$20 and under

Fonteinen Oud Doesjel Old Lambic in Oak 2006

November 6, 2009 By Shea Leave a Comment

This Gueze Lambic is from the legendary Fonteinen of Belgium, who have become even more legendary after a warehouse fire destroyed their entire stock about a year ago. As a result, their beer prices shot up and the beers themselves became rare specialty commodities that collectors now prize highly.

Lucky for me, the last time I was in San Francisco, I stopped by Healthy Spirits, an awesome beer store in the Castro district, and found a bottle of this taunting me with its simple beauty. So yes, like any faithful beer geek I picked up a bottle.

I opened this a few months later, and found it to be one of the best Geuze style lambics I have had the fortune to taste. The nose has the classic notes of must, funk, damp cellar, oak, wood, and some dried fruits. This is very expressive aromatically and has crazy nuances that newer Geuzes just don’t reveal.

The palate had citrus, dried apricot, wood, forest, and pine needles all mashed together in a very robust, and yet low alcohol, potion of goodness. The beer was smooth, slightly off-dry and had great complexity. In the end, it confirmed the legend – a rare and singular offering. If you ever see one of these beers pick it up immediately, you will not be disappointed.

Excellent
$15 / 375ml at Healthy Spirits

Filed Under: $20 and under, Belgian Beer, Excellent, Lambic

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout 06-07

October 24, 2009 By Shea Leave a Comment

I’m not sure that I’ve ever written up what is perhaps not only my favourite go to stout, but also one of the best balanced and most ageable stouts out there. Brooklyn’s Black Chocolate Stout is actually not brewed with chocolate, but rather with copious amounts of chocolate malts. One can certainly taste and smell all levels of dark chocolate in this wonderfully made beer. Further, as part of an ongoing debate on twitter about chocolate and wine, I want to come out on my blog to say that in my opinion no alcohol pairs better with chocolate than stouts. The huge range of stouts is versatile and able to pair with the huge range of chocolate styles, which is precisely what I did with this amazing stout that I aged for 3 years before consuming.

The nose on the stout has vanilla, caramel, loads of chocolate and heavy roasted coffee. The palate is ridiculously smooth after 3 years in the bottle, and tasted like cigar, caramel, sugar, wood, dark roasted coffee and bitter cacao. These high alcohol stouts really only show their full potential when stored away for at least a year, many improving well beyond that. For me, big imperial stouts are the perfect dessert drink, much more so than sweet wines. 10% ABV.

Excellent
$2.75/375ml at BCLDB (for the current release 08-09)

Filed Under: $20 and under, American Beer, Excellent, Stouts

Brasserie d’Ecaussinnes La Penneffoise

October 19, 2009 By Shea Leave a Comment

British Columbia has recently begun to improve its selection of craft beers, which is nice to see. However, most of them are merely solid but not overly exciting examples of a particular style. Perhaps I was spoiled by spending 5 months embroiled in California’s thriving micro-brew culture, but my exposure to fine beers in the U.S. changed my perception of what is truly great.

This is all the more reason why I think this Belgian ‘prune’ beer is super. It has a level of complexity and experimentation that you rarely find in the BC market, and, well, it’s just really darn tasty. Being a fruit beer, some might expect this to be based on a weisse style or on the lambic style. It’s not really either of those – instead being a hybrid between a belgian strong ale and a wild ale. The nose on this is fantastic: similar to a geueze lambic or a beer made with brettanomyces yeast, this also has a nice wet forest/cellar smell while pushing subtle belgian fruit esters forward. The prune aroma is subtle but present.

Best of all, this beer is not made with added sugar or in a sickly fruity sweet style. You can still taste the prune and the fruit, but the beer actually finishes dry and wonderful. There is a degree of complex malting going on here that is similar to what Allagash or Lost Abbey do with their beers and something you don’t taste very much in BC. This is very full and robust while being light and creamy in the mouth. The 8% ABV is completely unnoticeable. I’m sipping on this right now and thinking “I love this beer”. If you want to taste a real beer in Vancouver, do not pass this by.

Excellent and Highly Recommended Value
$15 / 750ml at Viti

Filed Under: $20 and under, Belgian Beer, Excellent, Highly Recommended Values, Strong Ale

Domaine Saint-Damien Cotes Du Rhone Vielles Vignes 2007

October 14, 2009 By Shea Leave a Comment

This is the first of the 2007′s, a lauded vintage in the southern Rhone, that I’ve dipped my nose into. And a happy nose it was. This wine exceeds what is generally probable to discover in Vancouver at its price point, and proves why seeking out the small guy can pay big dividends.

The nose on this GSM had cherry, fig, a little earth and toast, and a nice medium body. This is classic southern Rhone, and actually smells far more like a Gigondas than a Cotes du Rhone. That is probably due to the lucky addition of declassified Gigondas fruit to the blend. The palate is a pepper blast and has tons of cherry fruit and real intensity of flavour while maintaining medium body and weight. An immensely enjoyable wine at this price, and indeed tasting almost as good as a higher end Gigondas.

Very Good+ and Highly Recommended Value
$20 at Marquis

Filed Under: $20 and under, French Wine, Highly Recommended Values, Rhone Blends, Very Good

Apollonio Valle Cupa Salento Rosso IGT 2001

August 18, 2009 By Shea Leave a Comment

Somewhat off the traditional vinous road through Italy lies Apulia, a region in southeastern Italy within which one can find the Salento Rosso IGT. Essentially the heel of Italy’s boot, Salento is an extremely dry region, with almost no precipitation in the summer and only about 500mm of rain per year. However, the limestone bedrock is permeable and therefore the region has abundant groundwater despite its dryness. It’s an interesting region that most have likely never heard of and producer Apollonio is doing a fine job using indigenous grapes but producing in a fairly international style.

