Bonville Prestige Brut Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs

Sometimes you have to stop waiting for that "special occasion" and just open your bottle of bubbly! No special occasion tonight, just an opportunity to taste this tantalizing gift of grower champagne. The Bonville Prestige Brut Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs was a delightful detour from 'still' wines -yeasty, lemon drop and hints of caramel on the nose, a palate of fine mousse, toasty lemons and good minerality. Nice gift!
Cork. 12.5% alcohol
Score: 16.5/20
Gift

2004 Caparzo "Le Grance" Sant' Antimo

I was pleased to see that for this year's holiday bash more of our friends decided to bring wine. Not that gifts of wine weren't offered in the past, but I definitely sensed some apprehension as they all know I am a wine fanatic. What they don't know is that I always love to try something new, even if the wine doesn't work out...

Tonight's wine was an intriguing gift from my good friend Marcus - intriguing because Tuscan Chardonnay is not exactly commonplace, and Marcus has been carefully aging this Tuscan Chardonnay, the 2004 Caparzo "Le Grance" Sant' Antimo, for a few years. But Marcus' bold experiment was a good one - bright amber in hue, with a nose that screamed "breakfast!" - apple danish, to be exact - adding some oxidized floral and minerally notes, wet hay and caramel. A deceptively soft texture, yet stark and minerally, with flavours of oxidized bitters - a white in the vein of those from the south of France. It has aged well, but is now at its peak.
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 16.5/20
Gift

White Burgundy Blues

One thing that drives me crazy about my wine group is just how difficult it is to get them to sit down and taste white wines. After twisting their arms I finally got them to agree to a white wine evening and it was fabulous. Despite this, it has taken me two years to get the gang to agree to another white tasting and unfortunately this was less successful...

But it SHOULD have been a success - a bunch of winos with reasonable wine budgets were tasked to find some White Burgundies (my idea), but somewhere between idea and execution it flopped.

This was absolutely no fault of the host - Chris put on a tremendous spread of aquatic delicacies, so incredible that we saw very little of him that evening as he was continuously shuttling between the bbq and the table, serving up steamed fish and grilled seafood - truly stunning, over the top decadent, actually.

But the disappointment was the wine, a rarity in my group tastings. There were simply no "wow" moments, as wine after wine went from pretty good to ho-hum...

Interestingly, tonight's flight of wines included two of EXACTLY the same wine, and two of the same wine but different vintages - here are my notes:

The crowd favourite was Ash's 2005 Domaine Cordier Juliette la Grande from Pouilly-Fuise, definitely not the appellation I expected to win. Crisp apples, white flowers, pear and a hint of limes on the nose, flavourful and crisp, minerally and focused on the palate. Score: 17.5/20

Ok, so I threw in a non-Burgundy "surprise", and my 2005 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay ranked a surprising second place in this flight of pricey Burgundies. Woody, citrussy and a some cheesey notes, but absolutely impeccable on the palate, with acid, minerals and fruit in near perfect harmony. Great balance, a tremendous finish, this wine is sooo underpriced. Score: 18/20

Saving our tasters from embarrassment, the third and fourth place wines (brought by Cam and Chris) were in fact the same and scored nearly identically by most tasters. The 2006 Bouchard Pere et Fils Meursault "Le Porusot" was buttery apples, white flowers and a subtle "green-ness" on the nose, soft and creamy on the palate with good acidity, nearly perfect balance. This was the kind of wine I thought we'd see more of tonight. Score: 17/20

Sticking to the theme, my other wine was a Chablis. But my 2006 Moreau et Fils Chablis Grand Cru Vaudesir underperformed where I thought it would show. Citrus and flowers with some expected apple notes, incredibly finessed and well structured - firm, minerally, but with nice fruit and a very long finish. More controversial (scores all over the place), but my style of Chablis. Score: 17.5/20

Next was Pramod's 2003 Louis Jadot Meursault Genevrières - it started ok, with pretty caramel apples and green grass, but it was awkward and flat on the palate - tasty on another evening, but surrounded by too many great wines today. Score: 16.5/20

