Dunn Vineyards – Howell Mountain
& Napa Valley 2002-2005
Wednesday, March 27, 2024

EXCLUSIVE EVENT

Mark your calendar for Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at 6:30 PM.

This is a Winetasters premium event. Maximum 60 people only!

Registration will be open to Winetasters members only ($150 incl. HST) and guests of members ($200 incl. HST) until midnight Friday, March 8.

After this, it will be open to others at the guest rate.

Location: St. Paul’s Church, 227 Bloor Street East, Toronto
Date: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Registration: 6:00 PM
Tasting: 6:30 PM
Cost: Members of Toronto Winetasters or Toronto Vintners Club $150; Non-Members $200. HST Included.

This premium event is exclusively available to Winetasters members and their guests until March 8th, after which it will be open to the public at the guest rate.

We can accommodate a maximum of 60 people and expect the event to sell out quickly. If you would like to attend, we recommend that you register for the event before attendance is open to non-members.

Take advantage of the opportunity to savour these exceptional wines in the company of fellow enthusiasts.

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Dunn Vineyards’ Howell Mountain and Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from the early 2000s

We are delighted to extend a special invitation to you for an extraordinary wine-tasting event featuring the renowned Dunn Vineyards’ Howell Mountain and Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from the early 2000s.

As aficionados are well aware, Dunn Vineyards holds a prestigious position in the top tier of Napa Cabs, with their highly sought-after wines consistently delivering an unparalleled tasting experience.

About Dunn Vineyards:

Located east of St. Helena in the picturesque town of Angwin on Howell Mountain, Dunn Vineyards has a rich history dating back to 1972 when Randy and Lori purchased the original 14-acre vineyard property. Over the years, the estate has expanded, and today, Dunn Vineyards and the Dunns own over 200 acres, with 30 acres under vine. Notably, 63 acres are dedicated to the Napa Valley Land Trust, ensuring the perpetuity of a forested landscape.

Established in 1979, the winery saw its first harvest of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in 1981. The inaugural release 1981 featured 660 cases of 100% Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, followed by a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon in 1982.

Wine Offerings:

Dunn Vineyards produces two exceptional labels — Howell Mountain and Napa Valley. Both wines are crafted entirely from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, with production intentionally limited. Approximately 2500 Howell Mountain and 1500 cases of Napa Valley are produced annually. The Howell Mountain wines showcase 100% Howell Mountain fruit. In comparison, the Napa Valley wines incorporate up to 15% Napa Valley floor fruit, contributing to a more approachable palate that still allows for extended aging.

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At your Wednesday, October 25th Winetasters event, you will taste a vertical of red Bordeaux wine from the renowned Saint-Estèphe estate, Château Ormes de Pez. The Château’s history dates back to the 18th century and is closely tied to the rich winemaking traditions of Bordeaux.

Register here.

Here are the things that you need to know about this tasting:

House style: Château Ormes de Pez is known for producing robust and structured wines that reflect the terroir of the Saint-Estèphe appellation. The estate is situated on the edge of the hamlet of Pez in the northern part of the Saint-Estèphe commune. Ormes de Pez is owned by the Cazes family, which also owns Château Lynch-Bages.

Wines featured: The vertical includes wine from the 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, and 2004 vintages.

Great expectations: Robert Parker’s vintage guide for Saint-Estèphe considers the 1988, 1994, and 2004 vintages to be Above Average to Excellent. The guide rates the 1989 and 1995 vintages to be Outstanding and considers the 1990, 1996, and 2000 vintages to be Extraordinary. We expect all of the wines will charm you and have great expectations for the extraordinary vintages of 1990, 1996, and 2000.

Where and when: St. Paul’s Church 227 Bloor St E. M4W 1C8. This venue is located between Church St. and Mt. Pleasant Rd. on the south side of Bloor. Registration starts at 6:30 PM and the tasting will start at 6:45 PM. This event will have a maximum attendance of 66.

