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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
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Contact Michael Vaughan at
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