2011 Trius Red – Vintages 303800 – $22.95 – Trius Red has long been a benchmark wine, even in off vintages it is still delicious. This wine is sandwiched between two vintages that may be considered the best ever and has big shoes to fill as 2010 may have been the best version of the Trius Red. That being said this wine doesn’t disappoint, you get a wine that is very fruit forward and benefits from some time in a decanter prior to drinking. This will pair well with beef or lamb dishes and as the wine softens throughout the evening it will go well with dark chocolate desserts.
2011 Featherstone Canadian Oak Chardonnay – Vintages 149302 – $21.95 – I really enjoyed this Chardonnay especially at the price point. It’s great to see wineries using Canadian Oak successfully (Lailey, Featherstone and Rosehall Run to name a few). I found this to be quite balanced and the oak flavours are more present that many Chardonnay’s. You get flavours of Apple and Pear with Vanilla on the finish. This will benefit from some extra time in the cellar but it’s drinking quite well now.