Looking for the original Bar Towel blog? You can find it at www.thebartowel.com.

We have a trivia question in order to register to prevent bots. If you have any issues with answering, contact us at cass@bartowel.com for help.

Introducing Light Mode! If you would like a Bar Towel social experience that isn't the traditional blue, you can now select Light Mode. Go to the User Control Panel and then Board Preferences, and select "Day Drinking" (Light Mode) from the My Board Style drop-down menu. You can always switch back to "Night Drinking" (Dark Mode). Enjoy!

Uncorked-Wine and Spirits Appreciation

Discuss beer or anything else that comes to mind in here.

Moderators: Craig, Cass

sofakingdrunk
Bar Fly
Posts: 925
Joined: Sun Jan 26, 2014 7:55 am
Location: Guelph

Post by sofakingdrunk »

.

sofakingdrunk
Bar Fly
Posts: 925
Joined: Sun Jan 26, 2014 7:55 am
Location: Guelph

Post by sofakingdrunk »

Belgian wrote:Emu Oloroso Sherry

^ You can't click this. It's not this one, but I bet you for no money that the Amontillado is decent for kitchen use as well, or serving to people that like, well, whatever. I rescued this bottle (along with a questionable old VQA Meritage blend I will report on later) from my sister's recent liquor cabinet clearance. She is not much of a drinker and still less of a remotely informed one, so things accumulate at her place when people bring them over. Anyway...

The Emu Oloroso is fairly stolid and simple, lots of dried black fruit notably prune. It's pruney! I would try it in braising dishes or else for sauteeing bananas for breakfast. Maybe pruney sherry would be killer with braised shank of lamb. I don't know! Not tons of earthy-umami complexity going on here that you would get with many a good (non-fake) Xerez Solera, yet surprising quality for an utterly bargain-bin price. Today there are many beers that cost more than this reasonably-presentable product. Which you can't buy now. But if you could...

I used to use this port and make a reducion for duck liver pate, worked really well for the purpose and the price point

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Fleur du Palay Côtes du Rhône 2015

This is a classic Rhône French GSM blend with really nice deep black berry & black plum skin & licorice. Be sure to drink at slightly cooled or cellar temp to balance the palate. The Grenache and Syrah do play well together. About on par with some vaunted Southern Rhône appelations that cost a bit more.

Sometimes a 95 score is scoff-worthy, this one is actually a silly value even at the slightly inflated, bandwagon-humping 'hey it got a high score' 19.95 LCBO price. (Smarmy Statist bastards...)

Grab a few and enjoy over a year or two. The beefy Syrah will let it age.
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Château Magnol 2012 Haut-Médoc Bordeaux

Cru Bourgeois are a nice step up for those who don't want to spend up to hundreds on a Cru Classé (exclusive classified growth) Bordeaux in the top tiers everyone is chasing. I've had some quality CB wines that were very big and layered. This one is gracile instead of super heavy and it succeeds at its style.
Many of the leading estates from the Médoc appellation that were not included in the 1855 classification are classified as Cru Bourgeois, a classification system that has been updated on a regular basis since 1932, banned in 2007, but reinstated in 2010... (Wikipedia)
This classic-style Red is well put together and the Cabernet-focused blend is showing a lot of development into a gentle wooliness with round and delicate red fruit (dry currant, sweet blackberry) - showing some herbs and kelp-y mineral and iodine notes. Fine medium palate. Old oak showing spice and wood. A bit sweetish but not sugary and decent aroma. I like how the end of the palate hangs on with a bit of dryness and tar/petrol, I love that about maturing wines & Left Bank should deliver some of that interest.

I probably wouldn't buy it again for my own style / liking but there's nothing wrong with it and I could recommend trying one. Very enjoyable good value Bordeaux.
Last edited by Belgian on Sat Aug 19, 2017 11:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Château Tour de Sarrail 2010 Bordeaux

