Post by kelvin on Dec 28, 2006 16:34:08 GMT -5
URL: www.thestar.com/Life/article/165254
Best wine buys of the year
December 27, 2006
Gordon Stimmell
Gord on Grapes
While terrific tasting, sub-$10 wines are a vanishing species, this year there was a flock of glorious survivors.
What makes one $7 wine soar above all others at that price? First of all, the wine has to not only be drinkable, but delicious. It should have enticing aromas and a nice depth of fruit flavour, with a hint of complexity. Usually, this is due to a caring winemaker, quality grapes, a warm climate and a relatively unknown region.
One fun test is to serve the $7 wine to friends, then ask how much they would pay for it. If most say $12 or more, you've got a confirmed hit on your hands. There are price-tag snobs who, as soon as they hear the wine they are enjoying is $7, furtively gravitate to something else. But believe me, it's what's inside the bottle – not what's on the label or bar code – that counts.
These are wines to get you through the week, but you could sneak them into fancy weekend feasts or serve them with gourmet cuisine. They are tasty and charming. In short, these wines exceed themselves and your expectations.
In terms of rock-bottom prices, southern Italy was the clear victor in 2006. I marvel at how vintners there can make such gulpable wine at so low a price. The cost of local labour factors in, plus some regions (such as Puglia and Sicily) are still not too trendy. Thank goodness.
Here's my hit parade of under-$12 wines that debuted in 2006, the hands-down best buys (all rating between 86 and 89 points out of 100), chosen from more than 1,500 wines tasted. They are listed in order of price, not preference. The numbers refer to their LCBO codes.
WHITES
» Spinelli 2005 Chardonnay (Italy, $6.95, #474239)
» Citra 2005 Trebbiano D'Abruzzo (Italy, $6.95, #522144)
» Gray Fox 2004 Chardonnay (California, $7.10, #614271)
» Ewald Drathen 2005 Piesporter Michelsberg Riesling (Germany, $8.95, #42713)
» LaPuerta 2005 Chardonnay (Argentina, $8.95, #614693)
» Simonsig 2005 Chenin Blanc (South Africa, $9.75, #610907)
» Lindemans Bin 65 2006 Chardonnay (Australia, $10.95, #142117)
» Perrin La Vieille Ferme 2005 Cotes du Luberon White (France, $11.10, #298505)
» Moselland Divinum Riesling (Germany, $11.95, #619676)
REDS
» Citra 2005 Sangiovese Terre di Chieti (Italy, $6.95, #480756)
» Spinelli 2005 Sangiovese (Italy, $6.95, #621961)
» Casal Thaulero 2005 Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon (Italy, $7, #621953)
» Calitrasi 2004 Terrale Nero D'Avola (Italy, $9.45, #621177)
» JJ McWilliams 2005 Cabernet Merlot (Australia, $10.05, #621599)
» Rocca della Macie Straccali 2004 Chianti (Italy, $10.25, #621227)
» Boutinot Bin 15a 2004 Shiraz (France, $10.95, #21154)
» Long Flat 2004 Shiraz (Australia, $11.95, #536763)
» Deakin Estate 2004 Shiraz (Australia, $11.95, #560821)
» Little Penguin 2004 Shiraz (Australia, $11.95, #621870)
» Lindemans Bin 50 2005 Shiraz (Australia, $11.95, #145367)
It saddens me that Ontario VQA wines have fallen off my annual most affordable list. The wines are still terrific, with riesling being the most affordable (lovely ones from Cave Spring, Henry of Pelham, Vineland Estates), but most prices have migrated over $12. Chateau des Charmes 2004 Riesling ($10.95, #61499) and 2004 Chardonnay ($10.95, #56754) remain nice exceptions. Pelee Island Winery sometimes offers quaffable whites in the sub-$10 league, but I have not tasted the latest crop.
The days of finding decent, sub-$10 Ontario VQA reds have long vanished. Chalk it up to labour costs, high taxes and a growing fan base that does not mind paying a premium for locally grown quality. We have great reds, but they require oak and, at up to $1,000 for a new barrel, that really adds to the final price. One new entry, Henry of Pelham 2005 Cabernet Franc ($13.95, #27839) was a finely made surprise in a field of reds often exceeding $20 a bottle.
The largest group of lousy tasting wines I tried in 2006 is found in your Ontario section. No, not made from home-grown grapes, but from leftover foreign grapes (California, Chile, Italy) brought in via tanker trucks and blended with a tiny percentage of real Ontario grapes.
These non-VQA wines, called "Product of Canada," come in pretty packages with poetic names and fool some of the people most of the time. Don't be one.
This year marked a massive invasion of environmentally unfriendly boxed wines that resemble glorified milk cartons. Upwards of 90 per cent of these taste like weak-kneed commercial swill from around the world. The sole exceptions were Anfora Malvasia white ($12.95, #614925) and Anfora Sangiovese red ($12.95, #614917) from Italy, and Osborne Ducal Merlot/Tempranillo ($12.95, #11767) from Spain. These come in the one-litre size and are surprisingly pleasant summer picnic or winter party wines.
