All posts tagged red wine

Seductive Red!

by Billy on February 4, 2012 in Wine Picks with No comments


WORLD’S MOST SEDUCTIVE RED IS NOW AVAILABLE

The LCBO is offering one of the world’s best everyday priced red Riojas. Certainly one of the most seductive. Which is what this wine is all about. I like to call Rioja the original Shiraz – a smooth red wine heavily perfumed with vanilla (from oak casks). It also offers delicious strawberry flavours from the native Spanish grape, Tempranillo. Only poor marketing has prevented Rioja from becoming the most loved red wine in the world. Check it out – before, and with any winter meal.Spain 243055 $11.95

LCBO Vintages Saturday Jan 21, 2012

by Billy on January 24, 2012 in Vintages Picks with 1 Comment

This release contains some classic editions of wine styles. A great learning opportunity. While the Argentina Pinot is a great drinking opportunity. As ever, all my picks over-deliver for the price.

WHITE
Wine-style: Fresh White (Classic Riesling)
HENRY of PELHAM 09 Reserve Off-Dry Riesling, VQA Short Hills Bench  557165 $15.95
Precision, poise and performance. A classic Riesling with the sleek, stylish character of a fast German car. Exciting yin yang of tartness and teasing peachy fruitiness. Quite dry and refreshing right now. Riesling fans should cellars a stash for summer patio lunches over the next five years.

 

 

REDS
Wine Style: Lively/Rustic/Rich Red
ALFREDO ROCA 10, Pinot Noir, Mendoza, Argentina 32979 $12.95
Pinot purists stay away. Those looking for something new in lightish reds should get on this right away. I’m calling it my Argentinian Beaujolais. So deliciously gulpable – my bottle was empty in no time. A fun red that I’m stocking-up on for summer events. Best lightly chilled.
Wine Style: Rich Red (Classic Modern Spanish)
BODEGAS CASTANO 06 Reserva ‘Pozuelo’, Yecla, Spain 35485 $14.95
Castano is located in the blazing heat of the south of Spain but this winery manages to produce rich red wines with wonderful fresh flavours and vitality. Not to mention nourishment, mystery and drinkability. Tasty stuff that feels very real. I’ll be drinking lots of this. Yes, it’s from the same winery as La Casona, the $8  bargain at regular LCBOs.

Wine Style: Rich Red (Classic Traditional Spanish)
BODEGAS IGNACIO MARIN 08 Garnacha ‘Old Vine’, Carinena, Spain  214205 $15.95
Crafted in the style of traditional Riojas – lots of vanilla sweetness and old world flavours. Wine that suggests dinner at your favourite Ye Old Mill Restaurant. Not for everyone, but worth exploring.

Wine Style: Rich Red (Classic South of France)
CH. de TREVIAC 08 Corbieres, France  670505 $15.95
France does blockbuster. Really well too. A solid, rich red that’s very together and satisfying. A few years of bottle has brought out some soul. Most New World wineries would charge a lot more for a show this big and interesting. I’ve recommended at least two previous vintages of Ch. Treviac.
Wine Style: Rich Red (Classic Chianti Riserva)
CASA TRIACCA 08 Chianti Classico Riserva ‘La Madonnina’, Tuscany, Italy  191361 $24.95
The woodsy, haunting, rustic feeling of good Chianti Riserva. Satisfying without a trace of excess or adornment. Fit for a King but more of a Country Squire because of the woodsy quality. Best with grilled or roasted meats.

 
P.S. PETALOS 09 Descendientes de L. Palacios, Biero, Spain 675207 $22.95
This red wine (and winemaker) gets rave reviews but I fail to see anything more than density and heft. Sure there’s impact but where’s the drinkability! Maybe in 2–3 years when the wine is less solemn and serious!

LCBO Vintages Saturday Nov 26

by Billy on November 25, 2011 in Vintages Picks with 2 Comments

THE LOW DOWN: This release is loaded with big name, hundred dollar-plus wines. I tasted most of them – felt like being in a boardroom. Lots of power. But there’s wasn’t a wine I’d want to splurge on, or invite to dinner.

My picks include some fabulous Holiday wines and a few others for Winter drinking.

Enjoy.

WHITES
Crowd-pleasing bubbly
BELCANTO DI BELLUSSI N/V Prosecco, Veneto, Italy
53215 $17.95
Delicious fruitiness and drinkability. Off-dry and perfect for any Holiday moment.

Oysters or any seafood
GROTTA DEL SOLE 09 Falanghina, Campania, Italy
247940 $15.95
Crisp, pure and refreshing. Not unlike a $25 Chablis. Perfect seafood partner. Falanghina is an underrated native Italian white grape.

