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Uncorked-Wine and Spirits Appreciation

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

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Post by Belgian »

Domaine de l'Edre Côtes du Roussillon-Villages 2017

Surprisingly young juicy and fruity initial approach, but quickly shows a lot of intense dark plum, blueberry and blackberry, then licorice and resinous garrigue herbals, hints leather. Has length! The Syrah in this could stand ageing.

This is like a Norhtern Rhône red in the grape blend but the Roussillon style is a bit different. Has decent dryness, good black currant acidity, and subtle unobtrusive oak, mineral and black tea. Nose has a bit of pepper and balsamic and and is rather closed before it gets lots of air, then it's nice with cassis and black plum. Pretty good stuff!

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Château Siaurac 2010 Lalande de Pomerol Bordeaux

Here is a right bank Bordeaux that is mostly Merlot with some Cabernet Franc. The vaunted 2010 Bordeaux vintage can be quite expensive, much more than this so was nice to accesss a very mature, classic Bordeaux wine with interesting herbality and dryness.

The fruits really are mature but still full. I like the firm acidity.

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Château La Guilbonnerie 2014 Merlot/Cabernet Franc

Blaye Cotes de Bordeaux, Right bank again. Almost two thirds less expensive than the bigger 2010 Siaurac is this nice little Merlo-Cab Franc. Has a bit of character and layers, tobacco blueberry and cherry, some younger fruit. Aroma a bit oddly sanguine / iron. Simple finish, a kind of too leafy dryness accumulates which takes it down a notch but it's kind of serviceable.

Only the Left-bank Bordeaux wines are permanently classified with a hierarchy of quality (1st cru, 2nd cru...) so the Right bank Chateaux of note are recognized just by actual reputation and quality of output.

Also picked up the Château Bonnin Pichon Grande Réserve 2015; it's a Lussac Saint-Émilion.

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Selbach-Oster Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese 2016

This is very good. A Mosel, This Germany winery has a number of Riesling bottlings out right now, and this one is as RP described above.

I would add that the candy citrus peel is also nice, and there are hints of the petrol note that will develop in the decades life span of this great (not dry) Riesling.

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Dona Matilda Duoro Reserve White 2016 Arinto

This one has a bit of steely acidity and dryness and some good citric-herbal layers and some minerality. Definitely serve chilled. Is it that exciting for almost $40, no but it's on clearout. It's still a classy drop.

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Firriato Chiaramonte Nero D'Avola 2015

This is a Sicilian red made with the popular Nero D'Avola grape. The aroma opens a little astringent and sharply acidic, hints of berry and sundried tomato, maybe this could use some air. Raisiny notes come later. The taste is more generous red sweet-dry berry with depth and ripeness, a little saltiness. Hints leafy herbals, leather and licorice. That brushy sundried tomato. Evolved tannins and decent acidity.

Kind of charming. I still think this stuff is wildly overpriced compared to affordable Langhe Nebbiolo and Valpolicella Ripasso wines. Honestly the pricing for humbler Spanish and Italian wines in Ontario is wacked but this is the game that is played.

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Marquis d'Aqueria Tavel 2018 (Rosé) Grenache/Syrah

There are a few things notable for me about this solid French Rosé, it is a Grenache-forward blend, it is a Tavel noted as just about the best Rosé, and it's the first Tavel in have tried (I think they can be a little expensive compared to typical French Rosé wines.)

The color is markedly deeper than usual, more salmon-hued. The flavours and aromas are typical Provénce, but very full, well balanced and integrated. Gently tart and sweet red berry, a bit of brushy wild herbs. Just about the perfect amount of body, fulness and alcohol. This is definitely a wine that should be properly chilled, but not freezing cold. I would recommend grabbing a few of these Tavels.

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Château Bonnin Pichon Grande Réserve 2015 Lussac Saint-Emilio's.

Here is a nice right bank bordeaux that should be peaking next year but I couldn't wait. I do like tannic wines and this dry red is not too bad at all -already lush with interesting dry cedar and stony slate and pepper notes and tea-like tannins over tart-sweet blackberry and dense black plum fruit and some subtle background French oak / toasty vanilla,

Has a juicy acidity and a decent fullness, tastes very traditional but is quite approachable. The blend is typical Merlot-richness with added Cab Franc lending the herbal and hint green pepper dimensions. Really like. Expect this to be a hint dry sour in the late finish, so a good cheese or dining table wine also.

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OGV Old Garnacha Vines 2016

This one is OK, not always a fan of Spanish Grenache or Mourvédre (Garanacha and Monastrell.) Big blackberry and sweet black plum notes and chocolate (tea?) plus oak and some interesting tobacco, almost slightly lactic acidity, tomatoes.

Almost achieves a kind of dark floral thing but it all really doesn't come together. Nose is acidic and lacks much subtlety. Highly skippable rather than sippable for me, that could be a style thing.

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Belgian wrote: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.
Bründlmayer Kamptaler Terrassen Grüner Veltliner 2017

Here is I assume the Klassik (not Reserve) iteration of Kremstal Grüner Veltliner and I have to say it's not bad. Certainly drier and more steely with not as much heavy density. Big-ish price but worthy.

The Terrassen name could mean a select part of the vineyard but I don't know. I'd probably swing for the Reserve next time I pick up a Veltliner. Just more fun.
Last edited by Belgian on Mon Jul 20, 2020 4:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Belgiapn in 2017 wrote:
MatttthewGeorge wrote:I didn't love this (Chanson Réserve du Bastion Pinot Noir) but I think it was the pairing. My wife made a lovely leg of lamb, and I thought Pinot and leg of lamb were the perfect pairing, but the lamb overpowered the wine. My wife loved the wine though and finished the bottle, so what do I know...
Yes bigger reds might stand up to lamb a little better depending on the age, cut and preparation (general tip: I would always cut off excess fat so the lamb's not too strong, and then maybe it's less overpowering next to the wine.)

If all fails, can savor the wine after the meal! This way it's never a loss to try things.
The 2018 was four dollars off, so gave a try - and it's not even worth 20.95 IMO. Boring and unidimensional. Pinot Noir is the heartbreak grape, so you get what you get...
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Blandy's Medium Rich 5-Year-Old Bual Madeira

So here is the somewhat lesser seen fortified Madeira wine style, this particular one made of Bual grapes in the Portuguese island colony of Madeira. And though it's fined and ready to drink it can live ten years... as it is right now there are nice layers of both rich and acidic (tart pale and raisiny) fruit, a bit of barrel vanilla oak / butterscotch, hints tobacco and leather and spice. Hints nutty. Alcohol is warming and present but not harsh. It's nice!

Affordable quality. You could buy a few and let them evolve. This and the (walnutty-dry full and complex) Lustau Don Nuño Oloroso Solera sherry are both great value right now as tippling wines you can keep around for months after opening - and they can also add huge dimension to foods you cook.

Also the richer, Malmsey Madeira from Blandy's winery (still around if you look) lasts 25 years. I have nothing but respect for these fortified wine styles of Madeira, Porto and Xerez (Sherry.)

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Belle Glos Clark & Telephone Vineyard Pinot Noir 2018

Much as described above. A big meaty fullness, basically very little classic layered Pinot Noir delicacy, instead lots of dense, concentrated rich and acidic cherry, berry and black fruit and spice, cedar and oak. Nose still carries a note of alcohol. Raspberry jam, mocha-chocolate, even hint tobacco show the effect of a warm Californian climate. Warm feel. A bit of taut acidity pulls the whole mess together a little on the finish.

It's a bit weird but I wasn't expecting a good Burgundy, something which is definitely more my thing. Got for $15 off at Laird LC so thought I'd try one. It's slightly too much like sweet juice for me but cooled down it at least improves. Took one for the team here folks. A+ for bottle design though LOL.

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Château du Chatelard Cuvée Les Roches Morgon 2017

An extremely fine Cru de Beaujolais for 25 bucks. Dense purple colour, solid cherry nose with violet aromas and tartness, good acidic palate with flavours of cherry and nice stony mineral. Licorice rooty notes, spice. Full and complete almost steely Gamay, quite solid structure. Truly a poor man's Cru Burgundy, without any apologies for price.

Château du Chatelard Cuvée Les Vieux Granits Fleurie 2018

Still slightly young and 'locked in' with a bit of immature black fruit and beet root on the nose and tongue. But the promise is there - with a good aeration the great wild strawberry notes come forward. Nice zingy acidity and dryness with a solid body... here are lightly green herbals and dark florals and black and red berry fruits over a nice full and clear structure. This is a touch brighter and more lifted than the excellent, deeper 2017 Morgon from this same vintner right now.

^
Both of these wines are Gamay grape reds from the ten select Cru regions of Beaujolais. Each with granite soil but distinct character. Fleurie and Morgon age decently well, so I put away a few for the next 1-2 years.

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Wieninger Ried Preussen Grüner Veltliner 2018

Here is another Grüner Veltliner-based white wine, firmly intense with dried herbs, minerals and hint sulfur to accompany the lemon curd acidity and tart pale stone fruit and pale berry (gold plum, gold currants.) Not quite as rich and deep a wine as the Rabl Schenkenbichl Alte Reben Grüner Veltliner 2016 (from the Kamptal region outside of Vienna.)

But this Veltliner white isn't from that general Vienna region. Stammersdorf is much closer to Wien (Vienna), just north of the old city across the Danube - and the whole Wachau / Kampal / Kremstal area is 90 kilometres West along the river. This difference of geography creates part of the distinct flavor profiles.

Ried Preussen is the specific vineyard of this producer, Wieneger. This Stammersdorf Veltliner has some brioche-like yeast qualities from the lees ageing, it's even slightly closed, tough and challenging at first opening and this wine should be given air or ageing. But it's very interesting... good to try one!

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