Swirls - Grand Red Wine Blind Tasting

$35. 18 wines. Thursday night. How can you not say yes!


A couple of weeks ago I attended Swirl Wine Store's first Grand red wine blind tasting. It was a great event in store put on by Jeff and Michelle at the Yaletown location. Swirl Wines is a BC VQA store and one of my favorite wine stores in the city. All wines sold there are 100% BC grown and they have a great selection so you don't have to drive to the Okanagan.

Upon arriving I was given a scoring sheet with 18 slots so I already knew I'm getting my $35 worth. All that we were told was that the wines were red blends, tasted blind, were decanted a couple of hours before and ranged in price from $33 up to $144. I had a great tasting at a fun table and enjoyed their little tasting twist. Instead of tasting 18 wines, we were poured wines #1 & #9 again as wines #17 & #18. It was a re-introduction to compare your notes and see if you scored them the same. I won't go through all the wines and just hit my top 5.


Wines in the order I scored them:



#5 - Tinhorn Creek - 2 Bench Red - 2011 - $33.03
              - 39% Cab Franc, 35% Merlot, 24% Cab Sauv, 2% Petit Verdot

A bit light and distinct  with blackcurrant, some vanilla plum, and pencil shavings. Has a bit of tobacco and smokey mocha on the palate. Spent 18 months in a mix of new and old oak, great value and the cheapest of the tasting.





#4 -Road 13 - 5th Element 2011
              - 57% Merlot, 21%Cab Franc, 10% Syrah, 7% Cab Sauv, 2%Petit Verdot, 1% Malbec

Aromas of toasted almonds, blackberry, with some floral notes.. The palate brings some cedar, and chocolate dark berries with smooth balanced tannins. Spent 16 months in french oak




#3 -Blackwood Lane - Reference - 2008- $143.48
              - Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot

Rich and complex with with a long finish and many years left in it. On the nose there was blackcurrant, juicy dark berries, vanilla and hint of cigar ash. The palate has flavours black cherry, coffee mocha, and sweet vanilla with an afterthought of cedar, spice and everything nice. Aged in french oak and takes a methodical 5 years from harvest to release






#2 -Cassini Cellars - Godfather - 2011- $65.21
              - Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc, Syrah

Nice well balanced and will be long lived. With intense aromas of ripe cherry, black currant, and some dark chocolate latte. Nice long finish with tasty nuances climbing from it's depths. Spent 24 months in new french oak barrels giving nice caramel and toasty cedar notes.





#1 -Persus - Invictus - 2013 - $49.46
              - 42% Cab Franc, 38% Merlot, 13% Cab Sauv, 7% Malbec

Great complexity on my highest scored wine of the night and the only one with Cab Franc as the dominate grape. It had intense aromas of black cherry chocolates, mushrooms and a bit of minerality with some pencil shavings. On the palate it is well balanced and velvety smooth; with flavours of chocolate licorice, ripe cherry, and toasted cedar. Aged in french oak 31% of it new.




So if you need an excuse for a nice bottle of wine any of these should satisfy your palate.


Other Wines tasted that night:

Osooyos Larose - Grand Vin - 2012
Serendipity - Serenata - 2010
Sandhill - Sandhill One - 2012
Bonamici - Belviaggio - 2012
Painted Rock - Red Icon - 2013
Lariana - Twelve - 2012
Church & State - Quintessential - 2011
Hillside - Mosaic - 2009
Poplar Grove - Legacy - 2011
Laughing Stock - Portfolio - 2013
Mission Hill - Quatrain - 2011

Marsanne

Wine of the Week

Marsanne is a white grape variety originally found in the northern Rhone in France where it is usually blended with Rousanne. Marsanne usually produces full bodied wines with a richness to them that allows them to age well. They tend to have flavours of pears, apples, some nuttiness, and nice honeyed notes that develop with age.


