Uncorked-Wine and Spirits Appreciation

[Belgian]

Nuiton-Beaunoy Le Prieuré Hautes Côtes de Nuits 2018

A nice Burgundy Pinot Noir, maybe my first Côtes de Nuits. All kinds of tart cherry plus some gently stemmy tannins and some stony mineral and dry herbs.
Acidic!

[Belgian]

Villa Antinori Riserva Chianti Classico 2016

Here's a beautiful 'Riserva' Chianti red, made with the famous Tuscan Sangiovese 'and a tiny bit of Merlot to soften out the edges.' This is a beefier and more refined wine than some Chianti. It has inviting warm and lightly peppery-sandalwoody spice and light leafy-minty herbal dryness, and layers of attractive tart cherry.

Some tobacco, leather, mineral... a little sanguine / salty, maybe some tar, liquorice. A more 'serious' wine and very nice. I don't bother much with Chianti but glad I tried this one, it's great!

[Belgian]

Rabl Langenlois Grüner Veltliner 2019

From a recent Vintages release. Good Austrian Grüner Veltliner is worth tracking down. This one ($19) isn't particularly interesting to me - it has some pale stone fruit and pineapple and herbs, but the palate, structure and aromas seem pretty basic. Skippable but wanted to try this dry /off-dry white with a light to medium concentration.

The special "Reserve" bottlings of this winemaker Rabl can be extremely good eg. this a killer I found last summer:

Rabl 2017 Langenlois Grüner Veltliner (Kamptal)

Edit - wrong wine, I think it was the Rabl Schenkenbichl Alte Reben Grüner Veltliner 2016

Here is an old vines Grüner Veltliner grape wine from Austria which displays richness, offset by nice tartness and tropical pale fruit nuances. Seems to contain a bit of gentle oak, good concentration and length with sweet lemon.

I believe this was originally $49 and I saved 25%. It's been cleared off the LCBO website, but the "DAC Kamptal Reserve" is the good stuff this winery offers. Delicious. Kamptal is a special wine region north of Vienna.

Sometimes you gotta go for the best bottlings from Austrian and German producers just to see what they can really do. These are still relative bargains in the wine world.

[Belgian]

Cantina del Nebbiolo Barbaresco 2016

Well isn't this nice, Barbaresco Red from Piedmont, IT. Tightly-wound acid-cherry-berry fruit with good tannic edge and bit of cider-like acidity. Some tar and herbals. licorice, earth but a hit of that acid freshness. It's not a giveaway for $30 but it's a solid buy and fulfils the 'worth trying one and saving a second bottle' category.

Wow this would sleep for 15 more years, easy... impressive. Give it some air to enjoy it now.
There are some other great Nebbiolo at the LC right now - the very dear Renato Ratti Barolo for $72 and the Enrico Serafino Sanavento Barbaresco 2017 for $31.
Renato Ratti also makes an ever-excellent Lange Nebbiolo for $25, about 1/3 of the cost of its Barolo-class big brother.

I might also give the Travaglini Gattinara 2016 ($33)one more try, it's a hit and miss but the 2016 vintage appears to be a hit.

[Belgian]

Carmes de Rieussec 2015 Sauternes Bordeaux

This is a Bordeaux Blanc that's famously both sweet and packed with a lot of flavor - delicate floral honey, mango-pineapple jam, dried apricot, honeysuckle, candy citrus and some petrol, maybe coconut. A little countering dryness and acidity. This is a wine with a lot of flavors going on. Lots of legs in the glass and some lychee aroma as well.

[Belgian]

Cantina del Nebbiolo Barbaresco 2016

I love Nebbiolo. Lots of berry-cherry and tartness, good tannins... woody herbals and liquorice, eucalyptus, and a suggestion of tar. Lots of character and styl, acidic structure.

* As it opens up I'm getting the olive and cedar. * More lithe than the Cantina del Nebbiolo Barbaresco yet both are so good.

[Belgian]

Château d'Anglès Classique La Clape Syrah/Grenache/Mourvèdre blend 2018

This is a juicy and tasty Rhone-blend red with berry acidity, tealike dryness and some nice campfire in the aromas and finish. Nice wild herbals and dark florals. A different style of wine, showing off natural character and complexity for a fair price point. 18.95