Welcome to our first Vintages Release blog post!  This release is a popular one as it contains wines rated at 90+ from around the world.  Although the ratings may give an indication of quality, the method to my madness is where does it come from (is it a region I loves), what is it going to smell/taste like (what's the aroma/flavor profile) and what's it going to cost me (if possible, $20 and under).  So, here are the Tasty Wines that made it home:

1. 2012 Castaño Solanera Viñas Viejas ($17): From Yecla, Spain.  An area I wasn't familiar with (thank you Interscape), but Wine Folly (LOVE Wine Folly!) tells me it's a town South of Valencia, located in Spain's Mediterranean Coast wine region.  This region grows Monastrelle (aka: Mourvèdre) and Garnacha (Grenache), among other varietals, and this is a blend of these two, plus some Cab Sauv.  I fell in love with Spanish reds when we were in Southern Spain in 2012, so the descriptors of berries and pencil shavings combine with the 10 months in combined French & American oak sold me.
2. 2011 Sister's Run Cow's Corner Grenache/Shiraz/Mataro ($17): From the Barossa Valley in South Australia.  As above, a blend made with Grenache although this varietal is front and center (85%).  10% Shiraz and 5% of Matarro (aka: Mourvèdre.  I know, too many different iterations).  I think it would be great to do a side-by-side with the Spanish blend above.  Although different vintages, and different blends, seeing similarities and/or difference could make for interesting convos.  This one will have more earthy, pepperyness thanks to the Shiraz but still plenty of red fruit. Yum.
3. 2011 De Buxy Buissonnier Montagny 1er Cru ($20): The only white to make it home, I'll buy almost anything from this Region.  It's a Chardonnay.  It's from Burgundy.  It's $20.  'nuf said.  Should have bought 2 bottles...
4. 2012 Maipe Reserve Malbec ($15): From the Mendoza region in Argentina, the grapes were all hand-picked for this one, which should mean the best grapes ended up in the tanks.  Berries and chocolate notes: Yum!  
5. 2011 Cantina del Dolcetto di Dogliani Dolcetto di Dogliani Superiore ($20):  Italy doesn't currently take up much room in the cellar, but I'm making an effort to test the waters and try more varietals from here.  Piedmont region is becoming a favorite for whites (hello, Moscato d'Asti!), so why give the reds a try.  Piedmont is on my "must visit" list.  I've never tried Dolcetto and the tasting notes intrigued me, so why not?  

Well, that's it folks.  I had two others on my list (the Blue Mountain Chardonnay from B.C., as well as a Tempranillo from Spain), but sadly my local LCBO couldn't not find them in their store. 

Wishing you all a wonderful end of Summer long-weekend filled with tasty wines!  

Nah!  Just kidding.  I joined a wine club!  Which is sort of like a cult, except there's less mind-fuckery and wacky pacts, more laughter and, well, drinking wine.  

A few weeks ago, a group of lovely ladies asked me to join their newly-formed wine club.  A group of ladies, getting together on a monthly basis to do wine tastings, eat food and talk about one of my favorite things in the world?  Sign.  Me.  Up.  

The first meeting was last Friday evening and if this is any sign of things to come, not only will we be enjoying some great wines, learning from each other and tasting new wines, but we will be building some new friendships over our mutual love of all things grapey.

Our inaugural meeting of the Congregation of Succulent Grapes (yup, our club has a name and personalized tasting sheets!) was broad in scope:  Red wines from France.  Everyone brings a bottle ranging in price from $15-$20, with the hostess contributing appetizers and a bottle in the $20-$30 range.  Here's what we tasted:

1. 2011 Coudoulet de Beaucastel Cotes-du-Rhone ($30)
2. 2012 Panicault Plan de Dieu Cote-du-Rhone-Village ($16)
3.  2010 Andre Délorme Bourgogne ($21)
4. 2011 Domaine Moillard Hautes Cote de Nuits Bourgogne ($23)
5. 2009 Chateau Cap de Faugères Bordeaux ($30)

All of these little beauties are available at the LCBO.  We also tried a 2012 Inniskillin Meritage ($20), as well as a few more bottles as the night wore on.  The Meritage was meant to show the differences that blends, terroir, etc. can have on the finished product (Bordeaux and Meritage are the same in that they usually include Merlot, Cab Franc and Cab Sauvignon but you can't call it Bordeaux unless it's from the Bordeaux wine region in France). That said, after the 5 bottles, things got a little scarce as far as tasting notes go.  

The big winner of the night was wine #4.  Although this burgundy was still young, the acidity wasn't as high as I would have expected (not nearly as high as #3, which was a 2010), and the nose and palate were amazing:  strawberry, cherry (Nibs), earthy, sweet spice, peppery. It drank nicely now, and would likely be even better still given another 2-3 years. 

Second place was the Bordeaux (#5).  It was still pretty high in fruity-sweetness on the nose and palate as it is still young, but I can see this being pretty spectacular given another 5-7 years.  

Coming in third was the 2011 Cote-du-Rhone (#1).  Again, a young Frenchy, high in acidity and alcohol, but it had a really nice flavor profile which included strawberries, currants, cedar, cherries and plums. Another 5 years laying down and this bottle would be aces.  

CSG won't be meeting next until August (July is busy for most, what with 2 weeks of Bluesfest, and general Summer plans). The region selected is Italy and this time we'll be doing both whites and reds.  I'm very much looking forward to hunting down an interesting vino bianco to contribute, as well as spending time with these interesting ladies.  Finding people that share your passion for all things grapes is a truly wonderful thing.  

Wishing you all a summer filled with tasty travels and tasty wines!