$40-$60

Spotlight on Nebbiolo: La Spinona Barbaresco Bricco Faset 2000

January 20, 2012 By Shea Leave a Comment

Tiny Barbaresco, the often neglected side-kick of Barolo (except, of course, for Gaja). The generally earlier ripening Nebbiolo here still produces some brilliant wines, mostly because the calcerous soils couple accessibility with the ethereal.

La Spinona

This is a small winery that is a hybrid of traditional and modern. While they use the traditional Slovenian oak they also ferment under temperature control in cement vats. The Bricco Faset vineyard is located in the Barbaresco DOCG and is one of the two top sources of Nebbiolo from La Spinona

The Wine

This is a heavier, more compressed Nebbiolo based wine. While offering the depth of a good wine, it lacks finesse and the tannins remain fierce. I expected a bit more easy drinking wine at this stage in its development, but there are some rough edges to work through that make this relatively difficult to consume without food. It lacks in the fundamental aromatic complexity that makes great Nebbiolo so great.

However, this Barbaresco is still tasty wine, and its lack of subtle complexity makes it an ideal partner for richer, aromatic foods (such as osso buco braised in a lemon garlic sauce) because you do not lose the beauty of the wine’s aromas with the intense food pairings. Other wines, such as the Elio Grasso Barolo in the previous post, call more for a steak with less intense aromatics so as not to overwhelm the wine.

In conclusion, this is a good wine with food, but I would not recommend it compared to similar examples at a similar price point.

Very Good
$50 at Liberty Wine Merchants

Filed Under: $40-$60, Italian Wine, Nebbiolo, Nebbiolo, Very Good

Alban Vineyards Patrina Syrah 2008

December 29, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

Christmas is a time to open a few nice bottles and my second Christmas day wine was this Syrah from the legendary John Alban. While most of his wines are impossible to find and prohibitively expensive, this wine is merely difficult to find and is actually reasonably priced.

Alban grows his fruit in vineyards in the Edna Valley, which is south of Paso Robles. His sites get considerable cool wind influence from the sea, which intensifies his berries and reduces yields to miniscule levels. His rhone variety wines are amongst the absolute best in California.

Since 2007 Alban has started making this entry level Syrah from young vine estate fruit rather than purchased fruit. The difference shows. This is classically massive wine from the central coast, but there is something just too damn delicious about this Alban to complain. It certainly exemplifies the wine as cocktail criticism of California. But you know what? Sometimes you don’t want food with your wine and some of the old world wines higher in acid don’t fit the craving. This did. I loved it.

Excellent
$40 USD at K&L Wine

Filed Under: $40-$60, Californian Wine, Excellent, Syrah

Spotlight on Sangiovese: Fattoria Selvapiana Vigneto Bucerchiale Chianti Classico Riserva 2004

November 19, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

Selvapiana is a highly respected producer in Chianti making a broad range of wines. This Bucherchiale is a single vineyard Chianti made from one of the best vineyards in the region.

Chianti From Brand to Terroir

Selvapiana has a long connection with Florentine history, first owned by a bishop, then passing to merchants and finally being purchased by the Selvapiana family and becoming an fully fledged vineyard in the early 19th century. Selvapiana is a huge 240 acre estate with 45 acres dedicated to wine and 31 dedicated to the other Tuscan staple, olives.

In many ways Chianti is the origin of modern Italian wine. As the first officially demarcated wine making zone, it both represents the beginning of Italians’ attempt to discover and express place and an important part of Italian political history. The famous Medici family of Florence were the original sponsors of Italian wine regulation, right in the heart of Chianti. After Italian unification, it was the baron Ricasoli (of the previously discussed Castello di Brolio) that created the Chianti DOC.

As time moved on, Chianti became more of a brand than a place. The wines were drunk based on associations with a certain Italian lifestyle. The majority of wines were very poorly made and served at not-so-great Italian trattoria.

The modern age has seen a rediscovery of Chianti as place, which has also meant that, as time and lobby pressure expanded first the Chianti Classico and then the Chianti zone, in the 1970’s and 1980’s a group of producers began rediscovering Chianti as a place rather than a brand. Now Chianti Classico is home to many very high quality producers, of which Salvapiana is a great example. In the late 1980’s and 90’s, regulations caught up with the avant garde quality-oriented producers, ensuring a standard of higher quality wines across the region. As improvements continue more Chiantis will be made with 100% Sangiovese, as this wine is. Eventually Chianti will likely earn its place amongst the great terroir regions of the world – but there is still work to be done.

