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Upcoming
January winetastings!
By Michael
Vaughan • Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist
National Post • Saturday, January 20, 2001
This month
sees two key upcoming wine events. The first is the Women
in Wine tasting (the dinner is sold out) that takes place on Tuesday,
January 30, 2001 at the AGO. Vintages and Lifford Agencies have teamed up
to present seven women winemakers and their wares. It costs $60 – call
1-800-266-4764.
I tasted all
but one of the 30 wines being presented. While some very good, I was
disappointed with some quality-price ratios (see the complete list on my
website). Almost a third come from Alsace by Laurence Faller of Domaine
Weinbach. The best was the very fine, surprisingly forward 1999
Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg ($69) with delicious, dry, ripe yellow
apple and Anjou pear flavours.
All
three Pinot Noirs come from the Beringer family. The most expensive – an
over-oaked Beringer 1997 Stanley Ranch Pinot Noir ($45) was a disappointment.
At $23, the pleasant 1997 Meridian
Pinot Noir is the cheapest. Hopefully, Meridian winemaker Signe Zoller
isn’t too upset that the back label credits winemaker Chuck Ortman with
this one. The best buy 1998 Chateau
St. Jean Pinot Noir ($27) has refined, gently cedary, sweet, ripe,
plummy persimmon flavours.
The
best wine is Malivoire 1999 Moira
Vineyard Chardonnay at $38. Ann Sperling who has a great Chardonnay
track record really made this Ontario winner. It’s rich, ripe,
mouthfilling, buttered toast and lingering lime purée flavours surpasses
the Paskus 1998 Cuvée Chardonnay ($42).
Rather than order it at the AGO for $38, you can get it directly from the
winery (905-563-9253) or their Toronto agent (Small Winemakers -
416-463-7178) at only $35.95 - a $2.05 savings over the LCBO price. Move
quickly as only 924 cases were produced. Keep in mind that when you buy
from the winery store, the winery will more than double the total margin
it makes on every bottle!
The next
event takes places on January 31st. The 10th Annual Pacific Northwest Wine
Fair at Roy Thomson Hall features 30 wineries pouring a whopping 122
wines. The trade tasting (2:30 - 5:00 p.m.) is followed by a consumer
tasting (6:00 - 8:30 p.m.). For tickets ($45/$40) call 416-410-4630.
Of
the two events, this is my first choice. Our preview blind tasting of 52
wines was most insightful. First of all, the improvements in Pinot Gris
were immense. Last Fall, the excellent 1998
King Estate Pinot Gris demolished an expensive Chardonnay in consumer
blind tastings.
At the Fair
you’ll find the1999, which is a tad richer with toasty-apricot flavours.
It was my favourite of eight tasted. At 25.60, it’s just too pricey –
perhaps a window for the LCBO to “massage” the price down to more
user-friendly levels. It’s a shame that the LCBO isn’t making any
wines available for order via a virtual store. It’s being done for the
first event and at the upcoming Napa fair! So why not at this show?
Of others
previewed, highlights included the mature, tropical-directed Henry
Estate 1998 Pinot Gris ($16.95) along with two bright, lighter-bodied
entries – the honeyed-Anjou pear flavoured Rex
Hill 1999 Pinot Gris ($22.95) and the grapefruity Firesteed 1999 Pinot Gris ($19.25).
Of the
Chards, I was most impressed by the toasty, lime-driven flavours of the Duckpond 1999 Chardonnay a potential General List best buy at $14.95
(the 1997 is still on the shelves). David Lake’s tangy, intense Columbia
Winery 1999 Chardonnay Woodburne Cuvée at $19.95 (available through
Dionysus Wines) should also be tried.
And then we
have Oregon’s Pinot Noirs. Of the 24 tasted, only one swept me away -
the extremely classy, rich, slightly smoky Chehalem
1998 Pinot Noir Rion Vineyard ($79.90).
Ironically,
my best buy choice just came out in Vintages. Foris
1997 Rouge Valley Pinot Noir has fairly creamy, bright, slightly
smoky, black cherry and beetroot flavours at an excellent price of $19.95.
My only reservation about the pricier 1998 Pinot Noirs is that do not
offer sufficient flesh on the Pinot Noir flavour frame.
The
same could not be said of most of Washington 1998 Merlots, which are solid
with a capital S. Of ten tasted, my favourite was a somewhat eccentric,
complex, smoky, reedy Duckpond 1998 Merlot (estimated at $23) which may have already
peaked!
Second, was
the crowd-pleasing, rounded, black cherry flavoured Chateau
Ste. Michelle 1998 Merlot at $27 (private order). The latter’s wines
usually have a dollop of cedar and tend to be more forward than say the
classically styled, firmer Hedges
Cellars 1997 Three Vineyards at only $29 (currently in Vintages). The
sandalwood and plum purée flavours will benefit from another year or so
of aging.
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