Archive for June, 2016

South Side Story; the wines of Southern France are the feature of the June 25th release and it’s Canada day on July 1st. Thus there are a few (some exceptional I might add) wines from both Niagara and British Colombia up to toast the holiday.

Wines of the month.

450155 TAPIZ ALTA COLLECTION MALBEC 2013 Mendoza, Argentina $19.95: Pure essence of blackcurrant with support from the likes of black raspberry, blueberry and Dutch licorice. Juicy and ripe; the palate is creamy, echoing the fruit that runs all the way to the long and well balanced finish. Find this wine

325076 CAVES D’ESCLANS WHISPERING ANGEL ROSÉ 2015 Côtes de Provence, France $26.95: Lovely aromas of bright strawberry, citrus, white tree fruit and mineral. Dry styled, plenty of red fruit and nectarine flavours with enough acidity to keep it in tune. Find this wine

SOUTH SIDE STORY WINES

177584 DOMAINE LES YEUSES LES EPICES SYRAH 2013 Pays d’Oc, Midi $15.95: Very fruit forward at first, but with some encouragement, aromas of cave air and wet forest floor appear. Ribena streaks across the palate, and some cherry notes are present as well. It has good structure, nice blackcurrant acidity and enough tannin to hold it for a year or two. Find this wine

295949 CHATEAU EUGENIE CUVEE RESERVEE DE L AIEUL CAHORS 2013 $22.95: Black toffee with dirt, dust, mocha, plum, blackberry, clove and star anise. The palate has a creamy texture, filled with mocha, plum and dark fruit. There are tannins to deal with too, but give it time, it will be tasty. Find this wine

446138 DOMAINE DE L’ALBA L’ERMITE 2013 Corbieres, Midi $17.00: Little if any fruit on the nose. Instead it shows off tree bark, sweet black licorice, wet earth and a strange metallic note. However, the palate is different; it has plenty of juicy plum and sweet cherry flavours, while the earthy side still shows its presence. Acidity is clean and the finish has all the fruit plus a helping of Christmas cake spice. Find this wine

712174 MAS DES BRESSADES LES VIGNES DE MON PURE CABERNET/SYRAH 2013 Vin de Pays du Gard, Midi $21.95: Blackberry takes centre stage and is supported well by a cast of both Szechwan and black pepper, charcoal, damp soil and mineral. It is ripe, the fruit is a powerhouse, but acids are low, the texture is globby and heat on the finish is discernable. Find this wine

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California Zinfandel has been an addiction of mine for many years; thus I was excited to see Zinfandel being the focus of this coming release at Vintages, due to hit the shelves this coming Saturday June 11th. Sadly there are no new Zins being showcased here and other than the Lytton Springs from Ridge and the Sonoma Zin from Seghesio, there is little to warrant setting an early alarm to be the first in line to shop.

Zinfandel is produced across California in a variety of styles. Some emphasize a softer more elegant character while others can have alcohol levels that can spiral out of control. Balance is the key here and when in tune, a powerhouse Zinfandel can be out of this world. Please read on to get my take on a few of them.

396168 CA’ MOMI ZINFANDEL 2014 Napa Valley $22.95: Sweet and overpowering at first, but tree blossoms, tar, dried berry and lavender start to show. A pleasing mix of tart cranberry and sweet cherry hit the palate followed by a touch of chocolate and dusty tannin. Find this wine

942151 SEGHESIO ZINFANDEL 2014 Sonoma County $29.95: Full of fleshy ripe blackberry and dark cherry fruit enhanced by notes of mint, cake spice, black pepper, coal dust and Xmas pudding. Super concentration on the palate, it is chewy, the fruit is lively, there are teasing’s of sweet black licorice and dusty cocoa. Tannins are discernible, but early decanting will help to soften. My pick of the release. Find this wine

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Continuing with our survey of warm weather wines of the pink persuasion, I’m pleased to report that the two current selections from Tablas Creek Vineyard are quite delicious, and deliver the goods on every level. We’re unabashed fans of this fine producer, and while we also will offer impressions of the latest versions of a dandy TC white and three of their fine reds, we’re in full-blown rosé mode here at Gang Central, so let’s start with those. (I also want to mention that the Tablas Creek Vineyard Blog, authored by Jason Haas, Partner and General Manager at Tablas Creek Vineyard, is a finalist in the 2016 Wine Blog Awards in the Best Winery/Industry Wine Blog category. Jason pens an excellent blog and deserves your vote!  But hurry, polls close on June 13th.)

2015 Tablas Creek Vineyard Patelin de Tablas Rosé Paso Robles, 68% Grenache, 13% Counoise, 11% Mourvedre, 8% Syrah, 13.0% Alc., $25.00: Pretty salmon pink color; rich, fairly ripe and mineral laden, seemingly with one foot each in the Old and New Worlds. It shows a watermelon and strawberry fruit character, with a good dose of the aforementioned mineral; medium bodied, with zippy acids and good length. Very much in the same style as previous vintages and very much to my liking.
24% Grenache and Counoise from Self Family Vineyard (Templeton Gap)
20% Grenache from Cass (El Pomar)
12% Grenache and Counoise from Clautiere (Geneseo District)
11% Grenache and Tablas-clone Mourvèdre from Hollyhock (El Pomar)
8% Syrah from Derby (Templeton Gap)
7% Grenache from KamRidge (Creston)
7% Grenache and Mourvedre from Paso de Record (Paso Robles Estrella District)
5% Grenache from Beckwith (Adelaida District)
3% Counoise from Old Oak (Paso Robles Willow Creek District)
3% Grenache and Counoise from the Tablas Creek certified organic estate vineyard Find this wine

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