Welcome to Hugh Gillis of Antigonish to the Whine
Dear Santa Claus: I know you have been busy with all the good little boys and girls, but if you have time this Christmas Eve I’d greatly appreciate it if you would think of me. Most of the time I haven’t been naughty (I don’t think grumpy should count as naughty and I’m too old to do any really naughty things.) On occasion I have even been nice. I once used my snowblower to clear a neighbour’s driveway and I have written a few cheques to worthy charities. I have even been known to semi vacuum the house, and most of the time I haven’t ruined Betty’s favourite things when doing the laundry.
Now, what do I want for Christmas? Well, I really like consumables and, of course, good wine is the very best consumable. So why not stuff my stocking with a bottle of Barolo, traditionally known in Italy as the “King of Wines and Wine of Kings”? Readers of my WineWhine know that I am not impressed with cheap Chiantis and even cheaper Valpolicellas. They also know that I do like Amarones and Ripassos. However, my cellar has, at the moment only one lonely bottle of ’00 Barolo. This wine from Piedmont is made exclusively from Nebbiolo grapes. It is very powerful and full-bodied with a complex set of aromas and flavours including strawberries, licorice, chocolates, roses and vanilla. Now, Santa, there is a downside to this best of Italian wines. In its youth it is very austere and tannic. In fact, one shouldn’t drink a bottle that has cellared fewer than 10 years. I’m thinking that if you brought me a bottle it would increase my life expectancy, because I couldn’t go until the Barolo was ready and I had tasted its richness. Anyway Santa, if you don’t get to Alba in Piedmont to pick me up a bottle, I would understand; especially if you brought me any of my other favourite wines. Merry Christmas Santa!
Bad news and Good News: The bad news is that none of you WineWhiners were winners in Jay Thomson’s 100 bottles of Wine on the Wall draw. The good news is that Jay raised $ 1400 for the Canadian Diabetes Society. In the past 6 years he has raised over $ 8,000. Thank you very much to those of you who bought tickets. Maybe next year some of those wines will come a little farther East.
What’s your favourite wine? When on occasion I am asked this question I have no ready answer. It depends on so many things, such as the food pairing, my mood, with whom I am sharing, etc. However, every once in a while I find that the wine I am drinking seems extra, extra good. So while I can’t tell you my favourite wine I can tell you what wines seemed very special over the past 12 months.
From my wine journal I noted that lots of bottles were opened in 2010 (how many is secret or my enemies might use that number as evidence to have me committed someplace). It turns out that 22% of the wines I drank were from Chile. France came in next with 15%, followed by Spain at 14%, Argentina at 12%, California at 11%, Australia at 9%, and Italy at 7%. The other 10% came from various places such as Austria, Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa and Washington State.
Here is the list of the 10 wines that got my top best ratings; prices varied from $ 15- $60 and there was no correlation between price and my liking:
# 10 ’04 Cabernet Sauvignon from the California vineyard of Francis Ford Coppolo
# 9 An Argentinian Brut Nature Cava from Dubois. This is about the driest sparkling wine I have ever tasted. Unfortunately, it no longer seems to be available.
# 8 ‘’04 Gilles Flatcher Syrah from St. Joseph, Northern Rhone. Extremely elegant this is the only French wine that made my list. However, there are not many really good French wines available in Nova Scotia, which may explain France’s poor showing on my list.
# 7 ’06 Tabali Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile. I bought this wine on sale for $ 15. and then discovered it was no longer available anywhere in N.S. or Ontario. I was so pleased with this wine that we added a visit to the winery on our trip to South American last spring. However, because of the earthquake our wine tour got cancelled so I may never get to drink this wine again.
# 6 ’00 Castell de Falset Grenache from Monstat in Spain. Wine Spectator gave this wine a rating of 93/100 and I would have placed it even higher.
# 5 ’06 Marques Casa Conca Merlot. Another inexpensive wine of great value.
# 4 ’06 Amicus Cabernet Sauvignon from California. An absolutely elegant wine.
# 3 ’04 Villard Equis (Chile) is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. In fact Villard also makes a great Pinot Noir.
# 2 ’06 Luigi Bosca Malbec from Argentina (thanks to David Case for finding this one for me).
# 1 ‘03 Alfa Crux (Argentina) blend of Tempranillo, Malbec and Merlot. Heaven in a glass.
White Wine Bargain: Here is a must try not only for white wine lovers, but for all wine lovers. Trapiche Broquel Chardonnay is a very special, yet affordable white that will go with almost anything. Only very lightly oaked it will challenge the best of the great wines of Chablis, at 1/3 the price.
Opimian Offering # 199: This offering has many great Spanish wines at various prices. Here are a few that I recommend.
5583 Altos Cuadrado Monastrell. I particularly like the Monastrell grape and this is a bargain at under $ 15. Has a slightly bitter taste.
5588 “For a few dollars more” to quote the spaghetti western this Ribero del Duero from Monte Castrillo is available.
5891 If you are willing to spend close to $ 30 you can get one of my favourite Ribero’s from Torremilanos.
5892 This Gran Colegiata Reserva is well worth the price. One of the best wines from Toro.
5897 Spain makes great bubbly so I recommend this Montblanc Cava
5908 This is a must. Very inexpensive, this crackling Vino Verde from Portugal makes fabulous summertime drinking. Light and fruity you should always have a bottle chilled and ready for afternoon sipping.
My final Whine for 2010: Most of you will be drinking white wine with your turkey tomorrow. I think the Chardonnay that I mentioned above would be a good choice. Chardonnay is a better match to roast turkey than the more citric Sauvignon Blanc. However, I am one of those people who prefer red wine with turkey so tomorrow my family (they defer to my choice whenever I provide the wine) will be a Pinot Noir from Austria. Beaujolais would be another good match to your turkey.
Thank you to all who have read (or at least quickly scanned) my Whines over the past year! I hope you all have a very festive holiday and that you find peace, love and health in 2011
