TCLiquors Wine Blog

Tonights white is a Sancerre from Guy Saget. It is a sauvignon blanc based white with what I guess is prolly some pinot blanc, pinot grid, and pinot meunier. It definitely has a very champagny flaour. Has a mouth feel in between the clean acidic crispness more typical of the region and a mellow buttery mouthfeel more indicative of the chardonnay grape- which this blend is devoid of. Little bit of citrus in the front, little bit of oak in the finish. Truly a croud pleaser since has a something for everyone who lives life in moderation. For those seeking extremes in Oak, I recommend the beaver damn over by the humpo marsh along Rt 299 outside of new paltz at the base of the Shawangunk Ridge. For those seeking more citrus, I recommend a trip to Marlborough New Zealand.

Two Brothers Cab/Shiraz (50/50) from Colchagua Valley, Chile, is tonights favourite and is the right price at $9 a bottle. Nice drinkable dry frutiy wine.

Deloach Cab really hits with cassis in the nose and mouth and is likely to give you a black eye (if you put your eye where your mouth is). A pretty even keeled wine with mild pepper and a little bit of wood and smoke in the finish.

I’ll try to post info about last night’s wines as I am tasting these - I didnt have the computer handy to take notes so we are going to have to rely on my memory….

….let’s get started with tonights treats.

Starting with Jackson Trigg’s Suavignon Blanc - this 2003 Proprietor’s Reserve is from their Okanagan Vineyard, British Columbia, Canada. From their website :

In 1998, Jackson-Triggs leased a 410 acre site called the Osoyoos Lake Bench from the Osoyoos Indian Band. Located along striking mountain slopes that stretch above Osoyoos Lake, the vineyards enjoy plentiful sunlight thanks to its southwesterly exposure. The vineyards, planted on moderately sloping terraces, feature predominantly sand and gravel soils. High heat during the day is balanced by the night time cooling effect of the lake, providing optimum conditions for vine growth and grape ripening. Classified as the only desert found in Canada, the area’s unique climate and soils combine to create an ideal “terroir” for growing a wide selection of premium quality varietals.

Whatever they say is true. This wine has a clean astringent nose powerful in grapefruit and a little bit of uric acid. This yummy wine melts in the mouth; it hits big on the pallette and quickly dissolves from a mellow sweetness laced with citrus to a crisp melon apricot finish. A bit different from the New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs and French in that it definitely has a more flamboyant sweetness (heh). At $11 bux a bottle today, it is a treat for we Americans.

Moving right along, we dive into the Casa Lapostolle (see homepage for a link to their website). This is my kind of cab and the price ($10) is just right for a March 18th, 2006. This cab is aged for a year (plus or minus a few hours) in small French oak barrels and (wo)man, you can really taste the wood! Nice smoke and cassis in this one and full body too. I would call it voluptuous and it is actually more toasted than the toasted head.

The Toasted Head 2002 Cab from RH Phillips is a lush and leathery wine. This is actually a blend of Cab Merlot Malbec and Petit Verdot (teh website gives no info on the percentages of each). Nice smooth mellow tannins and a little sweetness from the oak aging; full of black fruits, with some chocolate and coffee notes - this is a great wine at $15.

Domaine Baron’s 2004 Sauvignon Blanc from Loire Valley France is an absolutely delightful wine with a nose of lemon and grass and full on peach, grapefruit and lemon in mouth. It’s 12.5% alcohol and you can really get a nice hit of sweetness via the rich mouthfeel but but it stills has a quick clean finish.

The Oracle, a 2004 straight Cab from Stellenbosch South Afrika, offers a cherry cordial nose and a delicious cassis, oak, and serious tobacco palette with a dense leathery mouthfeel finishing with a long mellow pepper chocolate. Defintely the bargain of the evening at 6 bucks a bottle (after our wine tasting discount).

