Canadian Wine Guy

Garnet in color with a mild nose. On the mid pallet this wine displays some strong strawberry along with some rustic notes. On the medium finish this wine is backed by some firm tannins. I would give this wine an 88. Not a bad deal for the price.

From the LCBO web site:
DE BORTOLI WINDY PEAK PINOT NOIR 2010 VINTAGES 48587 | 750 mL bottle Price $ 17.95
Made in: Victoria, Australia By: De Bortoli Wines
Release Date: Jul 21, 2012
13.0% Alcohol/Vol. Sweetness Descriptor: D – Dry

Tasting Note
Light colour, good hue, although not bright; not only is the pinot noir varietal character clear to see, but there seems to be a significant Yarra Valley component; the wine is savoury more than fruity, simply adding to its suitability for food. Drink by 2014. Score – 89. (James Halliday, winecompanion.com.au, Oct. 25,. 2011).

From the Winery’s web site:
Region: Victoria
Appearance: Medium red in colour with a purple hue.
Bouquet: Complex cherry like Pinot fruit aroma.
Palate: The palate shows good concentration of typical Pinot Noir characters. These include cherries and strawberries. There is underlying spicey characters which increase complexity.

Vintage Conditions: The 2009 – 2010 growing season saw our earliest budburst for sometime. Timely rainfall received in early summer gave the vineyard some relief from a dry winter & spring. Conditions for ripening of Pinot Noir were ideal with warm days & cool nights. Fruit was picked in optimal condition.

Winemaking: Fruit parcels are selected and picked to maximise fruit flavour. The fruit is both hand and machine harvested with a small percentage of the hand harvested used for whole bunch inclusion. A combination of winemaking techniques are used to produce a final blend with complexity and balance. These include cold maceration prior to fermentation, inclusion of whole bunches and warm fermentation 30˚C to 32˚C. The components remain separate until final blending. Minimal handling and filtration is adopted to preserve fruit flavour.

Wine Analysis: Alc/Vol: 13.0% v/v pH: 3.65 TA: 6.0g/L
Cellaring: This wine is made for early consumption and will mature well over the next 2-3 years in a good cellar.
Suggested Cuisine: Enjoy with pasta dishes
General Characteristics: Dry Medium Bodied

Dark in color with a nice rich nose of black berries. On the mid pallet the wine displays black berries to match the nose. On the medium length finish the wine displays some nice tannins and some pepper that build nicely in the mouth. I would give this wine a solid 89. Not a bad deal for the price!

From the LCBO web site:
TAHBILK ESTATE SHIRAZ 2008 VINTAGES 214742 | 750 mL bottle Price $ 22.95
Made in: Victoria, Australia By: Tahbilk Proprietary Ltd.
Release Date: Jul 21, 2012
14.5% Alcohol/Vol. Style: Full-bodied & Firm Varietal: Shiraz/Syrah
Sugar Content: 5 g/L Sweetness Descriptor: D – Dry

Tasting Note
The 2008 Shiraz reveals a deep garnet-purple color and notes of dried plums, blackberry and black cherry preserves and mulberries over chocolate, aniseed, tar and damp earth. Very crisp and full bodied in the mouth, it provides firm, tight-knit tannins and a good amount of black berry and earthy flavors that linger long into the finish. Approachable now, it should drink well to 2016. Score – 91. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW, erobertparker.com, June 2011)

Winery’s web site

I pulled this one out of my cellar after 9 years of patience! Inky dark in color, so much so that the cork was practically black! The nose displays some lovely black fruits. On the mid pallet the wine is still displaying some beautiful jammy black berries to go along with the nose. Straight out of the bottle there are still some lovely peppery notes, some acidity, some nice tannins and a hint of alcohol on a medium finish. This wine still has some legs on it. With a bit of breathing the edgeness on the finish faded leaving only the lovely black berries to be appreciated! The original write up I had for it said it would keep until 2015 and I can believe it. And maybe even more. I would give this wine a solid 91-92. Yummy. My patience was very rewarded!

Dark in color with a nice nose of dark berries. On the mid pallet the wine displays dark berries, and blueberries to match the nose. On the medium length finish the wine displays some nice dryness and firm tannins along with some noticeable alcohol. This wine needs some time to breath or a bit of ageing. I would give it an 88-89. Yumm. Sadly little is left in the province 🙁

From the LCBO web site:
TAR & ROSES SHIRAZ 2010 VINTAGES 282731 | 750 mL bottle Price $ 18.60
Made in: Victoria, Australia By: Endeavour Wines Pty Ltd.
Release Date: Aug 18, 2012
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content: 6 g/L Sweetness Descriptor: XD – Extra Dry

Tasting Note
Spectacular Aussie cool-climate Shiraz that says French Syrah more than Oz Shiraz. Aromas of blackberry, white pepper, vanilla and sandalwood are classically on display. Dry, intensely fruity yet astoundingly light on its feet, with a firm tannin grip and pretty acid lift on the mid-palate. This graceful and elegant wine demonstrates perfectly this fresh style of the cooler Victoria region. Perfect for grilled lamb with rosemary and garlic. (VINTAGES panel, June 2012)

From the winery’s web site:
The grapes for this wine came from a combination of vineyards. They were all kept separately during their fermentation and maturation lives. The machine harvested volumes were crushed and de-stemmed into vinimatic fermenters and spun twice a day. After ten days fermentation, during which time the temperature and acid levels were monitored constantly, they were individually pressed to tank using an air bag press. Finally the wine was racked off gross lees and put into barrel to finish malolactic fermentation and mature in a combination of new French and older barriques for 12 months.
12 months in oak with 24% new French oak component.
Alcohol 14.5% pH 3.48 Acid 6.8g/L Sugar <1.0g/L

Deep crimson.

