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!!