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Intriguing Piedmont Tasting - Novermber 11, 2016

Posted on November 21, 2016

Terrific tasting on Friday. We started with some bubbles from Giulio Cocchi…who knew that Piedmont made bubbles.

It was a full house and the wines showed beautifully. I have been tasting wines from Italy over that last decade or more. It is always fun to come across another grape that I haven’t heard of. In Italy, that is easy, with more than 1000 different varietals, it is almost impossible to taste them all…I think I am up to 200 or so. You’ll have to try this new grape, Rossese.



Manzone Rossese Bianco 2013 $32.99
Rossese is grown in only a few areas of Northern Italy. The wine is vinified in 500L barrels and left on lees for 12 months before settling and bottling. Floral, orange peel, and apricot are on the palate. Pairs nicely with simple pizza, chicken, and white fish.

The rest of wines as tasted are here below. Instead of the order that they were tasted, I thought I would put them in the order in which the all attendees liked most.

Aldo Conterno Colonnello Barolo DOCG 2011 $189.99
One of Italy's most famous red wines and a mighty impressive 92 points from Wine Spectator for the 2011 vintage. Eucalyptus and menthol notes shade the cherry and leather flavors in this taut, beefy red with dense tannins that carries to the lingering finish. Pairing: MEAT! the wine is aged in Slovenian Oak for 28 months.

Cascina Sant’Eufemia Barbera d’Alba 2011 $29.99
Notes of roses, black cherry and with ageing - liquorice, tobacco & coffee begin to show. Aged in 400L French oak for 12 months’ wine goes through malo-lactic when aged to smooth out the acidity. Pairs nicely with chicken, pork and pasta Pomodoro.

Montezemolo Langhe Arneis 2015 $29.99
Another cool little grape from Northern Italy – generally found in Piemonte only. Fermented at low temperatures (15C) to retain freshness and acidity. 3 months on lees. Intense bouquet of peach and acacia flowers, chamomile, and melon. Pair with omelletes, veggie soups, stuffed squash blossoms and vitello tonnato (veal with tuna sauce).

Borgogno “NO NAME” Nebbiolo 2012 $48.99
A quiet protest by Borgogno against the bureaucracy that afflicts Italian agriculture – they use 3 cru Barolo vineyards and declassify the wine. Pairs nicely with lamb and beef. Rich, with a lush matrix of cherry, strawberry, iron and tobacco flavors, showing firm tannins and vibrant acidity.

Manzone Dolcetto d’Alba Celiegie 2014 $27.99
Dolcetto is made in steel tanks, released 22 months after harvest. it has an intense nose with blackberry and violet notes. I would say that Dolcetto is Italy’s version of Beaujolais. Pairs well with “primi piatti” and pizza.

Thanks to all those that attended. We’ll see you again at our nex...

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New beers, November 10, 2016

Posted on November 10, 2016

Hey there beer fans!

Back again for another update. I've got some interesting new beers this week! Some fun, fall appropriate darker beers, along with more warm weather-prolonging pales (It's still summer to me in some ways). Before I get to them, I want to remind everyone that we've only got about 3 weeks left until Advent begins (you know where I'm going with this), and there's still enough time to grab this year's Craft Beer Advent Calendar. European brewers brewing modern beer styles is the theme this year, and it's perfect for those who love to constantly try different beers! Every week we bring more in and they keep selling out, so if you want one, give the store a call to reserve one (403-283-8000) before it's too late.

Now - on to the main event! Here's what I've got newly on the shelf this week!



Chase My Tail Pale by Yellow Dog: A hop forward but well balanced American style pale ale. Sturdy, crackery malt base with enough character to hold up to the hops, but light enough to be super quenching. Fruity, citrusy hop aromas and flavours just add to the crisp, clean character. ($19.79 for a 4-pack of tall cans)

Shake a Paw Smoked Porter by Yellow Dog: Just what you want in a porter and more! Silky chocolate and coffee with a hint of smoke wrapping all around everything. Comforting and complex, great for smoky, meaty meals (maybe a stew?) or by itself. ($19.79 for a 4-pack of tall cans)

Grunion Pale Ale by Ballast Point: This beer is the result of an employee-only homebrew contest at the brewery. Calypso and Mosaic hops bring plenty of melony fruity notes, all sitting on a moderately rich malt base. ($24.49 for a 6-pack of bottles)

