We recently attended the 40th Vancouver International Wine Festival where 145 wineries from 16 countries were displaying their fares. Although there were quite a few winery dinners, trade tastings and even an International Tasting Room, the “Great Red Grapes” session caught our fantasy. It was quite an interesting session covering wines from not only the old world but also the new world along with a local British Columbian label and also a Tannat from Uruguay. So let’s talk about few of the wines that we tasted at Great Red Grapes and you can let us know your comments on the same.
The Old World Red Grapes
Let’s start with the old world ones first. For the uninitiated, these are wines from the traditional wine growing regions in Europe. There were three Red Grapes Classics that really stood out: a Burgundy, a Chianti Classico and a Barolo.
Gevrey Chambertin ’13 (Burgundy)
Burgundian wines have typically been one of the flagbearer of French wines. With over 400 AOCs, the Burgundian wines accord more status to the vineyard than to the estate or the winery producing them. The reds from Burgundy are made exclusively from Pinot Noir and the village of Gevrey-Chambertin has the highest number of Grand Cru (best quality) vineyards. The Gevrey Chambertin ’13 bottled by Domaine Albert Bichot is one of the wines which combines robust flavours with silky, easy tannins. There are flavours of berries like blueberries if you swirl the wine around on your tongue.
Chianti Classico
Although Chianti’s original recipe consisted for 70% Sangiovese when initially created, it has now been allowed to be made out of 100% Sangiovese. I fell in love with Chianti because of it’s prominent tannins and the Rocca Delle Macie Reserva di Fizzano Chianti Classico 2013 reminds me why. Although the 5% of Merlot adds a bit of fruitiness to the flavour, but the big booming tannins of the Sangiovese is quite prominent. As the wines from Roca Delle Marie are made with even strict guidelines, it is also designated as Gran Selezione.
Barolo
Barolo is one wine that has always been filled with a lot of tannins, some of which can be quite harsh. The Barolo also packs in a lot of acidity which creates a wine that has quite extreme flavours. The Michele Chiarlo Tortoniano Barolo 2013 was our fourth wine on the list and packs a punch with citrus fruit flavours of orange and lemon. Traditional to an aged Barolo, it has a slightly orange tinge to it.
There were quite a few more red grapes wines from the Old World including the Concerto Lambrusco Reggiano ‘16 and Casale del Giglio Tempranijo Rosso Lazio IGT ‘14 from Italy, a Bodegas Juan Gil Silver Label Monastrell ‘15 from Spain and a Vins Jean-Luc Colombia Cornas La Louvee ‘15 from France. But one wine that stood out quite a bit was the Quinta Do Crasto Duoro Reserva ’14. This wine is a blend of more than 35 varieties of grapes that combine to create quite a complex wine. Along with flavours of plums and cherries, it also has hints of spice such as Cinnamon along with medium bodied tannins. Unlike many of the expensive old world wines, it’s a mid range wine that has quite a few of complex flavours perfect for those looking for a new red. You can let a wine decant for some hours to experience quite a few new flavours too.
New World Red Grapes
Although wines from Europe have been known for quite some time now, quite a few countries have started making wines specially the Americas, Australia and even India. There were five new world wines for this session and they are wines that you should plan on trying out. Not only do they offer new flavours, they are also easier on the pocket.
Although America’s Napa Valley has been quite widely known, the nearby Sonoma County is also quite well known, albeit only in the wine circles. A Pinot Noir ‘15 from the La Crema winery in the Russian River Valley has quite fruity flashes of cherry, oranges and berries. Let’s go a bit more local now, to British Columbia. Although Canada has been known for Ice Wines, the British Columbia region has been producing some lovely wines too. Although the region is at a latitude of 49°N of the equator, there is a microclimate which allows for substantial temperature changes. We try out the Poplar Grove Cabarnet Franc ‘14 from the Okanagan Valley and am quite impressed by the subtle flavours of fruits, oak and a hint of sandalwood. Unlike many of wines mentioned beforehand, Cabarnet Francs tend to go light on the tannins and is therefore quite an easy red wine to drink.
Being a beverage blogger and wine writer for quite some time now, I have tastes wines from a lot of countries but never one from Uruguay. The Tannat ‘15 from Bodega Garzon is quite a young wine filled with quite a few harsh tannins along with dark fruits along with some spice. We also tried out a Gran Reserva Malbec ‘12 from Lamadrid Estate Wines from Argentina which displayed a bouquet of flavours of cinnamon and orange peel along with a hint spice, almost like an Old Fashioned in a wine. Undurraga Cabarnet Savuignon ‘15 from Argentina rounded up our list as the Great Red Grapes session came to an end.
Although a lot of tasting around the world are based on a single type of wine, the Great Red Grapes session at the Vancouver International Wine Festival is also something that newbie wine lovers can also attend along with seasoned professionals.
