Buyers’ Guide to VINTAGES – April 16, 2016

The LCBO Talks about its Future and We Pick from the Present
By David Lawrason with notes from Sara d’Amato and Michael Godel

David Lawrason

David Lawrason

Last week John Szabo covered off the “European Vocation” feature of VINTAGES April 16 release; so this week we three chime in with more emphasis on the new world offerings. Australia gets a nice nod with alignments on an elegant chardonnay and a highly quaffable cabernet blend – and Ontario shows how important vine age can be with a couple of excellent rieslings. You can skip the following digression and head to our picks here.

As I walked to the LCBO tasting lab on Tuesday I wondered what might become of VINTAGES in the months ahead, and of the LCBO in general. The day before I had attended the California Wine Fair and listened to Shari Mogk-Edwards, Vice President of Products, Sales and Marketing deliver the LCBO’s annual state of the nation address at the Trade Luncheon. After announcing that California has become the number one imported wine region in Ontario, she spoke about the future of the LCBO now that grocery store sales and a new e-commerce and home delivery system are promised to roll out this year.

Within “a decade” we are promised 150 grocery outlets selling Ontario wine, and another 150 selling both imported and Ontario wines. Given the number of grocery outlets in Ontario this is a pittance, but government promises are rarely writ in stone are they? This is careful politicking and messaging – and I personally suspect accelerated implementation in far less than a decade once the marketplace sinks its teeth into privatized wine and beer retailing.

Shari Mogk-Edwards also said that the new E-commerce and home delivery system, which has already completed initial testing, will expose a wide range of products to consumers – not just existing LCBO General List and VINTAGES products. It will source within the stocks of importing agencies as well, to make selection far greater to the general public. I suspect some agents will not be happy about the deal they get, but I am in favour of anything that widens selection and access for consumers.

So, with all this liberalization, what’s to become of the LCBO itself as a bricks and mortar retailer? And VINTAGES, specifically, around which we publish these previews every month? Well Shari Mogk-Edwards let it be known that “The LCBO’s focus will be on premium products and on-line sales”. This makes perfect sense if grocery will take on the lower end of the market, and it bodes well for an expanded VINTAGES role.

Whether the LCBO needs or will keep all its retail stores is a different issue in a way. And so is the question of whether the LCBO should continue to exist. But as long as it is here I am happy that it is aiming up market. Hopefully we will see much more shelf space devoted to interesting wines from home and abroad, and an end to the arbitrary exclusion of so many wines that want to be here and deserve to be here.

Buyers’ Guide to Whites & Sparkling

Two Rivers Of Marlborough Convergence Sauvignon Blanc 2014

Vasse Felix 2014 Filius ChardonnayVasse Felix Filius Chardonnay 2014, Margaret River, Western Australia ($24.95)
David Lawrason – Sublimely elegant and complex chardonnay from the first winery to plant in the Margaret River, in 1967, with their first vintage in 1972. Love the well-honed nose of pear, oak spice, vanilla, honeysuckle and wet stone. Very classy.
Sara d’Amato – Margaret River is a haven for chardonnay and this top example is part of a new breed of elegant, fresh and zesty versions of this classic varietal.  Polished with discreet oak and an ethereal mouthfeel, the Filius chardonnay is a delightful game changer.
Michael Godel – The 2013 Filius was very good. It would be an impossible expectation for winemaker Virginia Willcock to do more with equal or less in 2014, but she has. This is Australia’s great cool-climate value Chardonnay.

Two Rivers 2014 Convergence Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand ($23.95)
David Lawrason – Convergence refers to the fact that grapes are sourced from the two main valleys of Marlborough – Awatere (cooler) and Wairau (warmer). And I sense both influences in the wine, with Awatere’s dill-like greenness and firm acidity, atop some tropical passion fruit from the Wairau. It has a cool, compact feel, with a touch of enlivening C02 spritz. Finish is a bit stony and tart; length is excellent.

Graham Beck 2009 Brut Zero, Méthode Cap Classique, South Africa ($22.95)
Sara d’Amato – From coal mining to sparkling wine, Graham Beck’s pioneering spirit and desire to innovate was best expressed in his iconic Cap Classique method wines. This vintage dated, crisp, zero dosage sparkler is an absolute steal. Mid-weight and vibrant with the comforting aroma of warm brioche. At this price, you don’t need a celebration to indulge.

Château des Charmes Old Vines Riesling 2013, VQA Niagara On The Lake, Ontario, Canada ($16.95)
Michael Godel – One of the finest values vintage after vintage for Riesling in Ontario with a distinct advantage. Old Vines. Riesling from down near the lake that will leave you wide awake.

Vineland Estates 2014 Elevation St. Urban Vineyard Riesling, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula ($19.95)
David Lawrason – Planted in 1979 St. Urban is one of Canada’s oldest riesling sites, and it shows just how important vine age can be. This is a lovely, off-dry, very bright and refreshing with lifted floral, apricot, honey and vaguely stony aromas and flavours. It’s light bodied at only 9% alcohol but some sugar adds flesh. Flavours stay nicely poised; Bench minerality joins the finish.

