St. Urbans-Hof Riesling Mosel Kabinett Ockfener Bockstein 2009

St. Urban-Hof Riesling Kabinett Ockfener Bockstein 2009 (WS 92 pts., $29.99, SKU 310524)

This was labeled as “Smart Buy” by Wine Spectator and was No. 57 of their Top 100 wines in 2010. I learned that there are different ways to make Riesling and Kabinett is one way. The wine had all kinds of fruits on the palate and the body was medium. It was a great opening wine and went well with some Chinese food.

If you don’t want to pay so much, the St. Urban-Hof Riesling Mosel would be a good second choice. I have not tasted that wine but it is not as sweet as the Kabinett. It is rated 90 points by WS and costs $19.99, SKU 597997.

Thelema Shiraz 2007

Thelema Shiraz 2007 (WS 92 pts., $26.99, SKU 607549)

This was a recent gift from a friend and I was told it was a good one. This was a South African Shiraz. South African wines are sometimes a bit old world and a bit new world. This one definitely was new world and tasted like the Australian Shiraz. Wine Spectator indicated this wine should be opened between 2012 to 2014.

When opened, the nose was strong and grabbed one’s attention right the way. The body was full with a spicy taste (just like a good Shiraz should) with lots of fruit. I don’t know how to described these different berries but there were definitely taste of various berries. The young people especially liked it. There was good potential to cellar it for a year or two and it may even taste better. There is lots of stock in the LDB.

Chateau Jean Foillard Morgon Cote du Py 2009

Chateau Jean Foillard Cote du Py 2009 ($39.95, SKU 161158; Magnum $84, SKU 161638)

This is a red Beaujolais that the wine consultant recommended. Beaujolais are usually very light wines made with Gamay Noir grapes from the Burgundy area that is released with a big fanfare. I never liked them since they are very light and are usually opened in the summer. However I was told this 2009 vintage is a completely different breed.

To begin with, it was very difficult to open the bottle. The top was sealed with a thick wax coating and it took my friend a good ten minutes to pry it open before the cork could be removed. But boy oh boy, this was a different Beaujolais. It had medium body and went well with some Chinese food. It reminded me of a good Rhone wine that also went well with Chinese food. LDB still has a few bottles of the Magnum (1.5 liters) and it is a great wine to serve at a big Christmas party.

Pichon Baron 2000

Pichon Baron 2000 (WS 93 pts., $150, SKU 730671)

This bottle was opened for curiosity’s sake. Don’t try looking for this SKU on the LDB website as it doesn’t exist anymore. This bottle was purchased on one cold  November 2003 night when my brother informed me that the second shipment of the Bordeaux 2000 arrived at the 39^th LDB store and there was no limit. It has been sitting in my cellar and I finally decided to open one bottle. I e-mailed the chateau to ask them if the wine was ready and how to serve it. I got a reply that the wine can be opened now (WS indicated it won’t be ready until after 2010) but if I can wait another ten years, it will become more elegant. They suggested that it should be decanted for an hour in a wide based decanter and served with some red meat.

When opened, the aroma was very pleasant and strong. The body was better than the same bottle that my friend opened two years ago but didn’t feel spectacular like a Second Growth Bordeaux should be. We waited around and the wine turned much more sophisticated with a medium to full body. The finish was not that long (the taste didn’t stay in the mouth for too long). However I left a glass of it in the bottle and drank it the next evening. It was definitely better after 24 hours in the bottle.

It will be very difficult to find a bottle of this wine since most wine lovers would hold on to whatever Bordeaux 2000 that they have and wait. It was such a good vintage that the top wines are not ready yet (at least another five to ten years). The second tier wines, like the 93 point Pichon Baron, may be opened but still good in the cellar for another ten years.

Rare Flower and Fine Wines



9:35 p.m.

 

8:50 p.m.



7:00 a.m. next morning

   

11:28 p.m.

This article is written more about the flower than the wines, but it was the wines that complemented the evening of flower appreciation.



A friend of mine gave me a pot of Queen of the Night (Epiphyllum Oxypetalum). In the evening of August 22, 2011, when I was taking out the garbage, it started to open up. As the flower only blooms for one night, I immediately took out my camera and starting taking pictures of the flower. At the same time, I started calling my friends who live nearby to come over to watch the blooming flower. I proposed to open a bottle of Burgundy red wine to enhance the evening. Two of my friends also brought over some Burgundy wines and we ended up with a great evening of beautiful flower and fine wine.

