Blog #17 A Delicious Ribera del Jucar

Spain can make some really incredible wine there is no doubt about it. In the past I think producers were accused of leaving their wines far too long in oak and to have outdated wine making practices. Luckily for us wine consumers Spanish wine has been having a renaissance and now produce some of the world's greatest wines, yet the prices have hardly caught up. Most wine from Spain is really undervalued and although you still run into an oaky mess of a wine here and there when Spanish wines are on they are really on.

This wine made by Elvi is one of those really delicious Spanish examples with really interesting and tasty notes. I find the more you drink wine the more difficult it is to be impressed by a bottle, but this wine is great and I really was impressed. It comes from the youngest D.O in Spain (officially recognized in 2003) the Ribera del Jucar which is part of the Castile-La Mancha region of central Spain. It has 9,100 Ha of vineyards that sit 650-750 metres above sea level the soils of which are composed of argillaceous chalk which is covered by small stones and pebbles from the Jucar river. It has a Meditteranan continental climate of hot and dry summers and cool winters. The main grape varieties of the region are Tempranillo and Bobal, both of which feature in this wine.

Elvi wines is a family owned winery quite new on the scene and was only began in 2002. They focus on making high quality Kosher wines using international and indigenous varietals. They are an ultra modern winery using their own innovative technology known as RavNet which can be read about on their website. They represent a modern quality oriented producer who use modern wine making technology to its fullest.

Elvi Wines- Ness - 2007 - Ribera del Jucar - Spain

This wine is composed of 39% Merlot, 32% Bobal, 25% Tempranillo and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel where the juice is slowly removed from skin contact using a gentle pump where the juice is drained into an oak barrel. Once in oak the wine is still pumped a few minutes each day until 3 weeks before bottling when this ends. The wines are not filtered nor clarified and like all wines made by Elvi are Kosher.

Ruby red in colour with a purple tinge. The nose is just great and really interesting. Lovely notes of ripe raspberry, cedar, juicy blackberry, and subtle spice mingle together in an interesting and beautiful way. In the mouth the wine is medium bodied and begins with ripe juicy sweet red fruits that are really tasty, by the mid palate the well integrated tannins come to the fore with some earthiness that balance out the sweet red fruit. The finish is a nice and subtle mingling of sweet fruit and earth. This is a really delicious hedonistic style of wine that tastes and smells great and is quite interesting. The nose especially is unique and beautiful. It went extremely well with the lamb stew Becky made tonight, a recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. All in all I would definitely buy this again and I think this has some aging potential. Very Good +

Blog #16 Eastern European Value

Many people do not think about Eastern European countries when they think of wine, but I think this will be changing over the next few years. Most countries in the region have been growing grapes for thousands of years and if it was not for communism and very poor agricultural policies many, I think, would have vibrant wine industries. Now 20 years after the collapse of the USSR many of these countries I starting to find their way and are producing some really great value wine.

Most of these countries have really just started to make quality wine so they definitely do not make absolute stunning examples, but I have found they can represent a real bargain for good quality solid wine. This is especially true for true to type international varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon. These countries do have many indigenous grapes, but they are difficult to find and have yet to fully realize their full potential.

I would encourage wine fans to give these countries a chance, the prices are very good and are worth discovering. The two wines I have written reviews for here are from Bulgaria and Romania. Both with very impressive not only because of their price, but also because you would never think that these countries could do so well with these grapes. So explore places such as Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic you will likely get your money's worth.

Domaine Boyar - Blueridge XR - Cabernet Sauvignon - 2006 - Bulgaria

Domaine Boyar is Bulgaria's first private wine producer and a leader in developing the wine industry within the country. It is now a huge company with shareholders in France and the United States. Unfortunately the English version of their website is not working so the actual information as to how this wine was made is not available, if I can find any more I will post it.