Interestingly, the last place wine was the 2002 Domaine Cordier Juliette la Grande, an older vintage of our first place wine. Very intriguing on the nose - almost Sauternes-like, with caramel and cooked fruit, dried apricots and floral notes. Unfortunately it had faded on the palate and was soft and unfocused - very different from the other wines. A wine that seemed past its prime, but it struck me as a wine that was probably VERY good in its prime. Score: 16/20

Personally, my disappointment was with the concentration of the wines amongst a few vineyards - I just don't feel like we captured the essence of white Burgundy today. But even more disappointing is the knowledge that it could be a VERY long time before I get the gang to agree to another white wine tasting.

A Sip of Long Island: Bedell Cellars

Long Island Wine is, for the most part, a local delicacy. With just 3000 acres under vine and an annual production of 500,000 cases you won't find much wine leaving the country, and it would probably be a rare wine shop that carried any sort of selection outside of New York and the neighbouring states.

But a wedding on Shelter Island put me a stone's throw away from Long Island's North Fork wineries. I regret to inform that this was NOT a wine tour - the wife and kids made sure of that - but I did have time for one stop, and local knowledge directed me to Bedell Cellars.

I coughed up 12$ for the "Premium" Flight, and this was how it went:

The 2007 Bedell Chardonnay Reserve was steel and oak aged - oaky, buttery, ripe red apple, with some wet stones, almost caramelly on the nose. Lighter bodied, tart and pleasing, short finish. 13% alcohol, Score: 16/20

The 2007 Bedell Gallery was an interesting blend of Chardonnay (69%), Sauvignon blanc (19%), and Viognier. Fleeting floral notes on the nose, probably from the viognier, but tangy citrussy and apricot aromas dominate, some toast. Terribly well balanced, and more flavourful than the Chardonnay, delicious spicy fruit... 13% alcohol, Score: 16.5/20

Long Island is famous for its Merlot (a grape getting a lot more play at Joe's house these days...), so I wasn't going to miss Bedell's red offerings:

The 2007 "Taste" Red was a blend of Merlot (56%), Cab Sauv (25%) and Syrah. Noticeably green and earthy at first, pretty violets, cedar and a hint of dark syrah berries on the nose. A spicy palate with tasty green tannins and gooseberries, a light- to medium-bodied everyday red. 13% alcohol, Score: 16/20

A whiff of the 2006 Bedell Reseve Merlot revealed smokey, dark earth, new leather, blackberries and vanilla, maybe some charcuterie - nicely done! Gritty, dark fruit, a good balance between fruit and acid, very Bordeaux like. This tastes too young - it has the acid, tannin and fruit to keep, I would age this one. 13% alcohol, Score: 17/20

The winery's signature offering was the 2006 Musée, predominantly Merlot (75%), but with some Cab Sauv (13%) and Petit Verdot blended in. Lovely aromas of green herbs, blackberries and roses, damp earth and crisp cherries, chalky... Soft and fruity on the palate, but with dense, velvety tannins, and a nice long finish. Lush, complex and very well balanced. 13% alcohol, Score 17.5/20

Overall, the offerings were very well done across the board, even those sips I had from my wife's flight of entry-level wines (the 2007 Merlot was particularly notable as a great value).

I would not dare make any generalizations about Long Island wine based on a 2 hour stop at a single winery, but I think I can say this - nearly every wine I tasted or saw in local shops was 1% to 1.5% lower in alcohol than their California bretheren. Perhaps it is climate, or a conscious effort to be "different" from their West Coast winemaking peers, but this observation and the wines that I tasted tell me that something different is going on in Long Island - and this "different" is more in line with the kind of wine I am seeking out these days...

PS - Congrats Rob (my Napa and Sonoma partner in crime) and Ellyn!

Burgundy Tasting: Bize and Grivot

My great friend Cosme invited me to a wine tasting at his favourite restaurant, Le Club Chasse et Pêche. Now this is a restaurant I have been dying to try, and with a flight of Burgundies from Domaine Simon Bize and Domaine Jean Grivot...how could I resist?

