Berserkers,
The Toronto Wine Elitist Cabal ™ gathered for a summer potluck as the kickoff to Nicklicious 2017, the annual weekly visit of American TWEC ™ inductee Nick Christie who sojourned in from North Carolina to Toronto. Fittingly, the event was held at our American transplantee member Tim Burnett’s home. The day was beautiful with lots of sunshine and we played with Tim and Alyssa’s kids while nibbling away and drinking before sitting down to a mostly homemade dinner. Pics have now been added. Here’s what we drank:
Beaumont des Crayeres 2006 Champagne – I had a bit of cognitive dissonance and couldn’t quite place the fruit until I discovered this sparkling house tends to favor Pinot Meunier over Chardonnay and Pinot Noir but uses all three in its champagnes. All biscuit nose, flavors of biscuit and particularly bright fruit flavors of green apple and lemon with a slight bitterness to the finish. High quality tasty vintage Champagne, I polished off 2 glassfuls and a bit.
Carlise 2011 The Derivative Sonoma County -- I loved this. White Bordeaux quality, California fruit flavor, and huge value. Semillon, Muscadelle and Palomino based dry wine with a bit of Palmonio and Colombard. Creamy banana and pineapple tropical fruit and vanilla flavors marked by very high acidity. Literally tastes like a dry Sauternes in a lighter body. A huge QPR steal at a mere $30 US.
Marcel Deiss 2008 Huebuhl – This Frankenstein monster of an Alsacian white blending all the Pinots (Blanc, Gris and Noir) is in a perfect spot right now. Sweet but not overwhelmingly so with smooth flavors of rich honeydew melon and kumquats. The body and texture were particularly striking, pretty much perfect. Glides like glycerin down your palate and gullet. Went well with both our savory dishes and my store bought cupcakes. As Mike put it, a very adaptable wine. Sad to see my last bottle go, but it was sacrificed for a worthy cause.
Butterfield 2012 Meursault – So I requested some sparkling and a Chablis or Meursault 'cause I am far, far too manly to drink Rosé. Jay delivered this, which we have had before and my opinion remains unchanged: it’s quite a bit disjointed for a Meursault. The nose is all gunpowder, the palate is all faded green apple with a slight touch of butter and gunpowder. High acidity, but this only serves to make the wine more disjointed in this case because the other flavors are not as strong to balance it out. Just when I’d given up hope, however, I tried this with our Caprese salad and brie turnovers and it was a perfect match! The wine became creamy and flinty, the fruit shone through more, and the acidity helped cleansed the fat out of the palate. Definitely a charcuterie and cheese platter wine.
Pearl Morisette 2011 Cabernet Franc – This rich tannic wine with heaping red fruit was nearly as big as the Sonkin. Amazing that this was gotten from the horrible 2011 vintage here in Ontario, Canada. Unfortunately, it is not as balanced at this stage and I felt it was opened way too young and needs more time to smooth out. It really needed beef or lamb to pair up with and we had neither. CF is never my favorite to begin with, but take a bottle that needs more time and add it to a refreshing meal on a hot summer day and you’ve got a huge mismatch. We should’ve had this in cooler weather anchoring a different meal.
Louis Jadot Moulin-a-Vent Clos de Rochgres – The best way I can describe this well-aged Gamay-based Beaujolais is to say it’s exactly what you’d get if you blended a Cabernet Franc wine with a Pinot Noir wine. It has the full tannic body of the former but all the fresh sour cherry fruit flavors of the latter. Really makes me intrigued to explore more Beaujolais.
Sonkin Cellars 2013 Unmasked Mendocino County Syrah – Exactly what I would expect it to be, big red fruit flavor with big tannins and black pepper and tobacco flavors but all perfectly balanced. Big but not a fruit bomb by any means. Good match with the veal. Considering the much lighter wines surrounding it being drunk on a hot 28 degree summer day, this came off very well.
Aris 2006 Petite Syrah Port – This wine has sweet plum fruit and spicy black pepper flavors and a slight touch of roasted coffee bean from the Petite Syrah. Technically faultless but at the same time didn’t really excite me. I respect what they did, but wonder if maybe they should have either gone the Pedroncelli route and actually planted Portuguese grapes or made a blend from the many other varietals they grow. This said, quality cannot be knocked and I would love to try their Vermouth style aperitif wine which is made from fortified Chardonnay and botanicals.
Chateau Climens 2010 Barsac – A perfect Barsac from a great vintage. Rich opulent body and tastes of roasted pineapple, lemon drop and orange peel flavors with a nice vanilla oak backdrop.
A controversy erupted at the table due to its high 13.5% ABV. Nick felt this was indicative of the wine being far too big and over the top and contrary to what Sauternes/Barsac is supposed to be, surpassing the standard 12% of most others and even the ABV level of arguably more opulent and sugary TBAs and Aussie/NZ stickies. Michael and I were perfectly happy, feeling this was punching far above its already considerable weight class so to speak where it was challenging Yquem for supremacy. I also felt it had not strayed too far over into TBA/stickie territory and was still pretty exemplary of Barsac/Sauternes and magnificently so. Easily one of the best if not the best non-Yquem I’ve ever had.
Dinner began with a pair of amouse-bouches. Tim made some Brie turnover pastries and a traditional Caprese salad of tomatoes, mozzarella, basil leaves and balsamic and olive oil dressing.