A Mid-Summer’s Evening

Last night was one of those nearly breathless evenings we treasure in Newfoundland where a hot summer day has cooled to a comfortable temperature. You are able to eat outdoors in the shade as the sun nears the horizon, and then ease back, perhaps listening to some music and sipping a beverage, well into the darkness.

Our dinner was cedar-planked Atlantic salmon on the charcoal barbecue supplemented with fresh vegetables from Lester’s farm market. First sipping on a refreshing Old Tilt cider from the Newfoundland Cider Company as we cooked, we then switched to enjoy a Villa Maria Pinot Noir 2014 from New Zealand for supper – it showed tart red berry fruit with good structure. Fresh local strawberries finished dinner, and Cùl na Creagan scotch from Opimian served as our digestive.

“Emergency” Tasting Night

When one of our extended group of wine tasters suddenly finds a free evening, there is a possibility that an “emergency” tasting will be called, and anyone available drops in at short notice. Arrangements and attendance are variable, and so the most recent such event found a small group munching on tapas and enjoying a selection of top-notch wines.

Our evening started traditionally with some fine champagne – Pol Roger on this occasion. Over a few hours of tapas, we sipped right and left bank Bordeaux in a blind tasting format. All the wines had sufficient age to be showing their qualities – great structure, mature fruit, and the development of tertiary flavour complexity. A unanimous first choice pick was impossible, but I might give the edge to the two vintages of Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste.

I slipped an outlier into the mix, a Rosso Piceno Superiore DOC from the Ascoli Piceno province of Marche in Italy – a blend of Montepulciano and Sangiovese – Roggio del Filare 2007 from Velenosi Vini. While clearly not a Bordeaux to those tasting blind, it was not out of place with its depth of flavour and robust structure.

Our greatest shock was our sweet white wine to finish the evening – one generous soul had brought a 2008 Château d’Yquem! More luscious and unctuous than one tends to find with this great wine, it was nonetheless delightful.

Some Recent Wines

Wines from the Opimian Society have dominated my wine selections over the last couple of weeks. This is in part due to the fact it is “arrivals” season, with many of the wines ordered in late 2017 and early 2018 now showing up at the NLC for pickup. The other major source of recent wines has been the NLC’s sell off of various labels at nice discount prices.

Australia has been well represented of late. I have always enjoyed Hastwell & Lightfoot wines (and have fond memories of a visit to the winery in 2016), but had never ventured to purchase any of the Fat ‘n Skinny labels until this year. I can see why these wines are so popular within Opimian – the Picker’s Choice 2016 was full of fresh, ripe fruit, good structure, and smooth sipping. My other Australia selections were NLC sale items which proved very good value with the discount – De Bartoli Yarra Valley Chardonnay and a typically bold and spicy Lost Block Heathcote Shiraz.

One of my best Opimian experiences was sipping on a racy Sauvignon Blanc after a walk on a hot summer afternoon, so it is no surprise that you see the Paulita Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2017 and the Taka Sauvignon Blanc 2017 on this list. The Paulita is “simply good wine” with juicy acidity and citrus aromatics. The New Zealand Taka is everything you would want in a Marlborough Sauv Blanc without the over-the-top herbaceous aromatics. And summer is definitely rosé season, which the Spanish Val de los Frailes 2016 satisfies with soft red berry fruit aromatics.

My most recent arrivals were from Italy, southern Italy and Sicily to be more precise. Primitivo (genetically identical to California’s Zinfandel) from Puglia can be made as a bit of a fruit bomb, which is unfortunate, because like Zin, it can also make a beautiful wine. The Founder’s Choice Antiche Contrade Primitivo di Manduria (drunk too soon, but I had to give one a try) showed brilliant depth of mature ripe fruit without being a jam pot. There was structure supporting all that fruit, and although it is drinking well now, it should extend and develop for a few years to come. The Denatile Nero d’Avola Shiraz blend from Sicily was a bit of a surprise. A medium body wine of ripe red fruit it was smooth and supple. I don’t think it is meant for aging, rather for immediate enjoyment, even though it has the stuffing to last for a while.