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California Wine Fair - Toronto, ON
Fairmont Royal York
Tasted April 7, 2014 by Wine Canuck with 624 views
Flight 1 - Schramsberg (3 notes)
I quite liked these and find that they aren't a bad alternative to Champagne, though I think the dosage was tad high. Dropping a few g/l of sugar would give them more balance on the palate in my opinion.
White - Sparkling
2010 Schramsberg Vineyards Blanc de Blancs
88 points
Relatively light nose of green apple skin, honeydew melon, ginger and stone. Palate is fairly rich and round with honey and slightly elevated dosage; 10+ g/l (checked later and it is 12g/l). Medium length finish. Good traditional sparkler on the young side. This lands for $50/bottle in Ontario so your money may be better spent on Champagne.
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White - Sparkling
2009 Schramsberg Vineyards Blanc de Noirs Brut
91 points
Now we're getting into something interesting. Much more developed rich, and slightly funky aromas waft on first pour. Nose of fresh cut strawberry, brown spice, cantaloupe, coarse brown sugar, hints of butterscotch, and fresh cut red apple. Palate is again a tad sweet and seems to be 10+ g/l but with good balancing acid. Medium plus finish. I really like the style, but this arrives in Ontario at $54, so it's another one where you can do better in Champagne.
Rosé - Sparkling
N.V. Schramsberg Vineyards Mirabelle Brut Rose
90 points
I like this wine though it is a bit on the confected side of things. The nose is very pretty: dried cranberry, pomegranate, dried rose petals, baked strawberry tart covered in powdered sugar and caramel. Nice crisp palate repeating lots of light red fruit. Dosage is a touch high, though lower than the previous two and repeats the slightly confected notes on the finish.
Flight 2 - Gloria Ferrer (2 notes)
White - Sparkling
N.V. Gloria Ferrer Brut Sonoma County
88 points
Fairly powerful nose of brown spice, coarse brown sugar and candied lemon peel; leaning to the rich side of things. Palate is a bit too sweet for me (seems to be in the 10g/l + range) also with rich very slightly oxidative notes. Maybe a bit low in acid given the residual sugar, but a pleasant wine.
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White - Sparkling
N.V. Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs
87 points
Pours a coppery golden shade. Nose on this bottle came across as a bit high in sulfur. Also on the nose: light notes of sugar dusted rose petals, lemon, not too much else. Palate came across as quite a bit too sweet with doasge that must be well in excess of 12 g/l, just too sweet for me with not enough balancing acid. Looked later and the web site indicates 13.7 g/l, not a bad guess.
Flight 3 - Ridge (6 notes)
Nice wines by Ridge. As usual I liked the Cabs better than the Zins, but Geyserville was interesting.
Red
2011 Ridge Three Valleys
86 points
While I'm usually a Ridge fan, I'm not sold on this bottling. On the nose: caramel, vanilla oak, mixed red blue and black berries, soil. Pretty basic entry level stuff. Palate is nicely balanced with optimal fruit ripeness. Short finish. A touch oaky overall.
Red
2012 Ridge Three Valleys
86 points
Nose of slightly candied and confected red fruit, mixed berry jam and a slight mineral component. Palate is a bit fat, flabby and almost perceptably sweet. Finish replays the candied fruit. Palatable, but I'm certainly not seeking this out.
Red
2011 Ridge Geyserville
90 points
Between this and the Lytton Springs, this seems to be lighter and a tad more red fruited. Nose features a melange of berry fruit: cherry, strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, lavender, oak spice, and concrete dust. Actually a bit oak driven at this stage, but still balanced and should integrate. Palate is rich, round and plush. Almost a tad sweet. Finish is medium plus in length with purple and blue fruit notes. A nice wine: 90+.
Red
2011 Ridge Lytton Springs
88 points
Can't say I'm a huge fan. Very dark in color and aroma. Almost a bit overextracted. Nose of blackberry, tar, not a whole lot else. Hard to read at this stage. Perhaps it will come around. Palate is very dense, a touch sweet and quite extracted and ripe. A bit much for my palate.
Red
2010 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Estate
91 points
Second time tasted this year with a consistent experience though seemingly just a touch less unintegrated oak this time. A very pretty wine and you can tell it will be good but needs time. Nose of mineral, concrete dust, graphite, cassis, black cherry, perfume, mushroom, cedar and slight vanilla/coconut note. Palate is dense and ripe with lots of blackerry and cassis, with firm but ripe tannin. Finish is medium plus in length. Should merit a point or two more as it ages. I really enjoy this style.
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Red
2011 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Estate
92 points
Showing even better on this day than the 2010, the 2011 is lovely. Nose of roasted coffee beans, soil, cassis, black cherry, and mushroom. Very deep and complex nose. Palate is somewhat lower in perceived tannin with the youthful fruit seemingly masking the structure. Finish is long repeating coffee bean and cassis. 92+. Another great Cab from Ridge.
Flight 4 - Siduri/Novy (3 notes)
My first time trying Siduri and Novy wines. I'm not sure I would seek out Novy's Syrahs, but the Siduri Pinots were very nice in a classic restrained style.
Red
2012 Siduri Pinot Noir Sonoma County
88 points
Nice nose, balancing predominantly red fruit against the mineral and earth notes. A more restrained traditionally styled Pinot. Nose of strawberry, cherry, pomegranate, dusty earth, light spice. Palate holds this back just a bit as it is a tad one-dimensional and finishes a bit short. Likely for earlier consumption. I really like the style. No discernible stems or oak.
