Confessions of a Huge Wine-R

To the main event of this little trip. We were so pleasantly surprised with the overall quality of the wine on this trip! No surprises here, though, where we KNEW the wine was going to be fantastic.

Isn’t it nice when a winery does the bulk of the aging for you? That is the case here, where Proprietor Carlos Lee never releases a wine before it’s time. The wines below are all current vintage, not library wines. Let’s get to it!

 

Out onto the patio where we splurged on a bottle of their 2009 Reference, which I had previously reviewed here, last year. It did not disappoint, and it was nice to have a meal at a winery where we could get a bottle of their wine without paying a restaurant “upcharge”. We simply bought the bottle and took it outside to enjoy with our pizza, which was, by the way, awesome. And, even at $150, it’s an excellent value. Where else can you buy wine that is already aged for a decade? Pretty unreal.

Next up: A special night of wine, food, family and friends that saw us taste our first ever FIRST GROWTH BORDEAUX. Yes, you read that right! Stay tuned!

 

OK let’s face it, NOBODY should really be throwing wine bottles.

Our next stop was at Glass House Estate Winery; a family winery that has recently been taken over by the Joseph Richards Group (JRG). Yes, the same JRG that runs all those public houses. You probably have a JRG pub in your neighborhood. We do.

They are as close to the US border as you can get; their address is 0 avenue. In fact, if you head across the street, you will be in the US. You will also be in a forest, a ditch, or a swamp. I don’t recommend trying that out.

Glass House takes a minimalist approach to winemaking, using only free run juice. And no cork here….in fact, no screwcaps either! They use glass stoppers in all their wine, and they have to be the only winery in BC doing this. Culmina uses a glass stopper in their rosé, but I can’t think of any others off the top of my head.

They have a lovely patio, and they are in the process of adding a full menu which they hope to be up and running sometime in June.

As we saddled up to the tasting bar, I hear a familiar voice telling me to make sure I am giving them a good rating! It’s Rob, who was our WSET instructor at Everything Wine last year! He has transitioned to the JRG and is helping them get their wine program up and running at Glass House. Always nice to see a friendly face, and he took over our tasting and made sure we got to taste through their rather large portfolio.

So, let’s get to it! Apologies for the lack of bottle images on most of these, they are just impossible to find and they have nothing on their website.

All of their whites and rosés are from Estate grown grapes (except where noted), and all of the reds are from single vineyards on the Naramata Bench. Also, all of the whites and rosés are priced identically.

And this wasn’t the last wine we tasted, but I left it for last because it was such an unexpected treat.

A little bit about this rare grape:

Madeleine Angevine is a white wine grape from the Loire Valley in France that is also popular in Germany, Kyrgyzstan and Washington State. The early-ripening grape is a cross between Madeleine Royale and Précoce de Malingre grapes that grows well in cooler climates.

I’ve never seen in on any shelf in BC (not that we get a lot of wine from Kyrgyzstan!), but I have seen it on restaurant menus in Seattle. I never paid it much attention. I certainly will now! And I guess if this grape can thrive in Washington State, it stands to reason that it would thrive in a winery just meters away.

So that’s it for this tasting, another impressive winery in the Fraser Valley. Who knew?? We are very much looking forward to our next visit once the restaurant is fully operational.

Next up: We finish off this impromptu wine tour with the reason behind the whole dang thing: Pizza on the patio at Blackwood Lane!

I believe it was Socrates who first posed the question:

“If a SingleTree falls in the forest, and there is nobody there to hear it, how does the Grüner Veltliner taste???”.

Ah yes, ancient philosophy. It always surprises me.

So, up the road to SingleTree, a winery I had heard quite a bit about around the ol’ water cooler. Or somewhere. Don’t really remember to be honest but I had heard good things. As we arrive to their quaint little tasting room, we notice they have a bunch of “charcuterie-ish” items for purchase, and since we are hungry, we partake in some meat sticks, crackers and cheese. It’s crowded when we get there, so they set us up on a secondary tasting station across from the main tasting bar, which is fine with us because it gives us plenty of room for our do-it-yourself-charcuterie-board and my notes.

