Domaine Weinbach Muscat Reserve 2004

Somehow, with luck and a touch of knowledge I find myself consistently educated and challenged by French wines. One of the most exciting journeys in wine appreciation is that from generalization into particularity - that moment you realize the true singularity of great wines and the futility of universalizing or objectifying one's love for such a temporal creation. It can be easy in the early days of many wine drinkers to write off certain grapes or even regions and instead rely on the tried and true, the gatekeepers or the reliable. But the first moment one experiences a truly great version of something previously written off is a revelatory experience. And, it is just such experiences that us wine geeks seek to replicate, or return to, as much as possible. The irony is that this nostalgia, which precipitates passion, dedication and even a little obsession, is itself the pursuit of a particular moment that will never return. Rather, it is that very instance of particularity where a glass of wine becomes a perfect moment that is itself the joy and the truth of what wine is and what it means.

Having previously 'written off' many a muscat, I knew I could turn to Weinbach for a reeducation. This wine had a floral and honeyed nose with candied orange, grapefruit and peach promising quite a ripe and rich experience. The palate, however, was dry, and its peach and nectarine flavours acompanied hints of orange blossom and light honeysuckle notes. This wine is very long in the mouth, very layered, and very complex on the mid-palate. While there may be leaner and more austere versions of Muscat out there, this ripe and fruity version is presented with both balance and varietal authenticity and is a superb Alsatian white that without a doubt has its own sense of particularity.

Excellent
$40 at Marquis Wine Cellars

Smith Woodhouse Vintage Port 1980

1980, my birth year. I'm not sure I should be admitting that, but I suppose it's still within a reasonable distance from the present. 1980 was, it seems, a pretty good year for port, and while I was saving this for some occasion or another, my recent experience with heat damage prompted a 'what the hell' pop open of this very intriguing bottle.

The nose was a little toasty, but also had currant, raisins, and dried cherry. While at first I thought the alcohol on the wine was a bit forward and unbalanced, with a little air everything seemed to settle into place and this turned out to be a very enjoyable experience. For those who haven't tasted older vintage port, with time the youthful vigour and intensity gives way to subtle layering, moderate tannin and great delineated expression of flavours that, when young, are often lost in the density of the wine.

With this Smith Woodhouse I tasted cherry, blueberry, chocolate, wood, fig, strawberry, burnt caramel, bergamot, and cigar. The level of complexity was impressive and the fact that such distinct flavours expressed themselves to a moderate palate such as my own was quite exciting. I was also shocked by the level of juicyness in the port, despite its leathery and dried fruit character. Even compared to other older vintage ports, this was a special bottle, and not really over the top in terms of pricing. Port fans owe themselves a sip.

Excellent
$50 at BCLDB

Spottswoode Sauvignon Blanc 2007

California is not known for sauvignon blanc, and what it does produce gets very mixed reviews. Seemingly unable to find a niche, like New Zealand and its zesty citrus driven SB's or Sancerre and its mineral-laced wines, many California wineries treat Sauvignon Blanc too much like chardonnay. What this means is too much oak and too much opulence for a wine that should be acidic and refreshing. With all the sun that the state gets, however, it can be tough to find the right balance. Spottswoode, a Napa producer known more for their elegant Cabernet Sauvignons, is one of the few that gets it right.

How do they do it? First of all, this wine sees only a brief touch of oak, and is picked relatively early in the growing season. Instead of dominant oak, this is fermented in steel vats and concrete eggs, the former allowing the natural acidities of the wine to show and the latter making the fruit rounder and lusher without the flavour profile that oak imparts. The final result? A wine with tons of citrus fruit on the nose, but also grass, stone and clay. The palate is wonderfully full bodied, but also amazingly spritely given the intensity of the fruit. The finish is long and clay-like, suggesting this wine could find a place between New Zealand and Sancerre. And, what did it taste like? Orange, grapefruit, stone, and a slight edge of that distinctive cat's pee taste SB fans know and love. This is a wine that lifts the palate upwards before drawing it back into a carefully structured and lengthy climax, and is perhaps my favourite Sauvignon Blanc from the US. Woth every penny.

Excellent
$54 at Marquis

Philip Shaw No. 89 Shiraz Viognier 2004

Shiraz Viogniers are all the rage in Australia right now - but not too many of them are grown and produced in Orange, New South Wales like this wine. Distributed by the mamoth Lion Nathan, nonetheless this wine rises above typical commercialized shiraz/viognier blends with a more Northern Rhone like balance of finesse and robustness.

