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Scotch Malt Whisky Society of Canada April 2019 Outturn

Posted on October 25, 2024

by Evan

March was a busy month, just flying by. We had the Outturn of course, at the beginning. The following day after running the tastings here at KWM, I became a father for the third time. I managed to take two and a half weeks away from work to help at home with the newborn and his older brother and sister, but still managed to come into the shop to pour at a whisky festival during that time - thank goodness I have a forgiving wife! I officially made it back in time for another Whisky Festival at the end of the month. Like I said, busy times.

As I am sure I have said before - things never seem to slow down here at Kensington Wine Market (or at my home for that matter!). We have just put our Spring 2019 Tasting Schedule up, and there are a plethora of tastings and festivals to take a look at. But enough about all of that. We are all really here for the April Outturn, right?

Here is a quick breakdown of what you can expect this month:

 


Speyside is back in full-force in this Outturn, with the region being the home of four of the seven bottles this month. Luckily regions are meaningless and they all show quite differently from each other.

This Outturn features one of those older, more prestigious and more expensive black label bottles with the gold SMWS logo. This one is a doozy, both in quality and in price. This is personally the oldest SMWS Single Malt I have tasted.

The rest of the bottles tasted were all much less expensive (and younger of course), with quite a few values to be found.

This includes one from a distillery we Canadians have never seen grace our shores in green bottle form until now. It is young and wood-dominant, but it is the kind of oak-laden single malt that manages to find a balance and is easy to enjoy.

Islay makes a comeback as well, giving us one of our two moderate to heavily peated drams, the other one hailing from Campbeltown.

We also have a spirit selection this month, and it is a very interesting and surprisingly approachable 66.2% ABV Rum from Belize.


 



Looking for information on past Outturn releases? We still have stock available of many bottles featured in past months. You can view our entire stock here. If something shows as out of stock, call or email us to check because it still might be available to order.

We also have stock of a mini/100mL SMWS bottle that was never bottled in full-sized 750 or 700mL form. It is SMWS 72.65 - WINTER COMFORTS. We originally featured this bottle in our KWM Whisky Advent Calendar, but the remaining stock is available to purchase for SMWS members.



Cheers,
Evan
evan@kensingtonwinemarket.com
twitter: @sagelikefool
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Wine of the Andes

Posted on March 26, 2019

by Abi

Malbec is most certainly the first wine that would pop into your head when you start to think about South American wines. Malbec has its place in the wine world and especially around the Andes, but there are many other grapes that thrive in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. This tasting aimed to showcase other varietals, and if any of them stood up to replace malbec as Alberta’s most loved red varietal.



A Los Vinateros Bravos Granitico Bianco
Leonardo Erazo created “A Los Vinateros Bravos” winery in the heart of the Itata region in the south of Chile. The vines of Itata thrive in this steep hilly landscape without irrigation. Bush vines are very old in this region, and finding 100-year-old vines is common here. The volcanic and granitic soil provide an extraordinary environment for root growth resulting in very healthy vineyards. Leonardo doesn’t interfere with the terroir in order to bring a strong sense of place into the bottle. Winemaking is simple, using only native yeast and cement tank for fermentation and ageing. These are authentic wines, full of life, vibrancy, tension, and freshness. This is an artisanal wine from start to finish. The wine shows bright fresh stone fruits (peach), floral notes (orange blossom) and citrus fruits (grapefruit). The wine has a persistent finish with a slight salinity reflection of the proximity of the Pacific Ocean. The granite soil is responsible for the bright acid, and mineral notes in the wine. 60%Muscatel And 40% Semillon. $25.99

Susana Balbo Signature Torrontes
Pale gold with bright reflections. On the nose, this wine seduces with hints of white pear, white flowers and ripe peach. On the palate, it has a beautiful structure and acidity along with enticing fruit flavours. Plenty of body for a wine that shows such delicate aromas and flavours. Fruity, floral and yet still quite dry.

