Feb. 1 LCBO Wine Picks: Australia + Valentine's

The next Vintages release will be on LCBO shelves across Ontario on Saturday, February 1st. This edition focuses on food-friendly wines from Australia. The small secondary features are on new noteworthy wines & wineries, and wines for Valentine's Day.

We'll begin with the Australian section, which highlights 15 wines for pairing with beef burgers, rack of lamb, duck, roasted chicken and blue crabs. Personally, I am not so rigid with food pairings because if I was, I wouldn't be able to drink wines of certain styles as much as I would like to. However, one important facet of food and wine pairings is the amount of tannins in the wine.

The bigger Australian Shirazes such as the Jip Jip Rocks and the two wines from Dandelion will pair exquisitely with meatier dishes like beef and lamb because of the greater amount of tannins. Year after after, the Jip Jip Rocks Shiraz has shown to be very good quality, and is now probably my "house" Shiraz. The two Shirazes from Dandelion Vineyards are both from the 2011 vintage, but from different areas within South Australia. The Lionheart is from the Barossa Valley and is unfined and unfiltered; it comes in half bottle size. Meanwhile, the Lioness is from McLaren Vale. Both are extra dry. Get both and taste the difference!

There are lesser tannins in the Chapel Hill Grenache and the Schild Old Bush Vine GMS (approx. 45% Grenache, 28% Mourvedre and 27% Shiraz), making them ideal for lighter meats such as poultry. You can also pair Chardonnays with poultry, such as the oaked version from Mountadam Vineyards. Of course, there are no tannins in white wine, but the full-bodied and flavourful Chardonnay grape lends itself well to poultry dishes.

Most interesting of all the Australian wines in this release is a cellar aged Semillon from McWilliam's that is suitable for pairing with shellfish or vegetarian dishes. The magazine suggests serving this white wine with blue crabs in black peppercorns - the recipe looks delicious!

From the secondary feature highlighting new wineries and new wines, two wines made my list of wine picks. First is a light-to-medium bodied Mencía from Spain. The second wine is the Kew Vineyards Soldier's Grant. It's an intriguing Ontario Bordeaux-blend red (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc) for under $20 from a winery that only opened it's doors last fall.

For Valentine's Day, there are six wines featured in the magazine. From this portion of the release, the Henry of Pelham Cabernet (Franc) Icewine and Flat Rock's Nadja's Riesling made my list.

From the rest of the release, the Cave de Roquebrun returns with the 2011 vintage and is a blend of 50% Syrah, 30% Grenache, and 20% Mourvèdre. I still have the 2010 version of this red wine in my cellar, so it would be interesting to compare the two in a vertical tasting. Also from France is the Château Tour Calon from the fabulous 2009 Bordeaux vintage and is a blend of 88% Merlot, 7% Cab Sauv, 5% Cab Franc. And finally, Glen Carlou provides us with an almost unheard of blend consisting of Petit Verdot and Tannat, which looks like it may have been specially crafted for the LCBO.

Enjoy my wine recommendations for this week! Cheers!


Red Wine:

• CAVE DE ROQUEBRUN LA GRANGE DES COMBES SAINT-CHINIAN-ROQUEBRUN 2011 - AC, Midi, France (#155804) (XD) - $15.95
• JIP JIP ROCKS SHIRAZ 2011 - Padthaway, South Australia (#673897) (XD) - $16.95
• KEW VINEYARDS SOLDIER’S GRANT 2011 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#367318) (XD) - $18.95
• TILENUS ENVEJECIDO EN ROBLE MENCÍA 2010 - DO Bierzo, Spain (#297143) (XD) - $18.95
• SCHILD ESTATE OLD BUSH VINE GMS GRENACHE/MOURVÈDRE/SHIRAZ 2011 - Barossa, South Australia (#108183) (XD) - $19.95
• THYMIOPOULOS VINEYARDS YN KAI OUPAVÓS XINOMAVRO 2010 - Unfiltered, AP Naoussa, Greece (#360750) (XD) - $19.95
• DANDELION LIONESS OF MCLAREN VALE SHIRAZ 2011 - McLaren Vale, South Australia (#357475) (XD) - $19.95
• DANDELION VINEYARDS LIONHEART OF THE BAROSSA SHIRAZ 2011 - Unfined and Unfiltered, Barossa Valley, South Australia (#358127) (XD) (375 mL) - $10.95
• CHÂTEAU TOUR CALON 2009 - AC Montagne Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux, France (#362012) (XD) - $20.95
• GLEN CARLOU PETIT VERDOT/TANNAT 2009 - WO Paarl, South Africa (#363440) (XD) - $21.95
• CHAPEL HILL BUSH VINE GRENACHE 2011 - McLaren Vale, South Australia (#262105) (XD) - $26.95
• VILLA GIRARDI AMARONE DELLA VALPOLICELLA CLASSICO 2009 - DOC, Veneto, Italy (#159913) (D) - $41.95

