Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, February 27 - March 4, 2012

The Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival was a great opportunity to explore my thirst for knowledge of the global wine industry. With 180 producers and 791 wines, one really needs a plan of action that maps out the wineries or country to visit. Needless to say, I never seem to get around to visiting all the wineries on my list, and this year I even managed to forget one of my favourite wines, Rieslings from Germany, frustrating to be sure. Apart from Chablis and a few Chardonnays, I focused on tasting red wines, about 70 in total, in 5 hours spread over two days. This years Festival regional theme, were the wines of Chile, with 35 wineries represented, I dedicated an hour of intensive tasting of wines from British Columbia, Canada. I also visited the wines of Argentina, Australia, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and wines from California. I decided not to visit the wines of New Zealand since they will be visiting my hometown of Ottawa, May 8, 2012. 

Wines of Chile; This festival was a great opportunity the taste some of Chile's premium wines. Most people know Chile as a good producer of value priced wines in the $10 to $15 range, dating back to the 1980s. Now those early generations have moved on to more balanced and complex wines. If Chile wants to kept that share of the market, the Chilean wineries have to adapt, which means moving up in the mountains where cooler climate will give the wines better acidity, lower yields for better concentration and good use of blending. Of course, this means extra investment and cost, but consumers don’t mind paying more for such premium wines. I listened as many wineries spoke of how they have embraced organic and biodynamic practices and efforts made to minimize their carbon foot print. As a country, Chile is leading the way in sustainable wine production, they should be very proud. Here are some of my favourite wines from Chile tasted at this show;

• Concha Y Toro Don Melchor 2008 from Maipo Valley – This iconic Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile is rich yet well structure, well balance with lots of everything but no excess.

• Cousino-Macul Lota 2007, Maipo Valley – This wine is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot, with an awesome nose, great concentration of fruit with lots of energy and length.

• Errazuriz Kai Carmenère 2009, Aconcagua Valley – Surprisingly few Carmenère at this show, but this one was my favourite by far. This wine is very elegant, finely textured, fruit driven and fragrant.

• Miguel Torres Cordillera Syrah 2008, Curico Valley – This Syrah offers great aromatics, fine texture and harmony on the palate with a smooth, elegant and savoury finish. 

• Santa Rita Casa Real Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Maipo Valley – A more sophisticated, elegant style of Cabernet Sauvignon with seamless aromatics, soft seductive fruit and well integrated oak. A bit expensive at $80.00, but this wine is so smooth.

Red Wines of British Columbia; I lived for approx 3 ½ years in BC and very much enjoyed their wines. This event gave me the opportunity to taste their newer vintages and new blends, here are my highlights;

• Merlot; If you have been following my blog for a while, you have probably noticed that I enjoy drinking Merlot. I believe that BC has a great climate, and produces world class Merlot. Here are 3 of my favourite; Blasted Church Merlot 2008 and Hester Creek Reserve Merlot 2008, beautiful wines, soft texture, plumy and ripe berry fruit. Sandhill Small Lots Single Block Merlot 2009 a little darker in colour with more complexity and structure.

JOHN SIMES, WINEMAKER
MISSION HILL FAMILY ESTATE

Syrah; I think there is a lot of potential with this varietal in BC, personal opinion here, French oak is best with BC Syrah/Shiraz. Here are two of them which got my attention; Mission Hill SLC Syrah 2009 and Painted Rock Syrah 2009 both of them highly aromatic, with good varietal character, concentration, great savoury aromas and polished tannins. Speaking of Mission Hill, for those who have purchased Oculus 2007, I had the opportunity to re-taste it at this show. You will be glad to know that within a year or two, you will be holding a spectacular wine, your patience will be rewarded. I had purchased two of these last year and it is always nice to be reminded of the possibilities that lay ahead.

