Samantha, Syrah, Cerqueira Vineyard, Okanagan Crush Pad Winery, Oliver, BC, 2013, 13.6% abv.

Posted on May 4, 2015 by winellama

This wine was produced by the 2013 Vancouver International Wine Festival’s Sommelier of the Year winner, Samanatha Rahn as part of the Okanagan Crush Pad Winery’s wine campus program.  Held in conjunction with the BC Hospitality Foundation, sale proceeds fund a scholarship to support students who take high level wine education certifications.samantha rahn

What a delicious treat it is.  Cloudy and an opaque ruby red, this wine is unfined and unfiltered.  It has medium plus intense aromas of sour cherry, savoury game and salami with black pepper, pine needle and field berry.  The intense herbal note grew while we enjoyed the bottle.

The palate is dry with average acidity and velvety tannins with medium alcohol.  Flavours are concentrated and show pomegranate, field berry, more sour and Byng cherry, garrigue, black olive and pepper with a high toned minerality.  Savoury salami and saddle round it out with a medium plus finish.

It’s beautifully balanced and seriously layered – WSET Very Good.  According to Samantha, the brand may well be continued.  Keep your eyes peeled in BC wine stores.

Picture credit: Mike Woods Photography

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Qupé, Syrah, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara, California, 14.5% abv, 2005

Posted on April 30, 2015 by winellama

qupe 1When I started planning the brief trip to Santa Barbara, I also began to plot my assault on a bottle of locally produced Qupé.  It’s challenging to find in my corner of the world and this winery owned by winemaker Bob Lindquist and investor Charles Banks, ranks high on the lists of those eager to search out Californian wines of purpose, place and legacy.

Bob is one of California’s original Rhône Rangers who in the 1980s promoted the planting and use of varietals from France’s Rhône Valley.

Since there is not much to do in tiny, downtown Buellton, we found ourselves at The Hitching Post II by 5pm.  After qupe 3starting off with an equally fabulous 2012 Au Bon Climat, Chardonnay (lemon curd with minerals, butterscotch and oak, all crisply balanced with admirable acidity), we moved on to this, one of Qupé’s renowned cool climate Syrahs.

Deep garnet with solid legs, the nose offers medium plus intense aromas of purple plum, black cherries, dried thyme, spicy black pepper and rich oak.  The palate is dry with better than average acidity and delicately complex and velvety tannins.  Flavours of more plum and boysenberry with garrigue and rosemary evolve into tobacco, salami and black olive tapenade.

qupe 2The finish is extended, the wine complex and balanced with high – but not hot or boozy – alcohol.  We opened this WSET Very Good plus wine at 9 years old (July 2014) and it was drinking perfectly but can easily be held until about 2016.

 

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Argyle, Blanc de Blancs, Knudsen Vineyard, Julia Lee’s Block, Dundee Hills AVA, Oregon, 2009, 12.5% abv.

Posted on April 29, 2015 by winellama

Argyle 1‘Brut makes you better‘ is the claim on the Argyle Winery website. Agreed!  We were there in 2010 and purchased this with that goal in mind.

Very pale lemon with a persistent, chubby bubble, this sparkler has a very light nose of yeast, lemon zest and Granny Smith apple.

Dry but not austere, the wine has refreshing medium plus acidity and medium minus alcohol with mild flavours of Golden Delicious and green apples, Asian pear, more light citrus zest with lemon meringue and toast.  The finish has average length and some light citrus rind bitterness on the very end.

Delicate and light, it’s a simple but clean and tasty sparkling wine.

WSET Good – don’t lay down, enjoy now.

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Lopez de Haro, Tempranillo, Crianza, Rioja DOC, Spain, 2010, 13.5% abv.

Posted on April 28, 2015 by winellama

lopez de haroMeh.  I expected more from this wine.

A 90% Tempranillo with 7% Garnacha and the remainder Graciano for perfume and colour, this is a Crianza version from a hillside at the village of San Vicente de La Sonsierra in Rioja, Spain.  It has been aged for 18 months in French and American oak to earn the ‘Crianza’ title.