WhiteWine:

• FEATHERSTONE BLACK SHEEP RIESLING 2012 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#080234) (M) - $16.95
• FLAT ROCK NADJA’S VINEYARD RIESLING 2012 - VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#578625) (D) - $19.95  reviewed here
• JEAN-MARC BROCARD DOMAINE SAINTE CLAIRE CHABLIS 2011 - Single Vineyard, AC, Burgundy, France (#356634) (XD) - $19.95
• MCWILLIAM’S MOUNT PLEASANT ELIZABETH SEMILLON 2006 - Cellar aged, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia (#724492) (XD) - $19.95
• MOUNTADAM ESTATE CHARDONNAY 2009 - High Eden, Eden Valley, South Australia (#333211) (XD) - $24.95

Dessert Wine:

• HENRY OF PELHAM CABERNET ICEWINE 2012 - VQA Short Hills Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#672402) (S) (200 mL) - $39.95
• BULAS VINTAGE PORT 2009 - Unfiltered, DO Douro, Portugal (#363119) (S) - $49.95

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

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2014 Niagara Icewine Festival - My Review

What an amazing two days! Last weekend, we enjoyed many Icewines and tasty culinary creations at 9 different wineries throughout Niagara-on-the-Lake and Twenty Valley. The full photo gallery is available at the bottom of this post.

Our group of 11 began Saturday afternoon at Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery, where we were greeted by Chris, whom I first met back in Fall of 2012 at Niagara College Teaching Winery. While waiting for the rest of the group to arrive, we tasted a few wines in Sue-Ann's kitchen. Sue-Ann tends to make wines in a crowd-pleasing style, and her 2012 Rosé (87 pts) fits that bill nicely. It's a blend of 92% Loved by Lu Riesling and 8% Unoaked Cab Franc and is fresh and crisp with grapefruit, peach, and lime aromas, with nice replays on the palate; it's medium-bodied with a long, tart finish.

Once everyone arrived, we walked into Sue-Ann's formal dining room where we chose our chocolate bark and hand-picked our toppings, and then paired it with our choice of the 2007 Riesling Icewine or the 2011 Sparkling & SASSY Riesling (89 pts, reviewed here). On my chocolate bark, I opted for the nuts, dried citrus and dried berries and paired it with the sparkling wine. The pairing was fantastic - the right amount of sweetness from both the wine and the chocolate bark was in sync and perfectly complemented each other. There was also a smoked salt bark which I completely forgot about, but at least one person in our group tried it and said it was delicious! Ironically, this first stop ended up being my favourite stop of the weekend and is definitely a MUST stop if you're heading out on the final weekend of the Icewine Festival.

The second stop was in Niagara-on-the-Lake at Pillitteri Estates Winery, where they had brought in Canadian Beavertails topped with lemon, cinnamon and brown sugar and paired it with their delicious 2007 Chardonnay Icewine (89 pts, reviewed here). Once the again the pairing was quite well done, and if you've never had a Beavertail, this was a great opportunity to try it! Icewine made out of Chardonnay is also not very common, so it is not surprising to see the largest Estate Icewine producer in the world make it - and it was a treat to taste on this day. We then headed inside to warm up a bit and found my wife talking to Beth, who convinced us that maybe we should head further inside do some more tastings. I'm glad we went inside the private tasting room to taste three more Icewines made out of grapes you normally you don't see - 2008 Gewürztraminer Icewine (89 pts), 2008 Merlot Icewine (88 pts), and 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Icewine (89 pts, reviewed here) - it was quite the experience!

Our 3rd stop of the day was Inniskillin Wines for some house made lobster chili paired with their 2012 Riesling Icewine. It all sounded good on paper, but this was probably my least favourite stop of the entire weekend. I suppose the lobster was in the chili broth - because I didn't get any chunks of lobster - but I didn't get much broth either. It was very dry and mostly beans, fennel seeds and celery. I'm not sure anyone in our group enjoyed it either. The Icewine was good, but needs time for the acidity to settle down.

