Louis Guntrum 2006 Dry Riesling

For whatever reason, I don't like German or Spanish wines quite as much as others. That's a generalization of course, but hey, it usually holds true. A Spanish wine rated 90 would probably be an 86 or 87 to me. This German wine probably fits in with that - I have a feeling others would like this more than me.

That said, I find this "dry" riesling not too dry - maybe a 2 - and it almost has a cork taint even though it's a screwtop. Lemon-straw coloured and a musty nose, it sort of tastes like that too: musty, lemony straw. What else can I say: not my favorite. Drinkable, but not much more.

83 points.

Santa Rita 120 Chardonnay 2008

Very nice, not great but no real weaknesses and quite drinkable. This is a slightly buttery, medium oaked chardonnay with a sort of musky melon and fruit (pear?) character. I find the acidity a little out of balance but not overpowering. I can see how the muskiness might turn some people off. It's not a subtle wine.

This would be perfect with shellfish. Use it to cook mussels mariniere with garlic, and serve it cold along side. It would probably go equally well with blue cheese, or even a coconut curry. Decent value, good to have in the bottom of the fridge.

86 points. $11.

C.R.O.W.N. 2

Cheap Wine Night has been rebranded as "Cheap Red or White Night", aka C.R.O.W.N. The second one was set for April 25th, which is ANZAC Day so the theme was Australia and New Zealand. Due to scheduling problems we had to change the date to April 18th, but kept the theme anyway. Couples were asked to bring two bottles with a maximum budget of $40 combined.

Without further ado, the results:

1 - Nugan Estate Durif Petit Syrah 2007 (Riverina, NSW) $14.00
2 - Thorn Clarke Shotfire Shiraz 2006 (Barossa Valley) $27.99
3 - Peter Lehmann Shiraz 2006 (Barossa Valley) $17.00
4 - Heartland Stickleback Red 2007 (South Australia) $15.70
5 - Main Divide Riesling 2007 (Waipara Valley, NZ) $25.95
6 - Nugan Estate Pinot Grigio 2008 (King Valley, Victoria) $13.99
7 - Hardys Riesling Gewurtztraminer 2008 (South Australia) $10.99
8 - Angove Nine Vines Shiraz Viognier 2007 (South Australia) $15.99
9 - Roy's Hill Merlot 2006 (Hawkes Bay, NZ) $20.95
10 - Bleasedale Potts' Catch Verdelho 2008 (Langhorne Creek, South Australia) $15.95
11 - Wolf Blass Eaglehawk Semillon Chardonnay 2007 (Barossa Valley) $13.79
12 - Tempus Two Wilde Chardonnay 2007 (Adelaide) $14.99

This time I ranked the results based on how each person rated a wine compared to their own rankings. In other words, for each person I took the score and assigned a ranking of 1 to the top score down to 12 for their lowest. This way it doesn't matter if somebody's scoring system is out of scale with others, as long as they are consistent within themselves. Interestingly, the #1 wine was only ranked #1 by one individual, but was the second choice of almost everyone else. Wines 2-5 had more first-place votes than the Nugan Durif.

Next time we'll probably do away with scores altogether, and just have people rank their own list 1-12. Also, I just noticed a slight calculation error: the Angove Shiraz Viognier should have been one spot higher. Well, I had tasted twelve wines prior to doing up the spreadsheet that night, so a little human error is to be expected. I suppose next time I could spit out the wine to stay sharp (OK, that's not going to happen).

The two Nugan Estates were a revelation: both were excellent and great value at 14 bucks each. The Shotfire was a close second, and Peter Lehmann was another fine wine for a decent price.

Cono Sur Merlot 2008

So: for a merlot this is fairly rich (maybe courtesy of the aerator - that's a whole other post), nice deep violet garnet colour, and an interesting, earthy nose. I get plum and blackberry, strong but not overwhelming, and maybe even a little citrus acidity. This is drinkable on its own and would be a good match for lasagna and crusty garlic bread on a chilly fall evening.

Cono Sur is turning into another Lindemans for me: pretty much anything with that name on the label is a great value, always an above-average wine and sometimes even outstanding.

87 points. Probably about 12 bucks.

Spring Wine Festival 2009

I surprised Kris on her birthday a few years ago with a trip to the Okanagan Spring Wine Festival. Three days with just the two of us and as many wineries as we could handle. It was terrific.