Dark red with a plum red rim. A nice classic Cab nose of dark berries, cassis, cedar, and a pronounced cocoa note. It is medium bodied in the mouth with replays of berries and cocoa. It has drying tannins on the mid-palate and finished light and pleasant with a short bitter berry finish. This wine is very well made and very drinkable. I loved the classic Cab nose, but this wine is much lighter than your traditional Cabernet Sauvignon making it much more easy going and approachable than many renditions. Very well made and real quality for the price and any Cab lover's who want to try a lighter version would really enjoy this. Great value. Very Good.

Chateau Sarati - Pinot Noir - 2005 - Dealu Mare (AOC) - Romania

This wine from Chateau Sarati made by Stephane Montariol and Pierre Degroote is grown on a 175 Ha south-east facing vineyard composed of marl-limestone and is rich in iron deposits in the Dealu Mare of Romania. The wine is harvested by hand and eighty percent of it is aged in French oak barrels for 5-6 months. This wine is only 1 of two the estate makes the other being a Merlot. The winery is known to be committed to organic and sustainable agriculture

Dark ruby red in colour, quite dark for a Pinot. Very subtle nose with notes of ripe red cherry spice and earth. It is smooth round medium bodied in the mouth with notes of juicy sour cherry, hints of earth and sweet fruit core. It is finishes nicely with notes of spice and sweet red fruits. This is really quite impressive for the price. It tastes like a Pinot Noir, which is saying a lot at this price range and has some earthy interest to it as well. It actually drinks better on the second day and really shows off its spicy sour cherry core which is surrounded by earthiness. This will not astound you, but for the price it is a great value well made wine. Good+

Blog #15 Blog Tasting - A Montagny

Sorry I have not posted in the past couple of weeks I was away last week and have really not had much of a chance to blog. That will soon be changing as beginning next week I will have much more opportunity to write with a nice change in the job schedule. So anyway I thought it would be fun tonight to blog as I taste. What I usually do is taste make my notes then a few days later actually write about the wine, but tonight I am going to just write as I am tasting to see if this changes how I describe and write about a wine.

So tonight, for Valentine's Day we are having a pork roast with a mushroom sauce, couscous, and corn. The roast is smelling lovely, but I will taste the wine now then have it with the meal. Tonight we are drinking a wine from Montagny which is in the Cote Chalonnaise in Southern Burgundy. It is 100% Chardonnay and sourced from the 1er Cru vineyard Les Chaniots from the 2007 vintage. The wine is produced by the Vignerons de Buxy, which is a winegrower collective made up of 120 growers in the region.

Vignerons de Buxy - Montagny - 1er Cru Les Chaniots- 2007 - Cote Chalonnais - Burgundy - France

This wine as I stated before is 100% Chardonnay grown in the Les Chaniots vineyard in Montagny. The vineyard is on a hillside above the villages of Jully les Buxy and Saint Vallerin it faces East South-East. The soil of the vineyard is comprised of limestone and calcerious clay. The wine was aged for 12-14 months in oak barrels.

Pale yellow with touches of gold in colour. Definite first impression of ripe apples, some apricot, spice like clove, with a really pretty mineral depth. The nose actually has some nice complexity and smells quite lovely. I really like the fresh mineral type background and how it intermixes with those apple, apricot aromas. Smooth medium bodied in the mouth flavours of apple spice and minerals all nicely framed by a good stream of acidity. Finishes fresh with just subtle lingering notes.

With a little bit of air the nose is taking on more notes of floral blossoms which nicely compliments the other aromas. Nice structure and balance it is definitely well made Chardonnay. The oak is definitely well integrated and well used. It is also taking on a longer finish with what tastes like baked apple. I like it its quite nice stuff. The acidity is actually really refreshing. The wine really complimented the meal, the structure and balance are so food friendly it just added little touches to round the whole meal out. So overall I like this wine its a nicely structured light on its feet Chardonnay. It has a nice level of complexity it's quite good. It certainly doesn't blow me away, but is a solid wine. The plan is to revisit this wine in a couple of days to see how it opens up I will post the notes when I taste it then. So as for right now I'd say Good/Very Good.