I had been told that they make a good Grüner, but unfortunately it wasn’t open to taste…. until I asked them to open it with a very sad look on my face 🙂 That actually did the trick. It never hurts to ask, and it worked out for everyone. I probably would have bought a bottle anyway, but after tasting it, we ended up with 3, including one from a previous vintage. Let’s see how it all turned out!

Prices include all taxes.

Even my wife, not a huge Grüner fan, really enjoyed this. I mentioned above that we also bought one from last vintage; we didn’t get to taste it at the winery but we opened it up this past weekend. It received a couple awards, including a Double Gold, but honestly I preferred the ’18.

In keeping with their ability to grow certain types of cool-climate grapes in the Fraser Valley, they also had a bunch of Siegerrebe, a grape rarely found in the Okanagan, and we were fortunate enough to taste two different vintages.

And, of course, we also bought a 2016 and 2018 untasted, because when are we EVER going to get the opportunity to have a 4-year vertical of Siegerrebe again?

Full report on those after we drink ’em.

Now, onto their reds, none of which are grown in the Fraser Valley. All the fruit comes from the Okanagan.

Last, but not least, a little dessert wine.

We had a lovely experience here, and are looking forward to our next visit. The staff was friendly and helpful, the owner stopped by to say hello and introduce herself, and the wine was universally of high quality. We left here with a mixed case of wine.

Next up: Our next stop takes us back to Langley, nestled right up against the US border, to a winery that I had barely heard of: Glass House Estate Winery!

Don’t miss this one.

 

What a charming little wine shop. Looks more like a church out of “Little House on the Prairie” than a tasting room! But don’t let the looks fool you, there is plenty of room for a group tasting; the shop is much longer than it is wide. And as you can see, plenty of space to take a bottle outside and enjoy some wine with the beautiful scenery.

All of the wine is made on-site, with grapes from the Fraser Valley and the Okanagan.

The first two wines we tasted were a couple different vintages of a grape I had never heard of. I had to look it up:

Petite Milo

Pink, very early ripening. Cabernet Sauvignon, Riparia and Amurensis cross. Can achieve quite high sugar levels and retain good acidity.
Rates 8 for winter hardiness.

The next two wines were exactly the same, but completely different. Let me explain: They make this wine in two styles: One, a mass-produced version for retail (Save-On-Foods) and secondly, a house blend for sale at the winery. Quite a profound difference in the quality.

Now, onto the last couple big reds, both from Okanagan grapes.

We thoroughly enjoyed our first visit here, and will be back whenever touring Abbotsford. It’s a delightful site.

Next up: To the winery everyone has been talking about, another newbie in Abbotsford, Singletree!

So, things have been not-so-great on the “mothers” front for us lately. As I mentioned previously, my mother-in-law passed away a few weeks back, and my Mom has Alzheimer’s and has deteriorated to the point that we had to move her to a full-time care facility. Now, in the grand scheme of things, this is a very good thing; she will be safer there and will be well cared for. However, she spends all day, every day, waiting for us to come and get her to take her “home” (back to her last place). She is miserable.

Anyway, this has caused an unusual amount of stress in the household, so a couple weeks ago our dear friend decided that to get away from it for a while, we should all go to Blackwood Lane in Langley for “pizza on the patio!”. What a great idea….and we decided to make a day of it, and do something we have been talking about for years but have never got around to: a little Fraser Valley wine tour!

We started off at the closest winery that was open at 11 AM, which was Township 7. We have been to the Township 7 in the Okanagan once but this was our first visit to their Langley location. One thing I noticed right away was that they have reserved the best parking spots for their Club members. A cool perk for those loyal to you. Other wineries should do this!

They had 6 wines for us to taste, let’s see how it went!

So that was it for our first winery on this little impromptu trip. You may have noticed that NONE of the grapes in any of these wines are actually grown in the Fraser Valley. That would change, soon, as this trip unfolds.

Next up: To Abbotsford we go, our first visit to a really new player in the game, Seaside Pearl!

