Cheap Eats Toronto restaurant guide blog

Vintages Value List Release Saturday Sept. 4, 2010

Greetings All!

It is a great release coming your way this weekend – wines hailing from the southern Rhône valley from the spectacular 2007 vintage. Most of the wines from the southern Rhône appellations are blends which predominantly include Grenache and Syrah. The Rhône terroir produces terrific earthy, berry notes that are distinctly dry and Old World in nature. Don’t miss out on the values from this exceptional vintage.

WHITE WINE

499509 Perrin & Fils Réserve Côtes Du Rhône Blanc 2009 (Rhône) $14.95

This medium bodied southern belle features peach and floral flavours with some herbaceous notes. Nicely balanced and quite pleasing.

Vintages Value List Release August 21, 2010

Greetings All!

We are sorry for the lapse in newsletters last release. We took a brief hiatus from tasting to give our palates a rest. We went happily back to the tasting room refreshed and revived and discovered several terrific selections. Enjoy!

WHITE WINE

171108 Ducourt Réserve De Famille Sauvignon Gris 2008 (Bordeaux) $12.95

We thought this was an excellent food-friendly white that is priced just right. It is an unusual grape – Sauvignon Gris – a cousin of Sauvignon Blanc. It is also unusual as it hails from Bordeaux – a region known for its iconic red blends. Regardless, it is an excellent value! Have it with chicken, fish or lighter pasta dishes.

64177 Angove Long Row Chardonnay 2008 (South Australia) $13.95

This Aussie Chard isn’t too big but it has seen a hint of oak. It has an interesting nose of apricot and pie crust with a nice clean finish.

Vintage Value List for July 24, 2010

Greetings All!

Hip hip hooray – more wine coming your way and this time the feature is “Southern belles”. These “southern belles” are not of the mint julep variety from our southern neighbour – but great selections from Southern France aka Midi. It is the span of France that borders the Mediterranean between Italy & Spain and the climate and terroir produce a wide variety of pleasant blends from many different and often unusual varietals. We find the wines from the Midi to be quite pretty and their prices are generally lower than wines from more iconic French regions like Bordeaux and Burgundy.

We hope you enjoy this week’s selections!

WHITE WINE

178426 Domaine De Sancet 2008 (Southwest France) $11.95

The price is right for this citrus, herbaceous and fruity number. We know – it sounds complex and it is a bit – but utterly delicious nonetheless!

168344 Faustino V Blanco Viura 2008 (DOCa Rioja) $12.95

Lemon, pear and apple are the up-front flavours. This fruity start ends with a hint of minerality. Don’t be swayed by the picture of the ancient old fart on the label – he is Faustino the Fifth. His current kin seem to know a thing or two about wine-making!

74112 Agriverde Riseis Pecorino 2008 (Abruzzo, Italy) $13.95

Pecorino not to be confused with the cheese of the same name is a vine species believed to belong to the Trebbiano variety. It is a vine which flourished in central Italy over the centuries and has been making a resurgence in recent years. This pretty little number is unctuous and flavourful with savoury and peppery notes. It is food friendly and will pair well with roast chicken.

Vintages Value List for July 10, 2010

Hello there fellow tipplers!

It’s getting hot out there – time to hit the patio or dock to sit back and CHILL! This weekend’s release focuses on popular picks of yore. There are plenty of great wines hitting the shelves this weekend that we have recommended in the past. This newsletter will highlight new selections at great prices – but when you browse the Vintages aisles keep your eyes peeled for past picks. Hopefully the label will call out to you!

WHITE WINE

164624 Michel Delhommeau Cuvee Harmonie Muscadet de Sevre et Maine 2008 (Loire Valley, France) $12.95

Distinct lime and grapefruit notes segue to a smooth minerality. Parker scored this one 91. Good value here!

Vintages Value List Release Saturday June 26, 2010

Greetings All!

OK, we are re-neging on our promise of a shortened list. Why? Well, the bargains are irresistible this week. So we’ll keep this preamble short & sweet so you can get on to the good stuff below. ENJOY!

WHITE WINE

175240 Domaine Du Tariquet Classic Ugni Blanc/Colombard 2009 (Southwest France) $11.95

P is for pleasure in this number, get past the nose and you will be rewarded with flavours of lime, mineral and spritzy acidity

166751 Bodegas Agnusdei Terra Firm Albariño 2008 (DO Rias Baixas) $13.95

Hola….this beauty is fresh and earthy exuding a pretty floral nose and flavours of stone fruit, apple and citrus bursting of crisp acidity.

163980 Two Tracks Sauvignon Blanc 2009 (New Zealand) $16.95

This lovely number is unctuous and rich exuding aromas of grass, pea pods following through on the palate balanced out by citrus on the finish.

ROSE

71084 La Bastide Blanche Bandol Rosé 2009 (Provence) $21.95

Wow, we just looked at each other and uttered DELISH! A blend of Mourvèdre, Grenache and Cinsault this fresh tasting beauty screams strawberry, rhubarb and floral and an ample finish.

Vintages Value List Release Saturday June 12, 2010

Greetings All!

Hope you are doing well these days. It’s a South African centric release and we will be restricting our consumption from that country to the FIFA World Cup. We just don’t care for products from that region! On a more positive note, we have decided to limit our Vintages Value Lists to our top picks. Our lists have been getting out of hand and we have to reign in our enthusiasm on the recommendations. SO – from hereon you are getting our absolute faves – lucky you!

