Le Bleu Bénédictin

This 2 kilo wheel is rich yellow in color, as it is enriched with cream, and is liberally scattered with bleu veins.  Benedictin is aged for at least three months, allowing the cheese and the blue characteristics to develop a mellow, rich and slightly salty tang.  Although this cheese is crumbly when cut, the texture on the palate is creamy and smooth.  The monks at the Abbaye have been making cheese since 1943, and many generations of Canadians have grown up enjoying the many excellent cheeses they produce.

CHEESE: Le Bleu Bénédictin

PRODUCER: Fromagerie de l'Abbaye St-Benoît

TYPE: Blue

ORIGIN: Quebec, Canada

TEXTURE: Soft

PRICE: $3.25 per 100 gr

WEIGHT: 1.8-2.0 Kg

PAIRING WITH WINE:  Fortified, late harvest and riesling.

Gismondi On Wine Picks

88 Dr. L Riesling 2003
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany
BC $16.95 Specialty
Dr L. is a serious but fun wine. All the fruit comes off blue slate soil in the Mosel accounting for its honey, peach, floral, dry slate and ripe apple nose. On the palate it is round, ripe and fresh with juicy red apple, honey, white peach and mineral flavours. The finish is even better with more juicy apple and honeyed fruit all wrapped up in an elegant package. This may say QBA but it's really a ripe Kabinett. Fabulous effort in a superb vintage.

88 Lang Vineyards Riesling Reserve 2003
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
BC $12.90 VQA Wine Stores
Lovely honey, peach, mango notes mixed with mineral, candied apple nose. Quite similar to 2003 Pfalz wines and could be mistaken for one. Ripe, round, juicy style with some sweetness and fine acidity. Honey, spicy, baked apple, mango, mineral, candied apple skin flavours. Great ripeness and acidity - Germany or BC? Great value here.

93 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Fassprobe 2003
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany
BC $27.95 (375 ml) Specialty
Honey, spicy, mango, pineapple, slate, green apple nose with lime oil. Rich, fresh, intense honey, peach, pineapple, orange flavours with a slate-y, apricot, juicy apple finish. Fabulous flavours, richness and balance. Buy and drink or hold 10 years. A fabulous tank sample sealed with a NOMA-style cork.

88 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Riesling 2003
Coonawarra, South Australia, Australia
AB $14.29; BC $14.99 Specialty; MB $14.74; NB $18.00; ON $14.95
Good mineral, citrus rind, green apple and mango aromas with some floral, honey notes. Dry, fresh, style with mineral, spicy green apple, lime flavours and a smoky slate, grapefruit rind finish. Very elgant and delicate, good value.

90 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Schlossberg Riesling Spätlese 2002
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany
BC $36.95 Specialty
Look for a touch more petrol/Vaseline character on the nose and in the flavours mixed with black currant mineral and wet slate. It has a refined sweet flavour and weight yet with all the delicate, fresh fruit of the Mosel. Should be a delight to sip for several years.

87 Selbach Riesling Bereich Bernkastel 2003
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany
BC $12.45 Specialty
Wow! How good is this simple everyday riesling. It has all the expected green apple, mineral, slate and citrus flavours ripened to perfection in 2003. Round fresh, elegant and finished with clover honey undertones that mark the 2003 crop. Ridiculous good and ridiculously affordable. Try with simply prepared fish and a fresh fruit salsa.

89 Selbach Riesling Kabinett (Green Fish Label) 2003
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany
BC $19.95 Specialty
The delicious '02 peachy, green apple and floral scented Selbach Kabinett are back this time supercharged by the warmer '03 growing season. Wet slate mineral candied citrus peel notes mix effortlessly with red apples honey and fresh citrus fruit. Delicious balanced fruity killer riesling that would works at Montri's (Thai), Vij's (Indian) and Memphis Blues (Barbecue).

89 Mesh Eden Valley Riesling 2003
Eden Valley, South Australia, Australia
BC $37.00 Estimated Canadian Retail
Three Eden Valley vineyards were carefully selected for the Mesh project with the aim to make a wine with a strong citrus flavour and slight mineral profile that is typical of the Eden Valley. Look for lime rind, green peach, slate and Vaseline nose with a hint of green apple skin. Round, slightly oily palate with lots of green apple skin, lime and smoky slate flavours. Quite crisp and dry on the finish with some bitter lime rind notes.

87 Petaluma Riesling Hanlin Hill 2003
Clare Valley, South Australia, Australia
BC $30.00 Estimated Canadian Retail
Bright floral, green apple, mineral notes with buttery lime aromas and some underlying white peach. Delicate and round with a bit of sweetness and a slightly oily texture. Lime rind, green apple skin and mineral flavours all finished with a dry, smoky slate nuance. Stylish and well balanced if a bit soft and dry.

86 Wolf Blass Riesling 2003
South Australia, Australia
BC $14.99 Specialty
Lime, smoky petrol, mineral, green peach aromas. Fresh, round, elegant style with ripe apple, mineral, smoky slate and green apricot flavours. Fairly dry with nice acidity and elegance. An in between style not super ripe and delicate but not clumsy and heavy; should be fine with a variety of foods.

