The Bar Towel

Do you recall the price? LiCBO web site says "price pending", for some reason.

Château Clos du Loup Cuvée Prestige 2010

A really interesting Bordeaux Red with a lot of development for its 8 years of age and lots of dryness. It has a reduced sweetness, but the fruit character still shows as tart cassis and hints of cranberry and dried blueberry (I also happen to like unsweetened cranberry juice.)

The palate lacks roundness making it seem 'lean' but in exchange this wine emphasizes cedar and a bit of herbs. A lot of complexity that swims around the tongue. An adult flavor here, but f you can appreciate rustic and authentic character this might be cool to try. I won't promise everyone will like it, and it's not that outstanding in any way, but I dig it.

Belgian wrote:

midlife crisis wrote:

Belgian wrote:Magaña Dignus 2012 Tempranillo Blend
... basically a good clean hybrid of Bordeaux and Rioja type grapes with plenty of style and character on its own. This is probably the future of wine that has old-world style with a competitive modern market penetration...

... Loving it. I am a big fan of well-oaked reds mind you, generally Spanish. If you are the same, I think you'll love this one.....

I noticed that oak less specifically the first few tries. Opening bottle right now, I immediately really appreciate the 'old' French oak which has now taken on three years of barrel character. If you like oak-aged Belgian Flemish ales / Lambics or other beer that shows off this flavor, this wine is a great showcase for that kind of barrel oak. Certainly it works well with beers that have a wine-like quality.

Opened a bottle a couple of months ago and loved it so much I managed to convince the local LCBO to ship me 6 bottles from another store. Having the first of those 6 now and indeed it’s just as good as I remember. There’s not much more in the system; pick it up if you’re close by one of the few stores with stock!

MatttthewGeorge wrote:Opened a bottle ( Magaña Dignus 2012 Tempranillo Blend ) a couple of months ago and loved it so much I managed to convince the local LCBO to ship me 6 bottles from another store. Having the first of those 6 now and indeed it’s just as good as I remember. There’s not much more in the system; pick it up if you’re close by one of the few stores with stock!

6 is the perfect # to enjoy a while and not get sick of something, because there is always more good wine. My six are gone! I could enjoy a few more.

Château de Gaudou Tradition Cahors 2016

This Malbec/Merlot red from Cahors in the SW of France returns to the LCBO. This Gaudou opens well with cherry and hints cedar, a little (right bank) Bordeaux-like wooliness. It has a richness in the fruit, while the tannins are very approachable. Also black fruit / plum skin, some peony floral and sandalwood/spice. This might be a wine you don't age too long as it's ready to drink.

I had been very impressed with the 2005 vintage of (I believe this cuvee?) we talked about in 2009. This '16 arrives with two years aging on it instead of four, so maybe they use a modern process like micro-oxygenation to round off the edges? I had the impression the 2005 had more hard tannic dryness.

This 2016 has a really nice structure and carries into a nice finish with good length. Quite good! Youthful. The 94 score is not hype, even if the La Barrade now in the General List section is an also-excellent Cahors for a solid five dollars less. Worth trying both.

Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais AOC Gamay

From General List, this 2015 just coming to perfection. Gorgeous little gamay red on sale for a few weeks. Red with purple tints. Plenty of crushed red berry fruit with a nice tartness. Graceful. Gentle herbs/cinnamon and nice acidity. Also has some black / red cherry and dark florals, strawberry emerges later, so nice. It's an easy-style wine but not wimpy, so it can be enjoyed by itself or with foods like roast chicken, cedar-plank salmon or pork.

Georges Duboeuf is generally a good negociant (buying, representing and selling various production of the Beaujolais region) and this one is a steal. Try 'the other Burgundy Red' the next time you find that France's Burgundy Pinot Noir is a bit steep in price for the required occasion.

Also:
A note on the successful 2015 vintage (and the ten Cru de Beaujolais variants you can also stock up on for longer keeping, since the 'regular' Beaujolais & Superieur & Villages types tend to peak rapidly just a few years after bottling.)

Don David Reserve Malbec Calchaqui Valley, Argentina

From the Calchaqui Valley in NW Argentina comes a nice Malbec red in grown high elevations, this grape famously brought to the Americas originally from Cahors, France.

