Vic is still away, sunning and tasting his way through Iberia (last stop: Jerez), so Rod is still doing all the work. These reviews follow the increasingly eccentric layout of the Vintages catalogue, with sections devoted to wines by style as well as the more familiar listing by country.
Mike Weir Estate Pinot Noir 2004
VQA Niagara Peninsula $21.95 (000075)
Don't you get tired of reviews of golf-pro wines that are filled with golf terms? Not at winecurrent.com... even though this Pinot plays down the middle of the fairway right through the palate. From tee-off to finish, the complex fruit hits the sweet spot, and winemaker Craig McDonald has balanced it off well with the wood. Par it with grilled lamb. (RP)
Roger Belland Santenay-Gravières 2003
AOC Santenay-Gravières, 1er Cru $31.95 (681635)
This is a very good price for a Burgundy that's very stylish and elegant. It's light to medium in body, with lovely fruit and a very good ratio among the various components: weight, texture, and substance are in great harmony here. It's just drinking now and will repay decanting. Pair it with seared tuna or duck breast. (RP)
Ironstone "Obsession" Symphony 2004
California $14.95 (355784)
In case it's not clear, "Obsession" is the name of the wine and "Symphony" is the name of the grape-a cross of a Muscat and Grenache Gris. While this Ironstone product might not be an obsession, its release is always eagerly awaited. Similar is style to a Gewürztraminer, it offers rich, spicy aromas that replay in the flavours as spicy peach and apricot. With a crisp texture, it's a marvelous summer sipper, a shoulder-season aperitif, or a great partner to spicy Asian dishes. (RP)
Királyudvar "Lapis" Tokaji Furmint Late Harvest 2000
Hungary $19.95/500ml (681388)
Furmint is the grape variety used in the sweet and luscious Tokaj dessert wine. Here it makes one that's less sweet yet maintains quite concentrated and nicely complex flavours of peach and apricot with honeyed and earthy notes. It's well balanced and finishes nicely and makes a good partner to seared foie gras. (RP)
Sandeman "Dry Don" Amontillado Sherry
DO Jerez $16.95 (674010)
A medium sweet and complex Sherry that's very good sipping alone or pairing with slightly sweet appetizers like liver paté with currants. Look for a smooth, quite rich texture and accents that include roasted nuts and orange peel. You can turn this into an summer aperitif by adding soda and a twist of orange. (RP)
Jackson-Triggs "Proprietors' Grand Reserve" Chardonnay 2002
VQA Niagara Peninsula $18.95 (593996)
This delivers full, intense fruit from the excellent 2002 vintage, and has attractive depth and a smooth texture. Look for ripe apple and pear, with some peach and tropical notes, along with a hint of spice. It's also quite perceptibly oaked and will appeal to the many who like this style of Chardonnay. Pair it with freshly smoked chicken or turkey. (RP)
Konzelmann Gewürztraminer Reserve 2002
VQA Niagara Peninsula $14.95 (392357)
A well-made Gewürz that touches all the right bases. It has attractive aromas and off-dry flavours of spice, musk and peach-apricot, good medium weight, and a nice clean finish with a characteristic hint of bitterness. Pair it confidently with spicy Thai dishes. (RP)
Mike Weir Estate Chardonnay 2004
VQA Niagara Peninsula $15.95 (000026)
The Product Code number that Mike Weir's wines wear make it look as if the LCBO has rolled the odometer back. The number after the dollar sign is more impressive, though, for a Chardonnay of this quality. It offers lovely fruit in the peach-apricot range, nuanced with sweet spicy notes and balanced with grapefruit crispness, and a smooth texture. It's a great partner to lobster or roast grain-fed chicken. (RP)
Mike Weir Estate Cabernet-Merlot 2004
VQA Niagara Peninsula $17.95 (000109)
A medium bodied, flavourful blend that easily makes the cut in the Mike Weir Estate range. It has well-focused dark fruit flavours with notes of spice, herbs, and toasty oak. Well balanced with easy-going tannins, this is a natural for slightly spicy red meat dishes. (RP)
Ferrari-Carano Chardonnay 2003
Alexander Valley $44.95 (295055)
This is a very elegant Chardonnay, a real stand-out in the category. It delivers lush flavours in the ripe peach-tropical zones, smooth, mouth-filling texture, excellent balance, and a long, fully complex finish. It's not inexpensive, but compare it to Burgundies of this quality. Pair it with something mouth-filling and luscious, like lobster or king crab. (RP)
Adelaida "SLO" Syrah 2002
Paso Robles $26.95 (678532)
Let me be quick to point out there's nothing slow about this wine. "SLO" stands for San Luis Obispo County, one of the centres of Rhône-style winemaking in California. This mid-weight Syrah (which has components of Mourvèdre and Grenache) is very attractive. It delivers good solid plum and cherry fruit that's a little perfumed on the nose and has good balance. The tangy texture adds to its food receptiveness. Drink it with grilled lamb chops. (RP)
