This week’s diversion
(with apologies to Garrison Keillor)

It’s been a quiet week in Lake Control-be-gon, my home town, out near the edge of totalitarianism. Winter ravaged on but the natives take the cold temperatures in stride. In my town, the residents stoically endure the weather in the same manner as they cope with the government controlling their daily activities.

Father Suckling’s exorcism of the anti-high-wine-score demons that took up residence in Jollie LeBlois’ soul resulted in Jollie’s return as a functioning member of society.  As one might expect after such trauma, Jollie began wandering the streets in a zombie-like manner. This lobotomized behavior so impressed LCBO management that they immediately hired the perpetually happy Jollie. Jollie spent his days smirking among the wine bottles, uttering a Rainman mantra (high scores, lots and lots of high scores), while he replaced Robert Parker 94 point stickers with the more consumer-friendly Jeb Dunnick 96+ point version.

With his hard work resulting in soaring sales, Jollie landed a spot on the Vintages Tasting Panel. During his first tasting, he watched in awe as the panel arrived at the groundbreaking revelation that Chianti pairs well with “pasta bolognese or mature cheeses.” Jollie’s contribution was to express the thought that someone should let the folks in Italy in on this discovery asap.

Down at the Tim Horton’s, the TVs blared the latest update from the scandal that is ransacking Ottawa’s Politburo. Pastor Parker (the removal of his stickers putting him in a foul mood) upset the crowd when he stammered loudly that the resignation of Comrade Butts was the equivalent of the school bus driver throwing himself under the bus because he was distracting the hijinks of the children. Father Suckling calmed the situation by purchasing two double-doubles and the gathered crowd then enjoyed a lively debate on whether the coffee was worthy of 96 or 97 points. Restaurant Brands International was forced to print the lower score stickers from Pastor Parker when Father Suckling refused to waive solicitor-client privilege.

That’s the news from my home town. Where are the women are strong, all the men good looking, and all the wines are rated 100 + points.

*******

My report on this release is quite late. My apologies.

Outstanding wines

The $19 La Guardiense Janare del Sannio Greco 2017 VINTAGES#: 631085 is my value white wine pick in the release. The flavor profile is more citrus than the stone fruit as stated in the posted tasting but otherwise, the Vintage panel did a decent job describing this wine. The level of acidity is quite nice in this versatile white wine. This wine retails in Italy for about the equivalent of about $16CAD. Locations elsewhere in Europe pay about the same amount of money as we do here in the People’s Republic of Ontario.

The wine that caused the groundbreaking revelation that “Chianti pairs with pasta bolognese or mature cheeses” is the $19 Renzo Masi Riserva Chianti 2015 Sangiovese Blend VINTAGES#: 969469. This wine will not set your world on fire. It’s a bit rustic, has good acidity, and the typical red fruit and earth that one expects in a decent Chianti. All of these attributes appeal to me and I was low on Tuesday night wines so I bought a few bottles.

It appears that the $23 Rioja Vega Crianza Edición Limitada 2015 Tempranillo / Graciano VINTAGES#: 638783 is sold out. If a supply appears and you find yourself in need of a well-balanced-value Rioja then consider grabbing a few bottles.  While the 95 point score is ridiculous, the posted tasting notes do a decent job.

Wines to consider

It appears that the $29 La Regola 2011 Cabernet Franc Blend VINTAGES#: 420653 is already sold out. Perhaps the powers at our all knowing and all controlling monopoly will provide us with more product. I found the presence of fresh green bell pepper in a fully ripe wine to be interesting. Sipping and observing how this wine improved over a three day period also indicates that this wine would reward cellaring. The posted tasting notes are accurate. Fans of Cab Franc-based wines should consider trying this example from sunny Italy. The vintage of this wine that was included in the May 2016 Vintages release retailed for $22. That $7 increment represents about an 11% annual compounded price increase (nearly 32% in total over the 3 years). Someone is being very very greedy and should go confess to Father Suckling. I bet that you are wishing that you could be so greedy in your annual salary adjustment. Go ahead and try. If the KGBO can do it then why not you?

Wines for wine geeks

I may develop a rule that when I am in doubt on how to categorize a wine I will just call it a geek wine. The $20 Viña Leyda Canelo Single Vineyard Syrah 2015 VINTAGES#: 632703 was the cause of my dilemma. This Chilian wine is a chameleon. Out of the gate, to me, this wine tasted fresh and fruity like a decent Pinot Noir. With time in the glass, the wine took on some of the classic Syrah attributes, including the presence of bacon fat that is often found with Syrah-based wines from the Northern Rhone valley. If you are willing and able to age a $20 wine, my guess is that the Leyda Canelo would reward patient collectors.

Wines that I am avoiding

I dislike the taste of saccharin in wine, so I am not a fan of the $29 Quartier Pinot Noir 2016 VINTAGES#: 632554. In any event, at the time of writing, it appears that this wine is no longer available.

I have previously fessed up to my sensitivity to what I perceive to be unpleasant sulfur attributes that are present in many Sauvignon Blanc-based wines. To me, the $22 Awatere River by Louis Vavasour Sauvignon Blanc 2017 VINTAGES#: 492272 has this unpleasant characteristic. I also found it out-of-balance both in terms of elevated acidity lacking support and an unpleasant bitter finish. That said, the local wine critics love this wine. Maybe I am out-to-lunch and should have sent my glass over to them instead of pouring it down the drain. This bottle will be returned for a refund.

This week’s diversion
(with profound apologies to Garrison Keillor)
(and apologies to readers who don’t get the obscure Americana cultural reference)

It’s been a quiet week in Lake Control-be-gon, my home town. Winter unleashed its anger this week and people avoided the artic temperatures by staying home. Sales at the KGBO liquor control board plunged but, no worries, the rate of government-encouraged shoplifting also declined prodigiously.

The cold weather was also responsible for the large number of comments submitted on the communist sounding “choice and convenience for the people” survey. Chairman Ford, while posing with his doppelganger Wiarton Willie, tried to ease fears by reassuring that any change to wine retailing in the People’s Republic will be based his government’s three guiding principles of rhetoric, impulse, and reversal. Not being one to miss a photo opt, Chairman Trudeau added that he would overrule any change that involved a pipeline or did not address wine’s obvious gender inequality issues.

Down at the Tim Horton’s, Jollie LeBlois spoke of this travels and he regaled people with implausible tales of lands where the government did not treat wine as a controlled substance; places where people had a choice, store owners had the expertise, and wine was taxed the same way as other life essentials.

The gathered crowd’s acceptance was intoxicating and Jollie decided to push at the edges. The crowd gasped when he shouted that wine scores  “lack meaning.” Tragedy struck quickly with his follow-up claim that good wine sells itself and “the real purpose of scores is to help wineries and retailers move their mediocrity.”  Unfortunately for Jollie, gossip spreads quickly and blasphemy transcends denominations.

Recognizing the dangerous work of a cult, Father Suckling, of the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual High Scores, ordered Jollie’s detention and administered the standard exorcism of intermittent waterboarding until one correctly identifies the difference between a James Halliday 96 point Australian Shiraz and one that he rates 98 points. Over at the Lutheran church, Pastor Parker provided solace to the confused masses with a stirring and timely sermon on the importance of your ability to believe in what you cannot believe.  Under a full moon, Jeb Dunnuck sacrificed a goat in the KGBO’s parking lot “just to be on the safe side”.

With the blessing of these Dukes and Duchesses of Deception, the 100 point scale experienced a resurrection, of sorts. Such was Jollie LeBlois’ 15 minutes of fame. That’s the news from my home town. Where are the women are strong, all the men good looking, and all the wines are rated 100 + points.

GTA wine events

If you live or will be visiting the Greater Toronto Area, there are two upcoming wine tasting events that may interest you.

On February 19, the Toronto Vintners Club (TVC) will present a tasting of Chianti Classico Gran Selezione. The Gran Selezione designation was created in 2013 with the objective of providing a category of Chianti that is a step up in quality from the well-known Chianti Classico designation. Gran Selezione wines must be made from estate grown grapes of a single vineyard (or selection of the estate’s best parcels) and must age for 30 months before they are released. Details on this event are available at https://www.torontovintners.org/events.

On February 27, WineTasters will be exploring all things port. This tasting will an introduction to port, featuring the different styles: Vintage Port, Late Bottled Vintage Port, Colheita, Tawnies, and a Ruby. This event is a chance for you to see what you get at different price points, the outcome of cellaring port, and your chance to compare and contrast the five styles of port and determine the style(s) that you prefer. Details on this event are available at https://winetasters.ca/.

At both of these events, you will enjoy great wine, meet friendly people and have a terrific evening. I will attend both events so if you attend please say hi.

Outstanding wines

If you are a fan of Italian red wine then the KGBO (a.k.a, the LCBO) managed to provide you with two great wines in this release.

First up is the $28 Vinosia Taurasi Santandrea 2013 Aglianico—VINTAGES#: 172692. I think that Campania’s star is rising as the region is doing wonderful things with the Aglianico grape. Yes, this wine has a firm tannic backbone but it provides the necessary structure for the other things going on with this wine. This is a great food wine and a full-bodied wine to sip on a cold winter’s night. If you wish, you may age this for a long time in your cellar. Unfortunately, this is a wine where we are being fleeced by KGBO greed. It would be so nice to be in Italy where I could happily (and legally) sip this wine with grilled meats at a BBQ in the park for the mere price of $21CAD a bottle.

