Reported by Gilles Proulx

On one of the first real summer days, eighteen guild members were assembled for a paired tasting of Northern and Southern Hemisphere wines. Are flying winemakers—who enjoy summer all year round—levelling the tasting experience of wine lovers? Is terroir receding in the background by uniform vineyard and winemaking techniques? Are the latter applied intelligently so as to optimize the expression of terroir?

With a view to provide some elements of answer with this tasting, Guild Director Robert White aligned fourteen wines grouped into seven North-South pairs. The wines had been patiently assembled from earlier Vintages releases.

Flight one included four whites of the same varietal, all pale yellow with greenish hues. Right from wine number one with its oily-kerozene nose, the flight was easily recognized as Riesling. Preferences were split evenly on the first pair, from Coonawara by Wynns and Niagara by Thirteen Street Vineyard. Moving to the second pair, there was a clear domination of Villa Maria Private Bin Reserve from New Zealand over a Phalz Kabinett, with its huge nose of peaches (as in Viognier?), good acidity, and nice equilibrium. All agreed that this was a very good opening for wines in the $15-$18 range, confirming once more Jancis Robinson’s view that Riesling is the most under appreciated and under priced white grape in the world. (Scorecard: North 0.5, South 1.5)

For flight two and the rest of the tasting, the focus moved to Cabernet Sauvignon. The first pair win went to Torres Gran Coronas, with a restrained classic nose of cassis and cedar notes that asserted themselves in the mouth along with firm tannins and a long finish. In other words, structure and classicism won over a fruit driven Montes Alpha from Chile that could have been a crowd pleaser. In the second pair, California’s Clayhouse Vineyard with a subdued nose and medium body was preferred to Argentina’s Catena. (Scorecard: North 2, South 0)

In flight three, at somewhat higher price points (the $20-$30 range), the South had its revenge. First with d’Arenberg the High Trellis 2005 from Australia: members appreciated the expressive nose of cassis, menthol, and eucalyptus with notes of white chocolate. The mouth followed with a fruit forward and balanced character. A very good buy, with potentially five more years in the cellar. In the second pair, Ses’Fikile Matriarch from South Africa won over a Château Lalande les Moulins with a nose of cedar, toasty oak, and hint of vegetal, followed by a good balance between acidity and tannins and a pleasant velvety texture. (Scorecard: North 0, South 2)

The final flight featured a single pair of premium wines, both well appreciated by the group who ended up evenly split. Concha Y Toro Don Melchor 2004, opened for three hours before pouring, delivered aromas of menthol and eucalyptus with notes of red pepper and chocolate. Moueix’ Dominus 2004 had a subdued nose of fruits and cassis and showed balance in the mouth with dusty tannins. Two very different wines in spite of the same grape, many common winemaking elements (including mix of new and old French oak, and maturation time), and the same Wine Advocate rating of 94. (Scorecard: North 0.5, South 0.5)

Flying winemakers are accused of contributing to globalization and homogenization in wine making. I rather like to think their first contribution is to spread better winemaking techniques around the world. While there were preferred wines, none was bad; and they were quite distinct, no uniformity here. Would this be terroir signature?

Again, thanks to Robert White for selecting the wines and giving us the opportunity to
taste and contrast wines from both hemispheres.

Final score: North 3, South 4

Flight 1

• Wynns Coonwara Estate Riesling, 2005, Australia, 528216, $14.95
• 13th Street Riesling, 2005, Ontario, 56564, $18.00
• Reichsrat Von Buhl Armand Riesling Kabinett, 2005, Germany, 60905, $16.85
• Villa Maria Private Bin Riesling, 2007, New Zealand, 62240, $17.95

Flight 2

• Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005, Chile, 322586, $21.80
• Torres Gran Coronas Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004, Spain, 36483, $18.80
• Catena Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005, Argentina, 985002, $19.95
• Clayhouse Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005, California, 57869, $18.95

Flight 3

• Angels Gate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2003, Ontario, 49924, $19.80
• d'Arenberg The High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005, Australia, 943456, $20.95
• Chateau Lalande les Moulins, 2005, France, 61036, $29.95
• Ses'Fikile Matriach Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004, South Africa, 56481, $24.95

Flight 4

• Concha Y Toro Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004, Chile, 315176, $59.95
• Dominus, 2004, Napa Valley, 63057, $90.95