Arboleda Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

NICE SURPRISES.

The Preamble
I likely picked up this bottle last July or August (by looking at the release date on the LCBO site). I can’t remember 100%. No biggee though.

Between our house and cottage, at any given time, we have somewhere in the range of 130 – 180 bottles of wine. Sometimes more, almost never less. That’s just the way I roll.

Anyway, this means is I forget some bottles that I’ve purchased. That’s ok, but I’m glad I purchased it. It’s always a nice surprise to have a tasty bottle and look up to find you only paid $16.05 for it!

You can find it at the LCBO in the Vintages section with this number 606764. The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon is made up of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and 3% Syrah. The alcohol level is 14% alcohol/volume and the sugar content is 6 g/L (although the technical data on the winery site shows it as less). This is considered an extra dry (XD) red wine.

The Review
In the glass – a deep ruby-red.

In the nose – it was woodsy, hints of dark berries, cocoa and vanilla.

In the mouth – it was full bodied; had a touch of acidity, but still very flavourful with the fruit coming through, it was chewy and a touch chalky, and it had a medium length to the savoury finish.

Like I said, we were pleasantly surprised with this wine. We didn’t decant it, but could have. I was quite happy with the nose off the bat as well as the first sip (and glasses).

It could use a few more years on the shelf and that’s ok. I’ll be back at the LCBO today (hopefully) to pick up a few more bottles!

I can totally recommend this wine.

3.25 Stars

Clos Du Val Zinfandel 2010

My Memory Sometimes Fails Me – Perhaps My Palate

The Preamble

Just last week my wife and I shared the Cabernet Sauvignon from Clos Du Val – and loved it. Fresh off that experience and the fact that I knew I had another bottle in the house – I went looking for it.

Like I said in the previous post, we tasted a different vintage of this wine a few years ago and liked it. That wasn’t the case here. Not sure if was faulty memory or diminished taste buds at such a big tasting. Either way, we were disappointed this bottle. We drank the whole thing, it wasn’t bad – it just seemed off or maybe it was not to our taste?

You can find it at the LCBO in Vintages this number 590216. The site shows the 2008, but in fact they do have the 2010. This Zin is made from 100% Zinfandel grapes. The alcohol is 14% alcohol/volume and the sugar content is 2 g/L, and it’s considered an extra dry red wine.

The Review
I culled these notes from a variety of sources that enjoyed this wine because my notes wouldn’t do it justice.
In the glass – a deep ruby red hue.

In the nose – brambly notes of spice, minerals, black pepper and cherry marry with some subtle tobacco aromas.

In the mouth – ripe, red berry fruit dominates throughout the palate.

It is supposed to be a beautifully balanced wine with moderate tannins. A classic Zinfandel in the making.

Like I was saying above, it seemed off. It wasn’t corked, but the nose just wasn’t right. It went down ok – but that’s about the best I can say about it. If it were offered to me – I’d try it again. More likely though – I’d buy another vintage.

At $24.95 it would be hard for me to recommend it. Like I mentioned, this bottle may have been off in some other way.

Clos Du Val Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

The Preamble

I first tasted Clos Du Val wines at the California Wine Tour a few years ago. The next one is coming up April 8th.

Anyway, my wife and I both enjoyed their selection, and as I do – when I seen it at Vintages – I HAD to buy one to try!

Clos Du Val wines seem to garner critical acclaim, and from what I can tell, this acclaim is well deserved. In February of 2011, The New York Times sampled 20 Napa Valley ’07 Cabernets priced under $100. The ‘07 Clos du Val Cabernet ranked 3rd was deemed to have the “Best Value” of the bunch.

Like many wineries they make many levels of their wines. The one we had was from the Classic line, their entry level. They have 3 more tiers: Winemaker’s Signature, Reserve and the Flagship/SLD line.

We drank the 2007, it seems the 2008 is out at Vintages now. There are not many left, but can find them with this number 652925.

In the bottle you’ll find 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, 3% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot. It was aged for a total of 18 months in French oak barrels (25% new).

Note: this is a 375 mL bottle for $19.95.

The alcohol is 13% alcohol/volume and the sugar content is 3 g/L, and it’s considered a dry red wine.

The Review
In the glass – a deep rich, plurply red.

