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Waking
Up & Smelling the Flowers
A Bouquet of Springtime Whites
All Under $20
©
Michael Vaughan 2006
National Post
Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist
Saturday,
April 1, 2006
LIVE
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It's Spring and the sap is running. No I am not talking about myself, but about the impending appearance of blossoming trees and springtime flowers. Today's focus is on springtime oak-free whites, which appear in a helter-skelter manner in the just-released, bi-weekly, Vintages catalogue.
Let me start with Viognier, which is one, only a few grapes that have aromatic qualities that might be called "floral". At one time, it was almost exclusively associated with the northern region of the Rhone. Viognier is the undisputed king of Condrieu whose whites are worshipped by wine cognoscenti worldwide. At the top of the crown is the tiny, Viognier-exclusive appellation of Chateau-Grillet with miniscule holdings of only 3.8 ha. It is hard to believe that in 1968, total Viognier plantings in France had fallen to just 14 ha (or 35 acres).
In the 1980's Viognier started to become fashionable and new plantings surged ahead, especially in the Ardèche, Languedoc and Roussillon regions, as well as overseas in California and Argentina. The planting bandwagon still continues today, albeit at a slower pace. And while only one listing of Condrieu has appeared over the past six years (out of over 12,000 monthly Vintages releases), there have been plenty of well-made, reasonably priced Viognier to choose from.
Today's
release has two. The first is more of a might try as opposed to must buy. Domaine
de Régusse 2004 Viognier (680637) at $13.95 is
classified as a Vin de Pays des Alpes de Haute. It is dry and medium-light
bodied with gently grassy, ripe lemon-melon flavours followed up by a
crisp, refreshing, finish.
Considerably
more interesting is an unusual, rather complex effort from grapes grown in
the Cuyo region of Mendoza, Argentina. I was impressed with Bodegas Santa
Ana's flavourful Casa
de Campo 2004 'Cepas Prividas' Viognier (678508)
at only $11.95. It is medium-full bodied, harmonious and surprisingly
well-structured with slightly smoky, ripe lemon and dried pear effort with
a fine lingering finish. For my palate, outstanding
value.
Those
looking for something a bit crisper, have two great buys to choose from.
The first is Concha
Y Toro 2004 'Trio' Sauvignon Blanc (678656) at
$13.95. This great refresher has the grapes sourced from three different
vineyards located at varying altitudes in Chile's Casablanca Valley.
Coming with a screwcap closure, it has attractive, very dry, grassy, fresh
melon flavours with some hints of grapefruit on the finish.
Even
better at $16.95 is another delicious refresher, which comes from the
Marlborough region of New Zealand's South Island. Saint
Clair 2005 Sauvignon Blanc (554196) comes with a
handy screwcap and it is ready to enjoy with slightly spicy, honeyed,
tangy, melon-lemon flavours and a lingering rhubarb pie finish.
It
may have an unbecoming, old-fashioned label but 'Granbazan'
Albarino 2004 (673152) at $16.95 has a fine
modern taste. It is made from Albarino grapes grown in the Rias Baixas
region of Galicia in the remote northwest -corner of Spain, which borders
Portugal's northerly Vinho Verde district (where the is called Alvarhino).
Versatile and ready to enjoy, it is fresh, medium-light bodied and
refreshing with slightly spicy, ripe melon flavours and a nicely balanced,
crisp finish.
From
Hungary, check out Nyakas
Pince 2004 Budai Irsai Olivér (718239) at
$12.95. This Eastern European cross between Pozsony and Pearl of Csaba is
reminiscent of the Muscat grape. It is very spicy on the palate, which is
dry and medium-light bodied with fairly intense lychee and ripe
lemon-melon flavours followed up by a lingering, tart, grapefruit peel
finish.