If you go looking for Marsanne the best will be found in Ermitage or Hermitage France, but we're talking $60-500. Most will be found in blends with Rousanne and Voigner. I found a nice one single variety from Australia at the BCL and I believe Road 13 in the Okanagan have one as well. They are hard to find as single variety wines, so if you find one it might mean a delicious surprise. They pair well with lot's of food and can be a nice change from the usual whites.



TAHBILK - Marsanne -  Central Victoria Australia - 2011            - BC Liquor = $18.49


This was a great surprise; a delicious wine with a lot going on. On the nose there's coconut husk, an almost ripe peach, some faint floral notes and a shy wet stone lingering in the depths. The palate is dominated by lemon rinds, honeycomb, honeysuckle and that wet pet rock you named "Honey". This wine is dry and the 2011 starting to show a little age with crisp acidity and good length on the finish.

Katherine's Birthday Tasting - Tempranillo

Tempting Tempranillo's!

For her birthday Katherine wanted to have a Tempranillo tasting. It's a red grape from Spain that is food friendly and quite versatile. There's a little bit grown in the Okanagan so I had to add a couple into the flight of Spanish wines.

We had 11 people come out and a nice flight of 12 wines that included 2 Rose's. Ten of the wines were from Spain and the last two from BC. It was a great flight except for the Nexus One from Ribera del Deuro which was corked. Corked means it has been tainted by a bacteria called TCA (Trichloroanisole), found inside the cork and affects about 7% of all corks. It makes the wine taste like cork, damp cardboard, or flooded basement. It is not harmful do drink, but most people can't get past the smell and off taste. This was the first time I have had a corked wine in a tasting I hosted, and I decided to serve it as it was a good side lesson for the group.


All the wines below are made with Tempranillo, and the pairs are in the order we tasted them.

ROSE:

1. Monterio - Rosado - 2014 - Spain - $13.99 - Everything Wine

There are lots of Rose wine made in Spain from Tempranillo. This one is a generic blend but tasty and good value. Bright notes of strawberries and cream with a bit of fresh cherry. It is dry, easy drinking, refreshing, and is best served cold.





2. Marques de Caceres - Rioja Rose - 2014 - Rioja, Spain - $14.99 - BC Liquor

This rose from Rioja is fuller bodied then wine #1 and has a bit richer mouth feel. It had a bit of tartness due to the strawberry rhubarb notes, and a hint of baked grapefruit as an after note.With the extra body in this wine it makes it food friendly and should also be served slightly chilled.







VALUE PICKS:

3. Castilla - Altacena Tempranillo - 2013 - Castilla, Spain - $12.99 - BC Liquor

This Tempranillo from central Spain is a great value find and makes for a good weekday red. It has 5% Syrah and 5% Garnacha to give it more depth. It has nice notes of dark berries, some smoke and an intriguing rocky floralness to it. It sees some French and American oak and 3 months before bottling they add some declassified Rioja to the blend.





4. Anciano - Valdepenas Gran Reserva 2007 - Aged 7 years - Valdepenas, Spain $11.49 - BC Liquor

Another superb value with this one that's under $12 and is aged 7 years before release! This wine definitely gives you the aromas and tastes of an aged wine. It has mature dark cherry, with cedar, cigar box, vanilla, and some sweet spice. They also make a 10 year aged version for $14.99 if you want to see what an even older wine tastes like.



RIOJA:

In Rioja there are aging laws for their wines. There are four different categories: Joven,  which means young or no ageing. Crianza which needs min 12 months in cask and 24 months total aging before release. Then there is Reserva which needs min 12 months in cask, and 36 months total aging before release. Last there is Gran Reserva which needs 24 months in cask, and 60 months total aging before release.

5. Campo Viejo - Tempranillo  Rioja - 2014 - Rioja DOC, Spain - $14.79 - BC Liquor

Entry level Rioja that is 100% Tempranillo and saw 4 months in American oak. On the nose there's nice ripe strawberries, vanilla and hints of clove. On the palate there is red fruits, toasted coconut and a nice finish of vanilla bean.