Red
2012 Siduri Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
91 points
Elegant and beautifully pure nose featuring soil, vegetation, cranberry and red currant. Pours very light in colour, seems to be on the less extracted side of things. Nose could easily be blinded as a good Volnay. Palate reveals some of it's California origins with notes of sweet ripe strawberry. Still fairly complex on the palate with a medium plus finish. Very nice.
Red
2011 Novy Family Wines Syrah Santa Lucia Highlands
87 points
I was hoping for a more Northern Rhone expression and was a bit dissapointed. Pours fully opaque, quite dark with fruit predominantly in the black spectrum. I found this modern leaning with more emphasis on the fruit though some background caper/tar/brine notes did add to overall complexity. Also on the nose: blackberry and cassis. Palate is very dense, ripe and extracted with a slightly short finish.
Flight 5 - Heitz (3 notes)
Heitz really has a unique style that stands apart from everything else in Napa. I'm not sure that I'm crazy about it, but they are wines of character and I can appreciate that. It is my second time trying most of these wines and have consistently found the house style to have something very high-toned and slightly volatile going on on the nose (bug spray or citronella candle) with a purple/blue powdered candy element (grape or blueberry candy). Interesting wines.
Red
2009 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon
90 points
Nose is pungent of saliene, powdered purple candy, florals, perfume, a slight high-toned bug spray note, and spice. Palate enters on sweet purple candy notes, with brown spice and sweat notes replaying on the savoury finish. A much more classic, restrained style. I'm not sure I'm crazy about it today but I could see liking it with age. I think the $83 it lands for in Ontario is way too high, but at the $40 it sells for in the US it is interesting.
Red
2007 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Trailside Vineyard
91 points
The nose brings some nice complexity yet I'm still hesitant whether I love the style. Regardless it is quite high quality. Nose of plastic, smoked meat, powdered candy, old wood, and brown spice. Palate enters on sweet fruit but finishes on very savoury notes. Medium plus finish. Should age well.
Red
2009 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard
I can't in good faith rate this today. The nose is quite fascinating. Extremely similar to amaro liqueur with very prominent high toned volatility (something like bug spray!?), orange peel, and mixed root type spices. Palate enters on sweet fruit and finishes with amaro and spice notes. Seems to have everything in place to age out well, but a tad odd to drink today. In any case it really does stand apart from everything else in Napa.
Flight 6 - Mixed Bag of Larger Producers (3 notes)
Red
2011 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Knights Valley
89 points
Nose has lots of concrete dust, mineral, and graphite, green bell pepper, blackberry, black raspberry, and cassis. Palate is dense ripe and straightforward with firm cab tannin and a medium finish. Typical cab, thought somewhat restrained given napa. Should improve with further age.
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Red
2009 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cépages
88 points
This is more in the typical Napa cab idiom. High density fruit and actually a touch jammy with abundant oak spice. Palate is plush, ripe, and high alcohol. finish comes across as a bit short. Too much here for me. Lacking balance for my palate.
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Red
2009 Stags' Leap Winery Petite Sirah Ne Cede Malis
92 points
Pours extremely glass staining dark in color. Nose is very complex and intriguing with iodine, tar, old wood, cured meat, herbs, sweat/saliene and predominantly black fruit. Some real old world sensibility on this ripe dark wine. Palate is dense and dark with tough tannin and a medium finish. Very pretty and complex nose though the palate is a bit tough today.
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Comments (1)
Flight 7 - Coho (4 notes)
I really liked the lineup that Coho poured and found that the wines are produced with a European sensibility. Quite appealing.
Red
2011 Coho Pinot Noir Stanly Ranch Carneros
Wow! Very surprised and impressed with this effort. Best Pinot today. Complex stemmy nose. Really loaded with soil, resin, incense and a gorgeous core of sweet ripe mostly red fruit. Palate has sweet strawberries, and cherries with some nice stem elements as well. Finish is medium plus in length replaying red fruit and stem character. some very Burgundian sensibility on this wine. I was surprised to see later that this bottling typically sees only 15% stem inclusion and 50% new oak for 10 months. I didn't find the oak very apparent and thought it must be more like 30% - 50% stems. In any case I was quite taken by this. 92+ Points.
Red
2010 Coho Headwaters
91 points
Nose is very heavy on mineral notes: graphite, concrete dust, dusty soil, cherry, green pepper, herbs, blackberry, and cassis. Slight resemblance to cool vintage bordeaux or even Loire reds. True to the heart of Cabernet. On the palate there are very powerful tannins; this seems really built to last. Medium plus finish with sufficient ripe fruit, concrete dust and pyrazines.
Red
2010 Coho Merlot Michael Black Vineyard
87 points
I found this quite ripe and plush, a little too much for me. Fruit is in the cherry and plum spectrum, but is a bit one dimensional and lacks personality and interest for me. Palate has a bit of a heavy, low acid somewhat cloying feel. This is my least favourite of the Coho portfolio, though not a terrible wine.
Red
2010 Coho Cabernet Sauvignon Summit Vine Ranch
89 points
Similar to the headwaters from the same vintage this is a very dusty, mineral, and somewhat green cabernet. Nose has green bell pepper, dark cherry, cassis, and blackberry. Traditional dense and very firm palate though almost a bit too austere, at least today. I think some would find this too green, though it's within acceptable limits for my palate. Finish is medium plus replaying notes of green pepper, herbs, and dark fruit.
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