I am no expert in Burgundy wines, so I am just writing down the experience of the evening. I only know that men tend to “progress” from Bordeaux to Burgundy wines as they mature. I brought out a bottle of 2005 Domaine Vincent Sauvestre Pommard Clos de la Platiere (WS 90 points) that I bought two years ago from LDB. I had four Burgundy Riedel glasses and I used them for the occasion. The nose was pleasant and the wine was somewhat fruity, not surprising. Then as the evening went on and the flower bloomed more, we opened the second and third bottle. They were the 2005 Domaine Doudet Beaune Clos du Roy Premier Cru and the 2005 Domaine Doudet Savigny-les-Beaune Les Guettes Premiere Cru. When first opened, the nose was stronger than the Pommard and the color was definitely more brown even though all three wines were from the same vintage. Once poured into the glass, these two wines exhibited the classical cat’s pee nose for pinot noir grapes. The nose was very strong and both wines had fuller body than the Pommard. We started an elementary lesson in Burgundy geography while enjoying the wines.

Don’t be put off about the long names of these wines. Just google how to read Burgundy wine labels and you will be educated. The evening ended with the Queen of the Night in full bloom and all of us learning a bit more about Burgundy wines. In retrospect, all three wines should have been cellared for another five to ten years since 2005 was a great vintage for the area.

Chateau Briatte Roudes Sauternes 2002

Chateau Briatte Roude Sauternes 2002 ($14.99 375 ml.) – I bought this in November of 2010 and it is not available in the LDB stores now. Sauternes are the dessert wines of the Bordeaux region and I like them because they are not as sweet as the ice wines. They are also less expensive than the ice wines. Good Sauternes can be cellared for a long time (up to 200 years) and they change color from clear light gold to deep brown like syrup. 2002 was not a great vintage for the Sauternes, so I thought I can open a bottle to complement the cold soufflé that was served. This economical Sauternes had quite a bit of fruit in the mouth, especially peach and it had medium body. There are some other Sauternes currently available at the LDB stores that can be opened now. They are usually sold in half bottles of 375 ml. The wine is served chilled.

Chateau La Gaffeleiere St. Emilion Grand Cru 1998

Chateau La Gaffeliere 1998 St. Emilion Grand Cru ($70, WS 92 points) – I picked this up from LDB in 2008 when they released wines from 10 years ago. It was No. 69 of the Wine Spectator Top 100 wines of 2001. You cannot get this wine anymore and don’t confuse it with the Chateau Canon La Gaffeliere that is available now. Since this was a right bank wine, the predominant grape was Merlot. The 1998 right bank vintage was better than the left bank (Lafite, Latour, Margaux etc.), and Wine Spectator indicated that the wine should be opened after 2006. In spite of 13 years in the bottle, it tasted quite fresh and the body was medium to full. That was the last bottle in my cellar, so this was put on the blog for historical reasons.

Chateau La Gorce Medoc 2004

Chateau La Gorce Medoc 2004 (SKU 420232, $24.95) – This wine was recommended by one of the wine consultants at 39^th and Cambie. It was opened along with a 92 point 1998 Bordeaux and stood up well. It was decanted for about an hour in the decanter and was found to have medium to full body. 2004 was not a great vintage for the left bank Bordeaux wines but the Medoc region had a lot of sunshine. If you want a traditional Bordeaux that is drinkable now, try this. There is ample stock at all the LDB stores.

Dr. Loosen Erdencer Treppchen Riesling Kabinett 2009

Dr. Loosen Erdener Treppchen Riesling Kabinett 2009 (SKU 134304, $26, WS 88 points) – I picked up this wine to a friend’s dinner party where seafood appetizer and winter melon with crab meat soup was served. The sweetness code at LDB was 6, indicating that it is on the sweet side (0 = very dry, 10 = very sweet). This was a German white wine produced in a way that gave the wine more of the fruity taste. Indeed there were lots of fruits on the palate and the ladies present all liked it. It went well with the food. So this is not a bad choice to be paired with some seafood dinner.

Mulderbosch Shiraz Western Cape 2004

Mulderbosch Shiraz Western Cape 2004 (WS 92 points, $34.99, SKU 644492) – A friend brought over a bottle of wine in a brown paper bag for us to taste. The first question was whether this was old world or new world wine and I guessed new world. But I couldn’t put my hands on the grape type. I figured it was not the usual Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz or Pinot Noir. When the brown paper bag came off, it was the South African wine. So I was right in the sense that it was a new world wine. As with most South African red wines, this wine tastes a bit like the new world and a bit like the old world wines. The wine has a good aroma and body and it grows on you. I left it overnight in the bottle and drank the rest of it with a lamb dinner bought from the Greek festival. It was an excellent match since the pepper spice brought out the flavour of the lamb. This would be a very nice wine to pair with roast beef or lamb.

