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New beer products - February 25th, 2015

Posted on March 2, 2015

Another week, another shipment of great beer. Here at Kensington Wine Market, we feel that a week without something new and yummy to taste is a wasted week indeed! Upon recently rearranging our beer section, we've found some extra space that was just perfect for -you guessed it!- more beer! We had to work quick so the space wasn't filled by Andrew with whisky, or by Eric with French wine. Stay away you vultures! The new products are as follows:



Estate Pale ale from MOA Brewing.
This American style pale ale comes from New Zealand's own MOA brewing. Generous hops come through on both the nose and the palate (naturally). Light tropical and floral notes come across along with a lively carbonation and a smooth bitterness in the end. $8.19 for 750mL bottle.

Red Dragon Double IPA by Alley Kat.
Alley Kat has had nearly a 3 year journey with their Dragon IIPA series, and it all started with this one. Whether it be single hopped IPAs, or small hop combinations, their Dragon series has always been noteworthy and admirable. The call back to this classic (and a favorite of some) is a welcome knock on the door from a friend we haven't seen in years. $6.79 for 650mL bottle

Salty Scott sea salt caramel scotch ale by Parallel 49 Brewing.
Definitely for the fan of the decadent-but-balanced-beers. The caramel notes are very forward on this brew, which was built on an old scottish wee heavy style. All the while salt does what salt does best: enhance the flavor! Giving the beer a soft, salinous mouth-feel. Grab one for dessert! $5.99 for 650mL bottle.

Saison Rue by The Bruery.
Though The Bruery are noted for their sour ales, there are certainly many entries of their non sour range that stand out. This farmhouse ale has a generous malted rye content that shows a lovely spiciness along with the biscuity malt and fruity yeast. Pro tip: Don't drink this any colder than cellar temperature, then let it come to room temperature as you drink! $16.09 for 750mL bottle.

Cold Snap by Sam Adams.
Among the first of modern day craft brewers, Samuel Adams crafted this winter lager with a blend of fruits and spices, along with orange peel, coriander, hibiscus and plum. The special ingredients fortify this unfiltered, refreshing ale to make it stand up to the chilly weather, yet crisp enough to last through spring. $15.69 for a 6-pack of bottles.

Intensify Belgian IPA by Gigantic Brewing.
East meets west with this American IPA fermented with a Belgian yeast strain. Big fruity American hops combine with the massive, and fruity belgian yeast to make a fruity, estery, and bitter IPA with spicy and peppery notes throughout. $10.09 for 650mL bottle.

Winter Warmer by No Li Brewhouse.
Caramel and toffee are all over this rich, malty beer. Plenty of pine, spice, and American hops add a wonderful balance, along with a slightly...

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The Northern Rhone tasting - Feruary 24, 2015

Posted on March 3, 2015

I’ll be honest, whenever I think of the tastings we do here at the shop, I rarely think about myself.  I tend to ask myself questions like, “What would people like to come out to?”, or “What’s trendy right now?”  But  tonight… oh, tonight.  Tonight was all about me!  A little bit of a confession here, I love the red wines of France’s Northern Rhone Valley.  Syrah grown on granite – I want it.  Somehow, the region seems to have one foot in Burgundy to the North (as it shares its soil type with Beaujolais), and another foot in the south.  I guess that’s why I love the wines so much.  It’s the tug-of-war you can feel within the wines as they try and be two things at the same time – light and rich; elegant and forceful; spicy and fruity.  In other words, thanks to those who attended the event to indulge me!  I loved it.  I hope you did to.  I thought the wines showed amazingly well, but as you can tell, I might be a little biased.



As we always do at the Kensington Wine Market, we ask the group to choose their favorites of the evening, and tonight we had a clear winner.  Jean Louis Chave’s Saint-Joseph came in first, with the Delas Hermitage and Vincent Paris Cornas tying for 2nd place.  It was a night filled with excellent wine, and thank you to all who came out to make it a special evening.



