|
| Vintages Pre-Release |
|
|
Thursday, 27 April 2006 Reported by Dawn Harvie VPRs are bang for your buck! No doubt about it. I don’t know how many VPRs I’ve missed over the past couple years, but I’m sure I could count them on one hand. We know, first-hand, which wines are worth buying and which are not because we’re the only group in all of Ontario that has the opportunity to taste up-coming release wines. If you taste one wine that you were planning on purchasing and decide that it’s not worth the purchase price, you’ve saved yourself some money. On the other hand, if you find something that’s great value or something that is worth cellaring, you’ve put your money to good use. I have very few wines in my cellar that haven’t passed the test of the VPR. And I’ve had lots of fun to boot. Tonight’s tasting was no exception. We tasted a lot of big reds presented by Pierre Fournier, Guild Director. As a change of pace, all of the wines served were red. The first flight featured four different varietals. The Mongrel by Hugh Hamilton (85% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot, 5% Tempranillo) was bubblegum and juicy fruit—the aromas of carbonic maceration, but it didn’t have the big oomph of fruit on the palate. The Pirramimma Shiraz had a lot of coconut from the oak, some cocoa, methol, and vegetal notes. With its pale colour and earthy nose, the Nepenthe Pinot Noir was a dead giveaway. On the palate it had bright cherry fruit and good acidity. A decent Pinot at its $18 price tag. The favourite of the flight was the John Zilm Craneford Merlot with its jammy fruit, however, several thought that it didn’t have enough acidity to cellar. Flight two featured various blends. The Medley (Grenache, Shiraz, Mouvèdre) had a nose of blueberry, floral, and pepper with the same notes on the palate and good tannin and acidity to back it up. The Penfolds Bin 138 (Grenache, Shiraz, Mouvèdre) was rather closed, but in the mouth it had big fruit and spice, but it was a little too hot and had too much acid. The Elderton CSM was full of pepper on the nose and on the palate along with blackberry fruit. With its nose of cherries and strawberries, tobacco, and vanilla, the Euphonium (Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot) was the favourite. Several felt that the wines in this flight were not worth their price tags given that the wines lacked real interest and dimension. We had the opportunity to taste four different Shiraz ranging in price from $20 to $65. The Footbolt Shiraz had lots of black fruit, peppery spice, and eucalyptus that all followed through on the palate, however it was very hot. The McRae Wood, the favourite of the flight, was very complex with lots of mint, stewed fruit, blueberry, and chai-like aromas of cardamom and sweet spice. The St. Peters Seppelt had vegetal, meaty, and floral notes on the nose. In the mouth, it had lots of fruit and was quite easy going. The Balmoral Shiraz was disappointing—many noted that this was not typical of this usually outstanding wine. There were hints of eucalyptus and fruit compote, but the fruit was just too ripe. Dark chocolate and dessert wines! A very nice way to finish the evening. The Rasteau VDN had a nose of sweet raisin with a little smoke. The Old Tawny was full of honey, caramel, and raisins, with a bit of a salty sherry-like note. On the palate, the caramel and toffee came out. Nice price for the wine! The Muscat was full of orange, cloves, and honeysuckle. A little too sweet on its own, it went very well with the dark chocolate. Very nice! As per usual, a wonderful evening! Thanks, Pierre for a really interesting tasting. Flight 1: Varietal Discovery The Mongrel, Hugh Hamilton, McLaren Vale, South Australia, 2005 $16.95 675603 Charleston, Nepenthe, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, 2003 $17.95 682054 Syrah, Pirramimma, Barossa, South Australia, 2002 $21.95 986572 John Zilm, Craneford, Barossa, South Australia, 2004 $39.95 662809 Flight 2: GSM, CSM, SCM, Whatever! Medley, Kilikanoon, South Australia, 2002 $24.95 675256 Bin 138, Pendfolds, Old Vine, Barossa, Australia, 2003 $29.95 468637 CSM, Elderton, Barossa, South Australia, 2001 $39.95 976423 Euphonium, Henschke Keyneton Estate, Barossa, South Australia, 2002 $49.95 720433 Flight 3: You Can Never Have Too Many Shiraz The Footbolt, D'Arenberg, McLaren Vale, South Australia, 2003 $20.95 984021 The McRae Wood, Jim Barry, Clare Valley, South Australia, 2002 $42.95 737817 St-Peters, Seppelt, Great Western Vineyards, Victoria, Australia, 2004 $54.95 493080 Balmoral, Rosemount, McLaren Vale, South Australia, 2003 $64.95 388918 Flight 4: Spot the Non-Aussie! Signature, Cave de Rasteau, Rasteau, VDN, France, 2000 $21.95 675801 Old Tawny, Angove’s Anchorage, South Australia, NV $19.95 678672 Muscat, Pfeiffer Rutherglen, Rutherglen, Victoria, Australia, NV $18.95 675637 |
|
Special offers to (and from) Guild members! |
| Latest News |
|---|
| Upcoming Events |
|---|
| Moderation |
|---|
 The National Capital Sommelier Guild strongly supports moderate and responsible consumption of wine and spirits. Guild dinner events allow a designated driver to attend at a reduced price. The designated driver will not be served alcohol. Guild tasting events provide and encourage the use of spit buckets. |
|
||