Tony Aspler, the Wine Guy

Monday, May 11: Wrote my Quench commentary on Cotes du Rhone Villages and supplied the magazine with 30 wine reviews. In the evening my California friend Pooch came around for dinner. We drank Washington Hills Late Harvest Riesling 2013 with truffle-oiled popcorn and with the barbecued steaks, Alceño Premium 50 Barricas Syrah and Kenwood Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 with the cheeses. Deborah had made a chocolate cake in anticipation of my birthday tomorrow.

Tuesday, May 12: Went down to El Catrin restaurant in the Distillery District for a port tasting with David Guimaraens, who makes Fonseca and Taylor’s. 2015 is the 200th anniversary of Fonseca. After a cocktail of Fonseca Siroco Dry White Port on the rocks with orange peel we sat down to taste six vintage ports from what David called “classic vintages,” beginning with the oldest.

• Fonseca Vintage Port 1970: quite pale in colour, showing brick red, more like a red Burgundy. Spicy, raisiny nose of black cherries and blackcurrants; lovely mouth-feel, beautifully balanced with sweet fruit and caramel notes; plushy tannins. (93)
• Fonseca Vintage Port 1985: still holding its deep ruby colour; vanilla note on the nose; creamy on the palate, rich and sensuous with silky, sweet flavours of dark chocolate, cherry and blackcurrant; firmly structured. (95)
• Fonseca Vintage Port 1994: dense ruby colour; spicy, minerally, inky, coffee bean nose; intense sweet and unctuous blackcurrant and chocolate flavours with a herb-tinged note and a warm alcoholic finish. (94)
• Fonseca Vintage Port 2000: deep ruby colour; savoury, herbal nose – spicy, licorice, black cherry and sage on the nose; lighter in style but beautifully balanced; creamy, licorice flavour; elegant with ripe tannins and lively acidity. (94)
• Fonseca Vintage Port 2011: dense purple colour; spirit, floral, blackcurrant nose with a herbal note; spicy, sweet and fruity, mouth-filling but firm with good grip on the finish. (93–95)
• Fonseca Vintage Port 2012: dense purple colour; inky, spicy, vinous nose with pencil lead and floral and herbal grace notes; rich blackcurrant flavour, firm and tight with a lovely mouth-feel. (94)

After the tasting we sat down to lunch – guacamole and tacos, followed by a special birthday dessert.

Birthday dessert

Home to send off emails before going downtown again for my birthday dinner at The Chase. Jordan, the sommelier, treated us to a glass of champagne and recommended a bottle of Palacios Remondo Placet 2011 from Rioja to go with our oysters and grilled halibut. Then they presented us with a lovely dessert with candles. A fine birthday dinner.

Wednesday, May 13: A mad scramble to finish work before the car came to take Deborah and me to the airport for our flight to Frankfurt and then on to Oporto. We met most of the group who are travelling with us on my annual Pauwels wine tour – this year to Portugal and Spain. Steve Pauwels, who usually leads the group, had injured himself on the squash court and was on crutches with his right leg in a brace after an operation. Because he had to keep his leg straight he travelled business class while the rest of us were at the back of the bus. Watched an Australian movie, Son of A Gun, which I gave up on halfway through because of the sound quality coming through my ear-bud headphones.

Thursday, May 14: A a joke I asked the steward for a Bloody Mary. She said, “On Air Canada you should order a bloody Caesar”… I once ordered one in a bar in the States and the guy said, “You want a salad, y’all?”

Arrived early in Frankfurt and had a three-hour layover before our flight to Oporto, where several of our group are already at the Yeatman Hotel, where we will be staying for the next three nights. The hotel, high above Vila Nova de Gaia, has a spectacular view of the old town of Oporto, the Douro River and the Ponte Luis I, the iron bridge that Eiffel built. The rooms are named after port houses; ours is Real Campaniha Velha, the oldest Portuguese port house.

Our room at the Yeatman was named after their Douro’s oldest port company

We lunched in Taylor’s restaurant (a short walk down innumerable steps from the hotel), starting with a glass of Taylor’s White Port. Plates of olives, goat’s cheese marinated in oregano, garlic and olive oil, and pales of cold cuts and shrimps and scallops with bottles of Quinta do Vallado 2014 (a blend of Arinto, Codega, Gouveio, Rabitago and Vosinho).

Slept for an hour in the afternoon, mercifully, and toured the hotel’s spa and gym before meeting the group for a welcome drink in the bar – the customary port cocktail (white port on ice with tonic water). Then by bus to dinner at Cockburn’s Vinum restaurant.

Oporto from Graham’s terrace

Model of a barca velha

Anchovy appetizer

A white port cocktail on the terrace with an anchovy hors d’oeuvre before sitting down to dinner: white bean and tomato in a wrap of zucchini, spicy mixed-meat sausage with grilled red pepper, barbecued rib steak with boiled new potatoes served with Prats & Symington P+S Prazo de Roriz 2011, followed by apple tart tatin with vanilla ice cream, with Graham’s The Tawny.

Getting into their port

Friday, May 15: After breakfast, bussed to Graham’s for a tour of the lodge and a tasting of three tawnies – 30 Year Old, 40 Year Old and a single harvest 1982.

Graham’s old tawnies

Building across the street from The Factory House, Oporto

Then on to The Factory House for a tour and lunch hosted by Rupert Symington. Members (all British) have to contribute 12 dozen bottles of vintage port of a declared year.

Lunch menu: Cream of leek soup, with Altano 2014 (Malvasia , Rabitago, Vosinho, Muscatel); Toasted pork tenderloin on a bed of vegetables with rice, with Quinta do Ataide 2011; Crepe with orange mousseline, with Graham’s Treasurer’s Tawny (20 Year Old); and Serra and Stilton cheeses, with Graham’s 1983 Vintage Port.

