Canadian Wine Guy

On behalf of Brett (Mr CWG) and myself I would like to extend a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all. I hope your holidays are filled with family, good friends and of course a great bottle (or two) of wine! Enjoy!

Pale in color, mild on the nose. On the mid pallet this is a smooth, elegant light sauv blanc dominated by some citrus flavors and some acidity on the lighter side of medium as a finish. This is not a bad sauv blanc and is extremely food friendly. The wine has some nice mouth grip that builds. I would give it an 88 or so. For the price I think there are better more distinctive wines.

From the LCBO web site:
ET CETERA SAUVIGNON BLANC VINTAGES 264812 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 14.95
Wine, White Wine 14.2% Alcohol/Vol.

Made in: California, USA By: Via Pacifica Us, Inc.

Check LCBO stock

I’ve had this one before and it is consistently yummy. Pale to golden in color, mild on the nose. On the mid pallet this is a smooth well balanced California style chard with some lovely vanilla coming through. On the finish the wine when first opened had a bit of tart acidity but that faded quickly. Don’t serve this one too cold or you will miss the best parts of this wine. It is medium in length with some buttery notes coming through. I really enjoyed this wine. It is VERY food friendly. We paired it with pan fried cod and it was a delightful match. I would give this wine a 90. It’s tough to find cheap, good chards, and while this one isn’t cheap, it’s a fair price for what your getting! Enjoy!

From the LCBO web site:

KENDALL-JACKSON VINTNER’S RESERVE CHARDONNAY 2009 VINTAGES 369686 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 19.95
Wine, White Wine 13.5% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : XD

Made in: California, USA By: Jackson Wine Estates International

Release Date: Oct 1, 2011

Tasting Note
There are several million cases of the 2009 Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay (100% estate grown Chardonnay that is, remarkably, 100% barrel fermented), which comes primarily from Jess Jackson’s coastal properties in Monterey and Santa Barbara. Winemaker Randy Ullom told me he manages to stir the lees on all the barrels once a month, which is astonishing. Abundant aromas of white peach, honeysuckle, green apple skins and a hint of tropical fruits jump from the glass of this medium-bodied, crisp, dry, fruity, well-made Chardonnay. It is a sensational bargain. Kendall-Jackson enjoys a well-deserved reputation for over-delivering quality vis a vis price for its wines. , , Score – 89. (Robert Parker Jr., erobertparker.com, Feb. 2011)

Check LCBO stock

Pale in color with a nice varietal chard on the nose. On the mid pallet when first taken out of the fridge displays mostly a fruit forward light chard, more reminiscent of a chablis. Once the wine warms up the California style comes out displaying some lovely vanilla, and caramel. The wine is medium in length with some lovely vanilla and complexity living on as well as a little bit of tart acidity gripping the tongue. This wine is a bit too young right now and the complexity this wine has to offer will come out in a year or so. For the price $13.20 this wine is a good deal as a lot of the J. Lohr’s are. I would give this a solid 89-90. Check LCBO stock.

If your looking for an inexpensive chard for every day consumption this is a good choice!

Recently Trialto held a try and buy event at the Fine Wine Reserve. I tasted this one at the event it was the highlight of the evening for me. The wine is deep ruby in color with a slightly earthy nose typical of a pinot noir. On the mid pallet the wine displays the usual rustic notes with strawberry coming through nicely. The wine is medium in length on the finish with some lovely smooth tannins and a bit of dryness coming through. I would give this wine a solid 90. Wine Advocate gave it a 92. The wine is $39.95 available on consignment from Trialto by the case.

Ben Hodson is the ” Liquid Art Specialist Ontario” on this wine. Feel free to contact him for more information on how to purchase this yummy wine!

From Trialto:
THE STORY:
Patricia Green Cellars is located in the Ribbon Ridge district of Yamhill County on the 52 acre estate purchased in 2000 by Patty Green and Jim Anderson. The winery, and thus the two friends, are noted for producing a tremendously broad selection of Pinot Noirs from far flung vineyards representing some of the better sites in the Ribbon Ridge, Dundee Hills, Chehalem Mountains, and the Eola Hills growing regions.

They produce Pinot Noirs that show the distinctions of the sites that they work with. All of the vineyards (whether estate or sourced) are extremely well-tended sites that seek to grow the best fruit possible through rigorous attention to detail on every single vine. To ensure that our sites truly show the characteristics of the soil, micro-climate and clonal material none of them use irrigation.

Oregon has shown itself to be one of the few truly great wine growing regions in the world. Patty strives to work within small sub-sections of this vast growing region to find areas particularly suited to growing great fruit. The wines are made in a very traditional fashion that emphasizes the quality of the raw materials with which we begin, the experience we have with making wine and the intuitive decisions we make during each harvest to produce top quality wine.

With only 10,000 cases in total production, Patricia Green’s wines are some of the most boutique in Oregon. Only three wines were made from their estate fruit in 2008, with a tiny production for all three.

Another wine from the Society for American Wines annual cab event. This was my second favorite of the evening. Dark in color with bold nose of red berries coming through. On the mid pallet this wine is big, bold, round, California style cab with lots of red fruits, cherries and the like coming through nicely. On the finish the wine has some lovely smooth tannins that build nicely as you sip. I would give this a solid 90-91. The current offering in the LCBO is $34.95.

