PHILIPPE DE ROTHCHILD SAUV BLANC 2009

The wine is pale in color, with a varietal Sauv blanc nose, albeit on the milder side. There’s the usual lemon, citris and grass coming through. On the mid pallet the flavors are spot on and match the bouquet. Again, citris, lemon and grass all there, present but on the milder side. The finish is on the lighter side of medium. This is a well made, middle of the road Sauv Blanc. It is VERY food friendly. I must say I quite enjoyed this one. It would go very well and would be quite refreshing on a patio on a hot summer day! Give it a try, it’s in the regular section …

From the LCBO web site:
PHILIPPE DE ROTHCHILD SAUV BLC LCBO 407536 | 750 mL bottle
Price: $ 10.95 Wine, White Wine 12.5% Alcohol/Vol.

Made in: Languedoc, France By: Baron Philippe De Rothschild S.A.

Tasting Note
Straw colour; grassy, citrus, herbaceous nose; medium body and crisp acidity, clean finish

Serving Suggestion
Great with light lunches, grilled seafood & light cheeses

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Peller Estates 2009 Signature Series Sauv Blanc

I enjoy Sauv blancs. They have a lovely bouquet and are very food friendly. They pair well with fatty, spicy, and asian dishes as well as fish. Very versatile. Previous posts have pointed out a number of inexpensive Chilean sauv blancs This is another wine from the iYellow 44 wine event on May 26th. The wine is pale in color with a lovely varietal nose of lemon, and grass. On the mid pallet the wine is bang on with lemon and grassy flavors to match the beautiful nose. On the finish the wine has a lovely bit of crispness to it with a finish on the lighter side of medium. Very well done. I would give it an 89-90 or so … It is not in the LCBO but goes for $30 at the winery. Pricey but quite good!

Peller estates link

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Ravine Vineyard 2008 Merlot

This is another wine from the iYellow 44 wine event on May 26th. As frequent readers know I have issues with finding a Merlot that tastes like I think a Merlot ought to taste. So I approach them with skepticism. The wine is dark in color with a nice Merlot bouquet, some plum and a bit of sweetness coming through. On the mid pallet the wine reveals itself nicely as a smooth, well balanced, fruit forward merlot with some plums and dark fruits coming through. On the finish the wine is on the lighter side of medium with no tannins or pepperyness to it at all. There are some oak flavors but they are mild. This is for me a varietal merlot! I would give it a solid 89. It is not in the LCBO but goes for $34 at the winery. Pricey but quite good!

Ravine Vineyard link

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Strewn Chardonnay 2007 Amalgam Terroir

Tasted this wine at the iYellow 44 wine event on May 26th. The wine is quite yellow in color with a large nose showing off a well baked Chard … On the mid pallet are some chard flavors coupled with butter, popcorn, vanilla and oak. On the finish the wine is on the heavier side of medium with creamyness coming out. This is a big Californian style Chard. This is the kind of wine some people would call “over baked”. It is heavily crafted for sure. Lots of time in oak and some time on the lees. If you like this style of chard this is a good one. I would give it a solid 89. It is not in the LCBO but goes for $25.15 at the winery. Did I mention it’s a big wine 🙂

Strewn link

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Brimstone Red Blend Columbia Valley 2007

This was the first red brought out from the Society for American Wines Phelp’s Creek tasting featuring the wines of Oregon and Portland. The wine is a blend of Syrah, Merlot and Cab Sauv. It is dark in color, with a pronoucned nose of syrah, slightly sweet. On the mid pallet this is a pretty big wine, medium to full bodied. Some nice cassis flavors, for me it almost resembled a cab franc in some ways. Some edgy tannins, but not in a bad or over the top way. The finish is medium in length with some residual sweetness left in the mouth and some tannins. This is a fairly smooth wine. I would give it an 89 or so. Not available in LCBO but $16.50 at the winery. For the price not a bad wine at all!