First, I am taking nothing away from the wine tonight when I say the real star of the night was the chef - the wines were excellent tonight, even outstanding on occasion, but those words cannot describe the mouthwatering delicacies served up this evening...

Oops, I almost got all foodie on you - back to the wine.

Upon arrival we were served the 2004 Domaine Bize Bourgogne Chardonnay - a beautiful nose of asparagus and almonds, mushrooms and grassy lemon peel, light bodied but with vibrant and sparkling minerality - very nice for this appellation (Score: 16.5/20).

Two 2004 Domaine Bize whites were served with the appetizers, the Bourgogne "Les Champlains" and the Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru "Aux Vergelesses". The "Les Champlains" showed creamy brioche, mint and yeast...light, minerally with a dash of limes on the palate (16.5/20). The Premier Cru "Aux Vergelesses" was a tremendous offering - flinty, butter, creme caramel and delicate cedary notes, with a flavourful and stylish mouthfeel - soft, yet crisp and minerally, fleshy and opulent, yet bitter and fresh...a reminder that I really need to drink more white burgundy (17.5/20).

The next three flights featured red burgundy. With a "Risotto au Canard" and some Foie Gras we tasted the 2003 Bize Savigny-les-Beaune 1er Cru "Aux Vergelesses" and the 2002 Domaine Grivot Vosne-Romanée. The "Aux Vergelesses" was quite aromatic, with cola and raspberries, woodsy, flinty...the fruit, acid and oak came together quite well on the palate - complex, but a touch edgy today (17/20). The first Grivot of the night (four more to come) was perfumed with pretty cloves, stoney wild berries, coffee and anise - silky tannins, raspberry fruit and a deceptively long finish finish, more subtle, more beautiful (17.5/20).

The "Travers de Porc" was served with Grivot's 1997 and 2000 Clos Vougeot. The 1997 Grivot Clos Vougeot was cola and baked cookies on the nose, some meatiness and a hint of spice - big velvety tannins and a tremendous finish, very earthy and surprisingly young. (17.5/20). The nose of the 2000 Grivot Clos Vougeot was subdued, some toffee and nutty notes - a palate of silky raspberry fruit, a pleasing minerality and a long finish (17/20).

Succulent "Kobe Américain" with mashed potatoes "truffee" was served with a 2003 Grivot Vosne-Romanée "Les Chaumes" and a 2002 Grivot Nuits-St-Georges "Roncière". The "Les Chaumes" was the standout for me tonight - fuller, richer and more complex than the other wines, a nose of meat, caramel and coffee, pepper and dark berries. So elegant and incredibly balanced, with a very, very long, silky finish (18.5/20). The "Roncière" was also impressive - truffles and flowers, crisp raspberries, and a notable minerality. Very elegant. (18/20).

Of course, a tasting menu like this should end with dessert, which was paired with a Balinet Cerdon-Bugey "méthode ancestrale". Ok, everyone put their hand up if you have tasted a Cerdon-Bugey....thought so. A rather unusual sparkling beverage (some background here), it smelled of applesauce and cherries, a palate of soft, sweet and cidrey mousse - delicious.

Hats off to Le Club Chasse et Pêche for creating a tasting menu that would allow many a wine to shine, and congratulations to the organizers for the well-selected wine pairings.

(Note: the wines of Domaine Bize and Domaine Grivot are represented in Montreal by Liquid Art)

2006 A et P de Villaine "Les Clous"

de Villaine's wines have a nasty habit of quickly disappearing from the local wine shops, so I greedily grabbed this bottle of "Les Clous" when I saw it. Unfortunately my praise for the 2006 is not as effusive as the praise expressed for both the 2001 and 2005:

The 2006 A et P de Villaine 'Les Clous' smelled of damp hay, cream, apple and pear, later showing some spearmint, lavender soap. Soft on the palate with creamy lemon, a gritty minerality, and a nice bitter finish. A touch hot and a little less complex than those prior vintages, but thoroughly enjoyable.
cork. 12.5% alcohol
Score: 16.5/20
Price: C$28 (SAQ)

WBW #54: Pio Cesare, White and Red

I have been ignoring Italy for the past few months (not sure why) and I have not participated in WBW (I know why), but for the fifty-fourth WBW installment my wine buddy David McDuff is hosting and Piedmont is calling - how could I resist (especially when bonus points are served)?

I chose two wines from Pio Cesare, one of Piedmont's most renowned wine houses, for two reasons - consistent success, and it has been two years since I have tasted "A Peeedmont Chardonnayyy".

The 2001 Pio Cesare Barbera d'Alba "Fides" first showed its rubbery/inky/tarry side on the nose, later delivering lovely green pepper, cherry fruit, almonds and earthy, single malt scotch-like notes. Lovely texture - silky tannins and fresh acidity with a nice, spicy almond finish. Scored identically to last year, with similar tarry notes and a spicy mouthfeel, one of the nicest barberas I've ever had.
cork. 14% alcohol
Score: 17.5/20
Price: C$33 (SAQ)

Yes, Piedmont chardonnay just sounds wrong, but I just focus on the liquid in the glass. The 2007 Pio Cesare l'Altro Piedmont Chardonnay had a promising nose - green grass at first, some soap, apple, floral and peach notes as well. Stoney and crisp on the palate, yet soft and oily as it warmed up. No faults here - a delicious, balanced chardonnay, just not "moving" me tonight...
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 16/20
Price: C$23.25 (SAQ)

White and red from Piedmont, same winemaker, I can't wait to use those "McDuff Bonus Points". Cheers, David!

2007 Alamos Chardonnay

I have sung the praises of Catena's wines but said little about their entry-level Alamos line of wines. With such praise for Catena's Chardonnay, I wondered if I could save a few bucks on their Alamos Chardonnay and get nearly as much pleasure? Almost...

The 2007 Alamos Chardonnay had nice ripe apple and lime notes on the nose, some flowers and a hint of vanilla. A luscious, creamy mouthfeel, very flavourful with spicy apples, this was a nearly flawless modern-styled chardonnay (with a more modest alcohol content vs. other new world chards).
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 16/20
Price: C$15.65 (SAQ)

2006 Moillard Macon-Aze

I've had some success with the inexpensive whites from Burgundy's "Mâcon" appellations - Mâcon-Loché, Mâcon-Lugny, Mâcon-Villages - so it was a no-brainer for me to try a bottle of this wine from Mâcon-Azé. The 2006 Moillard Mâcon-Azé delivered: notes of lemony cream and yeasty ripe apples, some oak, bananas and chalk. Rather stern on the palate, but with a soft underbelly - riper than a Chablis yet better structured than those recent Mâcon whites. I highly recommend this for my Ontario friends.
cork. 13% alcohol
Score: 16.5/20
Price: C$16.95 (LCBO)

Warming Up for Hermitage: Two Burgundies

The format for a meeting of my tasting group is pretty standardized: first we sit down with a glass of 'warm-up' wine to set the mood and get the palate ready while we let the main panel of wines air out in their decanters, then we move to the dining room to dissect a theme-based panel of wines, blinded, using a rank order method to crown a 'winner'. Each taster gets a clean glass for each wine to be tasted, sheets for taking notes, and a spread of complementary food is served to enjoy with the wine.

Usually the warm-up wine is a cheap version of the main event wine, but tonight Lloyd decided to warm up the palate with two not-so-cheap Burgundies, wines worthy of their own write ups.