Pair this wine with foods with delicate flavours such as fish and shellfish. Spicy and aromatic Indian. Chinese and Thai cuisine also go very well with this variety. $29.99

Verum Pinot Noir Patagonia
From a small boutique winery that is still family-owned, this beautifully priced Pinot Noir comes from Patagonia, Argentina's southernmost tip. Pour this one for Burgundy fans — we think they'll be as impressed as us. With notes of cherries, clay and spice, it's a winner paired with duck, chicken, turkey or lamb. $22.99

Zorzal Eggo Bonaparte
The Eggo Bonaparte is made from 100% Bonarda and is vibrant, complex and enticing. Colourful notes of spice, blackberries, blueberries, minerality and earth.

Zorzal is a winery based in Mendoza, Argentina, but is partly owned by a group of Calgarians! The Eggo line focuses in on the terroir of each vineyard, creating an array of different varietals that are fermented and aged in concrete eggs. They believe that...

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What is Natural Wine?

Posted on April 14, 2019

by KWM Staff



In the last few years, we have seen an astonishing resurgence of a certain contention in wine Doctrine. Feisty millennials and thirsty enthusiasts alike are ferociously curious with the moniker ”Natural Wine“. The “natural” approach to wine is a thorny concept to define. These wines have become extremely popular with the younger generation of wine professionals and enthusiasts. Many have skipped “classic” styles and have curiously dived straight into the story of Natural Wine.

Natural Wine, both in concept and in practice, have unlimited dispositions, and so giving clarity to their characters in simple or painless explanation is reasonably difficult.

However, while natural winemakers can share differing styles and philosophies, their convictions are cut from the same cloth…



The basic scope of Natural Wine creation falls under Biodynamics.

In a nutshell, Biodynamics is a combination of both biological and dynamic agriculture practices. Biological practices include a series of well-known organic farming techniques that improve soil and plant health. Dynamic practices are intended to influence biological as well as metaphysical aspects of the farm (such as increasing vital life force) or to adopt the farm to natural rhythms (such as planting seeds during certain lunar phases).
The alcohol content is usually much lower than “conventional wines”. Many use natural yeasts. The yeasts are local to the vineyard area and can help transmit a sense of place to the wine in a strict, literal sense.

Polycultural Farming is indispensable and nurturing. Polyculture is the planting of innumerable different plants in the same place to increase the biodiversity on the farm or vineyard area. Polyculture encourages beneficial insects (such as ladybugs and bees) to become part of a holistic ecosystem.

Many wine farms also initiate there own composting. The composting of winery waste is an alternative to the traditional disposal of residues, and also involves a commitment to reducing the production of waste products. Compost had a high agronomic value and is particularly suitable for the soils of the vineyards which have a very low organic matter content

A distinguishing feature of biodynamic farming is the use of nine biodynamic preparations described by Rudolph Steiner for the purpose of enhancing soil quality and stimulating plant life. They consist of mineral, plant, or animal manure extracts, usually fermented and applied in small proportions to compost, manures, the soil, or directly onto plants, after dilution and stirring procedures called dynamization.

There are strong convictions and dogmas in the Natural Wine scene. Like all styles of wine – Natural wine runs the gamut when it comes to quality. Vintages and even dif...

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Scotch Malt Whisky Society of Canada March 2019 Outturn

Posted on March 10, 2019

by Evan

In case you are a member have not read the recent SMWS email regarding the club's quarterly magazine: You now can view the current issue of Unfiltered Magazine (and a decade of back issues!) online by logging in at smws.ca.



As an SMWS member, you have the option of accessing the online version and continuing to receive the hard copy or opting out of the hard copy altogether and accessing the no-paper version only.



