Report from ... La Ferme du Mont Lunch at The Wine Bar - July 11, 2013

Stephane Vedeau - owner and winemaker, La Ferme du Mont

July 11, 2013 - Lunch with Stephane Vedeau, owner and winemaker of the 50 hectares known as La Ferme du Mont in the Rhone Valley of France, held at the Wine Bar in Toronto.  No pesticides and organic fertilizers are used in the vineyard, the wines are made using natural fermentation and limited manipulation - a natural balance and respect for the soil are more important than technology.  Vedeau:  "My pleasure is in making truly balanced wines, wines which represent a real harmony between terroir, fruit, freshness and concentration."

The Wines of Note ...

2011 Cotes du Rhone Villages - "Le Ponnant" ($17.00)
smoky licorice with black cherry,
spiced-cedar and earthy notes (*** 1/2+)

2010 Gigondas - "Cote Jugunda" ($29.95)
gritty mouthfeel with cassis and blackberry and white pepper on the finish
this is a very feminine wine; not muscular and fat (****+)

2010 Chateauneuf du Pape - "Cotes Capelan" ($63.00)
- Made from 150 year old vines -
rich red fruit with vanilla, cocoa and spice
finish is blackberry and cassis with slight peppery notes (****+)

Not pictured: 2011 Cotes du Rhone (White) - "La Truffiere" ($14.95) ... made from Grenache White, Viognier and Clairette ... the nose is tropical with melon rind and a stoney quality; thick mouthfeel and weighty texture with melon and citrus pith and an intensely bitter finish.  (*** 1/2+)

Bonus Wines (unavailable) ...

2009 Cotes du Rhone - "Premiere Cote" (sold out)
spicy and smoky with hints of raspberry

2011 Chateauneuf du Pape - "Vendage" (n/a)
- Limited Production, 2 barrels - Special wine -
- Harvesting of wine is done in November with hints of botrytis -
soft, lush, and fresh with good acidity and vanilla notes
fruit is a beauty mix of peach, pear and tropical fruit (****+)

Lunch ...

The Menu ...

The table ...

Tomato Gazpacho and Scallop Ceviche

Prosciutto wrapped asparagus with brie and Dijon mustard

Stuffed mushroom with double smoked bacon and Toscano cheese and chives

Smoked Muscovy duck breast with wild blueberry compote

Grilled lamb loin chop with cabernet jus and organic pea sprouts

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Report from … Bio Vino at The Green Living Show – April 23, 2010

It’s Eco-week here in Toronto, first there was the Bio-wine show at Earth Restaurant earlier this week and now it’s Bio-Vino at the Direct Energy Centre at the Exhibition grounds. 

Within the Green Living Show (April 23-25) there’s a “fenced off” area where you’ll find 31 tables all manned (or womanned) by Eco-friendly producers.  They each have their little claim to fame – first to do this, second in their country to do that, but each has hopped onto the Organic, Bio-dynamic or sustainable bandwagon and our firmly planted there (no pun intended).  One thing I have noticed about organic wines is that they come with a price tag that’s higher than your usual bottle of vino; but that’s the price you pay for being good to the planet and your plants. 

If you’re going here’s my list of must try Bio-Wines:

Table 1 – Paxton Vineyards (Australia)
They have two of this wine on the table, but from different vintages: the 2007 AA Shiraz/Grenache ($19.95) is the wine to choose, smooth and supple with black fruit and chocolate along with hints of pepper and spice. (****)

Table 3 – DogRidge Winery (Australia)
I thought this the best Aussie wine at the show, and came within a mere breadth of being my favourite wine of the show.  The 2006 Shirtfront Shiraz ($38.99) – aged 22 months in a mix of America and French barrels, one third of which are new … the wine is made from vines planted in the 1940’s, so the wine has good concentration and is delicious with chocolate and black raspberry and an awesome mouth feel. (****½)

Table 5 – Temple Bruer Vineyards (Australia)
The 2004 Cabernet Petit Verdot ($25.95) is elegant and peppery with a nice spice and some vanilla and cinnamon flavours – made from a blend of 81% Cabernet Sauvignon and 19% Petit Verdot. (****)

Table 6 – The Millton Vineyard (New Zealand)
2008 Clos de Ste Anne Pinot ($42.95) has a very lovely nose with good acidity, some black cherry and a nice finish. (****)

Table 8 – The Sadie Family (South Africa)
I don’t often say this, so listen up: this South African wine (a blend of 70% Syrah and 30% Mourvedre) was the best red wine at the show, an absolute must try: 2007 Columella ($99.95) – it was also the most expensive.  This one is, put quite simply, lovely – velvety and smooth on the palate, it was shear elegance, and at 14.5% alcohol it’s also a whopper of a wine – but it’s just ‘wow’ in the mouth. (****½)

Table 11 – Tres Sabores (USA – California)
As a fan of Zinfandel this 2007 Estate Zinfandel ($39.95) is a no-brainer.  Smooth vanilla and plum upon palate entry, which then leads to a rather nicely spiced finish. (****)

Table 12 – Southbrook Vineyards (Canada – Ontario)
Check out the very summery 2009 Fresh White ($16.95).

Table 13 – Frog Pond Farm (Canada – Ontario)
Speaking of summery, be sure to have a little sip of this 2008 Cabernet Franc Rosé ($14.00).

Table 15 – Le Clos Jordanne (Canada – Ontario)
My favourite wine from Le Clos’ current offerings was on display:  2007 La Petite Vineyard Pinot Noir ($39.80).

Table 16 – Stratus Vineyards (Canada – Ontario)
And another fine Ontario red can be found here under Stratus’ second label, namely the 2007 WildAss Red ($19.95).

