You’ve heard of “Love in the time of Cholera”? Welcome to “Wine in the time of Covid-19”. Man it feels weird to write a blog post about wine, or anything else, in these uncertain times, but let’s do it anyway.
My wife and I are virtually quarantined; she has autoimmune issues, so she hasn’t been out of the house in over a week, except to take the dog out to do her business. I have only been out twice, to pick up some groceries and run a couple of essential errands. She works from home all the time anyway, and I am lucky enough to have a job where I can do the same for the duration of this pandemic. We know that we are incredibly fortunate, so many people have no ability to work from home, so they either have to stay away from work and lose the income, or take their chances in the face of a pandemic. Neither choice seems very good to me.
Anyway, on to more pleasant topics, the rest of the world that we sampled at the recent Vancouver International Wine Festival. If you read my two entries on the host region of France, you will know that we really focused on France this year, getting to all but (I think) 4 tables. The downside to that, of course, is that we got to a lot fewer tables of all the other countries.
Table 44 – Domaine Bousquet
Domaine Bousquet 2018 Virgen Organic Red – 86
Domaine Bousquet 2017 Reserve Organic Pinot Noir – 89
Domaine Bousquet 2016 Grande Reserve Malbec Organic – 87
Table 45 – Bodega Catena Zapata
Zapata 2017 Malbec – 88
Zapata 2016 Alta Malbec – 90
Zapata 2017 Alta Chardonnay – 88
Zapata 2017 Malbec Argentino – 91
Table 46 – Bodega Colomé
Bodega Colomé 2017 Atentico Malbec – 90
Bodega Colomé 2018 Amalaya Malbec – 88
Bodega Colomé 2018 Amalaya Torrontes-Riesling – 84
Bodega Colomé 2017 Colomé Estate Malbec – 90
Bodega Colomé 2017 Amalaya Gran Corte – 89
Bodega Colomé 2018 Rosé – 87
Table 47 – Pascual Toso
We bought everything we tasted here, except for the trade-only wine which wasn’t available…and we certainly would have bought that too if it had been!
Pascual Toso 2016 Magdalena Toso – 93+
Table 49 – Angove Family Winemakers
Angove Family Winemakers 2018 GSM – 92
Angove Family Winemakers 2018 Family Crest Chardonnay – 88
Angove Family Winemakers 2018 Organic Cabernet Sauvignon – 85
Angove Family Winemakers 2017 Warboys Single Vineyard McLaren Vale Grenache – 90
Table 51 – Jacob’s Creek
Jacob’s Creek 2016 St. Hugo Cabernet Sauvignon – 91
Jacob’s Creek 2018 Steingarten Riesling – 87
Jacob’s Creek 2019 Tea & Wine Chardonnay – 82
Jacob’s Creek 2018 Double Barrel Chardonnay – 88
Jacob’s Creek 2017 Double Barrel Shiraz – 89
Table 52 – Majella Wines
We had the distinct pleasure of speaking at length with owner Brian Lynn, a delightful gentleman who enchanted us with tales about various winery topics; in particular, the story of how this particular wine came about:
Majella Wines 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon – 90
Majella Wines 2014 GPL68 Cabernet Sauvignon – 93+
Table 53 – Nugan Estate
Nugan Estate 2015 Manuka Durif – 92
Nugan Estate 2016 Alcira Cabernet Sauvignon – 92
Nugan Estate 2017 King Valley Fresca’s Chardonnay – 92
Table 54 – Tyrrell’s Wines
Tyrrell’s 2018 Hunter Valley Chardonnay – 90+
Tyrrell’s 2017 Vat 8 Shiraz Cab – 93
Table 55 – Yalumba
Yalumba 2018 Eden Valley Viognier – 90
Yalumba 2017 Barossa Shiraz – 88
Yalumba 2017 Barossa Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon – 90
Yalumba 2017 Barossa Grenach Shiraz Mataro – 88
Yalumba 2018 Bush Vine Grenache – 91
Table 77 – Moraine Estate Winery
Moraine Estate Winery 2018 Reserve Riesling – 92
Moraine Estate Winery 2018 Reseve Pinot Noir – 92
Table 78 – One Faith Vineyards
One Faith Vineyards 2018 Rosé – 88
One Faith Vineyards 2018 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc – 89
One Faith Vineyards 2017 Certitude – 89
One Faith Vineyards 2013 Grand Vin – 93+
Table 89 – Viña Carmen
Viña Carmen 2019 DO Matorral Chileno – 85
Viña Carmen 2017 Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon – 89
Table 90 – Viña Santa Ema
Viña Santa Ema 2017 Amplus Cabernet Sauvignon – 89
Viña Santa Ema 2017 Gran Reserva Merlot – 88
