WEEKEND WINE PICKS
Marques de Caceres Crianza 2013, Rioja, Spain
$17.99 | 86/100
UPC:
8410406311006
This youthful Rioja charms with plenty of dark cherry, peppery spice and ample cedary tannins. Sanded wood and cinnamon bark coats the youthful and juicy palate, one with rustic tannins but youthful exuberance. Best met with lamb sausage or kebabs.
Stag’s Hollow Tempranillo Joven 2016, Okanagan Valley $17.99 | 87/100
UPC:
626990292621
The Joven refers to young wines that get very little, if any, wood aging, and in most cases are expected to be consumed young. It’s pretty much what you get here: a young, juicy, fresh, fun red wine with little pretension featuring underripe raspberries and pomegranate that draw saliva with every sip. The Tempranillo is grown in Naramata at Ramuda Vineyard on a silty clay site, and at Stag’s Hollow Vineyard over gravels and coarse glacial till. Try it with some grilled chicken.
Narrative Riesling by Okanagan Crush Pad 2016, Okanagan Valley $22.90 | 89/100
UPC:
626990267645 Winemaker Matt Dumayne shepherded this Golden Mile Bench Riesling from vineyard to bottle, employing a native yeast ferment in concrete before extra aging in stainless steel. The wine is bright and juicy, with the perfect mix of complexity and sweetness. The palate is mildly tropical with pineapple/pear red apple fruit that remains intense from front to back yet balanced by its minerality and acidity. The Narrative line is a pure, or natural, view of the Okanagan and a poster child for Riesling. Winery direct; private wine shops.
Murphy-Goode Pinot Noir 2014, California
$21.99 | 87/100
UPC:
083722023489 Murphy-Goode is a round, juicy, easy-drinking Pinot with a cherry, compost, spicy nose. The attack is Pinot sweet and round with earthy, cherry, beet root flavours and a twist of oak. Simple, soft and fun to drink with no complication. Perfect for pizza and chicken dishes.
La Crema Pinot Noir 2015, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County, California $33.99 | 89/100
UPC:
049331002307 Well-made, commercial quantities, widely available at a fair price. When is the last time you heard that? The fruit is a mix of estate and grower vineyards, but all of it is grown in cool, marine-swept Sonoma County vineyards. The nose is fresh, the fruit red, with wild strawberry aromas and a pinch of baking spices. The palate is similar with soft, silky textures. Delicious, drinkable and authentic Pinot Noir aged in French oak, of which only 20 per cent is new.