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A week in the life of a wine writer can be quite a ride.
Last Tuesday, I was in San Francisco dining at Salt House (545 Mission St.). I was told it was a great place to eat if you like wine. Translation: It has a simple, one-page, paper menu where the food appears on one side and the wine on the other. In fact, the tip was solid, the dinner tasty and the wine list an intriguing mix of 80 names -- a delight to peruse.
B.C. winegrowers riding high at the moment may want to note that the totally hip San Francisco eatery featured more imported wines on its list than hometown California picks. Albariño and riesling lead a list of eclectic global picks on a list that appears to rate Argentine malbec higher than California merlot.
As if on cue, the next day, back in Vancouver, I met with Laura Catena, San Francisco emergency room physician, mother of three, and the modern-day force behind the Mendoza, Argentina winery Catena Zapata. Catena has literally and figuratively elevated the image of malbec to new heights, but when she's not making wine and talking to wine writers she loves to teach medicine and save lives.
Of all the wines tasted that day it was the "regular" Catena Malbec 2005 that really shone. Catena's insistence on less new oak, using a multitude of clones and choosing grapes from several vineyards (at several elevations) makes its version less voluptuous, but a more sophisticated, über-cool edition of malbec. The nose is open and inviting, with that savoury mix of black fruit and licorice streaked with bits of chocolate, orange and bay leaf. It's a stylish red wine you can drink now or age through 2015.
A globetrotting Penfolds chief winemaker Peter Gago was here to make Friday Penfolds day in Vancouver. As it turns out, Vancouverites made his day. After conducting re-corking clinics in Singapore, Hong Kong, Houston and New York, Gago's last stop was Vancouver where, after all was said and done, a record 194 bottles were opened, tasted, re-corked and re-capsuled.
Penfolds' long history in this market was confirmed by the huge turnout of wines and collectors. The re-corking team was impressed with the shape of most bottles they tested, suggesting the cool, damp climate of Vancouver was tailor-made for ageing wine. Who knew?
If a $330 bottle of Penfolds Grange is out of your price range, think value for money and pick up a bottle of Penfolds Thomas Hyland Shiraz 2005, made from select parcels of South Australian fruit matured in French and American hogsheads for 10 to 15 months. The palate has a lovely pepper quality with dense dry plummy-blueberry fruits. It's an ideal candidate for restaurant wine lists.
Friday night at a quiet dinner out with friends, the wine of the evening was the Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc Private Bin 2007. It's not hard to love the intense passion fruit and melon nose that comes with a touch of jalapeno. It has terrific mid-palate freshness with plenty more melon, guava and citrus- Granny Smith flavours. Intense, yet cool and delicate. Well done for the price, and you can serve it with a variety of foods.
On the weekend, my wife and I shared a bottle of Laurel Glen Reds 2004. It's what California wine should be about. Hedonistic, rich, round, soft and tasty, neither complicated nor over-extracted, it is a pleasure to drink. Old vines make up this Mediterranean-style blend mixing zinfandel (60 per cent), carignane (30) and petite syrah (10). Look for a big earthy red packed with dark cherry fruit and chunky, if soft, tannins. Good value.
Monday night, Peter Lehmann winemaker Ian Hongell talked Australian sémillon and shiraz on the eve of a 25-year vertical tasting he would conduct at GoldFish Pacific Kitchen in Yaletown, featuring the Peter Lehmann Barossa Shiraz (more on this later). On this night, Fanny Bay kushi oysters proved the perfect match for the Peter Lehmann Semillon 2005. The nose is all citrus fruit with a touch of oil and lanolin. The entry is dry, with intense peachy, melon citrus fruit flavours in a surprisingly delicate package. Ready to drink and perfect with oysters, this is a terrific value wine.
Dinner in San Francisco seems a distant memory now and I'm one wine short. As I write this, I have popped the cork of the latest House Wine Red 2005 from nearby Columbia Valley in Washington. K Vintners draws from two excellent grape-growing sites, Wahluke Slope and Walla Walla Valley, to produce a rich, fat, earthy, meaty, red blend of cabernet sauvignon -- merlot -- syrah that could be described as big as house. It's soft enough to have wide appeal but plenty rich for those who need a big red wine for their food. Plums, blueberries and barnyard make this an impressive bottle for the price.
I would have finished the bottle if it wasn't for this column's deadline.
Catena Malbec 2005, Mendoza, Argentina
Price: $25
UPC: 00089046444030
Score: 90/100
Remarks: A savoury mix of black fruit and licorice.
Thomas Hyland Shiraz 2005, South Australia
Price: $20
UPC: 012354071988
Score: 88/100
Remarks: The palate has a lovely pepper quality with dense dry plummy/blueberry fruits.
Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc Private Bin 2007, Marlborough,
New Zealand
Price: $18.99
UPC: 009414416305528
Score: 88/100
Remarks: Love the intense passion fruit and melon spiked with just a touch of jalapeno.
Laurel Glen Reds 2004, California
Price: $19.99
UPC: 464154046435
Score: 89/100
Remarks: Hedonistic, rich, soft and tasty, it is a pleasure to drink.
Peter Lehmann Semillon 2005, Barossa Valley, South Australia
Price: $15.99
UPC: 9311910102199
Score: 88/100
Remarks: Ready to drink and perfect with oysters.
House Wine Red 2005, Columbia Valley, Washington state
Price: $21.95
UPC: 184745000010
Score: 89/100
Remarks: Plenty rich for those who prefer their red wine big.