Have a great 2007. Drink often, but in moderation.
Best wine buys of the year
December 27, 2006
Gordon Stimmell
Gord on Grapes
While terrific tasting, sub-$10 wines are a vanishing species, this year there was a flock of glorious survivors.
What makes one $7 wine soar above all others at that price? First of all, the wine has to not only be drinkable, but delicious. It should have enticing aromas and a nice depth of fruit flavour, with a hint of complexity. Usually, this is due to a caring winemaker, quality grapes, a warm climate and a relatively unknown region.
One fun test is to serve the $7 wine to friends, then ask how much they would pay for it. If most say $12 or more, you've got a confirmed hit on your hands. There are price-tag snobs who, as soon as they hear the wine they are enjoying is $7, furtively gravitate to something else. But believe me, it's what's inside the bottle – not what's on the label or bar code – that counts.
These are wines to get you through the week, but you could sneak them into fancy weekend feasts or serve them with gourmet cuisine. They are tasty and charming. In short, these wines exceed themselves and your expectations.
In terms of rock-bottom prices, southern Italy was the clear victor in 2006. I marvel at how vintners there can make such gulpable wine at so low a price. The cost of local labour factors in, plus some regions (such as Puglia and Sicily) are still not too trendy. Thank goodness.
Here's my hit parade of under-$12 wines that debuted in 2006, the hands-down best buys (all rating between 86 and 89 points out of 100), chosen from more than 1,500 wines tasted. They are listed in order of price, not preference. The numbers refer to their LCBO codes.
WHITES
» Spinelli 2005 Chardonnay (Italy, $6.95, #474239)
» Citra 2005 Trebbiano D'Abruzzo (Italy, $6.95, #522144)
» Gray Fox 2004 Chardonnay (California, $7.10, #614271)
» Ewald Drathen 2005 Piesporter Michelsberg Riesling (Germany, $8.95, #42713)
» LaPuerta 2005 Chardonnay (Argentina, $8.95, #614693)
» Simonsig 2005 Chenin Blanc (South Africa, $9.75, #610907)
» Lindemans Bin 65 2006 Chardonnay (Australia, $10.95, #142117)
» Perrin La Vieille Ferme 2005 Cotes du Luberon White (France, $11.10, #298505)
» Moselland Divinum Riesling (Germany, $11.95, #619676)
REDS
» Citra 2005 Sangiovese Terre di Chieti (Italy, $6.95, #480756)
» Spinelli 2005 Sangiovese (Italy, $6.95, #621961)
» Casal Thaulero 2005 Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon (Italy, $7, #621953)
» Calitrasi 2004 Terrale Nero D'Avola (Italy, $9.45, #621177)
» JJ McWilliams 2005 Cabernet Merlot (Australia, $10.05, #621599)
» Rocca della Macie Straccali 2004 Chianti (Italy, $10.25, #621227)
» Boutinot Bin 15a 2004 Shiraz (France, $10.95, #21154)
» Long Flat 2004 Shiraz (Australia, $11.95, #536763)
» Deakin Estate 2004 Shiraz (Australia, $11.95, #560821)
» Little Penguin 2004 Shiraz (Australia, $11.95, #621870)
» Lindemans Bin 50 2005 Shiraz (Australia, $11.95, #145367)
It saddens me that Ontario VQA wines have fallen off my annual most affordable list. The wines are still terrific, with riesling being the most affordable (lovely ones from Cave Spring, Henry of Pelham, Vineland Estates), but most prices have migrated over $12. Chateau des Charmes 2004 Riesling ($10.95, #61499) and 2004 Chardonnay ($10.95, #56754) remain nice exceptions. Pelee Island Winery sometimes offers quaffable whites in the sub-$10 league, but I have not tasted the latest crop.
The days of finding decent, sub-$10 Ontario VQA reds have long vanished. Chalk it up to labour costs, high taxes and a growing fan base that does not mind paying a premium for locally grown quality. We have great reds, but they require oak and, at up to $1,000 for a new barrel, that really adds to the final price. One new entry, Henry of Pelham 2005 Cabernet Franc ($13.95, #27839) was a finely made surprise in a field of reds often exceeding $20 a bottle.
The largest group of lousy tasting wines I tried in 2006 is found in your Ontario section. No, not made from home-grown grapes, but from leftover foreign grapes (California, Chile, Italy) brought in via tanker trucks and blended with a tiny percentage of real Ontario grapes.
These non-VQA wines, called "Product of Canada," come in pretty packages with poetic names and fool some of the people most of the time. Don't be one.
This year marked a massive invasion of environmentally unfriendly boxed wines that resemble glorified milk cartons. Upwards of 90 per cent of these taste like weak-kneed commercial swill from around the world. The sole exceptions were Anfora Malvasia white ($12.95, #614925) and Anfora Sangiovese red ($12.95, #614917) from Italy, and Osborne Ducal Merlot/Tempranillo ($12.95, #11767) from Spain. These come in the one-litre size and are surprisingly pleasant summer picnic or winter party wines.
Have a great 2007. Drink often, but in moderation.