Hi All,
And for likely the final time in 2013, a bunch of notes on the most recent sweet wines and spirits I’ve had since the end of Fall. Quite an eclectic mix this time around. Hope it inspires everyone to crack open a sweet wine over the holidays:
1994 POCAS COLHEITA PORT – The previous edition of this wine was bottled in 2011 but this year’s edition was bottled this year in 2013. Those two years do make a great bit of difference. Dark brown in the glass with shades of ruby purple. Great nose of toffee, brown sugar and fresh plums. In the mouth, very light-bodied feel for a 20% ABV Port (which I find is true of most Colheitas) with rich tastes of toffee mingling with surprisingly fruity tastes of red plums. This is an incredible QPR value for those who would normally drink a 20 Year Old Tawny as it goes for only two-thirds the price. A touch less body and complexity but so what? This is a tremendous wine and it’s very rare to see a Colheita of this age for sale here in Ontario. RECOMMENDED
INNISKILLIN 2012 VIDAL ICEWINE – Latest vintage of the classic that put Canadian icewine on the map. Very full bodied and rich, light gold in the glass, intoxicating aromas of apricots, peaches and honey. In the mouth, luscious peach and apricot and honey flavors with a touch of caramel which is unusual for such a yong icewine. A high quality standard by which all other Canadian Vidal icewines are judged and rightfully so. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
SIVIPA 2008 MOSCATEL DE SETUBAL – A fortified Portuguese muscat. When I first acquired it two years ago, it was a bright red orange in color and full of aromas and flavors of orange peel and honey. It has undergone an interesting evolution. It is now a dark copper red in the glass with aromas of honey blossom and orange blossom. In the mouth, it’s medium-bodied with sweet flavors of burnt sugar toffee and candied orange peel. Almost sherry-like due to the maderization but still retains enough sweet recognizable Muscat flavour. Very nice length. Solid QPR and a vastly underrated style of wine even amongst Portuguese wine loves who enjoy Madeira and Port. RECOMMENDED
GRAND MARNIER RASPBERRY PEACH – A brand new edition of Grand Marnier in time for the holidays, this would’ve been perfect but for a single fatal flaw.
Bottled in a clear glass decanter to show off the nice golden amber orange color. Viscous but smooth mouthfeel, full-bodied, incredible nose of peaches. In the mouth, sweet taste of peaches with an undertone of the famous Marnier orange flavor. It’s essentially a perfect fuzzy navel flavor… and then the raspberry kicks in at the same time as the heat does giving it a really odd-tasting finish I can only liken to cough syrup. It really is a case of too much of a good thing and I really wished they’d stopped at the peach flavor and they would’ve had a winner like last year’s cherry.
COMANDON SINGLE BARREL GRANDE CHAMPAGNE XO COGNAC – This rare for me independently produced single barrel Cognac proudly lists itself as being only 7 years old, 1 year more than the currently required 6 for an XO classification.
Dark amber in the glass, very full body, and a classic Cognac nose of oak, vanilla and dried flowers. In the mouth, shockingly, this has incredibly complex and fruit forward flavors, with lots of vanilla, dried apricots, oak, pepper spice and lemon peel. In fact, the very first thought in my head was that tasted more like an Armagnac than it did a Cognac. Very good, but I would’ve liked to see it with more age on it.
AUCHENTOSHAN THREE WOOD SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY – This single malt was aged a decade in bourbon barrels, 1 more in Oloroso and 1 more in PX sherry barrels. Intensely dark orange color, full body, gentle nose of walnuts and sherry belie a very, very sweet whisky with flavors of cream, vanilla, raisins, toffee and dried plums. The very literal definition of a dessert whisky if there ever was one. The only put-off is a strong alcoholic burst of heat on the finish that very nearly crosses over into cough syrup medicine territory.
This reminds me of last year at this time when I raved about the Glenmorangie Nectar D’Or and Quinta Ruban whiskies which were also aged 10 years before barrel finishing for another 2 respectively in Sauternes and Port barrels respectively. I thought they were the bees knees in whisky – until I tried the Glenlivet 21 Archive and The Balvenie 21 Portwood whiskies and saw what happens when you add to great whisky by finishing them with barrels.
I really , really wish this had been aged 20 years instead of ten before finishing with the Oloroso and PX barrels. I would’ve been all over this if that had happened. As it is, however, it is a great QPR deal and a nice sweet dessert whisky. I’m just saying it could have been great instead of just merely nice. RECOMMENDED
GLENFIDDICH GRAN RESERVA 21 YEAR OLD SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY – A rare rum barrel finished whisky (I believe The Balvenie Carribean Cask is the only other), this whisky is orange-brown in color, full-bodied and has a nice but surprisingly subdued nose of toffee and bananas. Bananas Foster, really, is what it smells like and the only reason I even latch onto that is because I made it for dessert at Mike Grammer’s birthday dinner which we both posted about recently.
Well, that nose raised my expectations quite highly and what I got was a very smooth whisky with well-integrated heat – I expect no less of a quality 21 year old – and tastes of toffee, molasses, brown sugar, a bit of ginger and nutmeg… holy crap, this tastes just like gingerbread! Seriously. Well, I can see why the LCBO brought it in for Xmas time.
Very nice whisky but a tough recommendation for me due to its high price. On the one hand, I have the Glenlivet Archive 21 Year Old which is just as nice and about half the price. On the other, I have the Balvenie 21 Year Old Portwood which is slightly more expensive. Tough one for me as I weight quality for QPR, but if you have the means to afford it then I have to give this a RECOMMEND. If budget is an issue this holiday season, pass and grab a Glenlivet archive.
THE GRANGE OF PRINCE EDWARD 2010 RIESLING – Holy crap. This is an Ontario Riesling that is actually comparable to quality German Riesling Spatleses! Light straw gold in the glass, immediate whiff of petrol in the nose followed by fruity peach, green apple and honey aromas. In the mouth, great taste of green apples, lemons and honey with high acidity and great minerality. If you like sweetness in your Riesling but find German Spatlese and Auslese too sweet, this is an off-dry Riesling to try.
And if you think I’m schilling or overselling for my home region’s Riesling, look up my TNs and tell me if you see any positive notes for an Ontario Riesling other than perhaps maybe Vineland. You won’t find one because I usually can’t stand Ontario Riesling unless it’s an icewine. This was an absolute and genuine shock for me and an amazing QPR value. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
FONSECA BIN No. 27 RESERVE PORT – First Ruby Port I’ve had in a long while. Dark purple in the glass, full-bodied, nose is heavy on heat and tannin with a bit of fresh plum. In the mouth, sweet tastes of plum and black currants and a soft mouthfeel give way to an overly large amount of tannins on the finish. This could really use some aging to smooth it out – oops, Ruby Ports don’t smooth out with age. And this is why we should always stick with Vintage Port, kids. Because whenever I drink Ruby Port I always feel like I’m drinking a potentially good glass of sweet wine and never more than that.
PILLITTERI 2008 PINOT BLANC ICEWINE – An extremely rare Pinot Blanc based Canadian icewine. Despite being relatively young, a dark gold in the glass, full-bodied, and a rich nose of burnt sugar toffee and dried pineapple. In the mouth, tastes of honeydew, pineapple and lots of caramel. This has developed quickly in a short time and I think it should be drunk now.