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Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist - Michael Vaughan  

Great Wine Buys in Today’s LCBO Vintages Release

Copy for Saturday, December 4, 1999 - National Post Toronto Section

So here it is, Vintages last release of the millennium.  Of 16 sparklers presented, let me recommend the well priced, full flavoured 1990 Brut Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru ($46.75) from the 1200 grower co-op of De Saint Gall.  Its bright, lemon peel, buttered toast flavours and lingering, hazelnut finish make it best with white meats and poultry (although the mature “gout Anglais” taste isn’t for everyone).  More elegant, but also much pricier, is Bollinger’s ‘Grand Année’ Brut at $84.90.

Budget minded imbibers are advised to venture forth and try 1996 Reserva Bruto at $13.80 made in the méthode champenoise by Portuguese producer Aliança.  Its fairly creamy, dry but rounded, ripe apricot flavours provide a fine bubbly alternative. 

Moving to the 40 new whites, the rarely found 1998 Picpoul de Pinet ‘Hugues de Beauvign’ at $ 9.75 is worth exploring.  Made from the Piquepoul (or ‘lip stinger’) grape, this very dry, crisp Languedoc is a perfect refresher for oysters and seafood dishes.  Another fine seafood choice might include the crisp, green peach, grassy flavoured 1998 Menetou-Salon from Henry Pellé at $16.90.  And don’t miss picking up some delicious, user friendly, half bottles of the well-made Heni Bourgeois 1998 Sancerre ‘Les Baronnes” at $10.95 (regular bottles were released last month).

For smoked salmon or a butter sautéed trout, one might try experimenting with a fruity, just-off-dry white.  The 1990 Erbacher Siegelsberg Riesling Spätlese from Schloss Reinhartshausen at $16.65 is a well-priced classic with complex, only slightly honeyed, roasted lemon and orange citrus flavours. 

Of course there is the turkey to worry about.  My “turkey wine” of the release is a charmer from Alsace presented in an elegant multi-fluted bottle.  The refined 1997 ‘Jean Geiler’ Riesling at $17.90 has just off-dry, well balanced, zesty, green peach flavours. 

Others in the running include a mature, gently toasty, green pear flavoured 1997 Pasmados from the Portuguese house of Fonseca.  At $13.50 it is an interesting, if perhaps slightly offbeat, fowl companion.  In a similar vein, but slightly less expensive ($11.75) is the versatile 1998 Chardonnay ‘Bollini’ - a spicy crowd-pleaser from Italy’s Trentino region.

Perhaps the most charming release white is the not-to-be-missed Tedeschi 1998 Soave Classico Vigneto Monte Tenda (incorrectly identified as a 1996 by the LCBO).  Its gently honeyed, fragrant, wild flower nose and well-balanced, spicy, fresh apricot flavours make it a best buy at $11.30. Garganega at its best.

For Chardonnay die-hards, my top selection is the well made, unfined Saintsbury 1997 Carneros Chardonnay ($25.90).  It’s lovely, gently spicy, baked key lime pie nose is followed up by mouthfilling, cedary, persistent, baked pear flavours.   Showing very nicely, it’s a Christmas dinner crowd pleaser.

Finally, closer to home we have the gently spicy Cave Spring Cellars 1997 Chardonnay Musqué ($17.95) with a whopping 14% alcohol.  Perhaps less spicy, drier and more subdued than in previous years, this one would work well with seafood or poultry.

Moving on to the 65 reds, I am first going to focus on the fruitier styles that should also go well with turkey. From California, the versatile, crowd pleasing 1997 Barbera ‘La Famiglia di Robert Mondavi’ ($26.95) with its cedary, roasted black cherry fruit flavours might well be the best choice.  The bright Bogle 1997 Petit Sirah ($15.95) with its zesty raspberry purée fruit might be challenger (even better with steak and frites).  Of two Zinfandels tasted, the mature 1996 Mondavi ($25.95) would also work with poultry, while the sturdier 1997 Fetzer ($18.95) would go better with osso bucco. 

From Australia comes the spicy, baked ripe black cherry and vanilla flavoured ‘Deakin Estate’ 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon - a very good ready-to-drink buy at $10.95.  More highly structured is the Redbank 1997 Shiraz ‘Long Paddock’ ($15.70).  This spicy, crowd pleaser has lots of cassis and cedary, black cherry fruit.

Best yet is Thomas Hardy’s remarkable 1997 Bankside Shiraz, which at $ 14.95 is my Best Buy Vintages Red of 1999.  Fairly deep purple red in colour, its smoky, fruit driven nose and perfectly balanced, roasted plum and raspberry purée flavours will satisfy the most discerning of palates.  It’s showing very nicely and should hold well for several years, so stock up now!

If mature Bordeaux is on your list, check out the ambering 1988 Chateau Damase at the surprisingly agreeable price of $17.65.  It is dry but rounded with plums, leaf compost, mushrooms and red licorice on the palate.  At the opposite end of the spectrum is an intense, youthful 1996 Chateau Pey-Martin which at only $14.95 could well be laid away for additional aging.

Best Bordeaux?  A delicious and surprisingly approachable Saint Julien (the second wine of Château Léoville-Las Cases) 1996 Clos du Marquis ($79.75) offers complex roasted red peppers and cocoa butter with fine persistence.

If a rich Rhone is on your list, look no further than Michel Maret’s classic 1996 Chateauneauf-du-Pape ‘Cuvée Mourre des Perdix’ Domaine de la Charbonnière ($32.95).  Well structured with slightly smoky, ripe plum flavours, it’s perfect for rack of lamb or game.

Another gamy red is the southern Italian 1997 Primitivo di Manduria ($19.70) with an astounding 16% alcohol.  This grape is thought to be the original Zinfandel and is loaded with sweetish, figgy, baked plum flavours.

For smoked turkey, you may want to try something lighter - Allegrini 1997 Valpolicella Classico ($15.75) with its dry, medium bodied, bright plum and dried strawberry flavours.  Also from Italy comes a lively, cherry-raspberry flavoured 1996 Teroldego Rotaliano from the Trentino-Alto Adige region.  This eminently quaffable crowd pleaser would go well with rich lasagna.

For a change of pace, let me recommend the slightly smoky, leathery, sun dried tomato flavoured 1996 Quinta das Maias ($13.00) from the Dao region of Portugal.  It may not work with your turkey, but if roast pig is on your menu, then it's tart acidity will be a perfect foil.

Finally for dessert, there’s an Austrian dessert wine worth exploring - Hopler 1981 Elisio ($21.75 half bottle).  Its sweet, figgy, caramel, raisiny flavours make it a fine after dinner sipper.