Lunch at the Factory House

After lunch Stephen Pauwels and I walked around the shops and had a drink (a glass of Quinta do Noval Maria Manson 2013) at Majestic Café, the oldest in Oporto. Dinner at O Gaveto in Matoshinhos on the coast – a very unprepossessing looking restaurant but serving delicious fresh seafood and fish. Ordered Alselmo Mendes Alvarhino 2013 and Esporão Reserva 2013 with plates of shrimps and barnacles, clams, seafood rice followed by turbot, sea bass and grouper. Steve ordered a couple of bottles of Busaco Branco Reserva 2013.

Seafood at O Gaveto

Saturday, May 16: After breakfast a tour of Oporto, including the cathedral and the market. Bought ham and cheese sandwiches, custard tarts and a half bottle of Grao Vasco 2010 for a picnic on the balcony overlooking the river and Oporto’s Ribiera district.

Candies in Oporto market

Street buskers in Oporto

Next a visit to Burmester at the end of the Luis I bridge. Toured the cellar, guided by a young Portuguese named Pedro who was a doppelganger for my cousin Carl Aspler. We then walked along the quay to Calem (which is part of the Sogevinus group that includes Kopke, Veedha and Barros). A tasting of the following wines: White Port, Kopke Rudy Port, Burmester 10 Year Old Tawny, Kopke 20 Year Old Tawny, Kopke Colheta 1984 and Kopke Colheta 1975.

Dinner at the Yeatman Hotel’s Michelin one-star restaurant with João, one of the owners of Carm, a million-bottle winery in the Upper Douro near the Spanish border. But first, drinks on the terrace – Carm Rosé 2014. The menu:

Sunday, May 17: Packed and ready for our drive to the Douro Valley, but first we purchased 12 bottles of wine from the Yeatman’s excellent wine store for this afternoon’s boat trip.

Mateus Palace

The gang at Mateus Palace

After a stop at the Mateus Palace to see its gardens, we drove up to the Douro and had lunch at DOC, Estrada Nacional in Amarmar.

Lobster dish at DOC

Opening Quinta de La Rosa 2009 with port tongs at DOC

We boarded the “Torga” for a boat trip up the Douro, during which we consumer five bottles of João Portugal Ramos Alvarinho Vino Verde 2013 with Lay’s potato chips. Dined at the hotel (duck breast risotto with a bottle of Vale de Meão Meandro 2012).

Monday, May 18: Our first visit was to Quinta do Noval with its huge spreading cedar of Lebanon. The quinta celebrates its 300th anniversary this year. Ana toured us around the Nacional vineyard above the house, where we became acquainted with Bonito the mule who is leased out to the vineyards to plow between the vine rows.

Quinta do Noval

Ana in Noval’s Nacional vineyard

Bonito the mule at work in Noval’s Nacional vineyard

Then into the quinta to see the lagares, where they foot-tread the grapes, before a tasting of the following wines: Quinta do Noval Red 2011, Noval Black (a ruby port), Noval LBV 2009, Noval Vintage 2012, Noval 10 Year Old Tawny, Noval Colheita 2000.

Lunch: Serra cheese, bola (bread stuffed with meat), smoked pork and toasted almonds, with Cedro do Noval Branca 2014 and Cedro do Noval Tinto 2011.

Azulejo tiles on the walls of the station in Pinhão

Back to the hotel for a rest. Deborah and I walked to Pinhão train station to see the azulejos depicting winemaking scenes. Then bussed to Dirk Niepoort’s modern Quinta de Nápoles for a monumental tasting of wines produced by the Douro Boys (an association of five progressive quintas in the region.)

Wall art at Niepoort’s Quinta de Nápoles

Niepoort’s winemaker Carlos

Niepoort: The winemaker Carlos took us into the cellar for a tank and barrel tasting of Redoma Branca 2014 from stainless steel and oak, Bioma 2013, Batuta 2013. Then upstairs in the tasting room: Dialogo 2013 and 2014, Dialogo Tinto 2013, Vertente 2012, Batuta 2012, Charme 2013.

Quinta do Vale Meao: Meandro Branca 2013, Meandro Tinto 2012, Quinta do Vale Meao 2012.

We moved onto the balcony to sit down and resumed the tasting.

Quinta do Crasto: Crasto Superior Branca 2013, Crasto Tinto 2013, Crasto Superior 2013, Crasto Vinho Velhas Reserva 2012, Crasto Touriga Nacional 2012.

Quinta do Vallado: Muscatel Prima 2014, Vallado Tinto 2012, Vallado Touriga Nacional 2012, Vallado Tinto Reserva 2012.

Quinta do Vale Dona Maria Rufo 2012, Quinta do Vale Maria 2012.

Cristiano van Zeller

View from Niepoort’s terrace

In the dining room more wines were brought out for the dinner (roast goat, rice, potatoes and salad; crème caramel, cheeses): Quinta do Vale Dona Maria Rufo Branca 2013, Neipoort Coche 2013, Vallado Reserva Branca 2014, Crasto Branca 2013, Vallado Soasa 2012, Vale Dona Maria 2011, Crasto Touriga Nacional 2004.

Tuesday, May 19: On the road by 9 am, en route for Ribera del Duero. Just after the Spanish border we took a pit stop at a small garage with a shop that sold everything, including a range of airguns.

On sale at a pit stop near Trabazos, Spain

At Zamora we stopped at Fariña, a family-owned winery where we tasted Bodegas de Fariña Colegiata Malvasa 2014, Colegiata Tinta de Toro Rosé 2014, Fariña Vino & Arte Primero 2014 (a carbonic macerartion wine; each year the winery holds a competition to choose the best painting for the label), Colegiata Tinta de Toro 2014 and Gran Colegiata Barrica 2014. Nicola, the export manager, told us that Columbus took Toro wines on board his ships for his voyages of discovery.