The nose here had coffee, violets, blackberry and boysenberry and was rich and masculine similar to syrah made in Cornas. The palate was nicely balanced, with spice, coffee, chocolate, and blackberry. Overall a masculine wine with firm acidity and without the 'prettyness' (or lightness) you can find in most Aussie shiraz/viogniers.

Very Good+
$40 ($28 on sale) at BCLDB

Alma Rosa El Jalbali Vineyard Chardonnay 2005

In response to a recent review I wrote on Au Bon Climat's 2001 Mt. Carmel Chardonnay, I was invited by John Clerides of Marquis to taste another from them to see if I still found it to be alcoholic and heavily oaked. While we could not find an appropriate comparison from ABC, I was given this bottle to sample from the same region in the Santa Rita Hills. While the ABC was made with grapes from the Mt. Carmel vineyard, nearby is the El Jalbali vineyard, from which Alma Rosa sourced the grapes for this chardonnay.

Where the visionary and maverick winemaker Jim Clendenon runs Au Bon Climat, Alma Rosa is the Sanfords' (also pioneers of the region) latest project after their split with Sanford Winery. I visited Alma Rosa a few months ago but did not get a chance to taste their whites at the time. Interestingly, the lore I've heard about California seems to indicate that the oaky days of Santa Barabara County were largely in the 90's and early 2000's, which could explain the stylistic approach of the 2001 ABC. As we shall see, this wine is made very differently.

With quite a rich and tropical nose here I also got nectarine, kiwi and banana - aromas somewhat typical for a California chardonnay, but with a bit more mineral lacing than you might expect. The palate, however, is where all the action is in this wine. There is a definite minerality up front with some tart kiwi and lime notes that leads into a finish of banana and nectarine. The whole palate is structured around a bracing and clean acidity that brings brightness and alacrity to the fruit. Ultimately, this wine is driven toward a layered finish that is both tart and clean, and, while rich, the wine is not creamy nor laden with oaken vanilla flavours. In fact, it still retains a subtle degree of austerity despite its approachability and really is all the better for it. Very well done and another score for the Sanfords. And, as a brief note Alma Rosa claims to be a fully sustainable winery.

Very Good+ to Excellent
$40 at Marquis

Full Disclosure: I received this wine as a sample from Marquis Wine Cellars who exclusively sell Alma Rosa wines in Vancouver

John Glaetzer 'John's Blend' Cabernet Sauvignon 2004

You don't see too many wines from the Langhorne Creek region of Southern Australia over here in Canada, but I find myself often impressed with the lesser known regions. That said, Langhorne Creek fruit apparently forms the basis for most Wolf Blass wines and is known for its soft and mellow character. In fact, John Glaetzer is the winemaker that put Wolf Blass on the map internationally, and has now set up this project making some pretty fantastic stuff.

The nose on this has tremendous eucalyptus and cedar notes with layers of chocolate and cassis. Indeed, it is a classic aromatic profile for Aussie cabs - but so pure and expressive. The palate is, temptingly, very chocolate-forward in a fondue-like way with cassis, licorice, cedar, and eucalyptus rounding out this full, clean and texturally soft wine. With good balance of flavour and a big, full, delineated structure, this cab is well worth its price. Simply, an extremely enjoyable wine.

Very Good+ to Excellent
$40 at Taphouse Liquor Store

CARM Grande Escolha 2003

Portuguese wine always goes unnoticed, and for no good reason at all. I've mentioned this before, but Douro dry reds can really be quite stunning and it's a shame not too many people indulge in their power and finesse. This wine came from the hot 2003 vintage which produced many overly alcholic wines across Europe, but in Portugal both the ports and the dry reds of Douro faired very well indeed.

The nose on this gem was all balance straight on the attack: I got wood, cassis, and blackberry jam on top of nice grip and excellent concentration. While this is a full mouth-coating wine, it is also not over-extracted nor does it have pronounced glycerin. Indeed, there is even a slight salty side to this eminently drinkable wine. Pair it with a great goat or sheep's milk cheese from Portugal or Spain and you will realize the unique approach that Portuguese wine brings to the fore.

Excellent
$40 at BCLDB (Purchased for $28 on sale)

Sinnean Old Vine Zinfandel 2006

I doubt anyone associates Oregon state with the renowned all-American California variety zinfandel, but here we have one of Oregon's most noteworthy producers making one as their "flagship wine". As much as Sinnean is known for their Pinot Noir, they claim that it is this old vine zin, made from a 100 year old vineyard, that is their best wine. And, despite the latitude there are no signs of underripeness and no chaptalization.