I tasted this wine again after 48 hours. The nose displayed light apple, mineral, apple blossoms and a bit of nutty depth. On the palate it is still nice an light showing a lot of purity with a new dimension of spicy earthy depth that cuts into the palate. Overall this is a pure and stylish wine I would have to bump up my overall rating to a Very Good.

Blog #14 Riesling: It's The Contradictions That Make It Great

Last weekend I tasted 3 very different, but very interesting Rieslings and it really illustrated to me the point that it is some of Riesling's self contradictions that make it so good. Now I adore Riesling, for whatever reason I have not mentioned this point on my blog thus far, but in all honesty it certainly ranks as one of my favourite grapes without a doubt. There is something very special about good Riesling; it's ability to really express terroir, it's amazing acidity, it's massive diversity of styles, to name a few. But, what really struck me last weekend is the fact that Riesling makes wines that have contradictions and I think that is what makes them so good.

First, good Riesling has an incredible ability to have that bit of lovely sweetness, but remains so refreshing and crisp due to its awesome acidity. In good examples this creates a fascinating tension where at points the sweetness imposes itself then the refreshing acidity. Secondly, Riesling often possesses this strange ability to very creamy and full bodied in the mouth, yet come of as elegant and full of finesse. Again this has much to do with that interplay between sweetness and acidity. Finally, Riesling often takes on very strange notes that sound off putting, but are actually amazingly addictive (i.e. notes of petrol and kerosine). All off these points are rather self contradictory, but this is what makes Riesling such an amazing grape. Each of the wines I tasted over the weekend possesed one or more of these self contradictory qualities, and all were quite enjoyable for very different reasons. Hopefully my tasting notes will better illustrate my point in this blog.

Huff Estates - Off Dry Riesling - 2008 - VQA Ontario (Prince Edward County) - Canada

Unfortunately there is not much information specifically about this wine, but I will be visiting Huff Estates in March so I will post more after my visit. I can tell you that they have 45 acres planted to vine composed of three different vineyards. The vines are planted on Prince Edward County clay/loam soils on limestone bedrock. The winery is "committed to producing wines that will express the finest in terroir from Prince Edward County." This wine was made by French winemaker Frederic Picard who has professional certification in Agriculture Management and Viticulture Oenology as well as an M.A. in Business and Finance. He has made wine in France, Italy, Chile, and South Africa.

The wine is quite pale with a slight yellow tinge. Subtle notes of petrol, lemon and lime citrus, candied fruit, and something akin to those mint butterscotch candies. The wine is absolutely great in the mouth with complex flavours of lemon meringue, citrus fruits, apple, apricot and a lovely touch of sweetness. All of this is balanced by laser like acidity that cuts through the palate. It is medium- full bodied with a nice creamy mouth feel, but the acidity makes this wine feel light and refreshing at the same time. This is really great stuff and definitely my style of Riesling, a real classic expression. With air more the fruit notes become more pronounced and the whole nose is more floral overall with the mouth flavours and textures remaining so good. You could criticize this wine for not really expressing its terrior, but this really is delicious. Excellent.

Thirty Bench - Riesling - 2006 - VQA Beamsville Bench- Niagara Penninsula - Ontario - Canada

Thirty Bench has pretty much made a name for itself for being on of Ontario's Riesling specialists. They are especially known for their three single vineyard Rieslings (Steel Post Vineyard, Triangle Vineyard, and Wood Post Vineyard) I have not tried these single vineyard offerings yet, but would very much like to in the future. This specific wine was hand picked and sourced from their three single vineyards mentioned above, it was then cool fermented in stainless steel and bottled afterwards.The soils of the Beamsville Bench are composed of gravel, sand, silt, and clay with a mix of shale, sandstone, and dolomitic limestone. The wine was made by Thirty Bench's current winemaker Natalie Reynolds who is a graduate of the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute.