Sort Kaffe Black IPA by Mikkeller: Plenty of toasty pine, cocoa and coffee come across in this wonderful black IPA. The hops provide all the pine and a good bitterness, but noticeably separate from the bitterness of the dark malts. Don't miss out on this one! ($6.89 for a 330mL bottle)

Running Club Hoppy Pilsner by Mikkeller: This is a take on a German Pilnser, but with a more hop forward profile in mind. A little fruitier than one might expect, think lemons and other citrus. The malt is light, but still has some body to it, and still fairly refreshing. ($5.69 for a 330mL bottle)

Hotbox Coffee Porter by Oskar Blues: Nutty and caramely malts, with bits of darker malts here and there. The rich cold brewed coffee showcases itself with hints of dark fruit, and the coffee itself mingling with the malty cocoa notes nicely. ($19.99 for a 4-pack of cans)

It looks like we are in for a satisfying week. There should be enough new brews to go around.

There are also a few items I was able to restock of course. This week, they are: Double Mountain Killer Red Fresh hop, Breakside Passionfruit sour, Dandy Baltus von Tassle Cherry sour, and Bench Creek's Black Spruce ...

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Bordeaux vs Tuscany: November 8, 2016

Posted on November 16, 2016

What a pleasant evening we had! Two of the greatest wine regions of the wine world competing against each other. Bordeaux vs Tuscany, the epic battle! Of course, to be fair to both regions, we needed to focus our tasting on a style that can be compared, and the logical choice for us was the “Super Tuscans”.  For those of you that are not familiar with the term, “Super Tuscan” is used to describe red wines from Tuscany that may include the use of non-indigenous grapes, especially Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The creation of super Tuscan wines was a result of the frustration winemakers had towards a slow bureaucracy in changing the wine law of Italy during the 1970’s. Winemakers began mixing ‘unsanctioned’ wine varieties (like Merlot and cabernet sauvignon) into their blends to make high quality wines, often times by using French inspired techniques of winemaking, like the use of smaller French oak barrels. Since then, the Italian law evolved to make room for this new category within the IGP label, and many estates started to produce very interesting Super Tuscans cuvee alongside their classic wines made from indigenous varietals.

Our criteria to select our lineup were:

1: the grape varietals: we wanted to compare either single varietals or blends that are very similar, even if it was not always possible to find blends from Bordeaux and Tuscany that had the exact same percentages of each varietal.

2: Price point: Often times a good indicator of quality and expenses spent on the production of a cuvee. To be fair, we wanted to make sure to compare similar wines.

3: Regions: For the last pair of wines of the night, we wanted to put against each other two satellite regions that produce quality, but value oriented wines in a Bordeaux or Super Tuscan style.

We were extremely content with how the wines were showing, even though some, like La Mondotte and Le Macchiole, were obviously still infants. We decanted all the wines earlier in the day with the exception of the whites to make sure that they were showing their full potential.

The wines:



2013, Château Doisy-Daëne $39.99
100% Sauvignon Blanc
Bordeaux Blanc AOC, Barsac

Château Doisy-Daëne is a Barsac estate producing top-class, sweet Bordeaux white wines characterized by their finesse and richness. The property is owned by the late Denis Dubourdieu, a legendary figure in Bordeaux wine circles, especially for the way he has revitalized the reputation of the region’s dry white wines. This is a stunning example of their dry style wine made with 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes. Elegant, with notes of grapefruit and white peach on the nose and a characteristic pear skin and spice character on the palate. It is a beautiful expression of the varietal, with a long ageing potential (5-1...

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Glencadam and Tomintoul Distilleries tasting - Nov. 5, 2016

Posted on November 25, 2016

Glencadam and Tomintoul with Iain Forteath



On Saturday, November 5th we were led through a great tasting of what Angus Dundee Distillers have to offer by Iain Forteath (twitter: @thewhiskyboy ) (LINK). Angus Dundee is a family owned company that creates many blended scotch whiskies and also owns two malt distilleries in Glencadam and Tomintoul. As Global Brand Ambassador for Angus Dundee Ian was kind enough to take us through the main lineups for both.

Here was the lineup of what we tasted:



1.) Glencadam 10yr - 46% ABV - $75

Glencadam Distillery was founded in 1825. The 10 year old is aged entirely in ex-bourbon barrels and is a very approachable that showcases very bright characteristics from the vessels that aged it. I noticed floral notes as well as clean malt, vanilla, citrus, cocoa powder, orange marmalade, marzipan and white chocolate. Creamy on the palate with more vanilla, citrus, shortbread and biscuits. The clean finish leaves you ready for more.

