California Wine Fair 2012 Canadian Tour - Ottawa, Ontario

It was a pleasure to attend this Trade Show in Ottawa, Ontario March 30, 2012. With more than 90 wineries, hundreds of wine and only 2 ½ hours, planning was key. My plan, start with Sauvignon Blanc, than Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Blends and two other grapes which I will mention later.


Sauvignon Blanc; I tasted four. All were very good, especially the very crisp and refreshing Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc 2010 from Napa Valley (25% Sémillon is included in this wine) with aromas of pineapple, tree fruit, citrus fruit. Also very enjoyable was the Star Lane Sauvignon Blanc 2009 from Happy Canyon. The only problem with California Sauvignon Blanc is the price. You can also count on strong competition from Chile and New Zealand, both of these two countries produce very good Sauvignon Blanc at a good price.

Chardonnay; I tasted a total of 8 Chardonnays, some were terrific and others very oaky. I have to say, one Chardonnay blew me away. Probably the best I have had in many years, Migration Chardonnay 2010 from Russian River Valley, a superb well balanced cool-climate wine with great complexity, richness and sophistication. Also very enjoyable was Stags’ Leap Winery Chardonnay 2010 from Napa Valley, Rodney Strong Chardonnay 2009 from Sonoma County and both of Thomas George Estates Chardonnay from Russian River Valley (Chardonnay 2009 and Starr Ridge Estate Chardonnay 2009). In general, I prefer cooler-climate Chardonnay over warmer climate, they possess better acidity.

Thomas B. Baker,
Thomas George Estates.

Pinot Noir; I prefer Pinot Noir that are medium bodied, aromatic, feminine, pretty, earthy but not oaky. I tasted 9 Pinot Noir, and I found that too many of them are Cabernet wanna be's, with too much extraction, oak and tannins. Not want you call elegant Pinots. That having been said, one of my favourite wine from this entire tasting was Breggo Cellars Pinot Noir 2010 from Anderson Valley, with beautiful silky texture and aromas of beetroot, rhubarb, wild berries, floral, spices and underbrush. Definitely elegant and pretty, a stunning wine. Also worth mentioning Thomas George Cresta Ridge Estate Pinot Noir 2009 from Russian River Valley, a fuller and darker bodied Pinot with bigger tannins, but underneath, great complexity and beautiful fruit, a wine to be enjoyed in a couple of years. And finally the very elegant and smooth Rodney Strong Vineyards Pinot Noir 2009 from Russian River Valley. This Pinot is consistently very good and at $24.95 here in Ontario (954834), a very good value.

Zinfandel; I really enjoy Zinfandel but only tasted 6 of them here. What I usually enjoy in Zinfandel is a wine without too much color extraction, tannins and alcohol but with good acidity and depth of flavours. There were three Zinfandel which stood out for me, Heitz Zinfandel 2007 from Napa Valley and two others, from Seghesio Family Vineyards Sonoma Zinfandel 2010 and Old Vine Zinfandel 2009 also from Sonoma.

Shelly Eichner, Swanson Vineyards,
Rutherford, California.

Merlot; Not as many Merlot were poured at this show compared to Cabernet Sauvignon, I tasted 7 of these. My impression was that they were almost as full bodied, concentrated and tannic as the Cabernet Sauvignon. I have, in the past, reviewed two Merlot on this blog which are a good example of the style of California Merlot I usually enjoy, Duckhorn Merlot 2009 and Grgich Hills Estate Merlot 2007. Both medium-full bodied aromatics, smooth, plumy-cherry fruit with great depth of flavours. Only one Merlot from this tasting I would like to highlight, Swanson Vineyards Merlot 2008 from Oakville, definitely a full bodied Merlot with great flavour, quality tannins and well balanced.

Cabernet Sauvignon; I had originally narrowed the amount of Cabernet Sauvignon to try down to an ambitious 26, but managed, in the end, 18 of them. When you arrive at this varietal, the wines are massive, big fruit, big alcohol and even bigger tannins, You can get palate fatigue pretty quickly.The majority of them need several years in bottle to fully come around and only a few of them did I manage to enjoy, starting with Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 from Stags Leap District with rich combination of fruit, great texture, robust wine yet approachable, also very enjoable Rodney Strong Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 with great aromatics, rich, well structured wth fine grain tannins. Finally my choice for your cellar Swanson Vineyards Alexis Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 from Napa Valley, a big but well balanced wine, beautiful fruit concentration, good acidity, quality oak but above all great energy on the palate. A great wine to lay down for 3-4 years if it is to be enjoy at its best.

Red Blends; I had 10 of them on my list to taste but ran out of time and only managed to taste 5 of them. My overwhelming favourite was Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cépages Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 from Sonoma County, a blend of all five Bordeaux grape. Avery ripe and rich, creamy wine but not overdone. Drinking very well right now. Also very interesting was the Duckhorn Paraduxx Red Wine 2009 from Napa Valley, a blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

Well, let's wrap this up, there are two other wines which I really enjoyed and want to take the opportunity to mention, Seghesio Pinot Grigio 2011 from Russian River Valley a crisp, refreshing wine with interesting orange flavours and Uvaggio Barbera 2009 from Lodi, a blend of 97% Barbera and 3% Primitivo with maturation taking place in a combination of French and Hungarian oak. A beautiful medium bodied (13.8% Alc.) Italian style wine made to be enjoyed at the table.
Now, my concern with California wines is over extraction, over ripeness, high alcohol and over use of oak. There is no doubt that California is blessed with great climate and different types of terroir. I think blending different varietals and blending from different vineyards makes for better wines, apart from winemakers key decisions, when to pick, what kind of oak and for how long and final blend decision. In good hands, these California grapes can be truly spectacular.
 

     
Here are my top 15 wines tasted at this Fair
    (In no particular order)
1-Breggo Cellars Pinot Noir 2010 from Anderson Valley
2-Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cépages Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 from Sonoma County
3-Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 from Stags Leap District
4-Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc 2010 from Napa Valley
5-Migration Chardonnay 2010 from Russian River Valley
6-Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 from Alexander Valley
7-Rodney Strong Pinot Noir 2009 from Russian River Valley
8-Seghesio Pinot Grigio 2011 from Russian River Valley
9-Seghesio Old Vine Zinfandel 2009 from Sonoma County
10-Stags’ Leap Chardonnay 2010 from Napa Valley
11-Star Lane Sauvignon Blanc 2009 from Happy Canyon
12-Swanson Merlot 2008 from Oakville
13-Swanson “Alexis” Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 from Napa Valley
14-Thomas George Cresta Ridge Estate Pinot Noir 2009 from Russian River Valley
15-Uvaggio Barbera 2009 from Lodi

Monitor Ledge, Duckhorn Vineyards