Then we sat down to lunch: ham, olives, cheese and chorizo, followed by pork rib stew with potatoes. The wines: Fariña Crianza French Oak 2009, Fariña Reserva 2008 and Fariña Gran Colegiata Campus Old Vines 2008 (the latter two wines tasted like Côte Rôtie). A dessert of locally made cookies with Fariña Val de Reyes Muscatell & Abillo 2012 and Val de Reyes Late Harvest Tempranillo made in a solera.

Drove on to Sardón del Duero to check into Le Domaine of the Abadia Retuerta, followed by a tour of the 180-hectare vineyard and the expensively appointed winery for a tasting of Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial 2011 and Abadia Retuerta Pago Valdebellon Cabernet Sauvignon 2011.

Dined in Le Domaine’s Vinoteca on a variety of small, shared dishes – foie gras, chicken salad, ham croquettes and glasses of Menade Sauvignon Blanc 2014 and Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial 2010.

Le Domaine at Abadia Retuerta

Wednesday, May 20: Breakfast in the dining room. Everyone gets a copy of the International edition of the Herald Tribune with your name printed on the cover. Bussed to Vega Sicilia, a short distance away, for a tour of the winery with its Technical Director Javier. First a walk around the Japanese garden. Javier told us that the winery had planted 35,000 cork trees (which will produce cork in 40 years) in an area that used to grow corn, as well as oak trees (which will eventually produce oak for their cooperage). “The barrel is the best client Vega Sicilia has,” said Javier, referring to the evaporation that occurs over the wine’s time in the barrel.

We toured the ultra-modern facility and then sat down in the dining room of the “chateau” hung with paintings by Spanish artists the winery uses on the labels of their magnums and larger format bottles each year. With a lunch of Iberico ham, croquettes and Spanish omelette we tasted Vega Sicilia Pintia 2010 (Toro), Vega Sicilia Macan 2011 (Rioja), Vega Sicilia Valbuena 2010 and Vega Sicilia Unico 2007 (the latter out of a glass specially designed by Riedel for the Unico).

Tasting lineup at Vega Sicilia

While some of the group went on to visit the town of Peñafiel and its wine museum, Deborah and I took a nap, having slept poorly last night. At dinner the assistant winemaker from Pingus, Yulia Zhdanova, brought her wines for us to taste. Before we sat down we had a glass of Raventos i Blanc sparkling wine. Before the meal I tasted barrel samples of Flor de Pingus 2013 and Pingus 2013, followed by the same wines from the 2014 vintage. The Pingus 2014 is one of the best wines I’ve tasted in some time: deeply coloured purple that stains the glass, with a floral, cedar, blackcurrant and plum nose threaded with minerality. More concentrated than the 2013, muscular and full in the mouth. Elegant, cherry, chocolate and blackcurrant flavours tinged with a herbal note; beautifully poised with velvety tannins. In five years’ time this will be a glorious wine. (97)

Pingus’s assistant winemaker Yulia Zhdanova

The menu:

Pingus dinner wines

Thursday, May 21: Packed up this morning to hit the road at 9:30 am for the drive to Madrid. Checked into the Ritz Hotel and had a light lunch in the terrace garden – gazpacho and a crabmeat hamburger and a bottle of Azul y Garanza Rosa 2014 from Navarra. Then a quick visit to the Prado, a two-minute walk away. I think I know now where Chagall got the inspiration for his flying figures – from El Greco.

Prado poster

Royal palace in Madrid

In the afternoon we had a conducted a tapas tour with our exuberant guide Kelly, a Jewish girl from Minnesota. Our first stop for ham, Manchego cheese and potato salad and sweet vermouth on tap, El Anciano Rey de los Vinos (est. 1909), Calle de Bailén. Next stop, Taberna La Concha, Calle Cava Baja 7, a basement room with a frenetic owner who dashed up and down the stairs with the dishes: Homemade salmorejo sprinkled with egg and jamón; tosta of smoked cured beef from León; tosta of prawns in a shallot mayonnaise; roasted piquillo pepper stuffed with melted tetilla cheese, washed down with Pazo San Mauro Albarinho 2014. Final stop: Casa del Abuelo, Calle Nuñez de Arce 5: The famous garlic shrimp; grilled Iberian pork; grilled blood sausage from Burgos; flash-roasted Padrón peppers; grilled green asparagus; grilled garlic mushrooms with La Viña del Abuelo Verdejo 2014 (Rueda).

Tapas bar, Madrid

Madrid’s favourite sandwich

Friday, May 22: This morning a tour of the markets. Our group led by Luke, an Englishman. First stop, Chocolat for a thick hot chocolate with crispy fried donut-like fingers called porras, which are like churros but puffier.

Chocolate and porra

Next stop, Casa Gonzales for wine and four Spanish cheeses; then into the market for meet the olive man and sample six different olives: manzanilla, Campo Real, “grandma style,” Malaga, arbequina and black olive. Next stop, the ham man for serrano, acorn-fed Iberico, and aged Cecina. Finally Omaira, a tiny restaurant in the market that served us slow-cooked beef cheeks and a glass of Buro Peñaloso Ribera del Duero Crianza 2010.

Olives in Madrid market

In the afternoon while the ladies shopped I went looking for more Zurbaran paintings but the gallery to which I had been directed turned out to be a hole in the ground. Then another disappointment: Kelly had told me the best sherry bar in Madrid was Venencia on Calle Echegaray. When four of us went in search of it we found it shuttered. So we popped into a local bar for beers and a glass of Manzanilla.

