Wine Show – Special Selections Night

I attended the first night, special selections night, of this year’s Wine Show. The attraction was the 35 top-end wines from places such as Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Napa. It was also a great evening to interact with many wine loving friends and debate the qualities of various offerings! Below are some quick reviews of some of the wines I tasted from both the special selections table and from around the room. For shows such as this I abbreviate my ratings to a number of ticks (√), while a star (*) is part way to another tick.

I actually started the evening with a sip of Prosecco, the Canevel Valdobbiadenne Superiore di Cartizze ($36.92), which though perfectly dry showed sweet fruit in a pleasant rush of bubbles. √√

At the special selections table I found more sparkling to develop the atmosphere. Of particular interest was a new listing from England: Coates and Seely Brut Reserve ($61.52). √√  This was followed by a true Champagne: Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial Rosé ($90.13) which showed soft red berry fruit and was lush and lovely in the mouth. √√

My next five tastings were white wines, four of them in the Bordeaux Blanc style, although not all of them were from Bordeaux!

• Time Estate Meritage White, Okanagan Valley, BC ($31.28) – √√ – very true to the Bordeaux Blanc style, although perhaps a little less intense than the ones actually from Bordeaux; a bargain at this price.
• Château Smith Haut Lafitte White 2010, Péssac-Leognan, Bordeaux ($192.34) – √√* – this was clearly the class of the field, but the price limited my interest in purchasing!
• Château Carbonnieux Blanc 2009, Péssac-Leognan, Bordeaux ($66.54) – √* – unfortunately the bottles available were showing some small signs of oxidation.
• Château Doisy-Daene Bordeaux Blanc 2009, Bordeaux ($35.71) – √√ – 100% Sauvignon Blanc with juicy sweet fruit.

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  Condes de Albarei Carballo Gallego Albarino, Riaz Baixaz, Spain ($41.28) – √√ – The only one not in Bordeaux style was a marked contrast, with citrus and oak influences.

Moving on to the special selection reds, I tasted:

• Meyer Family McLean Creek Road Pinot Noir 2011, Okanagan Valley, BC ($52.55) – √* – quite light in colour and intensity, yet it had all the qualities needed for a wonderful pinot.
• Soho McQueen Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand ($45.34) – √* – this pinot showed more depth of flavour than the BC wine, but seemed a little less than perfect ripeness in the fruit.
• Olivier Leflaive Chassagne-Montrachet 2009, Burgundy ($52.92) – √√* – this was by far the best of the pinots I tasted with all the desirable qualities of cherry fruit, acidity, and structure all in a perfect, elegant, balance.
• Chayee Bourras Bonarda Reserva, Mendoza, Argentina ($50.78) – √√ – very smooth with brilliant expression of fruit.
• Kinien de Don Raul 2010, Mendoza, Argentina ($66.14) – √* – somewhat in the shadow of the Bonarda for me.
• Domaine de la Terre Mourvedre, Sierra Foothills, California ($57.56) – √√√ – this was one of the finds of the show for me with brilliant fruit, complex flavours, and absolutely delicious.
• Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet 2012, Sonoma County, California ($138.14) – √* – well made wine, but for this price I simply wanted something which perked more interest; perhaps it suffered from following the Mourvedre!
• Numanthia 2007, Toro, Spain ($75.17) – √√ – very smooth with black fruit and mocha.
• Château Giscours 2010, Margaux, Bordeaux ($131.28) – √√√ – beautiful, full mouth, structured, smooth, but still much in its youth.

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  Château Clinet 2012, Pomerol, Bordeaux ($141.47) – √√√ – simply fantastic, I am becoming more and more a fan of Pomerol!

There is never enough time, nor enough resistance to alcohol to visit every booth and try every new wine in the show. Here are my best efforts, between conversations and snacks, to get around the rest of the room:

• Château Brondel 2012, Graves, Bordeaux ($28.33) – √√
• Clos Sainte-Anne 2012, Pomerol, Bordeaux ($30.50) – √√*
• Château Macquin 2012, Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux ($28.48) – √*
• Château Bel Air 2009, Haut Médoc, Bordeaux ($31.14) – √√

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  Bartali Chianti DOCG Fiasco, Tuscany, Italy ($28.41 for 1L) – √√ – this is the wine is a straw basket!

• Charles Cimiky The Bohemian Grenache, Australia ($35.10) – √√* – evident cherry fruit flavours with good acidity
• Domaine du Tariquet Classic, South West France ($14.23) – √√√ – please to see the Gros Manseng grape represented, a must buy!
• Sugar Loaf Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand ($23.55) – √√
• Sandalford Margaret River Classic Dry White, Australia ($21.91) – √√* – lovely Bordeaux Blanc style
• Sandalford Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Australia ($30.80) – √√
• Porca de Murca Branco, Portugal ($14.23) – √√* – Portugal makes very interesting white wines from obscure grape varieties
• Porca de Murca Tinto, Portugal ($14.23) – √*
• Tarquino Malbec, Argentina ($14.74) – √√* – good value
• Cloof Duckitt Chardonnay Pinot Noir, Darling, South Africa ($13.49) – √√ – good value for this wine, which is white, despite the Pinot Noir!
• Paco & Lola Albarino, Spain ($24.01) – √√ – good value for this variety
• Paco Garnacha/Tempranillo, Spain ($20.26) – √√

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  Petit Virgo White, Portugal ($19.12) – √√ – I have already mentioned those interesting Portuguese whites!

• Tyto Alba Branco, Portugal ($24.37) – √√* – another great white one!
• Petit Virgo Red, Portugal ($19.27) – √√* – great red fruit and tobacco notes in a smooth package
• Gaivosa Primeiros Anos, Portugal ($30.59) – √√√ – It doesn’t get much better when Portugal uses port grapes to make dry red wine
• Guidi Chianti DOCG, Tuscany, Italy ($19.16) – √√√ – I can’t recall better examples of Chianti than this wine and the next, and good value too!
• Guidi Chianti Classico DOCG, Tuscany, Italy ($30.27) – √√√ – hard to see how it could be better than the first Chianti, but it proved to be true
• Caparbio IGT Toscana, Italy ($21.56) – √√√ – I never expected to give this high a rating to a pure Sangiovese that wasn’t a Brunello.

After a long night of tasting my reward was to return to the special selections table for the sweet wines – a beautiful ending to a full night!

• Carmes de Rieussec 2008, Sauternes, Bordeaux ($47.22) – √√
• Château Raymond-Lafon 2010, Sauternes, Bordeaux ($76.32) – √√√
• Quinta de la Rosa Vintage Port 2007, Portugal ($105.34) – √√* – delicious, but deserves to be put away for at least another 5 to 10 years
• Croft 20 Year Old Tawny Port, Portugal ($61.01) – √√√ – everything you would want it to be.