Thursday, August 09, 2007
Aug 2007 LCBO Classic Catalog - GPCi Picks
Out of the many wines this catalog offers, I chose the ones which seemed better than the others from rates/review, $ and cellaring potential.
Spain
1998 Marques de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Tinto Gran Reserva - $59
DOCa Rioja
http://www.wineanorak.com/ =92 ; Spent 41 months in oak. Complex yet still tight spicy, earthy, perfumed casky nose. The palate is soft, bold, complex and spicy with a nice savoury edge. It’s a really expressive wine. Delicious. Very good/excellent. (Jamie Goode, April 2006)
2004 Finca Sandoval - $45
DO Manchuela
RP=93 ; The brilliant 2004 Finca Sandoval (83% Syrah, 9% Monastrell, and 8% Bobal) is produced from a vineyard situated on a plateau at 2250 feet elevation. Consequently, there is an unexpected freshness and uplift to this cuvee. Aged completely in French oak for 11 months, and bottled unfined and unfiltered, it exhibits a dense ruby/purple hue as well as a full-bodied, scorched earth character reminiscent of a French Graves. Sweet blackberry and cassis fruit, underlying minerality, silky tannin, and a textured, rich mouthfeel suggest this beautiful wine should drink well for a decade or more. Drink 2006-2016.
Australia
2005 Mitolo G.A.M. Shiraz - $49
McLaren Vale, South Austalia
RP=95 ; Fashioned from a McLaren Vale vineyard, the 2005 Shiraz G.A.M. (named after the Mitolo children – Gemma, Alexander, and Marco) is a deep ruby/purple-hued effort displaying beautiful blackberry, white pepper, licorice, and toasty oak notes. Rich, full-bodied, and intense, with blueberry and blackberry flavors, sweet tannin, and excellent purity, it is a tour de force in winemaking. Enjoy it over the next decade. Drink 2006-2016.
2005 Mitolo Reiver Shiraz - $49
Barossa Valley, South Australia
RP=94 ; The 2005 Shiraz Reiver, made from 60-year-old Shiraz vines in the Greenock area of the Barossa, was aged 18 months in lightly toasted French oak. Its inky/blue/purple hue is followed by a lovely perfume of flowers, blackberries, espresso, and licorice. Aged completely in 300 liter hogsheads, it offers stunning richness and length, and should drink well for 10-12 years. Drink 2006-2018.
2004 Rolf Binder Heysen Shiraz - $49
Barossa Valley, South Australia2
RP=93 ; The backward 2004 Shiraz Heysen, aged 20 months in a combination of American and French oak, possesses a dense purple color as well as rich notes of blackberries, licorice, creosote, and camphor. This dense, full-bodied, ripe, powerful Shiraz includes 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, which is impossible to detect. Give it 2-3 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 12-15+. Drink 2008-2023.
2004 TWO HANDS SAMANTHA'S GARDEN SHIRAZ - $50
Clare Valley, South Australia
RP=93 ; The expressive 2004 Shiraz Samantha’s Garden offers a dark ruby/purple color and a beautiful, sweet nose of black raspberries, black currants, licorice, smoke, and toast. Full-bodied, rich, and heady, this gorgeous Shiraz should drink well for a decade. Drink 2006-2016.
2005 YALUMBA HAND-PICKED TGV - $39
Barossa Valley, South Australia
Jeremy Oliver - 92 ; Blended from three varieties [Tempranillo, Grenache, Viognier], two of which fit the ‘recent arrival’ bill, this delicious red is a fine, elegant and Burgundy-weighted wine of smoothness and character. Musky and aromatic, its spicy perfume of blackberries, plums and lifted floral notes overlies mocha and dark chocolate-like oak nuances. Slightly confectionary, its supple and juicy palate of small berries, cherries and dark plums is framed by a fine, willowy cut of tannin. It finishes long and fresh, with a lingering core of tangy fruit wrapped in clean acids and backed by emerging meaty and slightly reductive, rustic complexity. Drink 2007-2010+.
BULLER FINE OLD MUSCAT - $27
Victoria
RP=96 ; The medium dark amber-colored Premium Fine Muscat (100% Muscat) reveals terrific aromas of toffee, melted caramel, molasses, brown sugar, hazelnuts, and smoke. This blend represents the newest bottled offerings from this Rutherglen producer, an area that produces spectacular fortifieds, especially the Muscats and Tokays (actually Muscadelle). Its freshness, good acidity, soaring aromatics, and unctuous flavors must be tasted to be believed. Drink 2002-2012.