Mireia Torres

At 8:45 pm we walked over to the Alabaster restaurant on Calle Montalban for dinner with Miriea Torres, who had taken the fast train from Barcelona, with Torres wines, to host the dinner. The staff had prepared a magnificent menu:

A magnificent meal with great wines!

Saturday, May 23: Up at 7:30 am to finish packing and have breakfast before the bus took us to Madrid airport for the trip home.

My website editor, James Harbeck, was also on the trip, and he took quite a few photos. See his albums on Flickr for more pictures of this tour:

• Porto
• Douro
• Toro and Duero
• Madrid

 

Saturday, May 2: Arrived back from London at 2:30 pm and Deborah picked me up at the airport. This evening is the annual fishing dinner, prepared by Steve Cohen (who cooks all our shore lunches on the fishing trips). Sadly I’ll miss this year’s week in the North West Territories. Managed to stay awake for a magnificent banquet with amazing accompanying wines:

Monday, May 3: Wrote my 680News reviews and worked on the silent auction for Thursday’s Grapes for Humanity fund-raiser at the St. James Cathedral event space, Snell Hall and the outside terrace.

Tuesday, May 4: Spent most of the day on final arrangements for Thursday’s event. In the evening dinner with Russell and Jason Woodman and Elise Faur of Hall Wine in St. Helena at The Chase. I had visited the house of the owner, Kathryn Hall, many years ago and that’s where I saw my first infinity pool, a magnificent setting overlooking the valley. Elise had brought with her the following selection of wines:

• Hall Sauvignon Blanc 2013: a lees-stirred, organic wine; rich and full-bodied with spicy, peach and citrus nose; sweet nectarine flavour. (91)
• Walt Chardonnay La Brisa 2013 (Walt is Kathryn Hall’s maiden name) (Sonoma County): deeply coloured with a spicy oak, minerally and tropical fruit nose; mouth-filling and rich on the palate with pineapple and peach flavours; well integrated oak. (90)
• Walt Pinot Noir La Brisa 2013: deep ruby colour with a spicy, Christmas cake nose; full-bodied, fleshy and sexy with sweet black raspberry and vanilla oak flavours; great balance and soft, tongue-caressing tannins. (92)
• Hall Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2011: deep ruby colour; cedar, blackcurrant and vanilla oak on the nose; full-bodied, sweet fruit, well- structured and elegant. (90)
• Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon 2011: dense purple colour; spicy, vanilla oak and blackcurrant nose; full-bodied, fleshy and full in the mouth with soft tannins. A joy to drink. (92)

Hall and Walt wines at The Chase

Wednesday, May 6: Recorded my 680News wine reviews and returned home for a tasting with wine importer Nicholas Pearce, who had brought along the following wines:

• Gilvesy Bohem 2013 (Lake Balaton – blend Riesling Italico, Riesling, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc; $19.95): pale straw colour; minerally, apple nose; medium-bodied, crisply dry with green apple and green plum flavours (88)
• Nicholas Pearce Prince Edward County Chardonnay Ashley’s Blend 2013 ($25): pale straw colour; apple and forest floor notes on the nose; very Burgundian in style, minerally apple and citrus flavours; well balanced and clean with good length. (90)
• Domaine de Bellene Saint-Roman Vieilles Vignes 2011 ($35): pale straw with a green tint; minerally, smoky, stony nose of citrus and green apple; medium-bodied, dry and crisp, well-balanced with lance with good length. (91)
• Leaning Post Chardonnay 2012 (Niagara Peninsula – $35): straw colour; minerally, apple with a forest floor note on the nose; mouth-filling, dry, citrus and caramel flavours with a touch of bitterness on the finish. (88)
• Leaning Post Rosé 2014 (70% Gamay, 30% Cabernet Franc – $19): pale pink with a blue tint; wild strawberry and redcurrant nose; dry, redcurrant, rhubarb and strawberry flavour. Fresh and lively on the palate with mouth-freshening acidity. (89)
• Stephane Aviron Beaujolais Villages 2013 ($19.95): ruby colour; peppery, cherry nose; light-bodied, fruity, dry, cherry and cherry pit flavours with a firm finish. (88)
• Maison Roche de Bellene Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles 2001 ($70): mature ruby colour; lifted raspberry and violets on the nose; dry, elegant, with a thread of minerality, lively acidity and soft tannins. Great structure and still youthful. (91)
• Domaine de Bellene Savigny Les Beaune Les Hauts Jarrons 2011 ($50): ruby colour; developing barnyard notes with mineral, raspberry notes; earthy, dry, red berry flavours; light on the palate with a firm finish. (89)
• Leaning Post Pinot Noir Lowrey Vineyard 2011 ($38): ruby with an orange tint; minerally, cherry nose with a floral note; medium-bodied, dry, firmly structured with an earthy mid-palate and a dry, tannic finish. (88)
• Clos del Rey Le Sabina 2013 (Cotes de Roussillon Villages, Grenache, Carignan, Syrah – $25): dense purple colour; struck flint, herbal, spicy, white pepper nose with vanilla oak; richly extracted and powerful blackberry and blueberry flavours; muscular and voluptuous, firmly structured. (92)

Spent the rest of the day writing up my report on the Canadian entries at the Decanter World Wine Awards. It will be published in their October edition along with all the results of the competition.

Thursday, May 7: At noon Marc Russell came by the condo in his trunk to pick up the wines for this evening’s “Italy Uncorked” fund-raiser for Grapes for Humanity – both for the pouring and the silent auction. We delivered them down to the La Salle Room of St. James Cathedral where the event started at 6:30 pm. Some 240 people in all. One of the live auction items was dinner with Chef Massimo Capra (Grapes for Humanity’s food and wine ambassador) for ten people with some great wines, including a 3 litre bottle of Ornellaia 2009. It sold twice for $10,000 a piece! The evening was a great success.

