What We’re Drinking Now!

August is here, and bringing with it warm-ish days and cooler nights. While it seems like summer called in sick this year, there is still opportunity to enjoy the crisp whites that offer refreshment on warm and sunny afternoons, while balancing the cooler evenings with elegant and more substantial reds.

Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc Reserve, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 2011
$17.95 Vintages 231282
Flinty, mineral and sweet citrus aromas, with bright flavours of clementine orange, nectarine/peach and a steely/mineral tone. Fresh and focused with lively acidity and nice length, try this with barbecued chicken, grilled trout or green salads with fresh herbs.

Brickyard Riesling, VQA Niagara Peninsula, 2012
$13.95 LCBO 346866
Brickyard Winery is a brand new project of Moray Tawse, opened a short distance from his namesake winery. Brickyard is in reference to the stoney, clay soils which made farming a challenge over the years. This value-driven Riesling offers fresh mineral-driven aromas mixing with grapefruit and lime and even a touch of anise. Lip smacking acidity on the palate with zippy flavours of key lime pie, wet stone and pink grapefruit. Crisp and focused with a lengthy finish, this offers a range of food flexibility: pair with anything from roast pork to smoked oysters or grilled white fish and summer fruit salsas.

La Ferme du Mont “La Truffière,” Côtes du Rhône, France, 2011
$14.95 Vintages 234716
Winemaker Stefan Vedeau takes a non-interventionist approach to wine: his family-run winery takes an environmentally friendly, organic approach to winemaking and the results are lovely. This white Rhône is a blend of 50% white Grenache, 40% Viognier and 10% Clairette, offering aromas of honey, roasted nuts, lemon balm and exotic flowers. The palate is full bodied and rich with honey, orange blossom, cardamom spice, floral notes and a bitter citrus pith finish. Bright acidity offers freshness. Dynamite with scallop ceviche.

William Fèvre “Champs Royaux” Chablis, Burgundy, France, 2011
$21.95 Vintages 276436
An elegant and lean example of unoaked Chardonnay, with aromas of flint, lemon and green apple, the palate offers decent weight and structure with a mineral edge and a saline savouriness. Our minds can’t help but drift to oysters…

Bouchard Père & Fils Pouilly Fuissé, Burgundy, France, 2011
$27.90 Vintages 56580
A lovely, restrained Chardonnay with aromas of anise, under-ripe pineapple and yellow apple. The palate is round and plush with with mild tropical fruit flavours of banana and pineapple, yellow fruit and wet stone with tangy acidity offering some vibrancy. Try with salty cheese or seafood in a cream sauce.

Flat Rock Cellars “Unplugged” Chardonnay, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, 2012
$16.95 flatrockcellars.com
We’ve always really enjoyed this unoaked Chardonnay for its fresh, easy drinking, food friendly personality. That and it’s flat out delicious at a stellar price. Look for aromas and flavours of peach, pear and nectarine with a bright acidity and medium bodied, slightly creamy mouthfeel, that pairs very nicely with cheese plates, sweet seafood like crab and scallops and spicy grilled fare like piri piri chicken.

Mike Weir Pinot Noir, VQA Niagara Peninsula, 2009
$16.95 LCBO 686972
An excellent value Pinot from Mike Weir. Normally we shy away from Pinots under $20, and generally with very good reason,but this offers exceptional value for money with notes of cherry, raspberry, smoke and moderate spice. Mid weight on the palate, elegant and plush, enjoy this with seared duck breast or cedar planked salmon.

Cathedral Cellar “Triptych,” Western Cape, South Africa 2008
$15.95 Vintages 53124
A Cab/Merlot blend that pours deep ruby-purple, this is very good value. Elegant but powerful with aromas of blackberry leaves, fresh leather and spice while the fullish palate offers flavours of ripe, dark fruit, cigar, and smokey/meaty notes. Plush texture with balanced acidity this would be a nice accompaniment to grilled steaks or roast beef sandwiches.

Farnese “Fantini” Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Italy, 2012
$7.50 LCBO 621912
Wow. This is an impressively rich and concentrated Italian red for under $10. Inky purple in colour  with a nose of ripe, dark berries, earth, dried hay, and licorice, the palate is medium bodied with fine tannin and balanced acidity. Plush flavours of  blackberry, plum, soft spice and clay. It’s not overly complex but very enjoyable for the price. Great for end of summer entertaining and the stylish label would have guests believing it was 3 times the price.

Boutari Naoussa, Greece 2008
$12.95 23218
Made from 100% xinomavro, a grape that has striking similarities to Italy’s nebbiolo grape (which goes into Barolo), the pale rub colour belies the palate, which is powerful and very dry with grippy tannins and flavours of Bing cherry, black licorice, dusty spice cupboard, dark chocolate and raspberry tea. Pleasant Old World drinking,  pick this up by the case: only 400 cases are coming to Vintages August 17 – last time it came through, it sold out in only a couple of weeks.