 

 

In Vegas for 6 magnificent nights last week, and we decided to make our last dinner of the trip, our “date night”, particularly special. It turned into the most expensive dinner we have ever had, which was pretty much 100% because of the wine.

We started at the bar, while we waited for our table, with a couple glasses of this little gem.

For appetizers, my wife chose a salad while I had lobster bisque. To accompany those, we bought a half-bottle of this. The Eiffel Tower has the most incredible selection of half-bottles that I have ever seen.

Now, for the main event, and pairing with a couple of Filet Mignons (both so big we could not possibly eat them all), how about a 33-year old Bordeaux??

We finished off the meal with a sublime chocolate soufflé, and then rolled ourselves out the door back to our hotel. What a meal, and a perfect way to end a simply spectacular vacation. Cannot wait to go back.

Up next: Lots of random stuff we’ve been drinking to update you on. Stay tuned!

Well I had this blog post about 90% done last weekend and was all ready to get the VIWF finally finished when we suddenly lost my mother-in-law, making blog posts seems pretty unimportant. As if that wasn’t enough, I came home from the hospital with the flu. I cannot remember ever being that sick. My wife, who had JUST got over that same flu she picked up in the same hospital, while visiting her mother a few days earlier, did yeoman’s work taking care of me and nursing me back to health, all while dealing with the loss of her mother. I am a very lucky man.

Life goes on. And so does the blog. Let’s get to it.

We tried hard to get to at least one booth from every represented country, and I think we did a pretty good job. One year it would sure be nice to taste everything at the Festival, but in order to do that, I’m pretty sure we would need a time machine. We even picked up our first-ever bottles from Croatia and Romania. To the wine!

Familia Zuccardi 2016 Q Malbec – 90
Familia Zuccardi 2017 Q Chardonnay – 89
Familia Zuccardi 2016 Tito Zuccardi Paraje Altamira – 92
Familia Zuccardi 2014 Jose Zuccardi Malbec – 92

Barossa Valley Estate 2016 Shiraz – 92
Barossa Valley Estate 2016 GSM – 88
Barossa Valley Estate 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon – 91
Barossa Valley Estate 2015 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz – 94

Tahbilk Winery 2016 Shiraz – 88
Tahbilk Winery 2018 Ngambie Lakes Marsanne – 89
Tahbilk Winery 2018 Viognier – 88
Tahbilk Winery 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon – 88

 

Monte Creek Ranch 2017 Riesling – 88
Monte Creek Ranch 2017 Pinot Noir Reserve – 88
Monte Creek Ranch 2017 Sparkling Reserve – 88

One Faith Vineyards 2013 Grand Vin – 93
One Faith Vineyards 2014 Grand Vin – 93
One Faith Vineyards 2016 Certitude – 92

Viña Santa Ema 2017 Amplus Merlot – 87
Viña Santa Ema 2015 Catalina – 87
Viña Santa Ema 2017 Amplus Cabernet Sauvignon – 89

Coronica 2013 Gran Teran – 87
Corinica 2017 Malvazija – 88

Korta Katarina 2016 Rosé – 84
Korta Katarina 2016 Posip – 86
Korta Katarina 2009 Plavac Mali – 87
Korta Katarina 2008 Reuben’s Private Reserve – 88

Krolo Winery 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot – 84

Casale del Giglio 2016 Cesanese – 88
Casale del Giglio 2015 Madreselva Riserva Rosso Lazio – 90

Di Lenardo Vineyards 2017 Pinot Grigio – 86
Di Lenardo Vineyards 2017 Father’s Eyes Chardonnay – 91

Marchesi di Barolo 2014 Barbaresco DOCG della Tradizione – 89
Marchesi di Barolo 2014 Barolo DOCG della Tradizione – 89

Tenuta Argentiera 2016 Poggio ai Ginepri Rosso – 91
Tenuta Argentiera 2018 Poggio ai Ginepri Rosé – 88
Tenuta Argentiera 2015 Bolgheri Superiore – 92

