Ruby Red Vino Helps Break The Cleanse

Posted by Karen Ralph on Jan 23, 2012 in Featured, K2 Wine Reviews | 0 comments

Last night despite the -30 temperatures, we hosted a group of feisty women at a private residence. The premise of our event was breaking the January detox cleanse with an Old World vs New World taste off featuring wines under $25.

As soon as everyone was comfortably ensconced at the bar we got the festivities started with a glass of fresh, sparkling, organic Pares Balta Cava Brut from the Penedes region in the northeast of Spain, west of Barcelona. Family owned for over 200 years they were certified organic in 2004. A blend of 58% Parellada, 25% Macabeo and 17% Xarel.lo, grapes that most people are unfamiliar with, created a beautiful, medium bodied wine, pale greenish gold in colour and bristling with tiny bubbles. Pares Balta’s bouquet offered up a fruit bowl of peaches, green apples, super ripe pears and lime zest. Snappy and dry, the nose followed through on the palate with the addition of subtle minerality. The refreshing cava helped us forget about the subzero temps outside and got everyone ready for the taste off.

First up was Sauvignon Blanc:

OLD WORLD SAUVIGNON BLANC:
Pascal Jolivet, Attitude Sauvignon Blanc, 2010, Loire Valley, France
Attitude is 100 % Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley in France and is marketed for the New World with a modern label clearly stating the name and varietal in English. Fermented with wild yeasts in stainless steel tanks, Attitude is a pale, delicate yellow: the nose was fresh and bright, offering gooseberry, lemon, green pepper and flint followed by a palate of creamy, lemony citrus mousse, minerals, tart apples and a hint of graphite. Smooth and elegant with a long mineral finish, Pascal Jolivet Attitude was an immediate hit: even from women who said they don’t usually drink white. Pair it with seafood for total perfection.

VS

NEW WORLD SAUVIGNON BLANC:
Montes Limited Selection Leyda Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Leyda Valley, Chili
Montes Leyda Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc was a tall, wide shouldered bottle containing pale, greenish gold sauvignon. Super fresh and grassy, a big whiff of grapefruit, catpee and lemon led the attack of sharp, clean, piercing acidity and aggressively forward citrus fruit on the palate. Lemons, grapefruit, gooseberry, lime, Montes Leyda Vineyards Sauvignon was extremely well made and easily held it’s own next to the Pascal Jolivet Attitude, which seemed downright demure next to the hip shaking brashness of the Montes Leyda.

Moving on to Pinot Noir:

OLD WORLD PINOT NOIR:
Faiveley Bourgogne, 2008 Burgundy, France.
Translucent ruby in the glass, the nose and palate dispelled any preconceptions that this might be a “light” wine. A lean, slightly smoky bouquet underscored with earth and cinnamon was followed by tart cranberry, raspberry and cherry, backed up with licorice, gunmetal tea and spice. Ripe, supple and smooth, the tannins offered structure for the fruit. Family owned for 7 generations, Faiveley has famous vineyards all over Burgundy, but are mainly focused in the Cotes de Nuits and Mercurey. This entry level Bourgogne was taking a stand and working its debonair charm.

VS

NEW WORLD PINOT NOIR:
Yealands Pinot Noir, 2008, Otaga, New Zealand
New Zealand is well known for making stunning Pinot Noirs and the Yealands 2008 didn’t disappoint us. Bright garnet red colour, it met our noses with a bouquet of fresh cherries and pink erasers. Red cherry, and a slightly savoury smoky note with juicy red raspberries and spice thrilled our palates. A well made and sassy pinot noir, this was unpretentiously delicious. Yealands vineyards are sustainably farmed: sheep are used to graze between the vine rows, rain is captured in wetland ponds and they have their Sustainable Winegrowing Certification (SWINZ). The care shows in their wines.

Finishing with Blends:

OLD WORLD Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre:
Domaine de Beaurenard, Cote Du Rhone, 2009 Rouge, France

A beautiful Cote du Rhone from the outstanding Domaine de Beaurenard. A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvdre and whisper of Cinsault made a medium bodied, classic wine with cocoa, dark cherries, and fine tannins on the palate followed up by violets, earth, spice and smoke on the nose. Elegant, aromatic, and supple, it is a truly charming wine and the bottle went fast.

VS

NEW WORLD Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvedre:
Kaesler, Stonehorse, Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvedre 2009 Australia
Bright garnet in colour, medium bodied Kaesler Stonehorse had a spicy cinnamon, eucalyptus, blackberry and cherry nose with generous plum, blackberry, spices and dark chocolate notes on the palate backed up with supple tannins. It is kept for 12 months in stainless steel and older oak and is unfiltered.
Although it wasn’t a particularly huge wine, it was the biggest one of the evening, and after the finesse of the French wines, the bolder, bigger Australian style wasn’t convincing the group that it was the one they would want to take home. In fact, a consensus on a favourite was never reached, and the group was split, half for the brighter, bigger New World styles, the other for the leaner, more understated elegance of the Old World. We all agreed that the line-up was fantastic for value priced wines and we would be happy with any of them.