January 2013 is red Burgundies!

On January 13, 2013 we celebrate the new year with a tasting of 2006 Burgundies!

Our selection of wines from our cellar includes all Grand Cru and Premier Cru Burgundies: two Cortons, two Gevrey Chambertins, and one each of Morey-St-Denis, Clos de la Merechale, Volnay and Vosne-Romanée, all from well-known producers – a fantastic selection indeed! 




According to wine critic and Mast of Wine, Clive Oates, “These 2006s are medium bodied, plump, fresh, fruity and pleasant. The very best are in addition ripe and stylish. Acidities are not aggressive; indeed some of the less-successful bottles already show signs of astringency because there is a lack of grip. They will evolve in the medium term. There are plenty of attractive bottles for the mid-2010s.”   “The best 2006s will be found in Nuits-Saint-Georges, Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin. There are also some good Cortons.”   Clive indicates that much of the Cote de Beaune will be ready by 2013 and 2014, with some of them drinking at their best already.


Theme:  2006 Red Burgundy
Date:      Tuesday, January 15/13
Time:      6 PM
Where:   41 Willcocks St., Toronto, ON (U of T Faculty Club)
Cost:      TVC Members:  $85;  Non-Members/Guests:  $100  (includes reception wine plus light appetizers with the wines)
Buy tickets  Note:  All ticket sales are final. No refunds will be offered unless we sell out and have a wait list.

Champagne Tasting Results

What a way to end another great season of Toronto Vintners Club tastings.  On November 20th, 2012 a packed house got to taste a fantastic line up of Champagnes (and hopefully help narrow some peoples decision on what to serve this holiday season).  Our guest speaker for the evening was Marc Donaldson, of Churchill Cellars.

This tasting was a little different from our normal tastings.  To ensure that the champagne stayed cold and fizzy, two separate flights of champagnes were served.  Each flight was rated separately, which gave us two top wines for the night.

 

For the first flight, we tasted the following 4 wines: Lanson Black Label,Veuve Clicquot Brut, Piper Heidsieck Brut, and Mumm Cordon Rouge Brut.  When it came time to rate these, the club and guest speaker for the night were at odds.  The Club's favourite was the Mumm Cordon Rouge Brut Champagne where as Marc Donaldson, our guest speaker for the evening, gave top billing to the Veuve Clicquot Brut Champagne NV, which the club had rated last.

The second flight saw TVC serving: a Bollinger Brut Special Cuvée, a Pol Roger Brut, a Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve and, a Huff Estate Cuvée (a sparkling wine from Price Edward county).  The results from this flight were much more consistent, with both the group and our guest speaker picking Bollinger as the top wine.

And here are the rankings. The blank line in the table separates the first flight of wines from the second.

Name of Wine (in order poured)	Group Ranking	Guest Ranking
A - Lanson Black Label Brut Champagne NV	3	4
B - Veuve Clicquot Brut Champagne NV	4	1
C - Piper Heidsieck Brut Champagne NV	2	2
D - Mumm Cordon Rouge Brut Champagne NV	1	3
E - Bollinger Brut Special Cuvée Champagne NV	1	1
F - Pol Roger Brut Champagne NV	2	4
G - Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve Champagne	3	2
H - Huff Estate – Cuvée Peter F. Huff, 2008	4	3

We would like to thank everyone that came out to our events in 2012.  And we hope to see you all back for our events in the coming year, to join us in tasting some great wines at some great events.

January 15th – 2006 Burgundy
February 19th - N. Rhone Reds
March 19th - Hitching Post wines
April 16th - Wines of Portugal
May 21st - 2004 Brunello
June 18th - Chablis
September 17th - '03 Bordeaux
October 15th - TBD
November 19th - TBD

SOLD OUT!

Sorry but our Champagne event is

Pop a cork for Champagnes in November!

When you imbibe Champagne, you'’re drinking "the stars" and lots of history. Many Champagne houses go back centuries and their founders/wines often played roles in political, royal, literary and wine making history. We taste Champagnes from: Pol Roger, Mumm, Bollinger, Veuve Clicquot, Lanson, Piper-Hiedseck, Charles Hiedseck with a tremendous amount of history, and one from an award-winning Ontario winery, Huff Estates in Prince Edward County, made by a transplanted winemaker from Burgundy.   We will be joined in the evening by two individuals from Huff Estates who will be our guest speakers: Frédéric Picard, winemaker and Jason Sharpe, General Manager as they compare their award-winning cuvee against some notable champagnes from France.

