Andrew Hunter
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Following (8)
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Reviews (319)
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Andrew Hunter is a musician and composer. He abandoned his career in film and television to raise his kids, make music and drink wine.
My love of wine started with underage sips at the family dinner table. In college I fancied myself a sophisticate as I drank Chianti with pizza, back when Chianti still came in wicker 'fiasco' bottles. (I miss those, great candle holders.) I admit to still having a soft spot for Mateus. Cheap, sweet wine in a chubby bottle was just fine. Back then all I knew about wine was that there was red, white and pink (and girls really liked that white zinfandel!). It was years later, when I started to frequent some of Toronto's finer restaurants, that vinous epiphanies began to occur. Sips of wine that caused quiet pause and an exclamation of, "oh...wow."
I began to read everything I could about wine. I built a cellar and started collecting bottles. My taste evolved from sweet, easy-drinking, fruit-forward wines to the more old-world styles of France and Italy. I tend to prefer wines that are understated and complex over the super-extracted fruit-bombs which seem to be increasingly fashionable. I'll generally take Bordeaux over Napa and Tuscany over Australia. But there are always exceptions!
I'm a huge fan of sweet wines. I rarely meet an ice wine or Sauternes that I don't like. I also get along very well with Port.
Riesling is my favorite white, along with Viognier, Gerwurztraminer and Santorini Assyrtiko. Chardonnay is my least favorite. No matter how much I spend or how great the pedigree, I have yet to be blown away. Somewhere out there is a really delicious Chardonnay. I'm still looking for it.
My busy life leaves little time for blogging but at the very least I review every wine I taste.
There's nothing more subjective than art...Except perhaps wine. At our wine club I'm always pleased when someone prefers the $12 wine to the $50 wine (unfortunately it never seems to be me). For all it's pretentiousness and hype wine is a just a drink, either you like it or you don't. There is no right or wrong. It's all about discovering what you like!
In my wine reviews I try to describe the wine in a simple, unpretentious way. My aim is to help the reader decide if it's a wine they might like or want to avoid.
Of course, I'll tell you if I like it or not, but also, unlike many professional critics, I write with the clear assumption that what you like and what I like may very well be opposite. It doesn't matter. I'll tell you if a wine is sweet and fruit-forward and or dry, tannic and savory and let you decide.
http://torontowineguy.blogspot.com/
Reviews
Alvento Sondra 2006, VQA Niagara Peninsula
Ontario, Canada$16.95
Nice nose, you can clearly pick up the cran/raspberry of the Cab Franc.
A touch of bricking appearing on the rim.
On the palate: medium, almost light bodied, a bit thin for a Merlot really. Some nice clean fruit flavours, some wood and leafiness. Not a lot of ripeness or concentration but plenty of acidity. A bit out of balance I'd say.
Tasty enough but disappointing for $24.
3.5 Stars
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Château De Fontenelles Cuvée Notre Dame Corbières 2008, Ac
Languedoc, France$16.95
Nice nose: blueberry, herbs.
Full bodied, lots of flavour: Tangy earthy-fruity currant and blackberry, herbal/licorice, smoke. Tastes like a Rhone wine! Good balance, lot's going on.
I liked this, Great value.
3.5 Stars
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Chateau Des Charmes Equuleus 2007, VQA, St. David's Bench
Ontario, Canada$30.00
This vintage of Ch. Des Charmes' flagship wine tasted very much like the '05..pretty good consistancy if you ask me.
Niagara's answer to the left bank is a good drink. Nice balance of dark berries, oaky vanilla, spicy notes and good tannin. "07 was a great summer, and this is definitely ripe, but I was surprised to detect some green notes. Drinking well now with some decanting but will certainly benefit from at least few more cellar years.
3.5 Stars
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Dr. Hermann Erdener Treppchen Kabinett Riesling 2008, Pradikätswein
Mosel, Germany$16.95
Outstanding Riesling for the money. Apple cider, lime juice, honey. Almost has a slight botrytis/Sauternes dimension. A slight superfine spritz. Sweetish but dry. Long finish. Totally refreshing. I can't imagine anyone not liking this.
A glass or two of this and a dozen oysters on the half shell would be heaven.
3.5 Stars
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Clos De Los Siete 2008, Mendoza
Mendoza, Argentina$23.95
Interesting blend. Full bodied, quite complex on the palate. Big, but a bit contrived. That sounds pretentious but what I mean is that it tastes over-manipulated, like it's been designed to be "interesting". Nevertheless I liked it despite it tasting a bit manufactured. If there were cola tastings I'd still give Pepsi a 90. Most people at a dinner table will enjoy this..and of course that's the point here isn't it?
3.5 Stars
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Rolf Binder Hales Shiraz 2007, Barossa Valley, South Australia
Australia$19.95
Dark purple. A bold nose, but not one that's entirely appealing; rubber tire, stewed prunes, dark berries. Full bodied with plenty of dense flavour but I found it a bit hot and disjointed. Sort of weird. It's good, if unusual. Just not my style I guess. For the same price I'd go with a Mitolo, D'arenberg or Grant Burge.
3.5 Stars
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Château Larose Trintaudon 2006, Ac Haut Médoc
Bordeaux, France$26.95
Not bad, not great, but not bad.
Nice nose; earthy, herbal, fruity.
Tastes ok too: medium body, decent concentration of fruit, pretty good balance especially for a fairly young haut-medoc which are often quite austere. Certainly no fruit-bomb but a bit of a modern touch here.
i won't be rushing out to buy a case but it's a good all-round Bordeaux, if overpriced. At this level you really are paying an extra $5-$10 for the region name alone.
3.5 Stars
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Château Haut Vigneau 2006, Ac Pessac Léognan
Bordeaux, France$24.95
Yet another mediocre no-name Bordeaux.
A good, if typical, nose. Medium body. On the palate: Fruit is there but a bit thin, dark berries, a bit woody, some minerality, not too much tannin.
decent, but why bother...
$25 bucks should buy you more than average.
3.5 Stars
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Banfi Brunello Di Montalcino 2004, Docg
Tuscany, Italy$54.95
Nice maturing Brunello. Initial tight nose opened up with decanting to reveal blackberry and herbs. Dry and savory with black cherry, black currants, anise and plenty of tannin. A well balanced but rustic brunello with decent fruit concentration. Long, dry finish.
Very good with food but hardly a classic example and not really worth $60. Some life left in this but I'd say if you have any drink it up with some rich food. This was very nice with a mushroom, squash & blue cheese risotto.
(Feb. '12)
3.5 Stars
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Corte Majoli Amarone Della Valpolicella 2006, Doc
Veneto, Italy$33.95
This Amarone was a mess. Already starting to brick on the rim it's "evolving" fast. I don't know if i tasted an off bottle (I doubt it) but this had a really odd, volatile nose (cabbage stewed in nail polish?) and a palate to match. This was somehow both over-ripe and under-concentrated. Too much alcohol and not enough flavour to balance it.
Overall: just weird.
In it's defense, the bottle I tasted had been open for a day (though properly re-corked). Still, a respectable Amarone should still taste great the next day even if left open on the kitchen counter.
Drinkable, but why bother?
3.5 Stars
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