Andrew Hunter
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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
Castaño La Casona Monastrell 2007, Yecla
Spain$8.99
For the price: heck yeah.
This is made from monastrell or mourvedre as it's more commonly know.
Dark, dry, tannic, herbal with subdued fruit. Old world style for sure.
Not a sipping wine as such but goes great with bold food...spaghetti and spicy meat sauce in my case.
Degraded fairly quickly once opened. Open and drink in one night...leftovers did not fair well the next day. Drinkable but a sourness and acidity came to the fore.
If you're looking for something different at a steal of a price this is it.
I may stick a few in the cellar for a couple years just to see how it evolves.
3.0 Stars
(0)
D'arenberg The Stump Jump Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvèdre 2008, Mclaren Vale, South Australia
Australia$14.95
Is Australia considered new world? No? Well their wine sure is.
Yet another "cleverly" named wine from D'arenberg, this Rhone blend is light, sweet, fruity and ... well, boring.
Raspberry, strawberry and a touch of candy apple. All a bit too modern for my palate. I missed the earthy, savory dimension found in it's Rhone counterparts.
Nothing offensive here, just a simple sipper aiming to please.
3.0 Stars
(0)V
Montgras Quatro 2007, Colchagua Valley
Chile$14.95
Perfectly Drinkable...but ultimately disappointing.
Yet another example of Jay Miller's overzealous scoring of over-extracted wines.
Dark, hot, unbalanced...weird.
I found it tasting a bit like a wine made in a factory from a bunch of left over barrels.
A few years in the cellar might tame this weirdo but why bother.
Fair for the price I suppose but not to my taste.
3.0 Stars
(0)V
Santa Carolina Reserva De Familia Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Maipo Valley
Chile$17.95
Herbal, spicy nose. Full bodied. Over-extracted, fruit-forward, sweet, trendy, new-world, mass-produced, crowd pleasing stuff.
Nothing wrong with it as such, and casual wine drinkers will like it. Some might love it.
Not my style.
3.0 Stars
(0)V
Familia Schroeder Saurus Patagonia Select Malbec 2006, Patagonia, Neuquén, San Patricio Del Chañar
Argentina$15.95
84-
Yeah, I dunno. This is a weird one. I suppose one could say there was an intense floral note here but I detected a strange volatility on the nose. I'd say it was closer to chemical air freshener. An odd mix on the palate too; There was the fatness of rounded, fruity malbec but it had a very sharp, hot and acidic top end with a scooped out mid-palate. I found this to be totally out of balance. Aging will not help.
The style may well be deliberate, but just it didn't work for me. It's drinkable in a home-made wine sort of way.
3.0 Stars
(0)V
Batasiolo Bosc D'la Rei Moscato D'asti 2008, Docg
Piedmont, Italy$16.95
At 5.5% it's basically wine-beer. Sweet, lychees, granny smith apples, will be a fun summer drink.
3.0 Stars
(0)V
Tyrrell's Rufus Stone Shiraz 2007, Heathcote, Victoria
Australia$22.95
94???
I can only assume that is a rating for the previous vintage and not this weirdo.
Big surprise that you've never heard of whoever gave this wine that rating.
This wine is a disjointed, under-ripe, acidic mess.
It tastes like homemade wine.
popped-and-poured:
An interesting oaky, slightly smoky berry nose with touches of spice, pine and tobacco.
Disappointingly medium, almost light bodied. Very little concentration of fruit that just can't compete with the raw cranberry, woody palate.
Long finish, like lemon juice.
Embarrassing release from Tyrrell's.
I'm taking back the rest
3.0 Stars
(0)V
Graffigna Centenario Shiraz Reserve 2007
Argentina$13.95
Solid shiraz for the price.
Bright fruity nose with some baking spice and smoke. The palate is a bit rough around the edges but good fruit flavours, decent tannic balance and a nice finish.
Ok on it's own, better with food.
3.0 Stars
(0)G
Torres Gran Coronas Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2005, Do Penedès
Spain$19.95
Plucked this out of the cellar a bit too late I think (March '12).
A decent Cabernet Sauvignon but the extra time in the cellar seemed to emphasize it's greeness. Rich, dark fruit nose with some oak and green pepper. Full bodied and perfectly drinkable but time has dulled the fruit a bit making this a slightly hard and unripe drink.
3.0 Stars
(0)V