, and juicy, natural acidity – absolutely delicious and dangerously drinkable.

From the February 18th, 2012 Vintages release:

Top Ten Smart Buys
All Reviews

Cheers,

John Szabo, Master Sommelier

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Filed under: News, Wine, California, John Szabo, LCBO, Santa Barbara, Top 10 Smart Buys, Vintages, Vintages Preview

John Szabo’s Vintages Preview for November 26th 2011 – My Finest Dozen; People and Wine Matching; Top Ten Smart Buys

John Szabo, MS

The theme for the November 26th release is the annual “Our Finest”, VINTAGES’ opportunity to bring out the year’s most expensive collection of big names and big wines. Out of 100+ wines tasted on two occasions, I found the quality to be by no means universally high, even if prices are. I also found marked stylistic differences in the top tier price category, which will make for intriguing comparative analysis between WineAlign critics and offer an opportunity for members to more clearly ‘align’. I’ve set out my personal Finest Dozen wines for quick reference, along with the usual Top Ten Smart Buys, and a list of additional wines for gifting this holiday, matched with the right people.

My Finest Dozen

Out of a range of sometimes overdone wines, one of the finest in my view is the exceptional 2007 DUNN VINEYARDS HOWELL MOUNTAIN CABERNET SAUVIGNON Howell Mountain, Napa Valley 95pts $96.95 ***. Randy and Lori Dunn have been Cabernet specialists since founding the property in 1978, and this 2007 is made from 100% ‘mountain’ fruit’ grown in the Howell Mountain AVA. Napa insiders often discuss the differences between fruit grown on the valley floor and on the hillsides flanking either side: the former generally softer and more approachable, the latter, firmer, tighter, more concentrated and age worthy. This is an extraordinary effort from the hills, dense and rich and hugely concentrated, yet with a scarcely believable [moderate] 13.9% alcohol and remarkable freshness. It’s a model of class and complexity, and at under $100 in a world of triple-digit prices, can even be considered fine value for collectors – this should age nicely for a couple of decades or longer.

Also among my finest selections is another Napa Cabernet born on a mountainside:2008 PHILIP TOGNI CABERNET SAUVIGNON Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley 93pts $123.95 **. This too is a Fine fragrant and elegant wine, with an excellent range of aromas, marked mineral flavours and expansive finish, which will appeal to both classicists and modernists alike.

People and Wine Matching: Giving Wine as a Gift

The FAQ most often put to wine experts at this time of year is which wine to buy as a gift. It’s a simple and innocent enough question, but the answer is anything but. You see, wine is a personal thing, so it’s sort of like asking someone to set up a blind date for somebody they’ve never met. Does your friend like tall, short, thin, intellectual, or sporting types? Do they have a preference for men or women? The would-be wine recommender needs to know not only about the characteristics of the wine, but also a little about the eventual drinker, in order to make a successful match.

So to help avoid mutual embarrassment, I’ve outlined a variety of foolproof wine/people combinations that should cover most of the characters on your wine gift list. The recommended wines are all in the November 26th release.

Young Sophisticates

For the casual imbiber recently graduated from beer or ready-to-drink coolers looking to appear more sophisticated…

Red is your best bet here, as it is perceived as more sophisticated than white. Avoid those austere, traditional, old world style wines that are built on tannins and acids. Generous fruit and alcohol are key, giving the wines a plush and sweet, mouth-filling impression: “Now that is serious wine!” Look to warm climates in the new world, and new world-style wines from the old, such as Chile’s Maipo Valley, Argentina’s Mendoza, Barossa or McLaren Vale in South Australia, most parts of California, southern Spain, Italy (esp. Tuscany) and France. Widely recognized producers, regions and grapes are also considered a positive. Recommended spend: $10-$20.