This one's great, a right-bank with 80% Merlot VS the Cab-driven left bank Magnol just reviewed. At seven years on it's an evolved and full-but-dry profile, with some hallmarks of maturity - smooth and slightly rich palate, herbal accents, elegant red fruit, long and complete finish with (it seems) some vanilla. Beautiful acidic-dry-sweet palate. Some meaty sanguine notes. Worthy!
Bordeaux Superieur AOC wines are produced in the same area (as simpler Red Bordeaux), but must follow stricter controls, such as lower yields, and are often aged in oak. For the past 10 years, there has been strong, ongoing investment by the winemakers in both the vineyards and in the cellar, resulting in ever increasing quality. - Wikipedia
So Bordeaux Supérieur is good to watch for especially if a vintage is well-reviewed. For my liking this one beats the still-great Magnol - even without the more evident oak barrel, and even though I like Cab-driven wines. It's probably a buy-a-few-more wine that I expect will age a few years even if it is now at prime. Maybe I'm really a Merlot guy when it comes to Bordeaux.
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Gayda Syrah 2014 - Southwest (Languedoc)

The fruit is very immediate and forward, new and juicy with a smooth feel - but there is a little dry/acid structure and mineral. Echoes of almost pinot noir-like cherry fruit (but in overall balance richer sweetness) and black pepper / patchouli herbals. Brooding licorice hints. Said to express the various Terroir of sandstone, limestone, clay-limestone and granitic schist. A more direct look at the French Syrah grape featured here in a uncomplicated style and full palate, an easy to understand wine & I like what it does.
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Mas Olivier Expression 2014 Faugères (Syrah blend, Languedoc in South France )

Old/New style. Already a nice rounded fruit/spice profile (ripe red-black berry and blueberry, licorice herbals) and dark florals with a warm gentle hug of alcohol. Enough acid and dry to balance. Not a tough wine at all, and full palate. 70% Syrah 20% Grenache 10% Mourvédre.

Slightly pricey for the easy style and the less-vaunted AOC (ie. it's not St-Josef) but still worth trying now & it's also possible that great things may unlock themselves from the Syrah over the next 7 years of cellar sleep.
(For me I'll just stock up on the 2010 Tour de Sarrail Bordeaux & the 2015 Fleur du Palay CDR.)
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Château Le Doyenné 2011

Oh I love this - it's tart and dry with a bit of black currant-cranberry and cedar. A classic 'character wine' of France showing typical Bordeaux stylings and also the tannins are approachable - though as I said, dry. Kind of stony mineral & an almost brett-like herbal. Oh man. Slowly reveals some deep inky black berry fruit, and slightly kelpy notes. Far from a Top-tier Bordeaux but this is a bargain for the full character it brings.
Probably 85% Merlot, 10% Cab Sauv and 5% Cab Franc. The noted Michel Rolland is a consultant.

This will be amazing with the butter-seared and peppered strip loin from Beretta Farms (smige of Kozlik's Dijon on the side.) I always rest the salted meat to warm up to a 'loose' texture before cooking.
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Bastide Miraflors Vieilles Vignes Syrah/Grenache 2015

Wow right off the bat this raved-upon Midi/Languedoc Red doesn't seem great. Seems 'young' and under-executed with a slightly raw home-made quality and some odd balsamic notes. But I'm giving it time in the glass to open up (and time in the fridge to cool a few ºC.)

Later the acidity and good fruit and acid-mineral profile do come forward a bit. Blackberry, raspberry, check - some garrigue herbals, spiciness. The Syrah does add roundness and the 30% Grenache helps rein it in with some sleekness. Still that slight cheap-wine rawness (an untoward brambly-rustic-vegetal character) lurks in the background.

Saw this to be a fairly promising quasi-Rhône blend (it has two of the starring grapes) but can't recommend, as there are simply better (Fleur du Palay) you can at least enjoy the minute you uncork them & that improve over the next hour or two.

* UPDATE * this does seem to improve after a day in the fridge, so if trying this I would plan to decant it for a good while before drinking. It seems better put together with fewer flaws and much more as described, including the black pepper I'm now getting. That's something to remember - give a wine you don't like a second try later.
In Beerum Veritas

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

NV Domaine Christian Drouin Pommeau de Normandie

I got this in a wine shop in 2014 in Brooklyn (DUMBO) and carried it on my back all the way to Wall Street (WTC Monument) & back up to the Sheraton Midtown. Finally trying it! Aw man this really isn't so great. More than sweet, it is a sugar bomb with warm booze and a lack of defined apple character.

I've had two Pommeau before - Boulard was amazing, another one the LC had was more like ratty draught cider with booze added.
This beverage is a lightweight spirit - in this case 17% ABV & containing a 7:3 ratio of Normandy apple must (cider) to Calvados. Calvados is of course the amazing Norman French apple brandy.