Ville Le Calvane 2013 Colli della Toscana Centrale Borro del Boscone – 88
Ville Le Calvane 2011 Toscana Matriarca – 88
Ville Le Calvane 2016 Chianti Colli Fiorentini Quercione – 88
Ville Le Calvane 2011 Super Tuscan Oltre Strade – 87

 

Real Companhia Velha 2015 Evel Tinto – 87
Real Companhia Velha 2015 Touriga Nacional – 89
Real Companhia Velha 2016 Evel Branco – 86

Liliac 2017 Sauvignon Blanc – 87
Liliac 2015 Red Cuvée – 87
Liliac 2016 Feteasca Neagra – 88

Oregon

Elk Cove 2016 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir – 89
Elk Cove 2016 Mount Richmond Pinot Noir – 92
Elk Cove 2016 Clay Court Pinot Noir – 91

King Estate 2017 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris – 88
King Estate 2016 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir – 87

Washington

Aquilini Red Mountain 2017 Horse Heaven Hills Syrah Rosé – 87
Aquilini Red Mountain 2015 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon – 91
Aquilini Red Mountain 2015 Red Mountain Family Blend – 92

Wines of Substance 2017 Substance Cabernet Sauvignon – 89
Wines of Substance 2015 Motor City Kitty Syrah – 86
Wines of Substance 2017 ViNO Pinot Gris – 87
Wines of Substance 2015 ViNO Rosso – 87

Bodega Garzon 2016 Estate Cabernet Franc Tannat – 87
Bodega Garzon 2016 Reserva Tannat – 88
Bodega Garzon 2018 Reserva Albariño – 88
Bodega Garzon 2018 Estate Pinot Noir Rosé – 86

That’s a wrap to the 2019 Vancouver International Wine Festival! Already looking forward to next year!

Next up for the blog: SOOOOO much random stuff to catch up on!

We spent enough time tasting wine from France this year that I am going to give them their own blog entry. Also, there are some pretty spectacular rosés in here, including my new all-time favorite. To the wine!

Table #108 – Borie-Manoux

Château Morillon 2015 Bordeaux – 87
Château Herve-Laroque 2010 Fronsac – 90

Table #109 – Calvet

Calvet NV Crèmant de Bordeaux Rosé – 87

Table #110 – Chartron et Trébuchet

Chartron et Trébuchet 2016 Mâcon-Villages – 88
Chartron et Trébuchet 2017 Pouilly-Fuissé – 89

Table #112 – Les Grand Chais de France

Domaine de la Baume 2017 Viognier – 88
S de la Sablette Rosé – 90
Domaine de la Baume 2017 Pinot Noir Rosé – 87
Château de la Galinière 2017 Rosé – 91

Table #113 – Château Minuty

Minuty 2017 M de Minuty – 88
Château Minuty 2017 Prestige – 89

Table #115 – Ulysse Cazabonne

OK that’s it for France. Can’t wait to really dig into their wines at next year’s VIWF!

For now, just one more blog post to finish it off, as we tour around the rest of the world. Coming up!

Table 23: Kendall-Jackson

Kendall-Jackson 2017 Vintner’s Reserve Rosé – 86
Kendall-Jackson 2016 Jackson Estate Hawkeye Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon – 89
Kendall-Jackson 2017 Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay – 88

Table 24: Kenwood Vineyards

 

Table 26: La Crema

La Crema 2017 Monterey Rosé – 86
La Crema 2017 Monterey Chardonnay – 88
La Crema 2017 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay – 89

Table 29: Louis M Martini Winery

Louis M Martini 2016 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon – 88
Louis M Martini 2016 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – 89
Louis M Martini 2015 Lot 1 Cabernet Sauvignon – 92

Table 31: Michael David Winery

Michael David Winery 2016 Freakshow Cabernet Sauvignon – 88
Michael David Winery 2015 Freakshow Red Blend – 87

Table 32: Oak Ridge Winery

Oak Ridge Winery 2016 Old Soul Cabernet Sauvignon – 88
Oak Ridge Winery 2016 Old Soul Petite Sirah – 89

