Mayday MayDay The New Wine Is Here

The yearly May Day holiday weekend ritual is used by both buyers and sellers to gauge interest in the previous fall's harvest.
 
It's a terrific concept and one we should consider embracing in British Columbia. Using the same weekend each year to launch a vintage gives every one from restaurateurs, to wine shops, to writers, to consumers something to focus on and prepare for.
 
It's also a signal to retailers and restaurateurs to jettison older stocks in anticipation of receiving the new wine. From a public relations view it creates on-going interest in the new vintage and sparks debates about the previous harvests and where the new wine ranks among past years. Frankly everyone is talking wine.
 
In B.C. we are awaiting what many are claiming is a superior 2003 vintage but little is known about when or where they will appear. It's not so much a deficiency as a missed marketing opportunity to present the new wines of the vintage at a key moment.
 
I'm not suggesting every wine made last fall is ready to drink but our calling card is cool-climate, fresh wines and every ehrenfelser, gewürztraminer, riesling, chenin blanc, sauvignon blanc, pinot gris and pinot blanc that is not aged in wood should be bottled and released by mid-May or the Victoria day weekend at the latest.
 
Today I've included three new B.C. releases from Quails' Gate that are already in the market or will be by mid-month along with three import reds that are listed and ready to go for the barbecue season.
 
The Quails' Gate Dry Riesling Limited Release 2003 offers up ripe peach, green apple and lime rind notes on the nose streaked with mineral and floral scents. On the palate it is soft, round and fresh with more mineral, lime and green peach flavours. It was a warm year and you get a slightly alcoholic wine in 2003 that is more Alsace-like than B.C., but the up side is more length and intensity. It's an attractive style for restaurants or simply passing the time on a summer afternoon.
 
Citrus rind, floral and summer sausage notes with a touch of perfume and peach is the story of nose on the Quails' Gate Gewürztraminer Limited Release 2003. The textures are soft, the taste slightly sweet, and the finish a mix of spicy peach, pear, floral and mineral flavours. Like its riesling kin it is balanced if a bit warm on the finish. Best to drink this one young and fresh.
 
One could argue any European red wine selling for less than $8 in B.C. should score well even if all it is wet. That said I'm happy to report the Spinelli Quartana Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2002 is better than that and frankly the kind of wine that must terrify B.C. producers on price alone.
 
The montepulciano grape is spread about central Italy, but is dominant in Abruzzo. After a few months ageing in large Slavonian oak Quartana is aged in the bottle for another three months. Look for a gamey, earthy, cherry, almond aromas and a smooth round texture throughout. Fresh plum, cherry fruit and spicy, licorice, peppery flavours mark its lively palate. Roasted meats and tomato-based dishes will help tame the acidity. Terrific value.
 
Bila-Haut 2002 is a new red wine from the Côtes du Roussillon, a sub-region of Roussillon an area better known as the hyphenated add-on to the much larger Languedoc territory. Made by well-know Rhone producer Marc Chapoutier, Bila-Haut has a meaty, gamey, black cherry, smoky nose with floral, licorice streaks. The styling is dry, elegant and quite silky with spicy, licorice, plum, black cherry and fresh Bing cherry fruit. The finish is dry and peppery with fresh acidity but there is plenty of fruit. Drink all summer with grilled lamb or rabbit.
 
The final red is the Brancott Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2001 from New Zealand. The nose is a mix of smoked jalapeno, spice and licorice aromas with some hints of cassis and pepper. It has the expected cool-climate demeanour with a dry, tight, slightly acidic structure and very smoky, bell pepper, olive, spicy resiny flavours. The finish is dry with a smoky, vanilla aftertaste. Think flank steak on the barbecue.
 
For those who prefer a sweet finish to your meal, or evening, look for the Quails' Gate Botrytis Affected Optima 2003. Intense ripe nose with dried apricot, butter, mineral and marmalade aromas with a hint of egg yolk (botrytis). This is extremely rich on the palate but it is not cloying and there's plenty of dried apricot, mineral, spicy, baked apple and nectarine flavours to entice you further into the glass. It is not big but very stylish. Like most '03 the lower acid suggests earlier drinking so enjoy it now. Fresh berry fruit or peaches is would make a perfect pairing.
 
Weekend Wine Tasting:     Mixed Picks
 
Wine   Quails' Gate Dry Riesling Limited Release 2003, Okanagan Valley, B.C.
Price   $15.99
UPC    778856103021
Score  15/20
Remarks       Buttered apple, mineral, lime and green peach flavours.
 
Wine   Quails' Gate Gewürztraminer Limited Release 2003, Okanagan Valley, B.C.
Price   $15.99
UPC    77856103069
Score  14/20
Remarks       Spicy slightly sweet mineral, peach, pear flavours.
 
Wine   Spinelli Quartana Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2002, Abruzzo, Italy
Price   $7.95
UPC    8004129075019
Score  14/20
Remarks       Fresh plum, cherry fruit and spicy, licorice. Terrific value.
 
Wine   Bila-Haut 2002, Côtes du Roussillon, France
Price   $15.90
UPC    3391181410236
Score  15/20
Remarks       Dry, elegant and silky textures with spicy, licorice, plum, black cherry fruit.
 
Wine   Brancott Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2001, New Zealand
Price   $16.99
UPC    9414024721758
Score  14/20
Remarks       Smoked jalapeno, spice, licorice, cassis and pepper.
 
Wine   Quails' Gate Botrytis Affected Optima 2003, Okanagan Valley, B.C.
Price   $29.99
UPC    778856303094
Score  16.5/20
Remarks       Dried apricot, baked apple and nectarine flavours.