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Weekly Wine & Spirits Columnist - Michael Vaughan  

Reds top latest Vintages release   

(Publishing Date: Saturday May 6, 2000  - Toronto Section)

There are 128 new products in today’s Vintages release. While the whites didn’t knock my socks off, there are some terrific reds which are well worth a detour. Let’s begin looking for fresh fruity whites that would be perfect for sunny Spring day.

 A fine choice would be the light-bodied, unoaked 1998 Bollini Pinot Grigio at $11.60. It typifies what’s best about Pinot Gris from this Alto Adige region.  The honeyed, ripe, apricot aromas carry over to the palate with just a wisp of refreshing lemon. It’s perfect for seafood, perhaps freshly caught trout.

From Chile with a tad more character is the flavourful 1999 Las Caseas del Toqui Semillon quite well priced at $9.60. Also unoaked (meaning no vanilla flavours), it’s packed with bright, zesty, tangerine and pear flavours. A nice change of pace from the often oaky-orange flavoured Semillons from Australia.

As for the best buy Chardonnay, I was tempted by the honeyed, vanilla-laced, melon-flavoured 1998 ‘Stony Hollow’ Chardonnay - a real crowd pleaser at just $9.95 which also comes from Chile. After the first glass, however, I found it slightly too sweet to hold my interest. It’s great by the glass, especially if well chilled - as the sweetness will be subdued. A lighter alternative is the attractively packaged 1998 “Hickory Ridge” Chardonnay with its dry, gently toasty, pear flavours. Bottled in France by flying Aussi winemaker Hugh Ryman, the grapes come from Moldova, the former Moldavian region of the USSR, which lies between eastern Romania and the Ukraine just north of the Black Sea. At only $8.70 it’s a good buy!

From Alsace, the gently sweet, rather rich 1998 Albert Mann Pinot Auxerrois Vieilles Vignes at $14.85 is the perfect Spring appetizer wine with its spicy, honeyed, ripe, apricot flavours. Perfect for lobster. Less pricey with some Muscat flavours that are reminiscent of Alsace is a light-bodied spicy, charmer from Spain, Masia Vallformosa 1998 ‘Claudia’ at only $10.25.  A perfect match with Thai cuisine.

A change of pace French white worth exploring is an unusual Provence blend of Ugni-Blanc (Trebbiano in Italy) and Grenache Blanc – the 1998 Chateau Val Joanis. At $11.70 it is very lively with hints lime and green tomato followed up by a crisp, clean finish - a perfect foil for plump PEI moules.

For Sauvignon fans there’s the dry, refreshingly herbal Guy Saget 1998 Domaine D’Artois at $11.35. If you want something less austere, try Caymus 1998 Sauvignon Blanc which has been barrel fermented and has 8% Chardonnay added. It’s well balanced and fairly intense with dried lemon flavours and cedary limes on the finish. This tasty, albeit slightly pricey, effort at $28.80 will please those with some discretionary income to spare.

Shadowing over both Sauvignons above is the excellent Vintages  ‘Essentials’ 1999 Sancerre ‘Les Baronnes’ – a classic from Henri Bourgeois at $20.95. The very dry, gently herbaceous, wild flower flavours would be perfection with fresh oysters.

Moving on to the excellent reds of this release - the Pinot Noirs shine. Don’t miss snagging a few bottles of Fetzer 1997 Pinot Noir with its lovely, silky, smoky, ripe raspberry flavours and charming cedary finish. This versatile California blend is at its peak and a definite “best buy” at only $18.80! Fortunately 746 cases are in the system!

For those who want something to lay away, Artesa 1997 Pinot Noir from the Carneros region at $36.60 is worth considering. The fairly extracty, classy, beetroot and cassis flavours get better and better as the wine is permitted to breathe! Pop the cork the day before, taste it and recork it! You’ll be well rewarded as the wine opens up overnight.

Another fine Pinot Noir is the unfiltered St. Innocent 1997 O’Connor Vineyard from Oregon’s Willamette Valley.  Well structured with peppery, spicy, dried cherry flavours, the $32.95 price tag isn’t unreasonable for what’s in the bottle.

Even Burgundy has a surprise - Yves Chaley 1997 Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits at only $22.60 which is dry but rounded with ripe black cherry flavours. The well-structured Daniel Rion 1997 Nuits St-George ‘Les Grandes Vignes’ is still a tad tight with firm, dried red cherry flavours. At $49.00, I would give it another 16 months of aging.

Much more Spring-like is the bright, light bodied, zesty, raspberry flavoured Domaine Cheysson 1998 Chiroubles which at $15,90 is showing very nicely. It would be perfect with a steak au frites on the patio.

Perhaps the best buy of the release is the deliciously rich Cline Cellars 1997 Mourvèdre Ancient Vines a steal at $23.90. It’s cedary, raspberry purée, black cherry and sundried tomato flavours call out for a flavourful lamb ragout! More expensive and also well structured is the Byron 1997 ‘IO’ at $59.90. This fine, fruit-driven blend of 64% Syrah, 19% Grenache and 17% Mourvèdre has wide appeal and is very accessible.

Two recommended Ontario reds couldn’t be more different. The first, Malivoire 1998 Old Vines Foch was blended with 8% Cabernet Franc and aged in 100% new American oak.  As a long time fan of this hybrid, I relish its very spicy, roasted black plum and red currant flavours with its gently sweet, spicy finish. At $18.95 it isn’t going to appeal to everyone, but think big and give it a try.

Ditto for Inniskillin 1997 ‘Meritage’ Reserve at $19.95. This 77% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Cabernet Franc blend is solid, very dry and rather intense with gently cedary, herbal, plummy, fennel flavours. It is showing nicely and capable of further aging. Perfect with a rare rib steak. 

Another fine buy, this time from Australia, is the lovely Leasingham 1997 Shiraz at an astonishing $19.95. The still-youthful, fairly cedary, rich, baked plum flavours with lime zest and lingering raspberry purée finish is worth a detour.  Only 300 cases are available, so you will have to rush to get this one!

Of the Bordeaux, my best buy would be the nicely structured 1996 Chateau Grossombre at a very reasonable $15.50. More expensive, but certainly worth the price is the delicious Domaine de Larrivet-Haut-Brion at $35.85. This is the second wine of Chateau Larrivet-Haut-Brion has a wonderful nose - all spice, vanilla stick and smoky ripe plums.  It is ready to enjoy with cedar, cassis and ripe plum flavours and a lingering finish. Unfortunately the LCBO Catalogue lists (and quotes the wrong review) for the Chateau, not the Domaine.

This week: Check out the Courtyard Café in Toronto’s Windsor Arms on Monday night where you can be the first to take part in an annual fund raising wine auction for the Canadian Opera Company. A wide selection of vintage French wines will be on the block, from a 3-litre jeroboam of Veuve Clicquot 1990 La Grande Dame Champagne to a wide variety of Lafites, Latours and Margaux from the 70’s. Tickets are $35 and takes place May 8th from 6:30 to 9. Call (416) 363-6671 to reserve. 

Also worth investigating are the special tutored tastings at key Vintages stores. Next Wednesday, for instance, LCBO consultant Richard Feldkamp is leading a tasting of 8 specially-selected saké (May 10^th - 7:30 p.m.) at Toronto’s Crossroads store for $15 - call (416) 243-3320.