The final stop on Saturday was The Ice House Winery for a savoury pairing of their Northern Ice Vidal Icewine paired with chicken tikka masala. Since we also did a tour of the facilities with co-owner Karen King, wife of winemaker Jamie MacFarlane, we savoured the chicken tikka masala with an Icewine Slushie. Both items were very good on their own, and the Icewine Slushie is something I'm looking forward to making at home. We also played winemaker for a bit by mixing some Vidal Icewine with some clean, dry and refreshing Chardonnay. The results were interesting - as adding even just a little bit of Icewine to the Chardonnay completely changed the flavours of the Chardonnay.

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On Sunday, after a brief stop at Chocolate F/X for a complimentary tour of the facility and a light breakfast that consisted of chocolate covered berries, cheesecake flavoured chocolates, and mint chocolate, we headed over to Cattail Creek Estate Winery for a scrumptious cup of caramelized onion cream soup that was paired with their newly release 2012 Small Lot Series Riesling Icewine (89+ pts). The beverage for designated driver's was called Gesundheit! and made out of Vidal grape juice. Both were delicious and paired very well with the soup. I also felt this was a great example of how the Icewine Festival can be a family event as my 5 and a half month old daughter really enjoyed the soup and Vidal grape juice. And because we now have the recipe, we'll be making this soup at home!

From here, we moved on to Strewn Winery to taste a 14-year-old Vidal Icewine from 1999 (89 pts, reviewed here) that was paired with Caramel Heavenlies. This cookie/square was topped with sliced almonds, oats, coconut, caramel, and honey and perfectly complemented the caramel and honey notes from the Icewine. I recall uttering the words "heavenly" in my head during this pairing. On sale for $20 (200mL) at the winery, this Icewine offers really good value.

Our third stop of the day was a short drive away to Konzelmann Estate Winery for what was described as "PEI lobster, fresh cream, and white wine enhanced with a delicate touch of Herbs de Provence, finished with a backerhaus crostini and crème fraîche". In fact, it was a lobster bisque - and a delicious one at that! Rich, creamy, and savoury, it paired beautifully with their 2010 Vidal Icewine (91 pts, reviewed here). While there, I also tasted a few other wines, including their 2011 Estate Gewürztraminer (88 pts, reviewed here) which is readily available at the LCBO.

The fourth stop was most memorable for all the wrong reasons. We entered Hernder Estate Wines to find that we were the only guests in the entire place - which sometimes isn't a bad thing! But then, as I reached into the breast pocket of my coat to pull out my notebook, I was (perhaps jokingly?) questioned with a "What are you pulling out? What's inside your jacket?". I think the employee behind the counter was seriously afraid for his life. LOL. Combine that with their 2010 Vidal Icewine that was paired with a cupcake topped with teeth-chattering sweet icing, and the whole experience was just plain awkward.

And finally, the fifth and final stop of our indulgent, Icewine-filled weekend was at Magnotta Winery. Here, we were promised fluffy pancakes, but instead got fluffy waffles. No complaints from my end. The waffles were topped with a berry reduction and served with their 2008 Vidal Icewine (91 pts, reviewed here) and 2007 Cab Franc Icewine in sparkling wine flutes. It was all delicious and worked well together, which capped our weekend very satisfyingly. However, I would say their choice of wine glasses for these two Icewines did not do the wines justice.

Maybe it's me, but one observation that struck me during this visit to Niagara is that there seems to be a growing trend towards dry Rieslings in Niagara. Many of these wines never see the light of day at the LCBO. It was an enjoyable eye-opener for me and will be an interesting story to watch over the next couple of years.

All in all, we had a great time at this year's Icewine Festival. I hope you enjoyed my review. It runs one more weekend (January 25-26) and I hope this will help you plan your Discovery Pass Experience to Niagara. If you're interested in joining me on a future visit to the region, let me know and I'll be sure to keep you posted.

View the slideshow of photos from our tour:

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South African Wines

I'm taking a break from reviewing German Wines to review a couple of South African wine samples that landed on my desk after our Ice Storm.

The Sauvignon Blanc is from Nederburg Wines, an award-winning winery that first established its roots back in 1791. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this white wine at all, as it's a steal at $11.45.