So whether you’re a fan of Ian Fleming/James Bond (Bollinger), a racing car enthusiast (Mumm) an ardent support of royalty (Charles Heidsieck ), or just a wine lover, drinking champagne is one of those ‘must do’ activities in life and hopefully, more than just at New Year’s, birthdays and anniversaries.  Come celebrate the upcoming holiday season with TVC and make your Champagne choices for 2012. 

Theme:  Champagnes
Date:      Tuesday, November 20/12
Time:      6 PM
Where:   41 Willcocks St., Toronto, ON (U of T Faculty Club)
Cost:      TVC Members:  $61;  Non-Members/Guests:  $76  (includes reception wine plus light appetizers with the wines)
Buy tickets  Note:  All ticket sales are final. No refunds will be offered unless we sell out and have a wait list.

Australian Shiraz Results, Oct. 2012

We enjoyed some very lovely and big Australian Shiraz wines on October 16, 2012 with guest speaker, Malcolm Cocks, President of the Australian Wine Society of Toronto (AWS) and of Glen-Ward wines.  For some reason, we didn't get his rankings noted below but you can see how our group rated them.

Name of Wine (in order poured)	Group Ranking	Guest Ranking
A - 2007 Alkoomi Jarrah Shiraz $39.95	8
B - 2008 Leeuwin Estate Art Series Shiraz $44.95	7
C - 2007 Kilikanoon Parable Shiraz $39.95	1
D - 2008 Best's Bin No. 0 Shiraz $56.95	6
E - 2002 Mitchell McNicol Shiraz $52.21	5
F - 2001 Rockfort Basket Press Shiraz $79	3
G - 2005 Henschke Mount Edelstone $99.95	2
H - 2007 Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz $120.20	4

2001 Bordeaux Results, Sept. 2012

On September 11, 2012, TVC sampled both Left Bank and Right Bank wines from the 2001 vintage. Specifically, we  lined up four wines from Pauillac, two from St. Julien and one apiece from Pessac-Leognan and Pomerol. The 2001 Haute-Médoc wines (those from Margaux, Saint-Julien and Pauillac) have proven successful, earning high praise from wine connoisseurs. For example, Pichon Baron from Pauillac earned a score of 94 points for its fruity, superbly concentrated and strong vintage. While the wines from St. Julien also scored well with Leoville Poyferré earning 92 points for its ripe tannins and strong structure and Talbot garnering 91 points for its beautiful aroma and delicious cherry taste. The Smith-Haut-Lafitte from Pessac-Leognan and La Croix de Gay from Pomerol earned 89 points for their impressive vintages.

Our guest speaker for the evening was Richard Karlos of Karlos Estates who also brought along his wife Sherry. They are pictured below, along with TVC President, Sylvia Dorosh.

And here are the results / rankings from the evening.

Name of Wine (in order poured)	Group Ranking	Guest Ranking
A - 2001 La Croix de Gay, Pomerol $42	5	7
B - 2001 Smith-Haut-Lafitte, Pessac-Leognan $63	2	4
C - 2001 Talbot, St Julien $49.	7	6
D - 2001 Leoville Poyferré, St Julien $59	3	3
E - 2001 Duhart Milon, Pauillac $39	8	5
F - 2001 Clerc Milon, Pauillac $52	6	2
G - 2001 Grand Puy Lacoste, Pauillac $56	4	8
H - 2001 Pichon Baron, Pauillac $73	1	1

Shiraz from Down Under

Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz

Shiraz is made for Down Under - its hot climate is perfect for bringing out the best traits in this popular grape varietal. Australian Shiraz is seductively delicious, with startlingly rich, ripe aromas that deliver right through to the full zesty finish. We sample 8 elite wines such as the 2001 Rockfort Basket Press Shiraz, 2002 Mitchell McNicol Shiraz, 2007 Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz and others, from various areas (Margaret River, Frankland River, Mclaren Vale, Barossa, etc.) to show you interesting regional differences in Shiraz.  We will be joined by guest speaker Malcolm Cocks, chair of the Australian Wine Society. Please join us for what will likely be an unforgettable evening!  As always, we will be serving appetizers with the wines.

Theme:  Aussie Shiraz
Date:      Tuesday, October 16/12
Time:      6 PM
Where:   41 Wilcocks St., Toronto, ON (U of T Faculty Club)
Cost:      TVC Members:  $68;  Non-Members/Guests:  $88  (includes reception wine plus light appetizers with the wines)
Buy tickets  Note:  All ticket sales are final. No refunds will be offered unless we sell out and have a wait list.

Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz