Recent Articles
Jan. 26 - 2005 A Miracle Vintage ~ Tumultuous Week of Highs and Lows
Jan. 19 - Looking for Value? ~ Wines from Argentina to the Rescue
Jan. 12 - Looking Back - Looking Ahead ~ Spanish Wines Looking Up
Dec. 29 - Having a Sparkling New Year's Eve
Dec. 22 - Sumptuous Sippers ~ For days with Slippers
Dec. 8 - A Sparkling Vintages Release ~ But buy carefully
Dec. 1 - Holiday Gifting ~ The twin pack is the way to go
Nov. 24 - Eight Buys from Today's Vintages Release
Nov. 17 - Introducing the Signature Selection
Nov. 10 - 2005 Burgundy ~ The wine gurus like it!
Nov. 3 - Magic in Montreal ~ Le Marché an Inspiration for Local Wineries
Oct. 27 - Scary Times at Vintages ~ From Tricks to Treats
Oct. 13 -Today at Vintages ~ Bordeaux and Much More
Sep. 29 - Southern French Accents
Sep. 22 - Perfect for an Autumn day ~ Is that a bottle of spicy wine under your kilt?
Sep. 15 - A Celebration of the Ontario's harvest ~ Faces behind great wines
Sep. 1 - Dust off your Lederhosen ~ Austrian Wines Finally Unleashed in Vintages
Aug. 25 - Summer Twilight Selections ~ Spanish Synergy
Aug. 18 - The Wines of Chile ~ Soaring to the peaks of the Andes
Aug. 11 - Discovering Greece - a wine odyssey ~ Splendid Assyrtiko from Santorini
Aug. 4 - Spain - From the Classics to the Cutting Edge ~ Revving up for Rioja
Jul. 28 - Days of Wine & Roses no more! ~ Under $10 wines a rare breed
Jul. 21 - Que Sera, Syrah ~ Big, Smoky and Beautiful
Jul. 14 - Finding the best wine matches ~ Sizzling Seafood at Scaramouche
Jul. 7 - Sizzling Sauvignon Blanc ~ Vintages Best Buy Whites
Become an FBTI Supporter today
Get Michael Vaughan's Buying Guide
for January 5th & 19th Vintages Release
Click Here
Having a Sparkling New Year's Eve
© Michael Vaughan 2007
National Post
Weekly Columnist
Saturday,
December 29, 2007
CLICK
ON THE NAME
All
listings are automatically linked to the LCBO database
If there is a product that interests you,
just click on the name below and you will instantaneously connected with
the LCBO database. The product will appear in blue and all you have to do
is click on the name again
and then the next screen will provide details along with the store search.
Just click on store search.
The number of bottles in each store is updated nightly. Call
the store first to see if stock still remains (each store phone number is
listed).
There's something about Champagne. Victorious athletes shower in it, '30s movie stars bathed in it, new ships are christened with it, and almost everyone tells you to toast the New Year with it. One thing is certain; Champagne seems to set the tone.
Of course, there are thousands of sparkling wines out there, all varying in style and quality. The sheer volume certainly makes it challenging to definitively say which is best. As a professional taster, I have the opportunity to assess hundreds annually, most of which are available at various Canadian liquor boards.
While I am the first to admit that there is a style for every palate, I am always amazed that some of the most expensive "grande marques" - while very fine - don't always deliver in terms of flavour. For my palate, of all the big names, Krug is usually most reliable - refined, lingering and toasty. Thanks to Krug's new Ontario agent, I have no recent tasting notes to help you determine whether the current listings are still worthy of consideration.
What is surprising is the fact that some big expensive labels (costing upwards of $150 a bottle) are occasionally beaten out in blind tastings by much less expensive competitors. It was my long time friend Christian Pol Roger, who confided, "real connoisseurs go for vintage-dated Champagne." At Vintages at the LCBO you will find Pol Roger 1998 Extra Cuvée de Réserve Brut ($79.95 LCBO / $81 SAQ). This is a classic - dry, well structured and harmonious with ripe lemon-melon flavours and a lingering, toasty finish. Terrific value at the price.
