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Rare Breeds – May 9th, 2014

Posted on May 11, 2014

Tasting and blog post by: Eric Southward

I was scared. People dropped a lot of money to come to our sold-out tasting last night, and I just wanted the wines to show well. It doesn’t matter how well you present from up front, when people spend their hard-earned dollars to taste expensive wines, then the wines better deliver.

And last night, the wines performed. Thank God… what a night!
Our “Rare Breeds” events are really just an exercise in decadence. If you ever have the opportunity to attend one of these tastings at the Kensington Wine Market, our only real goal for the evening is for you to sway and swoon in organoleptic delight. The wines stole the show.

Thank. The. Lord.

THE LINEUP:



NV Armand de Brignac Champagne Brut Rose: Let’s be honest, “value” was a word that had absolutely no place at this tasting. “Value” wasn’t the point. Armand de Brignac is a producer that doesn’t want to challenge you – they don’t want to complicate your experience. What do they want? They want to be a part of your special night without “F-in” it up. Mission accomplished. This was rich, delicious Champagne that can hold its own at any table, anywhere. Yum! Move on…

2008 Bond Cabernet Sauvignon “Quella”: raised the bar at the beginning of an impressive Cabernet Sauvignon flight. Intense, yet complex aromas of spring flowers, cassis, sage and mocha without a hint of heat. Tannins are youthful, yet impressively soft, and enjoyable. Flavours of milk chocolate suggest a little too much new oak, yet everything seems in balance. Really well done.

2009 Kapcsandy Cabernet Sauvignon “State Lane Vineyard”: much richer than the previous Napa Cab. Just pure, sunny Napa fruit. The group loved the honest black and blue fruit character that this wine offered, without any apparent oak. A touch of heat showed this wine’s youthfulness, but this wine was pure Napa. “Somebody get me a T-Bone!”

2010 Chateau Haut-Bailly: tragic. The wine that failed to show its best. This was closed down. It was the shy, pimply 11-year old at the tasting. It lacked any sort of confidence. It’s going to be an amazing adult, but it was just a terribly awkward adolescent. Come back to it in 2025.

2005 Greenock Creek Cabernet Sauvignon “Roennfeldt Road”: woooooooooowwwwwww, what a wine! I can’t express to you how explosive this wine was aromatically! 48 cases of this magical black currant nectar was produced, and it ...

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Seasonal Brews - Spring! May 8th 2014

Posted on May 9, 2014

Brewmasters just love spring. Join us for a sampling of some of the best seasonal brews, from refreshing fruit infused ales, sessionable beers and and substantial stouts.



1. Alley Kat Main Squeeze
This crisp citrus infused ale is poised to be a patio mainstay this Summer! Brewed with real grapefruits and grapefruit extracts, this brew is like sunshine in a bottle!

2. Cantillon Rosé de Gambrinus
A raspberry lambic, or framboise. The brewer calls it a rosé to distinguish it from the more common style of sweet, artificially flavoured beers. The raspberry flavours are prominent with a wonderful lambic sour background.

3. Liefmans Goudenband
Infinitely complex in aroma and flavour with notes of maltiness and tartness throughout. An unsurpassed old brown with the richness and complexity of a vintage wine.

4. Howe Sound Cloudburst Lemongrass White IPA
A refreshing, white unfiltered IPA with a bold, citrus aroma and crisp, light body. Brewed with a mix of white wheat and 2-row barley, this beer gains it’s aroma from the addition of lemongrass and Centennial and Amarillo hops.

5. Phillips Bottle Rocket ISA
Bottle Rocket is an India Session Ale packed with a bright, hoppy bitterness sure to ignite your taste buds. Unlike its big cousin IPA, this beer is light in colour and medium bodied but packs a hop blast sure to satisfy even the most seasoned Hoprotechnician.

6. Pannepot Grand Struise Brouwers
The barrel aged version of the Old Fisherman's Ale, a dark ale brewed with spices. Pours clear, dark ruby with a mahogany hue. Aromas of juicy malt, ripe fruit, and a boozy warmth. Grape jam, plump raisins, vanilla nougat, and brandy.

The Evening’s Two Most Popular Beers:
1. Phillips Bottle Rocket ISA
2. Liefmans Goudenband...

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Cinco de Mayo Tequila Tasting w/ Andrew

Posted on May 6, 2014

Its become a tradition the last four or five years at KWM to host a Tequila tasting on Cinco de Mayo. Is there any more appropriate day on the calendar to do so? Our Scotchguy, Andrew Ferguson, on this night donned his Tequila sombrero and alter-ego for a unique tasting. Andrew selected a range of 7 tequilas never before sampled in the store.



