Michael Loken

Trapiche Broquel Malbec 2012

A dark purple wine, the nose develops nicely with the bottle open for an hour and is full of baking spices, chocolate and oak. The palette is full of dark fruits with a reasonably long finish. This out performs other Malbecs at the price – and is a steal when it goes on sale.

Winzer Krems Sandgrube 13 Grüner Veltliner 2013

Having never tried a Gruner Veltliner before, this wine was a pleasant surprise. It is a lovely straw colour with a unique aroma of tart citrus combined with white pepper and herbaceous notes. The taste is full of crisp apples with a moderate level of acid and a good finish.

Castaño Solanera Viñas Viejas 2012, Do Yecla

This is what a friend of mine described as an "honest" fruit forward wine with a subtle earthiness. Overall, it was good value for the price.

Chateau St. Jean Fume Blanc 2012, Sonoma County

This is another one of those crowd pleasing wines. There is nothing too adventurous in the taste, and the wine has decent length on the finish.

Dunavár Pinot Blanc 2013

Grassy, fresh, tart with citrus notes. A wine that is far nicer than the price tag suggests. A steal at below $9. It was a shame that this was discontinued by the LCBO.

Errazuriz Aconcagua Costa Single Vineyard Syrah 2012, Aconcagua Costa

One of the nicer Chilean wines I've had. Strong tannins, dry on the tongue. Compared very well against other wines from Chile in a blind tasting.

Tasted blind at a Beefsteak & Burgundy club event, November 2014.

Antico Colle Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano 2010, Docg

A bit thin on the nose, the aromatic struggled against the other wines being tasted the longer it was open.

Tasted blind at a Beefsteak and Burgundy club event, Jan. 2015.

Cesari Mara Valpolicella Ripasso 2012, Veneto

Medium bodied with a reasonable finish. The wine had a slight pepper note, but lacked the strong undertones I would expect from a Ripasso. Maybe it wasn't open for long enough?

Tasted blind at a Beefsteak and Burgundy club event, Feb. 2015

Fazio Aegades Grillo 2012, Doc Erice

A crowd pleaser. Nothing dominating the flavour; a nice balanced wine.

Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Wairau Valley, Marlborough

A decent Marlborough white. The nose had a touch of petrol on top of the normal grassy, cut hay smells associated with this area.

Taste was reasonably well rounded, and was softer than expected. The wine was not as crisp and refreshing as competing wines.