SPARKLING WINE

171785 Mausberg Blancs de Blancs Brut Crémant D’Alsace (Alsace) $17.95

Fun, light and easy drinking bubbly featuring fresh tart apple and biscuits and an ever so creamy mouth feel making for an awesome sipper.

Vintages Value List Release Saturday May 29, 2010

Greetings All!

Looks like its official – summer’s here!!! It was an awesome May2-4 despite the dismal weather prognostications and now it is steamy hot – an abrupt segue to summer for sure. BBQ’s are in full force – so we have plenty of hearty reds that will go well with that steak. We have also recommended a couple of roses – great partners for grilled fish & shellfish or just solo sipping at dusk in the backyard or on the dock (once the black flies have gone). There are a good variety of whites on our list – from big to pretty.

This week Vintages’ thematic is “the Mighty Mendoza & gems from the Loire Valley). Vintages has brought us the requisite Argentinean Malbecs from Mendoza – but they have also brought in other grape varietals that are thriving in that high altitude, totally sunny wine region. Whites from the Loire are little known to most Ontarians. The main varietals are Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc. Loire’s terroir provides a Sauv. Blanc that is a little more subtle than those from New Zealand. Chenin Blanc can be dry or off-dry with peach, citrus and floral notes.

SPARKLING WINE

168963 Château Moncontour Cuvée Prédilection Brut Vouvray (France) $18.95

Affordable fizz made in the traditional method in the Loire from Chenin Blanc featuring aromas of biscuit, pretty spring flowers and stone fruit. Nicely textured with a refreshing brace of acidity. Sparkling wine pairs nicely with all foods, no need to have something to celebrate to open a bottle of bubbly at this price.

Vintages Value List Release Saturday May 15, 2010

Greetings All!

Well, well well - Vintages has quite the line-up for this release. The main features are wines from Burgundy, California Chardonnay and Roses. Guess what? We are recommending one lonely Cali Chard from the bunch. It’s not that the wines from these respective regions and varietals were bad – just a tad pricey and/or not to our taste.

We have plenty of red wine recommendations from Argentina and the Torrontes white wine varietal from that country is a treat. If you are a “Burgundy” fan – go to a larger LCBO and ask a Product Consultant for their recommendations.

If you have never tried a wine from Burgundy – you should. The reds are mostly made from the Pinot Noir grape and Burgundian wine is – for the most part – sublime, ergo the high price tag. Burgundy’s wine producers tend to have smaller hectarage than their cousins in Bordeaux. These smaller producers make the wines “rarer” and allow them to garner a higher price.

SPARKLING WINE

991562 Bailly Lapierre Réserve Brut Crémant De Bourgogne (Burgundy) $17.95

Refreshingly dry, crisp green apple flavours, mineral and lemony acidity. Easily quaffable!

WHITE WINE

37127 Alta Vista Premium Torrontés 2008 (Argentina) $13.95

This little white star of Argentina offers up a beautifully fragrant nose reminiscent of spring blossom trees followed by flavours of citrus fruits nicely balanced by crisp and zesty acidity. Score 88 (Jay Miller, www.erobertparker.com)

Vintages Value List Release Saturday May 1, 2010

Greetings All!

This release presents an age-old wine dichotomy involving one grape varietal in two different regions with two different names – Primitivo and Zinfandel. The varietal originates in Croatia and it has made its way around the world to different wine-growing regions – but mastered primarily in Italy under the name of Primitivo and California under the name of Zinfandel. Regardless, the resulting wine in either country is big, bold and generally gnarly. The wines are quite popular, and the difference between Zin and Prim are brought about by the different terroir and wine-making techniques. They both benefit from warm, sunny locales. Prim is associated with Puglia – the heel of Italy in the south on the Adriatic and Zin in California. The best wine is made from the grapes of old vines. Given that Zin was planted in California around the time of the Gold Rush – many of the wineries boast 100 years+ vines and Italy – well the ancient wine-making tradition there allows for an abundance of old vines.

WHITE WINE

922203 D’Arenberg The Stump Jump White (Adelaide, AUS) $14.95

A lovely blend of Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Marsanne & Rousanne. It’s easy to drink featuring citrusy fruits and a touch of minerality on the nose. Jay Miller (erobertparker.com) rated it an 87.

Vintages Value List Release Saturday April 17, 2010

Hello there!

We trust you are well and enjoying the change in seasons. Vintages has some Tuscan beauties on offer this release BUT many of these do not meet our criteria (< $25). We hate to rub it in – but the two Amarones by Masi that we tasted, priced at $99.95 are spectacular – buy them, wallet-willing.

The chatter in the media is all about the economic turn around, but somehow we aren’t feeling the warmth of increased wealth – increases in hydro rates, increases in mortgage and interest rates, and the pending implementation of the HST make the Value List all the more relevant. We hope you enjoy our picks and your feedback and/or questions are always welcome.

WHITE WINE

144717 Zolo Unoaked Chardonnay 2009 (Mendoza, Argentina) $12.95

Classic Chardonnay apple and pear notes. Absent is the overwhelming oak generally associated with wine made from this grape – not surprising as it’s unoaked.

165670 Monte Del Frá Ca' Del Magro 2008 (Tuscany) $14.95

This is an interesting blend of 7 different white grapes. The result gives us a mid-bodied, lively wine with bright fruit notes, balanced acidity – crisp & clear.

RED WINE

144733 Don Cristobal 1492 Malbec 2008 (Mendoza, Argentina) $12.95

Lots of black fruit after an earthyiness on the nose. Well-balanced and well-priced!