The $19 Viberti La Gemella Barbera d’Alba 2016 Barbera—VINTAGES#: 632372 is a well-made and balanced Barbera. Wines made from the Barbera grape can be overly acidic but this one has great balance. The Vintage Tasting Panel did a good job in describing this wine although the suggested food pairing seems to be somewhat random to me. Based on the locations of the worldwide supply, I am guessing that this wine is made for the North American market. It is readily available in the good old USA at about the same retail price point. A great table wine and a great buy.

 

The pleasant surprise for me at the tasting was how well the two Portuguese wine we tasted blind showed. The $16 Opta Red 2015 Touriga Nacional Blend—VINTAGES#: 633834 had many of the characteristics of a good Côtes du Rhône. Try a bottle and just might conclude that you have a great value table wine on your hands.  FYI, this wine retails for the equivalent of $10CAD in Europe. Do you still think that the People’s Republic of Ontario KGBO provides you with great value and are treating your money with respect? Sure you do…if you think  60% premium is nothing.

 

If you follow this blog then you know that Spanish wines often perform well in our blind tasting process. The $24 Marqués del Puerto Reserva 2010 Tempranillo/Mazuelo—VINTAGES#: 638767 is a versatile and aged red wine.  The oak is a bit too forward for my taste but the style of this nearly decade-old wine will appeal to people’s taste and the wine would be a hit in several settings.

Wines to consider

I think that you will be rewarded if you cellar the $25 Mommessin Grandes Mises Saint-Amour 2016 Gamay—VINTAGES#: 630053 for a couple of years. I like my wines to be less fruit forward and thus my conclusion that time in the bottle will help the fruit integrate with the other components of this wine. Other people will find the lovely wild-strawberry jam fruit profile will be too hard to resist and their bottles will disappear quickly. The posted tasted notes are accurate. Comparable pricing exists in other jurisdictions making the price charged by our government monopoly a fair one.

I had trouble classifying the $27 Faiveley Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2015—VINTAGES#: 528018. The ripeness of the 2015 vintage caused many people in our tasting group to guess that their glass contained decent Oregon Pinot Noir. Fans of fruit forward styled red Burgundy will enjoy this wine. The KGBO is charging us 12.5% more this year than they charged for the 2014 vintage last year. Sigh.

The second Portuguese red to consider is the $14 Porta da Ravessa Reserva Tinto 2015 Touriga Nacional Blend—VINTAGES#: 631010. This one is slightly cheaper than the Opta, the fruit is darker, and also has dried characteristics. An enjoyable wine at the price point and is a good candidate for a value based house red wine.

Something weird is going. In this release we see, for at least the third time, the $24 Ardal Selección Especial Reserva 2006 Tempranillo Blend—VINTAGES#: 167700.  Our tasting group did not taste the first release (I think in February 2017) of this wine. We did taste the second release (November 2017) and we thought that it was an oaky mess. Apparently, this producer bulk stores this wine and releases it in batches. Based on the bottle we opened from this release, the content is pretty good. Still, I can’t help wondering if I want to buy a wine where there is so much variation. Bottom line is that we liked this wine and if you are looking for an aged wine to accompany grilled proteins give it a try.

Wines that I am avoiding

I guess that I learn the hard way as I am sticking with my quest to find good Argentina Cab Fran at a reasonable price. The $20 Catena Appellation San Carlos Cabernet Franc 2016—VINTAGES#: 450106 was a disappointment. The lengthy tasting note from Luis Gutierrez says little. The wine is okay, I tired of it quickly, and I see little reason to buy it.

The $15 The White Ribbon Semillon 2018—VINTAGES#: 474031 is a pleasant, simple and boring wine. The Vintage Tasting pannel completely overstates the description of this wine. I am using the leftover contents of the bottle for cooking and it’s fine for that purpose.

Another quest, this one the search for good-value-white-Bordeaux wine, will continue. The $17 Château Lamothe de Haux 2017 Bordeaux—VINTAGES#: 635698 even disappointed the Sauvignon Blanc fans in our tasting group. This is a simple wine that we tired of immediately.  The posted tasting notes are very overstated and I cannot comprehend how Wine Enthusiast could rate this wine #55 of their top 100. Seriously? I guess they were on a budget and only tasted 100 wines when they came up with their list.

It breaks my heart to say that this year I will not be buying the $30 Coudoulet de Beaucastel Côtes du Rhône 2016 Grenache Blend—VINTAGES#: 48884. This wine is a perpetual favorite of mine but the value of the blind tasting format saved me money this year. Our tasting group speculated that their glass contained a “dumbed down Côtes du Rhône” and not the second wine of one of Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s best producers.

 

This week’s diversion

The People’s Republic of Ontario has launched a survey under the guise of obtaining the public’s feedback on how to modernize alcohol choice in Ontario. It will not shock you to hear that I am a total cynic on this matter.

All political organizations, both public and private, know the importance of seeking stakeholders’ views. The leaders of these organizations also know that the act of seeking is the sole important task; there is no need to act on the input. None. Zero. Zippo. These are feel-good actions and they have the same value as feel-good words. I don’t recall a temporary tax that went away or a neutral tax that was ever neutral.

This feel-good internet survey costs nothing and I suspect that’s what its outcome is worth. A feel-good action that will provide feel-good sound bites. This time the sound bites will be used to support more bumbling actions of Chairman Ford of the People’s Republic. In the end, assuming that you remember the beginning, you will not feel well at all.

I find that many of the survey’s questions to be leading. And (BIG SIGH), I get depressed because I can’t help thinking that many (most?) participants will not have experienced the benefits of a real market, one that is not controlled by government supply management. Here are a few examples to illustrate my point.

How about feeling joy when buying excellent wine from the owner of the little enoteca where they just ate lunch…or legally consuming wine while picnicking in a park…or visiting a wine store that specializes in your favorite Italian wines…or taking advantage of the rich selection of old and young wines that are readily available in markets like Europe, Hong Kong, the UK, or the USA…or, if price is the vice, saved a lot of money buying table wines from a high-volume retailer such as Costco?

If someone has not taken advantage of the lifestyle in a place where the state does not consider wine to be a controlled substance then he or she might think and say that there is no need for change. When you are starving and someone gives you a sandwich, you eat it with joy. You may not even recognize that the bread is stale and, if you do, you would not suggest that the experience would be better if the bread was freshly baked.

Let’s be realistic and not be surprised when change, if any, to the laws relating to wine in Ontario is not substantive and we hear our politicians repeatedly express the modern day mantra that the government “sought the views of the public.” That said, completing the survey will not cause harm so please please please add voices to the chorus calling for privatization.

Oh, another thing, this survey is like elections of old. You can vote it as often as you like. Here’s the link: https://www.ontario.ca/form/alcohol-choice-and-convenience-for-the-people-survey. The survey closes Feb. 1st. Remember to vote early and vote often.

GTA wine events

Before we jump into the details, if you live near the Greater Toronto Area, there are two upcoming wine tasting events that may interest you.

On February 15, the Toronto Vintners Club (TVC) will present a tasting of Chianti Classico Gran Selezione. Gran Selezione is a new classification for Chianti. It was created in 2013 and the Gran Selezione classification is a step up in quality from the well-known Chianti Classico designation. Gran Selezione wines must be made from estate grown grapes of a single vineyard (or selection of the estate’s best parcels) and must age for 30 months before they are released. Details on this event are available at https://www.torontovintners.org/events.

On February 27, WineTasters will be exploring all things port. This tasting will an introduction to port, featuring the different styles: Vintage Port, Late Bottled Vintage Port, Colheita, Tawnies, and a Ruby. This event is a chance for you to see what you get at different price points, the outcome of cellaring port, and your chance to determine your preference for the different port styles. Registration details will be posted soon at www.winetasters.ca.

At both of these events, you will enjoy great wine, meet friendly people and have a terrific evening. I will attend both events so if you attend please say hi.

Outstanding wines

Are you in need of a good house white wine? Then try the $18 Jardin Inspector Péringuey Chenin Blanc 2016—VINTAGES#: 443473. The posted tasting notes are accurate. The wine has some complexity, balance, length and decent acidity. It’s enjoyable on its own or with food. We are paying about the same price as our friends in Europe so the KGBO (a.k.a., the LCBO) is providing us with a fair price. A lot to like for less than $20.

I really enjoyed the $17 Borgo Scopeto Chianti Classico 2015 Sangiovese Blend—VINTAGES#: 23325. This wine works solo or with food. The posted tasting notes are accurate. The price is similar to what the folks in Italy pay. Again, a lot to like in this one.

The $40 Marqués de Murrieta Capellanía Reserva Blanco 2013 Viura (Macabeo)—VINTAGES#: 230011 may not be a white wine in your price range but this white Rioja is outstanding. We are being gouged on the price compared to Europe and the USA but we seldom see white Rioja of this quality in the People’s Republic of Ontario. The analogy of a starving person and a sandwich made with stale bread comes to mind.

Wines to consider

If you are like me and are a fan of sherry then consider the $22 Bodegas Yuste Aurora Oloroso Sherry—VINTAGES#: 609982. This sherry will not set your world on fire but it is a lovely drink at a decent price. The wine critic James Molesworth did a good job on the tasting notes. I enjoyed drinking this sherry solo and it works well with olives, nuts and the typical sherry fare.