Quite a different Outturn this month. Let us take a look at some stats:

Not just one, but TWO Lowland malts in one single Outturn? Has the world gone mad?!? One of these Lowlanders features the now old-style bottle look. It has been a few months (not since August of 2018 I believe) since we have seen one of those. Over time they are becoming more and more rare to see.
Not just one, but TWO triple-distilled single malts as well. One of the previously mentioned Lowlanders is well known for only Triple-Distilling their malt. The other comes to us from a certain historic distillery in Northern Ireland...
There is no Islay malt to be seen in this Outturn. Instead, we see peat from a personal favourite distillery of mine that resides on the Isle of Mull and carries a number that represents the meaning of Life, The Universe, and Everything. By a twist of fate that also happens to be my personal SMWS Canada Member Number.
The other is from a workhorse distillery in the Highlands, known for its use in the Teachers Highland Cream Blended Scotch, but also sought after by peated whisky lovers and independent bottlers alike.
Peat haters rejoice! This is probably the least peaty Outturn I have been part of. Typically numbers 6 and 7 in any Outturn lineup will have a moderate to heavy amount of peat to them, but not this one! Number 6 is coastal and oily, but if there is peat to it, I didn't recognize it myself. Number 7 is peaty, but it is a soft, easy peat to the point that sweetness takes over on the palate in a beautiful way.
The March Outturn bottles range in age from 9 to 24 years old, and prices run between $148 on the low end to $236 on the high. Only two of the bottles tip-in at more than $200 each.

Curious about other SMWS releases? We have stock of many recent Outturn bottles. Past Outturns themselves can be viewed on our blog here. You can browse what is available for past releases here. If any SMWS bottles show as being out of stock on our website please contact us – we might be able to get more.

As always we would like to give a big thank-you to our awesome neighbour’s Peasant Cheese for supplying the small bites for the tastings.

Cheers,
Evan
evan@kensingtonwinemarket.com
twitter: @sagelikefool
instagram: @sagelikefool

Here is your March of 2019 SMWS Can...

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The Perfect Pair - Food and Wine

Posted on February 28, 2019

by Abi

Valentine’s Day is all about spending time with your special someone. We notarize the idea of splurging our significant others with chocolates, flowers, wine, and cheese, and stress ourselves out to make sure Valentine’s Day is the most romantic day of the year. I think this concept is fully bogus, to be completely honest. We lose the magic, we stress ourselves and aggravate our credit card for some commercialized ideal. So why don’t we just take a step back, relax and just enjoy ourselves?

This tasting was created to show how to pair wines with food, to allow you to make a special pairing at home, to bring the romance back into date night.



How to Pair Wine with Food
I always look at pairing as if I was creating a meal; what flavour would work together, and what components do I need to balance out the dish?

When it comes to creating the perfect pair, we look at the elements of the dish vs the elements of the wine. Here is a basic guide of what to look for:

Sweetness:
The general rule is to have a higher level of sweetness in the wine than in the food. Sweetness in food increases the perception of bitterness, astringency, acidity, and alcohol whilst decreasing the perception of body, sweetness, and fruitiness in the wine.

Acidity:
Acidity is generally a good thing with a pairing, especially if you have a very high acidity wine where it brings everything into balance. But if you pair a somewhat acidic dish with a low acidity wine, the wine will show as flat, flabby and lifeless.

Salt
Salt is GOOD! Just like cooking, salt helps enhance the flavour, and it also helps increase the perception of the body while decreasing the perception of acidity and astringency.

Heat/Spice
Spice isn't great for wine. It increases the acidity, bitterness, astringency and creates more of a burning sensation from the alcohol. Having wine with lower alcohol levels and a touch of sweetness will be best for anything with a punch of heat.

Bitterness
Bitterness in food will increase the perceived bitterness in wine. This part is subjective. If you're one of those people that drinks your coffee black, you’ll probably love it. If you're a person that loves their coffee with all the additions, maybe skip it.

Umami
Treat similar to bitterness. Umami basically brings out the worst in wine and will increase the bitterness in most wines. Trick to use when pairing umami-rich foods with wine? Add salt! Salt helps enhance the wine and somewhat counteracts the effects of umami.
Ok, so there you have it! These notes will help you pair anything with everything. But if you're still in a pickle about what to pick, just shoot me an email! (abigail@kensingtonwinemarket.com)
The Menu for the Evening
Before we really get going ...

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