Tuscan Wine Treasures

Our recently expanded tasting group decided to dive into Tuscany, with a focus on the Sangiovese grape, but someone cheated. No matter, the upstart did not take home the prize, and we all enjoyed a fabulous night of wine tasting. The wines, and the results, are as follows:

First Place: 2000 Flaccianello della Pieve (a Fontodi super Tuscan)
Two first place and three second place rankings. Also the most expensive at C$75. I was surprised that the Flaccianello won. I thought it would be too young, and it was the youngest wine tasted. Perhaps decanting it 2 ½ hours before the tasting softened it up just enough? Very Chianti, yet very well balanced and bursting forth with interesting aromas. I can't wait for this wine to improve.

Second Place: 1997 Badia a Coltibuono Chianti Classico ‘Riserva’
More controversial – two first place one second place and two third place rankings. While the original acquisition cost was below C$50, current market prices are surely higher if you could find it! The Badia was very drinkable and very well balanced. This was the oldest wine in the group - as Lloyd said, this wine is the reason we build/buy wine cellars! I felt this wine was at its peak, so should be consumed soon, and I preferred the more rustic first and third place wines to this much more refined Chianti. Most of you disagreed with me!

Third Place: 1999 Ghiaie della Furba by Capezzana
One first, one second, and three third place rankings. Impossible to find, but I have purchased other vintages for ~C$50. Not a pure sangiovese, but we loved it so we forgive you Chris. Despite its ranking, I think this was the real value winner. Definitely the most complex nose! Upon tasting, the tannins were still harsh, but the complexity …phenomenal! I think we all agreed that this wine was going to improve even further, and the price was amongst the lowest. It would be interesting to taste the Ghiaie vs. the Flaccianello in about five years!

Fourth Place: 1999 Tenute Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva
Ranked fourth by all. In the $40s, I think. This is a wine that I have enjoyed in the past, is often on restaurant menus, and it is a reliably good Chianti. However, the competition was just a touch more complex and interesting. On the value spectrum it was probably the cheapest of the five.

Fifth Place: 1999 Poggio Rosso Chianti Classico Riserva by San Felice
Ranked fifth by all. C$54 at SAQ. The Poggio Rosso fails the value test being more expensive and less appealing than the others.

Editorial:
I think this tasting was influenced by the fact that some wines were decanted earlier than others, and the wines were served at different temperatures. I think this may have influenced the score, especially the Ghiaie which was served warmer and had little air time. Something to think about for the next tasting.

Bordeaux Night - January 2005

Over the last year we have had some turnover in our tasting group, as one of our tasters departed our fair city for greener pastures. He was replaced by three new wine geeks, two of whom joined us this night. Just to make sure these uppity newbies were put in their place, we dove right into Bordeaux. This was a lot of fun - four tasters, four great wines, and one big headache the morning after. Here are the results:

First Place – 1999 Chateau Carbonnieux (Pessac Leognan)
Chris' Carbonnieux easily won with three first place and one second place ranking. I described this wine as very aromatic, with scents of violet, strawberry, cedar, spice (nutmeg, pepper), cocoa, butter, hazelnut - a lot going on here! I recall it was very 'fruit forward', more like an Aussie, but very well balanced and 'hearty'. This had a very long finish, and should continue to improve. Good thing - I went out and bought the last bottles in town. Note this was not highly ranked by Parker (86). Cost C$65.

Second Place – 1999 Chateau Montrose (St-Estephe)
On paper my Montrose should have won. 'George' garnered one first place (Pramod), two second place and a third place ranking. I described this wine as aromatic, but more subtle than the Carbonnieux - scents of violet, white flowers, cherry, mint, cloves, vanilla, butter, some prunes "not intense, but elegant". This was a well balanced, elegant, medium-bodied Bordeaux with a long finish. I rated this equal to the Carbonnieux on taste, but just a little behind on the nose. Cost C$77. (RP 90)

Third Place – 2001 Carruades de Lafite (Pauillac)
My Carruades de Lafite garnered one second place and three third place rankings. I described this wine as aromatic and "pleasant but uncomplex and not very intense" - subtle scents of violet, strawberry, mint, and butter caramel. On the palate this was a more austere wine with harsher tannins. A long finish, giving hints this wine may get better. At C$49 a 'value' winner? (RP-87)

Fourth Place – 1999 Chateau Gruaud Larose (St-Julien)
The Gruaud Larose was everyone's least favourite. Somebody had to lose, but at C$74? I described this wine as very aromatic "powerful, without finesse, overpowering tannins" - scents of violet, apple, blackberry, green pepper, pine, musk, tobacco and cocoa. On the palate this was very dry with firm tannins. Reasonably well balanced, but with a surprising short finish. Drink now. "Elegant but lacking depth, complexity." (RP-89)

Comments:

1. Did we make a 'discovery' with the Carbonnieux? I noticed more recent ratings for this Chateau are up - maybe we 'found' it first!
2. Nice to see we got to try four different Bordeaux villages/regions.
3. Darn newbie won!

