Happy New Year!
I apologize for the lateness of this blog post, things have been busy. So if you didn’t read my picks last week and you’re checking out my first picks for the New Year for the first time I have two great vintages wines to check out.
2009 Reif “The Magician Shiraz/Pinot Noir – $19.95 – Vintages 246413 – As you’ve seen from my many reviews blended wines is something that we do very well here in Ontario. This one is no exception, what is very unique about it are the grapes used to make this blend. A “traditional” Bordeaux style blend has Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. This blend works very well together Shiraz typically a little spicy on the finish and Pinot Noir with a suble earthiness to it basically leaves these two together in a perfect dance where their individual characteristics stand out. There is a lot going on in terms of flavours between spice and earth so you will want to be careful pairing this with some heavier beef dishes. Make sure you pick this up at this price while you can, when I was at the winery last fall they told me that future vintages will be quite a bit pricier.
2009 Flat Rock Twisted – $16.95 – Vintages 1578 – Another fantastic blend at a very reasonable price hiding in the vintages section. Riesling, Gewurtztraminer and Chardonnay all work very well together to create a dry blend filled with vibrant citrus flavours and nice acid on the finish. There are still a lot of this on the shelves but watch for the 2010 Vintage.
