Vintages Last of October - Bordeaux and the US Pac.NW

October 28^th brings with it the Bordeaux 2010 feature. Yawn. That’s just my palate, don’t take it personally. The second feature this week is the U.S.Pacific Northwest.  A Pacific Northwest feature should yield some rare delights from Oregon and Washington State. What do we get? The expected  Pinot Noirs and a Gris from Oregon and from Washington, three wines that are oft available in Vintages but which sell out quickly.  Why use a feature to repeat the same old, same old?   Especially from Washington where there are plenty of medium to big buck options available (whether they be Cabs, Syrahs or Merlots) without having to resort to retreads. Up price, Abeja, Baer, Bookwalter, Januik  to name a few or the less well  known and less pricey  Millbrandt or Glaze or Waterbrook? 

Since the LCBO saw fit to reiterate Marie Antoinette’s infamous “Let them eat cake!” in their marketing this week, let’s stay with the guillotine theme and chop off the VRSS at 60 points. It would be 64 but I can’t bring myself to get in the scrum nor drop the bucks for the Amon Ra.  If this release is a sign of things to come, this fall does not bode well for the cellar. It does bode well for my bank account though.

The Picks (not many this week)

Vinum Africa  Chenin Blanc 2011 – $15.95 - Try this one for a tasty, zippy, fruity accompaniment if Thai or spicy seafood is on the menu. Good choice.

Zolo Cabernet -2010– One of the latest options of the ‘$17.00 that should be $15.00’ wines.  Very well scored, this might be a good wine to serve if you’re having a Christmas open house. Of course if you do, your guests might never leave.

The Columbia Crest Grand Estates and H3 Merlots  as well as the Charles Smith Cabernet are good wines but you can find similar options quite often in Vintages.  Like the Zolo above, the Grand Estates is a great choice to serve at an open house. Not too overpriced, it’s food friendly yet very good on its own. It’s sure to please.   

OZ appears to be this week’s Spain. There are a few Shiraz Grenache blends this week from $17 to $29.00 and a couple of good Shiraz between $17 and $25.

Travaglini Gattinara 2007 $29.95 – Think of it as a Barolo without the full price tag.  Ageworthy and still tannic even after six years.

The BIG Bucks

Glaetzer Amon Ra 2010 – A renowned Australian wine.  Can’t afford the Grange or Hill of Grace (who can?)? This is your ticket!  It is close to a match for the Elderton Command or the E and E Black Pepper Shiraz. But, 64 cases of 6 is all there is. Watching the scrum at the Cornwall St. Store will be an interesting way to spend about 45 seconds on Saturday morning!

Trapiche Single Vineyard Series 2009 –$39.95 - Jorge Mirailles Vineyard – Annually, Trapiche selects their best single vineyards and from these, they produce a special series of wines named for each of the vineyard managers.  Quality permitting, usually three Single Vineyards are selected and the resultant wines are among the very best produced by Trapiche. Massive, opaque, just made for red meat.  

Yacochuya 2006 $46.95– From Michel Rolland, this bad boy is a big one and right in its drinking window. Expensive though!

One mention of a Vintages Essential this week as well. WineAlign recently voted the The Stag's Leap Cabernet as the best  wine available in Canada in the $25 to $50 category. It's on sale for a couple of weeks at $5 off. Down from $49.95 to $44.95. I guess the new vintage must be coming in. Winealign had a number of criteria for the wine to be chosen, go to their blog to read about the process. It's a very well run operation with pretty much the who's who of English Canadian wine critics involved.