Michael Stickings
|
Followers (5)
|
|
|
Following (0)
|
Reviews (246)
|
Reviews
Pegos Claros 2010, Doc Palmela
Portugal$15.95
Something quite different here, a Castelão from Palmela, south of Lisbon, something intriguing and delicious. There's just so much going on, with aromas and flavours of blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, cherry, leather, earth, and cinnamon, touches of spicy oak and smooth chocolate lingering in the back, so much concentrated fruit complemented by rich savoury elements. It admirably balances richness and tartness, and indeed it actually comes across like a blend of southern French GSM (without the pepper) and Burgundian Pinot. Closed at first, it opens up beautifully. Exceptional value.
3.5 Stars
(0)V
Graffigna Grand Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Pedernal Valley, San Juan Province
Argentina$17.95
Gorgeous Cab at a great price; rich and smooth with luscious aromas and flavours of cassis and violet accented by subtle spice and smoke; excellent fruit-tannin balance.
3.5 Stars
(0)V
Jackson Triggs Entourage Grand Reserve Brut 2011, Méthode Traditionnelle, VQA Niagara Peninsula
Ontario, Canada$24.95
What a super Ontario bubbly, showcasing such refinement, complexity, and sheer deliciousness that it could easily pass for a sparkling wine, even a high-powered French one, at two or three times the price. It nicely balances notes of lemon, fresh bread, pear, nuts, and a broad spectrum of apple (from tart green to sweeter Royal Gala) on a wave of zingy, refreshing acidity and with impressive body and length, a yeasty streak providing continuity throughout, held back only by aromatic austerity. A sophisticated pleasure, all in all, light and invigorating but also deep and satisfying.
3.5 Stars
(0)V
Nk'mip Cellars Winemaker's Series Merlot 2011, BC VQA Okanagan Valley
British Columbia, Canada$18.95
This B.C. Merlot comes across like a decent impersonation of right-bank Bordeaux, even as it's very much indicative of that single varietal. There are aromas of blueberry, plum, leather, earth, charcoal, tobacco, and pencil lead, with some rubber emerging later, and that fairly complex combination is certainly enticing. Spice enters on the palette, but by that point the sweetness has taken over, with the wine seeming a bit confected and artificial, and while it's medium-bodied, there's not much depth, the flavours dying mid-palette with the onset of dryness, the finish chalky.
3.5 Stars
(0)V
Casa Lapostolle Gran Seleccion Carmenere 2012, Rapel Valley
Chile$15.00
Unlike the '11, which included 6% Merlot and 5% Syrah, the '12 includes 7% Cab. But while the Cab certainly adds cassis and general depth to the mix, the result comes across very much like a Syrah-based blend from southern France given its meaty and spicy notes and overall somewhat rustic texture. That said, the characteristic Carmenère elements are present as well, notably green pepper, which is subdued but opens up with time and adds to the black pepper, blackberry, and other dark fruit. It's a bit tarry at first, then sweet, then chalky on the finish, but it's big and bold and flavourful.
3.5 Stars
Hecht & Bannier St Chinian 2011
Languedoc, France$20.75
Somewhat better than the Minervois, H&B's Saint-Chinian, a Syrah-Grenache-Mourvèdre blend, is another complex, complicated, and ultimately challenging wine. It opens with a stunning burst of dark fruit, notably blackberries and plums, deepening with leather, black pepper, licorice, vanilla, baking spice, herbs, and a driving current of minerality. But then it flattens out, revealing a core of austerity, the initial burst fading, and so while there's a lot going on, rooted deeply in its terroir, it proves to be a rather severe and unforgiving effort overall.
3.5 Stars
(0)V
Domaine Du Clos Gautier Cuvée Emile 2008, Ac Côtes De Provence
Provence, France$24.95
With its meaty-herbal profile, this Syrah-Grenache blend from Provence could easily pass for a wine from Languedoc, say, from La Clape. There isn't all that much fruit, unfortunately, and so the dominant notes are limited to smoked meat, local herbs, black pepper, pine resin, and leather, though there's a sour edge that emerges on the palette, and with time raspberry and blackberry make their presences known. It's not an altogether unappealing effort, and the savoury qualities make it quite food-friendly, but it lacks finesse and charm, and ultimately that meaty-herbal profile proves limited.
3.5 Stars
(0)V
Dandelion Vineyards Lionheart Of The Barossa Shiraz 2011, Barossa Valley
South Australia, Australia$19.95
I'm generally not a huge fan of Australian Shiraz, what with its overripe, overwrought, commercially-driven, in-your-face tendencies, but with its burst of black pepper spice, savoury meaty-earthy-herbal elements (plus a hint of salt on the finish), rich purple fruit, and touch of funkiness (bandaid), this one actually seems more like a Syrah-based blend from the southern Rhône, and that's very much to its credit. It's still big, bold, and obvious, the fruit (cassis, blackberry, blueberry) ripe, the wood pronounced, but it's admirably restrained and interesting overall, defying the stereotype.
3.5 Stars
(0)V
Château Hanteillan 2010, Ac Haut Médoc
Bordeaux, France$19.95
Vibrantly fruity while also elegantly restrained, this superb-value Bordeaux has a brilliant nose of raspberry right from the start, with complexity emerging in the form of sweet plum, sour currant, earth, pepper, candle wax, and graphite minerality, the fascinating interplay of sweet and sour shining throughout, the length outstanding. If there's a fault, it's that it's a bit hollow mid-palette, but this is resolved somewhat with time in the open, and indeed it opens up a great deal. Still young and raw, tannins firm, there's room to mature, but even now it's a genuine pleasure to experience.
3.5 Stars
(0)V
Domaine Chofflet Valdenaire Givry 2009, Ac
Burgundy, France$26.95
Sadly, something just seems wrong here. Hopefully it's the bottle, not the wine itself. You get a sense of the rich earthiness and cherry and cranberry fruit, with some black pepper and baking spice as well, but the dominant note is an awful band-aid funkiness that just makes this undrinkable, and it doesn't go away, with the colour a rusty brown-red. It may simply be a solid Pinot well past its prime, but after just six years one hardly expects such decay, and the reputation and reviews certainly suggest much better.
3.5 Stars
(0)V