 

Here are some notes on the wines we tasted:

1.    2011 Yves Cuilleron St. Peray “Les Potiers” (St. Peray) - $43.99
A wonderful white wine made from Marsanne grapes, by a legendary producer! "Cuilleron continues to produce brilliant wines, particularly his dry whites," says the team at Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. We agree! Saint-Peray, by the way, is a tiny, obscure part of France's Northern Rhone, where only white wines are made, and all come from the Marsanne or Roussanne grapes.

2.    2012 Chateau de Saint Cosme Condrieu (Condrieu) - $84.99
A wonderful 91 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate for this beautiful Viognier! The review: "The 2012 Condrieu is a classic effort that gives up exotic fruits, white peach, apricot and citrus to go with a medium-bodied, clean and pure palate feel. Showing the richness of the variety in its texture, the overall impression here is one of purity and freshness."

3.    2013 Gilles Robin Crozes-Hermitage “Papillon (Crozes-Hermitage) - $41.99
"Gilles Robin is a young, talented producer," says Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. Also a favourit...

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Port in Any Storm tasting - February 20, 2015

Posted on March 3, 2015

Six great ports were available for our tasting.  All were well received and as usual our customers said that if they were to be stuck in a storm they would choose Fonseca Panascal 2001 and the Messias Colheita 1965 for their lifeboat.  Thanks to all that attended.


Taylor Fladgate White Port
The team behind the Taylor's Port house are pioneers of this exciting style, having introduced it in 1934. It is made in exactly the same way as conventional Port, but with white grapes rather than red. As the name suggests, it has a drier, fruity taste, and is best served chilled.

Fonseca LBV 2008
Established in 1822, The Fonseca Guimaraens house style is one of richness and warmth, with a lush fruit intensity and a structure of both dimension and finesse. Late Bottled Vintage wines are aged in cask for between four to six years before bottling. They are wines from a stated vintage, but produced every year, unlike Vintage Port which is produced only in "declared" vintage years

Fonseca Quinta do Panascal 2001
91 points from Wine Enthusiast! The review: ""A strong candidate for Port of the vintage. Fonseca's 2001 Quinta do Panascal boasts a nose filled with rich dense, brooding fruit. Blackberries and plums rush the palate; it's lush and fruity, yet given on the finish." Purchased by Fonseca in 1978, "Quinta do Panascal is now Fonseca's flagship estate," according to the renowned Port house's website.

Sandeman 10 yr. Tawny
Sandeman was established in 1790 were the first port producer to brand their casks with their name.  The intense red tawny colour with shades of brick, typical of this style of aged yet youthful wine, anticipates the elegant and complex aroma, combining ripe fruit, jam and nuts, with hints of vanilla and raisins.

Caves Messias Colheita 1995
Founded in 1926 by Messiah Baptist Caves Messiah have produced and marketed wines from the main regions of Portugal including the Douro. The date of the colheita was the year the tawny port was harvested.  This product was taken from the barrels and bottled in 2014.

Caves Messias Colheita 1965
Founded in 1926 by Messiah Baptist Caves Messiah have produced and marketed wines from the main regions of Portugal including the Douro. The date of the colheita  was the year the tawny port was harvested, 1965.  This product was taken from the barrels and bottled in 2014....

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What’s Next; Beer & Cheese! - February 17, 2015

Posted on February 25, 2015

This tasting is always popular with our customers. We tasted 6 great beers. Each beer was individually paired to a unique cheese from Janice Beaton Fine Cheese. Cheese-monger Lindsay was on hand to explain each cheese and why it was selected for each particular beer.



1.    Big Rock Ivan the Fermentable

From Calgary’s own Big Rock Brewery, this is a Kvass style beer brewed as part of the Alchemist series. This is the first Kvass beer that I can  recall having in stock at the store. A Kvass is a beer brewed from rye bread loaves. In this case, the loaves were baked by brewery staff. The beer itself is low alcohol, only 2.5%, and is more often regarded as a soft drink in Russia than a beer. The ease of drinkability and freshness of the beer surprised a lot of the attendees. There were hints of cinnamon and a definite rye spice flavour.