Nose: Intense black cherry aromas coupled with lifted raspberry notes, a compote of summer berries. Supported by hints of vanilla, chocolate and earthy complexity. Palate: Sweet black cherry fruit flavour with chalky cocoa-like chocolatey tannin. This plus good acid and length gives a well balanced palate. Food Pairing: Char grilled lamb cutlets with homemade tomato sauce.

Wine Makers comments: As with previous vintages the wines come from two main vineyards, one off the deep red Cambrian soil while the other comes from tougher more gravelly ground. The first gives us a wine rich, chocolatey and earthy while the other has more high fragrant berry notes with good acid and sweet fruit. The wine that results is our take on Heathcote shiraz.

Ok as usual, I like to put my bias up front. For some bizarre reason when it comes to Merlot I like them varietal. And for me that means plum. So when I saw plum in the description in thought I would give them a try. To date my favourite Merlots are from California and Australia. I like them fruity and therefore generally younger. Aging just looses the fruit. Ok onto the wine. Inky dark in color with a mild nose of plum. Straight out of the bottle the mid pallet displays some plum along with a quick hit of firm tannins, peppery spicy notes typical of Aussie terroir and noticeable alcohol. After some breathing the tannins, spice and alcohol all die down and to allow you to more fully appreciate the lovely black fruits and plum of the mid pallet. This wine is either too young or you need to let it breath to properly appreciate it. I would give it an 88 or so. If you have some patience I bet a year will make a whole lot of difference on this wine.

Update: Well I came back to this bottle a couple days after I had opened it, and what a difference. It is a spot on varietal plum, fruit forward merlot. The edgyness on the finish had passed. This would support the fact it needs to age. After this I would bump the rating up to an 89-90. Much better.

From the lcbo web site:
WAKEFIELD MERLOT 2012 VINTAGES 683201 | 750 mL bottle Price $ 17.95

Made in: South Australia, Australia By: Wakefield Wines Pty Ltd.
Release Date: Jun 22, 2013
Style: Medium-bodied & Fruity 14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content: 5 g/L Sweetness Descriptor: D – Dry

Tasting Note
Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2012 Merlot offers a nose of crushed black plums, blackberries and mulberries with hints of mace, vanilla and violets. Medium-bodied, it gives a good amount of spicy black fruit flavors in the mouth with a light touch of oak, framed by a medium level of chewy tannins and medium to high acid, finishing with medium to long persistence. Drink it now through 2015+. Score – 88. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW, erobertparker.com, Dec. 2012)

Dark in color with a mild nose of black berries. On the mid pallet the wine displays some mild blueberries. On the medium length finish the wine has some nice varietal pepper and spice, along with some tannins. This is a smooth mild Shiraz. Alcohol is nicely under control. I understand that 2011 was a VERY wet year in Australia leading to milder wines. That definitely seems to be the case on this one. I would give it an 88-89.

From the LCBO web site:
KILIKANOON KILLERMAN’S RUN SHIRAZ (V) VINTAGES 925453 | 750 mL bottle Price $ 19.95
Made in: Region Not Specified, Australia By: Kilikanoon Wines
Release Date: Apr 18, 2013
14.0% Alcohol/Vol. Sugar Content: 4 g/L Sweetness Descriptor: D – Dry

Description
This full-tilt Shiraz is Kilikanoon’s idea of an entry-level wine. Some introduction! A hedonistic pleasure, it’s plush with blackberry jam, cherry and toasted oak. A bold match for barbecued spare ribs, spicy sausage pizza or grilled hanger steaks.

Dark in color with a nose of oak and some black berries coming through. On the mid pallet this wine is overshadowed by loads of alcohol, and some black berries to match the nose. On the finish this wine is dominated by firm acidity. To my tastes this is not a great Some breathing would definitely help. I think largely this wine is just too young. But either way the fruit was either overwhelmed or mild. I would give this maybe an 88. I would absoloutely not be running out to grab more of this and if I had bought more I would take it back. Just not too my tastes. If you do keep it be sure and pair it with big bold meats, lamb, steak etc. Or not a chance your tasting your food.

From the LCBO web site:
JIP JIP ROCKS SHIRAZ 2010 VINTAGES 673897 | 750 mL bottle Price $ 16.95
Made in: South Australia, Australia By: Morambro Creek
Release Date: May 25, 2013
Style: Full-bodied & Smooth
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content: 4 g/L Sweetness Descriptor: XD – Extra Dry

Description
Won Blue Gold and Top 100 at the 2012 Sydney International Wine Competition.

Tasting Note
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2010 Shiraz gives pronounced notes of warm blackcurrant, crushed blueberries and black pepper with hints of tar, mocha and loam. Medium to full bodied, it fills the mouth with peppered black berry flavors supported by a medium level of rounded tannins, lively acid and finishing long. Drinking now, it should remain good to 2015. Score – 89. (Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW, erobertparker.com, Feb. 2012)