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WINE COLUMN
STEALS FROM WASHINGTON TO THE RHONE
By Carolyn Evans Hammond, published in Outreach Connection and distributed privately on 27/11/09
Wine Spectator, one of the most important consumer wine magazines on the planet, just named 2005 Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington the best wine in the world for 2009.
Having recently tasted dozens of best-selling Cab Sauvs for the book I just finished writing--Good Better Best Wines--this news doesn't surprise me. Columbia Crest is doing good things with that grape. Columbia Crest Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon scored best among $8-10.99 Cabs in my book and Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon was best among the $11-$15 Cabs. I was tasting the 2006 vintage in both cases but with big brand wines like these, which are made with consistency in mind, you don’t get a whole lot of vintage variation.
My notes for the Columbia Crest Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 read: Wild blueberries and smoky oak aromas lead to a mouth-filling crush of dark berries with lots of depth underneath: creamy vanilla, milk chocolate, coal, coffee, earth, leather, and anise. A suave, sophisticated, and undervalued wine with firm but ripe tannins. Full-bodied with 13.5% alc.
My notes for Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon read: This wine is like the best Black Forest cake you’ve ever eaten: tart cherries, rich chocolate, and cool whipped cream with just a hint of espresso somewhere. The flavors are refined, silky, and precise, finishing with a lingering milk chocolate aftertaste. Full-bodied with 13.5% alc.
Might as well grab a bottle of one of these wines because the one that Wine Spectator swooned over has been sold out for months. Oh, and sadly the LCBO doesn’t stock any of Columbia Crest’s Cabernets at all so Ontario readers best go South of the border where these wines are ubiquitous. Or you can pick up these wines in British Columbia.
What Ontario does excel at is stocking delicious Rhone reds. And the other day, a friend of mine asked me to recommend five Northern and five Southern Rhone reds for under $25 a pop available in Ontario. So here are my lists:
Northern Rhone
The Northern part of the Rhone produces only 5% of the region’s total and the wines tend to be rather serious, ageworthy and expensive--so i'll take a bit of liberty with the “under $25” rule. Syrah (pronounced see-RAH) is the principal grape of the Northern Rhone and makes tightly-wound wines that taste of blackberries, blueberries, black pepper, meat and smoke. My picks are:
2003 Crozes Hermitage, Cave de Tain L’Hermitage (LCBO 572230 $ 16.85)
2005 Crozes Hermitage Fine Fleur de Crozes, Cave de Tain L’Hermitage (LCBO 76380 $22.95)
2005 Crozes Hermitage Domaine Belle Les Pierelles (LCBO 41921 $24.95)
2006 Crozes Hermitage Philippe & Vincent Jaboulet Nouvelere (LCBO 0110445 $35)
2004 Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde (LCBO 352534 $69.95)
Southern Rhone
Here, the wines tend to be Grenache-based blends that are fruitier, fleshier and taste of stewed red and black berries basically—jammier than those of the North. Vacqueyras is a bit of an exception because it often has a generous slug of Syrah added. Here are my choices for this area:
2008 La Vieille Ferme Ventoux (LCBO 263640 $11.85)
2007 Domaine de l’Oiselet Vacqueyras (0101550 $17.90)
2006 Perrin Côtes du Rhône Nature (LCBO 0015288 $10.45 / 375ml; LCBO 0948059 $17.95 / 750 ml)
2007 Pierre Amadieu La Grangelière Vacqueyras (LCBO 76398 $21.95)
2004 Domaine de la Colline Saint-Jean Vacqueyras (LCBO 38661 $25.95)
By the way, Rhone wines make stellar Christmas gifts and a bottle instantly stuffs a stocking.
The wines noted show their Ontario product numbers and prices. If you live outside of Ontario, Canada, go to http://www.wine-searcher.com and search for a stockist in your area.
Carolyn Evans Hammond’s latest book, Good Better Best Wines, A No-Nonsense Guide to Popular Wines, hits shelves in April. Her critical articles and reviews have appeared in such eminent magazines as Decanter and Wine & Spirit International in the United Kingdom, as well as Maclean’s, Taste, and Tidings in Canada and her first book, 1000 Best Wine Secrets, earned critical acclaim and international distribution with the distinction of being a best-seller by Canadian standards. Qualified sommelier and seasoned journalist, Carolyn holds the Diploma from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and a BA from York University. Carolyn has lived in many cities in North America and Europe, and now resides in Toronto, where she was born.
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