Vintage Assessments Home Page

Recent Articles

Archive of National Post Articles

Vintages Best Buy Reds – from Malbec to Pinot Noir
© Michael Vaughan 2002
National Post Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist
National Post • Saturday, February 9, 2002
Sending our best wishes to those celebrating the Year of the 
Horse Chinese New Year on February 12^th

Last week I revealed the must buy whites of today’s Vintages release. Finding today’s great deals in reds is a little more challenging because the list is mired with some potholes. Make sure, for instance, you avoid the oxidative, bitter tasting, Bulgarian Vini Sliven 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve ($10.55)!

Also, being a pinot noir fan, I had hopes that new entries from New Zealand and Chile might offer great drinking value.  They were ok, but not worthy of a detour.  What did catch my fancy, however, was a rather tasty, albeit somewhat obscure, Swiss effort.  Imesch 2000 Dole Soleil de Sierra at $19.95 is charming blend of approximately two-thirds Pinot Noir and Gamy.  It has persimmons, red apple and dried red cherries on the nose and medium-light bodied, tangy, dried cherry flavours. Best with poultry and white meats, it actually would be perfection with a tender Veal Holstein.

Of the two Oregon Pinot Noirs, a big thumbs up to the outstanding Rex Hill Vineyards 1999 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley.  Now it might not be cheap at $37.80 but it does have a terrific, slightly smoky, ripe cherry nose. On the palate, it’s refined and yet reasonably intense with lovely, lingering, spicy, sandalwood and dried cherry flavours.  Very pretty and Burgundian in style, it’s at its peak and perfect to enjoy right now.

For Bordeaux fans, I am happy to report that the deep intense purple coloured 1998 Château Loudenne at only $23.95 is definitely a great buy.  While it only has the Médoc Cru Bourgeois status, Loudenne often compares favourably to its much more expensive neighbours. The nose shows good complexity with stewed lime and rather earthy notes.  The palate is well structured with dried plum, chocolate, prune and lime flavours.  Great for a rack of lamb.

Also not to be missed from Argentina is the excellent Zuccardi 1999 Malbec Q at $23.80. This is the pride and joy of Alberto Zuccardi whose modern Mendoza winery focuses on grapes grown on its own 600+ hectare estate. At one time Malbec was popular in Bordeaux, but today it is now only found in any quantity in Cahors (where it is called Cot).   While the French version can be rather terse, it excels in Argentina where the hotter climate permits the fruit flavours to evolve.

Zuccardi’s Q is very fruit focused and capable of aging for another year or so.  It’s medium-full bodied and yet surprisingly rounded with vanilla-tinged, ripe red cherry flavours followed up with a lingering, fruity finish.  

(José Alberto Zuccardi)

Moving on to Spain, fans of old Rioja might make a beeline to the well-structured, flavourful Marqués de Cáceres 1991 Gran Reserva at $34.75. Pour this wine into a glass and the amber edges and sweetish, marzipan, chocolaty, prune nose tells you this wine’s time has come.

By now most readers will have received their 112-page Classics Catalogue.  Keep in mind that orders should be submitted by 5:00 pm, Tuesday, February 12^th. My lament last month’s on the absence of decent Burgundy was past partly resolved at the recent LCBO 2002 Winter Classics preview tasting (by far the best deal in town at only $95). Some 260 Toronto participants were treated to some five-dozen new releases.  They managed to spend a record $231,267.76  (129 orders averaging $1,792.77) in just three hours on Classics purchases. One of the secrets behind this success was the uncrowded, pleasant venue at the Crowne-Plaza Hotel where the extended Classics selection could be peacefully assessed.

It was certainly a joy to see the Classics has picked up several well-priced Burgundies that would please the most discerning palate.  One of my favourites was sourced by Burgundy-based Becky Wasserman-Hone. The elegant, bright, dried red cherry flavoured Annick Parent 1999 Monthelie Champs Fulliot 1er Cru at only $33 is a definite best buy. 

A quick check on the new Catalogue reveals that there are 475 products of which 464 are wines.  Of the latter, only 113 are carryovers from previous Classics releases.  France holds the lion’s share of listing with 273 entries, followed by Italy and California with 62 each. Canada is only represented by two Ontario wines.

While some preliminary tasting notes are posted on my website, fans should not miss Jean-Marc Brocard 1999 Chablis Vaudésir at $49, which is a classic example of a perfectly approachable Grand Cru. It’s creamy but still crisp, hazelnut, apricot, baked ripe lemon flavours would be perfection with sea bass in a rich cream sauce.

Finally, good news for shoppers.  Next Monday I will be detailing on my website (see below) the 400+ products that will be appearing in the special February 23^rd Vintages sale (note the new date). It’s also worth noting that come May 2002, Vintages will be releasing products in two waves: the first at the start of the month (with about 60% of the products), the balance appearing two weeks later. While it is intended to provide customers with greater opportunities to obtain those special wines, the downside is that it doubles the number of fan visits and lineups.
 

Copyright Food & Beverage Testing Institute of Canada 2004
Prior written permission is required for any form of reproduction
 (electronic or other wise) and or quotation.
Contact Michael Vaughan at
mbv@total.net