In the nose – there was cocoa, blackberries and vanilla.

In the mouth – layers of black currents, herbs, earth and spice. The tannins were robust and the finish was medium in length.

For me and my wife, this represented the quintessential California Cabernet nose that we both love (although slightly, just slightly understated than other BIG Californian Cabs). From there, we knew that the flavour would follow suit.

I can recommend this for two reasons. One, at 375 mL, it’s perfect when you don’t want a 750 mLs. And two, it tastes great. But, like I said above, it’s $19.95 for a half bottle.

Laura Hartwig Carmenère Reserva 2010

The Preamble

When we were in Chile a few years ago on our anniversary trip we tried to get to as many wineries as possible. On our journey, we had a few obstacles to overcome trying to get to tastings.

First off, we were there in (their) early spring and because of that a lot of wineries weren’t prepared for visitors. Secondly, the wineries don’t have a lot of walk-up tasters. Most of the wine tourism, it seems, is run by tour companies – big buses and big groups of people. Not my thing. I’m used to just showing up during regular business hours, whatever those are, and having a tasting – like the places I’ve been to in Ontario, BC, Oregon and California.

Fortunately at Laura Hartwig, we did not have that problem (although we did show up a little early in the morning). The estate was charming, the tasting room was small, but that was fine for us. For some reason I cant link the website this time, you can try it for yourself with this link – http://www.laurahartwig.cl –hopefully it works for you.

What you get here is 100% carmenère. Look for it at Vintages with this number 213512. The alcohol is 14% alcohol/volume and the sugar content is 4 g/L, and it’s considered an extra dry red wine.

The Review
In the glass – it had a very deep purple colour.

In the nose – it showed dark berry fruits and had hints of vegetables.

In the mouth – it was plumy; spicy and had a very dry and incredibly long finish that lingered.

This was a quite smooth and savoury wine, we both enjoyed it and it took us back to Chile and our trip.

I can easily recommend this as another fine example of Chile’s carmenère grape.

Banfi Centine 2010

The Preamble

The other night we enjoyed an inexpensive red from the people at Castello Banfi, the same top producer of a top notch Brunello di Montalcino. I’ve tried to look through old notes to find what that Brunello was like – but no luck. What I do remember was – it was very tasty, but we drank it too young.

The Centine comes highly acclaimed having won Best of Show at the Critics Challenge International Wine Competition, 2012. 17 wine critics chose it over bottles that cost $100 or more!

After doing a little research on the winery, it’s definitely a place I’d like to visit some time. It looks beautiful – it’s a freaking castle on a hill that overlooks thousands of acres of planted vines.

This Tuscan beauty is a blend of 60% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot.

There are not many left at Vintages right now, but you can look for it with this number 947440. The bottle I have lists the alcohol at 14% alcohol/volume, but the LCBO site has it 12.5. The sugar content is 8 g/L, and it’s considered a dry red wine.

The Review
In the glass – it had a concentrated crimson colour.

In the nose – I found red berry undertones, spice and a touch of prune.

In the mouth – it was chewy and smooth, with a hint of tea and oak.

We enjoyed this after dinner, oddly enough – we wanted to eat with it. There was something about it that lent itself to food, either way it was easy to drink.

I have to tell you, there is incredible value in this bottle. I strongly suggest getting some before they all disappear. For a $15.95 bottle it showed surprising structure and depth – it’s not going to last long!

I can easily recommend this wine and rate it 3.5 just on the finish alone.

Thirty Bench Red 2010

The Preamble

I love to support local wineries and Thirty Bench has been on my radar for over 10 years now. I’ve visited the winery a few times and it may be time to go again, especially after tasting this last bottle.

One thing about Ontario (red wine), in general, has struggled (maybe even more so – perceived to struggle) with growing and producing great reds because of cooler nights and a shorter growing season (than some places). By some accounts, 2010 was warmer than usual and it may have influenced this vintage (like other “good” years in the Thirty Bench Red history). That’s up for debate.

Anyway, this red is a blend of 57% Cabernet Franc, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Merlot. It’s available at the winery and right now at Vintages 320986. It has 13.6% alcohol/volume, its sugar content is 5 g/L, and it’s considered a dry red wine.

The Review
In the glass – it had a deep reddish, purply almost black colour to it.

