Cantinian Malbec 2012

Cantinian Malbec 2012 ($18.95, SKU 176487) I found this in the isles of the LDB store and it was advertised as a Canadian couple living in Argentina decided to apply their wine-making techniques to the local grape, Malbec. The wine was a medium body red wine with a funky character. It would probably be a nice barbeque wine. There is lots of stock in the LDB system.

Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon California 2011

Chateau St. Jean Cabernet Sauvignon California 2011 ($20.99, SKU 142026) I tried this on the suggestion of one of my tasting panel. He found this in the corner of wine festival left over wines at 39th and Cambie. This is probably the third wine of Chateau St. Jean in Sonoma. Their flagship wine is the Cinq Cepages which sells for Can $80. The cabernet sauvignon was very young and fruity. Initial taste was fruity and tangy but there was a herbal aftertaste. This would be a good economical wine to go with some barbeque or light meal. There are roughly a dozen of this wine left on the shelves just outside the demo kitchen at the 39th store but the SKU doesn't even appear on the LDB website. Just go to 39th and Cambie and buy it.

Chateau Maison Blanche Medoc 2009

Chateau Maison Blanche Medoc 2009 (WS91, $26.99, SKU 563429) I found this on the shelves of the 39th and Cambie LDB store sitting among the cheaper Bordeaux wines. I am always interested in the 2009 and 2010 vintage. As it was rated 91 points by Wine Spectator, I figured that I cannot go wrong by much at this price. The name translates into "white house". When first opened the nose was not impressive. However after about 30 minutes everything seemed to come together. The color on the cork was a bit light but the taste was fruity. Although the label is Medoc (left bank and cabernet sauvignon based) the wine was 80% merlot, 16% cabernet sauvignon and 4% cabernet franc. So it was very comparable to the Chateau Pipeau that was tasted together. Half of my tasting panel liked this one and half liked the other one. At this price it is definitely worth a try with roast pork or chicken. Wine Spectator said it is good from 2012 to 2019, so it is good for short term cellaring. There is lots of stock in the LDB stores.

Chateau Pipeau St.-Emilion 2010

Chateau Pipeau St.-Emilion 2010 (WS91, $49.99, SKU 287292) I tried the 2009 vintage of this wine and was not very impressed. But the 2010 vintage came out at the same price and same Wine Spectator rating. However friends of mine have bought cases of this for their regular dinner party use and got good comments from their guests. So I decided to give it a try. The nose was fruity and pleasant when the bottle was opened. The color was dark red good legs on the glass. The body was medium to full with medium finish. This wine, being from the right bank Bordeaux region of St.-Emilion, was merlot based and can be opened earlier than the other left bank Bordeaux. It went well with Chinese food take-out. So it was not surprising that my friends received compliments for bringing this to Chinese dinners. Ideally it should be decanted for an hour or two and enjoyed with some well-marinated pork or chicken roast. Wine Spectator said this wine can be opened now or cellared until 2024. This is not an economical wine but remember that 2010 was an exceptional Bordeaux vintage and getting something for less than $50 is not easy. There is plenty of stock in all of the LDB stores.

Dr. Loosen Spatlese Riesling Urziger Wurzgarten 2011

Dr. Loosen Spatlese Riesling Urziger Wurzgarten 2011 (WS93, $35.95, SKU 515700) I have been waiting for the arrival of this wine and I finally found it two weeks ago on the shelves. This was a German Riesling made with the grapes that are picked at least seven days after the normal harvest. The sweetness code on the shelves is 3 (0 is very dry, 10 is very sweet). It had a good nose and lots of fruits. There was taste of tropical fruits. Because of its medium body, it complemented Chinese dishes of halibut cheeks and tiger prawns well. There is another version the Wehlener Sonnenuhr that has a sweetness code of 7 but I found that one too sweet for Chinese food. There is stock at 39th and Cambie, Alberni, Park Royal and Richmond Brighouse.

Chateau Rahoul Graves 2010

Chateau Rahoul Graves 2010 (WS90, $26, SKU 184986) This was one of the lowest priced Bordeaux 2010 that I picked up at the end of September 2013 at the Bordeaux release. I opened it for an early tasting. As this came from the Graves region, it had a lot of mineral taste on the palate. Wine Spectator indicated drinking between 2014 to 2021. The wine can certainly use a few more years of cellaring. So if you are one of the lucky ones who got your hands on some bottles, hold on to them and be patient. Unfortunately, there is no more stock in the LDB system.

Sterling Chardonnay Vintner's Collection 2012

Sterling Chardonnay Vintner's Collection 2012 ($15.99, SKU 643874) I wanted to find an easy drinking chardonnay for everyday drinking and tasted this economical offering. I took it to a Chinese restaurant and opened it with a routine Chinese dinner. I like chardonnay because it has a fuller body and usually more fruity than the other white grapes. Sterling is a big vineyard in Napa Valley with a wonderful winery on top of the hill. There was a floral nose and a bit of oak. The fruit was easy to appreciate. At this price, I did not expect too much but this wine exceeded my expectations. For a everyday drinking chardonnay, I think this is a good value. There is plenty of stock in all of the LDB stores.