Try these:
• 2009 CASTELLANI POGGIO AL CASONE LA CATTURA IGT Toscana 86pts $18.95
• 2008 CONCHA Y TORO WINEMAKER’S LOT 115 CABERNET SAUVIGNON Palo Santo Vineyard, Rapel Valley 86pts $17.95 *1/2

Hipsters

For thirty-something Queen West-type hipsters who are familiar with Merlot, Cabernet and Chardonnay and are ready to delve deeper…

This can be a tricky category, as it covers a vast swath of newly minted wine drinkers with varying preferences. In general, they are open minded, but not quite ready for the tightly wound, austere, subtle or delicate wines that are difficult to “get.” Safe bets include boldly flavoured “fringe classics,” which will be familiar but not necessarily tasted before. Malbec from Argentina, Carmenère from Chile, Nero d’Avola and Montepulciano from Italy, Tempranillo from Spain, and Touriga Nacional from Portugal fit the bill. Quality matters more than obscurity, so familiar grapes grown in “new classic” places can also work, like Cabernet from Tuscany or Pinot Noir from California’s Russian River valley. Recommended spend: $15-$30.

Try these:
• 2008 DUCA DI SALAPARUTA PASSO DELLE MULE NERO D’AVOLA IGT Sicilia 89pts $19.95
• 2006 PALACIO DE SADA CRIANZA DO Navarra 89pts $14.95 ***

The (Wo)Man Who Has Everything

For the man or woman with lots of money but little time to research their preferences, the kind who would hire a personal shopper or concierge to do their gift buying…

This type is the easiest to buy for, but also the most expensive (avoid having too many of them in your life). Perceived scarcity, rarity and reputation impress most. Size matters: bigger is better. Name-brand appellations and producers are also key. Go straight to the Vintages section or the locked cabinets. Look for classified Bordeaux, super-Tuscans, expensive Napa Cab and cult Australian Shiraz. Cite Robert Parker, Wine Spectator or WineAlign scores with a knowing wink as you deliver. Recommended spend: $50-$100.

Try these:
• 2009 CHÂTEAU DE BEAUCASTEL CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPEAC 93pts $89.95 **1/2
• 2009 KISTLER SONOMA MOUNTAIN CHARDONNAY Sonoma Mountain 92pts $72.95 **
• 2005 HENSCHKE MOUNT EDELSTONE VINEYARD SHIRAZKeyneton, Eden Valley, South Australia 92pts $99.95 *1/2

Wine Geeks

For the wine geek in your life, who subscribes to magazines, has taken a few evening wine courses and vacations in wine country; attends wine tastings, throws around terms like mid-palate, tannicity, bouquet, and malolactic fermentation at dinner parties, and generally fancies him/herself a wee bit of a con-WAH-sir…

These are challenging recipients, as a little bit of knowledge is always dangerous. It is virtually impossible to impress them, as they already know everything. Avoid easy targets for their wrath such as big commercial brands, labels with critters on them, Merlot from anywhere (unless it’s Pomerol), new world Pinot Noir and off-dry wines. This type will appreciate wines from classic growing regions, or future classic regions that they might have read about.  Recommended spend: $25-$45.

Try these:
• 2007 PESQUERA TINTO RESERVA DO Ribera del Duero 91pts $41.95 **1/2
• 2006 Ascheri Barolo Pisapola DOC Barolo 91pts $43.95 **1/2

 

The Professor

For the quiet, humble, truly well informed wine expert who has dazzled you by correctly identifying that Volnay 1er Cru Taillepieds (“too perfumed and delicate for a Côtes de Nuits”) or the 2009er Ürziger Würztgarten Riesling Spätlese  (riper than the 2008s and too spicy to be a Wehlener Sonnenuhr…”)…

Not as tough to impress as you think. They will be pleased by any thoughtful gift, so do some research. Seek out something unusual; you’ll score huge bonus points if you find a grape variety they’ve never heard of, or a little-known but up-and-coming region/producer. Colour doesn’t matter, as long as the wine smells and tastes of the place it was grown. Value matters, as does subtlety, delicacy and balance. Don’t bother with most wines that you would buy for The Rich. If there are no unusual specialties available, go for foolproof “wine lover’s wines” like top German Riesling, respectable Burgundy, Barolo/Barbaresco, Grüner Veltliner from the Wachau, or anything else that smells and tastes of rocks. Old vintages are appreciated. Champagne never fails, especially grower champagne rather than big brand. Recommended spend: $20-$50.