Friday, May 8: Did the wrap up on last night’s event and prepared for the Ontario Wine Awards gala dinner at Queens Landing in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Tony opening the 2015 Ontario Wine Awards gala

Chef John Higgins was the MC. John had cooked for the Queen at Buckingham Palace and told a hilarious story of the dinner for the Royal corgis was sent back to the kitchen because the meat wasn’t hand-chopped; John had put it through a meat grinder to save time. Emma Garner won the Wine Maker of the Year Award, Evan Saviolidis the journalism Award. Other major awards:

• Appassimento Red Award –
  Pillitteri Estates 2010 Riserva Famiglia Cabernet Franc
• Blended Red Award –
  The Foreign Affair 2012 Petit Verdot
• Best Label Design Award –
  Sue-Ann Staff Estate 2013 Fancy Farm Girl Foxy Pink

Gold medal winners:

• Sparkling Wine –
  Huff Estates 2010 Cuvee Peter F Huff
• Dry Riesling –
  Thirty Bench Wine Makers 2013 Riesling
• Semi-Dry Riesling –
  Flat Rock Cellars 2014 Riesling
• Dry White Varietal –
  Inniskillin 2013 Reserve Viognier
• Gewurztraminer –
  Trius 2013 Showcase Outlier Gewurztraminer
• Pinot Blanc/Pinot Gris –
  Konzelmann Estate 2013 Pinot Blanc
• Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon –
  Peller Estates 2013 Andrew Peller Signature Sauvignon Blanc
• Oaked Chardonnay (under $20) –
  Flat Rock Cellars 2012 Chardonnay
• Oaked Chardonnay (over $20) –
  16 Mile Cellar 2011 Civility Chardonnay
• Unoaked Chardonnay –
  Konzelmann Estate 2013 Unoaked Chardonnay
• Rosé/Blanc de Noir –
  Henry of Pelham Family Estate 2014 Rosé
• Gamay –
  Vieni Estates 2012 Gamay Noir
• Pinot Noir –
  Huff Estates 2013 Pinot Noir
• Red Hybrid –
  Pelee Island 2013 Baco Noir Reserve
• Cabernet Sauvignon –
  Trius 2012 Showcase East Block Cabernet Sauvignon
• Cabernet Franc –
  Thirty Bench Wine Makers 2012 Small Lot Cabernet Franc
• Merlot –
  Kacaba Vineyards 2010 Reserve Merlot
• Syrah/Shiraz –
  Jackson-Triggs 2012 Delaine Syrah
• Meritage and Cabernet/Merlot Blends –
  Thirty Bench Wine Makers 2012 Benchmark Red
• Late Harvest –
  Peller Estates 2013 Private Reserve Late Harvest Vidal
• Vidal Icewine –
  Chateau des Charmes 2012 Vidal Icewine Estate Bottled
  Sue-Ann Staff Estate 2012 Vidal Icewine
• Vinifera Icewine –
  Inniskillin 2012 Riesling Icewine
• Appassimento Red Award –
  Pillitteri Estates 2010 Riserva Famiglia Cabernet Franc

Saturday, April 25: Deborah dropped me at the airport for an 8:40 pm Air Canada flight to London. On Monday I begin four days of judging Canadian wines at the Decanter World Wine Awards. On the flight I watched Wild with Reese Witherspoon. Got a couple of hours’ sleep after a dinner of vegetarian shepherd’s pie (which sounds like an oxymoron but it was the better option than choosing AC chicken).

Sunday, April 26: Arrived in London at 8:30 am, topped up my oyster card with £50 and took the tube to Kentish Town. I’m staying with my old friend Rabbi David Goldberg and his wife, Carole, whom I have known for 45 years. David officiated at both my first marriage and my second wedding. On the journey in I read José Samarago’s Cain (great book).

Monday, April 27: The first day of judging the Decanter World Wine Awards. I have been the chair of the Canadian panel for the last ten years. This is the second year that the competition has been held at Tobacco Dock in Wapping. Great to meet up again with colleagues from all over the world. This year there are over 16,000 entries and 240 judges. My judging panel members are Barbara Philip MW, Rhys Pender MW, both from BC, Lynda Rhys, a Master Sommelier from London, and myself.

Today we had four flights before lunch and four after, beginning with 11 sparkling wines and followed by 11 Okanagan Chardonnays, 13 Pinot Noirs and 13 sweet red wines. The highlight of lunch is the magnificent cheese board with a huge selection of French and English cheeses (the judges consume 25 kilos a day, apparently!).

Our daily cheese

In the afternoon, 13 Merlots, 11 Chardonnays, 8 Okanagan Bordeaux blends and finishing with 7 sweet red wines. We awarded two gold medals – one for the very first wine we tasted this morning and one in the last flight of the day.

After the judging we all repair to a pub on the river, called The Captain Kidd, for a cleansing pint of beer. The weather was good enough to sit out on the patio overlooking the river. For dinner I walked over to the Lahore Kebab House on Commercial Street, where members of the Circle of Wine Writers had gathered, each bringing a bottle of wine. I had brought over with me a bottle of Chateau des Charmes Old Vines Riesling 2012.

Tuesday, April 28: The second day of judging. Our panel had a new member, Sarah Knowles, a London-based buyer for The Wine Society, a co-operative wine-buying group, who is studying for her Masters of Wine. In the morning we judged 12 Super Premium Pinot Noir, 11 BC Merlots, 9 aromatic single varieties and 9 Cabernet Franc icewines. In the afternoon, 13 single red varietals, 13 Rieslings, 8 Shiraz/Syrah and 12 Riesling icewines. Four gold medals today, one Pinot Noir and three icewine.