The $19 Borgo Scopeto Borgonero 2015 Sangiovese Blend—VINTAGES#: 421396 is a nice Tuscan red wine. I disagree with James Suckling’s views that the wine has “the right amount of acid intensity.” To me, this statement is correct if you were enjoying this wine with food. This is a great value wine for your table and one that I would pick to match up with Italian cuisine.

The $26 Bischöfliche Weingüter Trier Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling Kabinett 2016—VINTAGES#: 629998 is a good example of why I have a problem with the way the LCBO rates a wine’s sweetness. They use the concept of “perceived sweetness” and you can read about it at http://www.lcbo.com/content/lcbo/en/pages/wine/wine-sweetness-chart.html#.XEtyhnbYrnE. Even by their own published chart, considering a wine like the Bischöfliche with 62 grams of residual sugar to be “medium sweet” is misleading. Yes. the Bischöfliche has lots of acidity but this is a sweet wine. Sweet wines have a purpose and this wine would work with a tart dessert or spicy food. Many (most?) people will have trouble drinking this wine solo.

Collector’s corner

If you are willing and able to shell out $38 for a collectible Chenin Blanc then consider the Mullineux Old Vines White 2017 Chenin Blanc Blend—VINTAGES#: 556597.  If you pop this bottle now you may detect both a funny nose and after taste. It comes together with time in the glass but I think that time in the bottle is what is needed for this wine to shine. My guess is that a few years in the cellar will result in a wine that provides you with a rewarding experience.

Wines to avoid

The tasting group was not fond of the $47 Meerlust Rubicon 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Blend—VINTAGES#: 64329.  This wine may come together with cellaring but the fruitiness and tannins that I experienced in the glass did not make me confident that it was worth the effort and risk. The last time that the KGBO allowed us to buy this wine was the 2010 vintage that was released in 2017 and sold for $38. That’s a shameful 11 percent compound price increase. I’m sure that you get an 11% pay raise every year. Right?

I am hoping that the $40 Jean-Marc Brocard Vau de Vay Chablis 1er Cru 2015
Chardonnay—VINTAGES#: 159012 is not an indicator of where the price is going with wines from Chablis. In a release in 2014, the 2012 vintage of this wine sold for $30. Perhaps this wine needs time in the bottle to shine but, tasted blind, the contents of the bottle did not impress our group. Many people pegged it for a cheaper Chardonnay from South Africa.

My guess is that there are tons of the $23 Château l’Argenteyre 2015 Bordeaux
—VINTAGES#: 632976 in the KGBO system. The wine critic Neil Martin sometimes does a good job describing a wine. This time his comments are over the top. He also left out “soggy cornflakes” and “poopy diaper”, two descriptors used by people who tasted this wine on Sunday. This is an unpleasant wine to drink. Bad bottle? I doubt it as the local wine critics also did not like what they tasted.

I understand the need to have crowd-pleasing, reception style wines. However, in attempting to achieve that result, wine-makers sometimes over-engineer the outcome. That’s what I think happened with the $18 Château L’Escadre 2015 Bordeaux—VINTAGES#: 630046. The first few sips are fine but I found that I tired of this wine quickly and it made me angry that I spent money on this one even at this price point. The wine was no better on day 2.

One of the comments made after blind tasting the $18 Le Gravillas Séguret Côtes du Rhône-Villages 2016 Grenache Blend—VINTAGES#: 309260 was “this tastes like the cheap stuff that I used to drink in university.” This wine is pretty simple and fruity and my money and I will not part for wines made in this style.

I struggle to enjoy a wine that is fruity and has an artificial sweetener aftertaste. Unfortunately, that’s my perception of the $20 Gabarda Selección 2015 Grenache/Carignan—VINTAGES#: 629139. I’m avoiding this one.

 

It happens annually. The month previlged month of December greedily hosts the season of human excesses. We spend money excessively. We eat excessively. And, we drink vino excessively. Man, the season of excess is a grand one.

Even grand things must end and the season of excess usually concludes when we step on the scale and check our credit card balance. These events mark the beginning of “I am fat and broke” season. The beginning of I am fat and broke season is much easier to predict than the weather.

I think that the folks at the KGBO (a.k.a., the LCBO) choose the wines to include in the first release in January reflect this season. The selection of wines is the mirror opposite of our weight (we are fat and the number of wines is thin) and they know that you are financially challenged so they pay close attention to making sure that the wines have a low price point. Such is the nature of the 5 January 2019 Vintages release.

Last weekend, the season of excess was still in force so the muddler tasting group was also thin in number. We tasted a few wines only so this report is brief.

GTA wine events

Before we jump into the details, if you live near the Greater Toronto Area there are two upcoming wine tasting events that may interest you.

On January 15, the Toronto Vintners Club (TVC) will be tasting 2009 red Burgundy wines. This event is your opportunity to sample wines from the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune,  including four Grand Cru and two Premier Cru wines. Details are available at https://www.torontovintners.org/events.

On January 23, WineTasters will be featuring cellar-worthy wines focusing on wine gems that were part of previous Vintages releases. This event is your opportunity to taste a terrific cross-section of different varietals, both familiar (Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Riesling, etc.) and lesser-known varietals like Aglianico and Mencia. Details are available at https://winetasters.ca/cellar-starter-wines.

At both of these events, you will enjoy great wine, meet friendly people and have a terrific evening. I will attend both events so if you attend please say hi.

Wines to consider

If you truly are broke and you want a cheap red wine to drown a few sorrows then consider the $13 Ken Forrester Petit Pinotage 2017—VINTAGES#: 631564. Let’s face the facts. This is an engineered “Mc” wine. It is simple and comes across as a tad sweet. If you chill the wine, it would work with a hamburger and it may be the crowd-pleaser that helps preserve your bank account. This wine definitely is a “pop and pour” as the contents of the bottle after it was open for a day were not enjoyable.

A high amount of acidity is one characteristic of wines made from the Barbera grape. The acidity makes the wine food friendly and the $16 Michele Chiarlo Le Orme 16 Months Barbera d’Asti 2016—VINTAGES#: 265413 is no exception.  If you like acidic wines you will enjoy this wine solo but I suspect that having food with this wine will enhance most people’s enjoyment. The posted tasting notes are accurate.

From the 2015 to 2016 vintage, we are required to pay $2 more per bottle. That’s a shameful 14% increase in price. I guess that the KGBO doesn’t really care about the broke part of fat and broke season. Release after release, we have seen examples of exorbitant increases in price. What other monopoly has this kind of unmitigated pricing power? I don’t understand why the people of Ontario put up with this abuse.

The $18 Cecchi Storia di Famiglia Chianti Classico 2015—VINTAGES#: 540922 is a bit of an enigma. Tasted blind, few identified this wine as Chianti (contrary to the posted tasting notes).  The aromas of iron and blood blew off with time in the glass. The tannins also initially were very aggressive. The contents of the bottle were much more enjoyable on the second day that the bottle was open and the wine went practically well with the dal I enjoyed for lunch. This outcome is consistent with the notes that I published when this wine was first made available as part of the 28 April 2018 Vintages release.

If it is Chianti yee seek then check the availability of wine identified in more recent posts of this blog. There is better Chianti at this price point but if you need to buy the Cecchi make sure that you give the wine a good decant before enjoying it.

The highlight of the wines tasted from the 5 January 2019 release for me is the $17 Solà Fred 2017 Carignan—VINTAGES#: 636258. We don’t normally see the KGBO offering us a single varietal Carignan-based wine. The posted tasting notes are accurate and I enjoyed the full-bodied dried fruit nature of this wine. I think it is a great wine to enjoy on a cold winter night or to accompany a rich meat-based dish.

Wines to avoid

Okay, to be fair, if you are a fan of Retsina wine then you will enjoy like the $8 Kechris Kechribari Retsina White – Light Dry—VINTAGES#: 581942. If you have never tried this highly maligned style of wine then this may be your chance to give one a try.  In a group setting, the tasting experience will be a conversation starter for sure. The truth is, I don’t know anyone (including me) that enjoys the medicinal pine needle aromas and flavors of Retsina. Thus, I concluded that most people should avoid this one.

 

The satire for this posting is a piece penned by the master.  TheHoseMaster of Wine gives you his unique view on the topic of Christmas giving. Enjoy his funny observations by clicking here.

Outstanding wines

From the 24 November release, the $35 Villa Cafaggio Cortaccio 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon—VINTAGES#: 20966 is a ripe, balanced, and complex wine that is highly enjoyable. The posted tasting notes might confuse you and were a poor choice by the LCBO. If you like “super Tuscan” wines (or want to try one) the Cortaccio is the place to start. While there is value for the money in the $35 price (so much so that I bought more than a case), I am pissed at this year’s $10 per bottle price increase. I have enjoyed previous vintages of this wine and paid $25 a bottle for the pleasure. I can only hope that my extra cash is going to the hard workers at the winery and is not a blatant tax grab by the LCBO and the government of the People’s Republic of Ontario. Shouldn’t monopolies, including government-owned monopolies, have to justify their price increases to their customers?

Are you curious about aged wine from Bordeaux and do not want to pay an arm-and-a-leg to experience one? If so, then try to $21 Château L’Espérance 2010 Merlot Blend—VINTAGES#: 487868.  Yep, for about twenty bucks you can source an 8-year-old Bordeaux that it drinking really nicely now. I bought a case. This wine retails for about the same price in the USA.