Phelps

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Celilo Vineyard Chardonnay Columbia Gorge 2008

Alas we get to my favorite wine from the Society for American Wines Phelp’s Creek tasting featuring the wines of Oregon and Portland. This was the third wine of the evening and is pale in color with a richer more buttery smell. The wine is quite nice on the mid pallet with some nice complexity. The oak is well under control and is not overwhelming. There’s no creamyness to it. The wine is quite well done and is even more to my tastes. If your thinking this write up sounds a whole lot like the previous one, it’s because it is very similar, just better. The finish is medium and it lingers nicely in the mouth. The great thing about it is that it is actually cheaper! Not available in the LCBO, but worth about $24 at the winery. This was my favorite wine of the evening! Yumm … I would dub this a middle of the road chard, not over the top, not over baked. Just right for me!

Phelps

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Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2007

This was the second wine from the Society for American Wines hosted Phelp’s Creek tasting featuring the wines of Oregon and Portland. It is pale in color with a richer smell. There’s more buttery smells to it. The wine is quite nice on the mid pallet with some nice complexity. The oak is well under control and not overwhelming at all. There’s no creamyness to it. The wine is quite well done and is more to my tastes. The finish is medium. Not available in the LCBO, but worth about $26 at the winery. This was my second favorite wine of the evening.

Phelps

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Unoaked Chardonnay Columbia Gorge 2008

Society for American Wines hosted Phelp’s Creek tasting featuring the wines of Oregon and Portland. This wine is quite pale in color mild on the nose. It was fermented in stainless steel tanks and no Oak. The wine is quite crisp and clean, and food friendly. On the finish the wine is on the lighter side of medium. The benefit of the lack of oak is that you can taste a lot more of the natural chard flavors. This one is quite fruit forward. It’s more in the Chablis style. The wine is not quite to my taste but it was nice none the less. I would give it an 89 or so. The wine is worth $18 at the winery, but unfortunately not in the LCBO. It was the first wine of the evening and an excellent place to start!

Phelps link

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Mcmanis 2008 Merlot

We stopped on by Seasons one of my favorite restaurants in Oakville the other day. They have a fabulous wine cellar and I love the staff! George (the owner) stopped by and asked what we were looking for in a wine. Paulette who was with us loves Merlot’s so I asked George to bring out a Californian Merlot for us. This is what he brought out. The wine is dark in color with a lovely varietal Merlot on the nose! On the mid pallet are some lovely varietal Merlot flavors, deep plum, and some cherries. Slightly sweet but not too much. This is a typical Californian fruit forward Merlot, love it or hate it. On the finish the wine is smooth and elegant with a hint of tannins. This is a well made wine that is quite food friendly. I would give it a 90. A very nice Merlot. Thanks for the recommendation George!

McManis Family Winery

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ARGENTO MALBEC

When you need an inexpensive quaffing wine to go with dinner there are lots of choose from, not all of them great. This wine is quite dark in color mild on the nose for a Malbec. On the mid pallet the wine has some ok flavors, some cherries, alcohol is well under control and tannins are mild. On the finish the wine is on the lighter side of medium with a bit of dryness. This is a fairly smooth Malbec with the edges smoothed out. You will never mistake this for an expensive wine, but for the price it’s not bad at all. I would give it an 86-87 or so.

From the LCBO web site:
ARGENTO MALBEC LCBO 591693 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 9.95
Wine, Red Wine 12.0% Alcohol/Vol. Sugar Content : 1

Made in: Argentina, Argentina By: Argento Wine Company

Tasting Note
Bright ruby red colour; fresh raspberry, cherry, sweet plum compote and milk chocolate aromas with hints of violets and herbs; dry, medium bodied, with balanced acidity and silky tannins supporting flavours of ripe black fruits.

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2007 Burrowing Owl Chardonnay

With a hectic month (who am I kidding, let’s just say year+) of travel behind me, not to mention a weekend day full of errands, high winds, cold temperatures (it’s May, enough already), I slumped into my chair at 17:00 and thought “I need a glass of wine”. Not for any reason do I need an excuse for one, but today, I made up a reason. Out came a recently delivered wine from a great Okanagan (British Columbia) winery. Burrowing Owl is often brought up as one of the best BC wineries there is, and as of yet I have not been disappointed. This bottle travel from BC with 11 of it’s friends after one of the winery’s more recent email blasts on new releases (Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir’s also came to visit). On this chilly early May day the 2007 was opened, and here are my thoughts!