Pure Chianti

This is a 100% Sangiovese Chianti – an increasing rarity. It sees long 20+ days maceration in steel and then 15 months aging in barriques and medium-sized sessile oak casks. This is a slightly more modernist approach than the huge botti traditionally used. However, I did not find it hid the fruit or unique character of the site but rather managed to provide the wine with a suitable structure for aging and long term expression of these fantastic grapes.

Pouring a medium-dark red, this wine is decidedly in the modernist camp: cherry liqueur, earth and sweet oak on the nose transform into tart cherry on the palate. There is nice intensity in this wine, with its mid-range body, long finish and slightly above average acid. I did find the wine a bit hot on the finish, but it may be that the serving temperature was a bit above ideal or that this wine has seen less than ideal storage. Ultimately, this is delicious wine made well, though in this market it is perhaps too expensive compared to great wines like the 2007 Fontodi Chianti Classico at $25 less. Regardless, it is a great example of modernist pure Sangiovese that could only be made in Italy’s original wine region.

Very Good+
$60 at Liberty Wines

Filed Under: $40-$60, Italian Wine, Sangiovese, Sangiovese, Very Good

Spotlight on Sangiovese: Pertimali Sassetti Livio & Figli Rosso di Montalcino 2008

November 6, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

Rosso di Montalcino is generally considered to be great value Sangiovese. Made from young vines growing in the Brunello di Montalcino areas, this is top quality vineyard land made affordable by the youth of the vines.

Youthfulness does not mean worse quality, but rather different quality. You won’t get long aging wines with deep brooding flavours like you do with Brunello. But you will get very high quality fruit forward, acid driven wines with a lot of character. When purchased from a traditional producer, these are some of the best Sangiovese based wines at their price point.

Top Vineyards

Founded in the 1970’s, the Sassetti Livio estate in Montalcino grew from a long traditional wine making family that moved from elsewhere in Tuscany in order to seek better vineyard land. The vineyards are located in the Montosoli hill north of Montalcino. These are some of the prime vineyard lands in Brunello, especially for traditionalist producers.

Classic Young Sangiovese

This is classic Sangiovese, with cherry, saddle leather and herbs on the nose. A structured high acid wine with bright cherry and a beautiful tart mouthwatering mouthfeel. There is also plenty of leather in this thoroughly traditional wine. It may not be as drinkable without food for those not used to the traditional style – but these sorts of wines are meant to compliment food and can only be fully experienced with a good pairing. All the classics will work: pasta, veal, tomato based sauces and pizzas.

Generally this is a far brighter, peppier wine than Brunello – a product of the youthful vines. The northern vineyards bring the acids fully to the fore of this highly structured and yet extremely youthful wine. An impressive and delicious effort.

Very Good+
~$45 at Kitsilano Wine Cellar

Filed Under: $40-$60, Italian Wine, Sangiovese, Sangiovese, Very Good

Peju Zinfandel 2007

October 27, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

Anyone who has been to Napa a few times knows the general rule that it is best to avoid Highway 29 if you want to find anything other than explosive renditions of American ostentatiousness and tour bus groups. Lest an overly severe bias interfere with the discovery of new wines, I must offer a caveat here. There are several great wineries on 29, including Nickel and Nickel, Cardinale and St. Clement. There is also the family run winery Peju, founded in 1982, which I have seen for years but never stepped into. Fortunately, Peju has recently entered the B.C. market and I was sent some samples to review. The Zinfandel was the favourite of what I received.

This is classic American zinfandel. Hugely fruity, robust and balls-to-the-wall, some may write off wines like this but they have their place. There are not many wines that can stand up to dishes like Chili (with which I paired my bottle) or to the variety of flavours found at Thanksgiving tables.

Peju’s Zinfandel is a well made example of Napa zin. It has powerful fruit but also strong enough acid to keep it fresh on the palate. It is aromatic, bold and sexy. My only “complaint” is that I find the alcohol slightly astringent on the palate. Given, Zinfandel is a naturally high alcohol variety and it is difficult to perfect (terroir also has a significant play here), but I would have liked to see a little more textural finesse here. Nonetheless, this is good zin and zin-lovers will not be disappointed. If you like big robust foods and haven’t yet paired them with Zinfandel, then I highly recommend trying it out.

Very Good
$55 at Kits Wine

Filed Under: $40-$60, Californian Wine, Very Good, Zinfandel

Spotlight on Portuguese Dry Wine: Quinta de Pancas Touriga Nacional Reserva 2008

September 25, 2011 By Shea 1 Comment

Much of the Portuguese wine we see in North American markets tend toward big, rich fruity red wines aged in considerable oak. The heaviness of oak often brings the already intense touriga nacional grape into viscous territory, which is never enjoyable to those who appreciate finesse and elegance. Of course, Protugal is far more than that, and this wine is a perfect example.