Try these:
• 2009 ATA RANGI PETRIE CHARDONNAY Wairarapa, North Island 93pts $33.95 ***
• 2007 MIGUEL TORRES MAS LA PLANA CABERNET SAUVIGNON DO Penedès 92pts $46.95 ***
• EMILIO LUSTAU EAST INDIA SOLERA SHERRY DO Jerez (375ml) 91pts $16.95 ***
• 2009 GROTTA DEL SOLE FALANGHINA DEI CAMPI FLEGREI DOC 88pts $15.95 ***
• 2009 CAVE DE ROQUEBRUN LA GRANGE DES COMBES SAINT-CHINIAN-ROQUEBRUN AC 90pts $16.95 ***

    

From the November 26th Vintages release:

Top Ten Smart Buys
John’s Finest Dozen
All Reviews

Cheers,

John Szabo, Master Sommelier

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Filed under: Wine, John Szabo, LCBO, Top 10 Smart Buys, Vintages, Vintages Preview

John Szabo’s Vintages Preview for October 15th 2011 – Tuscany, Where Modern Meets Traditional; Argentina: the good, the bad and the heavy, and Top Ten Smart Buys

John Szabo, MS

Tuscany & Argentina - 
Tuscany and Argentina are featured in the October 15th VINTAGES release, familiar territory for most wine lovers. The former is a fully developed region with parallel streams of both ultra-traditional and post-modern, while the latter is a newcomer to the scene, still navigating the intricacies of selling wine internationally. Both are popular sources for wine. Of the Tuscans in this release, my most serious enjoyment was caused by the 2007 POLIZIANO VINO NOBILE DI MONTEPULCIANO DOCG $25.95, also my top smart buy. It’s a model that I’d love to see more Tuscan producers follow: pure class in a classic and recognizably Tuscan style.  Like the region, the traditional and the modern co-exist in harmony at Poliziano. The winery is partly powered by clean, renewable solar energy and is equipped with all the modern winemaking aids. Yet the style remains resolutely classic: a mid-weight, sangiovese-dominated wine, with balance, integrity and complexity, relying more on finesse and refinement rather than heft, raw power or wood. The finish lingers on beautifully. Other recommended Tuscan wines include 2007 TENUTA DI NOZZOLE LA FORRA CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA DOCG $29.95 and 2008 VOLPAIA CHIANTI CLASSICO DOCG $21.95 . See the full list of recommended Tuscan wines here.
 

Bye-bye Big Bottles
Argentina delivers a couple of top wines, but first a rare deviation to the not recommended: basta with the heavy bottles, por favor. Argentina is one of the guiltiest countries when it comes to the outmoded crime of stupidly heavy bottles – it’s like 1997 calling all over again. I’d say that most switched-on wine drinkers are no longer fooled by the facile attempt to add value by adding ounces to bottle weight. The gravitas comes from within, where the money should be spent.

Needless to say, there’s also the consideration of the serious environmental impact of producing, shipping and recycling heavier bottles. In this area the LCBO is a world leader – as of January 1st Ontario will not stock any wines in bottles weighing more than 420g (the most criminal come close to 1kilo, empty). Though this restriction is officially for wines at or below $15 retail, “favourable consideration will be given to product offers that are lower in weight”, says senior LCBO VP of Sales and Marketing Bob Downey. Thus any suppliers offering lighter weight bottles at premium price points will have an advantage over competitors. We can only hope that suppliers won’t just artificially raise the price of their wines above $15 so they can keep their barbarian bottles. Should you find yourself at Vintages and you haven’t gotten in your work out for the day, do a few curls with either 2006 NAVARRO CORREAS STRUCTURA ULTRA IP Mendoza, Limited Release $34.95 or 2007 RIGLOS GRAN CORTE Mendoza $37.95, though you may be stiff in the morning.

On the brighter, lighter side, there are a couple of brilliant Argentine wines in the release, headlined by 2008 CATENA ALTA MALBEC Estate Lots, Mendoza $49.95. Catena has been a leader and a pioneer for over one hundred years in Mendoza, and the experience, and confidence, shows. This ’08 has obvious class and complexity with beguiling violet-floral notes, ripe but fresh black fruit, and well-integrate wood spice, while the palate shows uncommon freshness and liveliness and tremendous length. Also excellent and worth the premium price is the 2009 CATENA ALTA CHARDONNAY Estate Lots, Mendoza $39.95.

