From the Cellar

My Own i4C Celebration - Chardonnays Galore

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Category: Uncorked Tonight

(July 18, 2014) ... Weekend of the i4C (International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration) and a Chardonnay-loving friend stops in for a visit on a night we deemed "Apps Night" ... My wife whipped up a new hot cheese dip, made homemade hummus and I made my famous goat cheese tarts (twice) ... And while all that was going on we opened some Chardonnay.

The first was a Lander Jenkins 2011 Spirit Hawk Chardonnay from California, this one had all the goods one would want in a chardonnay:  butter, vanilla and peach ruled on the nose; and all followed on the palate, adding a creamy buttery aspect and peachy goodness along the way.  Key notes to this wine were the creamy mid-palate and the decent acidity to keep it all in check.

Next up was one of the older foreign Chardonnays in my cellar, a Ponzi Vineyards 2007 Chardonnay Reserve from Oregon.  It had aged beautifully with butterscotch and rusty apple aromas along with hints of lemon curd in the background.  Highlights of the palate was the big mineral-acid core followed by toasted oak, burnt toffee, and grilled peach pit.  Not sure how I got my hands on this one but everyone wished I'd had more on hand.  Especially after I served the train wreck that was the next wine ...

With the success of my old bottle I went deeper into the depths of aged Chardonnay in my cellar and found a Sanson Estates 2006 Select Chardonnay ... Really liked this one on its release ... But now 8 years later 2 things have happened that make this wine unpalatable:  it smells like creamed corn that has been in the can too long, and it was refermenting in the bottle ... See picture for sustained bubble action (taken a full minute after a brief shake).  This was a Chardonnay-crime of a wine.  But I was not deterred by one old bottle of Ontario Chardonnay, in the hopes of putting the night back on track I pulled out another: a Chateau des Charmes 2007 Estate.  Now this was more like it.  Aromas showed complexity and intrigue:  caramel apple and buttercotch with some toasted nuts and a certain bitterness that helped to balance out thosw apparent sweet notes.  Flavours also showed complexity with MacIntosh toffee, baked apple, and certain welcome spices.  The acidity was nice but not too pronounced managing to keep everything balanced.

Last bottle of Chardonnay was something a little more recent, KEW Vineyards 2011 Old Vines Chardonnay ... I think, had it been appropriate, I would have received a standing ovation for serving this one ... As it was it was the fastest finished and in fact only finished bottle. You can read my printed review here and/or see the video (coming soon).

As evening turned to night I had to turn off the Chardonnay tap and find something darker to finish the evening off with.  Once again I turned to Chateau des Charmes for an older bottle of red, a 2002 Cabernet Merlot.  This one needed time to stretch out of its bottled home (where it has rested 11 years) before it revealed dark, dried berries, smoke and cinnamon on the nose with dried berries and oak on the palate.  Could have used more stretching.

Mexican Night: 9 Wines - No One Left Standing

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Category: Uncorked Tonight

(July 5, 2014) ... Our neighbors declared it to be Mexican night complete with a fajitas dinner, Sol and Corona beer and salsa music, ponchos optional.  For this occasion and this occasion only I must had been storing 4 bottles of Mexican wine in my cellar ... I can't imagine why else I would have so many (forgetfulness also ranks up there as a reason).  Four bottles with the latest date being 2005 ... Ay caramba!

Kicking things off with a Casa Madero 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon, which turned out to be surprisingly drinkable: dried fruit mainly red but still with gentle wood tannins and touches of cinnamon and spice, for 14 years old it was a pleasant surprise, and I would say that no matter where it was from, but being a Mexican wine even more so.  Next on offer was a 2003 L.A. Cetto Petite Sirah, talk about surprises, this one took the cake.  Incredible raspberry jam-like notes with essence of vanilla bean, wow, there is no way I could have predicted this one being the Mexican wine of the night.  My 2004 Vinos Domecq XA Valle de Califia Cabernet Sauvignon was an oxidized mess, while the L.A Cetto 2005 Zinfandel proved to have a little life left in the form of vanilla and cassis, along with spicy wood tannins and some freeze-dried strawberry; but the '03 Petite Sirah had the wow-factor.

Having exhausted my Mexican wines I pulled out two more bottles a Brampton 2004 Shiraz as my first non-south-of-the-border red and it flexed its muscles beautifully showing off cocoa, coffee, and cassis all while hiding a rather robust 15% alcohol (which was hardly noticeable at all).  It also had nice a tannin backbone and a silky, if not smoky, finish of blackberry and spice.  Then I invited an old favourite to the table in the form of a Thorn-Clarke 2005 Terra Barossa Cuvee, a blend of Shiraz, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.  Pure red fruit, chocolate, and vanilla ruled this one ... What a beauty!  I'm a Thorn-Clarke fan and its because of wines like this that I am.

With those two wines exhausted it was time for two more to make an appearance ... But with these two I was not as lucky as with the previous wines.  A Cavit 2001 Merlot proved to be too earthy and with too much in the way of dried prune to really be enjoyable ... Though you just know, at this time in the evening, someone would enjoy it.  And finally, a bottle of 2002 Angove's Red Belly Black Shiraz proved to be even more undrinkable than the aforementioned Vinos Domecq Cab ... An absolute horror show.

Those keeping count and/or those who are observant will notice 9 wines in the title but only 8 wines on the page ... Good for you, not sure anyone seated around the table that night could count that high by the end.  The one wine I left off was served earlier in the evening and paired well with the fajitas, a 2011 Rockway Vineyards Small Lot Meritage ... Which I have reviewed in both written and video form ... Feel free to have a look at either or both.