2006 Barolos - a Very Great Vintage!

The Nebbiolo grape is to Barolo what the Pinot Noir grape is to Burgundy.  Both grapes have made their wine-producing regions famous, for good reason since they both produce high quality, long-lasting wines.  While the Pinot Noir grape has made a successful transition to other wine-producing regions throughout the world – as TVC demonstrated in its New World PN tasting last month - the same cannot be said of Nebbiolo.  It’s extremely difficult to grow outside of north-west Italy and it’s rare to find it elsewhere because cuttings and clones are jealously guarded.  Hence, when we talk about Nebbiolo, it’s synonymous with Italy and as Italy’s greatest wine – Barolo - considered the King of Wines!  It’s a great wine variety, producing bigger, darker and more tannic wines than most other grape varieties, and consequently long-lived and very prized by collectors.

Barolo is a very robust red wine, full-bodied, tannic and very dry. It’s a “chewy” wine. The aroma is similar to ripe strawberries, tar, roses, violets and truffles. Barolos are not cheap, although not nearly as expensive as other benchmark wines like Bordeaux and Burgundy.

What about 2006 as a vintage? The wines can be described as of good depth, sturdy structure and fine elegance, already more open than the ’05s (which were rough-edged at this stage of their life) and which display appealing, snappy tannins and a nervy acidity. Robert Parker gives the 2006 Barolo vintage a 97/100!

More information on the wines

Date: Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016

Time: 6 PM

Price:  TVC Members: $84; Guests/Non-Members: $104 (includes appetizers & a reception wine)

Venue: Faculty Club, Univ. of Toronto, 41 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1C7  - Map

Deadlines:

Mailed Reservations

         - Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016

Online Payments

         - Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016

Register / Buy Tickets 

(NOTE: all ticket sales are FINAL; no refunds issued unless we are oversold)

New World Pinots

NEW WORLD PINOT NOIR TASTING

Does a New World Pinot Noir taste different from a Burgundian Pinot Noir? According to Jay Youmans, Master of Wine, “Yes” there are differences.  However, there are many New World winemakers who are employing traditional Burgundian winemaking techniques and we present several in our line-up on January 19, 2016.

From the N. Hemisphere we have 4 wines, 3 from the Willamette Valley of Oregon and 1 from Ontario. From the S. Hemisphere, we have 4 wines one each from Australia, New Zealand, S. Africa and Chile. Northern Hemisphere: Coyote's Run, located in Niagara-on-the-Lake produces wine in small batches from 100 percent Niagara-grown grapes, much of which are sourced from its 58-acre St. David's vineyard. Since its first vintage in 1990, Domaine Serene has produced award winning Pinot Noirs from six vineyard estates. In April 2015, the owners purchased a Burgundy wine estate in the Côte d’Or to expand their operation of producing fine Pinots. The Bergström Family uses biodynamic methods, and since 1999 has been a leader in the sustainable farming of wine grapes in Oregon. Argyle Winery, established in 1987, is "Grower First", focusing its attention at the source – continually improving viticulture on over 650 hillside acres sited on the very best vineyard locations in Oregon's Willamette Valley.

Southern Hemisphere: Bodega Chacra, is owned by the grandson of the creator of the famed Sassicaia winery in Italy and he’s now working in the” middle of nowhere” to produce stunning Patagonian Pinot Noir. Chacra doesn’t employ any mechanization in the production of their wines which results in their Pinots expressing the subtle, complex and finely textured tannins characteristic of very old vines. Hamilton Russell Winery is one of the most recognized S. African brands in the U.S. Their Pinot Noir is Burgundian in style, with subtle perfume, stylish texture and long, lingering, gentle flavors. A world search of the perfect conditions for viticulture, Schubert Wines. They use traditional Burgundian winemaking methods with extreme low yields, (3/4 ton per acre), extended macerations and the exclusive use of Burgundian cooperage for their Pinots. Lastly, from Kyoong Winery situated in the cool-climate Mornington Peninsula, 80km south of Melbourne Australia, winemaker Sandro Mosele has crafted a reputation for the very best representation of Australian Pinot and Chardonnay.

specially for Pinot Noir, brought Kai Schubert and Marion Deimling, graduates of the German Viticulture and Oenology to Wairarapa, New Zealand to start

 This will be a wonderful opportunity to sample and compare Pinots throughout the New World and also to compare the wines from the Northern Hemisphere against the Southern. Our evenings start with a reception wine followed by the formal, blind, sit-down tasting. Bread and light appetizers will be served with our wines. Plus we have a special BONUS for our registrants: an exclusive tasting of a Femme Fatale Pinot Noir from Cloud's Nest, a boutique winery in Sonoma, California presented in Canada by Great North Imports.  Great North Imports is also supplying our reception wine.

More information on the wines

Date: Tuesday, January 19th, 2016
Time: 6 PM
Price:  TVC Members: $70; Guests/Non-Members: $90 (includes appetizers & a reception wine)
Venue: Faculty Club, Univ. of Toronto, 41 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1C7  - Map
Deadlines:
Mailed Reservations
         - Tuesday, Jan. 12th, 2016
Online Payments
         - Monday, Jan. 18th, 2016
Register / Buy Tickets (NOTE: all ticket sales are FINAL; no refunds issued unless we are oversold)