Your guest speaker: Local Bordeaux expert and enthusiast, Derek Kranenborg, will be your guest speaker. Derek is a Wine Educator and the Founder/Principal of All The Right Grapes, a wine agency based on his love of Sherry, Rioja, and Bordeaux. Derek holds the WSET Diploma. Other credentials include ‘Official Sherry Educator” (Consejo Regulator DO Sherry), Spanish Wine Educator, a French Wine Scholar, and holds the Bordeaux Master Certificate.

Value proposition: Château Ormes de Pez is a wine routinely available at the LCBO. Further, it costs about $60 a bottle, making it a rare example of a quality Bordeaux wine at a reasonable price. This tasting will interest anyone who enjoys mature Bordeaux wines and will particularly interest collectors of mid-priced Bordeaux. Perhaps you are considering adding this château to your cellar or perhaps you have some in your cellar and would like to check on how your wines will evolve with time.

Your evening will begin with an excellent reception wine: Château Latour-Martillac Blanc 2019, a white Bordeaux from a Cru Classé estate in the Pessac-Léognan appellation. The classic Bordeaux blend of Sauvignon Blanc (54%) and Semillon (46%) is a wonderful way to lay the foundation for tasting the 8 mature feature wines. A mystery wine will also be served. Your evening will also include a selection of hors d’oeuvres.

Member price $109, including HST.

The guest price is $150, including HST.

A Toronto restaurant would charge at least $175 for the wine alone.

Fees must be paid in advance and we are only able to provide refunds if the event has a waiting list.

Register here

Fine wine and fine friends

Your Winetasters Board

Macon wines are generally considered to be more affordable than other Burgundy wines, making them a popular choice for wine enthusiasts who are looking for high-quality wines without breaking the bank.  Our April tasting will focus on one of the top producers in Macon, Maison Joseph Burrier – Château de Beauregard, with six wines from the 2006 vintage and one in 2007.  Carefully aged in our cellar, they are fully mature and ready for you to explore and enjoy.  A reception wine will also be served and canapes will accompany the tastings. Maximum attendance is 66.

More information about the event will follow shortly, but here is a list of the wines to be poured:

• Pouilly-Fuissė, Vignes Blanches – Ch de Beauregard, 2006
• Pouilly-Fuissė, les Châtaignieres – Ch de Beauregard, 2006
• Pouilly-Fuissė, Les Insarts – Ch de Beauregard, 2006
• Pouilly-Fuissė, La Maréchaude – Ch de Beauregard, 2006
• Pouilly-Fuissė, Vers Cras – Ch de Beauregard, 2006
• Pouilly-Fuissė, Vers Pouilly – Ch de Beauregard, 2006
• Pouilly-Fuissé, La Maréchaude – Château de Beauregard, 2007

Date, Location & Price & Sign Up

Date:          Wed April 26
Time:          6:30 pm – Registration & Reception,   6:45 – Event start
Cost:           $100 members;   $140 non-members,  HST Included
Location:    St. Paul’s Church 227 Bloor St E (between Church St. and Mt. Pleasant Rd. on the south side)

Sign-up: here

Your Winetasters board is excited to announce the club’s first Ultra Premium event. Through these events, we want to reward members for their ongoing support of the club. Ultra Premium events will feature highly sought-after wines and the member price will be at a rate that is significantly below the fair market value and replacement cost of the wines. We plan to hold these events annually.

For the kickoff event, we will be pouring the last of the 1995 Bordeaux red wines from the cellar.  We’ll let the list of wines speak for itself:

That’s correct, the lineup includes two first-growth wines.

Some information on the 1995 vintage appears below.

We are back for this event at the beautiful and convenient Great Hall at St. Paul’s Bloor Street. The evening will begin with a short reception where you can catch up with friends. Canapes and a reception wine will be served.  Reception starts at 6:30 pm and the event starts at 6:45 pm.

