Sitting in my spectacular hotel room at the Sutton Place Hotel (not even the hotel, actually, the Residences; our 'room' is a one-bedroom apartment), just hours before our first event at the Vancouver International Wine Festival. Going to be a hell of a busy day; we'll be on the go from 2:30 until 10 PM with only about 45 minutes of free time in between three events today.
Water. Must drink so much water.
But while I wait for the wife to get up and our breakfast to be delivered to the room, I have time to report on a few bottles that we've been drinking lately. Let's start with a nicely-aged favorite:
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| Quails' Gate 2012 Pinot Noir ($26.99 from winery) |
I don't know of a better entry-level Pinot in BC. If you have the patience to celler it for a year or two, you will always be richly rewarded. Blackberry, black tea, black cherry on the nose. Flavors of bitter black cherry and tobacco leaf. Nice finish.
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| Whitehaven 2016 Sauvignon Blanc ($18.49 from BC Liquor Stores) |
We loved the 2015 version of this but this one took a big step back. We tried this twice to make sure we hadn't first tasted a bad bottle. Light aromas and flavors of bell pepper, white flowers and jalapeno. Touch of minerality on the short finish. If you see this in the BC Liquor Store, look behind it and try to find the newest vintage, which is much better. Speaking of it.......
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| Whitehaven 2017 Sauvignon Blanc ($18.49 from BC Liquor Stores) |
It's back, baby! Intense bell pepper and jalapeno aromas assault your nose. Flavors include flint, gooseberry, bell pepper and herbs. Delicious and a great deal at this price.
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| Quails' Gate 2009 Reserve Old Vines Foch ($46.99 from winery) |
Aromas of anise, dark chocolate and black fruit. Blackberry, smoke, black plum, earth and mushroom flavors. Definitely pair this with a big fat piece of red meat to compliment it's gamey style. Hitting it's stride now; I actually re-capped the bottle and went back to it 2 days later and it was undrinkable at that point.
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| Cakebread Cellars 2013 Chardonnay ($64.99 from BC Liquor Stores) |
Wow, what a treat. Delicate aromas of toasty oak, cinnamon, hay, white flowers and wet stone. The flavors absolutely punch you in the face...hazelnut, clove, butterscotch, pear, banana and citrus. Delicious and a steal for this money for a great California Chard.
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| Northstar 2011 Merlot ($64.95 from private liquor stores) |
Cola, blackberry, black currant, mocha and a touch of white pepper on the nose. Flavors include blackberry, leather, mocha and cinnamon. This improved a ton as it opened up in the decanter, so I'd recommend giving this a long decant. Nice Merlot from the Columbia Valley of Washington State.
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| Seps Estate 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon ($79.99 from private liquor stores) |
Aromas of eucalyptus, red cherry cola, leather and blackberry. Tobacco, dark chocolate, sagebrush and blackberry flavors. Finishes long. Nice and drinking well right now.
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| Burrowing Owl 2009 Merlot (current vintage is $30 from winery) |
Aromas of perfume, violets, forest floor, dark berries and eucalyptus. Complex flavors include red raspberry, mint, forest floor, chocolate and just a hint of vanilla. Opens up beautifully in the decanter and glass. We had this one in our cellar for a few years and we are so happy we let it rest a bit, it was really delicious.
That's it for today, it's almost time for breakfast to arrive. I have some more bottles to catch up on but that will have to wait for a while, because IT'S WINEFEST TIME!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Hope to see some of you there!
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