Here are the wines that I’ve tasted during my sabbatical, both at tutored wine tastings, and anything else I’ve come across that I really liked!!

JULY 15, 2014

I think I mentioned awhile ago that I had a mini wine tasting session with my friend Asha at Vineyard’s pub in Ottawa in the summer. We tried a white and red tasting flight. Here are the tasting notes from that session:

WHITE: Canadian Challengers

2012 Chardonnay, Konzelmann winery, Niagara, Ont.
Smells: smoky, apple

2009 Riesling, Strewn winery, Niagara, Ont.
Smells: petrol, plastic, more dry and with tannins

2011 Vidal, Dog House winery, Picton, Ont.
Smells: sweet, vanilla, apple

It looks like I didn’t write down how they tasted, but I remember I liked them all. I’m not a huge white wine drinker, but if I do, I gravitate toward rieslings. It surprised me that the smell was petrol and plastic, but of course it doesn’t taste like that (apparently this is a common trait in the grape! If you do a blind test, and you smell the petrol/plastic aroma, it’s very likely riesling!). Rieslings are more on the sweeter side, but also a little bit dry.

I think I was also surprised by the vidal and how it tasted great. I was never a huge chardonnay fan, too dry for my liking I think.

REDS: Adventurous

2011 Agiorgitiko, Mantinia winery, Greece
Smell: Floral and fruity
Taste: very light

2009 Red blend, Decatore winery, Portugal
Smell: sweet, chocolate, sour cherry
Taste: dry and with lots of tannins

2012 Pinotage, Café Paarl winery, South Africa
Smell: Cherry, chocolate, smoky, oak
Taste: Very tanny, spicy, strong/bold

I remember not enjoying the Greek wine as much as the others. I also remember thinking this was probably my first Greek wine. I will have to try others! The Portuguese one was good, but it tasted very generic. I don’t remember it standing it out at all. I did enjoy the pinotage from South Africa, though! It was my first time tasting a pinotage, and Asha said it was a very rare grape varietal. It’s why she picked this flight for us to taste. I’m happy I did. I will have to look for it in the LCBO!

If you’re in Ottawa and want to try some wine, they have tasting flights which are pretty good and decently priced!!

AUGUST 13, 2014

The next wine tasting I did was on cabernet sauvignon: New World vs. Old World. I learned that the cabernet sauvignons in the “new world” (North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa etc.) are often more fruity with less tannins and more alcohol content, as compared to the “old world” (most of Europe).

I generally like stronger red wines, so I was looking forward to this class. I discovered some excellent new wines!! Here they are:

2011 Torres Gran Coronas, Miguel Torres S.A. winery, Spain ($19.95)
Smell: sweet, oak, fruity
Taste: vanilla, licorice, smooth (not tanny)
Pairs well with: cured meats, game or beef dishes, aged cheeses

2010 Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion, Philippe Gervoson winery, France (Bordeaux) ($54.85)
Smell: sulphur, smoky, high alcohol, pungent
Taste: tanny, chocolate, nutty, spicy, bold
Pairs well with: duck, lamb, ratatouille

2010 Raymond Generations, Raymond Vineyard and Cellar, California ($130)
Smell: sweet, oak
Taste: smooth, sweet, vanilla, blackberry, mild tannins
Pairs well with: chocolate

Santa Carolina Reserva de Familia, Vina Santa Carolina winery, Chile ($18.95)
Smell: oak, spicy, sweet
Taste: blackberry, long finish with lots of tannins
Pairs well with: hard cheese, beef with sautéed onions, grilled or roasted lamb shanks

Columbia Crest H3, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Fob winery, Washington State ($19.95)
Smell: oak, smoky
Taste: smooth, mild tannis
Pairs well with: grilled meats, braised lamb shanks or pot roast, and strongly flavoured cheeses

Longview Devil’s Elbow, Longview Vineyards, Australia ($22.95)
Smell: menthol, smoky
Taste: spicy, licorice, ripe berries
Pairs well with: beef short ribs

Of the six that I tried, I liked four of them a lot: Torres Gran Coronas, Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion, Raymond Generations (not just because it was $130! lol) and Columbia Crest H3. As I mentioned, I’m a fan in general of cabernet sauvignon, so you can’t go wrong with any of the above! With the Raymond Generations wine, our instructor, as she’s supposed to while on duty at the LCBO, was going to spit it out after doing the taste, but my friend Nancy was like, “Nooooo! It’s a $130 bottle of wine, don’t spit!” I thought that was funny. For the record, I have not made use of the spittoons yet. 🙂

NOV. 6, 2014

Next up: France. This four week course on old world wines is really interesting, not only because I got a fancy book with lots of notes in it already for me and not only because I got a copy of an aroma wheel (lol), but because our instructor is very knowledgeable and I’m learning a lot about the history, the regions, the culture and the food pairings. Of course, I’ve also gotten to taste wines that I would never have picked up off an LCBO Vintages shelf!

I’ve always loved everything about France, and now I have a better appreciation of its wine and food culture. I learned that wines in France are known by the region, or terroir, in which it was produced rather than the grape variety. I learned how to read a French wine label. And, I learned its wine making and laws are the gold standard, even though it was the ancient Greeks and Romans who introduced wine to the French region!