Gorgeous sipper
KURT DARTING 08 Riesling Spatlese, Pfalz, Germany
963207 $19.95
Honeyed flavours combined with lemony freshness. Super light with a suggestion of sweetness. Semi sweet but also feels dry. Exotic/sexy but also pure as snow. Welcome to the German Spatlese  (late harvest) experience. Gorgeous anytime sipper. Or partner for the big bird.

 

REDS
Light red for cold nights
REICHSRAT VON BUHL 08 Pinot Noir, Pfalz, Germany
249649 $19.95
Light Pinot with mature flavours. Woodsy and cuddly. Yes, Germany does Pinot.

Raunchy
ERRAZURIZ 10 Pinot Noir ‘Wild Ferment’, Chile
510396 $19.95
Gamey, raunchy Pinot – strictly for the fan. Drier and more real than most New World Pinots. Needs well seasoned meats, and company. Fermented with natural yeasts – the old fashioned way.

Almost rich red – for almost any situation.
LA FERME DU MONT 09 Cotes du Rhone ‘Le Ponnant’ France
171371 $17.95
Tasty fruit/spice/earthy flavours. And great vitality. Lovely  combination of wine character and sense of fun. Guaranteed to please.

Bistro-style
DUCA DI SALAPARUTA 08 Nero d’Avola, ‘Passo delle Mule’, Sicily
250928 $19.95
If the French grew Nero d’Avola it would be poured at every Bistro in that country. A gutsy red with bright flavours and a drink-lots feeling. Works with just about any food.

Winter nourishment
FATTORIA VALIANO 06 Chianti Classico ‘Poggio Teo’ Tuscany, Italy
250563 $17.95
Mature Chianti with a warmhearted, fireside feeling. Soulful too. Best with grilled meats. Sure to appeal to your Italian spirit.

Really wild
FLAGSTONE 09 Pinotage ‘Writer’s Block’, South Africa
243337 $19.95
Think Baco on steroids. Red wine with intense gamey, backwoods character. Wild and really good at it. A novel experience for a winter night.

Formal local
STRATUS 07 Merlot, VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake
131003 $42.20
Not the usual flamboyant Merlot, but one crafted the very dry, Bordeaux style. Concentrated and earthy with a traditional/formal dinner party feeling. Deep at first, becoming delicious later. Needs big glassware and a primo roast of beef or lamb. Impressive gift.

 

SWEET
Exotic Aussie Port
GRANT BURGE 10-Year-Old Tawny, Barossa, Australia
58388 $30.95
Feels warm, exotic and powerful. Somewhere between Tawny Port and a liqueur. Lots of Pow! Sip after dinner, or with all the Christmas candy!

Great mixer
ST-GERMAIN Elderflower Liqueur ‘Delice de Sureau’, France
180695 $49.95
The delicate and hard-to-describe flavours in this liqueur put a lovely spin on just about any cocktail. Shake it up with vodka/gin or add to sparkling wine. Stylish Art Nouveau bottle.

Nouveau Week

by Billy on November 16, 2011 in Wine Picks with 1 Comment

IT’S NOUVEAU WEEK!
I love Nouveau time because it reminds us that one of wines purposes is to make us more lighthearted. Give it a go this weekend with a few bottles of Nouveau/Novello and your favourite party friends and snacks. Pizza would be perfect. (Stash a few bottles to serve with the Christmas turkey.)

In case you’re new to the game, these are light, and ready to drink reds from this year’s harvest. Yes, 6–8 week old wines that are released all over the world starting this Thursday. They’re best lightly chilled and gulped early in the evening.

The following would give a variety of styles and experiences. Start with the Beaujolais wines which are very light, refreshing and fruity. The Italians are more earthy and rustic.

NEGRAR Novello, Veneto, Italy $9.95
TOLLO Novello, Abruzzi, Italy $8.95
JEANJEAN Syrah Nouveau, France $9.95
MOMMESSIN Beaujolais-Nouveau, France $13.95
DUBOEUF Beaujolais-Nouveau, France $14.95

LCBO VINTAGES – HOLIDAY WINES

by Billy on November 8, 2011 in Vintages Picks, Wine Picks with 1 Comment

LCBO VINTAGES – STOCKING UP FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Wines released October 29, 2011

These and all my November picks will be selected with the Holidays in mind. Start building your stash now so you can relax and enjoy yourself – with a collection of wines that you simply cannot put together on a cold, busy afternoon in mid-December.

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