Closer to the affordable value end of the scale, try the 2006 DURIGUTTI RESERVE MALBEC Mendoza, Unfiltered $26.95 or the 2008 LUIGI BOSCA RESERVA CABERNET SAUVIGNON Maipü, Mendoza $17.95, both well-balanced, representative examples. See all recommended Argentine wines here with reviews.
  
Top Ten Smart Buys

As for the top ten smart buys, well worth pointing out is the superb 2009 LE CLOS JORDANNE LE CLOS JORDANNE VINEYARD PINOT NOIR VQA Niagara Peninsula, Twenty Mile Bench $45.00. By general consensus, 2009 is the best vintage yet for LCJ, and for Ontario pinot noir in general (see my article). I predict that this will be a turning point for the Ontario industry. The full range from Le Clos is impressive so watch for this and other upcoming releases. You’ll also find an impressive bubbly from New Zealand for $21.95, a textbook Alsatian gewürztraminer, and a sturdy French country red for $16.95 that will be perfect with your autumnal game dishes, roasts and braises. See them all here.

Fom the October 15th Vintages release:
Top Ten Smart Buys
Recommended Tuscany at A Glance
Recommended Argentina at A Glance
All Reviews

Cheers,

John Szabo, Master Sommelier

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Filed under: Featured Articles, Wine, Argentina, John Szabo, LCBO, Top 10 Smart Buys, Tuscany, Vintages, Vintages Preview

John Szabo’s Vintages Preview for July 23rd – Live Austrian Duet; Top Ten Smart Buys and Italian Wine School: 7 classic wines from 7 regions

John Szabo, MS

In a rare moment of celestial synchronicity, two of Austria’s top winemakers will be in Toronto on July 22nd to host a dinner at Cowbell Restaurant, on the eve of the release of their wines at VINTAGES. Even more remarkable is that both wines are excellent, and one, the 2009 LOIMER GRÜNER VELTLINER TROCKEN DAC Kamptal $18.95, is my number one smart buy this week. Loimer’s hands-off, natural (biodynamic, in fact) approach to wine production is much in evidence here: the nose is almost pure stony minerality the way we like it, with underlying ripe, vibrant, concentrated fruit and intriguing herbal and floral notes in textbook Grüner language. It’s a superb wine, especially at this price, and one I’d buy by the case.

Also revelatory, just when you thought you’ve had a lifetime’s worth of Chardonnay from every conceivable terroir, along comes another example, a real beauty in the cool climate, Chablis-esque genre. I’m willing to wager that few have had Chardonnay, or Morillon as it’s known locally, from Styria in southern Austria. If you enjoy elegant, minerally, classic old world style versions, lively and middle-weight with a fine streak of acidity, then you’ll enjoy Willi Sattler’s version: 2009 SATTLERHOF STERISCHE KLASSIK MORILLON Südsteiermark, Styria $22.95.

You can meet both Fred Loimer and Willi Sattler on the 22nd, have a fine meal, preview their excellent wines, then go and buy them on Saturday morning. That’s serendipitous synchronicity. And for even more amusement, check out how all of us expert tasters were trumped by a (decent but basic) Grüner Veltliner in the third episode of WineAlign’s So You Think You Know Wine?.

Also worth the drive to the LCBO this week is Argentina’s answer to amarone, made by one of Italy’s top amarone producers, another superb syrah from 400kms north of Santiago and a fine local rosé with which to ease back in the Muskoka chair and watch the sun set, or rise. Find the full top ten here.

An Italian Primer: 7 classic wines from 7 regions

Wine Regions of Italy

The July 23rd VINTAGES Spotlight shines on Italy, a country of bedeviling complexity that never fails to instill feelings of overwhelming hopelessness in otherwise competent and dedicated sommelier students, not to mention consumers of wine. Italy’s sheer vineyard size, spanning all 20 administrative regions and locking up the world #1 spot for liters produced annually, its 1000+ native varieties that rarely grow in foreign soil, and often never even leave their local valley, and its countless wine styles make for a complex subject of study to be sure. But that’s the beauty of Italy: a lifetime’s worth of study, travel, tasting and experiencing, with no end in site.

