Birichino Malvasia Bianca Monterey 2010

 

Birichino Malvasia Bianca Monterey 2010 ($18, SKU 880302) Now back to basics: trying to find good value wines in the LDB stores. I went by the 39th & Cambie store three days ago and found an U.S. white wine marked down from $25.95 to $18. The grape was Malvasia Bianca, which I vaguely remembered from my trip to the Napa Valley last year. I opened it with some salad and seafood. It was amazingly aromatic with a strong pleasant floral fragrance. There was medium body and moderate fruitiness on the palate. It was apparently an old grape that originated from Greece and now grown in California. The same wine from Sterling Winery retailed for US$30 and was not as aromatic as the Birichino. Now this was a one time buy at the liquor store and there were only 7 bottles left on the shelves with the U.S. wines as of Sunday afternoon. The SKU does not show up in the liquor store website, so you will have to ask one of the consultants.

Batasiolo Barolo Vigneto Corda della Briccolina 2006

Batasiolo Barolo Vigneto Corda della Briccolina 2006 (WS95 pts., $75.00, SKU 329425) Forgive me for writing about another expensive wine, but this was another spectacular  value. I had my eyes on this Italian wine for a few months as it was a great deal: $75 for a 95 point wine. But it was not on the shelves at the LDB store. So I asked one of the wine consultants and she found out that there were two bottles on hold for three months. Since the person did not pick it up, I was able to purchase them. Wine Spectator indicated it will mature between 2014 to 2030, another of those wines that should be put in the cellar and forgotten. I knew that Barolo wines needed lots of time in the cellar, typically ten to twenty years. However I could not resist my urge to taste a high rating wine before it was ready to see how wine tasters could see into the future. So I bought an extra bottle and opened it with the help of one of my tasting panel members. He opened it at 11:30 a.m. and left it in the bottle and decanted it at 2:30 p.m. He remarked that it initially tasted like soya sauce but evolved nicely over the next six hours. By the time dinner was served at 6:30 p.m. the wine was coming into its prime. Barolo were generally a rougher wine that needed some tasty food. We served it with a Moroccan style lamb shank and some beef ribs with a heavy sauce. The wine was a full body heavy hitter. There was a surprising amount of fruit even though it was so young. The tannin was strong, so it should do well in the cellar for the next fifteen to twenty years.

LDB website indicated there are 80 bottles in the system. There are no more at 39th and Cambie and two bottles at Alberni and Bute. Ironwood has 4 and Park Royal has 17 bottles. Again this did not fit my usual criteria for my blog but the value was irresistible. The U.S. release price was $90 and it was only $75 here. Try to get your wife to buy it for your birthday or your children to buy it for Father's Day. Then put it at the back of your cellar and mark it for one of your milestone birthday or anniversary.

Domaine Faiveley Nuits-St.-Georges 1er Cru Les Porets-St.-Georges 2010

Domaine Faiveley Nuits-St.-Georges 1er Cru Les Porets-St.-Georges 2010 (WS 95 pt., $96.99, SKU 531624) This was mentioned by one of the newspaper wine columns and it caught my attention. This was a Burgundy wine with a high rating and under $100. Wine Spectator indeed rated it at 95 points and suggested drinking it between 2015 to 2028. I bought a few bottles for my cellar and decided to wait a few years. Then I did further reading and found that 2010 was not a typical year for the Burgundy wines. The climate was cool and wet in the early season and a smaller quantity grapes made it to harvest. The wine-makers had a more difficult time compare to great vintages like 2005 and 2009. That was what made the 2010 version of this wine interesting. First the price: same as the 2009 vintage while the U.S. release price was $155. Then the rating: it was considered "Collectibles" by Wine Spectator. I could not resist such an interesting offering and opened one bottle. I used my Burgundy glasses and did not decant the wine. The nose was wonderful to start and it kept growing on me. Even though this was before its maturity, there was still a good balance of fruit and tannin. The finish was long and my tasting panel all loved it.