Both of these wines are from the Western Cape, which includes the legislative capital (and famous) city of Cape Town. From the LCBO's General List, both of these wines are readily available for purchase today.

Tasting Notes:
NEDERBURG WINEMASTER'S RESERVE SAUVIGNON BLANC 2012 - WO Western Cape, South Africa (#382713) (XD) - $11.45
Screw cap. Medium-high intense aromas which are complex featuring an intriguing mix of lemon peel, herbal, gooseberry, asparagus, and hints of butter. Medium bodied with a slightly oily viscosity, and crisp, mouthwatering acids on the palate. Pleasant lime and gooseberry flavours with hints of melon on the medium-long finish. Nicely balanced throughout. Recommended buy. Score: 88 pts

OBIKWA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2012 - WO Western Cape, South Africa (#665323) (D) - $9.45
Screw cap. Closed nose of sweet, ripe red cherries, blackberry, and fresh oak barrels. This red wine is medium-bodied with dusty oak and slightly sweet aroma replays on the palate. Has balanced acidity and slightly dusty tannins. Medium-length finish. Drink now or hold up to 2 years. Score: 86 pts

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Jan. 18 LCBO Wine Picks: Spain + British Columbia

The next LCBO Vintages release will be on shelves across Ontario on Saturday, January 18th. After the annual Smart Buys release, which is always the first release of the year, it seems like Spain and British Columbia will be usually featured in the second release of the year. Will signature grapes from the New World be the third release of 2014? We shall see.

Back to this release, the secondary feature is on wines from B.C., but as was the case last year, it is disappointing to see nothing interesting again!

The major feature is on Spanish wines with a particular emphasis on the 3 major wine regions in Spain - Rioja, Ribera del Duero and Priorat. Tempranillo and Garnacha (Grenache) are the primary red grapes in Rioja and Ribera del Duero that are used to make full-bodied red wines. In Priorat, Garnacha is the primary grape.

Of the 17 Spanish wines featured in the "Hot Hot Hot!" section, four made my list of wine picks. The 2009 Ares Crianza is a young-ish Tempranillo that could be enjoyed now until 2017. You can read my full review of the 2004 Don Jacobo here, which was in Vintages last January and returns a year later. A year younger is the 2005 Hacienda Lopez de Haro Reserva, which is mostly Tempranillo, but also contains 5% Graciano and 5% Garnacha and is approachable now, but can be aged for at least the next decade. The three wines above are all from Rioja, while the Cepa 21 Hito is from Ribera del Duero and is also made using Tempranillo, but goes by the name Tinto Fino in this wine.

From the rest of the release, I've chosen some good wines to encourage you to try some different grapes. Try the Xinomavro from Greece, or a Bonarda or Petit Verdot from Argentina. Chile's Syrah (aka Shiraz) star continues to rise, with the Valle Andino offering superb value at $13.95. Wines from the 2010 Rhône vintage continue to impress, with the Château de Nages showcasing the vintage in this release; it's an old vines GSM-blend consisting of 60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, and 10 % Mourvèdre.

In white wines, I hope you enjoy Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc, because that's all I've got for you in this release. The German Riesling is very sweet, but with good acidity, while the Ontario Riesling is off-dry (i.e. just a little sweet). The two Sauvignon Blancs will both be crisp, dry, and refreshing.

That's it for my Vintages recommendations from this release. If you buy and try any of these, please let me know as I always like to hear from my readers. Cheers!


Red Wine:

• VALLE ANDINO RESERVA ESPECIAL SYRAH 2008 - Colchagua Valley, Chile (#272682) (XD) - $13.95
• BOUTARI GRANDE RESERVE 2007 - PDO Naoussa, Greece (#140111) (D) - $16.95
• CHÂTEAU DE NAGES VIEILLES VIGNES 2010 - AC Costières de Nîmes, Rhône, France (#040964) (D) - $17.95
• HACIENDA LOPEZ DE HARO RESERVA 2005 - DOCa Rioja, Spain (#357335) (XD) - $17.95
• ARES CRIANZA 2009 - DOCa Rioja, Spain (#305912) (XD) - $17.95
• CEPA 21 HITO 2010 - DO Ribera del Duero, Spain (#360503) (XD) - $17.95
• CENTUNO NERO D’AVOLA 2010 - IGT Sicilia, Italy (#357103) (XD) - $17.95
• DON JACOBO RESERVA 2004 - DOCa Rioja, Spain (#313270) (XD) - $18.95  reviewed here
• PASSIONATE WINES MONTESCO BONARDA 2010 - Tupungato, Mendoza, Argentina (#363127) (XD) - $19.95
• LA LUZ CALLEJÓN DEL CRIMEN GRAN RESERVA PETIT VERDOT 2008 - Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina (#360412) (XD) - $23.95