I started with the white, a 2001 A et P de Villaine "Les Clous" from one of my favourite producers. Ripe green apples and a nutty almond extract on the nose, creamy, yeasty, and mushroom notes as well. While the nose hinted at age the palate was crisp, stern, and minerally, with a green earthiness - surprisingly fresh at 7 years of age, I loved this cuvee once again, but the buttery chardonnay crowd disagreed with me...
Score: 18/20

With the crowd surging towards the Hermitages I nearly forgot to try the red warm-up, a 2003 Domaine du Comte Liger-Belair Vosne Romanee 'La Colombiere'. After 30+ mins in the decanter it was spicy Dr. Pepper, wet ashes, candied raspberry, damp wood and old leather and old leather on the nose, very well put together. Velvety ripe fruit and very minerally on the palate, a very nice wine.
Score: 17.5/20

Seriously, two great Burgundies before a Northern Rhone extravaganza? Its gonna be a good night...

Bu, Bar à Vin?

Bu is a Montreal wine bar ... well, sort of. Yes, it has an extensive list of wines and special "flights" of wines by the glass (constantly changing), but technically you cannot just sit down and have a drink - you have to order from the kitchen.

Which brings me to the main reason you need to visit Bu - the food. Yes, the wine list is great and the flights are interesting and challenging, but the star is Ms. Alba Delgado, "la chef de cuisine", who brings her twenty years in Italy to a tight selection of flavourful and impeccably-made Italian classics. I've been twice now and I had the "risotto du jour" both times - amongst the best risottos in town. But I digress....

Tonight's intrepid trio of wine tasters included myself, Marcus (who has moved over to Facebook), and my bro-in-law. Our opening flight featured a few whites:

2006 Cecilia Zeta del Tucano (Vermentino di Toscana)
2006 Odysseus (Priorat)
2006 Domaine Larue St-Aubin 1er Cru "Murgers des Dents de Chien" (Burgundy)

The Cecilia was thin and light, with creamy apple and key lime notes... crisp, green and unoaked, not bad. The Odysseus, crafted from Pedro Ximenez grapes, was soft and flavourful on the palate...cantaloupe, pears and applesauce on the nose, a touch hot - I had it pegged for a dry Jurancon (see Alder's winery description). The Domaine Larue was my first from this Burgundian appellation - an oaky, creamy, smokey-apple chardonnay with an up-front minerality that I thought was Californian - expensive and too much oak.

After we washed down the appetizers with the whites we switched to reds for the main course:

2004 Domaine Confuron-Cotetidot (Chambolle-Musigny)
2005 Philippe Alliet Coteau de Noire (Chinon)
2001 Joseph Swan Mancini Ranch Zinfandel (Russian River)

The Alliet Chinon was my favourite and easily identified...green pepper, damp undergrowth, flint and inky blackberry - dry woodsy tannins and crisp acidity on the palate, a long finish, YUM. The Domaine Confuron-Cotetidot had to be the least typical red Burgundy I have ever tasted - meaty walnuts and red berry fruit on the nose, but unbalanced on the palate with a sharp acidic frame and flavours of rusty nails - no one picked this as a pinot, much less Burgundy. The Swan Zin was tired, old, alcohol-y cooked fruit, I was thinking Nero d'Avola on this one (a term I occasionally use to describe an unidentified red wine I don't like...).

But Swan made it up to us, as we enjoyed a glass of the 2001 Joseph Swan Trenton Estate Syrah (Russian River) to finish the evening - meaty, dark berry fruit and cedary black pepper on the nose, blackberries wrapped in velvety tannins on the palate, a wine that is hitting its stride at 7 years old.

Sorry for the delay, Marcus - cheers!

1996 Nicolas Feuillatte Grand Cru Cramant

The wife was ecstatic when my week of wine abstinence was over - I wasn't opening the good stuff if I wasn't drinking! We broke the dry spell in a big way, with my oldest bottle of vintage bubbly, a 1996 Champagne. This was a rather appropriate vintage to celebrate my 'comeback', as it was in November of 1996 that I went off to NYC in search of fame and fortune and ended a multi-year love of running.

The "Nicolas Feuillatte" brand is owned by a co-op, the Cave Vinicole de la Champagne, who adopted the single vineyard concept in the mid-90s. Tonight's "Cramant" is a single vineyard Champagne made from 100% Chardonnay (a 'blanc de blancs').

