Festival of Indulgence, Round One.

Well I finally got time to talk about some really nice wines that we recently tasted on a ski/snowboard trip to the BC mountains near Golden. Here is the skinny on the wines (minus the Chapel Hill shiraz which I talked about a few days ago and the first night's wines (see previous entries)). My three buddies Joel, Carlo and Wayne helped drain the bottles and add their two cents to the tasting notes.

The Clos du Val, 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon, California, was sent over to our table by a very nice gentleman from California, name of Gary. Good skier, too. It was a bribe in order to get the bus to leave (back to Calgary) one hour earlier so he could catch his flight. This wine had quite the distinctive stink on the nose, we all agreed. Distinctive and unmistakable. A very full bodied mouth filling and interesting wine this was. The Verdict: Good. Value for the money - hard to gauge, I don't know the retail price. It cost $90 in the restaurant, so I think it would struggle to get a high value/price rating.

The Katnook Estate, Cab, 2002, Coonawarra was a star. A dense black wine, enticing pungent oaky nose, full bodied classic cab. The verdict: Good, bordering on WOW. Value for money: At 30 bucks, good value.

Sumac Ridge, Black Sage vineyard, 2002 Cab - we had to have at least one BC wine while we're here, and this one came highly recommended. A weak nose, initially tannic and austere. Got the thumbs down by Joel, I thought average but disappointing. The next day it really opened up and was quite flavourful. The verdict: OK, let it breathe and it scoots up to Good. Value for money: hey, at $14.49 (wines bought in Alberta can be quite the deal), this is Good value.

We had an Italian taste off one nite -the Caratan, Marco Felluga, 1998 was supposed to win - you know, expensive wines should beat cheaper ones... This had a excellent bouquet but fell flat on the palate. A smooth and easy drinker. The verdict: Good. Value: at $53, hopelessly outclassed. For comparison we tried the Masi, Brolio Campofiorin 1999. This was the opposite of the Caratan - weak nose but quite nice and full bodied on the palate. The verdict: Good. Value: beats the crap outta the Caratan at $25.99.

Next up was the Ballast Stone, 2001 Shiraz, Currency Creek (Australia). Nice nose, full bodied and delicious. This one was in the running for a wow but didn't quite make it - The verdict was Good. It is Good value for the money at $25.

Two Californian's were tested side by side. The winner was the Gallo (don't laugh - it wasn't in a jug and wasn't a "pink zinfandel"... these guys can make good wine when they want to) Barelli Creek Vineyard, Cab, 1999. Simply a very good, chewy, dense wine. This one gets a Good, and is Good value at $26.99. I generally find the single vineyard Gallos quite well made, would have no problem buying and drinking them if they are less than 30 bucks. Somewhat disappointing was the Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel, 2004. Don't get me wrong, this is a very enjoyable pleasant wine, but not as good as the Gallo it went head to head against. The verdict: OK to Good. Value: not worth the money at $27.99.

And now, the star of the week - the Rosemount Estate Show Reserve Cab, 2001. This one kept getting chosen off the winelist, a surefire sign of respect. This was a lucious, juicy thoroughly enjoyable wine. The verdict was around the table a WOW. Value - this would probably sell retail for $25, so buy it all!!!

Thanks to my fellow tasters,

Cheers!