La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2014 (California) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine was released into VINTAGES last Spring and will be back as part of the LCBO VINTAGES Release on Saturday, December 10th.

This wine is produced by La Crema, a winery emphasizing boutique, small-batch winemaking and a commitment to sustainability. I had the opportunity to visit this Sonoma winery in October and will be reporting on this in the near future - stay tuned.

The fruit for this wine comes from various vineyards across the diverse region of Sonoma Coast, including the Laghlin, Fulton, Ramal, Saralee's, Shiloh and Kelli Ann vineyards. The vintage was very good, with the weather co-operating beautifully by offering ample sunshine to achieve optimal ripeness and flavour development, while the cooling breezes maintained vibrant acidity. The wine spent 7 months in barrel, mostly French and some American, 18% new.

Tasting Note:

LA CREMA SONOMA COAST CHARDONNAY 2014 - Sonoma Coast, California, USA (#962886) (XD) - $29.95
Aromas of peach, stone fruit and apple with a twist honey from the cork. Lovely medium+ intensity ripe apple, lemon citrus, pear, butterscotch, sweet vanillan oak aromas with a whiff of mineral at the tail end. The rich palate is medium-full bodied with bright, balanced acids. It's dry with pleasing aroma replays and hints of lemon peel. Moderate use of oak is nicely integrated. Well-balanced overall. Hints of mineral linger on the long finish. Finely crafted, deserves rich seafood or pair with poultry. Enjoy over the next 3-4 years. Score: 90 pts

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La Crema Pinot Noir 2013 (Sonoma) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is a follow-up to the lovely 2014 La Crema Pinot Noir that I enjoyed last week.

This red wine will be on LCBO shelves this coming Saturday as part of the March 19th VINTAGES Release.

It was interesting to taste the 2013 and 2014 back-to-back. The style is essentially the same, but you can see that the 2013 has had some evolution in the bottle with the softer, rounder tannins.

Tasting Note:

LA CREMA PINOT NOIR 2013 - Sonoma Coast, California, USA (#719435) (XD) - $31.95
Wood and intriguing potpourri aromas from the cork. Soft, medium intensity nose of cherry, cedar, earth and some sour fruited tones. The palate is medium-bodied with sweet, ripe red fruits, cedar wood, earth and hints of cocoa that linger on the long finish. Some dried herb notes emerge with time in the glass. Well-balanced overall with good acidity and dusty tannins that are soft and nicely integrated. Enjoy over the next couple of years. Score: 88 pts

The 375 mL half-size bottle (#732040, $17.95) will also be available on LCBO VINTAGES shelves on March 19th.

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La Crema Pinot Noir 2014 (Sonoma) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine is a sneak preview of a wine that will be released in LCBO VINTAGES later this year in Fall/Winter 2016.

La Crema was founded in 1979 and was family-owned and operated while concentrating on cool-climate appellations. The winery emphasizes boutique, small-batch winemaking with a commitment to sustainability and a philosophy of gentle handling of fruit to produce elegant and quality wines.

The winery's commitment to sustainability in the vineyard includes the use of sustainable farming techniques, being water wise, and the use of natural predators and the introduction of insects to reduce the need for pesticides. In the winery, energy comes from a photovoltaic (PV) solar array, as well as the use of Tesla batteries to reduce La Crema's use of electricity from the grid during peak times. Furthermore, water conservation and reuse in a closed loop systems helps reduce the amount of water that is used.

Surprisingly, there is a Canadian connection to this Sonoma-based winery. Elizabeth Grant-Douglas was born and educated in Canada and has been part of the La Crema team since 2001, eventually becoming head winemaker in 2010.

Tasting Note:

LA CREMA PINOT NOIR 2014 - Sonoma Coast, California, USA (#719435) (XD) - $31.95
Cherry, strawberry and wood aromas from the cork. Medium+ intensity aromas of tilled earth, dried spice, dark cherry and whiffs of olive. It's light-to-medium bodied with black cherry, tea leaf, strawberry, earth and some spice flavours framed by juicy acids. Tannins are light and supple. Dark fruits, vanilla and wood notes linger on the long finish. Enjoy this yummy Pinot over the next 2-3 years. Score: 89 pts

This wine should also be available in 1/2 bottle size format (#732040) for $17.95.

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Oct. 11 LCBO Wine Picks: Sonoma + Piedmont

The next LCBO Vintages release arrives on shelves this Saturday, October 11th, which is also Thanksgiving long weekend. If you still need to buy wine to help celebrate Thanksgiving, then this release arrives just in time for you. The main focus of this release is on wines from Sonoma, which coincides with the upcoming Sonoma County Vintners wine tasting event that takes place this Thursday, October 9th. The mini-feature in this release highlights wines that are nestled in the Alpine foothills - Piedmont.

Given that only 3 of the 26 wines featured from Sonoma and Piedmont are included among my wine picks, it goes without saying that I am somewhat disappointed with the wines chosen for this release. However, I fully expect the upcoming Sonoma and Italian wine tasting events to have a much better showing.

The lone wine from Sonoma is the Benzinger (oaked) Chardonnay, the grapes from which were grown using certified sustainable practices. Both of my wine recommendations from Piedmont are not common for the region. The Prunotto is a 60/40 blend consisting of Barbera and Syrah, while the Borgogno is made using 100% Freisa, a grape that can be dated back to the 16th century and was once very prominent and widely planted in Piedmont.

