Greetings!
Spain & Portugal are the featured wine regions for this Saturday's release. These regions offer great diversity of styles. Spanish wines have a longer history of winemaking than most wines from Portugal, but both countries have modernized their centuries old winemaking traditions towards the end of the 20th century. The result of these efforts is finely crafted wines that are much sought after all across the planet. We were quite pleased that the Spanish wines fell within our price range and were pleasantly surprised by the sophistication exhibited by the Portuguese wines. Of course, there are many more wines from around the globe on offer as well. This week's list is quite long – it was a joyous session in the tasting room and we found it quite difficult to come up with a short list.
WHITE WINE
70656 Pacific Rim Dry Riesling 2006 (Washington) $14.95
Petrol nose, a sure sign of a good Riesling with flavours of apricot, peach, some lime and mineral. Well priced for a Washington state wine.
709790 Martin Steimer Gewürztraminer 2006 (Alsace, FR) $18.95
Wow, luscious aromas and flavours of honey, lychee and dried apricot. Full and round with fruit replaying on a lengthy finish. Pair with spicy dishes.
RED WINE
177345 Muga Reserva 2004 (Rioja, SP) $23.95
This is one of our favourite wines – period. It has seen a bit of inflationary pressure over the past few years – strong euro and the fact that it is extremely popular across the globe. It is a fabulous, typically Spanish wine – dry, fairly full-bodied with a great combo of French & American oak. Lay it down for a couple of years to get the best of this offering OR drink it now with roast leg of lamb.
674564 Palacios Remondo La Vendimia 2006 (Rioja, SP) $16.95
Blackberry and cassis with plenty of acid and oak make this a well-balanced number. A solid Spanish wine.
82180 Viña Vilano Crianza 2004 (Ribera del Duero, SP) $20.95
This is no "villain" of the vineyard, but rather a "smooth operator". Everyone loves this bad boy – it has won many gold medals at various wine competitions around the world. BTW – Crianza is a Spanish wine term that means that the wine has been aged for a minimum of 6 months in oak barrels and then it is released to the market 3 years hence.
673707 Jean Leon Terrasola Syrah/Garnacha/ Crianza 2005 (Catalonia, SP) $15.95
A blend of 70% Syrah and 30% Garnacha made in a new world style featuring blackberries, cherry and peppery spice.
81588 Crasto 2006 (Douro, Portugal) $15.00
A traditional blend of touriga nacional, tinto roriz, touriga franca and the hearty tinto barroca featuring flavours of bright red cherry some cedar, leather and fennel. Juicy and good length.
66084 Cline Ancient Vines Mourvèdre 2005 (California) $17.95
A tad sweet initially, big on black cherry jam, chocolate, spice, licorice soft round and velvety mouth feel. This is sure to please!
537597 Ironstone Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 (California) $17.95
This is an interesting little number – tons of dark fruit balanced off with vanilla, cedar and pepper. It offers good acidity – an overall GREAT wine.
66720 La Mascota Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 (Mendoza, Argentina) $15.95
This may sound a bit daft – but this wine actually made us smile. We simultaneously burst out, "This is such a happy wine! We are definitely going to pick this one up." It is interesting and earthy – a good sipper.
79293 Luigi Bosca Reserva Malbec 2005 (Mendoza, Argentina) $15.00
Big, bad and broody, featuring cigar box, coffee, cocoa, licorice and some hefty oak. If you're into broody wines drink now or if you're a tad shy cellar for 2 years.
14332 Pikes The Assemblage Shiraz/Mourvedre/Grenache 2006 (S. Australia) $18.95
A straight ahead Aussie wine with an interesting twist on the traditional GSM (Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvedre) blend. The top-billing Shiraz offers chocolate, shtank and white pepper notes on the palate with a good back bone of fruit.
992800 Mas Janeil Côtes Du Rousillon-Villages 2005 (Midi, FR) $15.95
This is a savoury little number featuring nutmeg layered onto ripe red fruit. Good value here!
59956 Xanadu Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (W. Australia) $20.95
Pleasant medium bodied Cab. Sauv. exhibiting cassis, green pepper, tobacco and some oak on the finish. This will reward 2 years of cellaring.
673244 Mas Des Aveylans Syrah Cuvée Prestige 2005 (Rhone, FR) $21.95
Ripe round and smooth full of dark and red berry aromas and flavours rounding off on a lingering finish. Drink this delish wine solo or paired with anything off the grill! You may not want to share this bottle!
~$50
928721 Prunotto Barolo 2004 (Piedmont, IT) $49.95
Sexy, sexy, sexy! Great floral nose, super smooth tannins and an elegant style make this a worthwhile addition to your cellar to have in 3+ years.
ALP
Rose & Karen
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