This wine has a translucent ruby-garnet tone with perfectly even legs.  The nose started off surprisingly neutral but eventually opened to show some boysenberry, field berry and cinnamon stick.

The palate is dry with less than average acidity, alcohol and invisible tannin.  The flavours are equally average and include sweet berry and clove with wood.  The finish is non-existent.

With its muddied flavours, absent aromas and unbalanced alcohol – this is merely a WSET Acceptable wine.  Save your money – but if you have any at home, it’s suitable for spaghetti or as your second or third bottle at a party.

Photo credit: Mike Woods Photography

Posted in Graciano, Grenache / Garnacha, RED, Red, Spain, Tempranillo | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ruché, Caresana, Castagnole Monferrato DOCG, Italia, 2013, 15% abv, C$30 (BCLB)

Posted on April 22, 2015 by winellama

rucheThere isn’t very much of this Italian grape around – only about 40 ha of vines exist in Piedmont.  A DOCG since 2010, opinion is divided as to whether or not this is an indigenous Italian varietal or one that came from France in the 1700s and that adapted to the hills around Asti.

Either way, it makes tasty, tannic and nicely perfumed wines. This Ruché has a deep ruby shade and is developing with high toned aromas of cranberry, red plum, garrigue and light black licorice – fennel.

The palate is dry with medium plus acidity, high alcohol and medium plus tannins that show some grip.  Complimented by a better than average finish, flavours include fresh plum, strawberry, cranberry and dark Mission figs with black pepper alongside some sage, rosemary and thyme.

We found the alcohol to be a little hot, but time or double decanting fixed that problem and once the alcohol relaxed, the edges also disappeared and more fresh fruit and herb emerged. Over the course of the evening, a deep, dark cherry revealed itself.  On the second day, deeper garrigue and licorice were evident.

WSET Very Good – awesome wine.  Buy and drink or lay down for 1-3 years.  

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Albariño, Eidos de Padriñán, Rias Baixas DO, Spain, 2013, 12.5% abv, US$19.

Posted on April 20, 2015 by winellama

albarinoThis wine is made in tiny Padriñán on the cool, wet north western Atlantic coast of Spain.  Hanging off the edge of Spain, Padriñán is south of Santiago de Compostela and not so far across the border with Portugal from Porto.

Made from 100% Albariño grapes off 50+ year old vines on a south facing slope overlooking Sanxenxo harbour, this wine is a real stunner.  Albariño is the Galician name for this grape that also goes by Alvarinho or Caino Branco in Portugal.

Pale lemon with light legs, the nose is full of intense ripe peach and apricot, Meyer lemon and almond with salt.  It’s very stony and the bright fruit plays mind tricks on you, making you think it will be sweet.

But, while the palate is fruity, the wine is dry with medium plus acidity and medium minus alcohol.  The flavours include more citrus pith and peach, apricot and sea salt with almond, yet it’s not bitter in the slightest.

WSET Very Good – a really lovely, deliciously fruity wine but with accompanying acidity and sharp minerality, excellent with fresh pan-seared halibut with lemon and wild rice.  Made to drink and enjoy now; do not lay down.

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Podere Brizio, Riserva, Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Italia, 2006, 14.5% abv, C$120

Posted on April 15, 2015 by winellama

podereThis 100% Sangiovese is made by Roberto Bellini and Patrizia Mazzi.  They had originally owned a lot of land in Montalcino (the larger Pieve di Santa Restituta estate) and then sold all of it except for 9 ha to Angelo Gaja in 2010.

The 9 ha they kept for their own production hosts the superior Podere Brizio site and produces this Riserva (as well as a Brunello and a Rosso).

A medium garnet tone with deep legs, this wine has a seriously intense bouquet of dried dark fruit, anise, cinnamon, herbs and raw vanilla bean.

Dry with medium plus acidity, ripe tannins with grip and medium plus alcohol, there’s a sherry-like quality to this wine.  The flavours are elegant, but at the same time intensely masculine – black cherries, overripe strawberry, dried blackberry fruit leather and plum, saddle, clove spice, licorice fern and careful oak.

The finish is lengthy on this WSET Very Good + wine.  Drink now or rest for a good 10 years more until 2025.