Check LCBO stock

I love well aged cabs. They become so smooth, so elegant, a beautiful glass of yummy in a glass! I belong to Society for American Wines and one of the reasons is because their tastings draw from their extensive cellar of aged wines. The Cab event is one of my favorites. Brett (Mr CWG) and I attended together and this wine was by far our favorite of the night. Dark in color with lots of red fruits, cherries and the like on the nose. On the mid pallet you get some lovely deep rich, round cherries, well integrated. They fill the mouth. The wine is smooth on the medium finish with tannins, alcohol and oak all well under control. The years have been very good to this wine. I would give it a solid 91!

From the LCBO web site for this wine but for a different year:
CHATEAU MONTELENA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2007 VINTAGES 718452 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 54.95
Wine, Red Wine 14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: California, USA By: Chateau Montelena

Release Date: Apr 2, 2011

Tasting Note
This is one for the cellar. Firm tannins are wrapped all around the fruit. Leave this in a cellar for 5-10 years (though, it may be enjoyed, decanted, with a rare steak or roast beef). Cedar, blueberry, cassis, pipe tobacco, mineral and dried cherry are the prime aromas here. Dry, tannic, and fairly tight at this stage, with fruit and a mineral tone in behind. Medium-full bodied with a long, firm finish. A promising wine that will deliver great pleasure over years to come. (VINTAGES panel, Feb. 2011)

Check LCBO stock

Another reception wine from the Society for American Wine annual cab tasting event. Pale in color with some petrol coming through on the nose. I also got some sulfur but others did not. On the mid pallet this is a slightly sweet varietal Riesling, well made, smooth food friendly wine. The wine was on the lighter side of medium in length. This is not a bad wine, but given how many terrific Rieslings come out of Niagara for less money I’m afraid I would be passing this one over. I would give it an 87-88. Worth around $20, not in the LCBO.

I previously had this one at a Society for American Wines event so when it came upon this recent release I jumped at it. Dark in color with a lovely nose of red berries. On the mid pallet this is a fruit forward traditional California style Cab. Lots of ripe cherries coming through. There are lots of layers to this wine! On the finish this wine has some lovely dryness coupled with some smooth tannins. The wine continues to build in the mouth. I would give this a solid 90. Yum! And to top it off this one is a keeper with 10 years left in it! Woohoo!

From the LCBO web site:
FREI BROTHERS RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2008 VINTAGES 38075 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 23.95
Wine, Red Wine 13.9% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : D

Made in: California, USA By: E. & J. Gallo Winery

Release Date: Oct 29, 2011

Tasting Note
Another outstanding effort as well as a sleeper of the vintage is the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon. Composed of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot and the rest Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot, it possesses a dense ruby/purple color, deep, medium to full-bodied flavors, lots of black currant, underbrush and loamy soil notes intertwined with a hint of oak, and a robust, extroverted, impressive finish. This wine should drink well for at least a decade. Score – 90. (Robert Parker Jr., erobertparker.com, Feb. 2011

Another reception wine from the Society for American Wine annual cab tasting event. Golden in color with some nice vanilla coming through on the nose. On the mid pallet the vanilla and oak are there with some tart green apple flavors. The wine is quite light on the finish with not a lot going on. This is a light summer sipper for sure. I would give it an 87-88. Not available at the LCBO, $20 or so …

We had this as a reception wine at the Society for American Wine annual cab tasting event. Brett and I attended this one together. This wine is quite golden in color with a mild nose with some citrus and minerality coming through. On the mid pallet this wine is dominated by some strong acidity, tart grapefruit flavors that grip the tongue. The acidity over powers an underlying fruity chard that displays some toasty notes. The wine is medium in length again dominated by acidity. The wine improved as it warmed up, it was served way too cold. I find a number of chards really don’t do well when they are served too cold. I would give this wine an 87 or so. This wine is about $20, but for my money there are much better chards out there. I also don’t think this would be a very food friendly wine. Too tart. A better chard to my tastes for example, from Niagara the Inniskillin Three Vineyards Chard has become one of my regular wines. Goes amazingly with scallops!

Pale in color with a mild chard varietal nose. Nothing immediately jumping out at me. On the mid pallet the wine on first drinking is a very mild chard. Some nice vanilla, some oak, some caramel. The mildness of these flavors allows you to appreciate the crisp fruits of the chardonnay grape. As the wine warmed up the finish got longer and it gripped the tongue. Especially true without food. The vanilla and caramel came through very nicely to a medium finish. If you are looking for a big bold chard, this isn’t the wine for you. If a subtle, well made, smooth chard is too your tastes then this might be a nice choice. It would be quite food friendly. I would give it an 88-89. Unfortunately not in the LCBO. I suspect it’s around $15.

I paired it with Oysters, and it went ok with them. Not overly complementary to the oysters, but didn’t fight either.

From the winery’s web site:
2008 CHARDONNAY Blackstone Chardonnay shows aromas of pineapple, peach and lemon citrus with a touch of mineral notes and pleasing oak followed by luscious tropical fruit flavors and a touch of toasted vanilla on the palate This bright, well-balanced wine has a long, lingering finish. A fantastic food wine, it will complement herb-baked chicken, grilled fish or vegetarian entrees and light aged cheeses.
Varietal: 95% Chardonnay 3% Gewürztraminer 2% Semillon
Total Acidity: 7.0 g/l pH: 3.34 Alcohol: 13.5%

Winery’s web site