Herencian Historico Crystalino A five year old filtered tequila matured in American and European oak. Creamy, honeyed and fruity and the agave notes are soft and floral with a hint of leather and some decadent spice. - $134.99
Scorpion Mezcal Anejo A one year old Mezcal with a scorpion added "for extra excitement." There is something almost savoury and smoky about the palate. Earthy and quite herbaceous, it is soft, smooth and spicy. - $79.99
Crotalo Anejo Is a 2 year old tequila, matured in French oak for its first year, and then finished in "proprietary oak barrels" for its second year. It is a rich and aromatic tequila, more soft and sweet on the palate. Floral without any traces on herbaceous or bitter notes. - $99.99
Excellia Reposad0 Shockingly complex for just 9 months of age the maturation in Grand Cru Sauternes wine casks and ex-Cognac barrels has produced a very complex spirit. Multi-layered and very complex with a long robust finish. - $91.99
Excellia Anejo Building on the notes in the Reposado the Anejo takes things to a whole other level. Imensely fruity, honeyed and rich with soft toasty oak, lots of spice and the classic subtle floral tones of highland agave spirit. - $121.99
AHA Toro Anejo Produced from Highland Agave grown about 21oom, and bottled in a unique bottle/decanter. Very light and floral, lots of agave nectar, thin clean white chocolate and the promise of honey that never quite materializes. - $69.99
Patron Gran Buerdos Curiously, this tequila is produced, matured for at least a year in French and American oak (by which time it can be classified as Anejo) at which time it is disgorged, re-distilled, and then matured in vintage Bordeaux barrels. You get a sense of the herbal agave, but it is being tossed around as if by bullies: the leather and dark fruits of the wine cask; the ginger and other candied fruits of the French oak; and the toasty vanilla of the American. - $474.99

Our Top 3 Tequilas As Selected by our guests:

Patron Gran Burdeos
Excellia Anejo
Herencia Historico Crystalino & Crotalo Anejo

...

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Please Vote for us in FFWD's Best of Calgary

Posted on May 5, 2014



Once again Fast Forward Magazine is compiling its list of the best of the best in Calgary. We need your help to retain our title as Calgary's Best Wine Store, and while you're at it, please nominate us for Calgary's Best Liquor Store too! After all in addition to having an incredible selection of wines, Kensington Wine Market also has Canada's largest and most comprehensive whisky collection, and one of the biggest and best assortments of beer in the country! Click on the link below to vote. Please note you need to select winners in at least 40 categories for your vote to count. People who complete the survey will be entered in a draw by FFWD for a couple of great prizes from the Talisman Center and Kensington Wine Market.

http://www.ffwdweekly.com/questionnaire/best-of-calgary-2014/

Thanks in advance for your help!...

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Scotch Malt Whisky Society Canada May 2014 Outturn

Posted on May 3, 2014



Another month, another brilliant range of whiskies from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, or as we in the know like to call them, the SMWS! This month's lineup ranges from 10 to 27 years of age, and the oldest of that lineup is especially interesting. The distillery, who's name cannot be explicitly mentioned to protect the innocent, is sister distillery to the closed Brora distillery in the town of the same name. Its whiskies are are distinct with a beeswax-honey character. The distillery never bottles anything older than 14 years of age, and usually from Ex-American oak casks. But here we have a 27 year, from a Refill Sherry Butt, a very unusual expersion of _______, and a stunning dram. If you missed out on this month's tastings, be sure to pop into the store for a wee taste!

26.89: An exotic tearoom experience - 56.6% - 27 Year - Refill Sherry Butt - Highland/Northern - Outturn: 485 Bottles - Panel's Tasting Note: "Lemon drizzle cake, dried pineapple cubes and waxiness on the nose give way to fresh ginger, gorse flowers and wood glue. Tasted neat, there was a spicy pepper heat and the waxy notes. The taste also offered peaches, vanilla pods and an apricot cake. Adding water led to notes of vanilla ice cream and toffee sauce, lemon sorbet, spiced apple tea and an indulgent orange spiced soap! The taste was warming and exotic introducing Turkish delight, old fashioned perfume (lavender) and a hint of Moroccan spices. This cask comes from the Brora distillery, whose name means ‘sloped garden’." Drinking Tip: "A dram for after church high tea." - $206.99
G8.3: Surprise me... - 59.0% - 23 Year - Refill Hogshead - Grain - Outturn: 250 Bottles - Panel's Tasting Note: "Even at this age the spirit is still spirited; the aroma is of golden syrup and toffee popcorn, with juicy green apples and pears behind; very slightly woody and dusty: ‘a cupboard shelf covered in Fablon’. The taste is sweet and sour - kiwi fruits, lime cordial, Seville orange, sour cherry, stewed tea – with a short finish. Reduced, the aroma initially becomes more oaky (a musty sea chest, a brush shop), then sweeter – lemon puffs, lemon meringue pie. A soft mouth feel; a sweetish start (‘white jelly babies’), then bitter lemon, with a very short finish. This large grain distillery near Alloa, built 1806, closed in 1993." Drinking Tip: "Frozen, as an aperitif." - $178.99
35.86: Sumptuous breakfast dram - 59.3% - 11 Year - 1st Fill Sherry Butt - Speyside - Outturn: 629 Bottles - Panel's Tasting Note: "The nose suggested sumptuous breakfasts – cinnamon toast, marmalade, bran flakes, prunes, coffee, pancakes with syrup,cranberries and Nutella on toasted bagels; beyond breakfast, some nutty sherry, garam masala, Deep Heat and polished oak. The palate was ultra-rich – ext...

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