Registration initially is open to members only. In the unlikely event that the evening does not sell out, registration will be opened to non-members at a significantly higher price.

About Bordeaux’s 1995 vintage:

A hot, dry summer resulted in early harvest of healthy Merlot grapes. Relatively tannic Cabernet Sauvignon was picked after a week of mid-September rain. Generous crop levels, are best in Pomerol and Pauillac.   This gave Right Bank a slight edge over the Left Bank.  Merlot and Cabernet Franc-based wines are quite harmonious and full-bodied, with good grip and tannic bite, but also plenty of ripe fruit.  For Cabernet Sauvignon the long Indian summer allowed grapes to ripen well and their thick skins accounted for the vintage’s tannic character.

The vintage was very highly touted at the time, by the press and also by the growers who took the opportunity for some steep price increases.  Almost thirty years on the wines are fully mature and this tasting will give you the opportunity to see how the wines have evolved.  The tasting covers 8 communes (six left, two right) with Haut Brion and Cheval Blanc leading the charge.

As a teaser, Jancis Robinson wrote this about Haut-Brion 1995 “Just lovely wine, …. Excellent lustrous, nuanced ruby.. Clearly a very fine mature wine. Strong liquorice notes (Haut-Brion ‘warm bricks’ earthiness?) For a second I wondered if it was a 1998 Hermitage.  Very complex. Spread across the palate… 18.5   drink to 2030.” 

The full list of wines is here

This is the first of our Ultra Premium events to benefit our members.  Sign-up will be for members only (with up to one guest at member rate), opening to non-members only after ten days if there are seats left.  Members will also get a break on pricing from the full market price.

Date, Location & Price & Sign Up

Date:          Wed Mar 22
Time:          6:30 pm – Registration & Reception,   6:45 – Event start
Cost:           $160 members;   $260 non-members,  HST Included
Location:    St. Paul’s Church 227 Bloor St E
Sign-up: here

Please do not drink and drive, there is transit nearby.

Mark the date – Wednesday Sept 28th.  We are starting our 2022 / 2023 season with a terrific Red Bordeaux tasting –
a Pontet-Canet vertical 1982 – 2008  (vintages 1982, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008)
Sign up here, or read 0n …

As befits the opening event of the 2022/2023 season, we will begin with a short reception to give you a chance to catch up and get reacquainted with fellow members after the summer.   We will pour Black Hills Sparkling Brut (Black Sage Bench, Okanagan).   This is a new sparkling wine, made in the traditional method, from a stellar producer – more detail on it later on.

Then comes the tasting proper.  Pontet-Canet has a long history, founded in the late 18^th century, but has achieved considerable acclaim starting in the mid-90s.  Pontet-Canet’s history falls into five phases:

• original estate founded by Jean-François de Pontet late 18^th century
• purchase by Cruse the year after 1855 classification as 5^th growth
• purchase by Tesseron Cognac family in 1975, replanting commenced
• 1994 Alfred Tesseron takes over running of the estate from Guy; the ‘modern era’
• 1999 Michel Rolland brought in as a consultant

Pre 1994 the wines were respected, if unexciting – a good everyday claret – and good value (for example it could be had in the 70s in a London bottling by Justerini & Brooks and affordable on a student budget!).  In 1994 Alfred Tesseron launched a reinvigoration of the estate leading eventually to its current near-cult status.  He has a very strong farmer’s focus on the vineyard and Pontet-Canet was an early adopter of Organic practices, including using horses in the vineyard!  They began converting to Biodynamic in 2005, achieving certification in 2010.

The reason for the history lesson is that our tasting spans the last three of those five phases.  We have the 1982, made under Guy Tesseron’s stewardship; then 1994 & 1996 under Alfred Tesseron, and then four vintages (2000, 2001, 2007, 2008) with Michel Rolland also consulting.  Which will you prefer?

