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
Oak Bay Pinot Noir 2008, VQA Okanagan Valley
British Columbia, Canada$18.95
Nose of balsamic vinegar and raisins, vegetal and earthy. Medium bodied. Flavourful, quite woody, with dark, stewed fruit and a dry earthiness. Long, dry finish.
Not really a very good pinot but not a bad wine. A rustic pinot. I actually didn't mind drinking this at all, though I tend to prefer oaky and earthy to fruity and sweet, as some cheaper pinots can be.
I often make a mushroom and shallot tapenade with a balsamic vinegar reduction. This would do quite well with that. But I can't say I'd recommend buying this.
2.5 Stars
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Obikwa Shiraz 2011, Western Cape
South Africa$9.45
Tight, musty nose.
Medium body. Flavourful but it tasted cheap, simple and commercial to me. Sweet, not much tannin. Sour cherry finish.
A drinkably cheap wine at a cheap price.
2.5 Stars
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Malivoire Guilty Men Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 2010, VQA Niagara Peninsula
Ontario, Canada$19.95
Meh. Typical Niagara red; under-ripe, green pepper smell. Under-ripe green pepper flavour. Clearly a bunch cab franc in here. Some fruit, some tannin. A decent food wine I'm sure. Very average at best.
Also I don't like wine with a "clever" label and a clear marketing demographic.
2.5 Stars
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Anne Boecklin Lieu Dit Altenbourg Old Vines Pinot Gris 2010, Ac Alsace
Alsace, France$19.95
89-90
Tight, minerally nose. Some lychee and petrol. Interesting complexity; Quite sweet almost like an auslese riesling crossed with gerwerztraminer.
An unusual pinot gris but I quite liked it.
2.5 Stars
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Dancing Bull Zinfandel 2011, California
California, Usa$13.95
Like many cheap cali zins this is thick and sweet. Plenty of fruit, in a mass-produced, commercial style. Alcohol evident, tannins low to moderate. Drinkable, but only if this sounds good to you. Not my thing.
2.5 Stars
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Château Ducla 2005, Ac Bordeaux Supérieur, Domaines Mau
Bordeaux, France$14.95
Not great, barely good. 4 stars? 89? Please. Larason's review is pretty accurate. It's not a bad wine at all, but a lack of any real fruit on the palate and a bitter, dusty deadness prevail even after beaucoup decanting. A lot of saw dust for a "low wood" wine. ("Generously textured"?). I'm tempted to grab another bottle though, cellar it for 3 years and see whats happens. Not much of a risk at this price. But I just don't think it has the fruit to do much. Ok for the price I guess, and it will certainly cut through a well marbled rib steak. There are better Bordeaux for under $20.
2.5 Stars
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Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Ivory Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, California
California, Usa$24.95
Quite good all-round Cabernet Sauvignon. New World but not too sweet and extracted. Good balance, some smooth tannin, easy drinking. I think a couple years in the cellar improved this a bit. Nothing particularly complex but a good wine that will please most. Having said that it's not really worth the price. You can do equally well, and better, for much less. I'd say you're paying a $10 premium for Francis' name on the label.
2.5 Stars
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Antinori Pèppoli Chianti Classico 2006, Docg (375ml)
Tuscany, Italy$12.95
90
A darn fine Chianti.
Not quite "full" bodied, but almost. Dense, dark (but fading fast) fruits, nice fine tannin. Savory, with a slightly sweet, fruity undertone.
If I'd tasted this blind i might mistake it for a young, lower-end Brunello.
Not much life left though I fear...the tannins are holding strong while the fruit lays underneath. If the fruit can survive a year or two in the cellar this could evolve spendidly. Not sure it has the stuffing...the tannins might be too strong and the fruit may already be fading. Drink now. But worth a shot at 1 or 2 years aging.
2.5 Stars
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Lindemans Bin 40 Merlot 2010
Australia$11.95
Tight nose. Medium-full body. Very soft (too soft for me really), a touch of spice, sweetish. Uncomplicated and super-easy-drinking. A very basic, but good, all purpose house wine. If you want a party wine that will please most and offend few, this is it.
2.5 Stars
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Spinelli Malbec 2007
Puglia, Italy$8.20
Not bad at all. This turned out to be a great fajita wine. Fruity, savory, rustic, not too sweet. Compare it to "Misterio" see which you like better. Can't wrong at this price.
2.5 Stars
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