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
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
Le Clos Jordanne Le Grand Clos Pinot Noir 2007, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Twenty Mile Bench
Ontario, Canada$75.00
The emperor has no clothes.
insanely overpriced and overhyped.
Great marketing, but disappointing wine that does not live up to the hype.
no wonder they do not let people into the winery or do regular tastings.
a very good ontario pinot? yes.
but for 70 bucks you can find something MUCH more complex, and tasty in Burgundy or even California or Australia. Maybe even 2 bottles!
I guarantee this would not compete well in a blind tasting with comparably priced wines.
$70 should buy you more than an average rating of 91 that's for sure (89 for me).
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Antinori Tignanello 2005, Italy
Italy$102.95
Very tight and tannic. With long decanting this started to open up a bit to reveal dense and complex flavours. Blackberries, black cherries, black liquorice, oak, spice, herbs.
A great wine but this really needs time. Worth trying for sure and it's always nice to have some of these in the cellar, though in my opinion you're definitely paying a premium for the name.
$100 for a 92 score wine doesn't say "great value!" to me. Depending on your tastes you can easily get equal pleasure for about half the price.
Nevertheless, this is a tasty drink.
4.0 Stars
(0)A
Marqués De Cáceres Gran Reserva 2004, Doca Rioja
Rioja, Spain$29.95
Nice sweet nose. Flavours reminded me of cherries jubilee with a touch of mint, some leather. Dense mouthfeel. Still quite youthful. Delicious.
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Alta Vista Atemporal 2007
Mendoza, Argentina$19.95
well done.
dense but not too extracted, fruity but not too sweet..a well balanced, fairly complex blend.
A tad hot at 14,5% but not overwhelmingly so.
drinking very well now, but will hold for a few years.
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Tabali Reserva Especial Syrah 2008, Limari Valley
Chile$19.95
I think many people will like this more than I did. It's a very good wine, full bodied with dense fruit, well balanced smokey/sweet bbq bacon flavours, smooth sweet tannin and a spicy edge. I found it's very forward structure and high alcohol (14.5%!) just made it too soft and sweet for my taste. This will hold, but why bother? It's clearly made to drink now. It's a very good wine that will please most people. I just prefer a less sweet, more savory old-world Syrah style with more backbone.
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Domaine Des Chanssaud Châteauneuf Du Pape 2007, Ac
Rhône, France$36.95
Yeah, I dunno. To me this tasted like they were trying to make a great big C.D.P. for western palates and wine awards.
Sweet, ripe and juicy, very modern.
Parker says "fleshy"?
I say flabby.
But for the price I guess it's ok. Better than the Perrin & Fils C.D.P. which is around the same price.
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Gaja Sito Moresco (750 Ml) 2006, Doc Langhe
Piedmont, Italy$61.95
93
An outstanding Gaja. Sure you could spend $400 on a bottle of Sperss or another of his culty Barolos but this "Super-Piedmont" is a way to get a taste of his quality without having to pay rockstar prices.
Grab a half bottle for your next rib steak or hearty pasta and make sure to vigorously decant for at least an hour first!
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Château Saint Roch Chimères 2007, Ac Côtes Du Roussillon Villages
Languedoc, France$19.95
'07: 89+
'06: 86+
I only had a taste but I enjoyed the '07 MUCH more than the '06. No proper notes but it seemed more dense and complex. I'll write more when I open a bottle and give it a proper go.
I still have an '06 in the cellar...curious how/if that has evolved.
Original review for the '06:
This is a good wine but a '92' seems generous.
Very restrained nose, and tight on the palate, quite dry and very minerally. Bright acidity and fine tannins.
The other bottle will benefit from a couple more cellar years.
A nice drink but I didn't find it lived up to the hype.
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Château Branaire Ducru 2006, Ac St Julien
Bordeaux, France$60.45
89-90
Not ready for prime time...
This is a fine, if typical, St. Julian. Good nose of dark berries, pencil, some floral whiffs. Still fairly austere on the palate, lots of tannin. Everything open up with some air...Does this have enough flesh to balance out it's prominent backbone? Yeah, probably...hard to say right now, it's a bit shut down, check again in 3 years. Not exactly getting what you pay for here. Not yet anyway.
4.0 Stars
(0)V