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Uncorked-Wine and Spirits Appreciation

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

Moderators: Craig, Cass

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Belgian
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Post by Belgian »

Torontoblue wrote:Jonas, I should be impartial here, but Gerard puts out some good quality wines at a great price point. It's difficult sorting through his large portfolio, but this (Bertrand Chinon) is a definite winner from his stock.
If you know about under-valued & exceptional 'Bo wines from Italy France Spain and Portugal I think your mentions would be well-received on BT Sid.
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JeffPorter
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Post by JeffPorter »

Little advice needed from Islay malt fans about those Lagavulin 12 yr cask strengths kicking around...I wasn't crazy about the 16 but I love Ardbeg 10 and love the caol Ila that we have...is it true the 12 year is a different beast?

Also. ..If it's cask strength is it safe to assume no colour or filtration?

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"What can you say about Pabst Blue Ribbon that Dennis Hopper hasn’t screamed in the middle of an ether binge?" - Jordan St. John

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Post by Belgian »

Boutari Grande Reserve Naoussa 2008 - nice grippy tannins and acidity, good layers of fruit under the assertive tart-dry palate, herbs and stony mineral. A runaway hit vintage for this winemaker, good to drink or cellar or certainly make a hell of a stew dish with this. I'm gonna sip this one slowly while it puckers my gums, then try it with the beef later on and some old cheddar.
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Post by Belgian »

Studert-Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett 2012 - 25% off at Queen & Waverly store! This is a fat and lovely Riesling showing gobs of apricot-peach fruit with balancing tartness and an overlying honeyed sweetness. Does have some acidity but leans a bit sweet - not as steely and bracing as typical cool-climate Rieslings like those of our own Henry of Pelham (a huge personal favorite.) I like the style of this one and the low ABV, and it's great served cold alongside Kristapsons cold-smoked salmon on baguette with butter, pepper and grey salt. 16.25 bucks is a no-brainer to try a 'Kabinett' (= Reserve) of the German interpretation of this, a world-beater grape among oeonophiles (yet Riesling's still a good value because in the mainstream people still focus on grapes like Chardonnay.) Try one and you'll possibly join the club of insiders. You can compare Ontario, Alsacian (France) and German versions of the different table Rieslings (often dry), as well as the intensely-concentrated dessert & ice-wines that, again represent some world-bests and great values that can age an extremely long time but may be hard to resist drinking fairly soon. Riesling's just a good thing.
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Post by Beer'n'gin »

I don't have anything to add from comments you received by members of the WWW Maple Leaf Lounge. I got some b-day cash and LCBO gift cards so I think I'm going to order a bottle. Did you buy one?

JeffPorter wrote:Little advice needed from Islay malt fans about those Lagavulin 12 yr cask strengths kicking around...I wasn't crazy about the 16 but I love Ardbeg 10 and love the caol Ila that we have...is it true the 12 year is a different beast?

Also. ..If it's cask strength is it safe to assume no colour or filtration?

Cheers

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Post by Belgian »

Finca Sophenia Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, a killer value from the Mendoza, Argentina.

Dense ruby red color, delicious flavor of berry and fruit with violet and other florals, creating a layered intrigue and an almost Pinot noir like gracefulness. Quite drinkable. Has got a good weight to it with full flavours a good solid palate and a nice balancing act of tannin and acid. In fact it does everything in a very refined way. The French or American oak finds it's way later along with some dense cassis compote and brandied cherry. Aroma delivers with finesse again nearly in a Pinot way which is not supposed to be going on in a Cabernet, but this is some cool old/new world alchemy going on here. A steal, and I suspect knowing about Mendoza might put one ahead of the curve.
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Post by Belgian »

Chateau Bonnin Pichon Lussac Saint-Emilion 2010 Bordeaux.

Nice dry but balanced Merlot-based red featuring cassis and some cedar, really nice. Could age sublimely but drinks well now with steak from the grill. God bless France, this is really my kind of stuff... sure it is juicy yet with enough serious structure to command some respect.
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Post by Belgian »

Hugel Gentil 2013 - a nice Rielsling blend from the Alsace.