While
not vintage-dated, a reliable, less expensive, choice would be Taittinger
Champagne Brut Reserve ($59.95 LCBO / $58.99
BCLB), which is very dry, nicely structured and gently toasty again with
those ripe lemon flavours and fine lingering finish.
Another favourite is Lanson Black Label Brut Champagne at $39.95 in Ontario, which includes a limited-time $5 discount good until January 5, 2008. It is arguably Canada's best buy Champagne. Crisp, dry and very effervescent, the lingering flavours are focused on bright, ripe lemon, citrus-melon and a touch of apple. In Quebec it will set you back $55, while in BC it goes for $49.99.
A
rather amazing value still lingering on the Vintages shelves in Ontario is
the even superior Lanson
1997 Gold Label Vintage Brut Champagne (722520),
which is a steal at the currently discounted $52.85 price. This winner has
truly lovely, gently toasty, ripe lemon-lime flavours with a long
seductive finish.
While searching for what's available in each province, I was most surprised by the BC liquor website. Under "Champagne", the only bubbly to come up was a Canadian-made "Baby Champagne". Meanwhile in Quebec, a SAQ search revealed 259 sparkling wines of which 152 are the real thing. Compare this to Nova Scotia where only 14 Champagnes are listed, or even worse yet, Manitoba with only 11 listings.
Of course, there are many great, less expensive, non-Champagne bubblies. From California's Sonoma County, my best bet would be Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut ($23.95 LCBO / $23.65 SAQ / $29.99 BCLB). This blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay has delicious, harmonious, ripe apple-melon flavours with a lingering, effervescent finish.
Some
of the least expensive buys are the Spanish "cava" which usually
hail from Penedes region southwest of Barcelona. Take Codorniu
Brut Cava Pinot Noir Rosé ($16.95 LCBO / $19.99
BCLB), which has charming, very gently honeyed, plummy, fresh
strawberry-cherry flavours.
Closer to home, while judging last October's BC Okanagan Wine Festival competition, I was impressed with the Gold medal winning Hawthorne Mountain See Ya Later Ranch Brut Non-Vintage. Be aware that all blends can shift in quality from batch to batch, meaning that what you buy today may be better - or perhaps worse than what I tasted.
In Ontario, one of the most reliable sparklers is Henry of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Brut at $29.95 (LCBO). It is very dry, bright and nicely balanced with zesty, ripe lemon-melon flavours and good effervescence.
If
you want a uniquely Canadian touch of sweetness here are two suggestions,
which are available in Ontario. Peller
Estates Ice Cuvée ($30.15 along with 10 bonus
airmiles) is a very gently sweet méthode classique sparkler with a small
dosage of icewine. While the world's first sparkling icewine is the super
sweet but balanced Magnotta
Limited Edition Sparkling Vidal Icewine 2006 at
$ 59.95 per 375 ml.
Whatever the bubbly, I always remember the words of the deceased,
prolifically cryptic columnist, Art Buchwald, who admitted to loving
Champagne because "it always tastes as though my foot's asleep."
2001
- 2007 Tasting Note Database
Our
tasting note database from December 31, 2000 to November 2007, covers every
Vintages release product for the past 83 months. There are more than
15,000 notes in the database data. Just enter the name of the product,
supplier name or CSPC number. Or you can search by type of wine, country
of origin, even wine agent! Nothing could be easier. Also you can get information on the agent by clicking on the
agent’s name, as well as current LCBO store inventory by clicking on
"Check
LCBO Availability", which will automatically tell you the
number of bottles at LCBO as of last night.
To
use our Tasting
Notes Database: click
here
|
** For All Visitors ** To
see the complete list of upcoming
products
from the |
Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada
2007
Prior written permission is required for any form of reproduction
(electronic or other wise) and or quotation.
Contact Michael Vaughan at
mbv@total.net