Both Calvados and Pommeau are supposed to be exquisite and careful blends of over a hundred varieties Normandy apples. Bursting with orchard funk character, tartness and apple-y goodness. I guess they are far from the same. The "NV' designation (non-vintage?) - did they blend various years in the barrel aging to 'smooth' the product?

It's honestly sugary and cheap. In the glass here are zero dreamy olfactory allusions to Northwestern French orchards and fermenting fresh apples.
I dunno. It might be useful for kitchen, but I think others are just better. Boulard Pommeau de Normandie is amazing if you find it in the USA.

Our government milk bar sells no Pommeau at the present time, but you can buy Boulard Calvados.
In Beerum Veritas

midlife crisis
Beer Superstar
Posts: 2009
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 7:00 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by midlife crisis »

I've been lurking this crash course in the Cotes du Rhone (and occasionally the lesser Bordeaux) with great interest for the past few months. Please keep Em coming!

Anyway, tonight I have opened a Xavier Cotes du Rhone 2015, which is quite lovely. I'm now flipping through the thread to find Belgian's notes, except, I can't! Why did I buy this? LCBO in-store recommendation is the only alternate explanation I can come up with. Anyway, I'm very glad I did. It is smooth, full of ripe berries and ready to drink now, but still firm with some tannins at the finish.

LCBO link at bottom -- I couldn't figure out how to embed it -- clearly I don't have the great man's facility with posting on Bar Towel. But then, who does?
Last edited by midlife crisis on Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:27 am, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
darmokandjalad
Posts: 262
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 8:04 pm
Location: Ridgetown, ON

Post by darmokandjalad »

midlife crisis wrote: LCBO link at bottom -- I couldn't figure out how to embed it -- clearly I don't have the great man's facility with posting on Bar Towel. But then, who does?

http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo/product/xavier ... bsLy-us-rU
If you want to embed a link in text, use the url tag as follows:

(url=http://www.thisisyourlink.com)THIS TEXT WILL HOTLINK TO THE EMBEDDED URL(/url)

I used parentheses () in place of square brackets [] so that you can see what it should look like in the message field beforehand. If you replace the parentheses with square brackets (and the text with a more suitable description of the link), you should end up with something that looks like this:

Xavier Cotes du Rhone 2015

midlife crisis
Beer Superstar
Posts: 2009
Joined: Thu Jan 08, 2004 7:00 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by midlife crisis »

Got it! Fixed above. Thanks.

User avatar
Belgian
Bar Towel Legend
Posts: 10033
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 7:15 pm
Location: Earth

Post by Belgian »

Belgian last December wrote:Les Amouriers Signature Vacqueyras 2012
Another good bottle. Grabbed four more at Weston and 401 today. Left one there for the unsuspecting wine traveler.
In fact, this was a 26.95 wine marked down to 21.25. So I still have half a case (saving close to $46 on the last eight) and this good-value Vacqueyras should age well for a few years if it lasts that long.
Still aging a beauty. The bottle I uncorked last night and put in the fridge has opened up in the aromas and flavors.
Sometimes a great wine to find is one that is reasonable to stock up on & really cellars long so you can re-discover & enjoy the wine any time over coming years.
Globe review.
In Beerum Veritas

Provost Drunk
Posts: 346
Joined: Sat Aug 01, 2015 11:36 am
Location: Toronto

Post by Provost Drunk »

Barone Montalto Collezione di Famiglia Passivento Nero d'Avola 2015 (thanks to darmokandjalad for the tutorial above on embedding a link in text!)

While perusing vintages earlier this summer, a bottle of wine from Sicily caught my eye. I've had (an enjoyed) many Nero d'Avolas in the past, but this one referenced being produced with the passivento method, which sounded curiously similar to the appassimento technique used by winemakers in Veneto to produce Amarone. Amarone has long been my favourite style and is the true king of Italian reds IMO (all due respect to Barolo and Brunello), so I couldn't pass at the opportunity to try out the Sicilian take on the style.

I only recently tried the passivento and it did not disappoint. Although it was not as complex or refined as most of the Amarones that I've had, it definitely imparted a nice raisin-y sweetness while still firmly being a dry wine. At $18, it's a great value and I snapped up a few bottles to sit on. Valpolicella Ripasso was my previous go-to for a cheap Amarone substitute, but I can comfortably say that I liked the passivento more. Now I just need to hope that it makes a return to vintages before I run out of personal stock.

Post Reply