Continuing on the topic of aged wines of value, the 12 years old $24 Balbás Reserva 2006 Tempranillo Blend—VINTAGES#: 85183 is another potential case buy.  The posting tasting notes are accurate. Be aware the Balbás Crianza 2013 ($21.95 VINTAGES#:437673) was part of the November 24 Vintages release, may be on the shelves near the Reserva, and you may put that wine into your shopping cart by mistake. I have not tasted the Crianza and it may be a good wine too. 

Wines to consider

Are you looking for a decent sparkling wine that will not break the bank? Then consider the $20 Bailly Lapierre Réserve Brut Crémant de Bourgogne—VINTAGES#: 991562. A pleasant sipper, brunch, reception wine. Simply put, it’s a decent wine for the price. It’s a little high in residual sugar, a feature that will appeal to most people, and the wine has sufficient acidity to pull it off.

From the November 24 release, consider the $25 Rocca delle Macìe Famiglia Zingarelli Riserva Chianti Classico 2015 Sangiovese/Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot—VINTAGES#: 930966 as your Italian table wine. This is a decent, ready to drink Sangiovese based wine that works on its own or with food. This wine retails for the equivalent of $20CAD in Italy and our friends in the Excited States pay about the same price as we do in the People’s Republic of Ontario. 

Lovers of Oregon Pinot Noir will be pleased with the $49 Aberrant Cellars Gran Moraine Vineyard Pinot Noir 2014—VINTAGES#: 609156. The posted tasting notes are embarrassing laughable. I hope someone exercises basic human mercy and euthanizes me if I ever use the expression “Sumatra coffee beans” in a tasting note. In the glass, you will find a classic fruit-forward, complex, spicey, earthy Oregon Pinot Noir. I think that the wine needs a bit of time to come together and would love to taste this one in 5 or so years from now. You may balk at the price tag but, if you like good Oregon Pinot Noir, $50 is the price that you often have to pay. In comparison, the price in the good old USA is $10CAD more. You are getting a bargain.

Fans of bold-extracted Australia Cab blends will find the $40 Elderton Ode To Lorraine Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz/Merlot 2015—VINTAGES#: 976423 appealing. Again, the tasting notes are ridiculous and laughable. Displaying “sagacious tannins” implies that the wine may require psychological counseling and a “phalanx of fruit” are show off words. I mean seriously, who in his or her right mind writes this shit? The Elderton is not a wine that suits my taste but if you are a fan the dark-fruit style of the Barossa Valley and willing to age this wine for a decade or so then you likely will be happy with the outcome. 

Fans of wine from Chablis will be pleased sipping on the $41 Maison Olivier Tricon Montmains Chablis 1er Cru 2014 Chardonnay—VINTAGES#: 557694.  With flavors of apples, pears, and lemons with nice acidity and minerality this wine is drinking well presently. You probably are not happy with the price but this amount is typical for a nice wine from the Chablis region. The wine retails for about the same price in the UK, making the price charged by the LCBO reasonable.

Are you looking for a different style of Chardonnay? Are you a fan of the oxidized style of winemaking? Then consider the $20 Marcel Cabelier Vieilles Vignes Chardonnay 2014—VINTAGES#: 485839. This is a wine for wine geeks and not all of them will like it.

Wines to avoid

I keep embarrassing myself in my quest to find a value wine from Argentina that contains the Cabernet Franc grape. I am nearly prepared to admit that one does not exist as the $15 La Celia Reserva Malbec/Cabernet Franc 2015—VINTAGES#: 618280 is a fruit bomb. This may be a style that appeals to you but, for me, not so much.

My quest to find decent value Cab Franc is not just confined to the country of Argentina. This grape found a home in the Loire Valley in France so I had high hopes from the $21  J.M. Raffault Les Picasses Chinon 2015 Cabernet Franc—VINTAGES#: 367011. I found this wine overly fruity and confusing. Just not a fan.

If you are a fan of oaky Chardonnay then the $19 Robert Oatley Signature Series Chardonnay 2016—VINTAGES#: 350900 will appeal to you. To me, the wood is out of balance with the rest of the wine and I can enjoy one glass only of this wine made in this style.

I think that the $20 Villa Cerna Primocolle Chianti Classico 2015 Sangiovese—VINTAGES#: 573501 is trying hard to be something that it is not. Tasted blind, no one in our group thought the contents in the glass was from the Sangiovese grape. Apart from the aggressive tannins, the wine is enjoyable. I am avoiding the wine simply because I did not find it typical to what I expect from Sangiovese grapes. Note that the content of the catalog lists the vintage as the 2012. The website correctly lists the vintage as 2015.

 

 

 

TheMuddler is eating and drinking in Italy and was not able to taste the wines from the 24 November 2018 Vintages release. His next report will be on the 8 December 2018 release.

Our story so far

News continues to stream out of Ottawa, the capital city of the People’s Republic of Canada. Not realizing that his microphone was on, Prime Minister Trudeau was overheard admitting that an email from an imprisoned Nigerian Prince was the inspiration behind his government’s approach to the recently introduced carbon tax. Trudeau was overheard saying:

“Gerald decided that we should help the prince out so we sent him $100,000 and any day now we will get all the money back plus a lot more. It later dawned on us that if the approach of people getting back more money than they paid works for a Prince in Nigeria then why wouldn’t it work for the government of Canada?”

Unconfirmed sources indicate that Trudeau’s most trusted advisor, Gerald Butts, called the carbon tax act the Universal Nigerian Prince Act for International Decarbonization. The name was changed at the last minute when Finance Minister Morneau pointed out that the UNPAID acronym would cause people to confuse the carbon tax with the government’s multi-billion-dollar Phoenix payroll system.

In other news of inspiration, TheWineMuddler issued a statement that he too was being blackmailed for his online indiscretions. On his website, TheWineMuddler posted that

“Anthony Weiner could learn a thing or two from the remorse demonstrated by Tony Clement. His apology’s complete-and-totally-believable sincerity inspired me to also admit to my tens of readers that I too have behaved badly on Instagram.” TheMuddler further stated that “I became suspicious that my online relationship was not genuine when “she” asked me to replace the Luc Maoni 99 point stickers on my Lederhosen with big bold James Suckling 100 points decals.”

TheMuddler attempted to turn the matter over to the police who commented that “while Mr. Suckling is the primary suspect, the list of potential suspects is too lengthy to pursue, and includes an unnamed former premier of the People’s Republic of Ontario. The OPP in an “off-the-record comment” also stated, “frankly, no one gives a shit.”

GTA wine events

Before we jump into the details of the Vintages release, if you live near the Greater Toronto Area, there are two upcoming wine tasting events that may interest you.

The November 28 WineTasters event is your opportunity to taste eight 2006 wines from the prestigious region of Cote-Rôtie. Details are available by clicking on this link.

The Toronto Vintners Club (TVC) is holding their annual holiday party on November 20. This event is your opportunity to sample a wide variety of great wines that were leftover from TVC previous events. You can register by clicking on this link.

At both of these events, you will enjoy great wine, meet friendly people and have a terrific evening.

***********************

10 November 2018 Vintages Release

I can save you a lot of time and money by saying upfront that there is little to get excited about in the 10 November 2018 Vintages release. You can stop reading now, and circle back to my previous posts, if your purpose in reading this blog is to identify decent quality price point wines. Just scroll down to the bottom of this post for one final laugh and skip the rest.

For those of you with nothing better to read, in my last post, I speculated that the KGBO (a.k.a., the LCBO) is ramping up to collect more of your hard-earned money as the holiday season approaches. With this release, the evidence supporting this theory mounts.

For example, the 29 September 2018 Vintages release contained 128 wines and 21 wines (or about 16%) exceeded $30 per bottle in price. The current release, 10 November 2018, contains 130 wines and 56 (or about 43%) exceeds $30 per bottle in price. In case you have not noticed, if you live in Canada and want to buy a bottle of wine to enjoy with your meal, or give as a Christmas present, you pretty much have to buy it from your provincial government’s monopoly. We all know that the government knows what it is best, including what wine you are allowed to buy and the price that you must pay for that privilege. This situation is seriously screwed up and I wish that others would grow a spine and speak up for wine consumers and collectors in this province and in Canada in general.

Outstanding wines

I agree with the posted tasting notes of the $17 Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla
Sherry—VINTAGES#: 745448. If you are a fan of, or just want to try a bone-dry-salty-fino sherry this one is for you. It is “an absolute delight”.

Wines to consider

I would stock up on the $29 Pirramimma Petit Verdot 2015—VINTAGES#: 986752 if the KGBO lowers the price. With the right combination of fruit, tannins, and earth this is an enjoyable wine that would complement a charred-protein meal. Two years ago, the KGBO sold this wine for $21 and they raised the price to $29 last year. That’s a 38% price increase in case you don’t want to do the math. In Australia, this wine retails for the equivalent of $22 CAD and Europeans pay a little bit more than that amount. Do you think that we are getting value here in the People’s Republic?

If you try the $24 Feudo Montoni Lagnusa Nero D’Avola 2015 Nero d’Avola—VINTAGES#: 523738 make sure that you give the wine a long decant. Fresh from the bottle, this wine is primary with overwhelming attributes of strawberry jam. With some air time, those unpleasant cooked jam attributes die down and the wine’s more interesting characters come through. I enjoyed with wine a lot more the second day that the bottle was open than the first. Galloni’s review that the KGBO posted is over the top and overstated. He doesn’t normally do such things. This wine retails for the equivalent of $18 CAD in Europe and is about $22 CAD in the USA. Again, we are paying a premium.