Red Blend; Talking about Syrah, here is a first vintage and a great addition of this new wine from Burrowing Owl, Athene 2009 a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Syrah. A full bodied wine but smooth and rich, would be superb paired with a juicy BBQ steak. Unfortunately for me, this wine was all sold out at the festival wine shop by the time I by the time I stopped tasting and started buying. Next up was a first time wine for me, but on its second vintage, Hester Creek The Judge 2008, a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. And the verdict! This wine is guilty of being dam delicious. What do I like about it? Well the aromatics are awesome, mouthfeel is really pleasant and this blend is drinking well right now, strongly recommended. Another wine from Painted Rock blows me away, there Red Icon 2009. A full bodied blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and 1% Syrah, with aromas of dark fruit, smoky and dark chocolate. Another full-bodied and well crafted Bordeaux blend which never seems to disappoint is Poplar Grove The Legacy 2007 and finally a more elegant and savoury style of Bordeaux blend, Road 13 Fifth Element 2009, a wine I really enjoy.

And finally, a few observations about wines which either excited me or were a disappointment. Many wines around or above $100.00 fail to impress me, like Vina Arboleda Sena 2008, Lapostolle Clos Apalta 2008 and especially Antinori Solaia 2008. But talking about Antinori, of all the wine tasted, two wines stood out for me; Antinori Guado Al Tasso Bolgueri Superior 2008 from Italy and from Symington Family Estates, Prats & Symington Chryseia 2008 from Portugal, these two wines where my favourite by far. Also worth noting the excellent Damilano Barolo Brunate Cannubi 2006, the very fresh and great value Chardonnay from Domaine Larouche Chablis 1er Cru Les Vaillons 2007 from France and finally during a show like this, there is always a buzz and recommendations of wines you just have to try... and one of those wine was Muga Reserva Seleccion Especial Rioja 2005, Rioja, Spain. This wasn’t a surprise to me, as I had already reviewed this wine on my blog here is the link;
http://paulnjoywine.blogspot.com/2012/02/muga-reserva-seleccion-especial-rioja.html


Here are my top 20 wines tasted at the Festival;
(In no particular order and in BC prices)
1-Santa Rita Casa Real Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Maipo Valley, Chile $79.99
2-Concha Y Toro Don Melchor 2008, Maipo Valley, Chile $79.99
3-Errazuriz Kai Carmenère 2009, Aconcagua Valley, Chile $
4-Cousino-Macul Lota 2007, Maipo Valley, Chile $67.99
5-Catena Zapata Alta Malbec 2008, Mendoza, Argentina $53.99
6-Escorihuela 1884 Limited Production Malbec 2007, Mendoza, Argentina $29.99
7-Escorihuela 1884 "Don" Malbec 2006, Mendoza, Argentina $55.98
8-Familia Zuccardi Zeta 2007, Mendoza, Argentina $49.99
9-Burrowing Owl Athene 2009, British Columbia, Canada $35.00
10-Hester Creek The Judge 2008, British Columbia, Canada $45.00
11-Mission Hill Select Lot Collection Syrah 2009, Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada $36.99
12-Painted Rock Red Icon 2009, British Columbia, Canada $55.00
13-Domaine Larouche Chablis 1er Cru Les Vaillons 2007, Burgundy, France $39.99
14-Perrin & Fils Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2009, Rhône, France $91.99
15-Domaine de la Solitude Châteauneuf-du-Pape Tradition Rouge 2009, Rhône, France $46.99
16-Damilano Barolo Brunate Cannubi 2006, Piedmont, Italy $94.99
17-Antinori Guado Al Tasso Bolgheri Superior 2008, Tuscany, Italy $93.99
18-Prats & Symington Chryseia 2008, Douro Valley, Portugal $84.99
19-Muga Reserva Seleccion Especial Rioja 2005, Rioja, Spain $45.99
20-La Crema Chardonnay 2009, Russian River, California, USA $54.99

Here are the wines I have brought back from the Festival;
1-Blasted Church Merlot 2008, Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada
2-Domaine Larouche Chablis 1er Cru Les Vaillons 2007, Burgundy, France
3-Escorihuela 1884 Limited Production Malbec 2007, Mendoza, Argentina
4-Hester Creek The Judge 2008, Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada
5-Miguel Torres Cordillera Syrah 2008, Curico Valley, Chile
6-Mission Hill Select Lot Collection Syrah 2009, Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada
7-Painted Rock Syrah 2009, Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada
8-Sandhill Small Lots Single Block Merlot 2009, Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada


In conclusion, another fantastic and well organized wine festival. It was announced that California will be next year's feature theme “country”. I am positive they will bring a stellar line-up of great wines. See you next year.




Cheers
Paul YWG