Canadian panel: Sarah Knowles, Rhys Pender, Barb Philip (seated) and me

After the pub, took the tube to Maida Vale to have dinner at Stephen Brook’s with Ian D’Agata and the ex-wife of James Suckling. The wines that Stephen served: 2013 Jaunegg Weissburgunder Schlossberg, 1999 Clusel-Roch Cote Rotie, 2009 Craggy Range Sophia and Mas Amiel 30-year Maury. A riotous evening.

Wednesday, April 29: Third day of judging. In the morning our Canadian panel blind tasted 10 Super Premium Bordeaux blends, 10 Chardonnay (2 of which were corked), 14 red blends (one corked), and 10 sweet whites. One gold medal in the morning. After lunch, 13 Cabernet Franc, 9 Pinot Grigio/Pinot Gris, 9 Niagara Bordeaux blends and 12 Vidal icewines. During the day, Christelle Guibert, the tasting director for Decanter, came to tell us that there had been a mistake and we had been given the same icewine twice the previous day – and we’d given a gold medal to both samples! So we patted ourselves on the back. After the pub I returned to Kentish Town for dinner with David and Carole and their son Rupert.

Thursday, April 30: My last day of judging. The morning began with 11 Sauvignon Blanc (one gold medal) followed by 7 white varietals and 4 rosés, 7 BC Bordeaux varietals, 11 BC and Niagara single Bordeaux varietals. After lunch, a final flight of 11 Okanagan Syrahs before we re-judged the gold medal wines to see if they merited their gold and which would go forward for a Regional Trophy.

After the ritual trip to Captain Kidd, back to Kentish town to take David and Carole to dinner. They had chosen a restaurant called La Collina on Princess Road, near Primrose Hill. I ordered grilled calamari and spaghetti vongole with a bottle of Cantine del Vermentino Funtanaliras 2014 from Sardinia and finished the evening off with a grappa.

Friday, May 1: A free day in London. Took the bus to Gower Street and walked around before having some fish and chips at Gigs on Tottenham Street, then back to Kentish Town to write up my blog before trekking out to Sydenham Hill to have dinner with my old friend Jim Budd (the leading authority on wines of the Loire who has the most extraordinary collection of Hawaiian shirts as well as the most luxuriant moustache I have ever seen).

Jim Budd

The view from his apartment, overlooking all of London with the Horniman Museum below, is spectacular. We started with Chapel Down Pinot Reserve 2008 Sparkling Wine. With ceviche of salmon, scallops and tune, Pierre Luneau-Papin “L” Muscadet Sèvre & Maine 1995 (amazingly alive and fresh), followed by roast chicken and pork sausages, boiled potatoes and green beans, with Château de Beaucastel 1980. With a selection of cheeses, Huet Le Mont Vouvray Demi-Sec 1999.

Saturday, May 2: Up early to pack and get to Heathrow for my flight to the airport. While I was waiting for my flight, the BBC News announced the arrival of the Royal baby.

 

An amazingly youthful Riesling, vintage 1994

Monday, April 20: Went down to St. James Cathedral’s event space for a tasting of a group of Ontario wineries who have come together under the umbrella of “Somewhereness.” Meaning wineries who are interested in producing terroir-driven wines. Very impressive quality overall, especially among the Chardonnays, Rieslings and Pinot Noir. Wines that I scored 90 or over were:

• Norman Hardie Niagara Pinot Noir 2011
• Stratus  Tollgate Wine 2011
• Stratus Red 2010
• Bachelder Saunders Chardonnay 2012
• Bachelder Wismer Chardonnay 2012
• Bachelder Pinot Noir Parfum 2013
• Hidden bench Estate Riesling 2013
• Southbrook Triomphe Chardonnay 2013
• Southbrook Whimsy Minerality Chardonnay 2012
• Charles Baker Ivan Vineyard Riesling 2014
• Charles Baker Picone vineyard Riesling 2012
• Flat Rock Nadja’s Vineyard Riesling 2014
• Flat Rock Chardonnay 2012
• Flat Rock Rusty Shed Chardonnay 2012
• Cave Spring Riesling Estate Dry 2010
• Cave Spring CSV Riesling 2013
• Cave Spring The Adam Step Riesling 2013

Tuesday, April 21: Emma Garner, the winemaker at Thirty Bench, came to the condo for a tasting of 2013 whites and 2012 reds.

• Thirty Bench Winemakers’ Riesling 2013 (Vintages Essential – $18.95): pale straw colour; minerally, honey, lime nose; medium-bodied, fresh and lively on the palate with a tart grapefruit flavour. (88)
• Thirty Bench Riesling Steel Post Vineyard 2013 ($30): pale straw with a lime tint; light floral and white pepper note above aromas of grapefruit with a thread of minerality; brisk and assertive on the palate with a long citrus finish. Needs time (90–92)
• Thirty Bench Riesling Triangle Vineyard 2013 ($30): pale straw with a lime tint; floral, minerally, honeyed nose of citrus fruits; beautifully balanced, great tension between fruit and acidity; fresh and clean and long on the palate. (91)
• Thirty Bench Wild Cask Riesling 2013 ($30): a deeper straw than the Triangle or Steel Post and richer on the nose; minerally, honey and grapefruit notes; soft on the palate with honeyed sweetness until the lime-like acidity kicks in. Again, great length. (91)
• Thirty Bench Small Lot Pinot Noir 2012 ($35): spicy, black cherry with an animal, smoky note on the nose; medium-bodied, dry, savoury, cherry and cherry pit flavours with nicely balanced with firm finish. (89)
• Thirty Bench Small Lot Merlot 2012 ($40): deep purple-ruby colour; cedar, blueberry nose with vanilla oak; lovely ripe fruit, St. Emilion style, well balanced with ripe, forgiving tannins. (90)
• Thirty Bench Small Lot Cabernet Franc 2012 ($40): deep ruby-purple colour; cedar, blackcurrant nose with a tobacco note; sweet black fruit flavours with a creamy mouth feel; firm tannic finish. (91)
• Thirty Bench Small Lot Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 ($40): deep purple-ruby colour; cedar, blackcurrant with a tobacco leaf nose topped by spicy oak; medium-bodied, dry, well-structured with a floral lift in mid-palate and cushioning tannins on the finish. (91)
• Thirty Bench Benchmark Red 2102 (51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc and the rest Merlot – $60): deep purple-ruby colour; cedar, blackcurrant, cigar-box nose overlaid with oak spice; medium-bodied, dry, lovely mouth-feel, firm but succulent fruit carried on lively acidity, seamless in the mouth. (92)