As a producer, I find Urbina to be inconsistent in the quality of their wine. I was therefore happy to learn that the $55 Urbina Gran Reserva 1996 Tempranillo—VINTAGES#: 355743 was a lovely aged and balanced wine. If you want to treat yourself or a loved one to a mature wine experience at a decent price this is a great opportunity.

We blind tasted the $50 Viña Tondonia Reserva 2005 Tempranillo Blend—VINTAGES#: 356337 twice. The first bottle was boring and flat and flawed. The wine in the second exhibited balance, earth elements, complexity, and character. If you purchase this 13-year-old beauty make sure that you experience the latter. If not, recork the bottle and return it to the LCBO for a full refund.

I am slowly learning about Portuguese wine. I admit to my ignorance and prejudice as I really struggle with paying premium prices for wines from this country. The breaking of these prejudices is another benefit of the blind tasting format. The $39 João Brito e Cunha Quinta de S. José Touriga Nacional 2015 Touriga Nacional—VINTAGES#: 568857 is a wine with character, richness, chocolate notes, and balance. Unfortunately, I choke at the price that the KGBO charges for this wine. In Portugal, this wine retails for the equivalent of $13 CAD. The price jumps as high as $25 in France. How can the folks at the KGBO sleep at night knowing that we are being forced to pay $39 to enjoy this wine? Shameful.

Wines for collectors

The $108 Kistler Sonoma Mountain Chardonnay 2016—VINTAGES#: 183921 is a wine of consistent quality and a favorite choice of many collectors. If you are seeking an ageable, fruit-forward Chardonnay with a very healthy dose of oak then this wine is your ticket. The price is a stretch but it sells for almost the same amount of money in the Excited States of America (a.k.a., the USA). 

We did not taste the $94 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2016 Grenache blend—VINTAGES#: 711317 but, thanks to Paul B, we did enjoy a bottle of the 2000 vintage. Collectors know that Beaucastel needs at least 20 years in the bottle to shine. I would not recommend buying this wine unless you play to cellar it for many years. By accounts, the 2016 vintage was outstanding and the price that we pay in the People’s Republic of Ontario is comparable to prices charged in Europe. Our friends in America pay a premium for this wine.

Wines to avoid

I was really disappointed in the $30 Gordon Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2015
Cabernet Sauvignon Blend—VINTAGES#: 950295. This is an odd wine with both overripe and green vegetal notes and a predominance of wood. For the money, I would expect a more interesting and integrated wine. This wine retails for more money in the good old USA. Pursue other options.

This year I am avoiding the $18 Ken Forrester Old Vine Reserve Chenin Blanc 2017—VINTAGES#: 231282.  This wine consistently represents great value but to me this vintage is odd. With the wine having searing-out-of-balance acidity and fruit flavors that tend towards the simpler apple end of the fruit spectrum I see little reason to rush out and buy this wine this year. I duly note that, in our blind tasting format, two glasses of this exact same wine was poured and tasted side-by-side. None of us identified that the wine in the two glasses was the same. What was the difference between those two glasses? The contents of the glass on the left (the glass that people found “interesting”) was served quite cold. The contents of the glass on the right (the glass that people found “weird”) was served slightly chilled.  A humbling experience and one that taught the lesson of the importance of a wine’s serving temperature.

The $23 Domaines Schlumberger Les Princes Abbés Pinot Gris 2015—VINTAGES#: 21253 is an awkward wine. The residual sugar comes across as being too high for me, the fruit flavors are simple pear and apple and there is an unpleasant bitterness on the finish. If you need to buy an Alsatian white wine then consider Schlumberger’s $30 Kessler Riesling 2015—VINTAGES#: 61176. It is a more interesting wine and worth the extra money.

Please don’t believe James Suckling’s score of 95 points that he awarded to the $42 Château Haut-Brisson 2015 Bordeaux—VINTAGES#: 514661. One value of using the blind tasting format is that the contents of the glass are judged without knowledge of the producer’s pedigree or the price of the wine. Our tasting group did not enjoy this wine’s ripeness, dark fruit, and oak. Will it all come together with 5 to 10 years bottle age? Maybe. But I am not risking my $42.

There is nothing technically wrong in the posted tasting notes on the $14 Zacharias Assyrtiko 2017—VINTAGES#: 588814. Those notes just omit that the package is not overly enjoyable, at least in the view of our tasting group.

The $39 Capraia Effe 55 Gran Selezione Chianti Classico 2013 Sangiovese—VINTAGES#: 573451 was a big disappointment. The wine in the bottle that we opened was thin, green and probably flawed. A bad bottle? Maybe. I’m not risking it at this price.

We blind tasted the $29 Corte Medicea Atos 2015 Merlot—VINTAGES#: 475996 twice and twice the contents of our glasses failed to please. The posted tasting notes are silly as we found the wine to be disappointing, primary, out-of-balance, heavily oaked and singular. Things did not improve on day two. This wine is not worth the money. Note that the wine critic Luca Maroni awarded this wine 99 points. Talk about absurd. Please ignore such ratings when you are trying to decide a wine to buy. It’s a sad state of affair.

The $15 Castano Hecula Monastrell 2015 Monastrell (Mourvèdre)—VINTAGES#: 718999 is a raspberry jam, sour patch kids candy fruit bomb mess.  This one went straight into the dump bucket. The posted tasting notes are shameful.

 

 

Our story so far

We find TheMuddler working hard to secure appointments at wineries in the Langhe. Muddling is not an option when visiting Italy’s top wine producers; appointments are necessary if you want to visit and to taste their wines. Let’s see what happens as he exchanges emails in an attempt to secure an appointment to visit a prestigious estate in Barolo.

Ciao, we have been coming to Piemonte for
many years, although we have not included your
winery in our past visits and would like to correct
that omission. It sounds like your proposed visit program
is structured for wine tourists. We are serious collectors
and we hope that we could have a visit where we could
taste through all your Barolo crus. Please let me know
if such a visit might be possible.

Dear Mr. Rick, many thanks for your kind request.
We would be very pleased to welcome you on
23rd November at 15:30. The visit consists of a guided tour
of the winery, a beautiful view of our vineyards
from the balcony and a guided wine tasting
of 4 wines (included a Barolo). For our crus Barolos
it is not possible for you to taste them because they
are available only for the importers and journalists.
Please confirm your attendance.

Ciao again, just for your reference, I am a director
of two wine tasting societies in Toronto. I am also a wine journalist,
one that has tens of followers on my website
http://www.thewinemuddler.com. Perhaps these credentials suffice
and our group would be allowed to taste your cru Barolos?

I would like to not be too rude to explain our hospitality.
Just to inform you about some of our appointments at
the winery: on 30th October at 10:30 nine German importers,
at 12:30 a respected wine journalist, on 31 October our
UK importer, on 1st November our importer from Norway,
on 2nd November our USA importer, on 3rd November
collectors from the USA at A Galloni’s request, and in the
afternoon a Michelin-star chef from Poland. Thank you.

But, I am THEEEEE Wine Muddler!

I changed my mind and now I would like to be rude.
What part of “fuck off” don’t you understand?

The story is true except the last bit. Anyone who has spent time in Italy knows that the people there would never say such things. They may think it but they are too nice and polite to ever say it.

Our request for a visit ended with the play of the Michelin-star-chef-trump card. Sigh, the tin-man sang “if I only had a heart” and TheMuddler now sings “if I only had a star” (song lyrics appear at the bottom of this post).

GTA wine events

Before we jump into the details of the Vintages release, if you live near the Greater Toronto Area, there are two upcoming wine tasting events that may interest you.

The November 28 WineTasters event is your opportunity to taste eight 2006 wines from the prestigious region of Cote-Rôtie. Details will soon be available on  www.winetasters.ca.

The Toronto Vintners Club (TVC) is holding their annual holiday party on November 20. This event is your opportunity to sample a wide variety of great wines that were leftover from TVC previous events. You can register by clicking on this link.

At both of these events, you will enjoy great wine, meet friendly people and have a terrific evening.

***********************

I’m speculating when I state that the KGBO (a.k.a., the LCBO) is ramping up to collect more of your hard-earned money as the holiday season approaches. The local wine press also jumped on the theme of how lucky we are because this release contains so many high-end-high-quality-high-scores-high-price wines. We live in a place where the state-owned monopoly sets the price and supply of the wine that we are allowed to buy. Yeah, that’s one of the many definitions of “lucky” that I stumble across in the dictionary. I’ll send it off to the Oxford and let you know if the entry is accepted.

The KGBO does not give our tasting group wines to try. We spend our own money on the bottles, taste the wines blind, assess their merits, and (after the wines are revealed) judge whether the contents in the glass are worth the asking price. Frankly, viewed through this lens, the wines we selected to taste from the 27 October Vintages were mainly disappointing.

I take pride in the independence of our approach to reviewing wines and wish that the professional wine critics adopted a similar standard.

Outstanding wines

We decanted the $22 Domaine des Rosiers Moulin-à-Vent 2015 Beaujolais—VINTAGES#: 556480 for about 2 hours prior to serving. Young white and red wines almost always benefit from exposure to oxygen, which is one of the reasons that people decant a wine.  While his score of 95 points is silly as a goose, James Suckling does a decent job describing this wine. A lovely wine that you can drink now and one that would benefit from the aging process.  The price of this wine in both the USA and Europe is comparable to the amount we pay in Ontario.