In the nose – it had hidden dark berry overtones, a hint of vanilla and a touch of oak.

In the mouth – it was smooth, nicely balanced and those dark berry fruits come through. I found it to have a dry, but not too dry finish with medium length.

It does break my $20 Maginot Line of what I like to spend on a bottle of wine for a weekday, but for a bottle that you can lay down for 5-10 years – $24 is a steal!

I can easily recommend this wine and rate it 3.5.

Angels Landing Merlot 2010

The Preamble
No thanks to this sequence in Sideways, Californian Merlot has taken a bashing since 2004.

Jack: If they want to drink Merlot, we’re drinking Merlot.
Miles: No, if anyone orders Merlot, I’m leaving. I am NOT drinking any fucking Merlot!

Merlot was popular before Sideways and its reputation DID take a beating after the movie, but that’s fine for me. This is ok, especially if that means more of the Angels Landing Merlot is available for me.

The Review
In the glass – it had a deep reddish, purple colour.

In the nose – I found hints of cherries, spice, liquorice and a hint of oak.

In the mouth – it was chocolaty; it had an amazing mouth feel and an enduring finish.

I purchased this in Orchard Park, NY, at Prestige Wine & Spirits for $17.99. I got it in a mixed case, so I received a discount – but that’s what I paid for 1-bottle pre discounts.

This wine had amazing balance – nothing took the forefront (in a really good way), and showed structure comparable to a lot of Cabernets I’ve tried.

I recommend fooling your friends that turn up their noses to Merlot with this wine!

Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Carmenere 2010

The preamble:

My trip to Chili revisited.

I had a religious experience deep in the cellars (4 stories deep in the side of a mountain) of the Lapostolle winery drinking their high-end wines like the Borobo and the Clos Apalta. I was brought to tears – I enjoyed that moment so much. If you are ever in Chile, you must go – it’s a gorgeous place.

This bottle comes from Lapostolle’s mid-range brand. Of note, all the wines in the brand are produced organically and bio-dynamically.

I remembered this wine was good and was happy to pull it out of our wine keeper to have a few nights ago. Every time we open one of those bottles we brought back is like going on our trip again. It’s a pretty decent representation of what you can expect from a slightly above average Carmenere – I’ve had a few better, but also, a lot more that were not as good.

This bottle is actually a blend of 98% Carmenère and 2% Syrah.

The Review
In the glass – it ha deep garnet colour.

In the nose – there was light smoke, woodiness, herbs, spice and dark berry fruits.

In the mouth – it was savoury and smooth, the fruit came through on the finish and it had a medium length finish.

I’m not sure if you’ve been turned on to Carmenere yet, but I sure am. You can’t go wrong trying this I can easily recommend this wine.

Aquinas Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

Swapping Bottles For New Experiences

I’m always looking for new wines to try and recently I traded bottles with a co-worker. I gave her a 2009 Echeverria Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon and she gave me a 2010 Aquinas Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Aquinas is made up of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 5% Syrah.

The Review
In the glass – you could sort of see through it’s medium ruby colour.

In the nose – it had a nice bouquet, although a touch muted, a hint of a vanilla and black berries.

In the mouth – I found it to have cocoa and oak, and overall, it showed nice ripe fruit.

I enjoyed it this wine. It had a good finish with nice tannins, but I found it to be slightly out of balance – the acidity seemed to come through when it was in the mouth and on the finish. But, with a price in the mid teens, it’s hard to beat.

Burrowing Owl Merlot – 2009

My wife and I never made it to the Burrowing Owl Estate the last time we were in BC, but we’re not going to miss it next out – for sure!

Friend shared a lovely Cabernet Sauvignon with us recently and when I saw the merlot in a recent LCBO Vintages release – it was top of mind and I knew I was going to get one (should get a couple more).

Burrowing Owl has built quite a reputation and this wine definitely enhances their portfolio.

On the nose you’ll find it to have red berries, concentrated flavours of plum, black currant, dark cocoa and fresh ground coffee. These flavours carry though to your mouth with a hint of spice and a touch of heat on the finish. This wine is full bodied and super smooth, it has great texture a long finish that I really love.

It’s totally drinkable now with ripe, integrated tannins, but there is an underlying intensity and structure that leads me to believe that it could last 5 -7 more years in the bottle.