Green apple jumps out of this apple juice coloured wine (coincidence?). That nose gives way to a good mixture of fruit (think green pear, nay ‘Vicar of Winkfield’) and undertones of vanilla. While the balance is there, it does linger well enough to not be a pain and to remind you are having more then just some summer toss away white. This wine is actually very full bodied and chewy making is a great addition to any meal you would serve a higher end Burgundy white with. Overall the start to finish was beyond expectations. Well done ‘Owl. While not in the LCBO you can buy this directly from the winery for $25.

The CWGSR is 89 out of 100.

Please note vineyard tasting notes can be found here.

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STONELEIGH MARLBOROUGH PINOT NOIR

This is another wine from the from the New Zealand Wine fair. I’ve had a couple of the Stoneleigh’s before and enjoy them their chard and their Sauv Blanc . This one is pale in color, mild on the nose. This is a lovely varietal Pinot Noir. The wine had lovely fruit on the mid pallet with a lovely medium finish. I would give this an 89 or so …

From the LCBO web site:
STONELEIGH MARLBOROUGH PINOT NOIR LCBO 54353 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 19.95
Wine, Still Table Wine, Red Still Table Wine 13.2% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : 1

Made in: New Zealand, New Zealand By: Pernod Ricard Pacific Pty Ltd

Tasting Note
Pale ruby colour; aromas of cherries, tobacco, and violets; dry, medium-bodied, soft tannins, flavours of strawberry, mineral, and oak spice.

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STONELEIGH CHARDONNAY

Another wine from the New Zealand Wine fair. I’ve had a number the Sauv Blanc before and enjoyed it. This chard is darker in color and is mild on the nose. The bouquet is smack on varietal chard albeit a little on the milder side. On the mid pallet the wine is a middle of the road chard. Lovely nice fruits, some butter and some cream. On the finish the wine is medium in length. This is a very nice subtle, well made chard. I would give it an 89-90 or so. A good deal for the money.

From the LCBO web site:
STONELEIGH CHARDONNAY LCBO 288795 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 16.95
Wine, Still Table Wine, White Still Table Wine 13.5% Alcohol/Vol.

Made in: New Zealand, New Zealand By: Pernod Ricard Pacific Pty Ltd

Tasting Note
Medium straw green, toasty, smoky oak, roasted citrus, apple and mineral aromas; dry, medium bodied, creamy, with crisp lime and apple flavours.

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Gumfields 2007 Pinot Noir

I was at the New Zealand Wine fair last night. I was amazed how many kiwi’s (that what New Zealanders refer to themselves as) there were serving wine at the event!. New Zealand in case you don’t know specializes in Sauv Blanc and Pinot Noir with some good chards as well. The evening was great with lots of very nice food, some super Canadian cheeses and of course … some great wines. New Zealand wines tend to be a little more expensive just simply because it is a more expensive area to make wine in. So if your looking for that next $9.99 bargain, it might not be coming from New Zealand.

This wine for me was the best Pinot Noir of the evening. The wine is lighter in color, and the nose was smack on what is expected from a Pinot Noir. Some nice rustic smells. On the mid pallet the wine matches the nose with some lovely reasonably deep pinot flavors. The wine was medium in finish and all in all this wine was lovely. I would give it a 90-91. According to the distributor it retails for $23.95 but is currently not in the LCBO. A shame. The winery’s web site for now has little information on it, so this is one of those wines you taste at a show (or read about in a blog) and then never get to have. Pooh.

