Pick of the week
Hope The Cracker Cabernet 2004 ($19.95, No. 020206). This full but lean red from Western Australia offers up sweet-cherry, blackberry, vanilla and menthol flavours, finishing crisp and peppery. Nice for steak.
It's a tale of two Australia's in Canada this week.
First, on the West Coast, the Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival wraps up a week-long tribute to the Land of Oz with some exceptional tutored tastings and dining events.
In its 29th year, Playhouse -- the country's most celebrated food-and-wine extravaganza -- is underscoring two of the lesser-known virtues of Aussie wine. Namely: Many big reds from Down Under can age beautifully, and Australia is one of the great producers of one of the world's most underappreciated white grapes, riesling.
Then, over in the relative oenological backwater of Ontario, where officials have been known to apply the term "wine festival" to three people sipping overpriced pinot grigio at the same café table, the LCBO is releasing a couple of dozen premium Australian wines today as part of a spring spotlight on that country.
The unofficial theme: big young reds. Several selections are available in other parts of the country, too.
One of the best buys is Hope The Cracker Cabernet 2004 ($19.95, No. 020206). This full but lean red from Western Australia offers up sweet-cherry, blackberry, vanilla and menthol flavours, finishing crisp and peppery. Nice for steak.
My favourite selection would have been The Colonial Estate Explorateur Shiraz 2004 ($29.95, product No. 018648), were it not for a wee medicinal-chemical note that at least one other professional taster independently perceived as volatile acidity in a separate bottle.
By all means give it a whirl if you can keep your senses focused on its deliciously concentrated, chocolate-cherry-spice flavours and thick, luscious texture. The wine did receive a glowing review from U.S. wine guru Robert Parker. It would pair nicely with grilled, mustard-marinated lamb chops.
Torbreck The Steading 2003 ($46.95, No. 723890; $49.99 in British Columbia) isn't cheap, but it manages to do something not many Aussie shirazes do: taste like a spicy red blend from France's southern Rhone Valley, which, after all, is what it's modelled after. Full-bodied, rich and almost sweet, this mix of grenache, mourvèdre and shiraz balances the intense berry-like fruit with a savoury, herbal lift. Pair it with braised lamb or braised beef dishes.
Juicy is the word for the very good Wolf Blass Premium Selection Shiraz 2004 ($25.15, No. 348540; $29.99 in B.C.), a mouth-watering red hinting at blackberry and black pepper. Try it with grilled rare red meats. Though it's listed with the Aussie highlights in today's catalogue, it's one of those Vintages "Essentials" permanently available in select LCBO stores.
Another impressiveAussie Vintages Essential is Greg Norman Cabernet Merlot 2004 ($23.95, No. 552075), a full-bodied red with pronounced cedar and currant flavours, vanilla and slightly angular tannins. Have it with rare beef or lay it down for four to six years.
Among whites, look for two chardonnays from Western Australia. Evans & Tate Chardonnay 2005 ($19.95, No. 677765; $22.99 in B.C) is medium full-bodied, with toasty pineapple-pear fruit and a hint of brown butter, finishing with lively acidity. It's smartly oaked, polished and precise.
Edwards Chardonnay 2005 ($25.95, No. 022145) is rich and teeming with pear and stone-fruit flavours, a whiff of smoke and nice balancing acidity.
Turning away from the LCBO's Australian selections, don't miss some equally big and riveting reds if you can afford them. Top of the list is Isole e Olena Collezione de Marchi Cabernet Sauvignon 2001 ($69.95, No. 025668).
This rich, silky, superpremium red from one of my favourite Chianti producers in Tuscany is complex and layered with notes of red berries, cured meat, pipe tobacco and mushroom, carried on a velvety frame with fine, integrated tannins.
It's a modern-styled cabernet with serious Tuscan terroir.
The good California selections in today's LCBO release include Ray's Station Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 ($24.95, No. 025510). Full and ripe yet firm, this Sonoma red delivers black currant, cherry and vanilla, with a velvety mid-palate, chewy, fine tannins and a peppery finish. It could go with lamb or steak.
Another complement to those same dishes would be Clos du Val zinfandel 2003 ($22.95, No. 590216), classically jammy, with ripe red-berry flavours, a soft texture and spice on the finish. Try it with sweet-spicy barbecue meats.
Speaking of California, this year's California Wine Fair, which stops in Toronto on April 16, promises to be one of the best California tastings in the city in recent years, with an impressive roster of producers. The event takes place at the Fairmont Royal York, tickets $60, call 1-800-558-2675 or visit calwine.ca.