6. Marques de Riscal - Rioja Reserva - 2011 - Rioja DOC, Spain - $29.49 - BC Liquor

This Reserva  has 7% Graciano and 3% Mazuelo to add color and crispness. On the nose it gives you concentrated strawberry rhubarb pie, with hints of dark cherry, licorice, some vanilla, pepper spice, and a nuance of balsamic finding it's way into the depths of your palate. This was one of my favorites on the night due to the complexities and long finish.





TORO:

Toro lies on the Duero river in western Spain just east of the Portugal border. They grow a clone of Tempranillo there which has thicker skins called, Tinto de Toro. The wines tend to be fuller bodied than Rioja, big full reds that tend to be high in alcohol.


7. Albanico - Eternum Viti - 2011 - Toro DO, Spain - $21.99 - BC Liquor

This Toro had black and blueberries, some leather, tobacco, and hints of graphite. It was aged in 70% French oak and 30% American oak. It has rich dark colour and could probably benefit from a few more years of aging.




8. Terra D'uro - Finca La Rana - 2011 - Toro DO, Spain - $21.99 - BC Liquor

For a Toro this wine was on the lighter side giving it a nice balanced medium body with a fresh crisp acidity. There was notes of dusty black cherry, with a savory earthiness to it. Nice subtleties of toasted cashew and a bit of spicy salami in there as well. Nice nuances in this newer style of Toro.







RIBERA DEL DUERO:

Ribera del Duero lies on the Duero river between Toro and Rioja on the highest part of the Spanish Meseta. It is surrounded by a ring of mountains which cuts it off from any coastal influence, and the high altitude helps mitigate the high temperatures.  The clone of Tempranillo they grow here is called Tinto Fino which also has thicker skins than the Rioja clone. These wines tend to be darker in colour with big more powerful astringent tannins than Rioja wines.


9. Frontaura - Nexus One - 2012 - Ribera del Duero DO, Spain - $21.99 BC Liquor

This is the wine that was corked and smelled of damp cardboard, with a cork and vinyl aftertaste. It was a good example of a corked wine, but I was disappointed not to get to taste it. If we did there would of been black fruits, chocolate covered cherries, some floral notes and hints of licorice. Big, potent, and age worthy.



10. Torres - Celeste Crianza -  2012 - Ribera del Duero DO, Spain - $23.49 - BC Liquor

This is a great Ribera that comes from vineyards 850m in elevation that provide cool nights to retain the wines acidity. On the nose you get black cherry, wild blueberries, tobacco,  some savory spice, with a hint of smokiness. Well balanced with velvety tannins and a nice long finish of dark fruits and dried herbs.





OKANAGAN:

There are a few wineries growing and experimenting with Tempranillo in the Okanagan and the two I had picked out fared well against it's Spanish cousins. Moon Cursor always tends to be a favorite wine of the night but this time the Stag's Hollow shined brighter in the blind tasting. The Inniskillin and Pentage wineries in the Okanagan also make nice Tempranillo's and are worth exploring if you enjoy a nice tempting Temp.


11. Stag's Hollow - Tempranillo - 2012 - Okanagan Falls, BC - $30.99 - Swirl Wine

This beautiful Tempranillo has 10% Merlot in it and saw 100% American oak with 50% of them new oak for 15 months.  It has aromas of blackcurrant, ripe plums and raspberries, some coffee with a bit of smokey cigar box. Nice complexities and great balanced mouth feel that tends to linger.






12. Moon Cursor - Tempranillo - 2012 - Osoyoos, BC - #31.99 - Swirl Wine

This 100% Tempranillo from Moon Cursor saw some new French and American oak is drinking well now. There was not the concentration that the Stag's Hollow had, but the nuances for restraint yet still complex. On the nose there's cherries, violets, and tobacco. On the palate the is red fruit, pepper, and a hint of savory mushroom.








Hope you enjoyed reading, and let me know what you think if you get to try any of these wines we tasted.