The wine is pale yellow gold in colour. The nose has notes of petrol, stone fruit, sour white cranberry, and a bit of urine. In the mouth there is a lot of sweet citrus fruits, stone fruits, lime and broad minerality. The wine has a strong acid backbone which keeps everything very fresh and the finish is dominated by fresh mineral notes. The sour notes are bit off putting. With air the sour notes drop a bit and it takes on a more mature petrol dominated nose with citrus fruits and more interesting mineral notes. Overall, however, it seems that this wine is still at an awkward stage in its development where it hasn't taken on all of its mature notes and flavours. If this does come together it could potentially be very good. Good+

Balbach - Nierstein Pattenthal - Riesling Kabinett - 2008 - QmP Rheinhessen - Germany (Fritz Hasselbach- Gunderloch Estate)

The Balbach estate was owned by the Balbach family since the early 1600s, but was taken over in 1996 by Fritz Hasselbach and his team of the hugely famous Gunderloch estate in the Rheinhessen. Hasselbach and co. are known for hand cultivation, harvesting and low yields. They use gentle crushing without destemming and gravity flow to vats where a slow temperature controlled fermentation process. The wines do not undergo any malolactic fermentation. This wine is sourced from the Pattenthal vineyard which is steeply sloped to face toward the Rhine river, which is directly adjacent to it and has a soil composition of clay and slate. According to Eckhard Supp it is one of the top 7 single vineyard sites in the Rheinhessen.

Very pale yellow in colour this wine possesses a lovely floral garden nose. Notes of faint lilac, lavender, fresh flowers and a hint of green rise from the glass conjuring up what a spring meadow would smell like this is further complicated by notes of citrus fruit. In the mouth the wine is so creamy rich feeling with flavours of sweet pit fruits and creamy sweetness which is all balanced right out by a lovely acidic backbone adding nice tension. It has nectar like qualities, in a very good way. I haven't had any other wines from the Pattenthal vineyard, but this seems to be a nice expression of it, it is too unique not to have been influenced by its terrior. The wine is extremely delicate and full of finesse with a beautiful lingering finish. This wine is just purely beautiful stuff really elegant, love it. Excellent.

Blog #13 A Californian Cab

I do not usually drink wines from California not because I do not think they can make outstanding wine (which they most certainly can) but mainly because I find them to be a bit overpriced for what you get. I mean there isn't much under $17 and there is always the worry that you'll pay $20+ and get a fruity mess of a wine. Nonetheless this bottle in particular was a gift and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The wine itself is not very complex but this is more than made up for by the fact that it is just purely delicious. In fact it is hard to think of anyone who would not like this wine, even the most hardened non-wine drinker would say that this is some tasty stuff. I would put this on the top of my list to take to any dinner party or gathering where I wanted to bring wine and please everyone.

Clos LaChance is an interesting family owned and operated winery founded in 1992. Although owners Bill and Brenda Murphy has been growing grapes in their backyard since 1987. The winery produces wines from their own estate grown fruit which is loacted on 150 acres in San Martin, California. In all the grow roughly 20 different varietals made up of 60 different clones. They are committed to vineyard sustainability and sustainable farming practices and are one of the most modern wineries around. They have installed a computerized vineyard maintenance and data recording system which includes soil and leaf sensors, weather stations, as well as automated irrigation. All of the wines are produced by winemaker Stephen Tebb.

Clos LaChance - Ruby Throated Hummingbird - Cabernet Sauvignon - 2006 - Central Coast - Califorinia - USA

Calling this wine a Cabernet Sauvignon as the label does is a bit of a misnomer as it contains a whole smattering of Bordeaux varietels. It is composed of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon 16% Merlot 3% Malbec 2% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Sourced entirely from estate grown fruit the grapes were hand picked and sorted. The grapes were completely destemmed and cold soaked for 24-48hrs in open/closed topped stainless steel fermenters. The wine was then completely fermented in stainless steel with inoculation and pumping over occurring twice a day except when fermentation reached its peak where this number was increased to 4 times a day. Post fermentation the wine was left to settle for 48 hours then racked into barrels which consisted of 20% new French oak and 10% new American oak. The wine was then aged for 12 months in oak then bottled.