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FEATHERSTONE BLACK SHEEP RIESLING 2009

Generally speaking I do a fair bit of research before I buy a wine. There’s a lot of plunk out there and only so much money! I decided to take a flyer and try this one with no information. The wine is very pale in color with a tart citrus nose to it. I am thinking I am in good shape this one is going to be good! On the mid pallet the wine is dominated by some sweet honey suckle flavors. On the finish the wine is on the lighter side with not a lot going on. I would put this more in line with an Auslese style German Riesling. Now for some this would be great. For me … not so much. We paired with a tandoori chicken and while it did not clash with it, it did not complement it either. I would give this an 87-88 or so. That’s what I get for going out on a limb. Needless to say (why do we say that and then continue anyway:) ) I won’t be rushing out to buy more of this, and to be frank I would take back any I had left. Not to my tastes at all.

From the LCBO web site:
FEATHERSTONE BLACK SHEEP RIESLING 2009 VINTAGES 80234 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 16.95
Wine, White Wine 10.0% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : XD This is a VQA wine

Made in: Ontario, Canada By: Featherstone Estate Winery
Release Date: Apr 3, 2010

Tasting Note
For such a young Riesling, this one has everything right going on. Aromas of apple, pear, melon and biscuits are front and centre. Dry, very racy and fresh, with excellent apple and pear replays. Quite zippy and palate refreshing. Medium bodied with a long fresh and fruity finish. Will reward 3+ years in a cellar or try it now with pan-fried freshwater fish. (VINTAGES panel, Feb. 2010)

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CHÂTEAU DES CHABERTS CUVÉE PRESTIGE 2007

Another one from the Churchill Cellars portfolio tasting. The wine is dark in color mild on the nose. In the mid pallet the wine has some of the varietal Provence sweet red berry flavors but not over the top. Some cassis and dried fruits. The wine is medium in finish with some dry pucker power and some nice tannins. All in all a pleasant experience. I would give it an 89. Not a bad deal for the money.

From the LCBO web site:
CHÂTEAU DES CHABERTS CUVÉE PRESTIGE 2007 VINTAGES 151001 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 18.95
Wine, Red Wine 14.0% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : XD

Made in: Provence, France By: Chateau Des Chaberts

Release Date: Feb 20, 2010

Description
This award-winning wine is a blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Mourvèdre. Provence is not the place one thinks of for Syrah-focused wines, but if this is the result, they should keep it up. The aromas suggest blackberry, cassis, cedar and garrigue. Dry and flavourful, age this one 2-4 years, or enjoy it tonight with grilled lamb chops or winter-barbecued steaks.

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CHATEAU DE GOURGAZAUD AC MINERVOIS

Another one from the Churchhill wine cellars annual tasting event. This wine is dark in color mild on the nose. On the mid pallet are some very nice dark fruits cherries/blueberries and the like. The wine is medium in finish with a nice bit of dryness and some tannins. This wine is a good bargain! I would give it an 88-89 or so …

CHATEAU DE GOURGAZAUD AC MINERVOIS LCBO 22384 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 12.95
Wine, Red Wine 13.0% Alcohol/Vol.

Made in: Languedoc, France By: Chateau Du Gourgazaud

Tasting Note
Deep ruby colour with purple hints; complex nose of cassis, cedar, spice & earth; smooth and velvety with soft tannins and a long finish

Serving Suggestion
Serve with grilled lamb chops, roasts, or Roquefort cheese

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WENTE MORNING FOG CHARDONNAY

Another one from the Churchill wine cellars annual portfolio tasting. One of the things that I like about this event is they do a great job of documenting the wine you are tasting. They tell you the price, the LCBO number and whether it is general list, vintages etc. Nice job folks.

This wine is pale in color with a mild varietal slightly sweet chard on the nose. On the mid pallet the wine is a medium chard with some buttery flavors and some nice fruit at play. The finish is medium in length with some creamyness coming through and a very slight bit of tartness to balance the sweetness. I would give this an 89. Not bad at all …

From the LCBO web site:
WENTE MORNING FOG CHARDONNAY LCBO 175430 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 16.45
Wine, White Wine 12.8% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : 1

Made in: California/Californie, United States By: Wente Brothers

Tasting Note
Pale straw colour; apple and pear aromas with mineral and oaky notes; round fruit flavours with a citrusy finish

Serving Suggestion
Serve with pasta in a cream sauce or with finger foods

Check LCBO Stock

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VIU MANENT RESERVA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2007

I tasted this one at the Churchhill wine cellars annual portfolio tasting event. The wine is dark in color, with a definitely varietal cab on the nose. There is a hint of smoke and wood on the nose as well. On the mid pallet are some nice varietal cab flavors, cherries and cassis. On the finish the wine is medium with a slight tartness. Likely needs some breathing or aging or both. Not a bad wine for the price. I would give it an 88-89 or so.