Fans of Italian wine and, in particular, wine made from the Nebbiolo grape will enjoy the $24 Damilano Marghe Langhe Nebbiolo 2015—VINTAGES#: 576793.  My Barolo collecting friends would call this wine a “cellar defender”. It is the bottle that you grab when you in the mood for a Barolo or Barbaresco wine but not in the mood to open one of your expensive bottles.  The posted tasting notes are reasonably accurate. The price in the USA is slightly less and the folks in Europe pay the equivalent of $20 CAD for this wine.

The $29 Le G de Château Guiraud 2016 Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon—VINTAGES#: 519892 was supposed to be part the 14 October 2018 release but due to a “late arrival” it did not make it on the shelves on time. Decent white Bordeaux often starts at the $50 price level. Here you have one that is south of $30. Keep this wine for a few years for things to really come together and shine. If you can’t wait then give this wine a good decanting. This is a highly enjoyable wine with tons of citrus and tropical notes. This is a classy and versatile white wine.

Collector’s corner

It would be infanticide to taste the $59 d’Arenberg The Dead Arm Shiraz 2015—VINTAGES#: 430512. Instead, thanks to Paul B, we tried the 2004 vintage of this wine, a lovely balanced and interesting wine. It is hard to go wrong buying The Dead Arm and storing it for 10+ years. If you collect wine, this one is kind of a no-brainer. The 2015 vintage in McLaren Vale is considered to be excellent. If you buy a couple of bottles be sure to remember to invite me to dinner in 2025. I’ll bring champagne to share and help you drink your 2015 Dead Arm.

It will make you happy to hear that the LCBO has not raised the price of the $50 Torres Cos Perpetual 2015 Grenache/Carignan—VINTAGES#: 265710 since at least 2010. Torres is a massive producer and they make a lot of low-end wines. But, when they make a high-end wine they typically do it in style and at a reasonable price. Luis Gutiérrez’s description of this wine is pretty much worthless. What I experienced was a wine with lots of mocha flavor, some earth, and lots of red and black fruit. This is a bold, full-bodied wine with nice structure. It needs time in the bottle to shine and I am guessing that you will be rewarded when you open this wine in 2025 or later. A wine that punches above it’s $50 price point.  I could not source a vendor for this wine in the USA. The price is the same in both Europe and Quebec as the price charged by the LCBO in Ontario.

Wines to consider

Do you prefer your Chardonnay unoaked? Then consider the $28 Stoller Family Chardonnay 2016—VINTAGES#: 461574. Apples and lemon flavors, and good acidity that suggests this wine would be great with food. The wine has body, and the length does not disappoint. A lot to like. We pay a slight premium to the amount paid by our friends in the Excited States of America (a.k.a., the United States of America).

Continuing on the chardonnay theme, the tasting group really enjoyed the $40 Louis Jadot Pouilly-Fuissé 2016 Chardonnay—VINTAGES#: 732917. This is a wine with balance, style, and versatility. Unfortunately, the citizens of the People’s Republic of Ontario are forced to pay a premium to enjoy this wine. My guess is that Jadot targets this wine for our friends in the good old USA as the wine is readily available there for the equivalent of $28 CAD. That means we are paying a 48% premium. If you are in the USA this is a terrific buy.

If you are in need of a versatile white table wine then see if you like the $18 Fontanafredda Pradalupo Roero Arneis 2017—VINTAGES#: 577700. The wine is true to the Arneis grape profile. The nose is not as floral as the posted notes imply and in addition to stone fruit and pear, there are citrus notes. A decent wine to enjoy on its own and it has sufficient acidity to work with food. Fontanafredda is a massive producer and our friends in Europe quaff this wine for the equivalent of $14 CAD. This would be an appropriate price point for this wine and I would not be surprised if, in time, the KGBO discounts this wine to this level.

If you are in need of full-bodied wine to serve with BBQ meats then consider the $24 Papale Linea Oro Primitivo di Manduria 2015 Primitivo—VINTAGES#: 261784. With its assertiveness of dried fruits and the 17 grams of residual sugar, this is a wine that is hard to drink on its own. It needs food to tame and balance it. The price of this wine elsewhere is comparable to that charged by the LCBO.

Fans of “Super Tuscan” wines (typically wines made with grapes native to France: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc.) may wish to try the $35 La Vite Lucente 2016 Merlot/Sangiovese—VINTAGES#: 747030. The posted tasted notes are fair but omit the tannic nature of this wine. The wine’s modern style will please many people and the pedigree of the producer will also impress your guests. However, this wine disappointed me as I found it lacked character and, as a result, the tasting experience left me wanting. My guess is that this wine was engineered by the winemaker for broad commercial appeal. We pay price similar to the retail value in Europe. Our brothers in La Belle Province pay about 10% less than the citizens of the People’s Republic of Ontario.

Have you run out of Tuesday night pizza wine again? You are in luck as the $20 San Felice Chianti Classico 2015 Sangiovese Blend—VINTAGES#: 282996. A fairly simple but highly enjoyable wine for everyday table wine purposes. Available at a comparable price in the good-old USA and as little as $14 in Italy. We are being overcharged on this side of the Atlantic.

And now for something completely different

I am not of fan of overly peaty scotch whisky but that is not the case with the $173 Ardbeg Uigeadail Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky—VINTAGES#: 660860. For me, this is a whisky that balances the smokey peat with the magical effects of Scotch aged in a sherry cask. The posted tasting notes are accurate. It’s expensive, but if you are looking for ideas for a gift for a special person who is a whisky lover then check your credit-card limit and consider this bottle. Do you think that the KGBO is greedy with their high mark up on wine? Well, consider that this bottle sells in the USA for the equivalent of $80 CAD. That’s a 116% premium. Your wallet just took a kick in the groin.

Wines to avoid

If you are a fan of heavily-oaked Chardonnay and wish to support the Ontario wine industry then you might want to try the $30 Hidden Bench Estate Chardonnay 2016—VINTAGES#: 68817.  To me, the oak simply overpowers the wine and the wine was not enjoyed by our group. But, this style may be your cup of tea.

The $28 Hervé Azo Chablis 2016 Chardonnay—VINTAGES#: 185736 is loved by the local professional wine critics but was not a hit with our group. It’s a fruit-forward Chablis with an acidic tartness that is not in balance. We were quite disappointed especially after factoring in the wine’s price. By the way, two years ago, the KGBO sold this wine for $24 (a 17% increase). Greed.

The $16 Cuvée Sabrine Côtes du Rhône Villages 2015 Grenache Blend—VINTAGES#: 538496 and the $18 Halos de Jupiter Côtes du Rhône 2016 Grenache/Syrah—VINTAGES#: 276956 are out-of-balance fruit bombs. Apparently, wine critic Jeb Dunnuck likes this style but its not for me. Into the dump bucket went these wines.

I’m a little lost for words to describe the $37 Jermann Pinot Grigio 2017—VINTAGES#: 117093. The LCBO describes this wine as “light and crisp”. It is not. This is a wine with a lot of body, with concentrated stone fruit flavors and a slightly unpleasant bitterness. It was a wine that the tasting group did not enjoy and, once the price tag was revealed, we certainly would not buy. This is a $20 bottle of wine in Italy. My guess is that the wine is priced at a super premium here in an attempt to capitalize on the reputation of the producer.

The acidity and heavy tannins make the  $40 Fontanabianca Barbaresco 2014 Nebbiolo—VINTAGES#: 576819 a wine that needs to be served with food.  There is nothing wrong with this wine but at $40 and the $28 Damilano Marghe being more enjoyable makes me wonder why anyone would buy this wine. If you are trying to impress and to do so you think that you need to have “Barbaresco” on the label then buy the $28 general-list Castello Di Neive Barbaresco DOCG Nebbiolo—LCBO#: 160143, a wine that pleases me all the time. BTW, the Castello Di Neive was priced $5 less last year. That’s a 22% increase in price, which I am sure matches the pace of growth in your disposable income. Yeah, that’s how I thought that you would react.

The tasting the $29 Quadrus Reserva 2011 Touriga Nacional—VINTAGES#: 534271 is kind of like watching an episode of the Twilight Zone. This is a confusing, moody, unintegrated, oaky and hot wine. Maybe time in the bottle would help but I can’t imagine why someone would want to take the chance. If you are an optimist and want to venture down that path then why not buy the $75 magnum or the $160 double magnum?

I was so disappointed when I learned that the alcohol-forward wine in my glass was the $22 Convento San Francisco 2012 Tempranillo Blend—VINTAGES#: 206409. This producer normally makes a decent wine. We tasted the 2012 vintage next to the 2010 vintage of the same wine. The 2010 vintage is a lovely wine but the unintegrated 15% level of alcohol in the 2012 version is a mess. Sad, and yes I continue to blame Robert Parker for these outcomes.

When a man’s an empty kettle he should be on his mettle,
And yet I’m torn afar
Just because I’m presumin’ that I could be kind-a-human,
If I only had a star
I’d be tender – I’d be gentle and awful sentimental
And maybe a wine czar
I’d be friends with wine producers … and holders of their futures
If I only had a star

My profound apologies to Yip Harburg.

 

In Ontario, it’s now okay
To picnic and smoke weed any day
Vino is still verboten
Let’s hope voters have not forgotten
Because the laws need to change right away

I will be visiting Italy in November and look forward to the look on my friends’ faces when I try to explain that one can now smoke pot at a picnic in a park but could be fined if you dare have a beer or a glass of wine with your potato salad. Oh, the fun that I will have. They, like me, will not be able to contemplate such a state of affairs. Lewis Caroll’s rabbit hole truly exists. The Queen of Hearts lives in that rabbit hole, which we now know is located in the People’s Republic of Ontario.