2.    Prairie Artisan Prairie Ale

Prairie Artisan Ales, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a star among craft breweries in the USA.  This brew is a classic saison, brewed with Pilsner malt, wheat malt, flaked wheat, and cane sugar. A healthy dose of Saaz hops is used to add a spicy element to the beer and the ale is fermented with a mix of ale yeast, wine yeast, and brettanomyces. Notes of black pepper, lemon citrus freshness and pineapple can be found in this beer. The brett yeast adds noticeable farmyard components – horse blanket and earthy tones.

3.    Wild Rose Regal

Calgary’s Wild Rose is producing a variety of seasonal releases. This rich black lager (that’s right a black lager) uses specially imported ingredients to recreate an old world favourite. Roasted malts are used to give the beer a dark chocolate flavour which is deftly balanced with the clean bitterness of German noble hops. Special German lager yeast and extended cold aging ensures this beer is silky smooth.

4.    Stewart Cascadian East

An American-style Pale Ale from Edinburgh, Scotland's Stewart Brewing Ltd. The nose is rife with grapefruit, citrus and tropical fruit as well as a resinous undertone. The taste is medium to light bodied with a bouquet of West Coast American hops, a hint of caramel and a tongue tingling bitterness. Hop charged with a clean and crisp finish.

5.    Samuel Smith Organic Chocolate Stout

Brewed with well water (the original well, sunk in 1758, is still in use with the hard well water being drawn from 85 feet underground), the gently roasted organic cocoa extract imparts a delicious, smooth and creamy character, with inviting deep flavours and a delightful finish - this is a marriage of satisfying stout and luxurious chocolate to provide sweetness.

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Classic Single Malts - February 5 2015

Posted on February 25, 2015

The first classic single malts class of the season is always exciting. Usually a class full of people who received their ticket as a gift over the season, this class provides an opportunity to really talk whisky and get into some of the more interesting parts of Scotch distillation. This night we had an exciting virtual tour of Scotland through a whisky medium. The choice spirits of the night, ranging between the prices of $50 all the way up to $120, took our class on a flight from the Highlands to the Islands to Speyside finally ending off on the mysterious island of Islay. With the eager tasters raring to go we delved into our first exciting dram.



AnCnoc Peter Arkle No. 4 - $84.99

An all rounder, this single malt was the perfect primer for the lot of us. Well rounded, spicy and sweet with all the nuances of a well balanced Highlander. With a little kick at the end from that zesty citrus this whisky lifts it's kilt and leaves nothing to the imagination offering all it's flavours up front. With all the dancing enthusiasm on the palate I can easily say this was one of my favourites of the night.

Jura Elixir 12 Year - $61.99

A little sherry cask action was needed next to contrast that American oak of the AnCnoc, this wee fellow from the isle of Jura came into the scene hollering with a ton of character. Not to be outdone by his Highland brethren, the sherry cask sweetness stole the scene kicking it up a notch with baking spices and milk chocolate coated ginger. What really got to me were those maritime oils, soft and sultry leaving a fudge like finish. This fellow really shows the Islands have something to brag about!

The Benriach 12 Sherry Wood - $78.99

Well, this guy was kind of a ringer. Everyone was watering at the mouth before they even tasted the darn thing just by looking at the colour. Dark and robust, it gives one the idea of a deep, rich dram. And that it is, peacocking all the delicious characters of a wonderfully selected sherry barrel. Dark chocolate, Christmas cake, dark fruits and demerara sugar meet headlong in an explosive battle royale on the palate. What else can be said about this one except it was second favourite of the night, who would have guessed?

Adelphi Clynelish 16 Year - $110.99

I threw this in the lineup thinking it would be a great example of a coastal whisky. It did that, and much, much more. Being the first cask strength whisky of the night one would think it might be an overbearing boozer after the delicate natures of everything before it. To our surprise, this full strength bomb was much deeper than just an alcohol kick, offering sponge toffee doused in a citrus rich reduction, full of grapefruit and passion fruit. With oceanic oils aiding it's profile, the final verdict decided by the class was "A sea side tropical treat full of white fruit and savory beauty, hinting at the salty...

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