Table 42: Signorello Estate

Signorello Estate 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon – 92

Table 43: Silver Oak Cellars

Silver Oak 2014 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – 94+
Twomey Cellars 2014 Soda Canyon Merlot – 92+

Table 44: Silverado Vineyards

Silverado Vineyards 2017 Estate Grown Vineburg Chardonnay – 87
Silverado Vineyards 2017 Estate Grown Miller Ranch Sauvignon Blanc – 90

Table 45: St. Supéry Estate Vineyards and Winery

Table 47 Stag’s Leap Winery

Stag’s Leap Winery 2016 Napa Valley Petite Sirah – 89
Stag’s Leap Winery 2017 Napa Valley Viognier – 87
Stag’s Leap Winery 2016 Napa Valley Merlot – 88

Table 48: Talbott Vineyards

Talbott Vineyards 2016 Kali Hart Pinot Noir – 91
Talbott Vineyards 2015 Sleepy Hollow Pinot Noir – 90
Talbott Vineyards 2016 Sleepy Hollow Chardonnay – 89

Table 51: Trefethen Family Vineyards

Trefethen Family Vineyards 2016 Estate Chardonnay – 88
Trefethen Family Vineyards 2016 Estate Dragon’s Tooth – 89

Table 52: Wagner Family of Wine

Wagner 2016 Conundrum White – 87
Wagner 2015 Red Schooner Malbec Voyage 6 – 86
Wagner 2016 Emmolo Merlot – 88
Wagner 2016 Emmolo Sauvignon Blanc – 87 

Table 53: Wente Vineyards

Wente Vineyards 2016 Southern Hills Cabernet Sauvignon – 85
Wente Vineyards 2014 Riva Ranch Single Vineyard Pinot Noir – 88
Wente Vineyards 2016 Riva Ranch Single Vineyard Chardonnay – 92

Well, that finally wraps up California! We sure discovered some terrific wine, and we are really well stocked up on Cabernet, Chardonnay and Zinfandel!

Next up! Lots more great stuff to go over from Wine Fest…..I might split up the rest of the world into two posts, I have not decided yet, but I’ll get going on those this weekend. Stay tuned!

 

It was a good festival. Oh, so much wine.

This just in: California makes good wine.

Duh.

Interesting host region for us this year: We already know a ton about California wine. We have belonged to four California wine clubs (three in Napa, one in Sonoma) and we frequently buy wine from California and have it shipped to our package place in Sumas and drive it across the border. So, we figure this week would be about finding some new wineries we weren’t familiar with, and maybe finding some gems that we have previously overlooked. It seems unlikely that we are going to suddenly discover something completely new and different, but you never know.

As in previous years, I will give just my scores for a bunch of the wines (let’s face it, if I did an in-depth review of every wine I tasted I wouldn’t be finished in time for NEXT YEAR’S festival), and full reviews of everything we bought, or wanted to buy but was sold out, and a few other interesting wines as well. Here we go!

I will post the table name and number, which are in alphabetical order. Some booths have labels that may seem out of place but I assure you they are not. A lot of times they have subsidiary labels (ie Silver Oak and Twomey). There were 53 California tables. If a table number is missing, we just didn’t get there.

Table 1:  B. R. Cohn Winery

B.R. Cohn 2016 Silver Label Pinot Noir – 86
B.R. Cohn 2016 Silver Label Chardonnay – 86
B.R. Cohn 2016 Silver Label Cabernet Sauvignon – 89

Table 2: Beaulieu Vineyard

Beaulieu Vineyard 2016 Napa Valley Carneros Chardonnay – 89
Beaulieu Vineyard 2015 Napa Valley Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon – 89
Beaulieu Vineyard 2015 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – 90
Beaulieu Vineyard 2015 Napa Valley Merlot – 89
Beaulieu Vineyard 2014 Reserve Tapestry – 89

Table 3: Benzinger Family Winery

Benzinger Family 2015 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir – 89
Benzinger Family 2016 Chardonnay – 89
Benzinger Family 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon – 88
Benzinger Family 2014 Tribute – 91

