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
Le Ferme Du Mont Vendange Châteauneuf Du Pape 2010, Ac
Rhône, France$46.95
90-91
Alcohol and some volatility on the nose. Very nice complex wine. Fruit and earthy flavours with a long warm finish.
4.0 Stars
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Torbreck Roussanne/Marsanne/Viognier 2008, Barossa Valley
Australia$19.95
I admit I had higher hopes for this. The Viognier is just hinted at in this blend, I would never have guessed it even had any in it. Tight, minerally nose with hints of gooseberries and kiwifruit. Quite full bodied with flavours of tangy, sour green apple. It's a bit hard and flinty really, but would match well with seafood and rich cream sauces.
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Alvaro Castro Red 2008, Doc Dão
Dão, Portugal$17.95
Dark berry, olivey, vegetal nose, a trace of camphor-like volatility.
Medium-full body. Sweet and tart palate; Stewed blackberries, sour cranberries, warm spice, slightly minty. Nice concentration. Plenty of acidity and balanced tannins make this a very good food wine. Medium-length tart finish.
This is drinking just fine now but it will certainly hold for some years.
A fairly complex, if unique, wine that stands out from the usual flavour profiles.
Worth trying at this price especially if, like me, you prefer old-world styles to modern fruit bombs.
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Red Hill Estate Pinot Noir 2007, Mornington Peninsula
Australia$23.95
This is one of the better Pinot noirs I've had at this price range. In fact it's as good as many I've had at double the price. (I'm looking at you Clos Jordan)
Clear bright red, fresh nose of cranberry & mint. Medium-light body, sweet/tart raspberry on the palate, bright acidity, smooth tannin. Not especially concentrated but well balanced.
It'll keep for a couple of years but there's no point in cellaring this wine, it will only lose it's freshness. A fine drink that's good to go.
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Fog Dog Freestone Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007, Sonoma Coast
California, Usa$49.95
Love it!
Big nose, lots going on; very clean, pure scents of cherries and raspberries with some herbal, earthy notes. Medium weight. Really good concentration of fresh, sweet berries, a hint of mint and a touch of earthiness. Well integrated tannin. Outstanding overall balance. Good finish.
This will certainly hold for half a decade or more but honestly I think it's perfect right now while it's still fresh and vigorous. It ain't exactly cheap but you get what you pay for. If you're looking for a wine to drink with Christmas dinner, look no further. I'm certainly going to stock up.
4.0 Stars
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D'arenberg The Dead Arm Shiraz 2007, Mclaren Vale
South Australia, Australia$54.95
90 (now) - 92 (later)
Great nose on this; blackberries, herbal, a bit smokey. Classic Aussie Shiraz. Full bodied and well balanced, if a tad hot in spite of it's great concentration. Long finish. Still very young, needs several years at least, at which point I suspect I'd give it an extra point or two.
4.0 Stars
(0)V
Antinori Badia A Passignano Chianti Classico Riserva 2007
Tuscany, Italy$44.95
I actually liked this quite a lot even though it's more fruit forward and modern in style than I expected. Quite dark in the glass. Nice nose of fruit and earthy herbs with some oak, anise and maybe a touch of smokiness. The palate is full bodied with great fruit concentration and complexity. Sweet/tart berries, earthy/spicy/leathery flavours and plenty of dry ripe tannins underpinning everything. Long, dry and spicy finish.
Drinking well now with a bit of decanting but will certainly cellar well for at least a few years.
4.0 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.
4.0 Stars
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Château Du Cèdre Cahors 2009
Southwest, France$21.95
Excellent Cahors. Terrific nose of blackberry jam, some smoke, earthiness and mint.
The initial mouthfeel was lighter and more acidic than I'd expected but with air the wine opened up quite a bit with dark fruit flavours coming to the fore.
Medium-full body, very dark in the glass. Plenty of fruit here but this 90% Malbec is very different from new world styles. Great balance between sweet and savoury. Some tannin, good acidity, Excellent food wine.
Drinking well now but might improve over the short term.
4.0 Stars
(0)V
San Giorgio Ugolforte Brunello Di Montalcino 2006, Docg
Tuscany, Italy$47.95
92-93
Some bricking in the colour. Nose of cherries and peaches flambe'd with cognac. Flavours of cherries, strawberries, lots of fruit, lots of complexity. Long finish. This was a totally yummy wine and a reminder of why I have so much Brunello in my cellar.
4.0 Stars
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