Broadening Your Wine Horizons Tasting
- Oct 13, 2012
I was lucky to attend the “Broadening Your Wine Horizons” with Kady Smith on September 26 at Everything Wine in North Vancouver. The tasting featured 8 wines and was designed as an opportunity to try varietals and wines that may often be overlooked in the shop.
As we sat down to our first wine, n/v Maupertuis Pink Bulles, a small production sparkling wine from Auvergne, I knew this tasting was going to be fun! This was a cool wine to begin with. It had a pinky orange hue and was not filtered so it was cloudy and very chalky on the pallet. The sweet cherry fruit was overshadowed by a slight sweetness and a gamey, chalky mouth feel. Very unique bubbles that went down way too easily!
Next up was a Gruner Veltliner from Austria. This one was the 2010 Fred Loimer “Lois”. While it was not as full of the characteristic white pepper flavours as the wines I tried in my Gruner post (read here), this was a smooth, easy wine combining flavours of peach and lime with a healthy dose of acidity. Good wine to branch out of the Sauvignon Blanc craze.
Next up was my favourite white: The 2009 Terras Gauda Albarino from the Rias Baixas region in Spain. This region is on the northwestern coast of Spain, a cool region full of unpredictable precipitation. We can relate to that quite easily here in Vancouver! As such, the Albarinos from this region vary from year to year, but this ’09 Terras Gauda is fantastic. A beautiful gold colour, the flavours danced through the spectrum of lychee, fresh apples, honeysuckle, pineapples, and ginger. On the pallet the fruit salad mix continued with a viscous mouth feel and steely minerality. This is what Albarino should taste like. Wow.
Onto the reds we went with a wine from a region I never thought about seeking out. The 2009 Musar Jeune Red Blend from Lebanon is a blend of Cinsault, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon from the cooler hills surrounding the capital of Beirut. There is serious history in this region, with the Middle East often being touted as the birthplace of wine. This wine smelled like a cherry reduction poured over Christmas cake. The delicate body had a textured mouth feel that finished with a sour dried prune taste. The style reminded me of a wine I would find from Italy. Not sure if that is characteristic of the region, but I would be willing to explore Lebanon wines a little more.
Onto Portugal we went, but not for a fortified port. The 2009 Quinta do Crasto Duoro Tinto is a dry red wine made from Portuguese varietals like Tinto Roriz and Touriga Nacional. The nose was Grenache-like showing mulberry and vanilla, the pallet focused on sweet raspberry and schist notes. This wine was simpler than many of the others in the tasting but worth it if you are looking for a light bodied party red.
The entry from Greece was very unique to say the least. The 2008 Alpha Estate “Axia” Syrah Xinomavrosurprised me with its gamey flavours, dried fruits, and wet pine wood notes. The pallet had a lot of grip to it and again had a strong peppered meat flavour finishing with raisin and tar. This was very different than wines that I have had in the past and was a key driver for me coming to this event. I am still unsure if I would buy this in the future, but put a traditional Greek spit roast in front of me and I am sure this wine would pair well.
The 2009 Bernard Baudry La Croix Boissee from the Loire Valley in France blew me away. Cabernet Franc is the red grape grown in the region of Chinon and if they all taste like this I need to make a trip out there! This wine had a little bit of everything going on. The rich cherry gave way to a full bouquet of violet flowers that then dissipated to a steely minerality. This Chinon has depth of flavour and even though the tannins were high, the chalkiness of them created a smooth, full mouth feel. Need to buy me a Christmas present this year? Look no further than this wine!
Speaking of Christmas, the last wine was a n/v Chateau d’Orignac Pineau des Charentes which would pair perfectly with a pre or post Christmas dinner treat! Often drank as an aperitif, this Charentes has an intense nose of burnt sugar, amaretto, oranges, cloves, and wood. The medium sweet body was balanced by high acid and allowed the citrus, caramel, and butter toffee notes to show. Talk about intensity and depth of flavour. At 18% this wine packs a punch, but after the first sip you don’t notice the alcohol and a glass of this would disappear before dessert was even brought out.