“And you may see me tonight with an illegal smile
It don’t cost very much, but it lasts a long while”

Do you think that John Prime’s “illegal smile” came from a couple glasses of Champagne that he sipped in the park while reading a good book? If you are willing to buy me the $311 bottle of Cristal in the 13 October release, I’ll play the part of John Prime, defiantly open the bottle in a public park, and test that theory.

GTA wine events

Before we jump into the details of the Vintages release, if you live near the Greater Toronto Area there are two upcoming wine tasting events that may interest you.

The October 24 WineTasters event is your opportunity to taste a vertical of eight vintages of Chateau Bon Pasteur that span the years 1996 to 2003. Seats are still available and you can register by clicking on this link.

The Toronto Vintners Club (TVC) is holding their annual holiday party on November 20. This event is your opportunity to sample a wide variety of great wines that were leftover from TVC previous events. You can register by clicking on this link.

At both of these events, you will enjoy great wine, meet friendly people and have a terrific evening.

Outstanding wines

The $24 Clos de los Siete 2014 Malbec Blend—VINTAGES#: 622571 just shines. I find that this wine is consistently good vintage to vintage and offers really good value. This wine ages well and if you consume it young please give it a good decant. The posted tasting notes are accurate. My sole complaint about this wine is the alcohol level comes across as being a little hot. I blame Robert Parker as he likes that burning feeling in his mouth and the winemakers try to make him, not me or you, happy. High scores sell wine and that makes me a little sad.

The KGBO (a.k.a., the LCBO) has not raised the price of this wine since at least 2002. The lack of price appreciation likely relates more to the economic mismanagement that the folks in Argentina perpetually endure than the benevolent nature of the KGBO. Our friends in the Excited States of America (a.k.a., the USA) pay about the same price for this wine as we pay here in the People’s Republic of Ontario. Considering our massive government markup fees on wine, this one represents good value.

The tasting group thought that the $20 Primus The Blend 2015 Red Blend—VINTAGES#: 712463 was a value winner. With balance, ripe fruit, and the absence of that nasty eucalyptus notes that one often finds in red Chilian wine, the Primus is a decent choice for a red-house wine. The posted tasting notes are accurate and we thought that this wine was a good buy.

I’m betting that you burned through your supply of Tuesday night pizza wine. If so, load up on the $19 San Vincenti Chianti Classico 2015 Sangiovese Blend—VINTAGES#: 399907.  Tasted blind with other Sangiovese wines this one was very appealing. The KGBO must have bought this one in massive volume as we are getting this wine at a great price. It retails for the equivalent of $23CAD in both Europe and the USA.

Have you tasted an expensive wine from the Hermitage region of France? Bull’s blood and bacon fat are typical and highly appealing attributes of these wines. Do you want to experience something similar at a fraction of the price? If yes, run out and buy the $29 Abbotts & Delaunay Cumulo Nimbus Minervois 2014 Syrah/Grenache—VINTAGES#: 561126. The posted tasting notes are totally and shockingly understated. I will not say more for fear that you will get to the KGBO before I am able to secure my fair share. Again, this is a wine that would benefit from a good decant.

This wine retails for 10% more in the Excited States of America, 20% more in Europe, and (believe it or not) is available at almost the same price in New Brunswick. If you think the price of wine is bad in the People’s Republic of Ontario, try shopping in New Brunswick or Nova Scotia or British Columbia. The pricing formula used by the government of Ontario is based on greed and the formula used in these other provinces resembles highway robbery.

Collector’s corner

The $60 Argiano Brunello di Montalcino 2013 Sangiovese—VINTAGES#: 154609 stems from a decent producer and a good vintage. It is an enjoyable wine now but (contrary to the assertion in the posted notes of James Suckling) this wine would benefit from years in the bottle as all good Brunello wine does. It is expensive here by European standards (we are paying about an 11% premium) and reasonable based on USA prices (the price there is comparable). A worthy addition to your cellar.

Wines to consider

Are you a fan of wine made from the Malbec grape? Are you tired of simple and cheap fare? If your answer is yes and yes, then consider the $30 Zuccardi Polígonos 2015 Malbec—VINTAGES#: 568915. I swear that the professional wine critic Luis Gutiérrez writes under the influence of crack cocaine and his posted tasting notes for this wine are not an exception. Still, he spends too much time talking about where the grapes are grown and does not convey that there is a lot going on in this wine. This wine needs some time in the bottle for the components to come together. If you are willing to age a $30 wine for a few years then I think that you will be rewarded. If you drink this wine in its youth please give it a good decant. Our friends in the good old USA pay about 10% more for this wine. You may not believe it but $30 for this Malbec is a good deal.

If you are a fan of oaked Australian Chardonnay then consider trying the $35 Ladies Who Shoot Their Lunch Wild Ferment Chardonnay 2017—VINTAGES#: 298380. For my palate, this wine has too much oak and it is not a wine that I would buy. However, the oak was not so prominent that I could not appreciate the other attributes of this wine. If you like oaked Chardonnay then I think that you will enjoy the additional complexities that this wine offers. I am offended by the KGBO increasing the price of this wine by 31% since the 2011 vintage. That is a 5% compound price increase every year for the last six years. Raise your hand if you have seen your take-home pay increase at that rate.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the $25 Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2017—VINTAGES#: 164228. Many people in our tasting group praised this wine. Further, the local critics love this wine and international critics also sing songs about its virtues. So, I will admit my prejudice toward most Sauvignon-Blanc-based wine as I am overly sensitive to the sulfur attributes that I detect in these wines. That said, the views of others convinced me that, if you like New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, then you should give this wine a try. The price being charged by the KGBO is similar to that charged elsewhere.

If you are looking for a white wine that is different and interesting then consider trying the $19 Château Vessière Costières de Nîmes 2016 Roussanne/Grenache—VINTAGES#: 541573. I am often not a fan of floral aromas in wine but this one sings a nice tune. This wine is a nice change from the ordinary that one often finds at this price point. A wine that will also work with food. I could not identify a supply of this wine in the USA. It retails in Europe for as little as $14CAD. That’s a 36% premium that is imposed on the proletariat of this republic.

If you are still in the market for a decent Rosé then consider the Gérard Bertrand Côte des Roses Rosé 2017. The 750 ML bottle sells for $19 and the product code is 373985. The 1500 ML bottle sells for $38 and the product code is 490912. The posted tasting notes are accurate and I would add that the wine has a nice tannin and a slightly bitter finish that I appreciate in a Rosé. In Europe, the wine sells for the equivalent of $13CAD. The good folks in the USA pay about $14CAD. At $19CAD we are experiencing the greedy “too bad, you have no choice but to buy this wine from the government-owned monopoly” factor. That’s a 36% premium, in case you care.

If you are a fan of Cabernet from Italy then consider the $26 Le Mortelle Botrosecco Cabernet 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc—VINTAGES#: 400846. I’ll be frank and say that we have previously found better Italian Cabs at the KGBO at this price point. That said, this is a decent, enjoyable, ripe, versatile wine that you may want to try. We are being gouged on price as this wine sells for the equivalent of $17CAD in Europe. Feel bad? Well, the store that has a supply of this wine in the USA (New York City actually) sells this wine for the equivalent of $40CAD. I am sure that you feel better now.

KGBO markdowns

I find it hard to find a balanced red wine from Burgundy at an affordable price. The $32 Domaine Poulleau Père & Fils Les Mondes Rondes 2013 Pinot Noir—VINTAGES#: 69518 pushed the right buttons for me. The posted tasting notes are accurate and the LCBO marked this one down from $39, making it a terrific buy (the previous price of $39 was on par with European prices). Act quickly as this one will go fast, I think.

Wines to avoid

The tasting group unanimously disliked the overly fruity $32 Schug Pinot Noir 2015—VINTAGES#: 577221. The posted tasting notes are James Suckling at his worst. Other local wine critics like this wine. I don’t get it and on Sunday I was not alone.

The $28 Château Bel Air 2011 Bordeaux—VINTAGES#: 416172 was not warmly received by the tasting group. Even at lower price points, there are a lot of wines, including wine from Bourdeaux, that are better than this one.

If you are looking for good entry level Burgundy please heed the post on the $32 Domaine Poulleau Père & Fils above and avoid buying the $41 Domaine Gaston & Pierre Ravaut Ladoix 2015 Pinot Noir—VINTAGES#: 557777. To me, this wine is way-too-red-fruit forward (that is, not a wine with “lovely” red cherry and strawberries as asserted in the tasting notes). The local wine critics disagree with me on this one, so if you like assertive fruit in your wine you may wish to give this one a try. This type of wine is not for me, however.

Wines from the Cahors region of France are usually made from the Malbec grape. They tend to be dense and tannic, thus requiring age before they are ready to drink. People don’t want to age cheap wine so winemakers are trying new things to sell their wares. I think this narrative might be the story of the $19 Château de Gaudou Tradition Cahors 2016 Malbec/Merlot—VINTAGES#: 560938. We didn’t like the outcome that was present in our glasses.

I have to disagree with the local wine critics that gave the $24 Terredora di Paolo Loggia della Serra Greco di Tufo 2016—VINTAGES#: 983197 high marks. For our group, this wine disappointed us like a school report card of your child who you know can do better. The wine comes across as monolithic and simple. There is better value at this price point.