Two
other light bodied whites might be a perfect foil for tender young fresh
asparagus spears sautéed in fresh butter with almond slivers and a gentle
sprinkling with Maldon salt. From Austria's Burgenland comes the youthful Lenz
Moser 2004 Prestige Pinot Gris Trocken (672980)
at $11.95. Light, dry and crisp, it is loaded with fresh, ripe red
apple-melon flavours. Alternatively, from Italy's Veneto comes 'Il
Giangio' 2004 Gambellara Classico (670836) at
$12.95. This 100% Garganega is dry and harmonious with ripe lemon-melon
flavours and a crisp finish.
My biggest letdown is the highly-touted Montevina 2004 Pinot Grigio at $13.95. It is hard to believe that what the LCBO purchased was a 98-point Double Gold Medal winner at the 2005 California State Fair. I searched in vain for those "delicious peach aromas and flavours" and instead found something, which is simply OK with light, slightly spicy, ripe apple-melon flavours.
LCBO Launches Mini Self-Service Kiosks
Moving
on to a major announcement. The LCBO has finally come up with a proposal
on how to better service all those after-hour requests when its 600 stores
are closed. It is apparently planning to launch convenient mini
self-service kiosks. They will initially be strategically located in and
around Toronto, including a trial period in Price Chopper stores, which do
not have any retail Ontario wine affiliations. LCBO executives are very
excited, as this will dramatically reduce labour costs associated with
traditional sales. Also, as bank and/or credit cards will be required,
concerns that anyone under the legal drinking age will get access to the
kiosks are minimal, especially the kiosks have been equipped to take a
photo of each purchaser.
Credit for the mini kiosk concept is master marketer Dave Nichol, who apparently first saw the idea on a website. The kiosks will include the LCBO's top ten critter wines. Nichol had planned to launch "His Master's Choice" label, portraying his now-deceased dog, for a series of varietally-designated red and white wines. It was apparently rejected by the LCBO quality panel on the grounds of tastelessness. His newly created Doggone Rosé, however, has been approved and may be on the LCBO's shelves as soon as Father's Day.
When Doggone was submitted blind to Ontario's VQA panel for assessment, it got a big qualitative thumb's up. Unfortunately, this blend of 90% northern Mexican Zin remnants and 10% charcoal-filtered prime Ontario Niagara/Concord made it ineligible for the VQA designation - it can only be sold as a "Product of Canada". When polled earlier this week, some Wine Council of Ontario executives felt that this might well be the first of many steps in the right direction. Whether the revolutionary new 100% Canadian white called Poisson d'Avril Blanc developed by Nova Scotia Clearwater Seafood based on the slow temperature-controlled fermentation of processing byproducts will receive VQA exemption, however, remains to be seen. To overcome any consumer resistance, Clearwater has perfected the world's first "scratch and sniff" label so customers can get a preview of what is in the bottle. While testing it in the lab, I found the smell to be very clean and reminiscent of the sea, obviously a testimonial to the freshness of Clearwater byproducts. While keeping his anonymity, click here to see Michael Vaughan evaluating the soon to be released Poisson d'Avril Rouge.
German
Wine and Jazz April 4th
The
Top Shelf
by Michael Vaughan © 2006
Speaking
of springtime, I can't stop humming that infamous ditty from The
Producers. German wines are definitely on a roll and fans shouldn't miss
the annual upcoming 2006 German wine and jazz fair taking place on
Tuesday, April 4, 2006 at Roy Thomson Hall from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Those
wishing to receive an invitation to attend ($50) should visit
www.germanwinecanada.org In the meantime, here is a great, gently sweet
sipper from Vintages: Allendorf
'K' 2004 Riesling Kabinett (670687) at $16.95.
Look for delicious, slight spicy, bright, harmonious, gently juicy,
honeyed, ripe wintermelon flavours. You can taste it, along with more than
130 other wines at Tuesday's event.
2001-2002-2003-2004-2005
Tasting Note Database
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tasting note database from December 31, 2000 to January 2006, covers every
Vintages release product for the past 61 months. There are more than
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Contact Michael Vaughan at
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