2007 A.J. Adam Riesling Kabinett

Back in June I met fellow blogger Lyle Fass in New York City for a wine exchange - I passed him bottles of Donnhoff's Weissburgunder "S" and Grauburgunder "S", and he gave me a bottle of Marcillac and tonight's wine, the 2007 A.J. Adam Riesling Kabinett. A hint of flowers on the nose when first poured, revealing notes of honeyed limes, apricot, quince and wet stones as it warmed. A textbook palate: soft and slightly off dry, with a limey, tangy texture, a subtle effervescence, good acid and fine minerality. Simple but incredibly well-balanced, polished, and flavourful.
Score: 17/20
Price: barter

Lyle pitched this as a great value and from the prices I can find on the web I would agree - many thanks!

"Synchronized Tasting": 2006 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier

One of my best wine buddies is, in fact, a person I have never met. You see, Edward finds as much joy in the exploration of wine as he does in the tasting, and when you combine that with a love of back yard wine bottle photography, well, that's kinship. Unfortunately, Ed lives approx. 18,000 kilometres from Montreal, which makes a vinous "get together" nearly impossible. Recognizing that North America, the Pacific and the Australian continent separate our respective cellars, we agreed to the next best thing - a "synchronized tasting", opening one of Australia's finer bottles of precious liquid. Well, neither distance nor a 12-hour time zone difference could stand in the way of this e-meeting of great palates...

This evening Ed unscrewed the cap and I popped the cork on a bottle of the 2006 Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier (Canberra District). With the eyes of the world watching, I decided to record my notes in the order that they arrived on paper...

t=0: The cork had a clean, clearly delineated purpley ring and smelled of cloves, some floral notes as well - beguiling...

t=1 min: As I poured this wine into the decanter I buried my nose in there (do not try this at home), smelling brie cheese, ivy and garden herbs (basil, oregano) - intriguing...

t=30 min: Light ruby red in the glass. Still cool from the cellar toasty new oak dominates on the nose, continued brie cheese. I couldn't wait any longer so I just dove in for a taste...I love the texture of a wine, and the first sensation was just how very smooth this wine was...medium-bodied, crisp and spicy, not showing the heat that some Barossas give off as they push 15% alcohol. I see an hommage a Cote-Rotie...

t=60 min: With the rising temperature and a dash of oxygen the nose explodes in aroma: liquorice, wet coffee grounds, white flowers, black cherry, truffles...

Overall impression: Incredibly soft, polished and balanced with silky tannins, fine acidity and a joyous nose. Don't let that softness fool you - rolling this juice across the palate reveals an edge that tells me more time in the cellar will be rewarding. Easy to love, probably the nicest Shiraz/Viognier I can recall (and that includes the Cote-Roties I have had).
cork. 14% alcohol
Score: 18/20
Price: C$72 (SAQ)

A couple of things: (1) I did not see Ed's score before I recorded mine (Ed kindly switched back to the 20-point system for me), and (2) The screwcap! Now why the heck do the Aussies ship it locally under screw top and overseas under cork? Surely the shipping hazzards are greater for thirsty Northern Hemisphere types? Perhaps it is hard to convince a Canuck to part with $70 if there is a screw cap involved...(guilty) 

PS - Some would call it suicide to go mano-a-mano with Ed's pen and camera, so I gave him a head start, ensuring that I would finish last and thus (hopefully) avoid the inevitable head-to-head comparisons...

Cheers Ed!

Marcus Goes Portuguese

Bachelor-guy Marcus seems to like my kids. I don't know why, but he was comfortable enough with my young family to invite the whole lot of us over to his place for an evening of fireworks, fine food, and Portuguese wine. Unfortunately a rainstorm negatively impacted the viewing of the fireworks from his patio, but the food and wine were excellent.

Marcus whet our appetites with the 2005 Alves de Sousa Branco da Gaivosa, a Portuguese white blend of Malvasia Fina, Gouveio, Viosinho and other old grape varieties from Portugal's famed Duoro region. Pear, with some white flower notes, rather simple on the nose. Round and luscious on the palate with modest acid and a hint of oak, some nice bitterness. Simple, but refreshing, worked well with a nice cheese platter.
cork. 13% alcohol
Score: 16/20
Price: C$18.90 (SAQ)

For dinner Marcus paired a few Portuguese reds with a grilled pork tenderloin.

On our left was the 2003 Herdade do Peso Colheita (Alentejo), a wine fashioned from the local Aragones and Alfrocheiro varietals. Leathery grape skins on the nose, minty blackberry jam, some greenness and spicy black pepper notes as well. Smooth and refined on the palate with light, fresh cherries, velvety tannins and good persistency, this was a great little bottle (and my wife's favourite).
cork. 14% alcohol
Score: 17/20
Price: C$21.05

The best wine of the evening, in my opinion, was the 2003 Quinta dos Roques Reserva from Portugal's Dao region, a blend of Touriga Nacional, some Tinta Roriz, Tinta Cao, and other local varieties. Crisp cherries, leather, woodsy tannins, and spicy cloves on the nose, it really impressed on the palate, with fresher and crisper with velvety tannins, beautifully balanced. Not a long finish, this is a wine to drink now. Best pairing with the pork tenderloin.
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 17.5/20
Price: C$32 (SAQ)

The third wine of the evening was a wine from the Ribatejano appellation, a first for me. The 2004 Tercius (a blend of Castelão, Alicante Bouchet, Trincadeira and Aragones), sported a jammy nose of spicy black cherry fruit, some vanilla, smoke and mustiness as well. Thin cherry fruit on the palate, it was flavourful and balanced but intellectually flat. Drink now.
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 16/20
Price: C$18.25 (SAQ)

I rarely, if ever, buy Portuguese wine, so many hanks to Marcus for hosting this and bringing me outside of my shell. A little less rain and the fireworks would have been perfect as well!

