Chateau Des Charmes 2008 Riesling - 86pts

Chateau Des Charmes 2008 Riesling (Niagara-On-The-Lake) Niagara Peninsula - Ont

Availability: Direct from winery. LCBO stores
Cost: $12.49
Alcohol: 12.5%
Date Tasted: January 30th, 2010

Tasting Notes: Sweet lychee fruit followed by lemon citrus and earthy minerality with a hint of waxy lipstick are the aromas we got when enjoying this solid and pleasing, dry Riesling from Niagara-On-The-Lake producer Chateau Des Charmes. The medium-bodied palate offers fruit flavours of apricots and citrus but it is a big, masculine minerality which dominates. This pale-straw coloured Riesling is cool customer with great mouth feel, crisp acidity, a lingering finish and is very easy drinking.

At $12.49, this wine is an absolute steal. Make this your go-to standard for the hot summer months of 2010 when you want to forsake all sweet wines. BC Residents: Ask your local BCLDB store to order it in for you.
 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2010

Cedar Creek Estate Winery 2007 Platinum Chardonnay - 90pts

Cedar Creek Estate Winery 2007 Platinum Chardonnay (Kelowna) Okanagan Valley - BC

Availability: Select BCLDB stores, Direct from winery (limited)

Cost: $30

Alcohol: 13.9%

Date Tasted: March10th, 2010

Tasting Notes: This refined and smooth premium Chardonnay from Cedar Creek Estate Winery is aged in French oak (67% new) for 11 months which shows on both the nose and palate with pleasant, integrated scents of toasted oak and butter. The nose also offers medium intense aromas of melons, lemons, bosc pears, papaya and good minerality.

The fuller bodied palate has classic Chardonnay flavours of pears, apples with the acidity of roasted lemons. The quality of this wine shows, most prominently, in the smooth and balanced long finish which suggests a terroir of cool breezes and well-drained soil. This is an excellent Chardonnay that can be enjoyed on its own and pairs nicely with Lobster Risotto and Amalfi Salad. Drink now through 2012.
 - Liam Carrier
Currently on sale at the winery and at BCLDB stores.

Water Wheel Vineyards 2007 Memsie - 84pts

Water Wheel Vineyards 2007 Memsie (Bendigo) Victoria - Australia

Availability: Select BCLDB stores

Cost: $18.99

Alcohol: 14.5%

Date Tasted: March 11th, 2010

Tasting Notes:  This red blend from the Bendigo region of Victoria state by producer Water Wheel Vineyards is a melange of 70% Shiraz, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec and 6% Petit Verdot. The intense nose of dark fruit and licorice is inviting and intriguing. The Cab, Malbec and PV combine well with the Shiraz and mellow any hint of strong, classic Shiraz aromas (for better or worse), adding complexity to the bouquet. The palate, however, is far from intriguing and leaves you a bit disappointed. The high alcohol is too much for the fruit flavours and tannins which affects the balance and finish. Drink now.
 - LC

Wynns Coonawarra Estate 2005 Cabernet Shiraz Merlot - 85pts

Wynns Coonawarra Estate 2005 Cabernet Shiraz Merlot (Coonawarra) South Australia - Australia

Availability: Widely available

Cost: $21.99

Alcohol: 13.4%

Date Tasted: March 4th, 2010

Tasting Notes: I fear this wine has suffered from over-cellaring on my part - I missed it's peak which likely would have been in late 2008. A lesson to all, make sure the wines you lay down to age are truly age-worthy. Today, the wine tastes a little tired and muted. No longer a great example of a Cab-Shiraz-Merlot blend from a top Australian producer, Wynns Coonawarra Estate. Yet, it still scores reasonably well considering.

Inky-ruby in colour, this wine offers good fruit aromas of mixed berries and dark cherries with vegetable notes of green peppers. The palate has high acidity that cuts the fruit flavours and mutes the concentration and finish. Pair with food to make the most of this wine; grilled meats are on order. Drink now.
 - LC

Henry's Drive Vignerons 2006 Dead Letter Office - 90pts

Henry's Drive Vignerons 2006 Dead Letter Office (South Australia) Australia

Availability: Widely available

Cost: $30

Alcohol: 15%

Date Tasted: March 8th, 2010

Tasting Notes: A powerful, yet refined wine made of 100% Shiraz sourced and blended, in fine Australian tradition, from two top districts: McLaren Vale and Padthawa (67% & 33% respectively). The resulting wine offers brooding aromas of intense, but not jammy, red and black berries, vanilla, fine oak grain, cherries and light pepper. The creamy-textured palate is a tad hot, but the alcohol is well masked by the cool-berry fruit flavours and pepper-spice. This does not affect the long and well-balanced finish.

The Dead Letter Office is a bit pricey (in Canada, especially), but you do get a lot of refined flavour for the cost. It serves well as a decent entry into the upper-echelon of fine Australian Shiraz which can get expensive quickly but offer so much more than their $10-15 counter-parts.

This Shiraz is ready to drink now and has the quality acid & tannins to last another 3-4 years. Pair with a peppercorn encrusted steak or grilled lamb. Drink now through 2013.
 - LC