For an interesting review of the changes at Pontet-Canet, take a look at this article:
Pontet Canet reassessed
by James Lawther MW which was published on the award-winning JancisRobinson.com on 8 October 2021.
(You need to be a member of Purple Pages; but we are making available at the bottom of this page, with permission, a pdf of the article to our members).

Pontet-Canet traditionally was not for early drinking (15 or 20 + years to reach maturity), but like much of the rest of Bordeaux, more recent vintages mature rather quicker.   These wines are all ready to drink or indeed fully mature.

A couple of tasting notes will give an idea of what’s in store:

Pontet-Canet 1996 – “… it has aged beautifully.  Cedar scorched earth and mint blossomed on a nose that is firmly into its secondary phase, yet laden with more fruit than expected considering both its age and the austere style of Left Bank 1996s. The palate might be nearing the end of its drinking plateau, so don’t hold back if you own a few bottles. But I admired its balance and density, its structure and classicism, and the typical Pauillac traits of cedar and a touch of mint toward the finish. I savored it down to the last drop.” 93 pts, 2020-2032.
Neal Martin, Vinous 2020.

Pontet-Canet 2008 – “A meeting by chance with the 2008 Pontet-Canet prior to a small tasting of South African wines reminded me what a lovely wine this is. There is plenty of black fruit on the nose laced with graphite. The cedar component is less prominent than the previous bottled tasting. The palate is medium-bodied, a little drier and more austere than recent vintages, yet clearly well balanced with a surfeit of freshness on the slightly herbaceous finish. Drinking perfectly now, this will give another two decades of drinking pleasure. Tasted at a merchant in London.”  92 pts, 2019 – 2039.  Neal Martin, Vinous, 2019.

The Line-up:
Ponte-Canet 1982, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008
Les Hauts de Pontet 2005

And of course we should not forget the reception sparkling wine.  Here are the producer notes on it:

Black Hills Sparking Brut NV – “based on 2018 vintage… 59% Chardonnay, 41% Pinot Noir,   with traditional fermentation in bottle on its lees for 40 months…  small dosage… Citrus appears again on the palate, with the lemon zest flavours very much in sync with the crisp acidity of the wine. The finish is dry and fresh. The laborious classical method delivers a fine and persistent mousse. Drink now, or cellar for 5-7 years. “
This sounds so delicious we will be giving a 3 oz pour!

Details, details, details ….

First though a reminder about subscription renewal.  Yes, its that time of the year!
If you haven’t joined or renewed yet, please click here for the membership renewals information page.
or click here to go direct to the membership form.

Pro tip:  If you aren’t a member yet, you can join now and be able to sign up for this event at the member rate.

The Location

The tasting will take place in the Burgundy Room, North York Memorial Hall (under the Library):
5110 Yonge St, at Shepherd
North York Centre Subway

The subway accesses the building directly.  Please do not drink and drive.

This is a large and well-ventilated room.  We will be reviewing the table layout and seating to ensure suitable spacing.  As usual we ask that if you are unwell with symptoms you consider not attending.  Full refunds are of course given in such cases.

Calendar, Pricing & Sign up Details

Date:   Wed Sept 28
Time:   6:45 pm
Cost:    $120 members;   $170 non-members
Max attendance: 88

Sign-up: here

PS: With permission from Jancis Robinson’s Purple Pages site we have attached a recent PDF article by James Lawther MW, “Pontet-Canet reassessed”

Our June tasting is a look at the serious side of Rosé. Savvy wine people know there is more to Rosé than popular patio pleasers. We have top Provençal wines like Ch Cibonne Cuvée Marius, however, our selection is international with wines like the very rare Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Rosado – and of course pink champagne.

To augment this serious aspect we will be pairing canapés with the wines to show their food worthiness.  The tasting will be rounded off with the unique 2011 Pear Morissette Hecate, a fortified  Cabernet Franc dessert wine.