From the LCBO web site:
VIU MANENT RESERVA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2007 VINTAGES 59196 | 750 mL bottle
Price: $ 15.95
Wine, Red Wine 14.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD

Made in: Chile, Chile By: Viu Manent

Release Date: Feb 6, 2010

Description
‘I think the Viu Manent range is probably the best in Chile: these are serious wines with real structure, good acidity, and loads of personality … ‘ (Jamie Goode, www.wineanorak.com, Sept. 11, 2009)

Tasting Note
(Translated from the French) This Cabernet Sauvignon has been crafted with fruit from 55-year-old vines … Deep ruby-black to shades of purple in colour, the nose reveals toasty aromas mixed with vanilla, roasted dry fruits and prune. The appealing palate displays a nice balance between the woody notes, vanilla, cassis and cherry flavours followed by fine tannins on the finish. Score – Silver Medal. (Judges panel, Vinalies Internationales, 2009)

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MITOLO JESTER SHIRAZ 2008

Our guests Jim and Katherine brought this wine over for dinner and it made a brief appearance in our glasses 🙂 The wine is dark in color with a mild nose to it. On the mid pallet the wine is a soft fruit forward Shiraz more reminiscent of a french style Syrah than a Shiraz. For an Aussie Shiraz this is a smooth wine. Some nice cherries on the mid pallet. Reminded me a bit of a cab. On the finish the wine is on the lighter side of medium with next to no trademark Aussie pepper. This is a lovely food friendly wine. We paired it with a Roast Pork masterfully prepared by chef Lorraine and it went quite well. Before we knew it the bottle was gone. I would give this a 90 or so. Thanks Jim and Katherine, a lovely addition to dinner. Oh and did I mention molten chocolate cake for dessert? Yum …

From the LCBO web site:
MITOLO JESTER SHIRAZ (V) VINTAGES 659607 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 21.95
Wine, Red Wine 15.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D

Made in: South Australia, Australia By: Mitolo Wines Pty Ltd.

Release Date: Oct 10, 2009

Description
Mitolo continues to garner international accolades under the talented hands of winemaker Ben Glaetzer and owner Frank Mitolo. Every vintage from 2001 through 2007 has received a score of 90 or above from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. This full-bodied, juicy Shiraz delivers upfront and approachable aromas of chocolate-covered dark cherries, anise, allspice, coffee and hints of oak. Enjoy it with your best prime rib or grilled rare tuna steaks.

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ROBERTSON WINERY SAUVIGNON BLANC

Last night I attended the Church Hill cellars annual portfolio tasting. The event carried a lot of reasonable wines. I enjoyed a number of them. I will be blogging about a number of them over the coming weeks. A number of them are reasonably priced general list wines.

This is particular wine is a general list wine. It is pale in color, with a nice slightly grassy, slightly sweet varietal Sauv Blanc nose to it. On the mid pallet are tastes that smack on match the nose. This is a middle of the road sauv blanc. Not too over the top but some nice lemon and grass flavors. On the finish the wine is on the lighter side. This is not a bad wine at all. I would give it an 88 or so. Some of the Chilean’s I have had and blogged have been longer on the finish but this wine would be very food friendly and would be a great summer sipper for the patio. For the price this is a good deal. I would recommend picking up some of this for the up coming patio season!

