Taste it Again / Lost & Found

Taste it Again: Older Ontario at U.S. Thanksgiving

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Category: Lost & Found / Taste it Again

(November 27, 2014) ... Spent the US Thanksgiving across the border again this year ... Interesting ride home in a blizzard where we stopped at a motel where we were afraid to sit or lie on anything.  Spent two hours there before deciding we would rather brave the weather and head home ... Anyway, it's the wine I'm reporting on here NOT the weather, winter driving conditions or the state of motels on America's interstates.

A recent tasting, and release at the LCBO, had me questioning my sanity on a bottle of Pondview 2011 Bella Terra Chardonnay.  The one tried during the LCBO pre-tasting did not show well, and for a Chardonnay less than 2 years out of barrel, there is no reason it should be that tired.  I tried it amongst my American friends and discovered it to be basic:  toffee-peach, oak, butter, spiced apple and seemingly getting a little long in the tooth, it's creamy but lacks acidity? I really hope this wine is just going through a dumb phase ... I'll be revisiting this one in the not to distant future.  My original score was 4-plus stars but in its present state this wine wouldn't rate half that.

Speaking of long in the tooth I am sad to report that the Cattail 2008 Gamay Noir is gone: oxidized, off flavoured and sour ... For you Gamay fans out there holding onto this one, you've waited too long.  Sigh.

So far I'm not doing so well in what I am pulling out of the case ... I did bring other, more recent stuff, but am only reporting on how the older bottles are doing.  And with that I ended my excursion down memory lane with a Chateau des Charmes 2002 Cabernet-Merlot, Estate ... It started off earthy, smoky and dried cranberry-esque on the nose with very woodsy notes along with cranberry, cinnamon and dried leaf character on palate.  But somehow this all changed and came together and something everyone gravitated towards ... Was it the 12 years that appealed to them or was it really the wine?  With the number of people who ended up with an empty glass I'd say it was the wine itself.

Original reviews can be found by clicking on the wine name.
Pond view 2011 Bella Terra Chardonnay
Cattail Creek 2008 Gamay
Chateau des Charmes 2002 Cabernet-Merlot, Estate

Lost & Found: Old Ontario with Larry for Larry

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Category: Lost & Found / Taste it Again

(November 23, 2014) ... A buddy of mine, let's call him Larry, invited me over to toast and commemorate a mutual friend, also named Larry.  He also wanted to check the quality of a wine made in Larry #2's honour by his good friend Jim at a winery called Stoney Ridge with grapes that Larry Two actually helped to plant.  

Wow that opening can get kinda complicated.  Anyway the wine I am referring to is the Stoney Ridge 2010 Radical Red, made up from a blend of Landot and Merlot, constructed by Jim Warren in honour of everyone's favorite Little Fat Wino, Larry Patterson.  I will admit I cringed a little when Larry #1 pulled out the bottle, thinking this might not be such a good experiment ... But Larry #2 was known for his love of odd grapes and wines, rumour has it he once shop-vaced a spilt container of grape juice off his basement floor and still made wine from it, calling it 'Shop Vac Red'.  As much as I wanted to hold my nose I did not, and not only smelled but tasted the wine.  Aromas were smoky with notes of sour cranberry and showed some of its age, the smell was definitely of a well developed wine.  Palate proved to be more than fair with lots of cranberry, smoke, and a light easy finish ... The wine was quite drinkable and impressively so.  Lost & Found Rating:  Tolerable

Since we were tasting old wines I brought along one of my own, a Kacaba 2003 Cabernet Franc ... I have to concede that Larry #1 won this battle, as the Kacaba proved to be a real disaster.  Nose was full-on weedy and loaded with green pepper.  Taste wasn't much better; sure the wine was smooth, after 11 years, but nothing exciting, and yes it still had some tannins, but that's about it ... No flavour ... Larry and I looked at each other and had the exact same thought, "Stick a fork in it, it's done".  Larry did have a good suggestion for those of you who have some of this languishing in your cellar, if you're having a frat party pull out that case you've been storing, it would be a great time to get rid of it, afterall the wine isn't totally undrinkable, it's just not very enjoyable.  To give it the benefit of the doubt we tried it again an hour, then two hours later ... nothing had changed, it is surprisingly boring and lackluster.  Lost & Found Rating:  Trash

When I arrived home in the late afternoon my wife and I opened a bottle of Westcott Violette Sparkling ... Full review can be found here.