If you’re up for the challenge, take this crash, self-taught, hopefully shared, experiential course in Italian wine: seven classic wines from seven corners of the country. Check out how marvelously diverse this country is. Seven weeks, seven days, seven hours, the length of the course is up to you. If you choose the latter duration, I recommend seven classmates, too. Total cost of materials, not including view of Positano on the Amalfi Coast, glassware, antipasti, secondi, caffé or digestivi, but including all wine, is $179.65. All bottles are available on July 23rd and I’ve listed them here.

Course 1: Alto-Adige
Aka Südtirol, the Alto Adige is nestled between the Dolomites and the Southern Alps just south of Austria, accessible via the Brenner Pass. The first, and co-official language for many inhabitants here is still German, despite Mussolini’s forced program of Italianization, and there are lots of suspiciously tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed citizens. What little agricultural land available is found along the Adige River Valley and its tributaries. You need strong calves and thighs to make wine in the Alto Adige. The region in general produces fresh, crisp whites and lively, juicy reds from a long list of grapes, though pinot grigio is the most popular, ranging from the banal to the sublime.
Homework: 2010 TIEFENBRUNNER PINOT GRIGIO DOC Südtirol-Alto Adige $17.95

Course 2: Campania
Home to Naples, Italy’s top tailors, Mt. Vesuvius, the Amalfi Coast, limoncello and Mozzarella di Buffala, Campania is also a treasure trove of high quality native grapes. Sophisticated wine lists, chalked up on the walls of ancient wine bars and preserved under the ashes of Vesuvius’ eruption, testify to two thousand years of serious wine drinking culture (also preserved are the pictogramic “menus” of the second oldest profession, another type of fun house altogether). But it’s up in the Apennines, inland from the heat and chaos of Napoli, where the top drops originate. The cool, bucolic hills of Avellino, Benevento and Tufo are major centers of wine production. Sturdy reds from aglianico and some of Italy’s most serious whites from fiano, falanghina and Greco are worth finding.
Homework: 2009 TERREDORA LOGGIA DELLA SERRA GRECO DI TUFO DOCG  $17.95

Course 3: Basilicata
Where for the love of Bacchus is Basilicata? You won’t find it on any tourist itineraries; it’s the forgotten region that forms the instep of the boot, sandwiched between Puglia to the east, and Calabria and Campania to the west. There’s a lovely, unspoiled stretch of Ionian coast, too. I believe that there are still more sheep living in Basilicata than Italians. As far as wine goes, there’s only one you have to know: Aglianico del Vulture, with the EMphasis on the first syllable: VUL-too-ray, to sound like you know what you’re talking about. Aglianico is the name of the grape, once thought to have come from Greece (an Italianization of ellenico-Hellenic- “Greek”), but recent studies points to origins in central Europe. It’s a savage beauty, wild and untamed, like a rustic country cousin of nebbiolo, full of tannins, acid and savoury pot pourri flavours. When grown on the slopes of the extinct Vulture volcano, it takes on a salty mineral edge.
2007 CANTINA DI VENOSA TERRE DI ORAZIO AGLIANICO DEL VULTURE DOCG  $17.95

Course 4: Abruzzo
On the beautiful Adriatic coast, Abruzzo borders Le Marche to the north, Molise to the south, and Lazio to the west; it’s a 200km drive from Rome across the rugged Apennines. Southern Italy’s highest peak at 2,914m, the Gran Sasso d’Italia (Italy’s Big Pebble), is here. Mussolini made his daring, German special forces-assisted escape from the Campo Imperatore ski resort high on the Gran Sasso on September 12th 1943, offering him a short reprieve from the inevitable. But I digress. The viticultural action occurs outside of ski resorts at lower elevations; the best vineyards sit around 300-500 meters where the summer heat is moderated by cool mountain air. There are only two grapes of note: trebbiano is at best a pleasant quaffing white, while montepulciano can be everything from red-and-white checked tablecloth trattoria house wine to one of Italy’s most intense and flavourful reds.
Homework: 2007 CANTINA TOLLO ALDIANO MONTEPULCIANO D’ABRUZZO RISERVA DOC  $16.95