So terrific in fact that we've gone back almost every year. I think this was our 4th or 5th time. We stayed in a rental condo in Okanagan Falls, which has a not too glamorous reputation but is actually quite nice. We're headed back there to the same condo complex with the kids this summer. Apart from being quite comfortable and reasonably priced, it is strategically located about ten minutes south of Penticton in the centre of the wine trail for maximum tasting accessibility.

We must have gone to at least 40 wineries and tasted God knows how many wines. As always, I wish I wrote them down. I'll need to confer with Kris and post some reviews. Honestly, we drank one last night that we brought back which I don't even remember going to the winery. (My wife of course was reminding me of what colour shirt the proprietor was wearing while we were there.) So it was a bit of a whirlwind, but a blast as always. I hope we get to do this every year.

I'll try to get some specific wines posted, but my lasting impressions are that anything from Wild Goose or LaFrenz is outstanding and worth the money. See Ya Later was, for the first time, a disappointment. Generally, the quality in the valley continues to improve, and the prices seemed to be going up as well. I'd like to get back to the Similkameen - there's about 6 or 7 wineries out there - but we didn't find time this trip as usual. We did make it to a few Kelowna locations which were mostly excellent and worth the effort.

Don Miguel Gascon Malbec 2007

I'm back. Sorry for the delay.

This one I'd never heard of, just happened to see it on the shelf with a fancy "90" around the neck of the bottles. The 2006 was apparently one of DeVines' best sellers.

A deep purple colour, this Malbec needs a little time out in the open, as advertised. Nice earthy and alcohol-ey bouquet, I get a lot of plum taste. Would go well with, well, I'm not sure... a rare steak, pasta with a tomato sauce, lamb maybe. Quite dry with slightly aggressive tannins. If you do buy a bottle of this you really have to look at the colour, it's quite dark and unique. A very nice Malbec once it breathes.

89 points. About $18 at DeVines.

Cheap Wine Night

Well, cheap wine night has come and gone, and basically we all had a blast. Ten people blind tasting ten bottles of wine, all under $20. We scored them on a 100-point scale, but some of us had a larger range of scoring than is usual for rating wine; this isn't a problem, since each person ranked consistently. But it does mean that the average scores might be a couple of points lower as there were a few 60's and even a 50 out there, which you wouldn't normally see.

Here are the results by average score:

87.3 - Finca Los Primos Malbec 2007 (Argentina) $9.99
84.6 - Peter Lehmann Shiraz 2005 (Australia) $16
83.3 - Henry of Pelham Baco Noir 2001 (Canada) $17.44
82.3 - Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 (USA) $19.69
80.9 - Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2008 (New Zealand) $19.99
78.0 - Lagarde Altas Cumbres Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec 2007 (Argentina) $10.99
74.8 - Montecillo Crianza Rioja 2005 (Spain) $13.99
74.1 - Calona Artist Series Merlot (Canada) $7.99
73.7 - Peller Estates Proprietor's Reserve Dry White Wine (Canada) $6.49
71.6 - Santa Rita 120 Chardonnay 2007 (Chile) $8.99

Hopefully we'll have another wine tasting night sometime soon. Some suggestions for the future are (a) have a more focused theme - say a specific varietal or country, (b) be less strict on the price, but perhaps set a total budget for each couple to spend, such as $40 max for two bottles, and (c) pour less - this ensures nobody is overserved, and more left over after the unbagging to share depending on who is driving and who liked which wine better.

Pascual Toso Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

This one wasn't on our list, but was recommended highly by the lady at Grapes and Grains where we ducked into between periods of the Oilers game. (We shouldn't have hurried back. Fire MacTavish.)

I think this wine really needs a little breathing time. Our first reaction was that it was a little too fruity, heavy on the plum or maybe some grape jelly. But after about half an hour out in the fresh air it seem to settle into a more mature, even powerful wine. Fantastic aroma - deep and rich. It's a pretty assertive cab sauv, not a superstar but an Ales Hemsky of a wine: very, very good. We drank some with chicken dinner tonight, but it would really click with red meats or pasta. Or some sharp Dubliner cheese.

We agreed on 88, but I got the last glass and it's turned into 89 points. $13.23 at Grapes and Grains.