Table 4: Beringer Vineyards 

Beringer Vineyards 2016 Napa Valley Chardonnay – 90
Beringer Vineyards 2015 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – 90
Beringer Vineyards 2015 Quantum Red Blend – 90

Table 5: Black Stallion Estate Winery/Delicato Family Vineyards

Delicate Family Vineyards 2017 Noble Vines 242 Sauvignon Blanc – 87

Table 7: Don Sebastiani & Sons

Don Sebastiani & Sons 2016 Gunsight Rock – 88
Don Sebastiani & Sons 2016 B Side Chardonnay – 88
Don Sebastiani & Sons 2016 B Side Pinot Noir – 88
Don Sebastiani & Sons 2016 Crusher Petit Sirah – 87

Table 8: Duckhorn Wine Company

Duckhorn Vineyards 2016 Napa Valley Chardonnay – 88
Duckhorn Vineyards 2015 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – 89
Paraduxx 2015 Napa Valley Proprietary Red Wine – 89

Table 9: Gallo Signature Series

We had the most lovely chat with winemaker Gina Gallo. Yes, Gallo. THAT Gallo.

Don’t let the name “Gallo” scare you off; they make a lot of great wine in addition to the entry-level Ernest and Julio Gallo stuff that comes in boxes and tastes closer to turpentine than fine wine. There is a market for that stuff (OBVIOUSLY), but they also make a million other wines, many of which are of excellent quality. And Gina was a delight….knowledgeable and giving and so pleasant. I think she would have chatted with us for an hour if we didn’t have other wines to taste!

Gallo Signature Series 2016 Russian River Valley Chardonnay – 88
Gallo Signature Series 2016 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir – 90

Table 10: Geyser Peak Winery

Geyser Peak Winery 2017 Pinot Grigio – 87
Geyser Peak Winery 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon – 89

Table 11: Girard Winery

Wow, this is the epitome of what we were hoping to find: a winery we were not familiar with, pouring across-the-board quality wines.

 

Table 12: Grgich Hills Estate

Grgich Hills 2015 Napa Valley Chardonnay – 86
Grgich Hills 2016 Napa Valley Fumé Blanc – 86
Grgich Hills 2015 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – 90

Table 13: Hahn Family Winery

Hahn Family Wines 2017 GSM – 87
Hahn Family Wines 2017 Monterey County Chardonnay – 86
Hahn Family Wines 2017 Monterey County Pinot Noir – 88

Table 14: Hall/Walt

Hall 2015 Kathryn Hall Cabernet Sauvignon – 94+
Walt 2016 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay – 87
Walt 2016 La Brisa Sonoma County Pinot Noir – 88

Table 15: The Hess Collection

Hess Select 2014 Trio Red Blend – 89
Hess Select 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon – 89

Table 16: Hope Family Winery

Liberty School 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon – 86
Liberty School 2016 Chardonnay – 85
Treana 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon – 89

Table 17: Imagery Estate

Imagery Estate 2016 Chardonnay – 86
Imagery Estate 2016 Sauvignon Blanc – 86
Imagery Estate 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon – 91
Imagery Estate 2016 Pinot Noir – 85

Table 18: J. Lohr Vineyards

J Lohr 2015 Hilltop Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – 92
J Lorh 2016 Seven Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon – 88

Table 19: Jackson Family Wines

Freemark Abbey 2015 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – 89
Cambria 2015 Julia’s Vineyard Pinot Noir – 88
Copain 2017 Tous Ensemble Rosé – 86
Stonestreet Estate 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon – 88

Table 21: Josh Cellars/Joseph Carr

Josh Cellars 2017 Chardonnay – 87
Josh Cellars 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles Reserve – 90
Josh Cellars 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon – 88
Joseph Carr 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon – 87

Table 22: Justin Vineyards and Winery

Justin Vineyards and Winery 2016 Sauvignon Blanc – 85
Justin Vineyards and Winery 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon – 88
Justin Vineyards and Winery 2015 Isosleles – 89
Justin Vineyards and Winery 2015 Justification – 88

 

Enough for today! We will finish up California in the next post, and then move onto the rest of the world!