Wait, there’s more … this event will take place in the Berkeley Theatre.  No, you won’t have to audition! A special tasting deserves a special venue – the building is a stunning example of industrial Victorian architecture, and we will have access to several interior spaces as well as its courtyard.

Already hooked,   SIGN UP HERE
or read on for more information.

Time to celebrate – Spring Is Sprung (well, just about).  And now for something completely different… Winetasters’ is having its first-ever Bring Your Own Wine (BYOW) event – a chance to share one of your special bottles with your fellow members and guests. This will be a walk-around tasting, a simplified version of our Holiday parties.

One of our Directors, Kim Berdusco, has very kindly offered to host this at her Lawrence Park home which she has just sold and the place will be empty. It has a fabulous outdoor area (including a gazebo and a pool – purely decorative for this event!) and there is a large indoor space so if it rains we can move inside.

Attendance will be restricted for COVID comfort come rain or shine.

One standard bottle covers admission for both you and a fellow member/guest. We are asking you to let us know what you will be bringing so that we can organise a list for participants and also set up a few ‘themed’ tables. We ask that you bring bottles ready to pour, having done any double decant that you think appropriate (we will be able to keep wine chilled where necessary). This is fun event, as opposed to a formal tasting so bubbles, rose etc are equally as welcome as 30 year old claret.  And as we all know, interesting and delightful wines come form many regions – the grand and the less grand.

BYOW participants will pay only for the rentals and canapes that will be served at $20 per person (HST included).

Confirmation email will have more details, including the address.  Please do not drink and drive, either have a DD or Uber.

Summary

Finally! We are back with a live, in-person, tasting! “The Return to NYMH” is not a long-lost CS Lewis novel, but the resumption of our regular tastings at our familiar venue in the Burgundy Room at North York Memorial Hall.  And, we are coming back with a top Burgundy producer – Henri Boillot – and a great vintage – 2009. Our April event is a tasting of Henri Boillot 2009 Meursaults and Chassagne-Montrachets premiers crus.   To celebrate our return to almost-normal, we will kick the event off with a reception and a glass of Champagne Tarlant Brut Reserve.  This will give you a chance to catch up with old friends (or young friends, as the case may be!) before the tasting proper. 

We are delighted to welcome Thomas Bachelder back to lead us through this tasting.  The Monk-Cartographer of Niagara is well known for his outstanding Ontario Pinot Noir & Chardonnay, and laser-like focus on terroir.  His journey of wine, however, really began in Burgundy with work experience at several domaines, and it was an epiphany in a Chassagne-Montrachet cellar that would make him a lifetime disciple of the noble Chardonnay grape.  Add in his enthusiasm for all things wine, and it will be a terrific evening.   If you’re convinced already, you can sign up here, or read on for more information.

Henri Boillot

The Boillot family has been making wine in Burgundy since the early 1900s.  There are four Domaines run by various branches of the family.  Henri is the third generation to produce wines from the Domaine Henri Boillot, which features many of the top sites in Burgundy.  The current incarnation of the Domaine was born in 2005 when Henri bought out his siblings and renamed it to avoid confusion with Jean Marc Boillot’s ongoing wines.

The white wines are made by Henri Père.  The wines are barrel fermented and Henri plays around with a healthy amount of lees during the élevage although he does no battonage (lees stirring) during the ageing in barrel, keeping the wines complex but with plenty of tension.  Henri Boillot was an early forerunner in non-interventionist lute raisonée viticulture with strictly limited access into the vineyard to preserve soil integrity.  In the current winery (built in 2000) white wines are whole bunch pressed and aged in larger than normal new or 1 year old barrels.

Their philosophy for white Burgundy was described by Henri Biollot thus: “White Burgundy is about acidity, and pinot is about maturity…  White wines are about precision, minerality, freshness; they should be strict at the beginning. Burgundy has to refresh the mouth.”

