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Yeringberg 2002

February 27, 2008 By Shea Leave a Comment

There is nothing like an under the radar wine – it’s like exploring a hidden world and flirting with a new personality. It may work, it may not – but when it does it’s a fantastic experience. This is one such wine. I picked up this 2002 Yeringberg at about half price at Marquis wine cellars; for some reason it was not selling well and I got the benefit of other people’s oversight.

This is not a typical Aussie wine – insofar as typical means big jammy, syrupy fruit bombs with no finess, which is not always a fair characterization of Aussie wines, many of which are nothing like this. However, what typically gets imported into Canada, and especially the mainstream stuff, is usually fruit bomb over-oaked stuff. This is unfortunate since Australia makes some absolutely amazing wine not of this character.

The Yeringberg is from the Yarra Valley in Victoria, near Melbourne and has been around since 1863. It has a rich opulent medium-red colour and consists of Cabernet Sauvignan, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Malbec and so takes on all sorts of interesting characteristics while being very nicely balanced. The nose is heavy on the eucalyptus and cassis, and after about an our it took on a hint of rich meat. The palate has great integration and balance and simply superb acidity. I got notes of tart raspberry with a smooth minty breeze. It was a tad hot on the finish to begin with, but this dissipated with some air. The tannins are silky and help the wine develop consistently from the up front taste through the mid-palate and into the finish. The mid-palate is particularly well done with some great vegetal characteristics.

Final Verdict: seek out more non-typical Aussie wine.

Excellent
$60 at Marquis (purchased for $35 on sale)


Filed Under: $40-$60, Australian Wine, Bordeaux Blends, Excellent

Achaval Ferrer Quimera 2005

January 19, 2008 By Shea Leave a Comment

I generally drink a lot of california and Australian wines, probably because I visited Napa and Sonoma and loved it and Australian wine offers good value for money (given the Australian government’s reduction on tax for exports of wine). Anyhow, I decided I wanted to try a region I used to go to a lot for good value wines: Argentina. However, in this case I wanted a wine that would express some authentic Argentinian terroir and a little something extra in the flavour department.

This wine consists of 27% malbec, 28% merlot, 25% cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc. The nose presents aromas of chocolate, mint, and blackberry. The palate is mostly blackberry and earthy leather. The wine is a moderately tangy and has a decent length in the finish, even if the complexity is somewhat lacking. It is a little closed and simple on the palate, but this might be due to the year – 2005, which saw less heat and therefore less ripeness and lower alcohol levels. But, the lower alcohol provides somewhat of a ‘raw’ element to the wine, which is appealing.

Upon first tasting the Quimera promises a lot, but kind of fails to deliver on the mid-palate and the finish. That is not to say it is a bad wine – far from it. It’s well integrated and structured. It just lacks a ‘wow’ factor. It is certainly enjoyable sipping wine. However, it’s too expensive for what you get. So, I would recommend a pass on this, despite the ‘very good’ rating, unless you are interested in tasting a slightly ‘finer’ wine with a decent sense of Argentinian terroir.

$45 at BCLDB
Very Good

Filed Under: $40-$60, Argentinian Wine, Bordeaux Blends, Very Good

Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2004

December 4, 2007 By Shea 2 Comments

Canadian provincial wine laws have always been a pet peave of mine. In the case of Canadian made wine, bad wine laws have contributed to their general poor quality and lack of international reputation. For example, Ontario allows wine makers to import plonky leftover juice from around the world and yet label their wines Canadian. However, the state of wine production is improving somewhat, although for legal and economic reasons (lack of viable and large enough markets, lack of wide distribution) most Canadian wine is still sub-standard for the price (At least in my opinion). There are many proud supporters of Canadian wine, but I only follow my taste buds. That said, this bottle is not only an exception to what I’ve written above, but one that I would not be ashamed to see in other national markets.

I tried to hold on to this bottle a bit longer, but gave in to the urge to try it after only a few months of cellaring. The nose opened with a bit of cassis and cherry and these flavours continued to develop upon my first sip. The wine is pretty well integrated, but is a bit tight and overly tannic, especially in the finish. This really probably needs more time in the cellar to open up completely. However, this is definitely a very enjoyable wine.

$40 at BCLDB and Private Stores
Very Good (although probably Very Good + to Excellent with some bottle age)

Filed Under: $40-$60, BC Wine, Bordeaux Blends, Canadian Wine, Very Good

Chateau La Vieille Cure 2000

December 3, 2007 By Shea Leave a Comment

Having trudged through enough exam prep to warrant a reward I decided to open a ‘nicer’ (i.e. more expensive) bottle tonight and decided on this nice little wine from the great 2000 vintage in Bordeaux (although now overshadowed by the ‘best ever’ vintage of 2005). The wine was a bit closed upon first opening the bottle but opened up to reveal notes of tar, ash, and smoke. I smelled a bit of coffee on the nose initially, but that dissipated pretty quickly. After about 30 minutes the flavours developed to include a refreshing mintyness in the finish. The best way I can describe the fruit of this wine would be ‘brambly’. It was slightly tannic, but pleasantly so.

I initially thought decanting was supposed to open a wine to reveal its best side. However, I came across a wine writer a while ago that really changed my perspective. He wrote that while decanting can help to bring a wine to its peak, he rather liked thinking of wine as a flower growing from bud to full bloom. That a wine evolves as you drink it can be, and is for me, a huge part of the pleasure drinking it. It’s part of the living character of wine and helps to make it much more than just boozed-up grapes.

On that note, I will conclude by saying that while I really did like this wine, it is just way too expensive in BC to justify its purchase. If I were able to pick it up in the US for roughly $20-$25 (which is what it goes for down there) then it’d be a steal. As it is I probably won’t get it again just because there is always so much more to explore.

Very Good
$50 at BCLDB

Filed Under: $40-$60, Bordeaux Blends, French Wine, Very Good
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