Chateau Laborie Cotes de Castillon 2005

Chateau Laborie Cotes de Castillon 2005 ($18.99, SKU 162842) was a 2005 Bordeaux recommended by a wine consultant at the 39^th LDB Signature Store. Remember that 2005 was one of the top Bordeaux vintages and the lower-priced wines were quite approachable early on. This was one of the less expensive wine with a Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon blend. I did not decant it at all since it was such a young wine. My tasting panel thought that this was a good effort for this price. It had some Bordeaux characteristics and still lots of tannin. In theory this wine can be cellared for a few years. The reality is who would put a under $20 wine in the cellar. So if you are having some pork or chicken dish, just buy a bottle and enjoy it with the meal.

Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Hands of Time Napa 2008

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Hands of Time Napa 2008 (US$38 including taxes) - I recently opened this bottle that I bought from Seattle. I purchased it at the wine store at

Pacific Place

in Seattle downtown in May 2011. There is no Wine Spectator rating on this wine. It is a Napa wine with a Bordeaux blend. It has a medium body and good aroma. It is a nice drinking wine with dinner and the price is reasonable. So if you happen to be shopping in Seattle and have some exemption room left, bring a bottle back and enjoy with your friends.

Interesting Washington State red blend - Desert Wind Ruah 2008

A friend brought over a bottle of Desert Wind Ruah 2008 (WS 89 points, SKU 264390 $19.99) for me to taste. It was a Washington State Columbia Valley wine that was bottled in Oregon. It was a new world blend of 45% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc.

The initial nose was not very impressive but the taste was interesting. The color was more brown that I expected for a wine of such young vintage. This was definitely very different from the usual Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. The initial taste was somewhat fruity but there was some tannic aftertaste as well. It would probably go well with some salmon or pork in light sauce. The body was medium but it seemed to grow on you.

This would be considered as an introduction to drinking old world wine, like the Bordeaux and the Italian wines. If you like the fruity Napa or Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon or Australian Shiraz, then this would not be the wine for you. However, if you want to start tasting the old world wines, this would give you a taste of the classic blend using new world grapes.

I checked the LDB availability and found that there were only a few bottles at 39th & Cambie and 8th & Cambie. However there are lots in West Vancouver and Coquitlam. Try a bottle first and if you like it, you can get LDB to order it from the other stores for you.

Abalone and Pinot Noir - 2007 Ponzi and 2005 Joseph Drouhin Beaune Premier Cru

Another night of fine dining and wine. I was invited to an abalone dinner tonight and it was another of those items that are getting more rare. The host served 30 head dried abalone from Japan. I didn't ask about the price but I knew it was not an inexpensive item, especially after the nuclear situation in Japan and the prices have nearly doubled.

With my past experience, I decided to bring some Pinot Noir wines to complement the abalone. Last year I enjoyed an abalone dinner with a bottle of Burgundy wine (pinot noir) and it was a good match. I brought the 2007 Ponzi Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (Wine Spectator 90 points, bought it on my Oregon trip last year for US$27.86 at Costco) and 2005 Joseph Drouhin Beaune Premier Cru (Burgundy wine, no WS rating, Christmas gift, the 2008 vintage is available at LDB for $46.99). I opened the Ponzi first before dinner and it had a nice nose and was quite fruity. It was an American pinot noir and was produced in the same style as the Kosta Browne. As dinner started, we started to pour the Drouhin. I did bring along some Riedel Burgundy glasses for the occasion  The Drouhin was definitely more aromatic but lighter in taste. Half of the guests liked the Ponzi and half preferred the Drouhin. The abalone tasted great with the host’s detailed preparation for the past three days. The wines went well with the food. The Drouhin, even though it was an entry level Burgundy, had some staying power and the aroma and taste didn’t fade after two hours.

One can get the 2008 Ponzi Willamette Valley Pinor Noir at any US Costco store for around US$30. Oregon’s Willamette Valley is famous for its pinot noir wines. So if you happen to be shopping in the US and stay for more than 48 hours and have some exemption left, try taking a bottle back to enjoy.

1988 Chateau Haut Brion and 1970 Chateau Montrose tasting

This article is about  wines that is nearly impossible to acquire in Vancouver. But I have to write about it since it was a rare experience. I was fortunate enough to be invited to a tasting of a bottle of 1988 Chateau Haut Brion (Bordeaux first growth, WS 96 points) and

1970 Chateau Montrose St.

Estephe (Bordeaux second growth, WS 87 points) recently.

The host opened the bottle of Chateau Haut Brion one hour before the tasting and left it in the bottle. When we arrived, he poured it into some nice gold-rim goblets. Out of politeness I tasted it and found it to be very light and could not describe the nose since I could not smell anything. I then decided that such a nice wine should not be wasted and I offered to go to my car trunk to bring out my Eisch Breathable Bordeaux glasses. (I would never use breathable glasses on such nice quality wine if it was properly decanted). The nose with a berry hint became much more noticeable ten minutes later. I asked the guests to leave it in the breathable glasses for a bit more time.

