Wine Trade Winds Diary for January 2006
MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2006
The Time and Date: Monday, January 16, 2006, at 6 PM
The Event: Canada versus Bordeaux, at the monthly meeting of the
Ontario Wine Society.
The Venue: Ontario Club
The Target Audience: It was a sold-out audience of some 140 members of the OWS, wine press, and agents.
The Availability/Catalogue: tasting notes and sheets. This blind tasting of wines from Ontario, BC, and Bordeaux (with a ringer) is modeled on a series of professional tastings organized over the years by Larry Paterson, formerly of the LCBO and currently a grape grower and winemaker. Since 1996, he has organized 16 Ontario/BC/Bordeaux tastings. The results are at www.littlefatwino.com.
The Quote: Tony Aspler was the speaker-analysis for the evening. One of his comments was about the theory of continental drifting, which referred to the fact that many wines were seemingly mid-Atlantic in style despite their geographic origin.
The Wines: we tasted them blind, and we all voted on what we thought were the best wines, in order.
First place: New Zealand Newton Forrest Cornerstone 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon ($42.75, from Abcon International). I thought the wine was neither BC nor Ontario. It was the ringer, and I suspected Washington State. I preferred it "second".
Second place: Ontario Stoney Ridge 2002 Founders Cabernet Merlot Signature ($34.95). A good nose convinced me of its Bordeaux nature. I preferred this wine as "first".
Third place: British Columbia Sumac Ridge 2001 Pinnacle ($50).I thought the wine was disjointed, and I did not place it anywhere geographically. It had 3% syrah, so I thought it was a bit of a cheat for Bordeaux (unless you look at historical records when Bordeaux used a lot of syrah from the Rhone).
Fourth: Ontario Colio 2002 CEV Reserve Merlot ($24.95).The style of this wine leaned to more Cabernet edge than Merlot, but I still thought it was Ontario.
Fifth: Ontario Southbrook Winery Triomphe 1999 ($39.95). I thought that this wine was very French: Bill Redelmeier tries for that style. I placed it "third".
Sixth: BC Mission Hill 2001 Oculus ($50). A bit weak in the nose.
Seventh: Bordeaux Chateau L'Hospital Veyret Latour 2002 ($27.95). Iodine and sharp fruit in the nose, definitely French.
Eighth: Bordeaux Chateau Segonzac 2000 ($32.95). Woody, good length. I place the wine "fourth".
Ninth: Ontario Lakeview Cellars 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon ($25). Thick, soft and sweet, aging nicely.
Tenth: Bordeaux Chateau Puyfromage 2003 ($13.65), flat nose and surprisingly unfruity despite the 2003 vintage. A poor bottle?
The Food: snack of reasonable food.
The Effectiveness (numerical grade): 90.
