V V List Release Saturday Nov. 21, 2009

Greetings Fellow Tipplers!

This week the big shots hit the shelves of Vintages. Name-dropping worthy selections like Dom, Cristal, Ch. Montelena, Caymus, Opus, Ch. Beaucastel, Solaia, to name a few. If you are in the vicinity of insufferable snobs, these names will roll off their tongues when they speak of the dinner they went to the previous evening OR what they will be serving to their guests at their holiday table. Are we jealous? Not at all! In fact, we don’t even taste them when we have the opportunity – where is the joy in a fleeting sip (& spit) knowing that there is no chance of affording any of these iconic labels? The joy comes in the discovery of great-tasting values – pearls amongst diamonds so to speak. We went to the tasting room this week thinking we will be hard pressed to find anything in our price range. We were pleasantly surprised and we hope you are too!

WHITE WINE

82305 Domaine Bellevue Sauvignon Touraine 2008 (Loire) $13.95

Excellent value priced Sauvignon Blanc exuding a nose of fresh mown grass and pea notes with flavours of lime zest, very fresh and crisp. For all you die hard “bling” slaves, this won a gold medal at the Concours Général Agricole 2009 in Paris.

2774 Salterio Albariño 2008 (Rias Baixas, Spain) $16.95

The little star from Rias Baixas pretty notes of white peaches and a tad vegetal, some mineral, citrus and fresh acidity on the palate.

RED WINE

3509 Chakana Yaguareté Collection Malbec 2009 ($12.95)

Can’t get better than this for the price. This little number is packed with tons of dark fruits, blackberry, raspberry and plum, packing a punch of flavour and extremely well balanced. Load up on this one!

125930 Domaine Galévan Paroles De Femme Côtes Du Rhône (Rhône) $15.00

This is medium-bodied but packed with flavour – quite interesting in fact. Dark berries, herbs are predominant here.

29850 Tenuta Sant’Antonio Monti Garbi Ripasso Valpolicella Superiore 2007 $18.95

Leather, cigar box, spices on the nose and then plums, figs, raisin and dark chocolate on the palate. It is done with the Ripasso method – it is a fine wine that would suit a hearty meal.

39313 Cuatro Pasos Mencia 2007 (Spain) $16.95

Cat lovers rejoice – finally a decent “cat” wine. You will be tempted shortly by the cat-shaped bottle of cheap German Riesling that gets released this time of year. Ask yourself – “do I REALLY need another cat-shaped bottle? Does Aunt Zelda?” Get the 4 paws. It is really smooth – easy drinking. MEOW!

91694 Santa Margherita Chianti Classico 2006 (Tuscany) $19.95

Not too big, not too weak – just right. Cherry, blueberry & black berry prevail along with chocolate and smoky notes. It is quite tasty!

144485 Sexy Vinho Tinto 2007 (Portugal) $19.95

Finally a Portuguese red that we liked and it’s true to what the label reads Sexy, Sexy, Sexy, exuding aromas of dark berries, plum and some black olive, juicy and very well balanced. This sexy number will have you going back for more. Here’s the bling… it’s a gold medal winner and gets a “90” from erobertparker.com!

34942 Santa Carolina Reserva De Familia Carmenère 2007 $19.95

Loaded with cassis, cherry, cola and toast it is huge on flavour and very well structured. It’s quite tannic and calls out for rare beef – not lamb – it’s too huge.

134593 Surani Costarossa Primitivo Di Manduria 2007 (Puglia) $19.95

Aromas of blackcurrant, raisin and leather with plenty of dense dark fruit on the palate. Very smooth and all around well structured. This is one for all you Zin heads.

132605 Atalaya Almansa 2007 (Spain) $21.95

Here is the note from Jay Miller of erobertparker.com: “This is the first release of Atalaya. The 2007 Atalaya is a blend of Monastrell, Garnacha, Tintorera, and other red grapes. The wine was aged for 8 months in French and American oak. This purple-coloured wine has an expressive bouquet of violets, spicebox, leather, game, blueberry, and black cherry. On the palate it comes off as borderline kinky and definitely sexy with lots of easy-going flavour, superb depth, complexity and a 45-second finish. Although it can be enjoyed now, it will evolve for another 2-3 years. Score: 91”

ALP

Rose & Karen