The wine is attractive purple in colour with a ruby red rim. The nose is quite pretty showing tons of ripe red fruit, blueberries, blackberries, sweet vanilla, toast, plum, and clove. In the mouth the wine is ripe round and delicious with waves of smooth ripe red fruits, plums, and berries cascading the palate. As sweetly fruited as this wine is it remains nicely balanced and clean with no jamminess whatsoever. The wine finishes with pretty sweet fruit notes. The wine is not overly complex, but absolutely delicious. It is just so ripe, so round and so tasty. Really yummy stuff. Very Good.

Blog #12 Try Chenin Blanc from the Loire

I really think all wine drinkers should pay more attention to Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley. I wrote about a fantastic sparkling wine from Vouvray made from Chenin Blanc and tonight I am posting about a lovely wine from Saumur also made of Chenin. Both these wines have convinced me that we really need to start paying more attention to this excellent grape and the Loire Valley in general. For whatever reason Chenin Blanc has fallen to the wayside in our wine minds trumped by oceans of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc (Loire's biggest white grape), and Riesling. It may have something to do with the fact that if Chenin Blanc is not grown in the right place it usually makes wines that are utterly bland and neutral. I am thinking of some examples from South Africa and Argentina.

The Loire Valley has been making outstanding wines for a long time, yet it has largely been forgotten about. Aside from it's two most popular regions Pouilly Fume and Sancerre where Sauvignon Blanc reigns, the rest of the region remains under appreciated. I am thinking of regions like Chinon (home to Cabernet Franc), Vouvray, Saumur, and Savennieres (home to Chenin Blanc) and Muscadet Sevre & Maine (home to Melon de Bourgogne), just to name a few. All of Loire's regions are well worth discovering , the quality is extremely high, there is a multitude of characterful and interesting wines, not to mention the fact that prices are extremely good. For example, of the greatest wines of the region Nicolas Joly's Coulee de Serrant widely considered by critics to be one of the top white wines in the world retails for roughly $100 CDN. Compared to classified growth Bordeaux, cru Burgundy, or flagship wines from Australia this is really quite cheap.

I realize that I have gone a bit off topic by focusing more on the Loire Valley itself rather than Chenin Blanc from the Loire, so I will refocus. Chenin Blanc is absolutely wonderful especially from its home, the Loire Valley. It seems to exhibit the perfect balance between fruit and acidity while remaining rich and opulent resulting in absolutely beguiling wines. Furthermore, the grape is so versatile making outstanding sparkling wines, bone dry versions, off dry beauties and unctuous dessert wines. In this regard it is really only matched by Riesling for pure versatility. The wonderful thing about Chenin from the Loire is that the wines are a fairly low prices, but all show a ton of character and interest. I would highly recommend trying anything from Vouvray, Saumur, or Savennieres all of which use pretty much exclusively Chenin Blanc. There is no doubt in my mind that you will be very impressed.

The wine I am blogging about tonight is from Saumur and at $12.95 makes a great case for the fact that you do not have spend a great deal of money for fascinating, individual, and characterful wine. The next time you have a $12 - $15 bottle of Chardonnay, Riesling, or Sauvignon Blanc in your hand put it down and look to Chenin Blanc from the Loire. Try something different and be impressed.

Domaine de la Seigneurie des Tourelles - Saumur Blanc - 2008 - Loire Valley - France (Joseph Verdier)

This wine is produced by the large Joseph Verdier wine trading company based out of the Loire Valley. This company owns a ton of wineries throughout the Valley from Chinon to Vouvray. There is not too much information available about this wine except that it is 100% Chenin Blanc grown in chalky tufa soil.

The wine is an attractive golden yellow colour. The nose is absolutely gorgeous with notes of candied tropical fruit, sweet melon, pear, quince with depths of what I can only describe as freshness. In the mouth the wine is just delicious, medium-full bodied, smooth and voluptuous with flavours of tropical fruit and lime with a great backbone of acidity. The wine finishes dry with a lovely balance and an interesting mineral note. It is the nose that really steals the show as it is pretty complicated and so lovely. It is not easily deconstructed as the notes of sweet fruits are always present, but there is a hidden mineral/earthy depth that I cannot quite put my finger on. Overall the wine is beautifully balanced and interesting. Very Good.

