This month we met at the home of Tim and Maggie to taste Tim’s selection of four international wines, all of which were rated over 90 by Carolyn Evans Hammond, the Toronto Star’s wine columnist. At our wine tasting events, we sampled two white and two red wines and asked the tasters which wine they would either buy, might buy, or would not buy. While all of the four wines were enjoyed by Tim, there was a wide range of opinions among the group about these four wines. During the tasting, each of the wines was arranged by price, with the least expensive and most expensive wine being the most popular. These two wines are featured in this post.
La Vieille Ferme – Blanc, Recolte 2021
The wine that people liked the most is La Vieille Ferme Blanc, harvested in 2021 by the Perrin family, who come from the Luberon region in France, north of Avignon. Roughly 2/3 of the 11 members attending liked it. Alcohol content is 13.0%. It was the least expensive of the four wines sampled with a price of $12.95.
On the wine bottle it states that the Perrin family has been making wine for 40 years and that their wines are considered one of the best values for money. The wines are authentic, tasty and well balanced. Tim agrees and adds that they are light and refreshing and go well with virtually any food or can be enjoyed on its own.
This wine from the south of France is a blend of Bourboulenc, Grenache Blanc, Ugni Blanc and Vermentino. Carolyn Hammond rates it as 93. She has described it in the past as instantly charming; it refreshes with barely-there flavours of yellow plum, white flowers, nectarine and mixed citrus that taper to a long finish of cool minerals and sea spray.
The LCBO website states that the wine has aromas of fresh pastry, yellow pear, peach and honey, mirrored on the extra dry, moderate acidity palate, leading to a fresh finish. Enjoy it with roast chicken or soft cheeses. It is a very versatile wine and could be served with pork, rich fish (such as salmon, or tuna), mature and hard cheese, poultry, and cured meat.
Cathedral Cellar, KWV – Cabernet Sauvignon, 2019
This Cabernet Sauvignon from KWV produced on the Western Cape of South Africa was the second most popular wine enjoyed by the group with about 1/2 of the red wine drinkers saying that they would buy it. Its alcohol content is 14.0%. It was the most expensive of the four wines sampled with a price of $18.95.
On the wine bottle, it states initially there is black cherry, clove, hints of sage and a sprinkle of dark fruit on the nose that follows through on the pallet with a flavour that is full bodied, with a grippy tannin structure, and a juicy finish.
Decanter World Wine Awards rates this wine as a 93, and its tasting notes are that this wine is dark and mineral, with a restrained style. Flavours are crunchy blackcurrant, green bell pepper, and well-handled oak. It has a glossy fruit taste, is concentrated, is young, but has plenty of potential for aging well.
The LCBO’s website states that this full flavoured wine offers super value. It displays blackcurrant, cedar, floral element, chocolate and smoky oak, all supported by fresh acidity. Pair it with gourmet burgers or steak-and-kidney pie. Other websites suggest that this wine goes well with beef, lamb, and even poultry. Tim says that he also enjoys this wine with Lasagna or Pizza, as it brings out the flavour of any food that it accompanies.
Cathedral Cellar produces a range of wines available at the LCBO including a Shiraz, a Chardonnay, and a Pinotage. Tim says that he likes all of the wines from Cathedral Cellar that he has tried.
Probus Club of Kingsway-Islington 