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
Mezzomondo Sangiovese Merlot 2008, Apulia Daunia
Puglia, Italy$8.95
(2010 vintage)
Clear, bright red. High toned, fruity nose, some anise and herbal notes. Medium-light body. Sour cherry, cranberry and herbal flavours. Some tannin, decent acidity. Though a bit rustic and lacking concentration and complexity, this is an honest everyday Italian table wine. A good, inexpensive alternative to bottom shelf Chianti.
I've paid more for worse. I often have several bottle of Mezzomondo wines on hand to cook with (and, of course, sip as I stir).
If, like me, you like wine that's more savory than sweet, no one does 'cheap' wine better than Italy.
2.5 Stars
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Marqués De Valcarlos Crianza 2005, Do Navarra
Spain$13.95
Tempranillo/Cabernet Sauvignon really is one of my favorite blends.
This Navarra has a strong nose of oak, pepper, tobacco, some christmas spice and a hint of rubber.
On the palate, medium body, stewed prunes and blackberries. A bit smokey.
FInish is very woody (some might say over-oaked) and slightly astringent.
This is certainly an old school, masculine and rustic wine, but I quite liked it.
A few years might soften it a bit, but for me it's ruggedness is the whole point.
Great value.
2.5 Stars
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Wyndham Estate Bin 444 Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Southeastern Australia
Australia$14.95
(2009)
Smooth, easy drinking sipper. Sweet and sour on the palate with soft fruit, some mint and herbs, medium tannins. A tad high in alcohol.
2.5 Stars
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Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Pinot Noir 2008, VQA Niagara Peninsula
Ontario, Canada$30.00
Sweet nose reminded me of strawberries with creme and honey. Dry fruit and earthy flavours, some tannin. This seems to have evolved somewhat in the bottle. Good, not great. Enjoyable but not really worth the price.
2.5 Stars
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Two Oceans Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2010, Western Cape
South Africa$9.95
Plum and green pepper nose. Vegetal, sweet and sour taste. Drinkable, barely. Much better $10 wines out there.
2.5 Stars
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Folie À Deux Ménage À Trois Red 2009, Napa Valley
California, Usa$17.95
A sexy name for a thoroughly unsexy wine. In fact this is maybe the worst wine I've tried in a while.
Green on the nose, green in the mouth, I didn't much like this at all. Everything out of whack: smelled and tasted of green pepper and funky prune juice. Under-ripe and over-extracted is my guess. This odd blend sounds like it was designed to make use of leftovers.
An off-bottle? Maybe. Roll the dice and see for yourself.
2.5 Stars
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Couly Dutheil Clos De L'echo Chinon 2004, Ac
Loire, France$23.95
Vegetal, olivey nose, (reminds me of my winter stews) with some cooked raspberry. Dense and powerful on the palate: Sour cherries, olives, wood, leather (I've never actually eaten leather but I bet it tastes something like this). Nothing subtle here. The opposite of plush and ripe. Very savory and austere. Tons of tannin. This is clearly not a prime Chinon (I'm looking at you Couly Dutheil '05). I can't really recommend it, but I have to admit to liking this thoroughly masculine and rustic wine. Like an old man it smells odd, is imperfect, but is honest and has a unique character. Long finish.
2.5 Stars
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Chateau Bel Air 2009
Bordeaux, France$12.95
(2010 vintage)
You really can't go wrong at this price.
Classic, if simplified and rustic, Bordeaux flavours: blackberry, oak/vanilla, dry, earthy flavours. Medium body, plenty of tannin. A wednesday night Bordeaux.
Nothing particularly dense or complex here and but a decent all-round red.
2.5 Stars
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Trumpour's Mill Pinot Noir 2008, VQA Prince Edward County, Estate Btld.
Ontario, Canada$18.95
Quite French in style. Strawberries and cranberries on the nose with some vegetal (fresh dill) aromas. An earthy, leafy flavoured Pinot. Long finish. Not particularly ripe but a good old world style for the price.
Drink now.
2.5 Stars
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Gladiator Primitivo Di Manduria 2008, Doc
Puglia, Italy$16.95
A nice easy sipper. Tight nose. Soft, sweet but not too sweet, full bodied, lots of jam and pepper flavour, nice vanilla/oak. Restrained tannins. More forward and not nearly as rustic as many other primitivos. A nice BBQ alternative to Ravenswood and the like.
2.5 Stars
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