Down South

Grown in the Estremedura and not the Douro, you might expect the more southerly region to produce more alcoholic and fruitier wines than the north. This is, however, not the case as the region has a coastal climate, which moderates the temperatures, especially at night. Quinta de Pancas is one of the new breed of wineries from the Estremedura, which is actually a group of four regions which collectively produce the greatest quantity of wine in Portugal and traditionally were dominated by poor quality co-operatives. Pancas has been producing wine for centuries, but the quality has improved dramatically in the last 2 decades.

Refined Touriga Nacional

I like this wine. What upon initial opening is rich dark blue fruits, pretty heavy oaking and coffee becomes plum skins, blackberry and herbacious greenness with air. An enticing wine, which becomes even more so on the palate.

A perfect example of why most young wines need decanting, what was initially very oaky, tart, and mostly uninteresting blue fruit became one of the most interesting wines I’ve had from Portugal with a good hour in the open bottle. I’d call this a Portuguese wine for Loire and Burgundy people who can appreciate a wine with greater density. There is dirt, minerals, chalk and good acid here that make this 13.5% ABV wine quite refreshing and elegant.

There is also serious varietal character in this wine. If you are afraid of density and tannin then you shouldn’t be drinking Touriga Nacional. But it is not fair to write off this wine because of the inherent weight of the grape. In fact, I think this wine is more varietally true than many of the Touriga Nacional’s I’ve tasted in our market. And that makes it well worth seeking out.

VG+ to E (I think this will become superb with age)
~$40 at Everything Wine

Filed Under: $40-$60, Portuguese Dry Wine, Portuguese Wine, Touriga Nacionale, Very Good

Spotlight on Portuguese Dry Wine: Quinta do Ameal Eschola Branco 2004

August 25, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

As I mentioned earlier in this spotlight, white wine of merit is somewhat of a rarity in Portugal. In particular, Vinho Verde (aka Minho), a wine region north of Oporto, is known to produce mostly quaffing whites with no real interest beyond a hot day and a low price. Quinta do Ameal, however, has taken upon itself to show how the indigenous variety Loureiro can actually make serious wine.

The Region

Vinho Verde is synonymous with high acidity, watery whites and fairly rustic reds. The region produces ⅙ of Portugal’s wines and accordingly has quite high yields. The climate is damp, with high malic acid and low natural grape sugar. The majority of white wines are actually made from Alvarinho (aka Albarino) but it can also be blended with other indigenous grapes including Loureiro.

The Grape

Loureiro is an aromatic grape usually used in blends, however it has naturally high acidity and low alcohol and thrives particularly well in the cooler parts of Minho. Often the yields are high with this grapes, but Ameal crops it at yields far lower than normal at 5 tons/hectare in order to release its savory aromas and deeper concentration of flavours and make it suitable for a 100% varietal wine.

Ameal does a 48 hour cold soak and ferments and ages in oak.

The Wine

This is intriguing wine that is well made and also quite delicious. It pours somewhat greenish but darker than normal for Vinho Verde. However, clearly this grape does not have a lot of colour. The nose proffers reasonably dense oak, but it also has intriguing aromas of bitter citrus rind, nuts and strange flowers/savory herbs.

The relatively high acid palate is both bright and savory: minerals, bitter citrus rind, and flowers again. An up front wine that combines both richness and fresh easy approachability so long as you are amenable to the unique flavour profile.

There is a bit of greenness here (underripeness is a perennial problem in Vinho Verde) but it is not offensive. Rather it adds interest and spark. Quite a fascinating wine and absolutely worth checking out. This is definitely wine geek wine, but with a broad appeal. Who’s ever had 100% Loureiro before?

12% ABV.

Very Good+
$41 at Everything Wine

Filed Under: $40-$60, Loureiro, Portuguese Dry Wine, Portuguese Wine, Very Good

Champalou Cuvee Moelleuse Vouvray 2003

August 1, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

Vouvray produces some of my favourite off-dry white wines of any region in the world. These vinous expressions are the pillowy counterpoint to the soaring wines of the Mosel. Equally deft at bringing together lightness, freshness and incredible depth, there is a much waxier quality than anything you’d find from the Rhine Valley and its offshoots.

