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Buy
it in Alberta & Bring it home to Daddy!
©
Michael Vaughan 2006
National Post
Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist
Saturday,
June 10, 2006
LIVE
WINE LINK
www.winefind.ca
(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).
Today's Vintages release has 101 items on the block. With Father's Day rapidly approaching - next Sunday, June 18 - I decided to look at some of the new spirits hitting the Vintages shelves. Of 17 new items, including five untasted in-store discoveries, I have come up with three tasty recommendations.
The first is an extremely refined fine Polish vodka, which at first
glance could be easily dismissed as being a bit lowbrow. Well excuse me,
but the flavourful Sobieski
Vodka Deluxe (662916) at $28.95 for 700 ml is a
definite destination. Clear in colour, the nose exudes fresh cut hay. It
jumps on your palate with its dry, rounded, grassy flavours. Terrific
served straight up, it is named after the 17th century King of Poland, Jan
Sobieski III. The secret is the famous Dankowski rye, which is harvested
in the region Mazow. Although distilled four times for an extra layer of
smoothness, it has lots of character. It comes with a large "heavy
metal" screwcap closure and will bring a smile to the lips of any
discerning dad.
My second choice is a remarkable Mexican tequila-based liqueur, which
is perfect for both mom and pop. I was a bit skeptical when I saw the big,
squat, rectangular-shaped brown bottle of 1921
Crema con Tequila (685545) at $42.95. With a
mere 15% alcohol, I suspected that this might be a bit of a
"con" at the price. Nevertheless, this dense white cream
coloured elixir has a lovely marshmallow and vanilla cream cookies nose
and delicious sweet, creamy, spicy, vanilla biscotti and delicious
shortbread flavours, with faint blue agave flavours poking through
perfectly. A great after dinner sipper.
The high price given the low alcohol is a result of the government's discriminating mark-up, which depends on where the alcohol comes from. If the 15% was a wine-based liqueur, then the selling price will be much less than if the 15% alcohol comes from the addition of tequila! Although they both have exactly the same 15% level alcohol, it seems that nothing can stand in the way of the government's addiction to liberating cash from the consumer's pocket.
Even worse is the LCBO's pricing of spirits. Take my top three-star
scoring The
Macallan 18 Years Old Highland Single Malt
(214759) is $279.95 in today's release. At the Calgary airport last
weekend I saw exactly the same bottle on display for a mere $164.99 (tax
inclusive) - a full $114.96 cheaper than at the LCBO. And this wasn't a
special sale or duty-free price, but the regular list! It means you can
stock up on it (and some 130 other single malts available) before
going through security and bring them home to daddy!
While Skyway Wine & Liquor doesn't have a website yet, you
can call manager Gord Garry for information at 403-250-5610. Not only does
Skyway makes Vintages look like rip-off artists, but also it certainly
upstages the selection here in Ontario. It puts a new meaning to the
expression "Alberta home of the free" which got rid of
its pernicious liquor control board stores and now makes more money than
ever before offering the widest selection in Canada. To see their list of
Single Malt Scotch click
here.
Getting back to the 18-year old Macallan, it has a deep yellow colour.
I am captivated by the lovely, slightly smoky, plumy, caramel-tinged nose
and dry, harmonious, ripe plum and lingering caramel flavours. If your dad
is a spirits fan, then you might consider giving him Drinks
The Definitive, All-In-One Illustrated Guide by Vincent
Gasnier. This easy-to-browse, 512-page guide (retailing at $65,
but only $43.55 at chapters.ca)
provides extremely useful details on spirits, outstanding brews, as well
as top wines, from around the world.
Moving on, if your dad likes Port, then here is the one to buy: the
very deep intense, purple-coloured Cruz
1998 Late Bottled Vintage Port (684688) at
$24.95. Good today and even better tomorrow, it is solid and sweet with
rich, plummy, ripe cherry flavours and a delicious, lingering,
vanilla-tinged finish.
Today's release of whites has a number of fine buys. The best is Hans
Nittnaus 2004 Pinot Blanc (685271) at only
$13.95, which hails from Austria's Burgenland. It is only pale straw in
colour, but the nose stands up and says hello with its grassy, honeyed,
ripe lemon aromas. Quite gorgeous and very flavourful, look for slightly
spicy, ripe ruby grapefruit flavours and great refreshing acidity. Of the
550 cases produced, 100 cases went to Ontario.
For reds, a pair of best buy new releases from the French Midi by
Gérard Bertrand are right on target. Designated as a Minervois, Gérard
Bertrand 2003 Terroir Syrah/Carignan (952804) at
only $14.95 offers well structured, slightly spicy, baked ripe plum and
chocolate flavours with a lingering finish. It shows good versatility and
would be perfect for bbq meats.
Even bigger and only the slightly more expensive at $18.95 is a very
serious red Château
Hospitalet Rouge 2003 La Réserve (682492),
which comes from a small 15 ha. estate in Côteaux du Languedoc's la Clape
region. This blend of 40% Syrah, 30% Grenache and 30% Mourvèdre has a
very deep purple red colour. It is terrific on the palate with
mouthfilling and yet harmonious, slightly smoky, complex, ripe plum,
chocolatey, red pepper flavours. Sublime with a rib steak today, it should
evolve well over the next few years. Although 500 cases are at Vintages, I
suggest you move quickly on this one.
A Doggy for Daddy?
Reduced from $49.95 to only $33.80
There is something disturbing about pouring an amber-coloured fluid
from the rear end of a dog. But thankfully not from this doggy, which is a
special, elongated, clear glass dachshund-shaped bottle, which sits
obediently on all four stubby legs. I carefully used a razor blade to
slice through the black wax covering the small cork at the end of the
tail. The liquid turns out to be a delicious, rounded, Napoleon Grande
Champagne Cognac produced by Elie-Arnaud Denoix. The best thing about Napoleon
the Cognac Dog (200 ml - 600205) is that this gift item
has recently been reduced from $49.95 to only $33.80. About 400 bottles
remain, although the LCBO has removed the item from its searchable
database. You can call the Infoline at 416-365-5900 to see which stores have it.
The LCBO
store at 1230 Dundas Street West has some 60 bottles.
A Father's Day Gift
Vintage Assessments Monthly Buying Guide
National Post readers wishing to receive the current June 2006 Vintage Assessments newsletter (covering the Vintages releases for today & for the June 24th release - including exclusive current ISD reviews) as well as the June 10th Vintages Shopping List can have it e-mailed today and receive a $20 discount - click here.
2001-2002-2003-2004-2005-2006
Tasting Note Database
Our
tasting note database from December 31, 2000 to June 2006, covers every
Vintages release product for the past 66 months. There are more than 13,000 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
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Contact Michael Vaughan at
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