In the evening down to the Hilton Hotel (formerly the Metropolitan Hotel) for the Cambridge Food and Wine Society’s annual awards event. Miguel Torres was being honoured as were Barry Chaim, the power of Edo, and Chef John Higgins. Miguel conducted a seminar tasting for the wine press in Lai Wah Heen, the hotel’s Chinese restaurant, before the dinner (a fund-raiser for the Trillium Chefs Canada). We tasted Miguel Torres Cordillera Brut Pinot Noir, Viña Esmeralda 2014, Gran Coronas Reserva 2010, Mas La Plana 2010 and Torres 5 Brandy. The same wines were served with the dinner.

Wednesday, April 22: Wrote an article for Grapevine magazine about tasting. In the evening Deborah and I were invited to the Primum Familiae Vini tasting at the ROM. A walk-around event with booths for each of the eleven members – Pol Roger, Hugel, Drouhin, Egon Müller, Torres, Tenuta San Guido, Famille Perrin, Antinori, Mouton-Rothschild, Vega Sicilia and the Symington Family. Originally there were 12 members but when Robert Mondavi was sold they had to drop out, as did Jaboulet (Perrin took their place). A very relaxed evening of tasting. After the tasting Deborah and I walked over to Opus for a glass of wine.

Miguel Torres, Deborah and Tony at the Primum Familiae Vini tasting

Thursday, April 23: Today I experienced one of the best lunches I have had in Toronto. The PFV held a lunch for the wine press at the Four Seasons Hotel. I was seated between Allegra Antinori and Laurent Drouhin, opposite Miguel Torres. In his introduction to the port that ended the meal, Rupert Symington summed up the ethos of the PFV, calling the association of European family wineries “the last line of defence against the globalization pf wine.”

Allegra Antinori

The menu and the accompanying wines, introduced by each member of the PFV, were stunning.

The PFV lunch lineup

All the wines showed beautifully, an unalloyed pleasure to taste them all.

Miguel Torres

On the way home I dropped into Indigo and bought a copy of Cain by José Saramago, which Miguel Torres had recommended. For dinner, spaghetti and prawns with Southbrook Triomphe Cabernet Franc Rosé 2014 (dry and fresh with orange, rhubarb and strawberry flavours, perfect with the dish (88)).

Friday, April 24: A tasting of 80 rosés with the Wine Writers’ Circle members. In the afternoon, worked on the Grapes for Humanity auction and began packing for tomorrow’s flight to London for the Decanter World Wine Awards judging.

Tasting 80 rosés

 

Monday, April 13: A seminar this morning in the Ontario Room of the Royal York Hotel as a prelude to the annual California Wine Fair. Winemakers John Priest from Etude, Margo van Staaveran for Chateau St. Jean, Christophe Paubert from Stag’s Leap Winery and Laurie Hook from Beringer made up the panel and we tasted two wines from each of their wineries.

• Chateau St. Jean Robert Young Chardonnay 2012 (Alexander Valley): straw colour; spicy, smoky, charred oak nose with vanilla notes; full-bodied, sweet fruit – caramel, pear, apple and lemon flavours with good length. (90)
• Chateau St. Jean Reserve Chardonnay 2012 (Sonoma): straw colour; more Burgundian in style – minerally, apple nose; full-bodied, creamy with a fine spine of acidity; tangerine and apple flavours with well balanced oak. (91)
• Etude Heirloom Pinot Noir Grace Benoist Ranch 2012 (Carneros Estate): deep ruby colour; spicy, black cherry with an earthy note on the nose; medium-bodied, elegant, lovely mouth-feel; dry, cherry and raspberry flavours, well-structured with ripe tannins. (91)
• Etude Pinot Noir Grace Benoist Ranch 2012 (Carneros Estate): black cherry nose with an earthy note; more weight on the palate than the Heirloom, firmly structured. (89)
• Stags’ Leap Winery The Leap Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (Stags’ Leap District): dense ruby-purple colour; lovely floral nose of cedar, blackcurrant and vanilla oak; fresh flavours of black and redcurrants, firmly structured and surprisingly delicate; juicy with lively acidity. Needs time. (89–91)
• Stags’ Leap Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (Napa Valley): dense purple-ruby colour; mocha and spicy black fruits on the nose; creamy mouth feel but firmly structured, juicy red berry flavours with a tannic lift on the finish. (89)
• Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon Bancroft Ranch Vineyard Howell Mountain 2010 (Napa): dense purple-ruby colour; a nose of blackcurrant, dried leaves and dark chocolate; rich and full in the mouth, finely structured, lively acidity with a mineral note on the finish. (90)
• Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (Napa): dense purple-black in colour; blackcurrant with a floral note on the nose; richly extracted, full-bodied, finely structured, earthy, black fruit flavours ending on a savoury note. (91)