The Chateau Grand Du Champs is a good inexpensive Bordeaux. A 2004 blend of 64% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc. Nice cherry and wood and some warm mellow tannins definitely good compliment to any rich meal and even suitable as dessert before dinner. Its only 13% but the alcohol but it really cuts through the nose and mouth.

Lastly, for tonight anyway, is the 2003 Cab from Estancia, Paso Robles California. This is one of the nicer California Cabs in its price category (Normally 15 a bottle). Real pepper in the nose and dense cassis on the tongue with a mellow pepper chocolate background. I’d say more about it but I am done talking for the evening. See ya next Friday at 4.

Francois Pinon puts out a lovely organic Chenin Blanc based white fromVouvray France- Loire Valley. This 2004 blend isa a mouthful of apple with some nice lemon citrus quality. With a small bit of residual sugar it is full of floral fruits and offers a warm buttery mouthfeel you might get from some of California’s Chardonnay’s, yet it is still acidic enought o have a crisp clean finish. So you got the touch of sweet candy, rich mouthfeel, crisp finish. In a sense, it is a bit of a schitzophrenic wine - and everyone is lovin it.

As one of our colleagues said, “Man, me and that Vouvray could become really close.”

Michael Sullberg’s 2003 is the queen of the evening for price quality ratio. One the full body side of medium body, great pepper and Cassis - pretty much your classic Cab, thoughI would say this is a little on the mellow side for what I expect form a full on Cab.

The Penfold’s Cab is more my style. A full on pepper tannicy cab. Hard hitting, staunch, and alcoholic. You either love this wine or its just too intense.

Lastly, and mostly, this warm, mellow, and rich 2004 cab from Columbia Valley, Wasington, is a big winner. ExLibres, a mouthful of cherry, bramble and warm-cool pepper with a smooth, dry, tobacco finish is a treasure for its price catgegory.

Starting off with Domaine Delaye’s St Veran (chardonnay from Burgundy, France), this wine gives off some nice citrus and floral essence and fills the mouth with pear and some crisp citrus overtones with a pleasing buttery smooth mouth feel - the oak coming out in the finish. Certainly not a classic chardonnay in the sense that it is perhpas a little more acidic and more into the citrus than the pear apple and oak. All the same, it is a lovely wine. Just ask me!

Next we move on to Los Vascos, a 100% Cab from Colchagua Valley, Chile. This 2004 vintage is a treat for its youthful age. Hits the olfactories with vanilla and cassis. While this wine can definitley use some more time in the bottle, as it breathes its offerning some cool violet flavours, and a most excellent balance of pepper and cassis with a chocolately tobacco finish. I say purchase a case and toss it in your basement.

This 2001 Prospero Cab from Madera California is a class of its own for the price (11, normally 12). Beautiful deep brownish burgundy in color, you really get the alcohol, chocolate and cherry in the nose. Totally fruit forward on the tongue- after it respires a bit - nice tanins, mellow pepper and a long woody bramble finish.

My guess? Drink the prospero now and stash a case ofthat los vascos for 2009 or a random party.

This March we are featuring the Cabernet Suavignon Grape and Cab Blends from around the world. Cabernet Suavignon, as you are well aware, is a genetic mix of the Cab Franc and the Sauvigon Blanc.

We started this month off with a fine Argentinian Cab. Bodega Budini is located in the Uco Valley of the Mendoza province. Budini is named after the rare and beautiful wild pampas cat of Argentina, Oncifelis colocolo budini. This 2003 vintage hits hard with pepper and blackberry and finishes clean with a mellow leathery mouthfeel and some subtle tobacco notes (musical pipe).

Hawks Crest (actually displaying what appears to be a falcon on the label), also a 2003 vintage, is actually a blend of - get this - 96.2 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2.7% Petit Verdot, and 1.1% merlot. The grapes are from vines in both Paso Robles (Central Coast) and Red hills Lake County. This blend hits the palette more in the cherry spectrum but still has a nice peppery bite to it. You can definitely feel the merlot and petit verdo in comparison to the Budini. A friendly patron correctly called the main distinction- rustic.