Taste it Again / Lost & Found

Taste it Again / Lost & Found: During the Jays Game 4 ALDS

27 Apr 2016

Details: Category: Lost & Found / Taste it Again

(October 12, 2015) ... So here we are, Game 4 of the ALDS, my buddy Larry shows up to watch baseball and for another "Questionable Box of Wine" get-together - something we seem to be developing a tradition around (this would be the third or fourth time we have done this). Today's case of old wine finds are mostly from Ontario but there were a few from other parts of the world, namely Australia, and a couple of older whites:

Flat Rock 2008 Riesling (Ontario) ... Seven years under its belt and still showing quite well, lovely peach-petrol and some minerality - the acidity is subtle but still well integrated; described as a "complete older Ontario Riesling" - I'd agree with that.

Featherstone 2008 Black Sheep Riesling (Ontario) ... It's the acidity that stands out here, the fruit is mostly Mac apple with hints of mineral along with that big-acid driven finish.

Black Swan 2003 Shiraz (Australia) ... Dense and dark fruited with a touch of oxidation on the nose, but the palate shows little to none of it; wine culminates in a burnt coffee finish; it's really a surprise it lasted this long.

Black Swan 2003 Shiraz / Merlot (Australia) ... A 75/25 blend leaning more on the Shiraz side than Merlot. This one did not fare as well as its straight varietal Shiraz counterpart, it was oxidized with little in the way of fruit ... Not enjoyable at all.

Ridgepoint 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon (Ontario) ... Sadly this one was loaded with ladybug notes. As they say, it was toast.

Erie Shores 2006 Duet (Ontario) ... Another wine that did not stand up to the test of time, it has become lean and weedy. Couldn't get it past the tongue - meaning I spat it out just as quickly as it made entry.

Erie Shores 2007 Cabernet (Ontario) ... A wine made from 100% Cabernet Franc ... Had some high hopes for this one but turned out to be thin, weedy, with an off-putting fruit character, oxidized to the gills and a harsh unappealing finish.

Pause for an aside: I was saddened about these Erie Shore wines I really thought they would be better, the 2006 I was skeptical about but I really did think the 2007 would show much better ...

Alvento 2005 Elige (Ontario) ... Elige is a Cabernet Sauvignon / Cabernet Franc blend that was a beauty in its youth, but the folks at Alvento decide on a plastic cork closure and this wine paid the price: totally oxidized, sweetish/bitterish dried fruit ... Nasty linger; our only plastic sealed winee tonight, I remember this wine in its youth (see the review below) and sealed correctly this wine was made to last a decade-plus.

Pondview 2009 Bella Terra Cabernet Franc (Ontario) ... I recently tasted this bottle in May 2015, the review of which can be found here - it has not changed drastically from this.

Chateau des Charmes 2005 Cabernet-Merlot, Estate (Ontario) ... It started off slowly with green pepper, dried cassis, earthy and gritty oak nuances, and that made it hard to taste around ... but there was something there worth exploring so we came back to it after a couple of hours and man were we impressed: some nice red fruit started to surface amongst everything else and a second glass was definitely in order. Speaking of having seconds, it was our second favourite wine of the night.

Which brings us to our first: Fielding 2007 Red Conception (Ontario) ... This kitchen-sink blend of grapes, which included Pinot Noir, Syrah and Aglianico amongst other more traditional varieties, has some real showmanship in its making (and drinking). Back in 2011 I gave this wine 5 stars, the question is: did it deserve it? It took about 30 minutes to open and when it did it revealed cocoa and dark fruit and cinnamon and smoky notes and and and ... it also had a real smoothness across the palate and then some delightful red fruit began peaking out after about an hour in the glass. Plenty of life left in this bottle, you'll just need to open it early or decant for best results. The answer to the question: Yes it did.