White Wine:

• MÖNCHHOF ROBERT EYMAEL RIESLING 2011 - Qualitätswein, Mosel, Germany (#349431) (MS) - $16.95
• SUE-ANN STAFF GRACE’S DRY RIESLING 2011 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#367086) (XD) - $18.95  reviewed here
• COOPERS CREEK SAUVIGNON BLANC 2013 - Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand (#957407) (XD) - $18.95
• FOUASSIER PERE & FILS POUILLY-FUMÉ 2012 - AC, Loire, France (#357319) (XD) - $19.95

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

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German Wines - Part 3

Here are two more wines I received courtesy of Wines of Germany Canada. The first two wines were reviewed here and here.

The first wine reviewed below is a Sparkling Wine in the 200 mL size, which is (likely) available in packs of 3 at the LCBO. It's on the sweet side and makes a good alternative for those who like Moscato d'Asti. The second wine reviewed in this post is a medium (in sweetness) Riesling. Both of these wines are easy drinking wines that are suitable for gatherings where your guests enjoy sweeter wines.

HENKELL TROCKEN DRY-SEC PICCOLO - Baden, Germany (#009118) (MD) (200 mL) - $11.45

Tasting Note:
Comes in pack of 3. Screw cap on this 200 mL bottle. Medium-high intensity aromas of apple, floral and hints of barnyard from the glass. Good, crisp bubbles and fresh acidity. Palate is quite sweet with lemon/lime, citrus and honeydew. Fairly light-weight and finishing short-medium in length. For a Trocken Dry-Sec, it's quite sweet. Score: 83 pts


DEINHARD GREEN LABEL RIESLING 2012 - Qualitätswein, Mosel, Germany (#008094) (M) - $11.95

Tasting Note:

Screw cap. This white wine has muted aromas of pink grapefruit, peach, and Flintstones vitamins. Medium in sweetness with white peach, floral, petrol, and wet rocks on the palate. Hints of honey linger on the medium-long finish. Good acidity and medium bodied. Score: 86 pts

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Moselland Ars Vitis Riesling Winter Scene 2012 (Mosel) - Wine Review

This is the 2nd wine I received from the fine folks at Wines of Germany Canada (the first was reviewed here). I opened this white wine earlier today because it's light and crisp, with only 10% abv and perfectly suitable for brunch or lunch.

MOSELLAND ARS VITIS RIESLING WINTER SCENE 2012 - Qualitätswein, Mosel, Germanyy (#589929) (MD) - $9.95

Tasting Note:
Low intensity aromas of citrus, lime and floral notes. It's mid-weight and has a slightly oily texture with a palate consisting of orange blossom, citrus and florals. Medium-dry sweetness with bracing acids and a slight spritz. Some tartness arrives at the mid-palate and continues through to the medium-length finish. Delicate - chill slightly. Paired well with homemade butter chicken. Score: 85 pts

What's really interesting is the "label". The entire bottle has a frosted glass finish. But on the front is a clear window that let's you peer through the bottle to view the graphic that's been printed on the back of the bottle. Pretty cool!

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Peller Estates Andrew Peller Signature Series Cabernet Franc Icewine 2010 (Niagara) - Wine Review

To ring in the New Year, I opened this delicious Icewine that I received last January as part of my "Dinner for Two at Peller Estates Winery" contest winnings. Suffice it to say, it was thoroughly enjoyed by all!

PELLER ESTATES ANDREW PELLER SIGNATURE SERIES CABERNET FRANC ICEWINE 2010 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#) (S) (375 mL) - $90.10

Tasting Note:
Sweet red fruit, currants and cranberry aromas from the cork. Gorgeously intense candied red fruits, bing cherry and ripe strawberry aromas from the glass with very nice replays led by strawberry notes on the palate. Medium-full bodied with heavy viscosity. It's sweet and has very good balancing acids and a long finish. Lovely! Score: 91 pts

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