From the rest of the release, there's an interesting Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot Bordeaux-blend from Morocco. If you've never tried wine from this country, this is a great place to start! Another Bordeaux-blend is South Africa's Rustenberg John X Merriman, consisting of 55% Cab Sauv, 37% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, 2% Malbec and 2% Cab Franc. From actual Bordeaux are a couple of stellar 2010s - both the Château Hanteillan and Château La Tour Carnet feature similar blends consisting of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, with small dollops of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. From Spain, the Lealtanza Reserva is 100% Tempranillo, while the red wine from the dessert lands of Patagonia is a blend of 90% Malbec and 10% Merlot. The last of the reds is from Tuscany's Ornellaia, consisting of 52% Merlot, 28% Cab Sauv, 12% Petit Verdot, and 8% Cabernet Franc; this is a big wine that you'll want to decant and serve now or cellar for at least 5 years.

There are plenty of choices for sweet wine lovers as well, with three Gewürztraminers (2 from Alsace and 1 from Ontario) and a pair of German Rieslings.

Enjoy my LCBO wine picks from this Vintages release. May you enjoy great wine and give thanks with your family this Thanksgiving Day.


Red Wine:

• DOMAINE DE SAHARI 2012 - AG Guerrouane, Morocco (#092825) (XD) - $16.95
• VIÑA TARAPACÁ GRAN RESERVA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2012 - Maipo Valley, Chile (#018721) (XD) - $17.95  reviewed here
• PRUNOTTO MOMPERTONE 2011 - DOC Monferrato, Piedmont, Italy (#388587) (XD) - $18.95
• NK’MIP CELLARS MERLOT 2011 - VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada (#626416) (XD) - $18.95
• CHÂTEAU HANTEILLAN 2010 - AC Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, France (#377408) (XD) - $19.95
• KATOGI & STROFILIA AVEROFF XINOMAVRO 2008 - PDO Naoussa, Greece (#249615) (XD) - $19.95
• LEALTANZA RESERVA 2009 - DOCa Rioja, Spain (#208223) (XD) - $20.95  reviewed here
• BORGOGNO LANGHE FREISA 2012 - DOC, Piedmont, Italy (#388660) (XD) - $21.95
• RUSTENBERG JOHN X MERRIMAN 2011 - WO Stellenbosch, South Africa (#707323) (XD) - $24.95
• BODEGA NOEMÍA A LISA 2012 - Patagonia, Argentina (#385765) (XD) - $25.95
• PODERE CIONA RISERVA CHIANTI CLASSICO 2010 - DOCG, Tuscany, Italy (#385070) (XD) - $31.95
• MITOLO SAVITAR SHIRAZ 2009 - McLaren Vale, South Australia (#659581) (XD) - $49.95
• CHÂTEAU LA TOUR CARNET 2010 - 4e Cru, AC Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux, France (#259986) (XD) - $59.85
• LE SERRE NUOVE DELL’ORNELLAIA 2012 - DOC Bolgheri Rosso, Tuscany, Italy (#606194) (XD) - $59.95  reviewed here

White Wine:

• CAVE SPRING ESTATE BOTTLED GEWÜRZTRAMINER 2012 - Cave Spring Vineyard, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#302059) (D) - $17.95
• ALBERT SCHOECH RÉSERVE GEWÜRZTRAMINER 2012 - AC Alsace, France (#385351) (D) - $17.95
• ANDRÉ BLANCK ET SES FILS ALTENBURG GEWÜRZTRAMINER 2013 - AC Alsace, France (#168906) (MS) - $19.95
• BENZIGER CHARDONNAY 2012 - Sonoma County, California, USA (#034777) (XD) - $19.95
• ARGYROS ASSYRTIKO 2013 - PDO Santorini, Greece (#387365) (XD) - $19.95
• DR. LOOSEN ÜRZIGER WÜRZGARTEN RIESLING KABINETT 2013 - Pradikätswein, Mosel, Germany (#927756) (MD) - $21.95  reviewed here
• VILLA MARIA CELLAR SELECTION SAUVIGNON BLANC 2013 - Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand (#974527) (XD) - $21.95  reviewed here
• STUDERT-PRÜM WEHLENER SONNENUHR RIESLING SPÄTLESE 2012 - Pradikätswein, Mosel, Germany (#912659) (M) - $28.95  reviewed here

Sparkling Wine:

• LOUIS BOUILLOT PERLE RARE BRUT CRÉMANT DE BOURGOGNE 2009 - AC, Burgundy, France (#178137) (D) - $19.95
• CYGNUS BRUT NATURE RESERVA CAVA - Méthode Champenoise, DO, Spain (#352856) (XD) - $19.95

The rest of the wines from this release can be found here.

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Gallo Family Laguna Vineyard Chardonnay 2009 (Sonoma) - Wine Review

Purchased this gorgeous cool-climate Chardonnay from an LCBO Vintages release last August that highlighted a bunch of wines that were scored 90 pts or higher by some of the more famous wine critics.

It was opened last night due to a closing drinking window. For those that prefer very oakey Chardonnays, this is one not to be missed, as you will see from my wine review below. However, it's unlikely you will be able to find this vintage in Vintages at this point in time, but I could see the 2010 coming into stock in the near future. This white wine paired great with crab curry and will go really well with other rich, seafood dishes.


GALLO FAMILY LAGUNA VINEYARD CHARDONNAY 2009 - Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA (#544981) (XD) - $19.95

Tasting Note:
Mango, melon and peach aromas from the cork. Heavily oaked with smoky aromas lead the way, followed by butter, and hints of apple. On the palate, it's medium-full bodied, dry, and concentrated with buttery oak, honeysuckle, spice and nutty flavours. Acids are still fresh. Slightly creamy texture, with a finish that is excellent in length and smooth. Enjoyed with Dungeness crab curry. Highly recommended. Score: 90 pts

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