From the LCBO web site:
ROBERTSON WINERY SAUVIGNON BLANC LCBO 129684 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 10.95
Wine, Still Table Wine, White Still Table Wine 12.5% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : 1

Made in: South Africa, South Africa By: Robertson Valley Wines
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Smoking Loon 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon

I was at my sister’s 50th birthday party last night (Happy Birthday Sis!) and one of the guests brought this one by. It is mild on the nose, deep in color. On the mid pallet are some lovely deep and rich typical California cab cherry flavors. It is nice and round in the mouth. On the finish the wine is medium with some nice spices coming through. I wouldn’t say as strong as pepper though. The fruit is good but not too overwhelming, so not fruit forward and not too sweet. The alcohol is well under control as is the oak. This is a lovely wine. Well balanced, and well made. I was shocked at how young it is. I suspect this is very much a “drink now” sort of wine. I wonder if it will keep long. I would give it an 89-90. For the price this wine is a bargain and I would recommend running out and grabbing some. When I checked there was lots available but that won’t last!

From the LCBO web site:
SMOKING LOON CABERNET SAUVIGNON LCBO 55517 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 14.95
Wine, Red Wine 14.2% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : 1

Made in: California/Californie, United States By: Don Sebastiani & Sons

Tasting Note
Deep ruby red with garnet colour; aromas of black cherries, cinnamon and clove spice with red fruit notes; dry, medium bodied, with loads of ripe raspberry and blackberry fruit with a touch of white pepper and dill.

Serving Suggestion
Perfect with roast beef sandwiches, cold cuts and roasted meats.

Check LCBO stock

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2006 Tin Roof Merlot

We stopped on by The Old Mill Inn and Spa here in Toronto last night. I love the ambiance of this place. It just feels wonderful. Lamb was on my radar so the 2006 Tin Roof Merlot looked like a good choice and after some discussion we decided to give it a go. The wine is dark in color, mild on the nose. On the mid pallet are some lovely dark cherry flavors along with some nice subtle Merlot plum. On the finish there was a bit of a tartness to it, but this quickly faded. This is not an altogether fruit forward Merlot but quite good. I would give this one a 90. Sadly not available in the LCBO so you will have to go over to the Old Mill and have some yourself. Yumm. This is my second tin roof wine. I previously blogged about their Chardonnay which I also enjoyed.

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2007 Cattail Creek Reserve Riesling

You may be shocked to know, but Niagara is very good at Rieslings. Well, okay, you may have already known that. With the similarities to Alsace in it’s growing conditions (is it more Burgundy or more Alsace?) it is not surprising that one of it’s best wine products is in fact ‘Rhine’ Riesling. Alsace, for those unfamiliar, is a small region in the mid-north portion of eastern France that produces wines from basically seven grape types, with Riesling being one of the best. I have wanted to make a concerted effort in 2010 to get drink and review some very small houses (or non typical) from Niagara, Cattail Creek is one of these. In only their second year of producing wines (though almost 40 years of grape growing) the LCBO Vintages bought out all of this vintage (as well as their rose 2007 Serendipity), which needless to say is very impressive. Let’s jump into the tasting shall we?

The nose on this is pure tropic, lime and pineapple. A nice golden colour with no visible residue or cloudiness. The first fews sips with continue with the southern white fruits, pineapple fades to grapefruit. The mineral notes are there, but not overwhelming or truly distinctive. The fruit is consistent, maybe even a tad flowery. The finish is a bit weak to an otherwise well balanced wine. This is a nice bottle, pleasant and definitely made with good fruit, but there are enough gaps to leave you wanting more. Enjoyable, good value at $19.95, but not a walk away winner (like the Canadian Hockey Team!). If you get a few for the summer time you will be able to enjoy a good Riesling.

The CWGSR is 85 out of 100.

Sorry for a 2006 photo, but the bottle has gone to recycling before I could get a snap:

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Silverlight, Olympics, Linux

Not really the forum to do so, as I am sure most wine enthusiasts are not interested in Linux or being able to watch the Olympics from their browsers, but…

For those running Gentoo (like myself) or any other Linux distro who are interested in watching the Olympics or other Silverlight 2.0+ content, do not try in Chrome, epiphany or other webkit browsers. However there is a beta plugin for firefox you can get here that so far is working for me in 64bit architecture with unusually high cpu usage, so results may vary. You may be forced to do like I have been doing which is using VMware workstation to watch. Good luck.

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