In addition to the Domaine wines, made from grapes they farm directly on land that they lease, they also have a highly regarded négoce business, Maison Henri Boillot.  The Maison wines are made in the same winery and in a similar manner to the Domaine wines.

2009 Vintage for White Burgundy

This was an excellent year. Jancis Robinson describes it “Good, healthy and high quality across the region. Warm conditions and fairly large yields have given balanced grapes, and most agree 2009 whites are at least on a par with 2005.”
Jasper Morris said “Contrary to initial expectations, many of the white Burgundy wines in 2009 are absolutely stunning. They began to show their true qualities only after the summer, when a mineral backbone appeared in support of the graceful, ripe fruit.”
These wines are now fully mature and should have added complexity adding to their initial freshness.

The Wines

Our tasting will feature eight 2009 Maison Henri Boillot wines, from Meursault and from Chassagne-Montrachet; with a village and three premiers crus from each.  As such, it will contrast two somewhat different terroirs.

Meursault is typically richer and with some fat, hints of almond, hazelnut, honey and citrus.   This note by Stephen Tanzer on the 2009 Les Perrieres gives an idea of what is in store in this tasting:
“Perfumed, complex aromas and flavors of pineapple, soft citrus fruit and smoky, flinty minerality. Rich, sweet and deep; really saturates the mouth and builds on the back end, coating the palate with fruit and crushed stone and leaving the taste buds vibrating. An outstanding expression of the site, especially in the context of this vintage.” (94 pts).

While Chassagne-Montrachet has some richness (compared to the more elegant Puligny-Montrachets) but more minerality compared to Meursaults and, with age, notes of honey and ripe pear.  Tanzer’s note on 2009 Les Chaumées:
“Good pale yellow. Peach, lime and nut oil on the nose. Brisk and juicy in the mouth, with noteworthy purity and energy to the intense flavors of ripe peach and flowers. This really saturates the palate and vibrates on the finish.” (91 pts)

The full list of wines is:
2009 Chassagne-Montrachet – Maison Henri Boillot
2009 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Les Chaumées – Maison Henri Boillot
2009 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Les Chenevottes – Maison Henri Boillot
2009 Chassagne-Montrachet 1er cru Les Embrazées – Maison Henri Boillot
2009 Meursault – Maison Henri Boillot
2009 Meursault 1er cru Les Cras – Maison Henri Boillot
2009 Meursault 1er cru Les Perrières – Maison Henri Boillot
2009 Meursault 1er cru Les Poruzots – Maison Henri Boillot

& of course a Mystery Wine to test your detective skills!

Thomas Bachelder

We are delighted to welcome Thomas Bachelder back to lead us through this tasting.  The Monk-Cartographer of Niagara is well known for his outstanding Ontario Pinot Noir & Chardonnay and laser-like focus on terroir.  His journey of wine however really began in Burgundy where he went with his wife Mary to learn about Pinot Noir get work experience at Domaine de la Créa (Beaune); Domaine Marius Delarche (Pernand-Vergelesses/Aloxe-Corton); Ponzi Vineyards (Oregon); Château Génot-Boulanger (Meursault).  But it was an epiphany in a Chassagne-Montrachet cellar that would make him a lifetime disciple of the noble Chardonnay grape, as well. Add in that he is a great speaker and his enormous enthusiasm and it will be a terrific evening.

You can read more about him in his BIO for ICCWS 2022 here and on his website.

The Location

Click for Google Map

The tasting will take place in the Burgundy Room,
North York Memorial Hall (under the Library):
5110 Yonge St, at Shepherd
North York Centre Subway

The subway accesses the building directly.  Please do not drink and drive.

This is a large and well-ventilated room.  We will be reviewing the table layout and seating to ensure suitable spacing in order to give the best COVID protection that we can to everyone.