The 1996 Nicolas Feuillatte Grand Cru Cramant boasted a beefy scent of malt - a 'single malt' scotch from the highlands - with flinty and cream pastry notes, and a creeping sense that this wine held some untold secrets - swirling and sniffing over the evening further revealed subtle, but tantalizing, aromas of caramel, lemon, melon, and white flowers. A fine mousse blanketed a dry, steely and focused 'blanc de blancs', with an intellectually-stimulating earthy bitterness on the palate. Despite its 12 years of age it seemed young and closed down, the sturdy acidic structure keeping some beautiful scents under wraps for another day...
cork. 12% alcohol
Score: 17.5+/20
Price: C$66 (LCBO)

2005 Gary Farrell Chardonnay

My good friend and occasional guest blogger Lloyd is not a big white wine guy, so when he raved about this 2005 Gary Farrell Chardonnay (Russian River Valley) I had to pick up a bottle. A modern-styled California chardonnay that sported a terrrific nose of lemon cream, buttery green apples, spicy and vanilla-y oak, fresh cut grass...some floral and sulphury notes as well. Luscious on the palate, with pretty lemon and nice minerallity, but very hot and low in acidity, which made it seem a tad flabby and unbalanced. In the same vein as the Beringer Private Reserve, but not in the same class as the Montelena (1,2) IMHO. 
cork. 14.2% alcohol
Score: 17/20
Price: C$37 (SAQ)

2006 Cave de Lugny Macon-Villages "Les Florieres"

The appellations of Mâcon are the southernmost in Burgundy and are notable for inexpensive white chardonnays, which in my experience are soft and luscious - stylistic opposites to the crisp, steely chardonnay from Chablis. I've had some success (1,2) as of late with some random Mâcon buying, but neither of those compared to this little gem:

The 2006 Cave de Lugny Mâcon-Villages "Les Florières" was very complex on the nose - lemon cream, vanilla, juicy apples, wildflowers, pears and wet ferns. Minerally pears on the palate, it was flavourful, poised and refreshing - a great match for a simple shrimp pasta. Amazing quality for this price point.
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 17/20
Price: C$16.05 (SAQ)

2006 Catena Chardonnay

I have spoken frequently about Catena's wines on this site. In my opinion, Catena's wines are in a "sweet spot" for those of you seeking out great wine values - wines that are amongst the best in the world, but listed at prices well below the much-hyped wines from places such as Napa/Barossa/etc. because of the word "Argentina" on the label.

The 2006 Catena Chardonnay (Mendoza) region is a case in point. An explosive nose of peaches, apricots and apples, spring flowers, toasty oak and minerals. Luscious, honeyed apples on the palate with a soft oily texture, nice acidity, minerality, persistency and great balance, it hides the elevated alcohol very well. This wine is equal to, or better than, most Napa/Somoma chardonnays at twice the price, and (for a special evening) worth the few extra $ over entry-level chardonnay. 
cork. 14% alcohol
Score: 17.5/20
Price: C$20.85 (SAQ)

2005 Louis Jadot Beaune "Boucherottes"

Been busy with the 2005 Burgundies as of late - here's another:

The 2005 Louis Jadot Beaune "Boucherottes" sported dark raspberry, vanilla, cocoa, basil and floral notes on the nose, crisp and balanced on the palate. Smooth, with a modest finish, it is drinking well now - hard to imagine extended cellaring is necessary. Paired very well with a whole chicken roasted on the bbq.
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 17/20
Price: C$48 (SAQ)

But, with guests over for dinner, you can see in the photo that we started our evening with champagne. The NV Piper Heidsieck "Brut Divin" is a "Blanc de Blancs", that is 100% chardonnay. Smokey toast and yeasty, lemony notes, some flowers as well, a fitting intro to this simple, but very elegant, bubbly. One of the last bottles from my trip to France last year.
cork. 12% alcohol
Score: 16/20
Price: ~35 euros (winery)

Feelings Cafe: Cheap White Burgundy in the Big Easy

New Orleans is not a town that I associate with wine - alcohol, yes, but not wine. Facing spicy Cajun cooking every night (Jambalaya, Gumbo, Étouffée) I stuck to beer, for the most part (the local Abita is quite good), but our last evening in the Big Easy featured a family dinner at Feelings Cafe and I was pressed into service to pick the wine.

