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| A Scary Halloween
It's Halloween and started out just like three out of four Fridays a month with a trip to the LCBO tasting room on the third floor of 43 Freeland Street. It is here where I and other members of the media preview upcoming Vintages releases. Today, however, was a day like no other. Instead of the single room being filled with open bottles, the bottles for Saturday's December 6th release spilled over from one room to the next. A whopping 138 items were out for assessment. Now that's scary! It even included a number of gift packs from the current Vintages Holiday Gifts Catalogue, which were tagged on at the end of the tasting. As usual, none of December's 43 In Store Discoveries (aka ISDs) were included. The reason? The manager of Vintages dictates that the wine media must not taste the ISDs. These are now only presented at the weekly LCBO consultant's tastings. Believe me, it hurts to see those half-filled ISDs being dumped down the drain. I dedicated a total of six hours to work through this Halloween record-breaking tasting. When I got back to my office I was too exhausted to post my regular weekly column - now in its 9th year. So here it is – one day late. I was the only one to survive the entire ordeal. As for the others, some will return to the LCBO consultant's preview scheduled for the end of November. This latter tasting window is where I do my follow-up secondary evaluations. It enables me to make sure – well at least pretty sure - that my initial notes are correct. In fact, I fine-tune about 70% of my notes and major changes to about 10%. As for other writers, the Toronto Star's Gord Stimmell apparently managed to wade through the wines, but not spirits, in about two hours with his traditional early morning start. Globe & Mail columnist Beppi Crosariol did his usual – a short, mid-afternoon cameo meaning that he tasted only a fraction of the release. Of course, the most important thing from the reader's point of view is to find a critic whose palate – likes and dislikes – reflects their own. People are best served when a single reviewer consistently assesses all the wines. Consistency is the key. Some writers rely on getting samples from agents. I, like others, receive review wine but do not encourage or solicit free wines. Most important, I only recommend wines I consider to be the best of all those tasted. Glowing reviews should not be based on whatever turns up at the critic's door! As for the rest of the week, Monday was a catch-up day with an evening cognac tasting. Well almost. Courvoisier invited media and special guests to the Carlu to experience and vote on the best cognac-cuisine experience. Called the 2008 Find Greatness Within Culinary Challenge,
four chefs competed together to pair their cognac-based recipes
with Courvoisier. Here was the line-up: Ted
Corrado represented the ROM's C5 with a Dorsette Rack of
Lamb; Scott Vivian of Jamie Kennedy
at the Gardiner prepared Cider Braised Short Ribs; Claudio
Aprile of Colborne Lodge did a Foie Gras Cognac Bomb; Bertrand
Alepee and Jason Inniss
of Amuse-Bouche prepared Lobster-Cognac Bisque. Meanwhile the media was in a flap while tasting Courvoisier Succession J.S., which is priced at $4,461.90. The attending Cognac presenter was an attractive, fashionable, super-model, who was new to the cognac scene. Regarding what went into the blend, she erroneously informed me that it was from just two vintage cognacs - one from 1910, the other from 1937. That was it. I was also told that the source of these two components, which were not from the Courvoisier cellars, was apparently top secret. The quantity produced was not known, but emphasis was given to the word rare, as in if you have to ask for the price, you probably can't afford it. When I checked the press release, I discovered that that oldest cognac in Succession J.S. dates back to 1910 - the newest from 1945. In fact, various cognacs between these dates were added to the blend. In terms of quantity, 2000 bottles were made. I was a bit taken back by the packaging, which for my taste seemed to be on the excessive side of the equation. I asked myself, do I really need a little key to open up the ornate wooden presentation box? One member of the media suggested that it looked like a small "coffin", which is what he would be in if he ever showed up at home with a freshly purchased bottle. In fact, the "cognacaise" turns out to be an exact replica of Napoleon's "Chest of Secrets" – something that the Emperor took into his first military campaigns and is now housed at the Courvoisier Chateau in Jarnac. The wooden chest contains the traditional bottle of cognac and four handcrafted, specially designed, flute-shaped crystal tasting glasses. And yes, a single bottle currently resides at the LCBO (Queens Quay). The obvious questions: what did it taste like and is it worth the money? Well, let's face it, its hard to dis something that sells for $4,461.90 (Vintages #49809) or even $3,000 US, which is the price it was launched at in the fall of 2004. Before giving you my assessment, I happened upon a review in Gremolata, which awarded Succession J.S. 4.5 stars out of 5. There is also a tasting note, which did not belong not to the Gremolata reviewer but to Courvoisier's Master Blender (in red): It reads … an exclusive limited edition blend, created to mark the bi-centenary of Napoleon's crowning as the Emperor of France on 2 December 1804. Considered to be one of the rarest of the Cognac's on earth with very rich and complex flavours of old sherry wine, cedar wood, leaf of Havana cigar, crème brulee, freshly roasted coffee, liquorice and hot honey. A powerful, complex, mellow, rich and delicate taste. Finish is reminiscent of a hot and velvety fruit cake.
I was amazed that the bouquet was not even mentioned, which should be terrific for the price. Connoisseurs know that the bouquet of an old cognac is often better that it's taste. Thankfully, this one was splendid - exhibiting slightly honeyed, albeit still dry, complex, intense, very gently plummy, autumnal - think of the invigorating smell of fallen leaves - along with some subtle caramel notes. As expected, the taste was much dried and perhaps a bit more restrained with hints of dried ripe plum, honey, slightly dusty, mocha-caramel flavours that showed great persistence. I think that this kind of cognac ideally should be served from a single malt whisky glass, which allows the elixir to roll across the tongue thereby softening any peppery impressions. In a nutshell, regardless of the price, I would hazard to say that in a comparative blind tasting, most readers would actually prefer the slightly sweeter, honeyed, harmonious XO. That is, of course, unless you have acquired a taste for rare old cognacs and also have oodles of cash. To see my comprehensive Cognac article along with tasting notes click here
Whisky Live Tonite
As my devoted readers have known for years, most Vintages stores stock their shelves on Friday the day prior to the Vintages release. It makes sense as no one bothers lining up anymore for these releases. Real bargains have pretty much dried up and there's a surfeit of wines available, many of which are just not worth the prices being charged by the LCBO. Before divulging my under-$20 buys, let me mention today's Whisky Live event at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building. Anyone who needs a stiff drink to escape thoughts of the impending (it's already with us) R-word, then this is it. Here is the floor plan and the list of 68 whiskies available to taste (to attend click here). Here are three show destinations (notes have been taken from the official show guide):
The Balvenie Stand no. 12 Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd Stand no. 5
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While
it's fun to see the chefs in action, my first priority was to go
to the bar and have all three cognacs poured for a blind for a comparative
tasting. My favourite was 
Back to the October 25th Vintages release. There are two best buy Chardonnays. The first is a terrific Ontario buy from the Niagara Peninsula. Designated as a VQA Twenty Mile Bench 
For South Africa's Coastal Region, KWV's 
Not quite in the $20 threshold is 
Red best buys include a remarkable value from the Pacific Northwest. 
From Australia's Barossa Value comes 
Delicious, well-priced, Pinot Noir is always hard to find, so don't miss trying 
Another fine Malbec from Argentina is 
Finally, perhaps the most intriguing best buy comes from Portugal. The not-to-be-missed