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The wines of Spain will be the centre of attention at the next Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival.
And after the amazing show of energy by Argentina and New Zealand, Iberian peninsula producers, known for their individuality, are going to have to pull together and use all of what's left of the next 11 months to prepare for their week in Vancouver.
A boatload of high-quality, moderately-priced wine from both Argentina and New Zealand made the International Tasting Room a delight to wander this year and, while Spanish wine boasts diversity, it's going to take more than jamon and flamenco dancers to make us forget the Southern Hemisphere.
But before we worry too much about 2011, a few highlights from my week at the Playhouse festival that has few peers on this continent.
A Monday afternoon kickoff at Earls Hornby involved Villa Maria and Finca Flichman and some nifty pairings by Reuben Major, director of culinary and bar development. The best match: braised short rib and mushrooms with salted potato chips served with Finca Flichman Gestos Shiraz 2007, a blend of grapes grown at 700 and 1,100 metres at Mendoza, Argentina. The palate is soft and open but with bright acidity and plenty of black fruit and smoky, meaty, licorice mineral flavours. There is more concentration and weight than finesse here but at this price it over delivers. Best with grilled beef, or cellar for 18 months.
Later that same night, chef Josh Wolfe at Coast Restaurant put on a show working with wines of Dona Paula. After an amazing flight of whites, including the delicious Naked Pulp Viognier (not listed), the Dona Paula 2008 Malbec was served alongside a chimichurri rubbed striploin with sweet potato and yam puree and zucchini pave. The '08 malbec is the best yet from the Dona Paula. The palate is round and fresh with a mix of chocolate, vanilla, dried herbs, black cherry, plum and flecks of orange flavours with a pinch of poultry spice. The chimichurri and the meat were made for malbec.
A quick off-site vertical tasting of Cheval des Andes with general manager Herve Bernie-Scott confirms why this wine may be one of the finest value red wines made in the world today. With a French sensibility courtesy of directeur Pierre Lurton (in charge of St. Emilion's Cheval Blanc and Sauternes Chateau d'Yquem), Cheval des Andes 2003 sings the terroir of Las Compuertas, Lujan de Cuyo. The '03 Cheval des Andes blends 41 malbec 41 cabernet sauvignon and 18 petit verdot into what is a giant wine. Its release was delayed until after 2005 to give it more time to settle down in the bottle, which has turned out to be a bonus for consumers. Look for chocolate and licorice throughout its mineral and red fruit palate flecked with tobacco, dried herbs and figs in the finish. Drink it now with a Tbone steak.
A late night dinner at Oru (Fairmont Pacific Rim) on Saturday was built around the Laurenz V. Und Sophie Singing Gruner Veltliner 2008 from Austria. The story goes this wine sings on the palate and when you taste its fresh acidity, creamy flavours and blatant minerality you will agree. I paired it with halibut in green Thai curry, a fabulous nasi goreng dish and tandoori oven bread. If you haven't experienced the pan Asian delights of Oru you are missing out. Executive chef David Wong, former Bocuse D'Or culinary competitor, has resurfaced and his nod to ancient culinary traditions of the East is, well, impressive to say the least.
At a Saturday lunch, A Celebration of Passion, there was an amazing sushi station run by the chefs at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The hand-rolled cones of sushi rice, fish and vegetables wrapped in seaweed shouted for sauvignon blanc. My choice is the No. 8 Wire Sauvignon Blanc 2009, from Marlborough, New Zealand. At $17, it delivers all the ripe passion fruit, melon, gooseberry and kiwi aromas you want along with plenty of grassy, lemon, nettle, canned asparagus, passion fruit, grapefruit flavours. The finish is juicy with smoky citrus highlights. As for the No. 8 wire, it is a reference to the type or gauge of the wire used to tie the vines to the trellis in the vineyard.
On Sunday night, the final evening of festival week, I joined Panther Creek winery assistant winemaker Bill Hansen at DB Moderne Bistro. The Oregon winemaker's dinner was a tour de force of Willamette Valley wines paired with chef Daniel Boulud's inventive menus perfectly executed by chef de cuisine Nathan Guggenheimer. The wine service of the city's classiest sommelier, Kelowna-born Kevin Hullebush, was perfect.
The star pairing was herb-crusted halibut with fresh peas, pearl onions and a morel veloute served alongside Panther Creek Verde Vineyards Pinot Noir 2007. This Willamette-based Pinot comes off three sustainably farmed vineyards. The nose is fresh and aromatic; the palate is silky smooth and long with a warm black raspberry and cloves and earthy forest floor tones. Wellshaped at 13-per-cent alcohol.
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS:
Finca Flichman Gestos Shiraz 2007, Mendoza, Argentina
Price $23 private wine shops
UPC 07790470083698
Score 89/100
Remarks Enjoy the black fruit, pepper and smoky, meaty, liquorice flavours.
Doña Paula Malbec Estate 2008, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
Price $22
UPC 00836950000056
Score 90/100
Remarks Sage, tobacco, dried herbs, black cherries and orange flavours.
Cheval des Andes 2003, Las Compuertas, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
Price $83
UPC 007790975018492
Score 94/100
Remarks Chocolate, liquorice, red fruit palate.
Laurenz V. Und Sophie Singing Grüner Veltliner 2008, Niederösterreich, Austria
Price $22
UPC 00877397000391
Score 89/100
Remarks Fresh acidity, creamy flavours and blatant minerality.
No. 8 Wire Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand
Price $17
UPC 00621926300014
Score 88/100
Remarks Grassy, lemon, nettle, canned asparagus, passion fruit, grapefruit flavours.
Panther Creek Verde Vineyards Pinot Noir 2007, Willamette Valley, Oregon, United States
Price $45 private wine shops
UPC N/A
Score 90/100
Remarks The palate is silky smooth. Well-shaped at only 13 per cent alcohol.
