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Get
all the evaluations for
The Upcoming September Release Fall
Classics just around the corner
I could feel the cooler autumnal air almost nipping at my ear one
rainy night earlier this week. While it felt great to get rid of the
steamy sullen air than has been draped over the city, I was a little desolé
that summer is nearing its end. On the positive side, there is always a tidal wave of wine events
to contend with. And so to make sure you don’t miss out here are a
couple of highlights. Perhaps the hottest ticket in town is the Vintages
Autumn 2002 Classics tasting on Monday, September 9th from 6:30 to 9:00
p.m. at Toronto’s Le Royal Méridien King Edward. All 52-featured wines
will be available for ordering on-site (which some readers feel is unfair
for those who can’t attend). Tickets are $95.00 per person - call (416)
365-5767 or toll-free 1-800-266-4764. For the list of wines to be tasted Click
Here. For the entire 113-page Classics Catalogue Click
Here. The focus of this release is Ontario and a strapping 19 wines have
been listed and will be tasted! Now while this news might delight some and
possibly disappoint others, it certainly is time that at Canada’s best
made their way into the Classics. Pickings have definitely been pretty
slim over the past few years.
Politics aside, I would be hard pressed to suggest that every wine
here is a winner. Nevertheless, there will certainly be a lot of action
around Table 4 where bottles of Penfolds 1997 Grange
(not
1996 as erroneously listed in the Catalogue) at $250 a pop will be tasted.
The event should be well worth the $95 cost of entry. Of course, there still are plenty of decent Classics buys
available, which can be ordered right this minute from the Classics. Let
me recommend two terrific robust red holdovers, which will also be
appearing in the new Catalogue. Great Amarone has been as scarce as hen’s teeth and so I am
pleased that some inventory of this traditionally styled effort is still
around. With 15.5% alcohol, Michele Catellani 1997 Campo Casalin Amarone della
Valpolicella Classico (cspc 946558) at only $49 is definitely worth a detour. The nose
exudes a smoky, ripe prune and crème brulee notes. It virtually slides on
the palate with lovely, sweetish, caramelized plum flavours that linger
beautifully with hints of marzipan.
Finally, as a follow up to last week’s ladybug column, I have
good news and bad news – especially for my friends who live in Ottawa
and east of Kingston. First, the bad news is that the tainted 2001 Chard
was actually not taken off the shelves (except by unknowing customers). In
fact it is just that the winery isn’t shipping any more skids of it to
the LCBO. The good news is that I discovered that there is not a bottle to
be found east of Kingston – Ottawa has been saved!
Unfortunately, the biggest September event is the 60-seat Château Cheval Blanc tasting dinner with the Managing Director, Pierre Lurton of Ginestet is now sold out. Six vintages of Château Cheval Blanc are featured along with three vintages of their Le Petit Cheval. Tickets were $375.00.
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Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada
2004 |
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Talking about slim, it certainly isn’t the French who weigh in
with 155 listings or 28% of the 560 items on parade. Italy is second with
101 selections, while California is third with 40. Pity Germany, Hungary,
South Africa and Oregon who only come up with a deuce apiece. Well at
least that’s twice as much as the western Canada – B.C. only gets one
listing.
The 1,700-hectare region of Faugères is located in the schisty
foothills of the Cévennes in the Languedoc region. It is here where we
discover a well-priced Syrah made from 20-year-old vines that will be
sheer perfection with BBQ steak. 
Moving on, this week’s August Vintages release best buy is an
outstanding Madeira. 
The reason is that the LCBO in its infinite wisdom did not place
any inventory in the warehouse servicing this region. Unfortunately, it
means that none of the 17 craft wines will be available in any of the
Ottawa stores. Ergo, my best buy at $9.95,