Bottle is the well-rated 2017 vintage. A younger-styled wine with some sweet blackberry juiciness while it also has good body, a lightly tart dryness, and decent structure. What follows on the black fruit is licorice and herbals. The oak lends a spicy element. Late hints of tobacco.

This wine seems to open up after a while, the flavor deepens, the blackberry and black plum skin persists more, hints tarry petrol. Really good sipping wine.

(Of course the Versado Malbec is a couple notches better. It's just a different type of thing.)

Looking to fill in the Xmas list with a bourbon or two. Something in the $50++ range. Currently enjoy Blantons, Weller and Eagle Rare. Suggestions?

The answer is always more Weller.

MatttthewGeorge wrote:Looking to fill in the Xmas list with a bourbon or two. Something in the $50++ range. Currently enjoy Blantons, Weller and Eagle Rare. Suggestions?

Larceny ($50) is a "wheated" bourbon along the lines of Weller
Pikesville (pricier at $90) is a rye-heavy bourbon along the lines of Blanton's original single barrel
If you haven't already tried, consider Four Roses Small Batch ($47) or Single Barrel ($53)

But I was curious about this one: http://www.vintages.com/lcbo-ear/vintag ... ber=618991

Or if you want to go really fancy, there's an Orphan Barrel in the LCBO right now, but it's really pricey.

portwood wrote:

MatttthewGeorge wrote:Looking to fill in the Xmas list with a bourbon or two. Something in the $50++ range. Currently enjoy Blantons, Weller and Eagle Rare. Suggestions?

Larceny ($50) is a "wheated" bourbon along the lines of Weller
Pikesville (pricier at $90) is a rye-heavy bourbon along the lines of Blanton's original single barrel
If you haven't already tried, consider Four Roses Small Batch ($47) or Single Barrel ($53)

ty! Thoughts on the Wild Turkey Rare Breed?

Craig wrote:But I was curious about this one: http://www.vintages.com/lcbo-ear/vintag ... ber=618991

Or if you want to go really fancy, there's an Orphan Barrel in the LCBO right now, but it's really pricey.

Michters and its "founder" Joseph Magliocco has a shady (to be kind) recent past. Why pay a premium for sourced whisky when you can have the same from Heaven Hill, Brown Forman, etc for less?
(sample review: http://breakingbourbon.com/michters-us1-bourbon.html)

Everyone here is a "craft" beer lover, so if you ever find yourself tempted to buy a bottle of Michter's whiskey you might be interested in this: http://thebourbontruth.tumblr.com/search/michter

Orphan Barrel is Diageo gimmick brand .... look closely at the names of each of the bottlings...

MatttthewGeorge wrote:

portwood wrote:

MatttthewGeorge wrote:Looking to fill in the Xmas list with a bourbon or two. Something in the $50++ range. Currently enjoy Blantons, Weller and Eagle Rare. Suggestions?

Larceny ($50) is a "wheated" bourbon along the lines of Weller
Pikesville (pricier at $90) is a rye-heavy bourbon along the lines of Blanton's original single barrel
If you haven't already tried, consider Four Roses Small Batch ($47) or Single Barrel ($53)

ty! Thoughts on the Wild Turkey Rare Breed?

also good and well priced (by lcbo "standards")
similar to Blanton's single barrel, it can vary a little bit depending on the batch (have a look at this for a sense of the variation: http://thewhiskeyjug.com/bourbon-whiske ... -vertical/)

2016 Mouton Cadet Bordeaux Red Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon

$3.00 off over the Holidays, so wanted to try it! Not bad. Different from the 'regular' non-Bordeaux Rothschild Cabernet. This one is of course less dry with the prominent Merlot and also has more fruity berry depth - blackcurrant jam, blueberry, blackberry show up right away and this holds on the smooth black-plummy finish. Some herbals and hints of green pepper (not too much) and a tiny bit of vegetal that I expect will blow off with some aeration. I like the gentle plum-skin tannins in the palate. For this price was worth having one, although it might be a bit too simple, juicy and easy-going for the regular 16.45 - YMMV.