Course 5: Tuscany
Any introduction necessary? Don’t think so. Just picture Cypress tree-lined country lanes, olive groves, medieval villages floating atop rolling hills, vineyards everywhere, as well as mad Germans and Swiss driving BMWs and Mercedes’ at formula One speed, rushing to relax in some ancient castle converted into a luxury Spa. Sangiovese is the grape that grows most widely under the Tuscan sun. It has been undergoing a serious makeover in the last twenty years, and it’s no longer possible to generalize about it; it ranges in style from pale, zesty, juicy, dusty cherry-flavoured (old school-pizza pasta wine) to seriously dark, thick, oaky and more cabernet-like (modern style), especially when it’s made with cabernet. Overall, quality has risen dramatically, hand in hand with prices, but when it’s good, as in top Chianti, Brunello, Morellino and Vino Nobile, it’s really good.
Homework: 2005 IL MARRONETO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO DOCG $46.95

Course 6: Piedmont
Terroir spiritualists are at home in Piedmont. Piedmontese winegrowers are indeed kindred spirits of that other spiritual sect, the Burgundians, both working for the most part with single grapes, and looking to articulate and emphasize the nuances imparted by terroir with religious zeal. Nebbiolo, not the most planted but certainly the most headline-grabbing grape, is possibly the greatest red grape on the planet if such an unlikely title could ever exist. It smells like no other (well, maybe a little like Brunello or aglianico, especially after a decade or more in the bottle); it’s a trickster, setting you up to believe that you’re about to experience a light, delicate wine with its deceptive pale garnet colour. Then it hits you, full force, like a sumo wrestler or a German Panzer attack, before subsiding like a passing hurricane. As you slowly recover from the oral symphony, minutes later, with the whispering after effects still audible, you can only conclude that the experience was mesmerizing, and that you want to do it all over again (how was that for mixed metaphors? Isn’t it great what you can get away with on the internet?)
Homework: 2006 FRANCO MOLINO BAROLO DOCG $29.95

Course 7: The Veneto
The Veneto, anchored by the watery, melting, fairytale city of Venice in the northeast, is a powerhouse of wine production. Many of Italy’s most popular regional brands are made here: Soave, Valpolicella, Prosecco, not too mention oceans of pinot grigio, among others. As you know, meaningless DOCs are no guarantee of quality: there’s sublime Soave, and then there’s the ridiculous; there’s valorous Valpolicella, and then there’s the vacuous. Knowing the right producers is important everywhere, but the need is particularly acute in the Veneto, where industrial meets artisanal on the same shelf. Admittedly, I’ve never fully understood the attraction to one of the region’s most celebrated wines: amarone. I’m fond of raisins in my cereal more than my wine, but it seems I’m the outsider so I’ll just go with the flow. There are excellent examples than even a man of my simplistic tastes can appreciate, such as the bottle suggested for your homework below.
Homework: 2006 NOVAIA CORTE VAONA AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO DOC $39.95

International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (i4c)
Reminder to get your tickets for the i4c, Friday July 22nd through Sunday July 24th. at www.coolchardonnay.org and at the host wineries. David Lawrason and I will be there all weekend, so stop by and say hello.

From the July 23rd Vintages release:
Top Ten Smart Buys
Italian Primer: 7 Wines from 7 Grapes & Regions
All Reviews

Cheers,

John Szabo, Master Sommelier

Filed under: Events, Featured Articles, Wine, Austria, Italy, John Szabo, LCBO, Top 10 Smart Buys, Vintages, Vintages Preview

John Szabo’s Vintages Preview for January 8th, 2011 – Smart Buys: 15 under $15

John Szabo, MS

After the parade of high-priced wines from December, the first release of the year will as usual focus on ‘smart buys’. Since at WineAlign that’s what we specialize in, we needn’t tweak anything in our approach or on the site to deliver you the information. The average price in this release is under $19/bottle, but as most marketing companies agree that $15 is a more realistic cut-off point for personal wine purchases, I’ve put together my list of top 15 wines under $15 to help navigate through the raft of inexpensive wines on offer. It’s in this price range that I believe the most expertise, exposure and context is needed to de-niche the really interesting wines from the merely inexpensive. There are some outstanding value selections on offer, right alongside mediocre ones at exactly the same price.  Buyer beware. Here are a few that stand out:

2009 DOMINIO DEL PLATA CRIOS DE SUSANA BALBO TORRONTÉS Cafayate, Calchaquies Valley $11.95. Hailing from Mendoza, Balbo is a 30 year veteran of the Argentine wine industry, though it wasn’t easy getting started. Balbo was the first female oenologist in a country known for its macho ways, and after graduation she was unable to get a job in Mendoza. She turned to Salta in the north and to torrontés, a grape that nobody treated with respect and was made mostly into cheap bulk wine. Being thus of little consequence, it was OK for a woman to be in charge of it. Taking up the challenge and opportunity, Balbo applied her skills to turning torrontés into a wine worthy of international markets. She spent her first 10 years working in Salta to define the style of torrontés, developing new techniques in the vineyard and winery to make the fresh, fragrant, floral style of white wine for which Argentina is now famous. It’s not a wine of tremendous complexity, but rather a fun wine for sipping or serving with spicy foods – think green curries, ceviches or spicy fish empanadas.

2009 THIRTEENTH STREET WHITE PALETTE VQA Niagara Peninsula $14.95 13th Street makes a fine entry into the growing category of blended Ontario whites with this stylish 2009 made by recently appointed winemaker Jean-Pierre Colas (formerly of Peninsula Ridge). It must be said that the entire range from 13th Street has improved greatly under his guidance, as a tasting of new wines recently proved. This is a terrifically aromatic mix of 7 white grapes, with intriguingly complex flavours of fruit and flowers and bright, zesty acid.

2009 3 STONES SAUVIGNON BLANC Marlborough, South Island $12.95 . This superb value sauvignon blanc from New Zealand makes one wonder why it’s necessary to spend $5-$6 more for the same quality sauvignons from dozens of places around the world, including Marlborough. If you love the zesty, fresh NZ style, this all the appeal and drinkability, not too mention character and flavour, as anything at this price.

2008 CHÂTEAU LA FLEUR TERRIEN AC Lussac-Saint-Émilion $15.00. It’s worth noting this example from Bordeaux on the smart buys list, a region so often denigrated for it’s ludicrously priced wines. In reality, the high-cost, oft-traded cru classés of Bordeaux represent less than 2% of the region’s production, while thousands of petit château toil away in relative obscurity. Here’s a relatively
soft, pleasant, spicy, rather traditional style right-bank Bordeaux, with juicy acidity, ripe but firm tannins and solid length. All in all, a juicy, food-friendly example at a fair price.

Aficionados of firm and juicy Italian reds will be interested in the 2008 MONTARIBALDI TRE STELLE LANGHE ROSSO DOC $14.95 and the 2008 BAGLIO DI PIANETTO Y NERO D’AVOLA IGT Sicilia $14.95 . Despite being from opposite ends of the peninsula, both of these wines offer the same bright acid – low oak combination that makes Italian reds such great partners at the table. Traditional styling makes these authentic regional expressions, too, a welcome addition to the world of increasingly homogenized flavours.

And finally, while were on the subject of food-friendly, second-sip-inviting reds, I’d like to make mention of the 2009 DOMAINE ANDRÉ COLOGNE & FILS BEAUJOLAIS-VILLAGES AC $13.95 . Beaujolais may not be known for wines of riveting depth and complexity (though they do exist), but their charm lies precisely in their easy-drinking appeal, the sort of wine you would want to drink slightly chilled in large, thirst-quenching draughts. This is the antidote to over-oaked, over-extracted, overly-ripe reds that seem to be all the rage these days. I, for one, believe in the bearable lightness of being. This is a classic, inviting, simple pleasure-delivering Beaujolais with length and depth to more than match the price tag. Delicious.

Top 15 Under $15

All Reviews

Cheers,

John Szabo, Master Sommelier

Filed under: Featured Articles, Wine, John Szabo, Top 10 Smart Buys, Vintages, Vintages Preview