Calendar, Pricing & Sign up Details

Date:   Wed Apr 27, 2022
Time:   6:45 pm
Cost:    $115 members ;   $165 non-members, both include HST.
Sign-up: winetasters.ca

Future Events

We plan to have a proper celebration of the resumption of live tastings with a Champagne reception.  The committee is also fine-tuning the plans for future tastings, and working on having some tastings at a downtown location.  We will update you when we have more information.

Wednesday, January 26, 7 PM — We are starting 2022 with a Port tasting to provide some inner warmth against the chill of winter.  Symington Is one of the leading Port Houses with a number of top “names” in its portfolio including Graham’s, Warre, Quinta do Vesuvio – all three of which are included in our tasting.  Their portfolio also includes Smith Woodhouse which has always been a value wine with high QPR.  For this event, we have selected three top vintages (’83, ’92, & ’94) which are showing well now, and pitted one of the Symington top tier ‘names’ against the Smith Woodhouse.  And then, for some added fun, there will be a mystery wine for everyone to try and identify.

Further details appear below and you can sign up for this event by clicking on this link.

This will be another Winetasters@Home event, following our usual Google Meet semi-blind tasting format. We are delighted to have renowned local Port (and Madeira) expert and former Winetasters’ President Alan Gardner to lead us through this interesting tasting. With quality vs value and a mystery wine, there should be lots of opportunity for discussion.

We will follow the usual logistics with two pick-up locations, downtown and Avenue Rd and 401.  You will get a box with 2 oz bottles of the seven wines, which will allow two people to taste if they pour carefully, or one person to make a ‘more thorough evaluation’.

The cost of this outstanding tasting package is $145 (HST Included) for members (remember this can be shared between two people) and $190 for non-members (HST Included).

So, mark your calendar for Wednesday, January 26th, at 7 pm.  Oh, and sign up, click here!

More about the event…

Comments on The Houses

Quinta do Vesuvio – Historically one of the very best ‘names’ in Port.  The Symington Group took the plunge and purchased it in 1989.  Despite its remoteness, this has to be the grandest Quinta. Although released most years, quantities can be scarce of this impressive, long-lived wine, which frequently rates among the very best for sheer finesse and depth.

Warre – The oldest British port house.  Cavadinha, high in the Cima Corgo, is one of the most photogenic of all the Quintas – whence the famous Warre floral elegance, complemented by the tiny yields from the other key property, Quinta do Retiro, which is located in the warmer Rio Torto Valley.

Graham’s – Richness and sumptuous character are the hallmarks of Graham.  Tannic and structured they are for the long haul.

Smith Woodhouse – Regarded as always reliable, always very keenly priced, and always cellaring well.  The style is typically generous and forward, perhaps hedonistic. 

Comments on The Vintages: 

1994 – Potentially exceptional year  – very rich but not overripe wines. Structured and harmonious.
            We are comparing Warre’s against the Smith Woodhouse
1992 – Concentrated and tannic – some classics
            We are comparing Quinta do Vesuvio against the Smith Woodhouse
1983 – Another powerful vintage for long aging.
            We are comparing Graham’s against the Smith Woodhouse

Add-on

While this is a tasting, not a dinner event, for those who do not wish to cook that night, we are working on a charcuterie & dessert option from Vintage Conservatory that can be picked up with the wine.  Details will be available shortly.

Logistics

The wines will come carefully decanted into seven 2 0z bottles. (enough for two to share, or for one person to make a ‘more thorough evaluation’).  There will also be a tasting sheet for your notes. Beginning at 2 PM on Wednesday, January 26, you will be able to pick up your tasting package either at the downtown location on Lombard St (Queen & Church) or at the uptown location at Avenue Road and 401 (just north of the 401).  Full details will be in the confirmation email.

To Summarize:

Date:  Wednesday, 26th January
Time:  7:00 PM, pick-up from your selected location beginning 2 PM.
Cost:  $145 (incl HST) for members, $190 non-members (incl HST).
Where: Your home, via Google Meet!

Click here  to sign up.