2004 Domaine du Cros "Cuvee Vielles Vignes"

I skipped over the French appellation of Marcillac in my review of South West France due to limited availability - the SAQ site lists just two wines in the whole province. But this Marcillac comes via NYC, as I recently hooked up with Lyle Fass of Rockss and Fruit for a "wine exchange" - two German whites from Montreal in exchange for whatever Lyle thought I might like.

Marcillac is a small appellation that lies east of Cahors. The appellation is dominated by red wine, and these wines much contain at least 80% of the local variety Fer Servadou (aka Mansois, Braucol). 

The 2004 Domaine du Cros "Cuvee Vielles Vignes" exhibited a vegetal nose, with white pepper, blackberry fruit, meat, old leather, damp forest undergrowth and tarry/smokey aromas as well. Extremely impressive on the palate - beautifully textured with a soft, velvety mouthfeel and good acidity, an incredibly long finish. Lyle referred to this wine as "refined rusticity" and I heartily agree, but my wife simply exclaimed "Mmm, I like that!" - no better compliment that that. I highly recommend this wine to lovers of Loire reds. A wine to buy by the case, I wish I had a few more bottles...
cork. 12.5% alcohol
Score: 17/20
Price: gift

Check Lyle's review here, many thanks for this one.

A New York Minute with Brooklynguy, Rockss

Source: Wikipedia

Once again Neil (Brooklynguy) played the gracious host, this time welcoming Joe to his house in Brooklyn. With only 90 minutes to share a drink we had to work fast, competing with BrooklynBabyGirl who was trying to snitch our glasses for a quick olfactory evaluation (adding notes of banana and yogurt for our enjoyment...)

Noting the limited selections of Beaujolais on my site, Neil started with the 2005 Louis-Claude Desvignes Morgon Javernières Côte-de-Py, a wine from one of Beaujolais' top appellations. On its second day this beauty exhibited a nose of earthy flowers and a hint of candy strawberry, a palate of velvety tannins, mineraliness (like mineral water), crisp acidity and tremendous length. Much too young, I would love to get a hold of a few bottles and stick them away. This impressive yet subtle wine may be the best bojo I have ever tasted - a tremendous value as well.

cork. 13% alcohol
Score: 17.5/20

While great bojo is rare enough for Joe, Neil topped that with a 2002 Francois Cazin Cour-Cheverny Cuvée Renaissance, a wine made from the very rare Romorantin grape. A deep golden hue in the glass with pleasing notes of lemon, honey, yeast and noble rot, it really impressed on the palate - softly textured with juicy lemon and minerals, everything in near- perfect balance. Slightly off dry, it made me think of Alsace for some reason, Alsace pinot gris perhaps (but it has been so long). Nice to sip, but it would have been even better with a nice plate of scallops, perhaps? Another great value.
cork. 13% alcohol
Score 16.5/20

So, some great wine, a neat trip to Brooklyn and an opportunity to meet Brooklynguy, BrooklynLady, and the very charming BrooklynBabyGirl (who is not really a baby anymore) - I look forward to hosting all of you up here this fall.

While brief, I should also mention a few minutes chatting with Lyle of Rockss and Fruit. This was actually a wine swap, the result of my Donnhoff Weissburgunder/Grauburgunder post in April. Lyle commented that those were difficult to find, so I agreed to deliver a bottle of each on my next trip to NYC. In return Lyle spotted me a German riesling and a Marcillac, wines he has recommended on his site. I am looking forward to both of those Lyle - many thanks.

Marcus and Joe vs. '05 Champys

The fourth (1,2,3) joint effort between fellow Montreal blogger Marcus and I was an '05 Champy night. Maison Champy is the oldest 'négociant' in Burgundy, producing dozens of wines from vineyards across the region. Thus, with some careful shopping, you can put together a real comparison of various terroirs, which is what Marcus and succeeded in an "open-label" comparison.

The 2005 Champy Gevrey-Chambertin "Vielles Vignes" was the tortoise of the night, starting a bit dull. Musty, muted at first, with air it opened up to reveal damp earth and woodsy notes, leather and flint, and a lovely underlying meatiness. Poised, with soft and generous fruit, velvety tannins and good crisp acid all in balance. Heftier than the Savigny, but simpler on the nose, I think we're going to see a better score after a few more years in the cellar. I am beginning to associate the softness on the palate and the meatiness with the Cote de Nuits.
cork. 13% alcohol
Score: 17+/20
Price: C$41.25 (SAQ)

The 2005 Champy Savigny-les-Beaune 'Aux Fourches' had an enticing and complex nose, starting mushroomy and earthy, then strawberry cream, oak and rose petal, some spiciness. Tangy, even edgey, on the palate with some mineraliness (something I find in other Cote de Beaune wines as well), it was perhaps a bit less balanced than the G-C above, but I found it more interesting. Tonight we call it a tie.
cork. 13% alcohol
Score: 17/20
Price: C$29.70 (LCBO)

The 2005 Champy Chorey-les-Beaune was not a bad wine, but so much thinner and less complex - flint and oak on the nose, smooth and earthy on the palate, with wet stones and decent fruit. Simple, satisfying, but not like the others. Drink now.
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 15.5/20
Price: C$25.50 (SAQ)

Two more comments - first, despite the fact that I had dinner before I arrived Marcus prepared an excellent spread of cheeses, vegetable couscous, sauteed mushrooms and other delicious stuff to pair with our wines - the dishes worked perfectly. Second, there actually was a fourth wine, but it was so cheap and so Romanian that I have to save it for a separate post...

Many thanks, Marcus! (Marcus' tasting notes and more photos on Facebook)