Andrew Hunter
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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
Graham's Quinta Dos Malvedos Vintage Port 2001, Dop (375ml)
Douro, Portugal$25.95
Very dense, very thick port. Just beginning to mature, the bottle had a fair bit of loose sediment. Carefully decant. Concentrated flavours of raisin, stewed plum, prunes, christmas spice, warm alcohol. This will last for a long time. A very good port at a fair-ish price. Though personally, at $52 for 2 half bottles, I'd rather spend the extra $16 and get a Fladgate 20 year old tawny which is just about one of my favorite things to drink.
4.0 Stars
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Frescobaldi Tenuta Di Castiglioni 2007, Igt Toscana
Tuscany, Italy$21.95
Bought a case upon 1st release, finally opened one.
Dark, blood red wine.
Big nose: Stewed blackcurrants and herbs. Plenty of oak.
Full bodied. Mouth coating fruit, wood and tannin. Good acidity & a bit of heat. France meets Italy here for sure. Tastes like a well made, but modest, Left Bank blended with some decent Chianti.
Very long finish.
14% alc. is a tad too high. 13-13.5% would have been a better balance. As is this is a heady wine that demands some full-on food.
Decant now but will likely peak around 2012-15 & should easily last until 2020+.
http://torontowineguy.blogspot.com
4.0 Stars
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Château De Beaucastel Châteauneuf Du Pape 2006
Rhône, France$89.95
This is a gorgeous wine. Spendy yes..but one sip and you understand that character has a price. Big, bold, fruit, earth, smoke and leather...just...wow.
I want a case to hide in the back of the cellar and "forget" about it for a decade or 2.
fantastic.
4.0 Stars
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Château De Beaucastel Châteauneuf Du Pape 2008
Rhône, France$89.95
Big smoky, tarry, stewed prune nose. Full bodied. Lots of concentration. Surprisingly open and drinkable right now. (I wonder if these will shut down in soon like CdBs are prone?) Like '02 it was a rainy vintage, I guess this was manipulated to make the most of what they had. Powerful & boozy. Flavours of christmas cake, plum pudding, anise. Good, but a bit overblown for me. '07 is a hard vintage to follow (not to mention the strong '05 and yummy '06). Drink now or lay it down, see what happens. Either way my cellar won't stock this vintage. Wait for the '09s.
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Roederer Estate L'ermitage 2002, Anderson Valley, California
California, Usa$54.95
Bought this for New years '11, opened it for New Year Eve '12 instead. Full of flavour: buttery citrus (lime mostly), yeasty baked bread and a bit of astringent wood. Also had a slightly earthy funkiness to it. Though it has almost 50% pinot noir in the blend, it's chardonnay character seems to be at the fore. It's a vintage bottling but it also has some oak aged reserve wines added. Overall quite dense and deceptively powerful. Very good for the price.
4.0 Stars
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Château Calon Ségur 2006, Ac St Estèphe
Bordeaux, France$85.00
Proper notes not taken but this was a damn good classically styled Bordeaux.
I loved it.
4.0 Stars
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Alain Jaume & Fils Clos De Sixte 2005, Ac Lirac
Rhône, France$24.95
90-91
This has come along nicely. Dense nose of stewed prunes, herbs, tar, raisins, Christmas/baking spice and some volatile alcohol fumes.
Full bodied, lots of black fruit, quite herbal (almost a Jagermeister hint), a bit of smoke and plenty of hot, heady alcohol. At 15% this needed to be dense in order to achieve some balance.
This reminded me of a mid-priced Chateauneuf du Pape blended with an Amarone.
This will hold for years, but I don't see it improving much. It will mellow, but I like it's vigour. I have some '06s as well and the 09's are out now, curious how they will compare.
4.0 Stars
(0)V
La Croix St. Georges 2007, Ac Pomerol
Bordeaux, France$77.00
Surprisingly delicious (a word not used nearly enough by wine writers..which is odd since it's exactly what we want a wine to be). Very well made, very well balanced. Great nose of berries, spice, oaky vanilla, a touch of pencil shavings. Great flavour density, plenty of smooth ripe tannin. This will last for years but it is fairly open and complex right now. An overachiever for it it's class. If you want to know a good Pomerol tastes like, spend $77 and find out.
My kind of wine.
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Ravenswood Teldeschi Zinfandel 2007, Dry Creek Valley
California, Usa$44.95
(2004 vintage)
I can't yet speak of the '07 but I just cracked open a 2004 Teldeschi that I've had in the cellar for a few few years.
It turned out to be perhaps the best Zinfandel I've ever had.
I open a 2004 Ravenswood Barricia a couple of years ago and thought it was good, if not quite worth the price.
This was a much better wine. Great nose of dark, stewed berries, anise, pepper and mint.
Full bodied. Rich, complex palate: dark berries, baking spice, black pepper, and mint. Lots of sediment accumulated in the bottle but plenty of tannin left. Great finish. Terrific wine.
Sept/12
4.0 Stars
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4.0 Stars
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