Michael Pinkus Wine Review - On the Road with the Grape Guy

Two Guys Talking Wine : Two Thumbs Up - October 2020 (the write up)

15 Oct 2020

Details: Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

This was to be a bi-monthly feature on Two Guys Talking Wine, but CoVid seems to have buggered up our plans ... but it's back: "Two Thumbs Up", an homage to film reviewers Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, where we simplify the wine reviewing process to a couple of thumbs, or in some cases just one single thumb up, as a way of scoring wines ... you can listen to the accompanying podcast here - or read the notes below (trust me they are different):

The Old Tun 2019 Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc - $12.00/ 375ml ... on-line
André - 👍 ... unfiltered and with lees - I wouldn’t call this conventional in any way shape or form - but sauvignon blanc with bubbles just isn’t something you normally see in the province. This delivered nice tropical notes and a slight bitterness on the finish - a perfect fish and chips wine.
Michael - 👎 … Andre I think you are making excuses for a funky wine here, I don’t want things floating in my Savvy B, I want crisp, clean and refreshing - this one does not deliver - and that “bitterness on the finish” of which you speak, you’re just being kind.

Kacaba 2019 Reserve Riesling - $20.15 ... at the winery and on-line
M - 👍 … this one has some of what I want and a shockingly subtle acidity: some pear sweetness, apple, tropical notes and peach and the long finish is based on that sweetness not the acidity.
A - 👎 ... there isn’t anything wrong with this wine - but from the cool 2019 vintage I was expecting to be clobbered with more acid on the finish. I’m on the line, but have to shift down because it just falls short of what I was hoping for.

The Old Tun Cider - $7.00 / 375ml ... on-line
A - 👍 ... this is a bone dry cider with honeyed notes - a little bit of honey was added to the cider adding a floral complexity. The apple notes are bruised and the finish is clean. Definitely sessionable.
M - 👍 … love this style of cider, dry to the bone. It’s a hard one to really get behind until you’ve had a few sips, and get the apple notes on the finish,but once you do you’re sold. Beauty.

Studio Gamay 2019 Chere Ella - $22.75 ... at Palatine Hills
A - 👍 ... Full disclosure: I helped new virtual winery owner Vladimir Skok design the labels on his inaugural wines called Studio Gamay. Another welcome addition to the Ontario landscape of high quality gamay. If you love the lighter side of this grape this easily stands shoulder to shoulder with village quality Beaujolais.
M - 👍 … not sure it’s the label that really sold me, sure it’s colourful but did nothing for me, the wine inside on the other hand was right up my alley. Delicate, cherry, sweet cranberry, white pepper and very satisfying. If this is the inaugural vintage I am looking forward to more.

Flat Rock 2017 Gravity Pinot Noir - $34.95 ... sold out at winery, coming to LCBO
M - 👍 … Holy Moly Ollie, or should I say Andre, this one kicks ass, pure Pinot Noir from nose to palate and it over delivers; this is the best Gravity Pinot I have tasted in a long time.
A - 👍 ... A very enthusiastic thumbs up. The aromas climb out of the glass with unbridled intensity and it hits all the right notes for pinot from Ontario - OH and if that’s not enough coming in under forty dollars we’re looking at great value too.

Fogolar 2018 Cabernet Franc - $22.20 ... on-line
M - 👍 … this is not what I want in my Franc anymore, but it certainly shows the vintage it is taken from, 2018 being cooler and it shows the savoury side of the grape with its bell pepper, raspberry and tobacco. It brings me back to Ontario old school Franc.
A - 👎 - I know that 2018 was a cooler vintage but I was expecting a bit more. There are nice red pepper jelly notes mingled with cranberry and raspberry on the nose but the texture was a little thinner than I was hoping.

Henry of Pelham 2019 Baco Noir, Bin 106 ‘Lost Boys Limited Edition’ - $29.95 ... at the winery
A - 👍 ... I don’t expect to see off-dry red wines in my cellar often but the masters of Baco Henry of Pelham have delivered something balanced, juicy, and tasty. Red fruit pops thanks to a hint of R/S (10 g/l) mated with heavy vanilla notes and nice acidity.
M - 👎 … I get the plum, vanilla, and black cherry and yes it is juicy, and I even get the comparison that Baco gets to Zinfandel from California … but ... but ... but ... this one is not the good kind of Zin from California, it’s the overly sweet kind and those I do not like.