New & Old World Wines Meet in Toronto

The Spring trade wine tastings are in full swing, this week we attended both the California wine show and Woodman Wines & Spirits’ annual Burgundy tasting featuring Bouchard & William Fevre portfolios.

The wine styles of California and Burgundy are obviously worlds apart, and perhaps not surprisingly, the shows for each followed suit.   California’s tasting was boisterous and gregarious, bordering on garish, with crowds of people covering every inch of floor space inside a hotel banquet room, while Burgundy was a far more sophisticated affair: civilized and contemplative for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay enthusiasts to quietly reflect and examine the vintage.   It was fun to note how the tempo and energy of each show is amusingly representative of how the two wine regions seem to be viewed by the world.

The first of the week was the California Wine Fair.  As mentioned, it’s a behemoth of a wine show that’s held every year by the Wines of California association, in one of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel’s sprawling banquet rooms.  It packs in hundreds of visitors to its trade show alone (there’s a public show in the evening), to sip and sample their way through nearly 140 represented wineries.   It’s a massive production, and anyone from private buyers to wine media to sommeliers to waiters cram into the stately room, until it’s elbow-to-elbow and each booth is 3 rows deep with people vying for the attention of the rep to get an ounce of whatever’s being poured.

It is a loud, raucous party as anyone and everyone comes out to this annual event, and while it’s a load of fun to catch up with colleagues who we don’t get to cross paths with all that often, it’s not our favourite tasting of the year, despite the swirling fanfare and excitement that surrounds the California show.  More of a night club than a wine tasting, it’s just too big, with too many people, and there’s no room to try and consider the wines – which is the point of these things – let alone talk to the wine reps to find out anything about the product they’re pouring.  But if you’re looking for a party, look no further.

We should have taken photos just to illustrate the crowd, but it was so congested, we gave up after an hour and retreated to Epic for a justly deserved beer. (Mill St Organic, if you’re wondering.)

But that hour wasn’t totally wasted.  We did try some delicious wines, the notes you’ll find below.

Two days later we were at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club downtown Toronto for Woodman’s annual Burgundy tasting of the Bouchard and William Fevre 2010 portfolios.

Far more dignified and elegant, this tasting was considerable smaller, held in one of the private club’s dens and even with two dozen people or so in attendance, there was still ample room to have a civilized conversation with Monsieur Bouchard or set up a laptop on a table to make some carefully considered notes in the quite din of the room.

Now, to be fair, this was an individual wine importer’s tasting – not a huge show produced by an entire state – so the invitation list is smaller, just by default.   But it was a very enjoyable tasting with almost every wine more impressive than the last.

Here are a few wines that were standouts for us this week:

California:
Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley 2010 $29 (Rogers & Company)Mid-weight and almost creamy thanks to the addition of 25% Semillion, this is delightfully tropical with notes of pineapple & mango, supported by a nice seam of acidity and citrus freshness.  Hits Vintages at the end of April, so pick up a case for your summer cellar as we bet it won’t last long

Peter Franus “Brandlin Vineyard” Zinfandel, Mt. Veeder. Napa Valley 2009  $44.95 (Profile Wine Group)
Ripe blackberry flavor is kept in balance by a finish of fresh menthol/anise herb notes.  Restrained oak and a slight mineral element thankfully make this wine less fat and weighty than some other Zins out there.

Schramsberg Brut Rosé North Coast 2008 $42.95 (The Vine) Anyone who knows us, knows sparkling rosés sing our tune to begin with, but this is a bottle we’d be happy to add to our cellars.   Apparently a few others think the same as it’s sold out and the next shipment won’t be here until about mid-May.  A blend of Pinot Noir & Chardonnay, the wine is aged in bottle for two years before release.  What results is a sophisticated and fun sparkler full of fresh strawberry and raspberry, baking spice and toasty notes.

Burgundy (all from Woodman Wines & Spirits):

William Fevre Chablis 1er Cru Montmains 2010 $49A nose of mineral and granny smith apple is echoed on the palate, which is surprisingly weighty with additional flavours of paraffin, chalk, brine and lemon.

William Fevre Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 2010 $107
Pretty nose full of white flower, anise and fresh lemon zest followed by flavours of white grapefruit, lemon curd, mineral and grey clay.  Lovely wine.

Bouchard Père & Fils Meursault Les Clous Village 2009 $52
A great wine that finds its way to Vintages every once in a while – so if you see it there, pick it up.  A nose of light butterscotch and tropical fruit, and flavours of fresh pineapple, key lime and mandarin orange, with lively acidity.

Bouchard Père & Fils Meursault Genevrières 1er Cru 2010 $96 This may have been our favourite white of the tasting.  A rich nose with orange peel, brioche and vanilla anweighty palate with lemon curd, and orange peel and kumquat with just a touch of brine spice and a nice seam of acidity to life tings up a touch.

Bouchard Père & Fils Puligny-Montrachet Les Champs-Gain 2010 $97
Rich and sophisticated with a nose of coconut and roasted hazelnuts.  Roasted nuts are echoed on the palate followed by white flowers a touch of saline and a long red apple finish.

Bouchard Père & Fils Gevrey-Chambertin Village 2010 $55
Pretty ruby colour with raspberry concentrate, spring flowers, smoke and dusty herb on the nose, and juicy red cherry, cranberry and baked rhubarb fruit on the palate.  Fine tannin with a dried leaf/herbaceous finish.  A very pretty and feminine wine.

Bouchard Père & Fils Pommard 1er Cru 2010 $72
Masculine and more wild than the previous wine, this has a nose of red berry fruit and baking spice.  On the palate, look for dark plum fruit, cedar, spice and smoke with grippy tannins.  A great match for roast game meats.

Bouchard Père & Fils Beaune Greves 1er Cru Vignes de L’Enfant Jesus 2010 $124
A sophisticated and charming wine – but for $124, it should be.  Sweet red fruit and soft baking spice on the nose, with flavours of red plums, cherries and baked rhubarb, ash and cardamom spice.  Soft and supple mouth feel this would be lovely with roast Cornish hen or seared duck breast with wild cherry sauce.