WineAlign

John Szabo, MS

As this week’s Vintages Release preview hits the web, a crew of judges will be en route to Penticton in BC’s Okanagan Valley for the Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards. We won’t be admiring the splendid sunsets as the last rays slip off the Naramata Bench, nor whiling away the afternoons sailing on Lake Okanagan, oh no. Over the course of 5 days we’ll be bunkered in a convention centre tasting our way through 1000+ wines grown exclusively in this country. It’s hard to believe that this year marks the 10th edition of what has become Canada’s most respected and trusted measure of 100% locally grown wines. All of the results will be on newsstands by late fall, just in time to help with holiday party wines and gift-giving decisions for the growing number of you tuned into how solid our industry is. I’m certainly eagerly anticipating the tasting, and uncovering this year’s best wines. It gets better every year.

Of course, you may question that it’s Canadians judging Canadian wines, and presume that a national prejudice favourably colours the results. It’s true. Canadians like their own wines better than anyone else, though that could be said of any winemaking nation. But what, you ask, does the rest of the world think of Canadian wines? Apparently quite a lot. This past week over the Decanter newswire it was announced that an astonishing three out of four Canadian wines entered into the Decanter World Wine Awards finished with a medal. That’s an impressive rate of success. Since the wines in Decanter’s awards are judged by an international panel, not just Canadians, we can infer that knowledgeable folks from around the world also find these wines worthy of serious consideration. Compare this striking result to what other areas achieved, like, say, poor old Bordeaux, which barely managed a 25% success rate, one out of four wines, in the medal hunt.

Although it’s hardly surprising to anyone that has been following the Canadian wine industry, it seems that the quality of Canadian wines have finally debunked the myth that everything here is frozen and aged in igloos. I’m not bringing this up to pull on that tired old psychological thread that ties Canadian self-respect to outside validation (an observable fact, by the way, in virtually every wine growing region in the world – no one is cursed with such self confidence that a little praise and interest from a foreigner doesn’t warm the heart). It’s only to say that A) Canadian winemakers are serious; B) Canadian winemakers are taken seriously, and C) let’s get on with it.

The mini spotlight this week is on a middling collection of German wines, of which the 2008 GRAF von SCHÖNBORN SILVANER KABINETT TROCKEN QmP $18.95 is easily the class of the lot. This Silvaner from the Franken region, the grape’s spiritual homeland, does come in that awkwardly-shaped bocksbeutel bottle allegedly modeled after a goat’s scrotum, but the wine inside is delicious, tinged with a late-harvest botrytis-like quality and evident minerality. For German classicists, my pick of the rieslings is the 2008 ALLENDORF TERROIR RIESLING KABINETT QmP $16.95 , a fine, delicate example from the Rheingau.

The principal feature in the August 21st release is on the theme of ‘signature wines’, which I take to mean wines that are nicely representative of their respective regions. But since expression of place is the sine qua non of any wine that I would consider seriously, anything else being nothing more than fermented grape juice to be drunk and not contemplated, let’s move straight on to the smart buys. These are, by my own definition, all signature wines.

The top pick this week also goes to the wine with the highest price tag on my list: NV CHARLES HEIDSIECK RÉSERVE BRUT CHAMPAGNE AC $54.95 . This should be proof positive that there’s value up and down the price scale. After all, some things aren’t expensive, they just cost a lot. This champagne far outclasses so many others in the same price category, offering a splendidly complex, mature profile based on a high percentage of reserve wines. It’s more of a food champagne rather than an aperitif style, though I’d be caught drinking it anytime.

Local talent is well represented by the 2008 FLAT ROCK CELLARS THE RUSTY SHED CHARDONNAY VQA $24.95 . The 2008 is an excellent follow up to the superb 2007, which leads me to believe that the vines that surround the rusty shed in Flatrock’s vineyard on the Niagara Escarpment in Jordan just might be pretty special.

There is an unusually rich collection of fine value, rustic European reds on the smart buys shopping list this week, perfect for those end of summer BBQs and backyard get-togethers. Back again is the excellent 2007 ÈTIM SELECCIÓN $15.00 from Spain’s northeast near Barcelona, made from a robust blend of Grenache, carignan and syrah. Also from Spain, the 2008 JUAN GIL HONORO VERA MONASTRELL $11.95 is chalk full of character and savage flavour, if not elegance, making it a classic for braises, stews and roast meats.

France puts in a good show with four good value reds, including a fine southern Rhône from the ever-reliable Perrin brothers (of Château Beaucastel in Châteauneuf-du-Pape): 2007 PERRIN & FILS L’ANDÉOL RASTEAU $19.95, and a classy Bordeaux: 2006 CHÂTEAU ROQUETAILLADE VIEILLES VIGNES LA GRANGE AC Graves $21.95.

Click on the following to see my:

Top Ten Smart Buys
Wines from Germany at a Glance
All Reviews

Cheers,

John Szabo, MS

Filed under: Wine, "Top Picks", "Top Values", Germany, John Szabo, Vintages, Vintages Preview