Speaking of big disappointments, perhaps the biggest disappointment of the tasting was the $30 Carpineto Riserva Chianti Classico 2013 Sangiovese/Canaiolo—VINTAGES#: 47118. The quality of the 2013 vintage should have resulted in an outstanding quality wine. Further, this producer made an outstanding 2015 Chianti Classico that I loved and highlighted in a prior post. The Carpineto Riserva doesn’t make the grade at $20 much less $30. The posted tasting notes are nonsense. I’m doing my best to suppress my anger.

When you see a Brunello di Montalcino on the shelves of the KGBO for less than $40 it is probably crap. That proved to be the case with the $36 Quercecchio Brunello di Montalcino 2013 Sangiovese—VINTAGES#: 438580. The posted tasting notes of the Vintages panel are shameful and embarrassing. They are almost as embarrassing as forgetting to wear pants to school (not that you have ever done that). If you want a Brunello please spend the extra money and buy the Argiano. If it is a decent Sangiovese yee seek, make me proud and go buy the San Vincenti and confidently serve that one to your family and friends. Tell them that you paid $36 and they likely will not pull out their phones to prove you wrong.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Well, that old saying doesn’t apply in the case of the $25 Palacios Remondo La Montesa Crianza 2015 Grenache Blend—VINTAGES#: 674572. We tasted two bottles of this wine blind and didn’t like the contents of the glass both times. I am quite baffled by the reviews of both local and international critics on this wine. This wine is a confused teenager that may never get his act together. It is fruity and strange and not typical of the wines for this great region. This wine added to my anger and now I feel an urge to yell at my kids, in public. I’m kidding. My kids are grown adults who often need to suppress their urge to yell at me.

 

 

 

A trip to visit friends and family prevented me from having the time to write about the wines we tasted from the 22 September 2018 Vintages release. I have included a few of these wines in this post. Due to the high number of decent wines in these two releases, I decided to shorten the length of this post by not including all the wines we tasted and to also exclude the “wines to avoid” section that normally appears on this blog.

Upcoming outstanding Toronto area wine events

Before we jump into the details of the Vintages releases, if you live near the Greater Toronto Area there are three upcoming wine tasting events that may interest you.

On October 16, The Toronto Vintners Club will give you the opportunity to taste eight “Super Tuscan” red wines. Details are available by clicking on this link.

The October 24 WineTasters event is your opportunity to taste a vertical of eight vintages of Chateau Bon Pasteur that span the years 1996 to 2003. Details are available at www.winetasters.ca. In November, WineTasters will give you the opportunity to taste Cote-Rôtie wines from the 2006 vintage. At the time of writing, the registration details of this event were not available but they will soon be published on www.winetasters.ca.

At both of these events, you will enjoy great wine, meet friendly people and have a terrific evening.

Outstanding wines

The $20 Trapiche Medalla Cabernet Sauvignon 2014—VINTAGES#: 568865 is a cab with pepper notes, ripe fruit, and enough tannin structure to support the wine. A good buy for the money. Decant this wine before serving, if that approach is possible. I doubt the wine’s long-term aging potential as on the second day that the bottle was open the wine tasted flat. This wine retails in the Excited States of America (a.k.a., the USA) for $27CAD, including sales tax. The price in the People’s Republic of Ontario (a.k.a, the Province of Ontario) is a good one.

Fans of dry Riesling will enjoy the $22 Domäne Wachau Terrassen Federspiel Riesling 2017—VINTAGES#: 491902. This is your opportunity to try a Riesling from the Wachau region of Austria at a decent price. This wine is bone dry, has flavors of stone fruit, and has a pleasant floral aspect to its nose.  This wine retails for the equivalent of $13CAD in Europe so the government-imposed taxes and markup cause us to pay a premium for this wine. Does this make you feel bad? Well, our friends in Pennsylvania (who also are forced to buy their wine from a government monopoly) are forced to pay $32CAD. Ouch.

Are you willing to reach a little deeper into your pocket for another Riesling experience? If so, consider the $30 Domaines Schlumberger Kessler Riesling 2015—VINTAGES#: 61176. This wine is dry has citrus and stone fruit elements and complexity. A Grand Cru Alsatian wine from a great vintage at this price point represents a decent value. If you need further evidence then consider that this wine retails in Europe for the equivalent of $33CAD.

The $20 Clos de Tafall 2015 Grenache/Carignan—VINTAGES#: 574616 is yet another example of a good-value-Spanish wine. The posted tasting notes are accurate and I enjoyed the slightly rustic elements of this wine. Selling for basically the same price as in Europe this wine represents solid value. Our friends in the good-old USA pay slightly more.

Are you willing to spend an addition $5 for a Spanish red wine? If so, consider the $25 Marqués de Cáceres Reserva 2012 Tempranillo Blend.—VINTAGES#: 702761. I believe that Cáceres consistently puts out enjoyable and affordable wines and this Reserva ticks the right boxes for me. We pay slightly more than our friends in the USA for this wine. However, this wine retailing for the equivalent $13CAD in Spain causes me to consider boarding an airplane to say Hola Espana!

If you need to stock up on a red wine from Tuscany try to $20 Castellani Filicheto Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2013 Prugnolo Gentile Blend—VINTAGES#: 184937. Montepulciano is a short drive from Chianti and in the Montepulciano area, they call the Sangiovese grape Prugnolo. The wines from Montepulciano often represent great value and the Castellani Filicheto is no exception. The posted tasting notes are pretty accurate. This is a wine that you can drink on its own and also would work with food. This wine retails in Europe for the same price so it is fairly priced here and, with the taxes and markup on wine in this country, we could be expected to pay considerably more.

Wines to consider

If you need a serviceable sparkling wine then consider trying the $20 Wolfberger Brut Crémant d’Alsace Sparkling—VINTAGES#: 460832. This wine is bright and crisp with citrus notes (lemon and grapefruit). It is not as complex as the tasting notes imply but this sparkling wine would work well in a reception environment or as a glass of something refreshing to start your evening. If you were in France you could hold that reception for the equivalent of $8CAD a bottle. Vive la France! Vous les chanceux bâtards.

The $18 La Vinicola del Titerno Piedirosso 2012—VINTAGES#: 577213 is an interesting wine. If you like wines with lots of dark fruit, dried fruit elements, sufficient tannins to support it all and a rustic edge give this one a try. For me, this wine would be best enjoyed with food. I could not source comparative price information for this wine.

The empty bottle of the $40 Beni di Batasiolo Riserva Barolo 2008 Nebbiolo—VINTAGES#: 330704 at the end of the tasting was evidence that this wine was popular with the group. Barolos offered by the KGBO (a.k.a., the LCBO) that are less than $60 a bottle often are not enjoyable. You may balk at paying $40 for a bottle of wine but the Batasiolo is your opportunity to try a decent entry level Barolo at a reasonable price. The posted tasting notes overstate the case but I think that you will notice the aspects of roses flower and sour cherries in this wine. You could age the Batasiolo but it is very enjoyable now. Our friends in Europe pay about the same amount of money for this wine.

The posted tasting notes for the $22 Ardal Crianza 2013 Tempranillo/Cabernet Sauvignon
—VINTAGES#: 167601 are pretty accurate. This is an enjoyable, versatile red wine that would work well as a house wine. The wine has a little bit too much oak for my palate but many people will disagree and find this aspect of the wine to be enjoyable. While it is great to see the winemakers of Spain continue to provide us with great value, I can’t help noting the KGBO’s 10 percent price increase from the last release of this wine. Greed is one of the seven deadly sins. I could not source comparative price information for this wine.

 

Citizens of the People’s Republic of Ontario do not require further explanation of the picture and I am pretty sure that the rest of you will fill in any gaps.

Labour day traveling prevented our usual Sunday Vintages tasting. When I returned from visiting the Excited States of America I managed to source three bottles from the September 1 release that are worth seeking out and trying.

Before we go there, if you are a lover of Sherry, I think that you will find this article interesting. The full content is available to Globe subscribers only (link to article).

Outstanding wine

When I factor in the price, I cannot say enough nice things about the $14 Flavium Selección Mencía 2014—VINTAGES#: 574624. For $14 you get a complex wine with both red and dark fruit, nice structure, spice notes, and great length. The nose initially presented some floral aromas that, while not unpleasant, disbursed with time. This was the best value red from the LCBO that I tasted this year. I bought 2 cases and I will be shocked if the wine does not sell out quickly. At the time of writing this post, there are many bottles in the KGBO’s (a.k.a, the LCBO) system.

Wines to consider

In Ontario, it is still summer and we are enjoying hot weather. So, if you are in need of summer-time sippers that also some complexity then consider the $15 Ponte Pellegrino Greco di Tufo 2016—VINTAGES#: 477760.  The Vintages tasting did a decent job on the posted tasting notes. Pretty hard to go wrong with this $15 wine and a good example to try if you are not familiar with wine made from the Greco grape.

At a higher price point, the $23 Tornatore Etna Bianco 2016 Carricante—VINTAGES#: 577676 still delivers value for the money. You are buying this wine at the same price that our friends in Europe pay and about $10 cheaper than our friends in the good old USA are forced to pay. The wine has a lot of complexity for the money and the posted tasting notes are pretty accurate. Sicily and the Etna region, in particular, are producing some interesting wines.