WEEKEND WINE PICKS
J. Hofstatter Weissburgunder Pinot Bianco 2016, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy
$30.99 | 89/100
UPC: 8012183000168
This northern Italian Weissburgunder, or Pinot Bianco, grows on light marl soils which tend to warm up quickly in spring, jump-starting the growing season. The grapes undergo minimalist winemaking to yield a classic straw yellow in colour, fresh pear/ apple/peach aromas and similar flavours across its elegant palate. Crisp and clean, it has the finesse to be food friendly. Perfect for fish cakes.
Jason Parkes Customs Gobsmacked Cyclops Love 2016, Okanagan Valley
$19.99 | 87/100
UPC: 626990255758
The 2016 sounds as if it gobsmacked winemaker Jason Parkes who calls it “at once, fat and rich but also blessed with laser-like acidity.” The latest blend is Muscat and Pinot Auxerrois with a twist of Gewurztraminer giving it, yet again, a nod to the Alsace Edelzwicker style. It’s aromatic and ripe but with fresh, floral fruit and enough minerality to draw you back into the glass time after time. The colourful label is courtesy of Parkes’ 7-year-old daughter. Parkes suggests you serve it with hotdogs on the beach, and we can’t wait.
Finca Cuarta by Ruben Maure Ribeira Sacra 2016, Galicia, Spain $17.99 | 88/100
UPC: 8427381000177
This is the highest expression of the “Heroic Viticulture” in Spain, carefully harvested by hand on steep vineyard terraces from 50-yearold vines. This is all Mencia, once thought to be a rogue Cabernet Franc clone (it’s not), although there are similarities: savoury fruit and rich, dense, soft tannins with earthy, firm, dense tannins, cardamom spice and wild red fruits. Viticulture here goes back to Roman times before it was expanded and refined by the monks during the Middle Ages. It is real wine, and fine value.
Mas Donis Old Vines 2015, Montsant, Catalonia, Spain $24.99 | 88/100
UPC: 08427154011904
The Grenache, Merlot and Syrah are vinified separately in stainless steel tanks and aged nine months in a mix of new to five-year-old French and American oak barrels. The vines are as much as 50 years old, growing in a mix of alluvial and stony, mineral granite soils along with limestone and slate. The nose is muted with dry undertones and notes of wild black fruits and leather. The entry is dry, with peppery, gamy, black cherry, mineral flavours. The finish is warm, dry and rustic. A fine earthy, full-bodied red wine for a mid-week cassoulet, stew or hamburger. Needs another two to three years in bottle to settle into itself.
Corcelettes Meritage 2015, Similkameen Valley
$32 | 88/100
UPC: 626990231080
Expect a highly expressive, savoury nose with lifted, ripe, fruit tones from a warm year. It is a little less Similkameen and little more Napa this year due to some excessive heat spikes. The blend is 60/25/10/5 Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot. The attack is rich, with black fruit flavours flecked with youthful oak. It is mostly the American oak you feel, and plenty sagebrush and fennel. This needs some time to lose a bit of its exuberance.