Viña Santa Ema 2019 Gran Reserva Sauvignon Blanc – 87
Table 91 – Viña Undurraga
Vina Undurraga 2017 T.H. Sauvignon Blanc – 87
Vina Undurraga 2017 Sibaris Gran Riserva Pinot Noir – 88
Vina Undurraga 2017 Sibaris Gran Riserva Carmenere – 88
Table 93 – Franc Arman Winery
Franc Arman 2015 Istria Teran – 88
Franc Arman 2012 Istria Teran Barrique – 90
Franc Arman 2018 Rosé – 87
Table 96 – Felsengartenkellerei
Felsengartenkellerei 2017 Acolon Terra S – 86
Felsengartenkellerei 2018 Justines Kerner Fels Edition – 88
Felsengartenkellerei 2018 Riesling Terra S – 86
Table 99 – Weingut Nik Weis – St. Urbans-HOF
St. Urbans-HOF 2018 Urban Riesling – 89
St. Urbans-HOF 2018 Bockstein Kabinett Riesling – 92
Table 101 – Basilisco
Basilisco 2015 Teodosio Aglianico del Vulture – 91
Table 106 – Gancia
Gancia NV Prosecco DOC Brut – 89
Table 107 – Cantine Giacomo Montresor
Cantine Giacomo Montresor 2018 Soave le Fattorie – 90
Table 108 – Casale del Giglio
Casale del Giglio 2018 Bellone Bianco Lazio IGT – 88
Casale del Giglio 2017 Cesanese Rosso Lazio IGT – 89
Casale del Giglio 2013 Mater Matuta Rossa Lazio IGT – 91
Table 110 – Masi Agricola
Masi 2012 Osar Ocelata – 91
Masi 2014 Brolo Compofiorin Oro – 88
Masi 2014 Toar Valpolicella – 90
Table 120 – Tiberio
Tiberio 2018 Terbbiano d’Abruzzo – 88
Tiberio 2018 Pecorino – 87
Tiberio 2018 Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo – 87
Tiberio 2017 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – 90
Portugal
Table 130 – Fonseca
Foncesa NV Bin 27 Reserve Port – 88
Fonseca NV Terra Prima Organic Port – 88
Fonseca 10 Year Old Tawny Port – 92
Fonseca 2017 Vintage Port – 93
Table 131 – Quinta Da Foz
Quinta Da Foz 2014 Douro Tinto – 90
Quinta Da Foz 2018 Vinha da Foz Douro Branco – 88
Quinta Da Foz 2015 Douro Tinto – 87
Quinta Da Foz 2015 Grande Reserva Vinhas Velhas Tinto – 93
Table 132 – Lavradores de Feitoria
Labradores de Feitoria 2016 Três Bagos Douro Reserva Red – 91
Labradores de Feitoria 2016 8 Bagos White – 86
Labrodores de Feitoria 2016 8 Bagos Red – 87
Table 133 – Herdade Das Servas
Herdade Das Servas 2017 Monte das Servas Escolha Rosé – 88
Herdade Das Servas 2017 Monte das Servas Escolha Red – 87
Herdade Das Servas 2015 Unoaked Red – 87
Herdade Das Servas 2013 Reserva Red – 90
Table 134 – Vincente Faria Wines
Vincente Faria 2018 Animous Douro DOC – 88
Vincente Faria 2018 Gloria Alvarinho – 89
Vincente Faria 2018 Animus Rosé – 87
Vincente Faria 2015 Vincente Douro DOC – 90
Table 142 – Marqués de Riscal
Marqués de Riscal 2018 Tempranillo – 87
Marqués de Riscal 2015 Reserva – 92
Table 146 – Bodega Garzón
Bodega Garzón – 2019 Estate Pinot Noir Rosé – 88
Bodega Garzón – 2019 Reserva Albariño – 88
Bodega Garzón – 2018 Estate Cabernet Franc Tannat – 90
Table 148 – Duckhorn
Decoy 2018 Rosé – 88
Calera Winery 2017 Central Coast Pinot Noir – 89
Duckhorn Vineyards 2016 Merlot – 90+
Greenwing 2017 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – 90
Table 154 – La Crema
La Crema – 2018 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay – 88
La Crema – 2018 Monterey Rosé – 86
La Crema – 2018 Monterey Pinot Noir – 89
Table 156 – Michael David Winery
Michael David Winery 2017 Petite Petit – 91
Michael David Winery 2015 Freakshow Cabernet Sauvignon – 88
Michael David Winery 2017 Earthquake Petite Sirah – 92
Michael David Winery 2016 Lust Zinfandel – 90
Table 159 – Robert Mondavi Winery
Robert Mondavi – 2016 Reserve Chardonnay Carneros – 90
Robert Mondavi – 2018 Winery Fumé Blanc – 90
Robert Mondavi – 2017 Pinot Noir Carneros – 90
Robert Mondavi – 2015 Maestro – 92
Table 161 – Signorello Estate
Signorello Estate – 2017 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – 92+
Table 162 – Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
Ste. Michelle 2017 Intrinsic Cabernet Sauvignon – 90
Ste. Michelle 2017 Intrinsic Red Blend – 90
Chateau Ste. Michelle 2018 Columbia Valley Rosé – 89
Well folks, that is it for the tasting room at the 2020 VIWF. One last report from that event, the best event of the festival every single year, Dine Italia!
Confessions of a Huge Wine-R 