Yummy Wine Alert! The Paring, 2008 Pinot Noir

Image from the Paring's website

I just had to take this wee aside from Wine Show Wind Up to tell you about last night's bottle.  I'd hate for you to miss it; it's a Vintages wine, and once they're gone, baby they're gone.  So go get a bottle before they all get scooped up and you're left without!

I had a totally wicked craving for Pinot Noir last night.  And as it happens, our Midland LCBO had only one for sale.  Out of all that wine, one Pinot Noir!  Tsk tsk tsk, Midland LCBO!  Lucky for me, their only one turned out to be a good 'un.  The Paring 2008 out of California is textbook Cali Pinot Noir.  I've said it once, I'll say it again: you can taste the sunshine in Californian wine.  It wasn't quite that light, perfumey Oregon pinot style I love, but not that over-oaked, heavy handed style I deplore.  It was just so well rounded; beautifully refined tannins, woodsy, earthy with raspberry at the start and a little pepper at the finish.  Definately worth the $32 I parted with.

One word of caution: Pinot Noir is an emotion-inducing wine.  Something about it just makes a person feel things deeply.  I've heard it called the world's sexiest wine, which I totally believe, because it just has a way of magnifying the intensity of one's feelings.  And it's not just a sexy thing; something about its earthy quality stirs up intense feelings of all kinds.  If this sounds hocus-pocusy to you, I agree, but it's true nonetheless.  Champagne is for drama, Pinot Noir is for passion.  Unfortunately it put me in a state of 'let's drunk text my sister, and slather on the hero worship whilst degrading myself to the status of lowly serf'.  So Lorri, if you're reading this, my apologies for the pity party.  If it helps any, you might wish to know that I spent a healthy portion of my day sitting with my face to the sun, picking away at my guitar, and contemplating how extremely lucky I am to have such a good life (and forgiving sister).  It's a good antidote for self-pity and wretched feelings of any kind, and I prescribe it to anyone who might be in need of such a tonic.

xoxo

Barb

Wine Show Wind Up--It never ends.

One of the nifty things about the wine show was being able to try multiple samples of the same varietal side by side.  I hardly ever get the opportunity to do this; it would mean buying several bottles, opening them all at once, and well then you're kind of obliged to drink them, aren't you?  That maybe isn't the healthiest thing for the wallet or liver.  Karen and I have done a 3 bottle horizontal rosé tasting, but the least favourite bottle went into the risotto, which left us each a bottle to kill over an 6-8 hour period (no difficulties there!).  Unless you're part of a wine club, you prolly don't do this often either (why is there no wine club in Midland?).  It's a pity, because it's an exercise that's so revealing.  You can really begin to identify the characteristics of a region when you try several examples side by side.

The four of us were already fully 'marinated' by the time we got to the Wines of New Zealand booth, but that didn't stop us from tasting four different Sauvignon Blanc.  What a great exercise!  It was one of those a-ha! moments for me.  So this is what they mean by grassy and pineappley!  I get it!  I think forevermore I will be able to pick up New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc out of a lineup (bring on the blind tasting!).  Lorri called it 'headache wine', I'm guessing because of that sharp acidity, but I think she might have liked these wines much better if they had been paired up with some nice, fatty cheeses.

I didn't get the name of all the Sauv Blanc's, but the one standout I liked was Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough.  It's inexpensive--$15.95--and accessible (LCBO# 426601).  It had those very distinct grassy aromas, with exotic fruit flavours to fill it out a bit.  I'd be inclined to pair this with a rich meal, lobster or simply with a cheese tray.

Right!  We're near the end of Wine Show Wind Up, and I'm saving the best for last.  Next up, I'll introduce you to the most friendly, lovable, generous wine agent and chef, and we three girls renew our commitment to go to Italy.  Stay tuned!

xoxo

Barb

Wine Show Wind Up--Part..what are we at? Six?

Geez, I'm sure getting a lot of mileage out of this show!  I've barely drank a drop since, and it seems I haven't needed to; I gleaned enough material that day to keep me going for awhile. 

ALRIGHT, Sauternes!  Sauternes, Sauternes, Sauternes!  My new love, obsession, indulgence and amber restorative.  It's a wine I've read lots about in my books, but never had the opportunity of it--until now.  So for the uninitiated, here's the skinny on Sauternes:

It begins in the Sauternais region of Bordeaux, where you'll find vines full of Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle bouncing in the Maritime breeze.  This region experiences lots of misty weather and, as a result, has conditions that foster a particular type of mold called botrytis cinerea.  This is different than the mold in your basement, my loves.  This is actually a beneficial mold that creeps over fruit on the vine, making them fuzzy and ugly, and creates conditions for the most fascinating dessert wine you've ever tried.  The mold (once kept a secret by cautious winemakers, now celebrated as the 'noble rot') shrivels grapes, concentrating their flavours, but doesn't steal their acidity.  Grapes are treated extremely gently; harvesters pick only grapes fully affect by the mold.  They make several passes through the vineyard of a period of several days and weeks hunting for moldy grapes, selecting only small bunches and even singletons off the vine.  Essentially, the wine making is done in the vineyard by the botrytis; yields are typically very low (thus accounting for Sauternes high prices.  The world's most famous Sauternes--Chateau d'Yquem--costs hundreds of dollars per bottle in lesser quality years and thousands per bottle in good vintages).  Newer Sauternes are beautifully honey coloured; aged bottles darken in colour, taking on a more amber hue.
So what does this sweet nectar taste like?  Like the sweat on the brow of an angel, that's what.  Sweet honey, peach and apricot flavours are the most prominent.  It's a sweet wine, but not syrupy or cloying because the acidity has been preserved.  In short, it is one of the most capivating wine experiences you're ever likely to have.
At the wine show, we tried the LCBO's upcoming release: Chateau Rieussec 2006 1er Cru.  James Suckling gave it a 93, and describes it as "An intense nose, with vanilla, lemon cream, apple tart and honey.  Full-bodied, very sweet and powerful, with a fabulous finish.  So generous, with layers of delicious, sweet fruit."  Supposedly it'll be best after 2014, but if I had a bottle here right now you'd better believe I'd be tucking into it. 

The LCBO number for this wine is 563395 and the cost is a bargain $52.00/375ml bottle.

Below is a video of me and my adorable dad, talking about Sauternes.  I mispronounce everything, but you should be used to that by now.

Cheers! 

B.