Blog # 11 Two Excellent Ontario Cabernet Franc's

I am really starting to think that Cabernet Franc is one of Ontario's best grapes. This is especially true when the producer is quality conscious, reduces yields, and is focused on terroir expression. Caberenet Franc is rarely bottled as a single varietal, with the only well known area known for doing so being the Chinon region of the Loire Valley in France, where it seems to have originated. Now Cab Franc is a key component in some of the world's greatest and most expensive wines in Bordeaux, but is largely forgotten about and overshadowed by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Interestingly enough, it has now been genetically proven that Cab Franc is actually one of the parent grapes of Cabernet Sauvignon, the other being Sauvignon Blanc. In Ontario I have found that it performs very well as a single varietal bottling, especially in hot and dry vintages like 2007.

The two wines I am blogging about tonight are both 100% Cabernet Franc's from Ontario's 2007 vintage, and both are just excellent and quite interesting. The first, is the wine I was most impressed with on my visit to The Grange of Prince Edward winery in October. I would have blogged about it earlier, but I was waiting to get some of information from winemaker Jeff Innes. The second wine is made by the Niagara College Teaching Winery, located in the Niagara Peninsula and is Canada's first and only teaching winery. Proceeds from wine sales dare directly invested into their winery studies programs, which is great. Both wines show how good Ontario Cabernet Franc can be and why I think it is one of the province's best grapes. In fact it would be interesting to put them up against some top Loire Cab Franc's in a blind tasting, I think they would do quite well.

The Grange of Prince Edward - Cabernet Franc - 2007 - VQA Prince Edward County- Ontario - Canada

The Grange of Prince Edward's 2007 Cabernet Franc is sourced exclusively from 5,000 vines (Clone 327 on 3309) planted in the estate's Northfield Vineyard. The soil of the vineyard according to winemaker Jeff Innes is known as Hiller clay with the bedrock being made up of limestone. The wine was fermented in stainless steel and then immediately transferred to French oak barrels from two different coopers. Here the wine underwent full malolactic fermentation and remained for roughly 12 months before it was course filtered and bottled. According to Mr. Innes the wine's prime drinking time will be within the next 3-5 years due to the young age of the vines (planted in 2003).

The wine is pale ruby red in colour. The nose is quite unique and very interesting with notes of cranberry, lemon, mulled spice, citrus red fruit, and a great Prince Edward County earthiness. In the mouth it is light to medium bodied and very smooth with replays of spice and red berries. Everything is perfectly balanced by the slightest touch of tannin. The finish has an awesome Prince Edward County terroir twist that is difficult to describe, but is so good. Overall this wine is a pure expression of Prince Edward County not to mention just lovely and delicious. It is only available at the winery, but is definitely worth the trip. Excellent.

Niagara College Teaching Winery - Cabernet Franc - 2007 - Donald J.P. Ziraldo Vineyard - VQA St. David's Bench - Niagara Peninsula - Ontario - Canada

I do not have as much information about this wine, but will share what I could gather. The wine was sourced exclusively from the wineries Donald J. P. Ziraldo vineyard located on the Niagara Peninsula's St. David's Bench. The Bench sits 105-150 m above sea level with a soil composition of silty clay and clay loam on top of a red sandstone bedrock. Although not specified by the winery based on the 2006's treatment the wine was likely fermented in stainless steel and aged in oak where it underwent malolactic fermentation. If anyone has more information about this wine please share it.

The wine is dark ruby red in colour. The nose is very pretty with notes of raspberry, cassis, cranberry, and spice. In the mouth it is very smooth and round with a ton of depth. Delicious flavour's of cola, cassis and cranberry are pretty much everywhere. This stuff is delicious, I mean really delicious and has so much depth in the mouth it is actually shocking. The wine finishes with a beautiful lingering cranberry spice note that is way longer than anyone would expect. Overall the wine smells and tastes so good, but it is the depth in the mouth and really long finish that I am really impressed with. I have to say it, wow! Great job Niagara College, this is very impressive stuff. Excellent, without a doubt.