From a wine perspective, Feelings featured a short, but well-selected wine list. Unfortunately, the list did not show the wine vintages and the server had no idea about the wines on the list. The wine service was also lacking, as the red wine (see further below) was served warm and it was not decanted (yes, very anal). 

My white selection was the 2006 Cave de Lugny Mâcon-Lugny "Les Charmes", inspired by the great Mâcon-Loché I tasted in March. Attractive notes of lime and green apple on the nose, some minerality and floral aromas underneath. A smooth and luscious texture, it was minerally bitter-lemon on the palate. A charming wine, and a steal at this price (includes restaurant markup). It paired very well with my Étouffée and Red Snapper. 
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 15.5/20
Price: US$24 (menu)

I should also mention (1) that we ordered a 2002 Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz, a big hit with those enjoying red wine that evening, and (2) the food was terrific - I highly recommend this restaurant (in a city of great restaurants) for the food alone.

And don't forget to check out Neil's Silver Burgundy post for more wines from Mâcon-Lugny and the Mâconnais.

Twelve Under $12: 2006 Carmen Chardonnay

For my "Twelve Under $12" series I once again turned to an old favourite, a 2006 Carmen Chardonnay, and I was not disappointed. Pale gold with notes of lemon, petrol, fresh cut grass and almond extract. Fresh, green, and juicy on the palate, minerally with really nice balance, a terrific example of this varietal. My second $12 success with this winery, it is hard not to like at this price. (typically cheaper elsewhere)
cork. 13.5% alcohol
Score: 14.5/20
Price: C$11.85 (SAQ)

Next up, a gem from Portugal, a disappointment from Mexico, cheap Torrontes and even a Romanian wine...

2006 Domaine du Salvard

I have to credit Brooklynguy with this find, a terrific inexpensive white from France. The 2006 Domaine du Salvard from the Cheverny appellation was white gold in the glass, with a terrific floral nose and lime, grapefruit, canned peach, honey and some apple aromas. Despite ample acidity it had a nice soft mouthfeel. Elegant, crisp, and balanced, even slightly earthy (damp undergrowth), but less minerally than I was expecting. A terrific pairing with homemade fish sticks, but less so with wild boar sausage.
cork. 12.5% alcohol
Score: 16/20
Price: C$15.75

Like yesterday's German specials, this would also make a great holiday wine - cheap, and your guests will love it.

2005 de Villaine "Les Clous" - WBW #39

Domaine de Villaine has a commanding lead for Joe's 2007 "Winery of the Year" award: three for three, with high scores today, and previously for a white (1) and a red (2) - all at prices under $33 (tax in).

Brooklynguy is the host for tonight's Wine Blogging Wednesday, "Silver Burgundy". My selection is the 2005 Domaine de Villaine "Les Clous", a Bourgogne Côte Chalonnaise made from Chardonnay grown in the Bouzeron appelation. A deep, deep, gold in the glass, and very aromatic - it started all floral - lavender - with a good dose of honey, apricot, fresh-picked ripe apples, butter and a hint of sweet cinnamon. Very elegant on the palate, perhaps thin while still cold, but very flavourul, crisp and minerally as it warmed. What can I say? Another great de Villaine outing. I usually refrain from shouting "Great Value!" over the $20 price point, but I can't help myself tonight.
cork. 12.5% alcohol
Score: 18/20
Price: $26 (SAQ)

From my tastings of de Villaine's Bouzeron wines, it is clear that serving them at refrigerator temperature is plain wrong - they open up and come alive over 10 Celsius. Do not overly chill these and you will be rewarded with flavourful wines revealing breathtaking bouquets.

I promised more Burgundy in 2007, so thanks to Neil for kicking my butt and hosting a Burgundy-focused evening. Check out his site for more Silver Burgundy reviews from other bloggers.

Cheers!