2.) Glencadam 15yr - 46% ABV  - $101

The 15 year old carries on where the 10 year left off, adding five more years in those ex-bourbon barrels and some more character and complexity from it. More toasty oak and wood notes are noticeable along with more vanilla, lime citrus along with white chocolate and cocoa powder showing up again. On the palate deeper notes of toasted hazelnuts and toasted almonds, marzipan, hot chocolate, white chocolate, vanilla bean and very light cloves come through.

3.) Glencadam 14yr Oloroso Finish - 46% - $96

Finished for two years in ex-Oloroso sherry casks - this malt shows bright like the 10 and 15 but adds notes of Golden raisins, figs, candied ginger, green pineapple and fudge along with the vanilla and cocoa notes still coming through. It finishes in an elegant manner with hints of spice.

4.) Glencadam 21yr - 46% ABV - $230

The oldest of the regular Glencadam lineup - this 21 year spends all of its time aging in ex-bourbon barrels. It does manage to show some characteristics that make you think there might be some sherry in there but there is not. It has quite complex with notes of dried apricots, marzipan, toasted almonds, white chocolate and fruit and nut bars on the nose. The palate has pineapple and poached pear, fruit cup syrup, toasted almonds, marzipan, honey, toffee, and creamy Werther's Originals.

5.) Tomintoul 16yr - 40% ABV  - $102

Tomintoul is relatively young by Scottish standards having only been founded last century in 1965. As Ian pointed out to us Tomintoul is one of four distilleries that reside within the Glenlivet Estate and therefore can legally add Glenlivet to the end of their name. The others are The Glenlivet, Braeval (sometimes called Braes o'Glenlivet), and Tamnavulin - which I can co...

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Scotch Malt Whisky Society November 2016 Outturn

Posted on November 6, 2016



It has almost become routine for us to say each month, that the new Outturn was a hit and very well received. The November 2016 Outturn was very well received, we saw strong interest in all 7 new whiskies. We had some very reasonable price points this month which may have helped, and curiously, the most controversial new release: 30.91: Deliciously dark and sweet, a very sherried Speyside whisky was polarizing, but tied for the best seller! It seemed to be the type of whisky that members either loved or hated... and while there was a touch of sulphur, a subject we addressed in an earlier post, there were a lot of people loved it!



There are still at least a handful of bottles left of all of this month's releases, though some, like 30.91, 42.24, 35.142, 39.122 and 36.96, we are down to just a handful of bottles. My personal favourites were: 42.24: The bee's kness, 30.91: Deliciously dark and sweet, and 3.266: Smoke Drifting Over Gardens; I love those big Lavender infused Ileachs!



As always, we taste blindish... Here are the whiskies of the November 2016 Scotch Malt Whisky Society Canada Outturn:



36.96: Chocolate cookie cake - 58.1% - 9 Year - 1st Fill Barrel - Speyside - Flavour Profile: "Juicky oak & vanilla." - Outturn: 204 Bottles - Panel's Tasting Note: "The aromas neat were like reading the dessert menu in a restaurant.  Sticky toffee pudding, salty caramel bread and butter pudding, caramelized bananas, glace cherry cake, and orange and lemon drizzle loaf.  We needed to take a sip to decide; sweet and spicy on the tongue.  Flavours of dark fruits, dark bitter chocolate and dark spiced rum all put  together in one delicious chocolate cake cookie – can I have one please!  With a drop of water, white chocolate-coated green grapes and a ginger marzipan cake with candied citrus peel, whilst in the taste a fruit and vegetable orange carrot smoothie." Drinking Tip: "One of your five-a-day?" - $122.99
39.122: 1960's French breakfast - 62.5% - 8 Year - 1st Fill Barrel - Speyside - Flavour Profile: Sweet, fruity & mellow - Outturn: 192 Bottles - Panel's Tasting Note: "We were struck by the complexity of the nose – certainly perfumed and fruity, with red fruits, orange, tutti-frutti – even raisins – but there was also chocolate, fudge, treacle and cookie dough – and hints of wool carpets, olive soap and elder flower. The palate was very pleasant indeed – fruity confectionery, orange zest and orange blossom, apricot jam, honey and buttery brioche – could have been a French breakfast.  The reduced nose just got even more complex – pineapple and watermelon; marmalade on croissants and hints of tobacco – French breakfast circa 1960s.  The palate now had coffee grinds, iced tea, crème Anglaise and toasted crumpet – Ooh-la-la!" - Drinking...

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