After the seminar there was the customary sparkling wine tasting while lunch guests mingled before going into the dining room. I was seated at the Far Niente and Diamond Ridge table. The menu:

The wines I tasted:

• Far Niente Chardonnay 2013: spicy, elegant, pear flavour; full-bodied, great oak integration and long length. (91)
• Far Niente En Route Pinot Noir 2013: deep ruby colour; spicy, black cherry and rose petal nose; ripe fruit, full on the palate, spicy with a soft mouth-feel; great balance. (90)
• Far Niente Tench Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2012: dense ruby colour; creamy blackcurrant nose; soft, creamy blackcurrant flavour. Full in the mouth with ripe tannins and lively acidity. (91)
• Diamond Ridge Chardonnay 2012: straw color; spicy, vanilla oak nose; full-bodied, sweetish pear flavour with a soft mouth-feel. (89)
• Nickel and Nickel C.C. Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon 2012: deep ruby colour; blackcurrant, vanilla oak, nose; dry, elegant, well balanced with tasty blackcurrant fruit ending with grainy tannins. (91)
• Diamond Ridge Meritage 2012: deep ruby colour; cedar, blackcurrant with spicy vanilla oak; dry, well-extracted fruit, beautifully balanced. (92)
• EnRoute Les Brumeaux Chardonnay 2012: spicy peach, pear and vanilla oak nose, flavours that are replicated on the palate; full-bodied and richly extracted fruit. (89)

I had to leave after lunch (missing the opportunity to taste 450 Californian wines) as I attended the memorial service for Michael Carlevale at the Church of the Redeemer, across from the restaurant he once owned, Prego. Very moving tributes from his long-time partner Catherine Harris, Michael Cooke and Michael’s sister Jean Carlevale. The memorial service note read “A celebration of the overwhelmingly hospitable heart. Michael made our lives and the life of the city he adopted more rich and flavourful. His love of food was really a love for the people he fed.”

In the evening there was a fund-raiser dinner at Sopra to create a scholarship at George Brown for aspiring chefs. A great night of stories about Michael. I recounted the time when I was in Burgundy with him and a party of five of us went to Lameloise, the three-star restaurant in Chagny. We were seated in a room that was occupied, fully, by English-peaking people and we had an indifferent meal. On our way out Michael put his arm around the shoulder of the maître-d’ and said: “Do you have a room for foreigners?” Michael was the most generous of hosts and he frequently invited Deborah and me to dinner. We tried often to reciprocate and eventually he did accept our dinner invitation. Only he said, “If you serve fucking chicken, I’m leaving.” We all brought our own wine for the memorial dinner. Everybody raided their cellars for some great wines. I brought along a bottle of Frescobaldi CastelGioconda Brunello Rieserva 2003.

A great wine to toast Michael Carlevale’s memory

Dessert wine at Michael Carlevale’s memorial dinner

Tuesday, April 14: Spent the morning putting together the wine list for the silent auction on May 7th for Grapes for Humanity. Lunch at Terroni with Massimo Capra and reps from Chef Events. Massimo is going to be the food and wine ambassador for Grapes for Humanity and help us fund-raise. In the evening a meeting of the Grapes for Humanity board, to welcome two new directors – Tim Sorensen and Bernard Stramwasser. Sam Sarick, our host, served Beaucastel Châteauneuf du Pâpe 1999 in magnum.

Wednesday, April 15: A day of tasting wines for www.winerytohome.com. In the evening Guy and Sasha came over for dinner. With brisket, roast potatoes and green beans I served Rosewood Origin Series Cabernet Franc 2013 (ruby colour; spicy, floral, raspberry nose; medium-bodied, creamy on the palate with a dry, spicy, white pepper and green leaf flavour finishing firmly (88)).

Thursday, April 16: Went down to the Distillery District for a tasting of Prince Edward County wines. Impressed by Huff Pinot Noir Quarry Road 2013 and Closson Chase Watson Vineyard Pinot Noir 2013 – both from Niagara fruit. Also enjoyed the Huff Pinot Gris 2013. For dinner with lamb chops, Rosewood Merlot 2012 (deep purple colour; cedar, blueberry and vanilla oak on the nose; dry, medium-bodied, nicelt balanced with a floral flourish on the end palate (88)).

A fine Pinot Noir

Friday, April 17: The second day of judging of the Ontario Wine Awards at Crush. The judging went very smoothly – no spilled wine, no broken glasses. All very decorous. A late evening meeting with Chef John Higgins at George Brown. Dinner, BBQ salmon steaks with Huff Pinot Noir Quarry Road 2013.

Judging Ontario Pinot Noir at the Ontario Wine Awards

Saturday, April 18: A food shopping day. At 4:40 pm Deborah and I picked up Miguel Torres from the airport and drove him to his hotel (The Four Seasons). He flew in from Spain via Frankfurt. Invited him for dinner tomorrow.

Sunday, April 19: The final day of tasting for the Ontario Wine Awards – the sweet wines. The tasting was conducted at The Fine Wine Reserve, two panels of four judges.

Sweet wine judging on Sunday

In the evening I picked up Miguel Torres and my sister-in-law Suzanne and brought them back to the condo for dinner. We started with Huff Estates Cuvée Janine Sparkling Rosé 2011 served with toasted almonds. Then sliced pear with goat’s cheese and walnuts on baby arugula with Henry of Pelham Speck Family Reserve Riesling 2009. Deborah made an asparagus risotto with slices of barbecued steak and I opened a bottle of Bouchard Père & Fils Le Corton 2000. With the cheese course, Diamond Ridge Pinot Noir 2012 (Anderson Valley). A great evening of conversation and good wine.