Pick of the week Adelaida Cellars Schoolhouse Recess Red 2002 ($17.95, product No. 686253) is brimming with flavours of chocolate, black cherry, vanilla, cedar and spice.
They didn't offer winemaking classes at the tediously impractical schools I was forced to attend, or else I'm sure I would have ended up in another, even more purple line of work than journalism. But I'm happy to report that my passion for the grape has dovetailed nicely with a subject I did excel in as a kid: recess. I'm talking about Schoolhouse Recess Red, a fetching misfit of a wine just released in Ontario through Vintages stores (not yet available in other provinces, unfortunately).
I say misfit because it's made from a minestrone of grapes not normally considered compatible: pinot noir, zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, sangiovese, barbera, mourvèdre and cinsault. Egad, it sounds more like the spit bucket at a wines-of-the-world course than a finished product.
But AdelaidaCellars, the wine's excellent producer, knows what it's doing. It's a 25-year-old winery set amid the rugged landscape of the Santa Lucia Mountains, 25 kilometres from the Pacific Ocean, in the Paso Robles region of central California. Adelaida makes a slew of superpremium wines based on one or two of those individual grapes. Often there are grapes left over that didn't make the cut for its higher-priced estate line. And that's where the lower-priced Schoolhouse label comes in.
I'm not normally a fan of kitchen-sink-type blends, but this one is compelling. Adelaida Cellars Schoolhouse Recess Red 2002 ($17.95, product No. 686253) is full-bodied and brimming with flavours of dark chocolate, black cherry, vanilla, cedar, tobacco and spice. It's a delicious mouthful, chunky and complex for the money. It would be fine on its own or with a range of foods, from red meat to pizza.
California, as it happens, fields the most winners in this week's Vintages release. Especially good is Truchard Syrah 2002 ($40.95, No. 687749). Many of California's best syrahs come from the central coast, but this one is from the northern, and relatively cool, Carneros region, better known for pinot noir and chardonnay. It's big and rich, oozing with sweet cherry, cedar, black pepper and tar-like flavours. It's a great match for braised meats such as lamb shanks.
Respected Cakebread Cellars of Napa Valley fields a luscious and classically Californian chardonnay, Cakebread Chardonnay 2004 ($54.95, No. 709717). It's full, creamy and toasty, with notes of pineapple and butter and a long finish. Roast chicken, lobster or corn on the cob would be nice matches.
Another terrific California chardonnay released recently is Sonoma-Cutrer Russian River Ranches Chardonnay 2004 ($29.95, No. 608653). Sonoma-Cutrer specializes in superpremium chardonnay and is hugely popular in high-end restaurants in the United States. This is their multivineyard blend, and it is delicious, with a beautiful balance between ripe, tropical fruit and crisp acidity, accented by just the right amount of toasty oak and a hint of minerals.
Also good from California, from the same Santa Lucia Highlands as the Schoolhouse red, is Morgan Twelve Clones Pinot Noir 2004 ($32.95, No. 642249). It's big, silky and smoky, with a silky texture and good shot of spice and acidity on the lively, lingering finish.
I should also mention that some of the expensive wines destined for the special Classics mail-order catalogue in Ontario have gone, instead, straight to shelves of many high-traffic stores, so you can buy them in person rather than order by phone or fax. One of the standouts among those I've tasted is Groth Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 ($74.95, No. 606517; call 416-365-5767 or, toll-free, 1-800-266-4764 for store locations).
