Sorry I’m a day late with this … but HERE is where you can purchase your Kerner Nouveau from Reif http://www.reifwinery.com/wines/Kerner_Nouveau Something I would highly recommend.
This week it’s time to take a departure from my usual picks of great Ontario wines. The third Thursday in November the wineries release the first vintage of the year. A lighter fruitier Red that drinks a little easy, is a little sweet (and may leave you with a headache … you have been warned). I love Beaujolais Nouveau because it isn’t something you pick up to hold on to for a special occasion, Nouveau is meant to be enjoyed right away as it does start to deteriorate quickly. The price is right for these more disposable wines so even for the casual wine drinker you can pick up a few different bottles to see how the same grape, or style of wine making can really differ from country to country to country.
This year we have two offerings from Reif Estate in Ontario a Gamay Nouveau and a Kerper Nouveau (an interesting White that I have never seen). In addition to these two we have Six offerings from France and Two from Italy. My first impressions of this vintage are that these are some serious wines. In past years drinking Nouveau you get a bit of a syrupy aftertaste that lingers on the back of your tongue. While these still do not cleanse the palette this year is an outstanding vintage and below are my impressions of each of this years release.
The best way to enjoy Nouveau is slightly chilled (put it in the fridge 30 minutes ahead of drinking) suggested temperature is 13C but on a personal note I prefer it a little colder. If you get your hands on the Kerner Nouveau serve chilled right at fridge temperature.
Reif Estates “The Hanging Man” Kerner Nouveau – Ontario – Winery Only – $10.75 – If you are a fan of Nouveau this is a reason to go down to Niagara and check out this vintage. Available only at the Winery you have a clean crisp nouveau that I can describe as an apple pie in a bottle. Quite sweet with nice acidity to balance. This does not need to be paired with anything to really enjoy. One last note … the colour on this wine (usually I don’t really care about the colour… as long as it tastes good…) is almost clear.
***Reif Estates “The Fool” Gamay Nouveau – Ontario VQA – LCBO 220483 – $10.95 – Once again Reif has released an excellent Gamay Nouveau that while very much a Gamay, very different from the French releases. This wine has a heavy aroma and flavour of Black and Candied Cherry. Also you may notice a hint of pepper on the finish.
***Momessin Beaujolais Nouveau – France – LCBO 897934 – $13.95 – Another Beaujolais with strong tones of Black Cherry, but very different from the Reif Nouveau as this is missing the peppery finish. Other flavours that you may notice are candied fruit or raisin.
Duboeuf Gamay Nouveau – France – LCBO 891846 – $8.95 – Compared to the other French releases has a much more intense aroma full of mainly plum with hints of cherry as well. This holds true with the flavour as well, with Raspberry and Blueberry working their way in with the Plum and Cherry.
Primeur Syrah Merlot – France – LCBO 220533 – $9.95 – Obviously not a Gamay. The fruit flavours on the aroma are more subdued with hints petrol mixed. The flavour is very soft with Candied Cherry (see a trend here?) but a warm peppery finish. This wine in particular may convince you that Nouveau isn’t the sweet offering of years past.
Jeanjean Syrah Primeur – France – LCBO 899948 – $9.95 – Similar to the Syrah Merlot in that the aroma is a more subdued mix of Petrol with Cherry and Blueberry. Has a pleasant warmth on the palette with flavours of Black Cherry and more subdued Blackberry (vs. Blueberry).
Drouhin Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau – Vintages 113266 – $14.95 – I had a hard time picking the aroma on this one as there is a lot going on. It’s more of a party with Raspberry, Blueberry and of course typical Cherry. Has a pleasant warmth on the palette with a much more subdued flavour of the fruits found in the aroma. Has a very faint hint of Banana on the finish.
Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau – Vintages 932780 – $14.95 – Flavours much less intense compared to the Drouhin Beaujolais-Villages. The best way to describe this is the trade off for intensity is a smoother drinking Nouveau. Also, being the smoothest of the Nouveaus I found this one did not linger with any aftertaste as much as any of the other offerings this year.
Novello Rosso Terre Di Chieti – LCBO 271759 – $8.95 – Another Nouveau where you could say “Hey, This is real wine!”. Warm red fruit typical of a medium bodied Merlot (even though this is only 25% Merlot, the rest is Montepulciano) so expect ripe plum, raspberry even currant with no heavy lingering aftertaste.
***Negrar Novello del Veneto – LCBO 899955 – $9.95 – I found this one to be a standout as well, not because it’s better than the other offerings this year, but because it’s so different. The aroma is like standing in a field full of wild flowers. The flavours being a festive, aggressive (but not too aggresive) mix of Cherry and Strawberry with a peppery kick. One fun fact about the bottle is the label was designed by Toronto artist Daryl Woods.
I marked my personal picks (***) but these are not necessarily the best, I would definitely recommend trying as many of these wines as possible especially if you have tried Nouveau in the past and dismissed it. This years vintage may change your mind as I found them to be much less sweet, and much more focused in their flavour.
As always let me know what you think of these wines by commenting on this blog, or feel free to email me andrewinereview@gmail.com or follow me on twitter @andrewinereview.