The host then proceeded to try to pour the second wine which was the Chateau Montrose. Unfortunately he tried to open it, before I arrived, with a rabbit ear type opener and the cork fractured three quarters of the way down. I inspected the portion of the cork that was removed and found the wine stain all the way to the top, indicating that it would soak through in a very short time. So I breathed a sign of relief. I then brought in my corkscrews, filter, funnel and decanter from my car trunk (yes this was the second trip to the trunk) and tried to remove the rest of the cork with a Teflon coated corkscrew. The cork was so fragile that nothing could be pulled up. So I pushed the remaining cork down into the bottle and poured the wine slowly through a filter and decanting funnel. I let it sit in a proper decanter for half and hour before tasting it. The color was definitely more brown than the Haut Brion (of course it is 18 years older) and the nose was faint to begin with. It still had the heavy oak smell that reminded my wife of something she had before (the famous 1990 Chateau Montrose).

After enjoying some very nice Chinese food served by the host, we began to taste both wines slowly. The Montrose came around after an hour and had a fruity taste. Wine Spectator rated it at 87 points and indicated that it was starting to dry out. I found that it was drinking better than that rating and not drying out at all. However, it started to fade somewhat after about two hours and we quickly drank it up. Then we proceeded to the remaining Haut Brion and it was very smooth and balanced. What an evening of surprises and enjoyment!!

Ruffino Modus 2007

I discovered that the 2007 Ruffino Modus (SKU 614354 $34.99) was in stock in the liquor stores on Thursday May 19, 2011. It was rated 96 points by Wine Spectator and ranked No. 25 of their Top 100 wines of 2010. The bad news was that they didn’t think it would ready to drink until 2015. This is a Tuscan blend of Italian grapes. I tasted a bottle using the usual tricks of decanting and breathable glasses. It is still very young and tannic. My tasting panel friends used words like “very long aftertaste of one and a half minutes”, “good complexity” and “balanced” to describe it. One of my friends let it sit overnight and drank it the next day and found it to be even better. It would go well with Italian food with adequate decanting. It reminds me of the 2007 Brancaia Tre (another Tuscan wine) that needed cellaring until 2011. This is definitely one that needs to be put away in the cellar for three to five years, then its good character will be fully revealed. At $35, it’s a great bargain. As of May 23, the 39^th and Cambie LDB was out of this wine. There were a dozen bottles left in the Alberni and Bute LDB downtown.

Cotes du Rhone - St. Cosme 2010 and Guigal 2007

I tasted two economical Rhone wines with my dinner tonight. The first one was the new St. Cosme Cotes du Rhone 2010 (SKU 241224 $19.99) and the second was the Guigal Cotes du Rhone 2007 (SKU 259721 $23.99 Wine Spectator 87 points).

The reason I tasted them was I have always liked the St. Cosme wines, especially the 2007 vintage. It was rated at 90 points by Wine Spectator and most of my friends thought it was an easy drinking wine that went well with most food, including Chinese food. The 2009 vintage was also rated 90 points by Wine Spectator and was No. 88 of their Top 100 wines of 2010. I didn't like the style of the 2009 as much as the 2007. The 2010 vintage had a good nose and medium to full body. It tasted more like the 2007 and should go well with most food.

The 2007 Guigal was recommended by a wine consultant at the Signature Store at 39th and Cambie (hereafter referred to as LDB). Guigal is a very fine producer in the Rhone region. The 2007 Cotes du Rhone was rated by Wine Spectator at 87 points. The color was more brown than the St. Cosme 2010 (of course it is three years older). I found a fuller body and longer aftertaste with the Guigal . Both are wines from Southern Rhone and they are quite similar. It should go well with most food as well.

I would say both are worth trying and you should find both to be good value and easy to enjoy.

Wine lover in Vancouver

This is just a new experiment that I am trying. I have been sending e-mails to my friends who love to drink wines, especially those of good value. It was suggested that I write a blog to share my thoughts. So here I am.

Briefly, I am a working guy who lives in Vancouver, Canada, and I enjoy drinking good wines. I do not have any wine certification nor do I have any commercial interest in the food and beverage industry. My friends seem to like to know about good value wines. I mainly buy my wines from the B. C. government liquor stores (hereafter referred to as LDB stores). I belong to a very casual wine club that caters to the higher end wines. I have a few friends who regularly taste wines with me and I may sometimes quote their thoughts. Stay tuned!!