(2005) Copied with permission from tonyaspler.com
Sunday, December 4: This morning I went to a surprise party for my fishing buddy Art Silver, who turned 70 on Thursday. It was held at the Hard Times Café on College Street. Then got ready to drive to Peterborough for a blind tasting of Ontario reds against French reds. The event was organised by Larry Patterson (www.littlefatwino.com) similar to the one he held in Ottawa in October. Steve Gunning and I got a lift with my wine writer colleague Dick Singer, who owns a vineyard in Hillier, Prince Edward County. Dick is delighted with his harvest this year, although it is small because of the wretched winter. He plans to open a winery called Fieldstone Estate in a couple of years. Larry arranged three flights of six wines (in the three flights were four Bordeaux and three homemade wines). As a warm-up wine he served a bottle of Carone Cabernet Servenyi 2004, from Anthony Carone's Quebec winery in Lanaudière (vanilla, wet bark and spicy red berry nose; fruity, sweet cherry and cranberry flavours that finish as plum with lively acidity. Not a bad effort at all).Here are the wines in order of group preference (there were 12 tasters) and the aggregate scores and prices:
86.42 1998 Lakeview Cellars Cabernet Merlot $25
85.50 1998 Stoney Ridge Wismer Vyd Cab Sauv $25
85.25 1999 Chateau Dauzac, BORDEAUX 5th, $49
85.17 2000 Ch Haut-Bages Liberal, BORDEAUX 5th, $85
85.00 2002 Mission Hill Oculus Meritage, $38
84.92 2000 Ch Latour Carnet, BORDEAUX 4th, $54
84.58 1999 Ch Duhart Milon, BORDEAUX 4th, $69
84.08 1997 Thirty Bench Reserve Merlot, $45
83.08 2000 Colio CEV Merlot Reserve, $25
83.08 2002 Fielding Estates Cabernet Merlot, $35
83.00 2002 Harbour Estates Premier Vintage, $35
82.67 2002 Colio CEV Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, $49
81.55 2000/2004 LFW 50/50 Cab Sauv/Landot Noir, Amateur
80.92 1999 Crown Bench Blend, $45
80.00 1999 Crown Bench Merlot, $43
79.00 4 vintages LFW 75/25 Landot/Cab Sauv, Amateur ***
78.45 79.00 4 vintages LFW 75/25 Landot/Cab Sauv, Amateur ***
74.36 (bad bottle) 2002 Burrowing Owl Meritage $35
I guessed the three homemade wines and three of the Bordeaux. My rankings put Chateau Duhart-Milon 1999 first, followed by Chateau Latour Carnet 2000, then Fielding Cabernet Merlot 2002 and 1998 Stoney Ridge, followed by Chateau Dauzac 1999 equal with Lakeview Cabernet Merlot 1998.