Wines that left their mark in 2011(1)
Most memorable bottle was a Rene Muré 2004 Grand Cru Riesling, Clos St. Landelin
Big can be beautiful. I was lucky enough to have attended a tasting of 15 Masi Amarones that spanned five decades of winemaking at the Masi winery near Verona.
Photograph by:Bill Zacharkiw
I was lucky enough to have attended a tasting of 15 Masi Amarones that spanned five decades of winemaking at the Masi winery near Verona.Photograph by: bill zacharkiwI always like writing this particular column because it allows me to be totally subjective, a time to share a few random thoughts, pet peeves and mention a couple of wines that marked me during the past year. So let’s get right to it. Happy holidays, everyone.
Wines of the week that I bought most
Three selections per week, that makes 156 wines that had their labels printed in my weekly column. Sure, it’s one thing for me to suggest you buy a wine, but which of those 156 inspired me to buy more than one bottle for myself?
My white wine was the 2009 Chablis from Domaine Millet ($20.95, SAQ #0792216). 2009 was a tough year for white Burgundy – a touch too warm, which resulted in many white wines that were a bit too plump. No lack of acidity in this one, just a refreshingly mineral and easy-drinking Chablis. Simple can sometimes be so perfect.
The red? My five bottles of last year’s selection, Vieux Télégraphe’s 2007 Châteauneuf-du-Pape, are still sitting in my cellar untouched. My grenache love continues this year with the 2007 Châteauneuf-du-Pape from Château Mont-Redon ($39.25, SAQ #856666). Why? How about elegance, finesse and made with tradition in mind. If grenache is the pinot noir of the south, this wine lends credence to that. I bought six, and only four remain.
The wine that wasn’t a wine of the week, but should have been
As I was tasting wines for my article on minerality a few weeks ago, I opened a bottle of an Australian Riesling, the 2010 Clare Valley, Watervale from Mount Horrocks ($25.80, SAQ #11465997). “Tasty,” I thought to myself as I downed most of the bottle while watching the hockey game. In fact, it was one of the better Rieslings I had tasted this past year. But rather than slotting it in as a wine of the week, I used it in the tasting notes that week, because it was a perfect example of minerality. Well, I bought another bottle and had the same reaction. So here I am making amends – if you are a fan of dry Riesling, this is a must.
Bottle of the year
I am not big on the whole idea of singling out a wine, and calling it “the best.” There are too many other things at play that can make you love a wine – who you are drinking it with, what you are eating, your mood.
Looking back over the last year, there were many great bottles, but one evening stands out where everything fell into place. It was a warm summer night, I was with two great friends and we had a bit of a grill fest. For the starter, we barbecued some octopus, and to accompany it, I opened a bottle of Rene Muré’s 2004 Grand Cru Riesling, Clos St. Landelin.
I wrote about this wine first back in 2009, when it was a wine of the week and I bought six myself. The colour was golden, and when I first poured it, I was worried that it was oxidized, so I was ready for it to taste like scotch. But no, it was so rich and still so remarkably fresh. And even more extraordinary with our grilled octopus and a warm breeze. Unfortunately, the SAQ has not reordered this wine, so there is none on the shelves, which is a shame because Muré is one of my favourite Alsatian wineries.