The nose on this Columbia Valley zin was boozy and had blueberry, chocolate and candied cherry. The palate was extremely full and very extracted: sweet blueberry juice, cherry, strawberry jam, and chocolate undertones. This is extremely smooth and tasty, although somewhat simple.

However, the story does not end there. While I took the above tasting note while drinking from a Riedel glass, I decided to experiment and test out how that note compared to a simultaneous note taken while drinking from my new Eisch glasses. For those not in the know, Eisch has created glasses with a special coating that supposedly decants the wine instantly upon pouring it into the glass. Well, we shall see.

In the Eisch glass the nose was far more restrained and dusty, while also being far less fruity. On the palate the wine was much smoother, less boozy, and had intricate notes of herbs and underbrush. And, while noticeably less massive, it had impressive complexity and layering far superior than in the Riedel glass. So, it seems as though this limited test shows that Eisch can make a considerable difference to a wine's aromatics and flavour profile. Is it better? Not necessarily - but it certainly is different.

The wine itself? Although perhaps a little pricey, it is quite impressive and certainly worth a try.

Very Good+
$55 at Everything Wine

Pride Mountain Petite Sirah 2000

It's been quite a while since my last post - life has been incredibly busy, including a move back to Canada and the start of my bar admissions course. And what do I elect to do with my first quiet moment? Think about this great bottle of California grape extract. Petite sirah is almost quintessentially Californian - the politically incorrect sibling of Zinfandel. This was one of the last bottles I had in California before returning back to Vancouver.

Deep purple in the glass - like a crimson sunset. The nose is very grapey and jammy with plenty of blackberry, plum, kreosite and chocolate. With all that intensity the alcohol is prominant on the nose, and this wine has serious legs in the glass.

The palate is impressively structured given its sheer mass: not too jammy, but replete with fruit and massive tannins that are on the verge of overwhelming. While drinking just about right now, I could not imagine what this was like upon release. The extraction and concentration are so intense in this wine that the flavour almost becomes a texture. An absolute goliath of a wine.

Very Good+
$52 at Benchmark Wines

Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 1998

The second of two aged Australian chardonnays I managed to get my hands on, this actually turned out a lot better than the Penfolds Yattarna, which is interesting given that in an earlier comparison of the 2003 vintage of the two I found my preferences distinctly on the side of Yattarna. These two continue to duke it out for the title of best Australian chardonnay.

From the Margaret River, this was a surprisingly vibrant and youthful yellow for a ten year old wine. The nose was toasty and buttery with vanilla, pineapply custard and lemon. In fact, I was a little disappointed when I first smelled the nose since it suggested more of the same Californian style chardonnay I have been having for months. However, with a little air the nose caught up to the palate, which was off in another, much more exciting, direction.

The first thing I noticed about the palate was the texture of the wine: extremely delicate. There was an amazing lightness to the wine despite its intense body and depth of flavour. I got lots of lemon, a little lime, pineaple, a touch of mineral brightness and a longish finish with a momentary feel of heat, which left with air. This is not a wine with dozens of flavours, but texturally it is whimsical and dances across the palate. One can also not help but mention that the structure and layering are just right to make restraint a fairly futile task. Each component is carefully and delicately built upon the others with precision and direction. This is not a wine that makes you guess about its intentions - rather it is a very well delineated path into a stunningly beautiful vista with bracingly fresh air.

Excellent to Excellent+
$51 at Benchmark Wine

Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay 1995

Yet another vintage acquisition for me here in California, I was pretty darn excited to open this 14 year old chardonnay with a reputation as being one of the best in Australia.

The colour on this beauty was a deep yellow with browning qualities that showed a bit of age. Luckily the nose was still very expressive with wood, nuts, metal and minerals suggesting something quite dense and layered. I have to admit, however, that as much as I liked this wine I was somewhat less impressed with the palate, which seemed to have a bit too much oak compared to recent vintages of Yattarna. Nonetheless, this was bright and citrus happy with some nice spice qualities from the oak. I also got some really unique fruits like perhaps some exotic melon aromas (winter melon?).

The textured smoothness on this wine was also extremely impressive and perhaps the best part of the wine. The other critique I have besides perhaps a touch too much oak (this is by no means driven by oak), is the lack of complexity in the flavour profile, which really was in the end predominantly lemon and lime with a touch of pineapple. The 2003 version of this wine I tasted a while ago had much more of a minerally element and greater brightness and precision. Nonetheless, this shows how well Yattarna holds up to some long term aging.

