Two wines to talk about this time 'round, both LCBO fare, so listen up if you're a wine lovin' Ontarian.
The LCBO has recently done a little push on wines from Argentina; you can read about them here: http://www.vintages.com/discover/argentina_en.shtml?homepage-vc6
Being a sucker for LCBO marketing--the glossy photographs and soft-porn wine descriptions get me every time--I bought a bottle. Bodega Norton Reserva Malbec 2006 went through the checkout and over to my parent's place so I could share it with Dad. Now neither Dad nor I knew what to expect having never tried a Malbec, but the tasting notes and high score gave me hope: "Very toasty, offering showy mocha and spice aromatics, but there's also plenty of flesh, with lush raspberry, fig and plum notes that follow through on the long, polished finish. Drink now through 2010. Score - 90. (James Molesworth, www.winespectator.com, Nov. 15, 2008)" (taken directly off of the LCBO website). I was ready to be amazed, having read about the grapes grown on the mountainside in the super-sunny Mendoza region, nourished by glacial runoff blah blah blah. Consequently it was kind of a bummer when I didn't really care for this wine. I didn't HATE it. It was okay. I just didn't LOVE it. Truth be told, there was a thin-ness to this wine overtop the flavours that I didn't care for. I hoped for a sturdy handshake, but ended up with one of those wet-noodle handshakes that makes your face screw up just a little bit.
It's summer weather, and I've been craving juicy reds. I also wanted my next pick to be big and fruity so Dad could get more enjoyment out of it (his sense of smell is pooched and relies soley on his sense of taste to enjoy wine). So a-Zinfandel-huntin' I went and came back with Ironstone 2008 Vintage Old Vine Zinfandel. I got what I asked for; this wine was jammin' like it was the Mariposa festival. I felt that the tannins were a bit more pronounced than I expected, but I also didn't let it air out for very long, so my bad. I will forewarn you though; despite the fact that Dad and I shared and there is still nearly half the bottle left, I woke up hurtin' this morning. I've dragged this morning wondering what the hell was wrong with me, but a peek at the bottle's label confirmed my suspicions: 14.5% alcohol. Oh my!
Closing note: I picked up a copy of Karen MacNeil's Wine Bible (I sell it in my store!) and now you know what I'll be doing this summer! This book is as thick as your arm, and full of extremely cool wine facts, which I will be only too glad to share with you from time to time.
That's all folks. Time to chase away my 2 glass hangover!
B.
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