Graham Beck Brut Zero 2009Château Des Charmes Old Vines Riesling 2013 Vineland Estates Elevation St. Urban Vineyard Riesling 2014  Darting Dürkheimer Nonnengarten Gewürztraminer Kabinett 2012Maison Chanzy Rully En Rosey Blanc 2014

Darting 2013 Dürkheimer Nonnengarten Gewürztraminer Kabinett, Pfalz, Germany ($20.95)
Sara d’Amato – Everything a classic gewürztraminer should be: opulent and inviting with an intricate, perfumed nose that fills the room with fragrance. An impressive find just north of $20 perfect for creamy cheese or aromatic curries.

Maison Chanzy Rully en Rosey Blanc 2014, Côte Chalonnaise, Burgundy, France ($26.95) 
Michael Godel – It is not until you get a load of this style and this special layering of Chardonnay that you realize how so many just don’t add up. Here the Côte Chalonnaise showing other Burgundy at its best for a fraction of what more celebrated blocks command.

Buyers’ Guide to Reds & Fortified

Culmina R&D Red Blend 2014

Wynns Coonawarra 2012 Estate Cabernet/Shiraz/MerlotWynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Shiraz Merlot 2012, Limestone Coast, South Australia ($24.95)
David Lawrason – Great value here! This has a lifted, savoury and complex nose with cedar, blackcurrant, chocolate, mint, pepper and meaty notes. What great aromatics! It’s full bodied, dense, rich and profound with great salt and pepper, charcuterie and fig jam flavours. This is delicious, and deep and so well structured. Very good to excellent length.
Michael Godel – The blend formerly known as “Cabernet Hermitage” involves vines dating back as far as 1969 and in which Cabernet, Shiraz and Merlot share the Terra Rossa sandbox. A highly quaffable red blend that brilliantly shows the deft touch of winemaker Sue Hodder.

Culmina R&D Red Blend 2014, BC VQA Golden Mile Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada ($25.95)
Sara d’Amato – Short for “research and development”, R&D is a new, whimsical and affordable tier of blended wines. The 2014 is primarily merlot with small portions of cabernet franc and sauvignon offering a peppery, full-bodied, firmly structured palate overflowing with black fruit.
Michael Godel – A tribute to proprietor Don Triggs and twin brother Ron, in which research meets development. The culmination of the winery’s R & D is this D-league red assemblage, Culmina 250.

Edmeades 2013 Zinfandel, Mendocino County, California ($23.95)
David Lawrason – Edmeades has long been a favourite small producer of Mendocino, based in the Anderson Valley. This captures the essential joy of zinfandel – that lifted nose of raspberry, lavender, perfume, with a hint of mocha on the side. It’s mid-weight, smooth, sweetish and warm – very easy to drink with little tannin.

Kistler 2013 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA ($103.95)
Sara d’Amato – You won’t get a break on the price here but Kistler’s Russian River pinot noir delivers a transformative experience for serious pinot seekers. Modern but not forceful, elegant but generous, classic but not stodgy, this finely balanced pinot noir is no gamble.

Couly Dutheil Les Gravières D’amador Abbé de Turpenay Chinon 2014, Ac Loire, France ($19.95)
Sara d’Amato – Admittedly, the classic cabernet franc region of Chinon often fails to excite me so I was gleefully surprised to come across this lush, inviting and characteristically perfumed example from Couly Dutheil. For those who find cabernet franc too “green”, this dusty herbal example with generous fruit may just get you hooked.
Michael Godel – This Couly Dutheil takes a page out of that savoury book. This is wise, sage and tarragon bombed balm, with full on dark red fruit and mineral stony play.

Edmeades Zinfandel 2013Kistler Pinot Noir 2013 Couly Dutheil Les Gravières D'amador Abbé De Turpenay Chinon 2014 Hauner Salina Rosso 2013 Constance Et Du Terrasous Vin Doux Naturel Hors D'age 6 Ans Rivesaltes

Hauner 2013 Salina Rosso, Italy ($19.95)
David Lawrason – Salina is a 27 square km island off the northern coast of Sicily, and this is the first wine I can recall tasting from its shores. This is a fresh, juicy fruity red with very good concentration of fresh berry/plum fruit, plus savoury notes. Really has some charm and intrigue. Nicely focused and very long.

Terrasous Vin Doux Naturel Hors D’age 6 Ans Rivesaltes, France ($27.95)
David Lawrason – This is an exquisite, lightly fortified, sweet wine from a Mediterranean corner of southeast France. It pours brilliant if subtle orange-copper. The nose shows wonderful dried apricot, honey, wood spice, tea and marmalade confection (a good thing). It’s very smooth, very sweet yet wonderfully light on its feet, with great concentration and elegance all at once.

Cheers,

David Lawrason
VP of Wine

From VINTAGES April 16, 2016

Lawrason’s Take
Sara’s Sommelier Selections
Michael’s Mix
Szabo’s VINTAGES Preview
All Reviews

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Chateau St. Jean Robert Young Chardonnay 2012