Table 17 – Cono Sur Winery (Chile)
By far the best deal on a bottle of bio-wine was this general list wine from Cono Sur – the 2009 Viognier ($9.95) … great value on a wine loaded with fruit like peach, pear and apple.  Buy it for summer and consume it quick and chilled, this is not one for ageing, it’s definitely for drink now enjoyment. (****½ - extra half mark for value)

Table 21 – St. Anthony & Heyl Zu Herrnsheim (Germany)
Tied for best white: 2008 St. Anthony 483 Dry Riesling ($16.95), this mineral driven wine has peach, lime and a touch of sweetness on the front palate and a dryness mid-palate all the way to the finish.  If you’re curious as to what the ‘483’ refers to, it’s the plot of land the grapes are grown on. (****)

Table 23 – Domaine Barmes Buecher (France – Alsace)
This was the other nice white: 2007 Gewurztraminer Rosenberg ($27.95) – a delicious spicy finishing Gewurzt that had floral aromas and a rosy-lychee-peachy palate. (****)

Table 26 – Azienda Agricola Sangervasio (Italy – Tuscany)
This Sangiovese (95%) / Cabernet Sauvignon (5%) blend is quite lovely:  2008 Rosso ($21.95) – plenty of red and black fruit, black licorice and toasted vanilla – there were also good grippy tannins on the finish. (****)

Finally, the most unfortunate name of any of the wines present was to be found at Table 25: Domaine Ostertag 2007 Riesling V’de … I’m not sure what a sexually transmitted Riesling is but this is obviously it – share it at your own risk.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, 

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Report from ... Green Evolution Eco-Friendly Wine Tasting – April 20, 2010

My only complaint about the Green Evolution Eco-Friendly Wine Tasting is its apparent lack of organization and its lack of printed material about the wines.  Now, I suppose to be Eco-Friendly you would forego the use of paper that folks will eventually throw away (or hopefully recycle) once they get them home and throw on their coffee table for the rest of the month – but there were some catalogues available, but very few, so the choice should be print none (so that everybody has to write on their hands and wash the ink off later) or print more so everyone has the chance to recycle the books at the end of the month (or have them decompose naturally on the coffee table) … but the bottom line here is that I did not have at my disposal all the details of the wines I would normally like to have when writing these reports – and I promise not to print this one off for editing purposes. Write green, Think green.

Alright, so aside from that little glitch in the action I found this tasting to be very interesting.  It was held at Earth restaurant (1055 Yonge Street); approximately 21 wines were being poured all from producers who are certified organic, practicing bio-dynamics and/or other sustainable methods of growing grapes and making wine.  From these 21 wines, which were all available to order through Vintages (but not in store), I have pared it down to 7 that truly shone.  One note about the lone Ontario winery in attendance, Southbrook, reviews of their wines can be found on my website, namely:  2008 Triomphe Merlot and the 2007 Poetica Chardonnay which were all part of their turn to the eco-wine; also look for a review of their 2009 Rosé coming soon … sign up for the newsletter to keep up-to-date.  Now enough with the blatant self-promotion, on to the wines …

New Zealand …
Yealands 2009 Riesling ($19.00) – a nice minerality and fruitiness on the nose; palate was crisp, fruity and refreshing with notes of apple, pear and lime, all with that seam of minerality cutting across the tongue. (****)

France, Alsace …
Domaine Weinbach 2007 Reserve Personnelle Gewurztraminer ($43.00) – absolutely spectacular Gewurtz; beautiful intense nose with great mouth feel – apricot, peach, lychee and spice were most dominant, but there were also subtleties that made this wine really come alive both aroma-wise and palate-wise. If you only try one Gewurztraminer in your life this is not a bad place to start and end. (****½)

Chile …
Vina Arboleda – on value alone these two wines are ones you should be putting into your cellar because they will reward a few years there.  The wines are line priced around the $18 mark (top price is $18.95); they were showing three, but these two got my attention:  The Arboleda 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon ($18) was chocolate, black raspberry with mocha-tannins on the finish (****) … The Arboleda 2008 Syrah ($18.95) was bigger, bolder and better with mint and blackberry on the nose which followed onto the palate, culminating in a lovely finish of white pepper and delicate tannins.  Good smooth finish to tannin-grit ratio here, keeping things juicy and dry all at the same time. (****½)

United States …
While some swooned over the Benziger Sauvignon Blanc I wrapped my palate around this new single vineyard Pinot Noir: Signaterra 2007 Pinot Noir ($69.00) – Bella Luna Vineyard, Russian River Valley.  Signaterra is a new line in the Benziger portfolio.  The Pinot was very Cali, lovely and smooth with lots of good cherry and raspberry fruit – soft and supple, a real pleasure to drink. (****½)

Finally, there were the Paul Dolan wines; the organic 2007 Zinfandel ($19.00) was juicy with nice tannin structure on the finish.  The palate proved to be loaded with red raspberry and vanilla along with a touch of spice rounding out the finish (****).  There was also the Dolan 2006 Deep Red ($56.00) a blend of Syrah, Petite Sirah and Grenache, all from a biodynamic vineyard.  The 15.5% alcohol should make this a bruiser of a wine, but it was barely perceptible, instead it had finesse and elegance that really popped in the glass.  Peppery-spicy notes, beautiful dark fruit: blackberries, cassis and hints of cocoa, both on the nose and the palate, in the mid-palate you’ll also find lovely red fruit before the finish kicks in with more pepper and spice (****½).  The blend is different every year, but I am told the wine is always just as good.

Wines of the Tasting …
My top two wines were (white) Domaine Weinbach 2007 Reserve Personnelle Gewurztraminer and (red) Paul Dolan 2006 Deep Red.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.