93 Points – Antonio Galloni – “brilliantly nuanced”
95 Points – Wine Enthusiast
90 Points – Wine Spectator
92 Points – Wine Advocate

Posted in Italy, RED, Sangiovese | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Bodegas Valgrande, Rincón de Navas, Riserva, Rioja Alta, Rioja DOC, Spain, 1995, 12% abv.

Posted on April 13, 2015 by winellama

Ricon 1This Rioja classic is connected to the Valduero family who also own bodegas in Ribero del Duero and Toro.

The cork was perfect – a happy surprise to find on a 20 year old wine.  The Rincón has a translucent shade of ruby red complimented by a copper tint and aromas of deep, black Byng about-to-burst their skins cherry with dry tobacco leaf and crushed herbs.  Distinct cigar developed over the course of the evening.

The palate is dry, the alcohol completely integrated and the tannins ripe and silky.  Medium plus flavours included more black cherry with Damson plum, bramble and dark fig with some leather strap, cocoa nib and a little fennel.

This is well balanced and elegant, quite delicate and slender – a perfectly married 20 year old example of Rioja riserva.   Drink now – don’t delay or lay down any longer.

WSET Very Good +.

The Rincón de Navas stood up to our evening, never faded and complimented Marta’s earthy risotto made with porcini  mushroom, spicy sausage and pecorino crotonese cheese beautifully.  Those silky smooth tannins were woken up by the fat in the risotto.  Thanks for sharing, Marta!

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Les Sentius, Celler Joan Simó, Porrera, Priorat DOQ, Spain, 2009, 15.5% abv, 11 Euros

Posted on April 8, 2015 by winellama

This version of the Priorat comes from the Porrera celler of Joan Simó (the joan simo porrera cellerceller complete with wall-mounted sundial is left), but was given to me by a UK wine buyer who was at Hotel-Hostal Sport in Falset when we ate dinner there.

As he was leaving, Dave Canadas dropped by our table and bequeathed me three nearly fully bottles of red Priorat he’d been tasting.  The wine geek in me had to do a blind tasting on each back at our hotel.

Older than the Viatge al Priorat but produced by the same winemaker and celler, this is made from 50% Garnaxa, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah, 15% Samsó and 5% Merlot and is a medium plus ruby tinged with garnet.

It’s youthful with medium plus aromas of raisin, herbal licorice fern, blackberry, black currant and crushed rock.les sentius

The palate is dry but offers a slightly sweet profile with medium plus acidity and bracing, ripe tannins.  The alcohol is very high and it shows medium plus flavours of black currant, blackberry, black cherry with herbs, plenty of ‘new road’ tar that dominates the fruit, soy sauce and Dutch licorice.

With an average finish, this wine is WSET Good.

 

Posted in Cabernet Sauvignon / Blends, Grenache / Garnacha, Merlot, OTHER, RED, Samsó, Shiraz / Syrah | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Riesling, Spätlese, Bünchen, Mosel (Saar), Germany 2011, 9.5% abv.

Posted on April 4, 2015 by winellama

bunchen 1As Keith quipped, ‘Doesn’t Bünchen mean brunchin’ in English?”  You can’t argue with a great breakfast wine.

Spätlese literally means ‘late harvest’ – and this one is a sweet version (they can also be dry).  It’s a delicious and beautifully made wine made from Riesling, one of the greatest grapes around.

Medium lemon with light legs, this wine is medium sweet and has refreshing (but not piercing), high acidity which balances the sugar to create this tasty drink.  The alcohol is low which makes it great for a brunch or lunch and the residual sugar brings to mind a menu that could include waffles and maple syrup, fresh fruit salad or sharp cheeses (we tried it most successfully with Edam and Cambozola).

The aromas are full on pear, Granny Smith apple, honey and orange oil with the perfect amount of petrol.  Medium plus flavours include more stone fruit, green and yellow apples, honey dew melon, crushed rocks and that faint diesel kick.  The body is a rounded medium plus that is very satisfying either on its own or accompanied by food.

Refreshing, balanced, delicious – this is WSET Good + wine.  Get some for your next breakfast party or Thai food order.

Posted in Germany, OTHER, Riesling, WHITE | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments