Yesterday I sampled a flight of wines from the October 10th Vintages Release and here are my highlights or standouts.
Domaine Bonnar Sancerre 2008 - an elegant sancerre with aromas of citrus, florality and grassy undertones. High acid, good food wine.
Studert-Prum Riesling Spatlese 2004 - Classic German aromas of Petrol and stone. Typical Spatlese weight and sweetness with a hint of spritz which signifies a cold fermentation process, great if you like a light, medium dry white. (90pts)
Demarie Roero Arneis 2008 - Easy to drink white wine with lighter fare or on it's own. Marzipan, nutty and hints of floral aromas on the back end.
Henry Pelham Gamay 2007 - Soft berry fruit aromas, medium - medium light on the nose but quite aromatically attractive. The palate steals the show with great mid palate presence and a smooth but lingering finish, that keeps you coming back for more. A great food wine and an even better QPR (quality to price ratio) What a great Gamay, Philip the Bold would even be surprised. (90pts)
Arboleda Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 - A very forward cassis and currant driven nose. Good tannic grip and structure, great effort and good value. (89pts)
Bishop by ben glaetzer Shiraz 2007 - Let me just say that I did an injustice to this wine by trying the Tait Basket pressed Shiraz first. This wine is not as full bodied as the tait and didn't stand up to it beside it felt just a tad thin but had many of the forward fruit characteristics the tait displayed but lacked a bit of the elegance on the nose and boldness on the palate. I found that the two wines were built to achieve the same big and bold style and I would spend the extra $20 if my wallet allowed.
Tait Basket Pressed Shiraz 2005 - Elegant, fruit forward,vanilla, lilacs and a ton of other complexities are happening on the nose,a real joy to sniff. Bold fruit on the palate with good tannic grip, length and high in phenolic's (and I'm sure reservatol) Everything you come to expect from old vines and low yields. Wine of the flight for me (92.5pts)
Fattoi Brunello Di Montalcino 2004 - Earthy, rustic and funky nose with a tad of fruit. Lacking elegance and typical charm of a brunello and not worth the price.
Volpaia Citto 2007 - I was very impressed with this effort. Interesting nose of mushrooms, underbrush and berry fruits on the nose. Decent attack and mid palate presence with an attractive finish. This is a great unoaked wine that let's the varietal characteristics and terroir shine through. Great QPR and great with food. (90pts)
Bodegas Alejandro Fernandez Tinto Pesquera Crianza 2005 - A classic effort from Ribera from an Iconic Producer. I love the humidor like qualites I get on the aroma. Great mouthfeel and definetley a new school fruity effort. This wine and the Condado de Haza (from the sept 24th release) are quite similar to one another, both from Ribera both being Crianza and both coming from New School Style producers. I wish the Reserva was up for sample but it was not. Enjoy (90pts)
Miguel Torres Mas La Plana Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 - You get a lot of the typical varietal characteristics on the nose from this wine like cassis and black currant, but it also intertwines nicely with the Spanish terroir which is where the tobacco and rustic charm come from a very complex aroma with lot's going on. The palate and a great mid palate and finish, depth, concentration, grip and as a result very age able. Great stuff (91pts)
I also tasted the upcoming October 24th release more notes to follow on that.
Bishop by ben glaetzer Shiraz 2007 - Let me just say that I did an injustice to this wine by trying the Tait Basket pressed Shiraz first. This wine is not as full bodied as the tait and didn't stand up to it beside it felt just a tad thin but had many of the forward fruit characteristics the tait displayed but lacked a bit of the elegance on the nose and boldness on the palate. I found that the two wines were built to achieve the same big and bold style and I would spend the extra $20 if my wallet allowed.
Originally planned on setting up a vertical of this but the reviews of 07 do not sound that good and from what I hear we shouldn't expect much from 08 either....
Thanks Martin! Hope you'll do more of these TN's in the future. I quite enjoyed the Pesquera last year, so looking forward to this one. Your note on the '07 Bishop doesn't sound very promising and not unlike the previous vintages I tasted so will pass. Looking forward to your notes on the Oct 24 release.
About the Bishop like I said I tried it next to a more full bodied wine which made it a tad thin. On it's own it could suit a purpose but if you want a bigger bolder wine the Tait is the way to go. In regards to my October 24th review, I'll make sure to post to the actual Tasting Notes Section.
I don't have the catalogue in front of me but I think the price for the Tait is WAY higher than for the wine the last time it was available in Ontario, maybe a couple of years ago? I seem to recall paying about $35 then. I love the stuff and will get a bottle regardless, but I'd get more than one at $35.
------------------- Go Bruins!! Go Tigers!! Go Pistons!! Go Lions!!
Originally posted by bman: I don't have the catalogue in front of me but I think the price for the Tait is WAY higher than for the wine the last time it was available in Ontario, maybe a couple of years ago? I seem to recall paying about $35 then. I love the stuff and will get a bottle regardless, but I'd get more than one at $35.