With another great, exciting Everything Wine tasting in the books, I can look forward the next big event, theFall Festival. Tickets on sale now, but selling fast.
As we sat down to our first wine, n/v Maupertuis Pink Bulles, a small production sparkling wine from Auvergne, I knew this tasting was going to be fun! This was a cool wine to begin with. It had a pinky orange hue and was not filtered so it was cloudy and very chalky on the pallet. The sweet cherry fruit was overshadowed by a slight sweetness and a gamey, chalky mouth feel. Very unique bubbles that went down way too easily!
Next up was a Gruner Veltliner from Austria. This one was the 2010 Fred Loimer “Lois”. While it was not as full of the characteristic white pepper flavours as the wines I tried in my Gruner post (read here), this was a smooth, easy wine combining flavours of peach and lime with a healthy dose of acidity. Good wine to branch out of the Sauvignon Blanc craze.
Next up was my favourite white: The 2009 Terras Gauda Albarino from the Rias Baixas region in Spain. This region is on the northwestern coast of Spain, a cool region full of unpredictable precipitation. We can relate to that quite easily here in Vancouver! As such, the Albarinos from this region vary from year to year, but this ’09 Terras Gauda is fantastic. A beautiful gold colour, the flavours danced through the spectrum of lychee, fresh apples, honeysuckle, pineapples, and ginger. On the pallet the fruit salad mix continued with a viscous mouth feel and steely minerality. This is what Albarino should taste like. Wow.
Onto the reds we went with a wine from a region I never thought about seeking out. The 2009 Musar Jeune Red Blend from Lebanon is a blend of Cinsault, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon from the cooler hills surrounding the capital of Beirut. There is serious history in this region, with the Middle East often being touted as the birthplace of wine. This wine smelled like a cherry reduction poured over Christmas cake. The delicate body had a textured mouth feel that finished with a sour dried prune taste. The style reminded me of a wine I would find from Italy. Not sure if that is characteristic of the region, but I would be willing to explore Lebanon wines a little more.
Onto Portugal we went, but not for a fortified port. The 2009 Quinta do Crasto Duoro Tinto is a dry red wine made from Portuguese varietals like Tinto Roriz and Touriga Nacional. The nose was Grenache-like showing mulberry and vanilla, the pallet focused on sweet raspberry and schist notes. This wine was simpler than many of the others in the tasting but worth it if you are looking for a light bodied party red.
The entry from Greece was very unique to say the least. The 2008 Alpha Estate “Axia” Syrah Xinomavrosurprised me with its gamey flavours, dried fruits, and wet pine wood notes. The pallet had a lot of grip to it and again had a strong peppered meat flavour finishing with raisin and tar. This was very different than wines that I have had in the past and was a key driver for me coming to this event. I am still unsure if I would buy this in the future, but put a traditional Greek spit roast in front of me and I am sure this wine would pair well.
The 2009 Bernard Baudry La Croix Boissee from the Loire Valley in France blew me away. Cabernet Franc is the red grape grown in the region of Chinon and if they all taste like this I need to make a trip out there! This wine had a little bit of everything going on. The rich cherry gave way to a full bouquet of violet flowers that then dissipated to a steely minerality. This Chinon has depth of flavour and even though the tannins were high, the chalkiness of them created a smooth, full mouth feel. Need to buy me a Christmas present this year? Look no further than this wine!
Speaking of Christmas, the last wine was a n/v Chateau d’Orignac Pineau des Charentes which would pair perfectly with a pre or post Christmas dinner treat! Often drank as an aperitif, this Charentes has an intense nose of burnt sugar, amaretto, oranges, cloves, and wood. The medium sweet body was balanced by high acid and allowed the citrus, caramel, and butter toffee notes to show. Talk about intensity and depth of flavour. At 18% this wine packs a punch, but after the first sip you don’t notice the alcohol and a glass of this would disappear before dessert was even brought out.
With another great, exciting Everything Wine tasting in the books, I can look forward the next big event, theFall Festival. Tickets on sale now, but selling fast.