Tasted while at Lake Louise: Mellot, Pousse d’Or, Bouchard, Tolpuddle, Pio Cesare

  • 2016 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre La Moussière - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre (2/15/2019)
    Purchased off the wine list at the Post Hotel Fondue Stubli. Pale white gold. Nose of mown grass, grapefruit, lime, and white rock. Clear, pure, steely white grapefruit and pear on the palate overlying acidic spine. Long finish of schist and pale fruit with grip and focus at the end. Lovely drink. From a 375. (91 pts.)
  • 2010 La Pousse d’Or Santenay 1er Cru Clos Tavannes - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Santenay 1er Cru (2/15/2019)
    Purchased off the wine list at the Post Hotel Fondue Stubli. Ruby hue. Nose of cherry pits, raspberry, violets, deep set earth. Compact layers of primary red and black raspberry fruit on the palate with admirable precision and depth for such a young wine. Energizing high-toned acidity and structured tannin but no rusticity noted. Moderately long finish of brooding red raspberry fruit cut with earth. Very nice showing for this wine, which will undoubtedly improve with more time in the cellar. From a 375. (90 pts.)
  • 1998 Bouchard Père et Fils Volnay 1er Cru Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot - France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Volnay 1er Cru (2/13/2019)
    Purchased off the wine list at the Post Hotel Dining Room. Last bottle. Popped and poured. Medium ruby color with feathering at the edges. Nose of musk combined with full blown violets, cherry blossom, plum pits, scintillating acrid red berry. Beautifully detailed palate with layers of velvet-textured mulberry, red raspberry, iron particles, and red earth enlivened by steely acidity and still firm tannin. Long finish of iron-laden red mulberry fruit anchored in stone. A wine of impeccable balance. (93 pts.)
  • 2012 Tolpuddle Vineyard Pinot Noir - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (2/13/2019)
    Purchased off the wine list at Deer Lodge, Lake Louise. Popped and poured. Darker ruby. Nose of fresh cut raspberry, black cherry, violets, caramel, earth. After one hour the palate was wide open, with layers of exuberant and satiny red raspberry, Bing cherry, and a bit of rhubarb on display, cut with dark spices and stone. Lots of refreshing acidity and firm but fine-grained tannin. Longer finish of lively red fruit and craggy earth. We kept going back for another sip. Delightful wine all around. (92 pts.)
  • 1993 Pio Cesare Barbaresco Il Bricco - Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco (2/12/2019)
    Last taste was 4 years ago, at the Post Hotel Dining Room. Found ourselves in the Post Hotel Pub on a quiet, cold night (-5 degrees F) with tagliatelle topped with ground duck breast on special. One bottle of this wine left in the cellar, which we snared. Sommelier came down from the restaurant to open it with an Ah-So. Pristine cork. Nose was open from early on, releasing scents of fennel, tar, roses, earth, and pleasantly astringent iodine. At 90 minutes the palate revealed velvet-textured layers of strawberry, dark cherry, asphalt, and earth. Wiry acidity and softened dusty tannin led to a long finish of red cherry, tar, and gentle grip. Wonderful wine from our wedding year, very much alive. (93 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

Love the Post Hotel! Thanks for the notes.

Truett,

They really do take care of you. The staff was very gracious, and remembered our anniversary in a very significant way. The wine list is one of the deepest and broadest I have seen. We had a lovely time.

Cheers,
Doug

Yes, they do take great care of their guests. First class service in a gorgeous setting. I’ve been there with groups of 5 or 6 so we usually order 4-5 bottles at dinner. We focus on Burgundy (white and red) and Northern and Southern Rhone (white and red). So many great choices.

I wonder how they found out/got the Tolpuddle wines. Pretty off the radar stuff even in Australia. Those that know, keep it to themselves :slight_smile:

The Post Hotel is one of my fondest memories, and one of the best vacations we have ever been on. My wife and I took a trip through the Canadian Rockies back in the mid-90’s, and spent a few nights at The Post. We also had an anniversary dinner there one night. I was just seriously getting into wine at the time, and I ordered a 1990 Caymus Special Selection off of their list. The Sommelier and wine service was impeccable, and they poured the Caymus into huge Riedel Cab glasses, and I remember thinking that wine and the overall wine experience couldn’t get better than that…

My taste in wine has matured since back then, but my memories of that night and the Post Hotel will always be special to me…

Is this the annual wine get together that Hank Gillespie so often attended? It saddens me that, though we talked about it, I never got there to meet him. He really enjoyed it.

Add another very satisfied guest at The Post Hotel. We were there last February and had a great time and lots of very good wine.

Doug,
Nice TN’s. How’s the skiing?
Warren

Well done sir, love The Post Hotel too.

Alan, I don’t know the answer to your question. IIRC, Hank lived in Edmonton, about a 3 hour drive from The Post, part of the year. The Post does a series of winemaker dinners every year, as well as their Wine Summit, so maybe he attended some of those events. Here’s a link to the 2017 Wine Summit. https://posthotel.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/2017-WS-Brochure-pdf1.pdf

Truett,

I can just imagine sitting down with more guests, and having even more fun with the wine list.


Dave,

I actually was in Tasmania and had a hard time finding Tolpuddle bottles! Glad I got the chance to sample the 2012 - terrific stuff.


Paul,

The sommelier staff is excellent and helped us pick out wines. Lovely folks who know their stuff and share their knowledge quite freely. Glad you had a good experience.


Alan,

They have held several wine summits, as I think they call it. Could have been the events that Hank attended. They have winemaker events also, and support pediatric oncology efforts locally.


Jonathan,

Glad you had a good experience too. Can’t really go there without having good wine!


Warren,

It was chilly, with temps in the -5 range to about 10 max. But when the sun was out, the visibility and skiing were terrific (as far as I can tell, being a terminal intermediate). Slight altercation with a snow bank but that was my fault. No lift lines to speak of, but then again we left on Friday.


Glenn,

If you have been there before, they remember you. Our last visit was four years prior and they remembered both us and our anniversary.


Cheers,
Doug

Nice notes for wines drank at such a fabulous place and the nearby ski resort that my wife and I love dearly. The wines just have to be better at this venue.

Thanks, Blake. I am not sure why we don’t go there more often. Just a one hour flight from Seattle to Calgary then a 2 hour drive through the mountains to get there. It’s a destination, definitely.

Another cool thing (complete non sequitur) is that you get all the US Customs clearance done in the Calgary airport before boarding the plane back home (maybe this is the case in most Canadian airports).

Cheers,
Doug