Opimian Tasting: Chile vs. California

The Opimian Society hosted a tasting and dinner. This blinded tasting was meant to highlight the value of Chilean Reservas and Gran Reservas versus more expensive Napa wines. There were four Chilean wines and one Napa wine:

1998 Laura Hartwig Cabernet Sauvignon ($18)
2001 Cornellana Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot Grand Reserva ($27)
2000 Cornellana Merlot Reserva ($16)
1999 Cornellana Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Reserva (est. $30)
1999 Steltzner Claret (Napa) ($35)

I generally agree that Chilean wines can compete with pricier American wines, and my cellar is very underweight California and overweight South America for that reason. However, I don't think the choice of wines this evening succeeded in highlighting Chilean value.

From my perspective, the Steltzer was the only notable wine. A beautiful nose of vanilla/caramel, with hints of blackberries and blueberries. On the palate the wine was medium to full-bodied, with nice, silky tannins and tasting of black cherries. Ready to drink now, but could improve slightly. This is a regular Opimian offering, and I just ordered the recent vintage at an attractive price of C$28-ish.

Looking at the Chileans, only the 2001 Cornellana Cab/Merlot came even close to the Steltzner, and coincidentally had a price tag close to the Steltzner. This was a well balanced wine, but uncomplex with a medium body and short finish. My next favourite was the Laura Hartwig, which I guess could be the value winner - decent nose, slightly rustic, medium to light bodied and "drinkable". That being said, I am certain I have had similar priced California wines that were equal to this one. Of the other two wines, the Merlot was quaffable while the 1999 Cornellana was well beyond its prime (perhaps a storage issue?).

Overall, the entry-level Steltzner was an impressive wine. This is not a winery that gets a lot of attention from the critics, so I am glad that Opimian highlighted them for me. I will try to visit this winery when I visit Napa.

Champions night

It has now been a year since our wine group began, and the purpose of this evening was to retaste all of the winners from our thematic tastings head to head. While the scoring was more subjective this evening (it was meant to be fun!), most of our tasters agreed that the Spanish wines were the big winners.

Winners (tie):
1999 San Vicente Crianza (Rioja, Tempranillo)
1999 Hacienda Monasterio Crianza (Ribera del Duero, Tempranillo blend)
There was some debate regarding the San Vicente vs. Hacienda Monasterio, but I believe we are splitting hairs with such fine wines.

From our conversations that night, it appears that the 2002 Castello Banfi 'Colvecchio' (Tuscany, Shiraz) came in third place.

The 1999 Delas Freres Crozes-Hermitage (France, Syrah) seemed quite backward at first, but ratings improved as the wine opened up much later. There was also a lot of interest in the 1999 Stanley Bros. 'Thoroughbred' (Aussie, Cabernet Sauvignon). A tie?

Despite the strong showing of the 1999 Louis Jadot Santenay 'Clos de Malte' (France, Pinot Noir) at our tasting earlier this year, this was the least preferred of the evening. Perhaps an elegant Pinot is overwhelmed in the company of such powerful wines? Perhaps the bottle was slightly off? Who knows – there are no bottles available anywhere for a retaste.

Chateauneuf du Pape - September 2004

I took over our first CdP tasting, choosing all four wines. While my friends would say it was because I'm an obsessive wine geek, I really had two objectives: (1) to save some time for the less vinously endowed (i.e. cellar-less) individuals in the group, and (2) to compare wines from the same vintage (i.e. to let the producer, rather than the vintage, show through).

These were from the 1999 CdP vintage - a good vintage sandwiched between the 'extraordinary' 1998 and 2000 CdP vintages. The wines were terrific - here are the notes:

First Place: 1999 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe 'La Crau'
This was everyone else's favourite by a wide margin. I was the lone dissenter on this wine - while my scores for the four wines were close, this was my least favourite. I described the nose as very smooth, with hints of berries, flowers and nuts. The taste was tannic and uncomplex, with a medium body and medium lenghth. To sum it up: "Easy, tannic, but nothing special". 'Nuff said. However, I would be remiss if I did not tell you this was the relative bargain - at C$39 it was the second cheapest CdP of the night. (RP-88)

Second Place: 1999 Mas de Boislauzon
I seem to be going in reverse order vs. my peers! This was my 2nd least favourite. I described the nose as bold, smooth, with blueberries and chocolate. The taste was elegant but uncomplex, with a medium body and medium to long finish. From my notes: "Very enjoyable, but not very special". This was another relative bargain at C$34 - the cheapest of the night. (RP-88)

