BC Critics’ Picks July 2014

Our monthly Critics’ Picks column is the place to find recent recommendations from our intrepid and curious BC critics, wines that cross geographical boundaries, toe traditional style lines and may push limits – without being tied to price or distribution through BCLDB or VQA stores. All are currently available for sale in BC.

Our small but mighty BC Team has a lot of big themes on our mind this month to guide our palates and dictate our choices. Here are some wines we’re excited to share with you.

Cheers, Treve Ring

Respect – from DJ Kearney

Respect is the common thread for my picks, and in a world of commodity wines, it can feel like a rare and precious ingredient. Respect for a grape, respect for a terroir, respect for a tradition, respect for a style. You know when you are drinking a wine that exudes respect – it’s expressive of something palpable, meaningful and enduring. The wine has a message, and it is immediately understood by the drinker.

The Italian coastal calcareous clays of the Marche’s Jesi hills are carpeted with verdicchio, often cropped at preposterously high yields for the neutral, lemon and almondy vino of the region. Not so at Villa Bucci, where the local grape receives respect and care, allowing it to defy expectations. Whites from Villa Bucci show a naturalness that always delights and amazes me; the Riserva Verdicchio ages magnificently and is a triumph of a humble grape, a fine terroir and a respectful family. The Bucci Classico 2012 is a more modest version, and easier to find too, but it has similar values and vinous earthiness of the flagship Riserva.

Respect is also when you find an honourable country wine made with all the purpose and quality of a fine appellation wine, for less than $15. That’s the case with Cave Saint Désirat’s streamlined syrah, from fruit grown just a granite pebble’s throw from St. Joseph’s heavy hitting vineyards. It’s light, trim and thirst-quenching in a way that should be encouraged.

And how about respect for a style, for a tradition of multi-regional blending that has given us one of the great, great wines of the world. Penfolds St. Henri 2010 with its gloriously ripe shiraz fruit and distinctive old oak élévage possesses an identity and style that’s recognizable but also wonderfully unexpected from Australia. Developed in the 1950’s as a riposte to the all-new American oak of first growth stable-mate Penfolds Grange, St. Henri presents a restrained, understated Euro-style wine that has stayed faithful from the beginning. The 2010 is a miracle of potency, texture, structure and longevity. There’s not much of it around, but for $65 a bottle, the quality to price ratio is simply ludicrous. Respect.

Attitude Shifts – from Rhys Pender MW

Caught up in world cup fever it is increasingly hard to be productive. Luckily this only happens every four years. Over two weeks in and things are shaping up to be very exciting. It seems more teams are giving youth a chance and playing less cautious, attacking football, a treat for the fans.

There are some parallels with the barrage of goal scoring and what is happening in the wine world. A previous stubbornness to change, kind of the equivalent of playing too many of the experienced but slowing statesmen on the football pitch, seems to be giving way to an enlightened attitude that just focuses on making the best wine.

On a recent visit to California, it was refreshing to see this kind of attitude in the upcoming Paso Robles AVA. Tablas Creek in particular has pioneered Rhône varieties and following a great pedigree, thanks to their links with the Perrin family, is now enjoying the energy of the next generation farming organically and biodynamically and making fantastic wine. The Tablas Creek Esprit De Tablas 2011 captures the spirit perfectly.

While Canada didn’t make the cut for Brazil, at least many of the wines are starting to find their own personality, no longer trying to copy the style of other wine countries around the world. A good example of this is BC Syrah, now embracing its moderate climate encouragingly. Try the Black Hills Syrah 2011 for an example of just how BC should be approaching this great grape.

The French had an impressive first outing at the world cup. And there are many impressive wines that show the same, cavalier, attacking attitude. One producer who has been known as a little controversial at times, but making great wines nonetheless, is Michel Deiss. The Domaine Marcel Deiss Riesling 2010 shows what the right attitude can achieve.

Tour de Canadian Force – from Treve Ring

Though it’s easy to be distracted by the end of school and the start of summer (and yes, World Cup), at this time of the year I’m laser focused on one thing: wine judging. It’s prime time for wine in my calendar, with numerous wine competitions happening before summer fully sets in.

My June kicked off with the Lieutenant Governor Awards of Excellence in BC Wine, followed by WineAlign’s National Wine Awards of Canada with my coast to coast colleagues, and shortly I head to Seattle to judge the SIP Northwest Magazine Best of the NW Awards. People ask me all the time if my palate gets tired, if I can’t taste anything after a day of 120 wines or if I’m sick of wine. My honest answer is No (with a little bit of yes). Yes – I love a cold beer, refreshing cocktail or healing amaro after a day of wine judging, but I’m up and ready to taste at 8am the following morning. My senses sharpen with each flight and my nose and palate are tuned on a finer frequency with each passing day of competition. I relish these days, plus I love the opportunity to taste a cache of wines in one sitting that I would never have access to otherwise.

With Canada Day high on my mind, I’m thinking about the delicious wines across Canada from beyond my BC borders. Fortunately these favourites are now currently available on our store shelves.

One longtime favourite is Tawse, a repeat Canadian Winery of the Year winner and a leader in organic and biodynamic viticulture, both in their Niagara Escarpment region and for Canada. Though the current vintage on BCLDB shelves is 2010 (the 2013 is released in Ontario), the Tawse Sketches of Niagara Riesling is still alive with juicy grapefruit, lemon zest and zippy minerality, buoyed with vibrant acidity.

I was thrilled to see that Benjamin Bridge wines were finally being imported into BC, allowing local drinkers to experience premium wines from our other coastal wine region – Nova Scotia. The 2009 Brut is a stunning and serious traditional method sparkler, made from decidedly untraditional grapes : L’Acadie, Chardonnay and Seyval.

There is much more to this country’s dessert wine than ice wine. Quebec specializes in ice cider, and Domaine Pinnacle is a rich, golden, full-bodied example of the style. Produced from a hand-picked blend of 6 varieties, these tree fruits are harvested after frost and extracted naturally over the winter months.

Check out our BC team’s Top 20 under $20 coming up mid-July, with Rhys Pender MW’s BC Wine Report and The Final Blend from Anthony Gismondi to follow later in the month.

Editors Note: You can find complete critic reviews by clicking on any of the highlighted wine names, bottle images or links. Paid subscribers to WineAlign see all critics reviews immediately. Non-paid members wait 30 days to see new reviews. Premium membership has its privileges; like first access to great wines!