Agree that Tait Shiraz is great but if you can hold off until October 24th Release, please take a look at the 2005 Pirathon Barossa Shiraz for $38.95 - winemaker is Troy Kalleske. Too good to spit and the finish lasted at least 3 minutes and memories of dusty tannins remain :-) If your local Ottawa store don't move to pick this wine up then I'm likely to take it all. BTW it was #13 on Wine Enthusiast Top 100 List of 2007; GOLD at the Cairns Show; Sydney International and New Zealand International; not to mention a Four Star & Highly Recommended by Ric Einstein. Shiboooom is my review. CHEERS
Posts: 155 | Location: Mississauga | Registered: Feb 18, 2005
Thanks Nicos. After checking out some TNs on other sites, sounds like exactly the kind of Oz shiraz we prefer. I'll try a bottle. Unless I get all the lots I bid on at the Vintages Auction, in which case I'll need to save my money for a divorce lawyer!!
------------------- Go Bruins!! Go Tigers!! Go Pistons!! Go Lions!!
Originally posted by Sweatred: ... Ct scores seem low and the avg US price is $22.60..
Yes, there was a discussion on this earlier in another thread that LCBO is charging almost double US market prices (and double Australia as well) on this wine. Nicos mentions all these awards this wine won, but would these accolades been given if they doubled the price like LCBO's price?
Nevertheless, nicos' review does make it tempting to overpay for this wine...
Totally agree. I want to follow up on his review and might order some from the US. Meanwhile the Cdp (If I can get some) next release look priced really well vs US pricing.
Ct scores seem low and the avg US price is $22.60..
That is the one. I know the price is on the steep side but other wines that cost me a great deal more did not provide the same enjoyment. Since having tasted it, all I can say is, I'm trying to scoop the final 10 cases from the warehouse...If worse comes to worse, I'll drink them myself
Posts: 155 | Location: Mississauga | Registered: Feb 18, 2005
Ct scores seem low and the avg US price is $22.60..
That is the one. I know the price is on the steep side but other wines that cost me a great deal more did not provide the same enjoyment. Since having tasted it, all I can say is, I'm trying to scoop the final 10 cases from the warehouse...If worse comes to worse, I'll drink them myself
Have one bottle left, everything was sold except for 12 bottles being picked up on Sunday. Plus my followup shipment next week of 24 bottles have already spoken for. Did I mention that some vineyards used for Pirathon were formerly Grange vineyards????
Posts: 155 | Location: Mississauga | Registered: Feb 18, 2005
Originally posted by nicos: Have one bottle left, everything was sold except for 12 bottles being picked up on Sunday. Plus my followup shipment next week of 24 bottles have already spoken for. Did I mention that some vineyards used for Pirathon were formerly Grange vineyards????
Curious, anyone here bought and popped a bottle of this yet and can confirm this is a must buy even at almost 2x US prices?
There are still lots of Pirathon at the big stores and have a finger on the trigger but haven't pulled yet.
Originally posted by nicos: Have one bottle left, everything was sold except for 12 bottles being picked up on Sunday. Plus my followup shipment next week of 24 bottles have already spoken for. Did I mention that some vineyards used for Pirathon were formerly Grange vineyards????
Curious, anyone here bought and popped a bottle of this yet and can confirm this is a must buy even at almost 2x US prices?
There are still lots of Pirathon at the big stores and have a finger on the trigger but haven't pulled yet.
I tried it last night, side by side with the 2007 Coudoulet.
It is a very typical big Barossa Shiraz; definitely a steal in the US at the $25 or so going price (I know it can be found cheaper, but $25 looks to be about average), but to me, 'just another $40 Shiraz' in Ontario, in the sense that there are many wines at that price point that offer about the same experience.
So... is it comparable to other $40 Shiraz? Yes. Is it a must buy at that price point? No. (IMO of course)
Where my money is going to go is the Coudoulet; It has the typical Beaucastel depth & underpinnings of complexity (will need a few years to really show it though), but has a very atypical fruit-forwardness that must be a result of the 2007 season. It's rare in our house to find something from the Rhone that satisfies my interest in complexity and my wife's love for fruit-forwardness... but many of the 2007's seem to do the trick.
Originally posted by Peter Tofinetti: Funny, Halpern lists the Pirathon 2005 @ $18.95/bottle. Could it be that the LCBO is gouging us???
That's an estimated price (as denoted by **). Rarely does Halpern remember to update their website pricing and I've seen significant swings in price and products that have been long sold out. I wouldn't put too much weight in it as, to be honest, the LCBO still calculates the price.
Originally posted by Peter Tofinetti: Funny, Halpern lists the Pirathon 2005 @ $18.95/bottle. Could it be that the LCBO is gouging us???
That's an estimated price (as denoted by **). Rarely does Halpern remember to update their website pricing and I've seen significant swings in price and products that have been long sold out. I wouldn't put too much weight in it as, to be honest, the LCBO still calculates the price.
And typically if Halpern is selling something that is also available through the LCBO, Halpern's price is somewhat higher.... I don't think I can remember Halpern ever being cheaper direct than buying through the LCBO, although I'm sure as soon as I write this someone will have an example out there.....
It won't be because they charge their agency/delivery fee.
There could be a situation where it was lower through consignment months in advance of it being available at the LCBO though. That has happened before as they are different orders.