Very Good+ to Excellent
$59 at Benchmark Wines

Bodegas El Nida Clio 2006

Spanish wine you say? Really? Apparently from the Jumilla region, I couldn't get any sense of terroir off of this absolutely lush wine-candy. This is a super high scoring Parker wine that has gone from costing around $20 USD to $45 ($90 in Canada) in a matter of 2-3 years. I suppose that's what consistent 95+ scores will do for a winery. This, however, is certainly set to be controversial.

The colour was a nice pretty purple, reminding me a little of one of the many beautiful sunsets that grace English Bay in Vancouver. The nose here was like raspberry and cherry candy, with vanilla custard poured on top. A very big and very oaky palate made this a cream puff kind of wine, with a deep and extracted quality to the fruit. This had tons of chocolate, cassis, cherry and raspberry as the driving force, but managed to retain a decent amount of acidity so as to avoid being overly sweet and flabby. At 30% Cabernet and 70% Monastrell (Mourvedre) there is almost no way to detect any varietal characteristics. This is not ideal for food because it is so extracted, candy-like and alcoholic (15.9%), but it is great for the style.

If I can be so bold, I would call this a Spanish version of Mollydooker's Carnival of Love, which if you have tasted and enjoyed The Boxer is a much more complex and better structured version of that wine. In fact, I might even say that I like this better than the $100 (even in the US) bottle of Carnival of Love. I can see why Parker would give this a good score for if you are into the style, this is a great value wine (at least for those lucky US residents).

Very Good+
$45 at K&L

Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Goldloch Riesling Spatlese 1997

I've mentioned this before, but I simply can't get over the ease at which one can pick up excellent provenance aged wines for good prices in California. It provides the impatient wine lover with an immediate outlet for experiencing what usually takes fortitude. But, I suppose that is the American way.

The nose on this was very petrolly, but also incredibly deep. I also detected vanilla and a little peach. This has a significant mid-palate that may have been tempered with age. By that I mean the sweetness levels are significantly less than what I'd expect for a full blown non-trocken (dry) Spatlese. The wine is layered and nuanced and slightly effervescent with grapefruit, peach and nectarine predominating. Also, at 7.5% ABV, you can down a whole bottle, which I did with some excellent Thai food. Diel, like Donnhoff, resides in the Nahe region of Germany, and I can say that I am building a very strong appreciation for rieslings from that particular pin on the map.


Very Good+
$40 at K&L

Spring Valley Uriah 2001

Spring Valley is a highly respected Washington producer whose winemaker and owner died in a car crash in 2005. I mention this only because the industry seemed unsure about the direction of the winery after that tragic event. Luckily I was able to get my hands on an older vintage of one of their top Bordeaux style blends.

Here we have a nose of mint, cassis, garden soil and very predominant eucalyptus. The palate itself is quite soft, with a sweet forwardness filled with cassis and blackberry jam. Unfortunately, this is surprisingly hot on the back end, especially for an early 2000's WA cab based blend. Nonetheless, this is round, and full and very nicely textured, with a drawn and lengthy finish. I suppose I was expecting more from this reputable producer, but this is still a good wine.


Very Good to Very Good+
$45 at Benchmark Wines

Neyers Cuvee D'Honneur 2004

I have been consistently impressed with Neyers' wines. As many probably know, Neyers was created by Kermit Lynch importer Bruce Neyers in 1992, and has grown to produce an incredible range of high quality wines influenced by the French wines that Neyers cut his teeth on with Kermit Lynch. With highly respected winemaker Ehren Jordan at the helm (of Turley), Neyers is making some pretty interesting and varied products that all have a great sense of personality.

At first when I opened this Cuvee, made in a Northern Rhone style - but with more fruit, and given its name in honour of Theirry Allemand, Auguste Clape and Noel Verset (who helped influence this wine), I was taken aback by its intense gameyness and heavy leaf notes. This is not what you normally see in California Syrahs or Syrah based blends. More like a backwards Cornas, in fact, at first this was somewhat unbalanced and I was disappointed. However, after a day in the fridge (which I assume was equivalent to a good decant), this opened up dramatically and really smoothed out.

The nose shifted so that mint, blackberry and currants predominated and the game and leaf took a secondary character. The palate was equivalent to the colour of the wine: rich and black. Game was dominant on the first day, but then out came chocolate, plums and blackberries. In the end I was quite happy with this wine, although I have to admit I prefer the better QPR of the lakeville road syrah. However, I feel with time this could be really outstanding. Sourced from the famed Hudson vineyards.