Spain
1998 Marques de Murrieta Castillo Ygay Tinto Gran Reserva - $59
DOCa Rioja
http://www.wineanorak.com/ =92 ; Spent 41 months in oak. Complex yet still tight spicy, earthy, perfumed casky nose. The palate is soft, bold, complex and spicy with a nice savoury edge. It’s a really expressive wine. Delicious. Very good/excellent. (Jamie Goode, April 2006)
2004 Finca Sandoval - $45
DO Manchuela
RP=93 ; The brilliant 2004 Finca Sandoval (83% Syrah, 9% Monastrell, and 8% Bobal) is produced from a vineyard situated on a plateau at 2250 feet elevation. Consequently, there is an unexpected freshness and uplift to this cuvee. Aged completely in French oak for 11 months, and bottled unfined and unfiltered, it exhibits a dense ruby/purple hue as well as a full-bodied, scorched earth character reminiscent of a French Graves. Sweet blackberry and cassis fruit, underlying minerality, silky tannin, and a textured, rich mouthfeel suggest this beautiful wine should drink well for a decade or more. Drink 2006-2016.
Australia
2005 Mitolo G.A.M. Shiraz - $49
McLaren Vale, South Austalia
RP=95 ; Fashioned from a McLaren Vale vineyard, the 2005 Shiraz G.A.M. (named after the Mitolo children – Gemma, Alexander, and Marco) is a deep ruby/purple-hued effort displaying beautiful blackberry, white pepper, licorice, and toasty oak notes. Rich, full-bodied, and intense, with blueberry and blackberry flavors, sweet tannin, and excellent purity, it is a tour de force in winemaking. Enjoy it over the next decade. Drink 2006-2016.
2005 Mitolo Reiver Shiraz - $49
Barossa Valley, South Australia
RP=94 ; The 2005 Shiraz Reiver, made from 60-year-old Shiraz vines in the Greenock area of the Barossa, was aged 18 months in lightly toasted French oak. Its inky/blue/purple hue is followed by a lovely perfume of flowers, blackberries, espresso, and licorice. Aged completely in 300 liter hogsheads, it offers stunning richness and length, and should drink well for 10-12 years. Drink 2006-2018.
2004 Rolf Binder Heysen Shiraz - $49
Barossa Valley, South Australia2
RP=93 ; The backward 2004 Shiraz Heysen, aged 20 months in a combination of American and French oak, possesses a dense purple color as well as rich notes of blackberries, licorice, creosote, and camphor. This dense, full-bodied, ripe, powerful Shiraz includes 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, which is impossible to detect. Give it 2-3 years of cellaring and drink it over the following 12-15+. Drink 2008-2023.
2004 TWO HANDS SAMANTHA'S GARDEN SHIRAZ - $50
Clare Valley, South Australia
RP=93 ; The expressive 2004 Shiraz Samantha’s Garden offers a dark ruby/purple color and a beautiful, sweet nose of black raspberries, black currants, licorice, smoke, and toast. Full-bodied, rich, and heady, this gorgeous Shiraz should drink well for a decade. Drink 2006-2016.
2005 YALUMBA HAND-PICKED TGV - $39
Barossa Valley, South Australia
Jeremy Oliver - 92 ; Blended from three varieties [Tempranillo, Grenache, Viognier], two of which fit the ‘recent arrival’ bill, this delicious red is a fine, elegant and Burgundy-weighted wine of smoothness and character. Musky and aromatic, its spicy perfume of blackberries, plums and lifted floral notes overlies mocha and dark chocolate-like oak nuances. Slightly confectionary, its supple and juicy palate of small berries, cherries and dark plums is framed by a fine, willowy cut of tannin. It finishes long and fresh, with a lingering core of tangy fruit wrapped in clean acids and backed by emerging meaty and slightly reductive, rustic complexity. Drink 2007-2010+.
BULLER FINE OLD MUSCAT - $27
Victoria
RP=96 ; The medium dark amber-colored Premium Fine Muscat (100% Muscat) reveals terrific aromas of toffee, melted caramel, molasses, brown sugar, hazelnuts, and smoke. This blend represents the newest bottled offerings from this Rutherglen producer, an area that produces spectacular fortifieds, especially the Muscats and Tokays (actually Muscadelle). Its freshness, good acidity, soaring aromatics, and unctuous flavors must be tasted to be believed. Drink 2002-2012.