Third Place: 1999 Bosquet des Papes "Cuvee Chantemerle"
Now to the good stuff! This was my favourite. I described the nose as "oakier", with scents of apples, leather and mushrooms. On the palate the wine was "very well balanced", with a medium body and medium to long finish. Yum. This was pricey - C$65. (RP-91)

Fourth Place: 1999 Chateau de la Gardine "Cuvee des Generations"
This cost an arm and a leg, and was supposed to be my 'ringer'. My peers were less positive on this wine, but it was my 2nd favourite. A very complex and "earthy" nose, with scents of blueberries, currants, vanilla, caramel and licorice. It was a bit disappointing on the palate (after that wonderful nose!) - I found the wine to be 'hot' (i.e. high, obtrusive alcohol), oaky, and a little less balanced (than the others) . Full bodied, with a long finish. A great wine, but not a great find at this price - C$94. (RP 90-93)

Comments:

You get what you pay for? While I gravitated to the more expensive wines, the ratings as a whole did not follow price. This concurs with other CdPs tastings - great CdP can be had for reasonable prices.

Tempranillo - July 2004

Of our early tastings, this was easily the most memorable. First, the prices started to creep upward vs. our previous tastings. Second, I think all of us did more homework to choose the wines. Third, you get a lot more wine for your money in Spain. The combination of these factors let to a spectacular night, and some wines that I buy over and over again. There were only three wines tasted, and all were from the same modest 1999 vintage.

First Place: (tie between the next two)
1999 San Vicente Crianza (Rioja)
Cosme's San Vicente had a powerful nose - citrus, vanilla, oak. On the palate it tasted of chocolate and coffee, it was earthy and very well balanced. Medium to full bodied, with a medium length and nice finish. According to my notes, this would probably be a better wine with food - a big, fat steak. Permanent part of my cellar,~C$55. (RP-92)
1999 Hacienda Monasterio Crianza (Ribera del Duero)
I cheated a bit with my Hacienda Monasterio - only 70% Tempranillo, with the balance Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. It had a much deeper purple colour, with beautiful scents of oak, vanilla, flowers, rum and "yummy chocolate". The taste was complex, well balanced, with tastes of dark fruit, earthy, tannic, spice and leather. It was full-bodied with a medium length and a very nice finish. "Bold, fruity, silky". My cellar is full of this stuff. Approx. C$38. (RP-92)

Third Place: 1999 Artadi 'Vinas de Gain' (Rioja)
I believe this wine had gone bad. Unfortunate, as this had a good Parker rating (90) and was reasonably priced. On the nose there were interesting smells, but the taste was awful. I will retry this if I ever find it again.

Summary: Do your homework and seek out some Spanish wines. The gems come at terrific prices.

Brunello Tasting - March 2004

Our first Brunello tasting required some changes to our usual tasting format. Obviously, it was not possible to stick with our C$40-ish objective and taste Brunello. With the hefty cost for decent Brunellos, the four tasters split the cost of the three wines. While this removed the 'competitive edge' of our tastings, it focused the group on comparing and contrasting some top Brunellos. To further control this experiment I bought three Brunellos from the same vintage. While 1998 was not a top vintage, this was perhaps a better strategy for separating the better winemakers from the pretenders.

The price range was dramatic, and the four of us had a good time with this. Unfortunately, I was not feeling well that day (stomach thing) and my nose was partially stuffed up. As result, my notes may not be fully reflective of the group, and I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have ... sigh.

First Place: 1998 Gaja 'Sugarille'
This was one of the most expensive Brunellos available at my shop. Not surprisingly, this wine was great, classy. This wine had a spectacular nose, with scents of vanilla, caramel, cherries - "beautiful, elegant". Given the price (C$157) and pedigree (Gaja), this was the crowd favourite by a WIDE margin. At that price I would never buy it, but I would love it if someone else bought it for me.

Second Place: 1998 Altesino Montsoli
Altesino is supposed to be an excellent Brunello house, and the single vineyard Montsoli is their premium wine. The wine displayed delicate floral aromas, with some cherry scents. On the palate it was spicy, oaky, with some acidity and light fruit, medium/light-bodied and medium in length. I was out of consensus, as I didn't like this one as much as the regular Altesino below. C$110.

Third Place: 1998 Altesino
I thought this had a beautiful nose - delicate scents of chocolate, fruit, spice, oaky, nearly perfect. On the palate this also tasted of chocolate, oak and spice, but was a little off balance with high acidity and little fruit, medium bodied but with a longer finish than the Montsoli above. C$62

Comments:

• You get what you pay for? There was a clear linear relationship between price and quality. The regular Altesino was the closest to a 'value' in my mind.


• Vinuous infanticide! These wines were not ready - we should have waited at least another two years to taste these wines.