VeryGood+ to Excellent (after the fridge); Good+ to Very Good (upon initially opening)

$45 ($38 on sale) at Dean and Deluca in St. Helena

Greenock Creek Alice's Block Shiraz 2000

One of the other amazing elements of California's wine scene is the ability to buy vintage bottles of wine with superb provenance at reasonable prices. I picked this particular bottle up online at a price about half of what the recent vintage is selling for in Canada.

On the nose this was herbacious, with strong eucalyptus notes and strong woody elements with subtle cassis and vanilla rounding out the quite extensive olfactory package. The palate had similar flavours, but with a bright high acid opening that mellowed out in the mid-palate and lengthy, consistent finish. Balanced, but definitely made for food. Somewhat like walking out into the sun, being blind for 1/2 a second and then laying down for a lazy warm day on the grass. Well done, and superb with truffled Humbolt Fog goat's cheese (which makes me think this would go with a wide variety of foods).

Very Good+

$45 at Liquid Wine and Spirits

Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains 'Home Ranch' Chardonnay 2005

So I have tasted and raved about the 2005 Santa Cruz Estate chard from Ridge. This one is a level up in price and comes from a single vineyard in the same area. Loving the basic estate chard so much I was very excited when I saw this at a downtown San Francisco shop - and I am super glad I picked it up. Of a different ilk from the Nickel and Nickel below, this is just as good if not maybe a little better with a nose of subtle spices, lemon, and maybe even a little loam. The palate was absolutely brilliant with hazlenut, almond, toffee, pineapple, lime, passionfruit and guava.

While extremely flavourful, this was not so fruit forward as to be disgusting - it managed to restrain its opulence while remaining beautifully textured and deep. Nonetheless, it is really the complexity and excitement of the flavour profile that makes this a great wine. You are lucky if you can pick this up.

Excellent to Excellent+

$45 in California

Nickel and Nickel Truchard Vineyard Carneros Chardonnay 2006

Nickel and Nickel are an offshoot of Far Niente in Napa that concentrates on single vineyard, singe varietal wines, supposedly to showcase California Terroir. I admit it sounds a little gimmicky coming from a fairly gimmicky winery. However, as with Far Niente there is serious quality backing up the concept. And, I would go so far to say that I think they are certainly getting distinct variety and site characteristics out of their wines (I've had a couple in the past).

This lovely chard had a nose of apple, pineapple, lemon curd, and vanilla. The palate was spritely with minerals, lime, citrus, papaya and banana. There is great brightness and texture here, with a richness that is smooth and creamy without being oaky or heavily malo-lactic'd. I'm not sure if this is a wild yeast fermentation, but is has some of those kinds of characteristics. The flavour profile is really quite exceptional for a California Chardonnay and I think this speaks very well for what they are doing in Carneros with this grape.

Excellent

$45 in California

Pride Mountain Merlot 2006

My first bottle of wine in California had to, appropriately, be from this lovely state. I chose Pride Mountain because I have been hankering to try these guys for a long time and they are way too expensive in Canada. This particular wine is a blend of Sonoma and Napa fruit. But, before I begin, here is a view from where I am staying, which I think evokes the mood of the Pride Merlot:

The nose on this succulent dark red nectar was heavy in blackcurrent, butterscotch and vanilla. With that you might expect this to be over the top, but it managed deftly to restrain itself with a beautifully smooth and full bodied palate of cassis, vanilla, graphite, stone and blackberry. With an almost briary element to the fruit, this just slides down the mouth and is a perfect pairing for something creamy and smooth, like a good cream-based pasta. This is what merlot should taste like from California. Damn good.

Excellent
$56 at Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant

Dellile Cellars D2 2005

Washington state may be getting expensive, but I have to say that their best producers are also extremely adept at bridging the gap between old world and new. The D2 is from one of Washington's most well respected producers, Dellile. I've previously had their Doyenne Syrah, which was awesome with briased lamb.

The nose was very cherry cola to start, but added earthy and acidic components later. The palate had chocolate, boysenberry, earth, and dill. A wonderful Bordeaux style blend, this was restrained but packed with flavour and also managing some elegance. Again, this went very well with braised lamb (I seem to eat that a lot). Worth tasting to get a sense of the Dellile style.

Excellent
$50 at Taphouse Liquor Store