Pretty good and an expression of the region's style, which is complex but easy-drinking and expressive of the grapes and terroir. This could be best enjoyed alongside milder foods or white meats with fresh herbs.
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Post by Belgian »

Montresor Soave Classico- a great go-to wine with great zingy pale fruit and citrus and some mouth-watering acidity to carry the structure. Soave has style in this price range. Try it with caramelized leeks + Mac + cheese. (I'm grilling some Nuremburger Brats with foil grilled herb potatoes.)
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Post by Belgian »

Belgian wrote:
Boutari Grande Reserve Naoussa 2008 - nice grippy tannins and acidity, good layers of fruit under the assertive tart-dry palate, herbs and stony mineral. A runaway hit vintage for this winemaker, good to drink or cellar or certainly make a hell of a stew dish with this. I'm gonna sip this one slowly while it puckers my gums, then try it with the beef later on and some old cheddar.

This one again, no regrets! The minerality of this wine against the tannins and acidity, so nice. I will sip a glass with the 2-pound prime rib from Chopping Block, seared on the gas grill and then indirect heat over drip pan. Probably the best beef I've ever tasted done this way, only salt and pepper this time but fresh rosemary and garlic rub are supposed to boost the dopamine factor of this amazing cut.
Last edited by Belgian on Sun Aug 28, 2016 8:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Torontoblue
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Post by Torontoblue »

Had a bit of a celebration with work on Wednesday night; a birthday and a 10 year anniversary for 2 co workers. And a supplier in town. Any excuse for a few glasses of the good stuff.

We opened the following:

Domaine Carneros Brut Cuvee, just to start things off in the right mood

Yalumba Eden Valley Viognier 2012

Henry of Pelham Estate Chardonnay 2012

Gerard Bertrand Domaine de Cigalus Rouge 2011

Gerard Bertrand La Forge 2011

Chateau Cantemerle Haute-Medoc Grand Cru Classe 2009

Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

Yalumba The Menzies 2004

Highlight as always was La Forge; such a rich, decadent red. Stewed (in a good way), comfit fruits, blueberry, blackberry, lots of Syrah spiciness. Super soft, velvety tannins. A luscious deep wine.

Followed closely by the Haute-Medoc. Pencil shavings, wet rock, sulphur, Pomegranate, raspberry, gentle acidity, drying tannins.

The '04 Menzies was just starting to tail off; was turning a bit port-like.

All wines were paired with 3 fabulous charcuterie boards supplied by the wine bar we habited.

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Post by Belgian »

That Corbiéres sounds insane, have to try more Laguedoc-Rouss wines.

And will have to buy some more kinds of comfit so I know what the heck that taste is in wine.

Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontés 2013
A full-bodied Viognier-like white with a solid round palate under the peachy-apricot, pear and leechee fruit, reasonably refined and probably good with food. Argentina is becoming a powerhouse to be reckoned with.

Actually as the bottle cools properly, this is a genuinely great, well-crafter white wine for 14 bucks!
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rfrf
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Post by rfrf »

Kish84 wrote:
Craig wrote:I'm definitely going to pick up one or two of these:

http://foodanddrink.ca/lcbo-ear/lcbo/pr ... ber=976662

As much as we can all agree that scores aren't the be-all end-all, getting a 100 and wine of the year is pretty impressive at that price point.
So this piqued my interest and Drinkvine alerted me that it's in my area. 2 stores said they either didn't get it or it sold out. One store with 18 in stock said the 12 that they have are first come first serve tomorrow when they open. 1 bottle limit. WTF!!!

I hate you Craig! I hate you for making me want this and the trouble I'm going through to get it.
so FYI this is back - 11000 units the LCBO app told me and I grabbed three yesterday - it was released yesterday.

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Post by Craig »

Oh wow, thanks. I had no idea it was coming back. I'll try to load up ASAP.

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Post by Belgian »

Craig wrote:I'm definitely going to pick up one or two of these:
http://foodanddrink.ca/lcbo-ear/lcbo/pr ... ber=976662
Nice catch, there were plenty on the shelf today but maybe not for long.

Faustino Rioja. Good balance of smooth dryness and acidity plays out around juicy sweet-sour cherry-berry, mineral, and the well-known Tempranillo spiciness, enhanced as well by a very subtle vanilla/spicy oak that you might not notice right away, but it soon builds. Extremely developed and harmonious like a mature Neuf-du-Pape but obviously different profile. Ahh the black cherry is so great. Fun and vibrant to drink.

I guess neither cheap nor expensive, when you consider they aged it an extra ten or so years and had to pay for some very decent oak barrels to get such a controlled effect. I might get another or three, it's pretty charming.

Enjoyed with grilled Provimi veal, this is just as elegant as good Rhone wines or decent Burgundy. But I should have made a sauce for the veal, good as it is you really need a sauce.
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