From the Cellar
From the Okanagan to Beaujolais (BC / France)
08 Dec 2014- Details
- Category: Uncorked Tonight
(October 1, 2014) ... At a recently long winded Wine Writers' Circle of Canada meeting we decided to break for lunch, and considering we hadn't planned it that way their were only a few spontaneous bottles to chose from. Thankfully, it just so happened that two interesting bottles were scheduled to be opened at this certain writer's house and we jumped onboard for a tasting of each; starting with the Maison des Bulliats 2012 Regnie, a cru wine from Beaujolais. Many may laugh and snicker but if you let go of your snide-side you'll find some really great bottles from that region. The nose was lovely with lots of black cherry and white pepper, which then all followed onto the palate mixing it all up with good acidity and silky tannins. We followed that up with a white, CedarCreek 2013 Pinot Gris, which possessed lovely aromatics of pear, white flowers and vanilla cream along with a touch of lemon pith; the palate I took a little longer to "warm up to", it had character (not a usual thing for a Pinot Gris) with peach, pear and a creamy mouth-feel starting mid-mouth all the way to the finish, where it also showed off a nice acidic balance. Might prove to be a little "hot" for some at 13.8% alcohol, but a good chill seemed to cool it off. Former Ontario winemaker Darryl Brooker has made a characterful Gris that has Riesling-style bones and, as an extra aside, there might be a touch of some orange rind kicks around as well.
