This time around I've got three wines from the three widespread regions. These wines hail from Australia to South Africa to Chile.
Each of these wines are new to our stores and are guaranteed to be winners. I've liked them all, but of course there are a few favourites.
Marius
Terret Vermentino (821868)
France
$14.99
The 2010 Marius by Michel Chapoutier is from the South of France, a region called the Midi. This area encompasses the Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence as well. In these areas we see a lot of wines with the Vin de Pays designation.
Winemakers under these laws are given more latitude in choosing grape varietals and winemaking techniques than those working under the Appellation Controlle laws and regulations.
In this wine we have a blend of two grapes, the Terret, a white grape that is a relative of Pinot Noir, and Vermentino another white grape more common to Italy that France.
Marius is an ideal summer wine, from its green tinged bright sparkly yellow colour to the fresh aromas of grapefruit, a little peach, apple, and a hint of fresh cut flowers. In the mouth it is round and full in a medium-body.
The fruit and crisp freshness is in good balance and the finish has a clean and decent length. This wine served chilled will pair with anything you might serve for lunch on hot summer days like salad and a sandwich or a creamy pasta dish.
This unusual white wine is $14.99 a bottle.
Wild Olive
Chenin Blanc (205922)
South Africa
$12.99
A red South African wine that has become very popular is a Pinotage called The Grinder.
This wine is the product of a winery from the Coastal Region of SA called The Grape Grinder.
Our next white wine is an old vine Chenin Blanc called The Wild Olive coming from the same winery.
The name Wild Olive is homage to an olive tree that grows wild in the region and can live to be 1000 years old.
Both of these grapes have become signature grapes for South Africa and up until 1965 Chenin Blanc was called Steen when it was clearly identified as
Chenin Blanc.
But of this wine I predict it will become nearly as popular as the red Pinotage. Like the wine the colour is a clean and crisp pale gold with aromas of apple, gooseberry (reminiscent of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc) with a strong mineral or stony aroma.
On the palate there are flavours of sour mouth-watering gooseberry and some sweeter apple notes with a steely presence. This wine has seen no oak aging so the fruit is fully present.
The medium to full-body is lush but clean in the mouth leaving a
refreshing finish.
For $12.99 per bottle it is ideal for lighter seafood such cod, halibut or shrimp salad.
Reserva Nueva Mundo
Cabernet Malbec (833061)
Chile
$15.99
Chile's Maipo Valley sits at equal distance from the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains benefiting from both the cooling effects of the water and the heat retention of the mountains. Isolated from disease and pestilence that afflicts many other grape-growing regions, the Muevo Mundo winery has been
organic since 2001.
Not only are they organic they are carbon neutral and work towards having the least negative effect on the planet as they can.
The Reserva Nueva Mundo 2010 is the newest Chilean organic wine on our shelves. It is a red blend of three quarters Cabernet Sauvignon and one quarter Malbec. The year it has spent in French oak adds a tinge of red to the deep purple colour in the glass. With aromas of black ripe fruit the first impression is very appealing. Fruits such as blackberry, plum and currant are first expressed then some spice with a little of that toasty oak.
In the mouth, the fruits are the first thing I experienced with good balance of fruit, spice, toast and a pleasant grip of tannin that made me hungry for a medium rare beef steak. This is a fuller-bodied wine that is really built for a big hearty meal of grilled beef whether it's steak or hamburgers and certainly worth the $15.99 price tag.
Al Spoklie is a product consultant at the B.C. Signature Liquor Store, Pine Centre. The bracketed numbers are the product codes for the B.C. liquor stores.