This “sweet” Vouvray from the top producer Champalou is a perfect example of both top Vouvray and how the 2003 vintage produced some excellent sweet wines in the Loire despite the heat. In Vouvray the grapes saw some noble rot, which added to the wines’ voluptuous intensity even while the lower acid of the vintage perhaps took away from their famous ageability.

A Marshmallow Waterfall

With classic aromas of honey and peaches, this wine turns truly exciting upon drinking. Waxy, dense apricots, peaches and honey glide over the tongue like a marshmallow waterfall. The complexity and length show this to be a top notch wine, even though the acid is just barely at the right level and the wine very well may start declining sooner than expected. This is serious Chenin and is perfect with Thai food, pumpkin ravioli or anything with a hint of sweetness and spiciness.

Excellent
$50 at Liberty Wine Merchants

Filed Under: $40-$60, Chenin Blanc, Excellent, French Wine

Karthauserhof Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Kabinett Riesling 2007

July 28, 2011 By Shea 1 Comment

Let’s start with German wine labels 101. The first word – Karthauserhof – is the producer. Karthauserhof is one of the top producers in the Mosel, located in, yep, Eitelsbach (the second word is the village). This village is located on the Ruwer river, which is a tributary of the Mosel.

This is ancient vine country. Vineyards here were originally planted about a thousand years ago by the Romans and eventually it was Carthusian monks that established the Karthauserhof estate in the 14th century. In the time of Napoleon, the vineyard was taken from the monks and sold to a private owner from Paris. The estate then passed through one of those irritating European noble families for generations, ending up today in some off-shoot branch of the Napoleonic era owner. That said, these are wines both with serious history and of tremendous quality.

The Vineyard

The Karthauserhofberg vineyard (the third word in the label is always the vineyard) is the sole source of fruit for Karthauserhof winery. It is in fact an amalgamation of 5 separate vineyards, but you will only know which vineyard fruit went into which wines if you talk to the winery itself.

Of course, as with all Mosel estates, the terroir is slate and it is this slate that gives the rieslings of the Mosel their unique combination of depth, clarity and precision, despite always hanging on the edge of ripeness.

Poetic Precision

How to describe a wine like this? You can think of precision like an engineer fixated on detail, making no mistakes. There is little to be excited about, but such work is nearly always reliable and we’re all happy to benefit from the meticulousness.

However, there is also a precision that brings to life that which would otherwise remain hidden. This is the type of clarity offered by my favourite writers from John Coetze and James Baldwin to E.M. Forster and Joseph Conrad.

This wine is more like the writer than the engineer – precise but poetic. At first you appreciate the detail and economy, but then you start to see how all the pithy focus reveals something worldly and profound. A 100 page novel you read in 4 hours but remember for the rest of your life. Only ever Riesling can do this.

This is wine with firm acidity but the fruit is all the more expressive because of this lift, and the wine melts easily into food. Enticing, clean, mineral driven, exalted fruit, and as comforting and delicious as it is vaulted and gothic.

Excellent+
$42 at Liberty Wine Merchants

Filed Under: $40-$60, Excellent, German Wine, Riesling

Spotlight on New Zealand: Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay 2007

July 17, 2011 By Shea Leave a Comment

This will be the last post in the New Zealand spotlight. And I feel it is suitable to end with a wine that represents how New Zealand is moving towards it own unique sense of terroir, marrying cool climate viticulture with respect for both old world restraint and new world pleasure. The best wines of New Zealand combine the reflective with the hedonistic so well that I am very excited for the Island’s future.

Methods

I wrote up Kumeu river’s entry level chardonnay earlier in this spotlight, which is made with purchased fruit. The Estate Chardonnay takes things to another level of depth and complexity. Grown on clay and sandstone soils, the vines are trellised in the ‘lyre’ system, which increases the grapes light exposure and helps to ensure greater phenolic ripeness.

The grapes are hand harvested, and once in the cellar they see 100% whole bunch pressing, full malo-lactic and barrel fermentation for 11 months.

Old World, New World

This is a very tasty wine and, despite not reaching the level of stunning complexity of the Pyramid Lion’s Tooth Chardonnay, it is also surprisingly complex and aromatically expressive. Minerals, stones, flowers and lemon make up the excellent bouquet, which would fool many to be Burgundy, though I think the fruit character is decidedly Kiwi. The oak is beautifully integrated and the palate is very bright and fresh with good length and balance. This is a wine with old world style and a new world sensibility and is outstanding chardonnay for the price.

Excellent and Highly Recommended Value
$40 at Kits Wine Cellar and Everything Wine

Filed Under: $40-$60, Chardonnay, Excellent, Highly Recommended Values, New Zealand, New Zealand Wines