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Posts with category ‘South America’

NZ Sauvignon Blanc, First Pinks, Carmen of Chile

Posted on May 23, 2006

New Zealand sauvignon blanc has joined the mainstream. This we know because a customer walked into an LCBO store in Kingston recently and asked the Product Consultant, “Have you got that stuff called Cat Piss on a Hot Tin Roof?" Of course, the befuddled shopper was really after Coopers Creek Cat Pee on a Gooseberry Bush, the presumably much tastier $14.00 NZ sauvignon named for two of this grape’s more common descriptors.

Chile Showdown in Toronto

Posted on October 24, 2006

First they took Berlin, then Tokyo, then São Paolo. But Toronto proved no pushover.

The Wine of the Week & The Napa Follies

Posted on January 22, 2007

Errazuriz 2005 Carmenère **** ($13.95, LCBO #16238, Aconcagua Valley, Chile)
And now for something very affordable. New to the LCBO general list and a huge value if you like your reds black and deep and even. Chile has struggled to tame carmenère—the late-ripening, often green-tasting monster that is becoming its signature. But like the Concha y Toro 2005 Carmenère I heavily recommended before Christmas, this new Errazuriz version finds the handle at an amazing price. The nose drenched in cassis, mint, leather and wood smoke—all well proportioned. It’s full bodied, dense and elegant with firm but deeply embedded tannin. Considerable oak on the finish is the element that ties it all together but fruit is not lost. Excellent length. Drinkable now, best 2008 to 2012, ideal for a lamb roast.

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I first traveled to Napa Valley, California, in 1978 when wine was new and exciting, when the Robert Mondavi winery was less than 10 years-old; when once legendary names like Inglenook and Beaulieu were the establishment, and new enterprises like Grgich Hills, Joseph Phelps, Cakebread and Heitz were just beginning to generate some buzz. It was a time of wonderment, promise and innocence, with a sense that this bucolic crease in the coastal ranges north of San Francisco might one day be able to produce great cabernets and merlots to rival Bordeaux. There was not a lot of self-confidence back then, but there was plenty of humility.

Wine of the Week & Michel Rolland in Toronto

Posted on January 30, 2007

Chateau Fontenil 2004 Fronsac ****
Bordeaux, France ($49, Vintages 35907)
This property near Libourne in Bordeaux’s right bank is the domicile of winemaker Michel Rolland, the subject of this week’s feature. The Fronsac appellation is famous (or infamous) for having a strong mineral flavour and austere tannin; it’s interesting, but hardly mouth-watering merlot. Fontenil shows that minerality too, but embroidered by the perfectly ripened berry fruit and fine tannin—a lovely wine with poise, purity and nuance. I’ve not tasted a Fronsac like this before, but I did recognize its place. It's part of a special Vintages offering (see below).

Concha y Toro Rarely Misses

Posted on February 5, 2007

Wine of the Week
Concha Y Toro 2006 Trio Sauvignon Blanc **** ($14.15, LCBO #678656)
Casablanca Valley, Chile

The Trio line joins the LCBO general list en masse—or at least in triplicate—with this new sauvignon, plus two reds (see below). This bright, genteel screw-capped sauvignon hails from three vineyards in the maritime Casablanca Valley, although the closest to the ocean called Lo Ovalle is coolest and contributes most to this blend. Lovely proportion and integration among the citrus (lime-grapefruit), tree fruit (pear, passion fruit) and herbal elements (lemongrass, fresh dill). It’s mid-weight, fresh, bright and rounded for easy drinking, with very good length. Delicious, and a great way to move summer ahead on your calendar.

Chilean Cellar Surprises

Posted on June 5, 2007

Wine of the Week
Cousiňo-Macul 2005 Antiguas Reservas Cabernet Sauvignon ($15.15, 89 points, LCBO 212993)
Maipo Valley, Chile
Cellaring a $15 Chilean cabernet is likely not an idea that has occurred to many people this week. But if building a cellar on a shoestring budget don’t miss this 100% cabernet from one of Chile’s oldest estate wineries. They’ve been making this wine since 1927 and a recent tasting of the 1979 vintage shows it has the stuffing to last. It’s full bodied, surprisingly dense, rich and smooth for the money, with well-integrated tannin. Aromatically complex as well, with classic Chilean cabernet cassis, eucalyptus, generous wood spice from American oak barrels. There is a meaty, leathery note that runs through all the Cousiňo Macul reds, which some like and some don’t. So take a test drive before going for a case or two. But do take that first spin.

Gretzky, Brazil and New Zealand

Posted on September 18, 2007

Wine of the Week
Wayne Gretzky Estates 2006 No. 99 Unoaked Chardonnay, Ontario ($13.95, 83 points, 63826)
Celebrity, not quality, demands this wine be Wine of the Week, especially as it was just released Monday at the LCBO. I have always admired Wayne Gretzky as a quality hockey player and human being, and I still do, but I don’t admire the wine bearing his name and team sweater number. As always, my job is to assess what’s in the bottle and this is a mediocre, coarse, resinous, dry white. Like others in the growing family of Ontario celebrity wines (Dan Aykroyd, Mike Weir) there is no glaring fault except for a lack of joy (and fruit). The companion merlot released yesterday is just as mediocre—green and lean—definitely not as “lush and rounded” as back label claims. I hope Wayne brings his sense of class to bear when he begins to produce wines from his own winery, which is purportedly on the drawing board. For now, the wine is made at Willow Heights.

Argentina’s Value Reds

Posted on January 16, 2008

On Saturday, January 19th, Vintages will release 20 new Argentine reds, with all but one priced between $13 and $20. The exception is Familia Mayol’s 2003 Cuatro Primos ($23.75), the best of the bunch. Argentine reds are hugely popular right now; they deliver ample ripeness, weight and presence for a decent price. The reason is a desert-like, yet water-managed climate that promotes both ripeness and huge production. This is what keeps prices moderate.

David Lawrason

David Lawrason

David Lawrason has worked full time as one of Canada's leading, independent wine writers and educators for over 20 years. He was the founder of Wine Access magazine and Globe and Mail wine columnist for 13 years before becoming resident wine guy at Toronto Life, where he pens a monthly column and writes an exhaustive review of LCBO general listings for the annual Food and Wine Guide. As a wine educator he has taught sommelier programs at George Brown, Humber and Niagara Colleges, and has run popular public courses in Toronto since 1988. He has visited every major wine major producing country in the world, while focusing recently on the booming Canadian wine scene, as founder of the Canadian Wine Awards program, and Canadian wine columnist for Wine Access.

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