December 2010 Wine Newsletter
A Very Merry Christmas to you and your families...
As you can see from the header, winter arrived early on the west coast of Canada. This year it was in November for goodness sakes. However, there are advantages to winters early arrival. For instance, we can start thinking about what wine we will serve with Christmas dinner, what wine would make the perfect hostess gift, what wine we will take to the next gathering and what port would be the tastiest beside the fire at the end of the day. After being away last year, Ellen, Eddie and I are looking forward to Christmas at home on Thetis Island...I have the perfect Charlie Brown fir tree picked out, we have lights in the trees outside, the ferry has a great set of lights on her and we have an Don and Gwen Hunter XL Chicken ordered for the big day. Kelsey and Monica will be joining us for Christmas dinner and part of the Christmas holidays.
After Christmas we will be going to Vancouver as Kelsey will be leaving on the 28th for Spain. She will be spending the next semester there (January to July) in the city of Huelva on the southwestern coast of Spain, close to the southern border of Portugal...Vancouver Island University has an exchange agreement with the University of Huelva. Kels is in her 4th year of a degree in Global Studies...On the way she will spend some time in London visiting her cousin Carolyn, and we are looking forward to visiting her next spring...and sampling first hand some of the fantastic Spanish wines. If anyone has any Spanish travel tips they would like to share, please send them along.
Monica is in her third year of a degree in Graphic Design at Vancouver Island University...and has only 3 semesters left. You can check out her website at: http://www.mediastudies.viu.ca/monicarush/site/home.html
Wines:
I have a really good line up of wines for you try this month, all of which would be welcome around the Christmas dinner table or take one, or better yet two bottles to your next Christmas gathering.
You will notice that there are a couple of wines from Chile in this edition. I read an interesting article in Gismondi on Wine recently (around the time of the rescue of the Chilean miners) where he was bemoaning the fact that so few Chilean labels get listed in government liquor stores. He goes on to say; 'A quick tally of listings on the LCB website shows 1,130 wines of French origin, including a staggering 400 listing that sell for $100 or more per bottle (out of my range). A similar search for Chilean listings produces only 158 wines, of which four sell for more than $100 - and two of those are 16 - litre boxes of Chilean juice bottled in Cananda. In fact by volume Chilean wine (391,906 9L cases) is much larger than France (254,919 9L cases) in the province. The ratio is roughly 8:5 in favour of Chile although by value they are essentially equal: French table wine retail sales total $50.5 million; Chilean $50.1 million.' Having said all that, I hope you enjoy the Chilean listings below...
Carmen Grand Reserva Carmenere 2008, Apalta Valley, Valle del Colchagua, Chile
Price: $22
UPC: 00677758901240
Score: 89/100 AG; 89/100 Wine Access Magazine
Remarks: This wine was a category champion at the International Value Wine Awards. From AG: 'This spicy black plum, cassis and floral scented carmenere is not only better, its cheaper than past years. Enjoy its supple, rich, smooth palate with bits of chocolate, pepper, tobacco, savory plum jam, cassis and tea flavours. There is both fruit and balance and intensity which is a rarity from most carmenere labels. Excellent value for the price. We shared this with a number of folks at a dinner gathering on Thetis last month. All 10 of us had a good sampling...and all gave a thumbs up to the wine. It paired wonderfully with chicken marbella. A good and somewhat eclectic choice for your Christmas turkey.
Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet 2008, Southeastern Australia
Price: $17
UPC: 012354071445
Score: 88/100
Remarks: 'A solid red blend that will perform with a myriad of food possibilities.' This wine paired fabulously with BBQ steak, mushrooms, oven fries (our own potatoes) fresh from the garden beet tops and beets...and homemade focaccia bread. This is a solid 'go to' red in my books, and is readily available in BC and the States. Will work well at Christmas.
Telmo Rodriguez Basa Rueda Blanco 2009, Castilla-Leon, Spain
Price: $19
UPC: 08420759900017
Score: 90/100
Remarks: 'The new Telmo Rodriguez Basa Rueda Blanco 2009 is a delicious bottle of white wine. Floral, passion fruit, grapefruit, melon, lime and jalapeno aromas attract you to its fresh palate and creamy textures.' Ready to drink now and under a screw cap to ensure its freshness. We had this as an aperitif with Kelsey, Monica and one of their friends. Outstanding, and will go well with your Christmas bird...
Grooner Gruner Veltliner 2009, Nierderosterreich, Weinland Osterreich, Austria
Price: $17
UPC: 00089744754547
Score: 88/100
Remarks: We first sampled this at a tasting event for a home wine-making company. Friends at Thetis hosted the event (thanks Pat and Lucy) and Great Fermentations of Duncan brought 5 wines to sample and paired them up with appropriate appy`s. This very versatile food wine was the first on the list. Gruner Veltliner may not be for everyone, but if you are curious check this one from Austria out. You will love the mineral, grassy, green apple flavours that line the palate and then finish crisp. A very delicious food-style white that you can serve with a variety of seafood pasta dishes, shellfish and chicken...or have it on its own as an aperitif. It appears to readily available at government LCB stores, and would be fun to have on the Christmas dinner table.
Santa Carolina Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2010, Valle de Leyda, Valle de San Antonio, Chile
Price: $12
UPC: 7804350596366
Score: 88/100
Remarks: `The palate is juicy and round with ripe guava, melon and jalapeno flavours`. Very good quality for the price. Sips well on its own as an aperitif, or with snacks before dinner. A great wine for crowds and casual settings. A couple of other Sauv Blancs from Chile to look for include: Santa Rita 120 Sauv Blanc, $10; Quintay Clava SB $15 and from South Africa, Robertson Winery SB, $10. Locally the Mission Hill Five Vineyards, $14 is a good choice, as is the Bastianich Sauvignon 'B' from Italy, $20.
Segura Viudas Cava Brut Rosado N/V, Pendes, Catalunya, Spain
Price: $16
UPC: 000332933640004
Score: 88/100
Remarks: This Cava consistently over delivers for the price (you may remember this one from last Christmas). `Dry and fresh with nutty, cherry, baked pear and citrus flavours. It is the perfect tapas style bubble. The blend is a mix of trepat, garnacha and monastrall`. This vintner also makes a white Cava, that is equally delicious, and is also a very food friendly bubble. Makes a great hostess gift.
Quinta do Crasto Late Bottled Vintage Port 2005, Douro Valley, Portugal
Price: $27
UPC: 5604123002009
Score: 90/100
Remarks: As the last pick...crack open a bottle of this Late Bottled Vintage Port, and cosy up to the fire. LBV port will keep for days if not weeks in the bottle, allowing you to savour its attractive spicy, savoury floral nose flecked with dried cherries, plum jam amd licorice notes. Complex, ripe, rich, elegant, and slightly tannic palate, it is awash in chocolate, dried figs, cherry, mint and licorice root flavours. We had this the other night with a group of friends sitting around the fire with Ellen's famous chocolate cake in a canning jar...fantastic. It was the perfect end of the day sipper, it had both finesse and length...and it also would make an excellent hostess gift.
Again, Best Wishes, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Cheers
Keith Rush
http://winerush.blogspot.com/
http://rushwinesandblog.blogspot.com/ |
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