Pinot Noir Tasting - February 2004

Moving on to Pinot Noir. Our first Pinot tasting featured a variety of wines spanning the globe - three Burgundies, a Canadian wine and an Oregonian wine. As you can see below, this was the most divided panel to date - three wines tied for first place.

Probably the biggest surprise of the evening was the strong showing for the Canadian Pinot Noir in a group of highly regarded wines. I put this in as a filler - I thought my Oregon wine would win...In summary, the contest concluded as follows:

Winners (three-way tie):

1999 Domaine Jacques Prieur, Beaune premier cru, “Clos de la Féguine”, C$69
Votes: Two First place (Cam, Ash), two Third place (Joe, Cosme)
2001 Quails’ Gate Family Reserve Pinot Noir C$35
Votes: Four second place votes (everyone's 'runner-up')
1999 Louis Jadot, Santenay “Clos de Malte” C$39.75
Votes: Two First place (Joe, Cosme), two Third place (Cam, Ash)

And the runners-up:

2000 Olivier Santenay C$33.25
Votes: mixed.
2001 Adelsheim Oregon Pinot Noir US$34
Votes: last place by all. I recall the bottle was corked.

Overall, my personal favourite was the Jadot "Clos de Malte", and the Leflaive Santenay was also very nice (and a better value), in my opinion, but obviously not as interesting for my peers.

Shiraz Night - November 2003

Our second tasting is probably most notable for the best wine:taster ratio of all time - the three of us opened six bottles of Shiraz and finished just about all of them! Extreme caution should be exercised before relying too much on these ratings...

Note that we did not keep as meticulous notes in those early days (even if we were capable of tasting notes that evening), so here is the ranking of the wines with some short comments:

First: 1999 Delas Freres Crozes-Hermitage Cuvée Tour d'Albon
Second: 1998 Castello Banfi Syrah Sant'Antimo Colvecchio
Third: 1999 Domaine de la Terre Rouge Syrah Sierra Foothills
Fourth: 1999 Paul Jaboulet Aine Vieilles Vignes Crozes Hermitage
Fifth: 2000 Rosemount Shiraz Show Reserve
Sixth: 2000 Caves des Papes Crozes-Hermitage Oratorio

Overall, it is amazing that we held a Shiraz tasting with six wines and only one Australian - clearly an oversight, and demands a retaste. The spread between first and second place was very small, requiring a drunken tiebraker. I have retasted both wines since then and they are fantastic. One observation I would make is that the French wines took much more time to 'open up', something I have noticed on many occasions. I suggest decanting all Bordeaux, Rhone, Madiran, Cahors, and bigger wines from the south of France.

Note that while Parker liked the Delas, Spectator hated it. Spectator loved the Banfi, while Parker never rates the Banfi wines.

Cabernet Sauvignon Tasting - September 2003

I helped start our wine tasting group not because I was "into wine", but because I knew nothing about wine. Between work and family I never had time to go to formal classes, so I invited a few guys over on a Friday night to chat and taste wines. We started with a price range of up to C$40 - my thinking was that this way we would taste wines that we would not normally drink everyday, and make sure the wines were 'representative' of their respective regions/grapes. The objective in all of our tastings was to go 'blind', removing any bias.

Having no real idea what we were up to, we cobbled together a group of willing tasters, downloaded a score sheet off the internet, and started with Cabernet Sauvignon, naturally.

My early tasting notes are less complete, but the wines (and rankings) were as follows:

First: 1999 Stanley Brothers Thoroughbred Cab. Sauv.
My ranking was in line with the group. According to my notes this wine had a beautiful spicy nose and was very deep, complex, balanced, fruity. Cost was close to C$25

Second: 1998 Santa Rita Casa Real
My second place ranking was in line with the group. The wine had a woodsy, berry nose, and was slightly acidic. I described the taste as "complex, with decent length, well balanced but perhaps a touch acidic". The tannins were very noticeable/powerful, and in retrospect probably not yet ready. Cost nearly C$55.

Others:
1999 La ferme d'Angludet
2001 Francis Ford Coppola Diamond Series Cabernet
From my notes it appears that the Coppola scored better. I described it as enjoyable, spicy, balanced, but could use some more depth. The Ferme d'Angludet was my first (and last) mistake buying the 'second' wine of a Bordeaux producer when I thought I was buying the first wine. Perhaps not a fatal mistake with "Alter Ego de Palmer" or "Carruades de Lafite", but D'Angludet's "ferme" is NOT a second wine to seek out - especially at C$35. This wine was well balanced, but a lightweight and uncomplex.

A couple of observations as I reflect on this tasting long after it took place:

1. Since we didn't really know what we were doing, the outcomes/ratings are suspect.


2. For our first two tastings we blinded the wines using a brown paper bag. Not clever - the fine wines always throw off a ton of sediment, and picking the sludge out from between your teeth is bound to wreck your score. We have since switched to using unmarked decanters.