This particular wine is a blend of 50% primitivo (aka zinfandel) and 50% negroamaro, an indigenous grape. The nose was surprisingly modern with ripe cherries, chocolate, nuts, earth and baking spices. The fruit character was extremely rich, and yet more earthy and spicy than many zinfandels from the US. The palate was very interesting with cherry, blackberry, earth and mushroom. This was full bodied, but held solid acidity and certainly was very food friendly. Despite its internationalism, there is certainly a sense of ‘terroir’ here and interesting underlying characteristics that are more old than new world, such as the earthy components and higher acidity. This is a hybrid wine style that is absolutely fantastic value and worth seeking out.

Very Good+ and Highly Recommended Value
$20 at BCLDB

Filed Under: $20 and under, Highly Recommended Values, Italian Wine, Negroamaro, Primitivo, Very Good

Domaine Grand Nicolet Vielles Vignes Rasteau 2006

July 5, 2009 By Shea Leave a Comment

Cote du Rhone can really kill it, or it can be decidedly boring pepper stew. Rateau, however, a single village within the Cote du Rhone offers better quality wines, and when you can get them from a good vintage, a good producer, and at a price such as this wine they really shine through as some of the best value reds in the world.

The nose on this old vines grenache based cuvée has dusty, chocolate-infused blueberry driving the wine over a tiny edge of manure, which dissipated with air. The palate has superb fruit up front with tons of blueberry and strawberry. The mid-palate has a considerable tannic grip, but the finish is soft and smooth. The wine also maintains considerable freshness from the acidity. Heat and chalk fill out the mouth of this big-boned incredibly food friendly wine. An awesome value for the price.

Very Good+
$20 at Marquis

Filed Under: $20 and under, French Wine, Rhone Blends, Very Good

Paul et Jean-Marc Pastou La Cote de Jury Vieille Vignes Sancerre 2006

April 6, 2009 By Shea Leave a Comment

For those seeking great cutting whites at recession prices, the Loire valley is the first place to look. Sancerre is, of course, the most famous region within the Loire, but it is still producing some superb wines at great prices. This is one such wine. Barrel selected by North Berkeley Wine Merchants (god I love it here, where a wine store barrel selects wine from great producers around the world).

The nose had round orchard fruits and subtle minerals. Simple, but still layered and enticing. The palate is quite tart with lemon and a very sharp citrus bite that slides into a mineral strike in the mid-palate. Mostly restrained in its fruit, this is meant for food, but is a great wine for that purpose. Try this with some tasty goat’s cheese such as a Chabichou. Very nice for what it does.

Very Good
$20 at North Berkeley Wine Merchants

Filed Under: $20 and under, French Wine, Sauvignon Blanc, Very Good

Vega Sindoa Cabernet Sauvignon / Tempranillo 2006

March 22, 2009 By Shea 2 Comments

I will be off for “Spring Break” in a few moments, which will result in my absence from the blogosphere for a few days – but I thought a tasty good value wine was the appropriate send off given that I have some serious notes to write up when I return for a recent trip to Napa and the Rhone Rangers tasting.

Another small production wine, this time from Navarra, Spain. Very earthy on the nose with some blackberry and other berry notes. The nose is reminiscent of the myriad odours one unearthed when digging in one’s childhood backyard garden.

The palate was spicy, full bodied, but yet subtle with a soft mouthfeel, but grippy tannins on the late mid-palate and finish. This is a pretty fantastic value of a wine, and another score for Vintage Berkeley.

Very Good+
$19 at Vintage Berkeley

Filed Under: $20 and under, Cabernet Sauvignon, Spanish Wine, Tempranillo, Very Good

Quinta de Viluco QV Syrah 2005

March 17, 2009 By Shea 2 Comments

A Chilean syrah from the Maipo Valley. This was absolutely intense in colour with blackish purple filling the glass with a formidable approach. The nose was all big dark fruit and confection, with definite alcohol. The palate was softer than expected, however, and very concentrated. I noticed simple but intense plum, chocolate, blackberry and licorice. Good balance, and a good value for a ‘big’ new world style syrah. Many would undoubtedly like this, but I prefer a little less sugar and a little more roughness when it comes to massive syrahs. Either that or go for the elegance and layering of a Northern Rhone style. Still, if I could get this in Canada at this price point, it would be tempting to drink this pretty often.

Very Good

$17.50 at North Berkeley Wine Merchants

Filed Under: $20 and under, Chilean Wine, Syrah, Very Good

BR Cohn Silver Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

February 5, 2009 By Shea Leave a Comment

This is the kind of wine that I feel probably gets a bad rap from people, and for some reason may be disliked. There is something to its ‘thereness’ (or lack thereof) that speaks of a wine that doesn’t speak much at all. This is not to say that we aren’t looking at a pretty good wine here. In fact, I believe this is not only enjoyable, but a great bargain buy. Nonetheless, when I picked up the classic notes of mint, cedar wood and blackberry on the nose I could not help but feel somewhat lost in situating this wine in a time and place. It just somewhat stood adrift.

Concentrated blackberry fruit on the palate, and a distinct cleanliness that was bright and fresh, this is an extremely well made Cabernet Sauvignon for $15. The balance is right and the flavour is full and direct – so despite my ruminations above, I still have to recommend this as a solid, clean example of good bargain wine making. From blended purchased Sonoma fruit (vs. Cohn’s estate wines).

Very Good
$15 at K&L

Filed Under: $20 and under, Cabernet Sauvignon, Californian Wine, Very Good