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
Ca'marcanda Promis 2008, Igt Toscana
Tuscany, Italy$55.95
An excellent 'affordable' Gaja (everything is relative). Great nose (maybe a bit tight) and plenty of complex fruit and savoury flavours. blackberries, herbs, a bit of spice (a hint of mint?), medium tannin. I like that it is not hugely extracted. Not quite full bodied, great finish. in the end though I think I'd rather shell out the extra $20 for a bottle of Gaja's 'Sito Morsco' (or 2 half bottles!).
4.0 Stars
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Ruffino Greppone Mazzi Brunello Di Montalcino 2004, Docg
Tuscany, Italy$49.95
Nice Brunello, aging fast. It's only had 4-5 years bottle age and mine was already showing quite a bit of bricking. It's fast evolution may be due to it's good balance: still plenty of tannin, as expected, also some good concentrated fruit, plenty of wood and some complexity. It didn't knock my socks off but it's good BDM for the price.
4.0 Stars
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Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2006, VQA Okanagan Valley
British Columbia, Canada$44.95
Welcome to Bordeaux Columbia!
This is an old school blend but a new school wine. Quite open nose: Dark fruits, cedary-oak, vanilla, mocha, menthol. Good dark-red colour, full bodied. Well balanced, good concentration of fruit, not too much oak, fairly ripe, smooth tannin. Much more forward than an equivalent French blend. Drinking well now (give it a vigorous decanting) but will certainly improve over a few more years, probably peaking around 2013 but will likely last for some years beyond. Well done.
4.0 Stars
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Masi Costasera Amarone 2006, Veneto
Veneto, Italy$41.95
Solid Amarone at a great price.
Dark purple. Rich nose of raisins, stewed plums, anise, some floral notes and a hint of smoke. Alcohol is pretty high but very well contained in full bodied, ripe, dense, dark fruit and flavours of Christmas cake, vanilla/oak and a touch of espresso. Good acidity and very well balanced tannins. Long finish.
Delicious now but wiil certainly cellar for another decade.
4.0 Stars
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Le Petit Cheval 2005, Ac St Emilion, 2nd Wine Of Château Cheval Blanc
Bordeaux, France$156.75
Tasted right out of newly opened bottle. Closed nose. Very tight, tannic, a bit thin. Slightly vegetal mixed with a bit of sour cranberry. Became better with some aeration and in another 5 years this may open up and reveal something more interesting but right now it's very subtle and frankly pretty dull. Did not do much for me...I can think of MANY ways to better spend your $209.
Pretty sure about $150 of that price is for the word "Cheval" on the label.
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Corté Riva Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Napa/Sonoma Counties
California, Usa$39.95
Restrained, fruity nose initially...opens up with air which added oaky, leathery-reading-room notes. Full bodied, very new world in style; plenty of concentrated fruit right up front with sweet, ripe tannin backbone. Somewhat complex as it goes along. A pretty good wine but not really my style. Will please most palates, until they see the price.
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Millton Riverpoint Vineyard Chardonnay 2007, Gisborne, North Island, Bio Dynamically Grown Grapes, Estate Btld.
Gisborne, New Zealand$17.95
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Fortius Gran Reserva 1999, Do Navarra
Spain$23.95
Wow!
10 years old and lots of life left.
Mostly tempranillo with some cabernet sauvignon. Medium to full body, deep purple with just the slightest tinge of bricking showing on the rim. Smooth tannins, dark berries, slightly smoky, slightly herbal, perfect oakiness. 2 years oak aging, 3 years bottle age before release.
Drinking perfectly right now but has several years left in her, easily.
Fantastic.
This is easily the best price to quality ratio wine I've tried.
I've tasted lesser wines at 3x the cost of this.
And I only bought 2 bottles!!
^%$*^!!!!
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Star Lane Astral Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Santa Ynez Valley
California, Usa$49.95
This smelled hot. A glance at the label confirmed it: 15.1%! Pass the Advil. But for all the alcohol it also has a big nose of berries, vanilla/oak and fresh herbs. Full bodied, big and sweet with good tannins to balance. Long finish. It's a crowd pleaser for sure, but in the big wine arms race I fear that subtlety, nuance and character is going the way of the USSR.
Hard to tell how this will develop in the cellar. Too hot young = too hot old.
Big, hot, overpriced.
My $50 would be better spent on another bottle of Purple Angel or a good entry level Brunello or Bordeaux.
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Tenuta Di Ghizzano Veneroso 2007, Igt Toscana
Tuscany, Italy$29.95
91+
Great, fairly complex, old world nose: Cherry, anise, herbs, vanilla, wood. Not quite full-bodied but quite concentrated in flavour: Sour cherry, cranberry, licorice, herbs. Dry and woody but plenty of fruit to match. Plenty of fine, ripe tannin. Outstanding overall balance. This is very much in-line with my style of wine: Old world but fruity. Slightly rustic but not austere. I may grab a case.
4.0 Stars
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