Chateau Souverain Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
Alexander Valley $36.95 (301218)
A big, dry, rich, full-fruit Cabernet that successfully combines intensity with complexity. Look for quite stunning depth and breadth of dark fruit and berries, good balance to come, and a longer gripping finish than many suspense movies. There's so much grip here that I wouldn't drink this for another three or four years. Then enjoy it with hearty red meat and game dishes for the following decade. (RP)
Ironstone Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
Sierra Foothills $17.95 (537597)
This is a well-made, very straightforward medium-weight Cabernet that delivers quality and value. Expect to enjoy ripe dark fruit flavours with good complexity, good balance and soft tannins. It finishes well and will pair nicely with a broad range of well-flavoured red meat dishes. (RP)
Liberty School Syrah 2003
Paso Robles $19.95 (942383)
Liberty School is establishing a reputation for quality and value in our market, first for their Cabernet Sauvignon and now for this Syrah. There's a core of rich, sweet fruit here, wrapped in complex flavours of black cherries and berries with a grind or two of black pepper thrown in. The texture is juicy and generous, and it's a very good package overall. Enjoy it with a roast veal chop and garlic mash. (RP)
Casa de Campo "Cepas Privadas" Shiraz 2003
Mendoza $11.95 (678557)
This earns its stars for combining quality with really excellent value. Look for a dry red with ripe cherry fruit, spices and black pepper. What makes it notable is the well-controlled style that sets it apart from the tendency of Shirazes at this price to be blowsy, too fruity, and even jammy. This is well made, a great buy, and an excellent partner for grilled or roast lamb. (RP)
Concha y Toro "Trio" Sauvignon Blanc 2004
Casablanca Valley $13.95 (678656)
See a word like "Trio" on a label, and you start to think Bordeaux blend. But the threesome here refers to different growing sites in the Casablanca Valley, which is getting a deserved reputation for Sauvignon Blanc. Here it delivers rich passion fruit and gooseberry flavours, brisk crispness, and terrific balance. A very good partner to briny, freshly-shucked oysters. (RP)
Calina Carmenère Reserva 2004
Maule Valley $16.95 (951079)
What late-ripening Carmenère needs is a site that provides a long-enough growing season. The grapes in this wine seem to have lucked-in, because there's no hint of the greenness some of these wines have. Instead, this one is all sweet plums and berries with attractive pepper, spice and herb notes. The tannins are sweet and firm. Drink it now (with red meat) and over the next four years. (RP)
Cremaschi-Fulotti Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
Maule Valley $12.95 (974873)
The Vintages catalogue tags this an "exceptional value," and I agree. Summer barbecues can't come too soon for me so that I can pair one of these with some grilled red meat and root vegetables. It's dry, rich and big-bodied, with concentrated and decently complex dark fruit and firm tannins. (RP)
Hamilton's Ewell Vineyards "Stonegarden" Grenache-Shiraz-Mourvèdre 2003
Barossa Valley $18.95 (662973)
You see why this blend is usually abbreviated "GSM." On the other hand, the wine's as much a mouthful as the full name. This was a "wow!" wine for me, and I dickered between 4.5 and 5 stars. It delivers beautiful fruit with marvelous complexity and a really elegant texture that has hints of the best sort of rusticity-an edge that lifts the wine with another dimension. If I'm starting to lose you, just make a note of the name and the price and make sure you snag some of this. (RP)
Jim Barry "The Lodge Hill" Shiraz 2003
Clare Valley $24.95 (998476)
A very well-made Shiraz that offers complexity and some finesse. It has all the fruit you expect from an Australian Shiraz-in this case, black cherries and berries, with notes of black pepper, mint, coffee and smoke-but it's more than fruit. Look for good structure and generous texture, and plan to pair this with lamb, grilled or roasted medium-rare. (RP)
Shingleback Cabernet Sauvignon 2002
McLaren Vale $23.95 (662957)
This is a great Cabernet, with generous fruit, a lot of complexity, good structure, and an edgy texture. The fruit-black cherry, black berries and coffee/chocolate notes-is densely flavoured but the wine has a refreshing balance that makes it an excellent partner to food. You could drink this now, but I would hold it another three years. A piece of beef would be my pick to go with this. (RP)
Goldwater "Wood's Hill" Cabernet/Merlot/Franc 2000
Waiheke Island $24.95 (675249)
Waiheke is a small island not far from Auckland, and the location makes it exceptionally suited to the Bordeaux red varieties. This blend, from one of the island's leading and larger producers, brings you a very Bordeaux style with solid fruit throughout, and good structure and complexity. The tannins are easy-going, and this is drinking well now and over the next year or two. Lamb seems to be the obvious partner. (RP)