87 Wild Goose Riesling 2003
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
BC $14.50 Speculative - Peacock and Martin
Honey, clover, spicy, soapy floral aromas with some green apple. Very citrus, mineral, green apple skin flavours with a bit of honey and spice. Fresh and lively with a dry elegant finish. Well done.

88 Gehringer Brothers Riesling Private Reserve 2003
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
BC $13.49 Specialty
Floral, green apple skin, light peach, honeyed mineral aromas. Juicy, mouth watering, crisp style with good green apple, green peach, mineral and honey flavours. Great acidity and balance, a very good effort that remind us a bit of a kabinett-class Rheingau.

87 Gehringer Brothers Riesling Dry Classic 2003
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
BC $11.99 Specialty
Big floral, honey, clover, ripe apple peach aromas, very ripe. Elegant, round, fresh palate and fairly dry but balanced. Green apple skin, mineral, peach pit flavours. Well made and Germanic in style.

86 Gehringer Brothers Riesling Classic 2003
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
BC $11.99 Specialty
Ripe nose with floral, honey, ripe apple peach aromas. Elegant, round, soft sweet palate with plenty of green apple, mineral, peach and honey flavours. Well made, fresh but in the sweeter style with fresh acidity at the end. Think spicy food.

88 Weingut Lorch Riesling Hochgewachs Bergzaberner Altenberg 2002
Pfalz, Germany
AB $9.50; BC $13.99 Specialty
Nectarine, green apple, baked pear, honey aromas with some slate. Fresh, juicy, intense flavours of nectarine, honey, buttery peach, mineral, apple and slate flavours. Fine acidity and balance with some richness. A fine aperitif or dinner wine.

88 Selbach-Oster Riesling Kabinett 2003
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany
BC $19.95 Specialty
Mineral, slate, green apple skin aromas with light floral and honey notes. Fresh, crisp, elegant and round with nice ripe apple, peach pit, citrus, mineral flavours and a honey finish. Well balanced for current consumption or hold a few years. Delicious.

87 Selbach Riesling Dry (Red Fish Label) 2003
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany
BC $16.99 Specialty
Look for the classic Mosel honey and peach and mineral front end with lime rind notes. On the palate like its predecessors it is fresh, clean and juicy with green apple, white peach and spicy mineral flavours. A delicate, easy-drinking riesling that will works with a variety of foods. Still a bit young and tight with some S02 on the nose but this blows off in the glass.

92 Pegasus Bay Riesling 2003
Waipara Valley, South Island, New Zealand
BC $39.95
Ripe apple, lime, floral, honey, gooseberry aromas with a slightly grassy, mineral streak but very ripe. On the palate there is full ripeness. It is round and somewhat sweet but otherwise elegant. Super juicy red apple, lime, mineral, honey, orange flavours with a floral note on the finish. Very much along the vein of 2003 Mosel rieslings with great acidity and is most likely a Spätlese level with the residual sugar and ripeness. Real finesse, balance and quality here.

89 Pewsey Vale Riesling Individual Vineyard Selection 2003
Eden Valley, South Australia, Australia
AB $16.49; BC $22.99 Speculative - Mark Anthony Brands; ON $18.95 Mark Anthony Wine Merchants
Green apple, floral, apricot, mineral aromas with a touch of honey, almost Mosel like. Ripe, round, fresh and delicate with mineral, honey, lime, green apple flavours. Nice crisp chalky, mineral, spicy, green melon finish. Very well made and balanced considering the 13% alcohol level.

87 Yalumba Riesling Y Series 2003
Eden Valley, South Australia, Australia
AB $13.45; BC $17.99; ON $14.95
Fresh clover, lime, mineral, green apple aromas with a touch of peach and floral notes. Crisp, round and elegant with a bit of sweetness but balanced. Clean lime, mineral, green apple and apricot flavours. Good length, fresh and balanced, a very consumer friendly style.

92 Pewsey Vale Riesling The Contours Individual Vineyard Selection Eden Valley 1998
Eden Valley, South Australia, Australia
AB $19.99; BC $27.99 Speculative - Mark Anthony Brands; ON $24.95 Mark Anthony Wine Merchants
A museum reserve release aged under a Stelvin screwcap. Very aromatic with mature smoky, slate, cream, mineral, lime rind and apple skin aromas with just a touch of diesel. Crisp, dry, round and very fresh with creamy green apple skin, smoky slate, lime rind flavours and a very long, dry lime butter, Granny Smith finish. Super clean, fresh and balanced. Should continue to improve in the bottle for at least 10 years. It's amazing the difference in taste after a decade with a Stelvin closure. Fine value here.

All cheese information courtesy of Alice & Allison Spurrell, the mother and daughter owners of Les Amis du FROMAGE. The store regularly stocks more than 300 types of cheese for sale to both trade and consumers alike. Les Amis du FROMAGE is a recipient of a Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Award as Top Food Supplier to Vancouver Restaurants.