December Wines and Suggestions for Christmas
Christmas Greetings...
I hope this note finds you all well and beginning to get in the mood for Christmas. The Rushes (including Kelsey and Monica) will be spending Christmas in Mexico with the 'Dean Mattson' family (Ellen's brother, wife Sandy, daughter Carly and son Blake). We are going to the little 'surfing' town of Sayulita, which is just north of Puerto Vallarta. This is a first for us, spending Christmas away from the rest of our family and the West Coast of BC. Needles to say, we are really looking forward to it. It will be so great to have our New Years swim in the warm Pacific ocean. We are so sorry to be missing the freezing polar bear swim in front of the Wilson's on Thetis Island...It was a lot of fun last year and I am sure the turn out and the experience will be even bigger and better, so have fun everyone...
I have a number of 'interesting and somewhat eclectic' wines for you to consider this holiday season, along with a few 'count on-able' selections for your Christmas dinner. Enjoy the hunt as it will be quite a while before I send out my first note of 2010. It will be an interesting challenging finding wines in Mexico...
A reminder that if you would like to be taken off my list, just send me a note back or unsubscribe at the bottom of the page, and if you have any friends who you think would like to on my wine list, just send me their email address, and I will gladly add them.
It has been quite a while since I have heard from many of you, and you know who you are, so let me know how you are doing...
 Boutari Moschofilero 2008, Mantinía, Peloponnese, Greece
Price: $19
UPC:5201022574233
Score: 89/100 and a Category Champion at the Wine Access Awards.
Remarks: 'No oak and modest alcohol'. This wine and the next are for all of the folks who we went to Greece with in 2008. The grape of this award winning wine are barely pronounceable and mostly unknown - moschofilero - but it deliver a great combination. The entry is light and refreshing, with hints of lime and minreal notes that resound on the palate. This wine pairs nicely with sushi and any lightly spiced seafood dishes. Availability of the Greek wines will be a little spotty. I have seen them in West Van, North Van and in Nanaimo, but none in Chemainus...sorry, Thetis Islanders...
 Boutari Naoussa 2006, Naoussa, Macedonia, Greece
Price: $16
UPC: 05201022540504
Score: 87/100
Remarks: 'An ancient indigenous grape with elegance and style'. The second of the Greek wines, which I guarantee will be the topic of conversation if you take these to a dinner party. Naoussa is one of the towns that Ellen and I stayed in during our visit to Paros (one of the Greek islands). Thanks to our dear friend Judy Bendick, who lived in Naoussa for a while, for recommending we visit there. This wine is made from an ancient indigenous grape xynomavro (pronounced SEE NO ma vro) that has earthy, peppery taste and...well it just smells and tastes like Greece. We thoroughly enjoyed this with BBQ'd pork, and would go nicely with your Christmas turkey.
 Peter Lehmann Layers Red 2008, Barossa Valley, South Australia
Price: $18
UPC: 9311910103103
Score: 87/100
Remarks: 'Round tasty peppery, black cherry, black raspberry, tobacco flavours'. A new listing from Peter Lehman is a blended red (grenache, syrah, mouvedre, carigan and tempranillo) from the Barossa Valley. I looked for this blend at the urging of Rick Howie, who enjoys the Auzzie version of these grapes to the French blends. It is still young, but has great flavour, and will improve in the bottle with age. If you are going to drink it right away, this is a great wine to open 45 minutes before your guests arrive, and then decant prior to serving...which is the secret to turning an $18 bottle of wine into a $40 bottle. Also a good choice for your turkey dinner. Availability is a little spotty, with North Van the only outlet that I was able to find it at, so far.
 Cono Sur 2008 Viognier, Chile Price: $11 UPC: 7804320405407 Score: 88/100 and a Category Champion at the Wine Access Awards Remarks: 'Spicy, floral, ginger, orange, juicy melon flavours'. Terrific value here. For all my young followers take note...bring this to your parents for Christmas dinner and it will be a hit. Elegant and fun with lots of fruit. You may recall that Viognier is one of my favorite wines to have with turkey. Some other delicious Viognier's to consider are: Paul Mas ($13) from France, Clay Station ($20), from California, Anakena ($16) from Chile, Yalumba Y Series ($18) from Australia.
 Painter Bridge Zinfandel
Price: $14
UPC: N/A
Score: 87/100
Remarks: 'The entry is soft and round with mostly supple tannins'. This is a better than average, easy-sipping Zinfandel at a fair price, and it is readily available throughout BC. Zinfandel is one of my favorite red wines to serve with turkey dinner. So if you are in the mood, here are some other great Zins to look for, all from California: Wingnut ($19), Shenandoah (an organic wine) ($20), 7 Deadly Zins ($25), Terra D'Oro ($22), Cline ($19).
 Segura Viudas CAVA Brut Rose Spain
Price: $15
UPC: 00033293640004 Score: 88/100 Remarks: 'Fresh with nutty, cherry, baked pear and citrus flavours'. I took this along as a 'hostess' gift recently to friends. We wound up putting this delicious Cava to the test. It was delicious with the prawn and avacado appetizer's. A blend of trepat, grenacha, and monastrell grapes, it has a lovely raspberry colour, with pear and citrus flavours. It is the perfect tapas wine that you can pour freely before dinner, and it makes a great 'hostess' gift. Readily available in BC.
Odds' n' Sodds
I often mention the names of grapes in my notes, many of which are not the usual, cabernet's or chardonnay's. The grape called Mourvedre (mentioned a number of times in this and other notes) is an interesting one that I want to say a little about. The French call it Mourvedre, the Australians and Californians call it Mataro, but the Spanish call it Monastrall, which is odd according to Oz Clark, because the grape originated in Spain either near Murviedro in Valencia or near Mataro in Cataluna. Perhaps says Clarke local pride meant that both areas claimed the grape so fiercely that Monastrall was chosen so as not to offend anyone.
The Taste of Mouvedre
Young Mourvedre, picked at low yields, has a fairly wild mix of rasping hillside herbs, more than a hint of farmyard, and, if you're lucky, flavours of blackberries and bilberries. It is solid in style, with high alcohol and tannin. Most is blended with other grapes such as Grenache and Syrah. Blended or not, Mourdevre will always add a farmyard herby roughness for a few years before developing flavours of leather, gingerbread and game. (from Oz Clarke's Grapes and Wines; published by Websters International Publishers)...a fantastic soft-cover book...a possible Christmas present for someone?
Does anyone have a favorite bottle of Mourdevre, or a blend they can recommend, or any experience making wine from these grapes...or traveled to that region in Spain?
Anyhow...best wishes to you all and your families for a wonderful Christmas and all the very best in 2010...
Cheers...
Keith Rush
winerush.blogspot.com/
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