In any case, here are the wines I tasted:

2006 Tarlant Brut Reserve, Champagne ($42.10)
Grape: pinot noir, pinot meunier, chardonnay blend
Smell: citrus, apple, pineapple, sweet
Taste: fruity, pear, apple, very light, fresh, sweet/acidic balance
Pairs well with: hard cheese, fried food, oysters with lemon

2012 Jean-Max Roger Sancerre, Loire ($25.95)
Grape: sauvignon blanc
Smell: licorice, black currant, floral
Taste: starts berry-like, finishes bitter (mineral) with chalky taste, very bold for a white wine, doesn’t taste like it smells and smells better than it tastes
Pairs will with: goat cheese

2009 Kessler Grand Cru Riesling, Alsace ($26.95)
Grape: 100 per cent riesling
Smell: petrol, chemical, alcohol, yeast
Taste: fruity, sweet, honey, pear, apple, smooth
Pairs well with: Thai and Vietnamese foods with coriander, lemongrass etc.; dishes with rosemary

2012 Morgon le Py, Beajoulais ($19.95)
Grape: 100 per cent gamay
Smell: butterscotch, black cherries, black berry, vanilla
Taste: light, silky texture, mild tannins, black cherries
Pairs well with: hard cheese

2010 Chateau Fonreaud Listrac, Bordeaux ($30.95)
Grape: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot blend
Smell: oak, sweet, earthy, vanilla, licorice, cloves, anis
Taste: bold, sweet, well balanced, spicy, licorice, tannins

2010 Andre Delorme Givry, Burgundy ($27.95)
Smell: oak, smoky, sweet, chocolate, cassis, aromatic
Taste: smooth but slightly tanny, light but zesty, lemon/acidity
Pairs well with: poultry and hard cheeses

2011 Saint Chinian Hecht & Bannier, Languedoc-Roussillon ($25.95)
Grape: grenache, syrah, mouvedre blend
Smell: citrus, plum, blackberry, oak
Taste: bold, tanny, ‘heat’ on finish, spicy

2010 Chateau-neuf-du-Pape Pierre Usseglo et Fils, Rhone ($45.95)
Grape: Grenache, syrah
Smell: Smoky, oak, blackberry, spicy, chocolate
Taste: bold, smooth finish, sweet, fruity
Pairs well with: lamb

Of these wines, I really enjoyed all of them except for two: the Jean-Max Roger Sancerre and the Saint Chinian Hecht & Bannier.

NOV, 13, 2014

The second in the four-week course: Italy! I’ve never really taken to Italian wine, but know they have a long history of making it. I learned that they didn’t start taking wine making seriously until about the 1960s when they introduced an appellation system like in France. Here are the wines I tried:

2013 Anselmi San Vincenzo, Veneto ($16.95)
Grapes: garganega, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc
Smell: chemical, diesel, citrus, grapefruit
Taste: smooth, long finish, high alcohol taste, mineral
Pairs well with: cured meat, lobster, shell fish, cheese fondue

2010 Salice Salentino, Cantele, Puglia ($14.95)
Grapes: negroamaro, malvasia nero
Smell: cherry, light, fresh, sweet
Taste: tanny but light, blackberry, dried fruit
Pairs well with: cured meat, hard cheese

2008 Ludovico, Sicily ($19.95)
Grape: nero d’avola, cabernet sauvignon
Smell: sweet, vanilla, honey, black currant, oak
Taste: fruity, sweet but spicy with lots of tannins, oak, long finish
Pairs well with: chocolate

2007 Livio Saselli Pertimali Brunello de Montalcino, Tuscany ($45.95)
Grape: sangiovese grosso
Smell: spicy, licorice, cloves, black currant, cherry, oak, earthy
Taste: Very tanny but smooth, spicy, well balanced, cherry, black currant
Pairs well with hard cheese

2012 Le Serre Nuove, Bolgheri, Tuscany ($59.95)
Grape: merlot, cabernet sauvignon, petit verdot, cabernet franc (Super Tuscan!)
Smell: spicy but sweet, chocolate, blackberry, black currant, oak
Taste: Bold and balanced, very tanny, blackberry, cherry, gets better with age
Pairs well with: chocolate

2009 Barolo Bussia, Allilo Ghisolfi, Pidemont ($51)
Grape: nebbiolo
Smell: caramel, chocolate, sweet, oak, smoky
Taste: very tanny, spicy, oak, blackberry, dried fruit

2010 Zenato Amarone della Valpolicella, Veneto ($49.95)
Grape: corvine, rondinella, oseleta, croatina
Smell: earthy, grass, dusty, fig and dried fruit
Taste: sweet, smooth, not tanny but bold, fruity, chocolate, dried fruit
Pairs well with: hard cheese

2013 Cristina Ascheri Moscato d’Asti, Piedmont ($17.95)
Grape: muscat a petit grains
Smell: grape juice, fruity, citrus, very young, sweet
Taste: very sweet, tastes like juice, citrusy but balanced well with sweet

My favourites of this group were the Ludovico, which I bought a bottle of; the Le Serre Nuove, which is apparently a Bordeaux blend with no Italian grapes!; the Zenato Amarone dell Valpolicella, which has a 16 per cent alcohol content; and surprisingly, the Cristina Ascheri Moscato d’Asti, which is a sweet white wine that by law cannot exceed five per cent alcohol content. I definitely have a new appreciation for Italian wines!