Wine producers from Spain, Italy, France and the Okanagan share their latest vintages with us. Plus all the happenings of the season in the Maven Calendar.
by Mary Bailey
“Sherry starts where other wines end,” says Christopher Canale-Parola of González Byass. He’s referring to the age old Sherry practices of fortification, then aging in the dynamic Solera system.
So few wines have the versatility and practicality of Sherry. I love a glass of delicate and bracing Tio Pepe Fino instead of a glass of wine before dinner — there is no pressure to finish the bottle, back in the fridge door it goes. You can drink it over a few days. Have people over for Apostoles Palo Cortado (dry, with citrus and mineral notes, elegant and aromatic) and a cheese board or have a sweeter style such as the Nutty Solera or Del Duque Amontillado with dessert — nutty, savoury, delicious.
New to our market is the Tio Pepe en Rama, bottled unfined and unfiltered, incredibly direct, earthy, with a warm savoury finish (drink with the Conservas de Cambados seafood on page 22) and the specially selected, aged Palma Series possessing depth, elegance and concentration. Shaun Hicks of Wishbone is a big Sherry fan and has several on the Wishbone list. Bar Clementine is the other place to find good Sherry.
The delightful Beppe Pinna of Sardinia’s Argiolas Winery visited in October. The wines are so drinkable and fun, from the Costamolino Vermentino, a little salty and quaffable with or without food to the more weighty and serious Korem, on the list at Uccellino, made with the indigenous Bovale Sardo grape, as well as Cannonau (Grenache) and Carignano.
Always keep Taittinger in mind for the hols — the Brut Reserve with its creamy mouuse and lemony elegance, probably the best quality bubbs in its price range. There’s also the Nocturne in a cheeky, glow-in-the dark bottle. It’s slightly sweeter, something Mikael Falkman describes as late night Champagne. We’ll drink to that.
“It’s like your wedding dress. It may take ages to find it, but when you see it you know it’s the one.” Anne-Charlotte Bachas of Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate Château de la Font du Loup is talking about blending, when she knows the wine is ready.
Font du Loup, a one hundred year-old family estate, is in the northern part of the region, near Vieux Télégraphe. (The font in question is the spring where wolves would drink after coming down Mont Ventoux.) Anne-Charlotte is the fourth winemaker (first woman) in the family. We tasted the refreshing Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc, the fresh, accessible and ready to drink Côtes du Rhône and the elegant Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
At the same lunch we tasted more delicious wines from the south of France, the Cuvée Altitude wines from Domain de la Borie Blanche in Minervois La Livinière; Château de Ciffre (Faugères and Saint-Chinian); Le Mas des Montagnes (Côtes du Roussillon) and a fragrant rosé and red from the home estate, Château de Pennautier in Cabardès. Matt Jammes, responsible for the Lorgeril portfolio, explained that the family had purchased the estates over the past decade. All were terrific quality for the price.
Tinhorn Creek has just released their new flagship, The Creek, Cabernet Sauvignon with some Merlot and Cabernet Franc. “In the three vintages I have been able to work with at Tinhorn, the Cabernet Sauvignon has been a great stand-alone variety, allowing us to make this grape the driving force behind The Creek,” says winemaker Andrew Windsor. Tasted at the Tinhorn Crush Club dinner at Canteen recently, the Creek is a lovely wine with bright fruit and silky tannins, a little understated right now. Put in the cellar for five or so years and be rewarded.
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Event Calendar |
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Saturday, November 4 Saturday, November 4 Sunday, November 5 Tuesday, November 7 Thursday & Friday, November 9-10 Monday, November 13 Wednesday, November 15 November 16, 17, 18 |
Sunday, November 26 Tuesday, November 28 Thursday, November 23 saturday, November 25 wednesday, November 29 Tuesday, December 5 Thursday, December 7 Saturday, December 9 |