(October 18, 2016) … A night spent with my podcast partner, Andre, is usually filled with talk, food and older wines from my cellar … these were tonight’s gems (and flops) – all Ontario wine unless specified:
The Hatch 2014 Black Swift Vineyards Syrah (British Columbia) … we interviewed the guys from the Hatch winery tonight (link here) and I try this simply amazing Syrah they produce fro the first time, which I later turned into a video review ( link here ) love what these guys are doing and this wine: gorgeous smoky, meaty black fruit, with coffee, cocoa and spice – just what the doctor ordered for BC Syrah and at a respectable 14.2%.
Colio 2007 CEV Cabernet Franc Reserve … this wine was sealed under plastic and it showed undertones of oxidation, a little balsamic raspberry, and funky harshness – it was totally unpleasant and certainly not the exciting wine I was hoping for based on the vintage and pedigree of the winery.
Jackson-Triggs 2004 Shiraz, Proprietor’s Reserve … another plastic corked wine and even older, the plastic plug has done nothing to help this average-vintage wine: disgustingly atrocious, foul and more port-like than port, but in all the wrong ways, it seems to have turned rotten plum into dog food (and that’s a quote).
Hacienda Araucano 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (Chile) … nicely spiced , plummy and also slightly pruney, but with some elegance on the mid-palate that follows through to the finish.
Roquevale 2004 Grande Escolha (Portugal) … blackberries and spice with some pepper, but this wine has also turned a corner and developed more secondary and tertiary notes than primary fruit and even has a port like nuance, this time it’s in a good way.
Robinson Creek 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon … CORKED, proving plastic ruins old wine but there is always room for good, old-fashioned cork taint.
To read about Night 1 – click here
A night at Andre’s always includes a dog, and here is Henri:
