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
Château De Beaucastel Coudoulet De Beaucastel 2006, Ac Côtes Du Rhône
Rhône, France$29.95
Colour is evolving nicely to a maturing, just-beginning-to-brown red. The nose has a touch of heat with aromas of cherries, cranberry, wood and herbs. Medium body but tons of mouth watering flavours: Sour cherries, licorice & herbs (Jagermeister?) some alcoholic heat as predicted by the nose. Quite warming and heady. Very fine, sweet, soft, tannins. Medium-long finish. This is no Ch. de B. but a good drink and a nice old/new world style balance.
1.5 Stars
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La Velona Brunello Di Montalcino 2004
Tuscany, Italy$39.95
Really good Brunello from a great vintage.
Still young but already starting to brick around the edges. Great nose, herbal, dense dark fruit, earthy/woodsy, anise....so nice.
Medium-full bodied, good extraction, perfect density of fruit and tannin to match. Lot's going on and very well balanced. Long finish.
Surprisingly drinkable right now, but this really should spend at least 3 more years in the bottle (depending on your taste) and last many more after that.
1.5 Stars
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Château Beaumont 2005, Ac Haut Médoc
Bordeaux, France$25.00
91+
Bordeaux doesn't get better than this for $25.
I think this might be going through a slight dumb phase as the nose is a bit closed, but classic aromas are certainly present: All blackberry, cedar, oak/vanilla.
The bottle I opened had been in my cellar for about a year, lots of sediment had been thrown and it was evident in a mouth-feel that was much softer than I expected. Tannins are resolving perfectly. Medium (not quite full) bodied. Plenty of concentrated blackberry fruit and a great overall balance will see my remaining 9 bottles evolve for at least another 5 years.
1.0 Stars
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Hans Lang Riesling Spätlese 1992, Qmp Hattenheimer Hassel
Rheingau, Germany$18.95
no rating.
bought 2 bottles with high expectations.
both bottle's corks has disintegrated.
tasted both..one was clearly corked, the other less so. It was a very average tasing wine though.
-obscure, unknown producer. (try a web search!)
-the label says "17 years of age"..um..what??? what if i bought the bottle next year? really wierd, and highly dubious. i should have known better. what that means is the bottles have been laying around somewhere (clearly in less than ideal conditions) and only got labeled upon release. this is virtually unheard of.
0.5 Stars
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Roche De Bellene Volnay Les Pitures 1er Cru 2008, Ac
Burgundy, France$29.95
Very tight nose opened to black cherry and herbs. I tasted this blind with a bunch of other less pricey pinots and this did not stand out. It's clear that this is a well made wine but it's very tight now, almost dead. There's elegance i suppose and perhaps some complexity that may come out with time, but very little going on right now. I highly suspect that the label and pedigree have inflated the rating of this wine. The emperor is missing some clothes. It's a good wine, but you can get more for much less.
0.5 Stars
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Seigneurs D'aiguilhe 2006, Ac Côtes De Castillon
Bordeaux, France$19.95
Dark ruby red. Nice fresh nose of strawberries, vanilla and Greek oregano. Medium weight. Crisply acidic and fruity entry: tastes of cranberry & herbs. Very dry, some sweetness. Initially quite fruity with medium tannins but became a bit more austere the next day. Somewhat modern in style but still very French. I was told this is mostly Merlot but I clearly detect a good bit of Cabernet Franc in the mix which I suspect did not ripen as well as the Merlot and gave this a slightly unripened green and bitter edge.
Good overall. More of a food wine than a sipper. I doubt I'd buy more.
0.5 Stars
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Château Le Pey 2008, Cru Bourgeois, Ac Médoc
Bordeaux, France$17.95
88-89
Hey wadayaknow: A cheap Bordeaux that actually tastes pretty good!
Mid-weight, mid-concentration, but for the price hey, not bad at all!
Still a bit tight on the nose but a typical lefty palate-profile: blackberry, blackcurrant, herbs, a bit of wood. Plenty of tannin but in balance.
All in all a really good value and a great everyday Bordeaux.
Drinking very well now but will certainly mellow and integrate over the next few years. Personally I prefer drinking stuff like this on the young and virile side like the French do.
0.5 Stars
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Catena Alta Malbec Historic Rows 2007, Mendoza
Argentina$49.95
Big, fruity, smokey malbec. Lots of concentration, plenty of smooth, ripe tannin, not too hot, very good balance. Long finish. Nice now but will cellar for years.
0.5 Stars
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Château La Fleur Terrien 2008, Ac Lussac Saint émilion
Bordeaux, France$15.00
A great Bordeaux for beginners.
New school Right bank all the way: Plush and ripe, soft and highly drinkable. Fairly simple, and a bit thin on the mid-palate, but it has good fruit and everything in decent balance. A bit too forward for my taste but at $15 you can't go wrong. Great value.
0.5 Stars
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Finca Amalia Reserva 2005, Doca Rioja
Spain$15.95
Good, flavourful nose: Blackberry, oaky vanilla, christmas spice. Medium-full body, rustic tannin, smoky, stewed fruit. Decent balance but pretty average and unremarkable.
Expected better for a $20 reserva.
0.5 Stars
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