Reported by Dawn Harvie

Vic Harradine of winecurrent.com chose all the wines and hosted this tasting along with Guild Director Pierre Fournier. It was wonderful to have Vic lead the tasting and get his personal viewpoint on some of the wines that he rated. All of the wines we tasted were rated at least 4 stars.Flight one was the customary white flight. The first wine was a classic Riesling (Furst Löwenstein Kabinett) with notes of slate, mineral, and petrol on the nose. In the mouth it had some residual sugar as well as mineral notes, and an oily mouth feel. The second wine was rather different. It was the d’Arenberg ‘The Money Spider’ Roussanne 2005. On the nose, it had some apple, peach, and mineral, but on the palate, it had some bitter almond and seemed almost salty, but not unpleasantly so. It was an interesting wine, which garnered 4 stars. White wine three was the Devil’s Lair Chardonnay with a touch of oak, and some melon and apple on the nose which followed through on the palate. Vic rated this wine a 4.5 stars.

The first wine of flight two was a nice wine at a good price ($13.95). The Cristobal 1492 Merlot from Argentina (4.5 stars) initially had lots of concentrated, but jammy fruit, and some spice. On the palate, some earthier notes came through with the fruit and spice. The ‘Andretti Selections’ Merlot was rather closed on the nose with perhaps a hint of raspberry, but on the palate, it was full of rich, but slightly tart, dark fruit, plums, and some earthy notes. The Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon had a little jammy fruit, some green notes, and a bit of an alcohol nose. In the mouth, there were dry tannins, astringency, some green pepper, and some dark red fruit. The favourite of the flight, another 4.5 star wine, was the Ironstone ‘Old Vine’ Zinfandel at a nice price ($16.95). It had nice sweet jammy fruit and toasty oak notes, which followed through on the palate. A real crowd-pleasing wine, nice and easy-going.

The Two Hands ‘Gnarly Dudes’ Shiraz had lots of black fruit, but it was lacking rather in the mid-palate and had a short finish. A little disappointing for the $27.95 price tag. But perhaps the Two Hands wine had a hard time next to the Kaesler ‘Stonehorse’ Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvèdre at $19.95. This wine had a bit of perfume on the nose—jasmine or orange blossom. In the mouth, the floral notes came through with a bit of sweetness, and some spice and earthy qualities, but in the end, the alcohol really stood out. The last wine in this flight was the Antinori Pèppoli Chianti Classico with a slighty funky nose of sweat, leather, and herbs. In the mouth, it had lots of dark fruit, nice acidity, and good structure. The 750 ml bottle is $19.95—a good buy—and it can be found in a 375 ml bottle as well for $11.95.

The evening continued with flight four. It was hard to choose a favourite in this flight—always a sign of a group of great wines. The first wine, the Domaine Mathieu Châteauneuf-du-Pape, was a complex wine with strawberries and raspberries, dried cranberries, earthy notes, and cedar. Several tasters noted a touch of volatile acidity. The fruit notes followed through on the palate, but the wine was rather tannic and astringent. The Miguel Torres ‘Mas la Plana’ is always a nice wine and the 2001 did not disappoint. The nose is full of cedar and toasty oak, some perfume notes, licorice, and leather, which all came across on the palate along with lots of big fruit, coffee, and moca. The Penfolds ‘Bin 407’ Cabernet Sauvignon with some dark, dark fruit on the nose, and dusty spices. In the mouth, there is a lot of rich fruit, spice, and a touch of menthol.

Flight five took us over the top!! I can’t imagine anyone spitting these wines—even at a wine tasting! The Luce Della Vite, with its $99.95 price tag, was delicious with big black fruit, lots of spice, coffee, and tobacco! In the mouth, all these flavours came through with some dryish tannins, and an incredible long finish. The Roberto Voerzio Barolo Vigneto Brunate had incredible earth and fruit notes as well as a huge amount of black licorice. On the palate, waves of fruit, spice, earth, and licorice meld together in a very long finish. Delicious. However, at $199.95, it is quite the indulgence! And flight six featured the Gonzalez Byass Matusalem Oloroso Dulce Muy Viejo and a piece of the best fruit cake ever, made by Vic’s wife, Terry. The Olorosso was full of raisins, molasses, and a touch of a herbaceous/salty note. A lovely way to end the evening.

It was easy to find whatever you might be looking for during the holiday season: stocking stuffers, party wines, luxury gifts.

Flight 1

• Furst Löwenstein Estate Bottled Riesling Kabinett, 2005, QmP Hallgartener Schönhell, Germany 505461 $17.95
• D’Arenberg ‘The Money Spider’, 2005, McLaren Vale, South Australia (Rousanne) 656710 $19.95
• Devil’s Lair Chardonnay, 2004, Margaret River, Western Australia 543447 $39.95

• Cristobal 1492 Oak Reserve Merlot, 2004, Mendoza, Argentina 663096 $13.95
• Andretti Selections Merlot, 2004, California, USA 11700 $18.95
• Casa Lapostolle Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004, Rapel Valley, Chile 398800 $16.95
• Ironstone Old Vine Zinfandel, 2005, Lodi, USA 951889 $33.95

• Gnarly Dudes Two Hands Shiraz, 2004, Barossa Valley, South Australia 660043 $27.95
• Kaesler ‘Stonehorse’ Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre, 2004, Barossa Valley, South Australia 6551 $19.95
• Antinori Pèppoli Chianti Classico, 2004, DOCG, Italy (Sangiovese) 606541 $19.95

• Domanine Mathieu Châteauneuf-du-Pape, 2003, AC, France 971564 $31.95
• Miguel Torres Mas la Plana, 2001, DO Penedès, Spain (Cabernet Sauvignon) 678672 $39.95
• Penfolds Bin 407, 2003, South Australia, (Cabernet Sauvignon) 414987 $29.95

• Luce Della Vite, 2003, IGT Toscana, Italy (Merlot/Sangiovese) 685263 $99.95
• Roberto Voerzio Vigneto Brunate Barolo, 2001, DOCG, Italy (Nebbiolo) 720813 $199.99

• Matusalem Oloroso Dulce Muy Viejo, Gonzalez Byass, 30 year old, Spain 694323 $22.56