Drouet Frères "Le Haut Mesnil" Sancerre 2004
AOC Sancerre $22.95 (681585)
A very good example of Sancerre, this has the flavours and texture you expect: gooseberry, grassiness and minerality, with citrus notes and brisk acidity. The flavours are quite concentrated and the texture is resolutely dry. Pair it with grilled seafood with a squeeze of lemon. (RP)
Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2003
AOC Châteauneuf-du-Pape $51.95 (704429)
From one of the appellation's top producers, this is a really impressive white. It's rare, too: white makes up only about three per cent of Châteauneuf-du-Pape's production. This one is full bodied and quite luscious, with full tropical fruit flavours and hints of orange peel and grapefruit. Drink it in the next couple of years with richly-flavoured poultry dishes. (RP)
Château Faizeau Vieilles Vignes 2002
AOC Montagne-St-Emilion $29.95 (920017)
For a number of years Château Faizeau, from one of the St-Emilion satellite appellations, has been one of the bargains in Vintages' Bordeaux Futures. The 2002 is medium bodied with good structure, very good, complex fruit character and firm, fine-grained tannins. It's a natural for roast or grilled lamb, but I would cellar this at least three years before opening it. (RP)
Clos Salomon Givry 1er Cru 2003
AOC Givry 1er Cru $29.95 (981951)
Tuck a couple of these away for at least five years, and you'll be very pleased with yourself when you open them. This is exceptionally good value. The fruit is quite powerful and intense (as befits the 2003 vintage), but it's well structured and focused. Right now the tannins are gripping firmly, and with time they'll reveal a fine, medium-plus wine that will pair beautifully with roast game. (RP)
Clos Montirius Vacqueyras 2001
AOC Vacqueyras $25.95 (728451)
A 50:50 blend of Grenache and Syrah, this is a gorgeous dry red with concentrated aromas and flavours of sweet berries with some gamy, herbal notes. Medium bodied, with firm sweet tannins, it's ready for drinking now or can be easily cellared five or six years. Pair it with well-herbed red meats. (RP)
Bortoluzzi Pinot Grigio 2004
IGT Venezia Giulia $15.95 (717330)
A well-made Pinot Grigio at a very good price. It stands out from the mass of Italian Pinot Grigios. With quite elegant and delicate fruit flavours (in the apricot-peach zones) and good structure and balance, it's a great match for grilled white fish. (RP)
Planeta Merlot 2002
IGT Sicilia $38.95 (978460)
A very impressive Merlot that delivers a big body of plum and berry fruit with a central vein of sweet plum. There are hints of spice, herbs and mint, and the whole is wrapped in a silky texture. The tannins are still very firm, though, and I would put this away for two or three years. Then serve it with a big red meat or game dish. (RP)
Fonterutoli Chianti Classico 2003
DOCG Chianti Classico $24.95/750ml (977629) or $16.95/375ml (599779)
A lovely Chianti with intense, well-focused fruit and notes of coffee, smoke and cedar. It's quite full bodied (that 2003 vintage makes its presence felt again) but very well balanced. Drink it now and over the next four-five years. Osso bucco would be a fine partner. (RP)
Ruffino Chianti Classico Ducale Oro 2001
DOCG Chianti Classico $44.95 (353201)
A rich and complex Chianti with full dark fruit (fresh and dried) flavours with notes of smoke and spice for good measure. It's elegant right through, with great balance and a long finish. The tannins are ripe and finely grained and are gripping well right now, so put this away for some time-at least five years. (RP)
Allegrini "Palazzo della Torre" 2000
IGT Veronese $27.95 (672931)
This is another that will really benefit from a few years in the cellar, although you could open it in a pinch if you decant it well before you drink it. But why rush it when it will evolve into a quite stunning wine? Right now it's tightly wound, with concentrated dark tree and berry fruit and some attractive spice and herbal notes. (RP)
Viña Pedrosa 2003
DO Ribera del Duero $17.95 (673517)
A really delicious and bargain-priced red with a generous texture, full dark fruit with accents of wood and spice, and excellent balance. Here's a rich red with texture that's made for food. The tannins are firm but manageable, and I would love a bottle of this with a rack of lamb, grilled medium-rare. (RP)
We use the following symbols when rating wines:
 | Wines achieving nirvana |
| | Wines of excellence |
 | Wines well worth trying |
 | Wines below average, but drinkable |
 | Wines better avoided, unless desperate |
 | Represents a half star |
 | We both agree —a brilliant wine! |
| Drink now and over the next 2 years |
| Drink now and over the next 5 years |
| Place in cellar |
Cheers!
Rod and Vic