 

This was not part of my usual economical, easy to drink wines that I wrote for this blog. But given the unique value, I felt I had to let everyone know about it. This would be a great gift for your sons to give to you for Father's Day. It should be cellared for at least another five years, preferably ten to fifteen years. LDB website indicated there are 24 bottles in the system and 17 in Vancouver. Do not go to Alberni and Bute as those 4 bottles are all 2009 vintage (WS92 pts., same SKU, same price). I saw one bottle at 39th and Cambie that is 2010 but I could not tell which vintage the rest of the 12 bottles are. So be careful when you go buy one.

Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay 2010

Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay 2010 ($26.59, SKU 372474) This was introduced to me by a tasting panel member. He noticed that it was on sale at the 39th & Cambie LDB store $11.40 off the usual price. So I checked it out and confirmed that this was indeed a "Grand Reserve" wine and the original price was $37.99. The grapes were sourced from Santa Barbara county (54%) and Monterey county (46%). I tasted it with dinner and immediately noticed the quality of the wine. The nose was pleasant. It was medium to full body with lots of fruits. There was medium aftertaste. Given that it was on sale, this certainly was a great bargain. I tried to check the stock online but could not even find the SKU or the wine. I saw nine bottles on the shelf. So go get it if you like a reasonably priced US chardonnay.

Chalone Chardonnay 2009

Chalone Chardonnay Estate Grown 2009 (WS88, $24.98, SKU 858373) This was the first time I saw this wine available in B. C. I was introduced to this by a tasting panel member two years ago. He brought a bottle back from the States and noted that this was a famous producer of Chardonnay there but the wine was not available locally. When I saw this appeared in the LDB store, and the price was the same as the U.S. release price, I immediately bought one and opened it over the Easter holidays. I tasted it with some take-out Chinese and Western food. It was refreshing and fruity but not too sweet. This was not a lame wine as the alcohol content was 14.5%. It should go well with seafood. There is ample stock in most of the stores.

St. Cosme Cotes-du-Rhone 2011

St. Cosme Cotes-du-Rhone 2011 (WS90, $19.99, SKU 241224) I ran into the current release of this fine wine last week at the LDB store and decided to try it again. The 2007 vintage was a big hit and subsequent vintages showed consistent quality. Cotes-du-Rhone is like the entry level for wines produced from the Rhone region in France. The unique thing about this wine is that it was fermented in stainless steel barrels, no oak. This wine was also produced with a single variety of grape, namely Syrah. So you would be tasting the fruit without the oaky addition. This one was ready to drink and had a fruity nose. There was not much tannins, so it was not meant for cellaring. Wine Spectator suggested it was ready for consumption from 2012. It went well with Chinese food and was generally a very versatile wine. There is ample stock in the LDB stores except it was sold out at 39th & Cambie.

Baron Nathaniel Pauillac 2009

Baron Nathaniel Pauillac 2009 ($28.99 SKU 167163) I saw this new offering at the 39th & Cambie LDB store last week and wanted to see what it was all about. I noticed that it was labelled as "Pauillac", which meant that the grapes had to be grown in the Pauillac region (Lafite, Latour, Mouton Rothschild, Lynch Bages etc.). Most entry level wines were label as "Bordeaux Superieur", which meant the wine was made from any grape grown in the Bordeaux region. Since 2009 was a good vintage and the grapes were from a single appelation, I figured that it was worth a try at this price. There was no Wine Spectator rating on it. When opened, it had the usual Pauillac nose and initial taste: earthy and mineral. I could not make out the pencil shaving nose but there was definitely something familiar. It went well with some beef and chicken dishes. Understanding that this was a  very inexpensive Bordeaux wine, I did not expect too much. After about an hour, the wine started to lose the complexity. At this price, it would be a great everyday drinking food wine. There are 73 bottles in the 39th & Cambie store only in the Lower Mainland.