Mystic Wines Syrah 2005

Having enjoyed the Mystic Cab Sauv, I figured it was worth $30 to potentially find another great value bottle. Unfortunately, this syrah was highly disappointing given the precedent set by the Cab. The nose was heavy on dark berry liqueur that expanded on the palate into peppery smooth heavily ripened cherry and blueberry flavours. I found this a bit jammy and simple. Nevertheless, it's not horrible - it's just not speical.

Good+

$30 at Kitsilano Wine Cellars

Rogue Morimoto Black Obi Soba Ale

This is certainly a unique brew. If you ever wondered what a cross between a Japanese extra-dry beer and an American medium malt ale tasted like, this is for you. While I wouldn't call this astonishing, it certainly has a crispness that I really appreciate as highly food friendly, especially for sushi and sashimi, while also possessing a deeper complexity than standard Japanese beer. The malts bring more depth of flavour to the uber dry soba, and overall the combination produces a nicely balanced beer. Recommended with the appropriate food, but less so as a sipper.

Very Good

$8 at Liberty

Penfolds Yattarna Chardonnay 2003

Celebration pairs well with the extravagant. In that spirit, upon finishing my second year of law school, I found and opened the last bottle of Yattarna in BC. This is one of Australia's top Chardonnays and was initially an attempt to bring world class sophistication to white wine in Australia. I tried this on its own and with two fantastic cheeses: a brie de meaux and a brebiou sheep's milk cheese. Two french cheese with a classically styled Australian Chardonnay.

The first point of notice: the colour, viscosity, and purity of liquid crystal in a glass. The nose was refined toasty peaches and several different nuts. This chard was very classic in its perfect tang and balance, with orange rind and a hint of lemon. This was crisp and silky in the mouth simultaneously and cut the palate perfectly. With the brie the Yattarna became rounder and smoother while cutting the palate more subtly. The brebiou brought out floral scents in the wine while the wine brought out the subtle flavours of the cheese rind. In some ways this reminds me of a really top class Chablis.

I decided not to give this my top rating, however, because I was hoping for a bit more complexity in the flavour profile. The texture, poise, and balance were outstanding, however. But let no one accuse Penfolds of making boring chard - this is world class stuff that has a distinct blend of old world bracingness and new world roundness and depth. A perfect way to celebrate the passing of one more year of school.

Excellent

$93 at BCLDB (all gone, and supposedly not being ordered anymore)

Markus Molitor Bernkasteler Badstube Kabinett Riesling Feinherb 2005

What's with the crazy German wine names. It's time to modernize guys! Anyhow, I just finished my second year of law school today, and it feels somewhat crazy. I actually opened a different bottle from this, but I figured I'd post this note first since I drank it last week (trying to be chronological and all). All I can say is that after taking both the hardest class and hardest exam I've ever taken (secured transactions) I can finally understand why corporate lawyers get paid so much... damn!

Ok, so on to the not so good review. I actually lost my notes for this in a recent cleaning frenzy, so I have to go on memory. I remember this being a bit simple of a Riesling, but that it also had pleasant classic Riesling flavours of lime and minerals. The finish was pretty short from what I remember, which put this below the more complex Slebach-Oster I had recently. This comes from the Mosel Saar Ruwer region.

Very Good

$30 at Marquis

Spinifex Indigene 2005

For all the talk these days of restraint in wine sometimes life just calls for a big boned flavour packed bottle. And, as much as I appreciate a huge diversity of wines and have learned to love lots of old-world style, acidity, and earthiness, my wine roots are a bit different and I can't seem to shake my love for the big stuff. This wine was an homage to that and a perfect match for a couple of fantastic sausages from Oyama on Granville Island.

I was kind of curious about the name of this winery after hearing some grumblings about it at a wine store. Looking it up on Wikipedia provided the info that Spinifex is a type of grass that grows in Australia that has many traditional uses for Australia's Aboriginal peoples. It's also a kind of Australian Pigeon. Which one of these is the wine chanelling, I wonder?

A very forward cherry and strawberry candy-fest. We're not talking loads of complexity here, but certainly this has tremendous depth and integrity and, while full of fruit, is also nicely balanced. A beautiful BBQ wine mixed with 55% Mataro (Mourvedre) and 45% Shiraz. A hint of spice on the finish, with good length and a distinct mocha element when paired with my coq-au-vin sausage. It would be unfair to call this simply a fruit bomb. This is really just a very well made Barossa wine with classic Barossa fruit done well - and no hint of pigeon.

Very Good+
$48 at Marquis

Mystic Wines Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

This wine is a perfect example of an unknown producer from an unlikely region creating a varietal based wine that outshines others at a much higher price point. My thanks goes out to Sean over at Vinifico for writing about this little beauty, which actually hails from the Oregonian side of the Columbia Valley. Only 150 cases were made.

The nose was very opulent with rich cassis and a hint of vegetables. Up front this was all spice, smoke and bacon - and it was big, very big. The palate expanded into mintiness, and a bit of woodyness and an underlying current of cassis and other dark fruits. This is all about secondary and tertiary flavours, though, and is completely distinct from a New World fruit bomb, even though it is big and bold. The finish is very long and very fantastic. Overall the wine has great balance, depth and outstanding variety of flavours and scents. I HIGHLY recommend picking this up if you have the chance. It's a steal at this price point. Sitting at the very upper end of:

Excellent
$36 at Kitsilano Wine Cellars

Quinta do Noval Unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage 2001

I rarely write about ports. I suppose that has to do with the difficulty of drinking a full bottle of port (often sitting at 18-20% abv) before it goes off. Full on vintage port is darn expensive and I often can't justify buying or opening a bottle knowing that at least half will probably go to waste. However, with the price point on this port I figured it would be worth having a bottle of dessert-y wine around to enjoy at leisure.

This has heady dark-berry and maple-syrup aromas and flavours. The palate is smooth and full with big fruit and rustic earthy/chalky tannins that give it surprising length for an inexpensive LBV. This is incredible value and way better than pretty much every other LBV I've tasted at this price point. If you like port pick up a bottle asap.

Excellent

$33 at BCLDB