The Penniless Pensioner is reluctant to travel this year wishing to wait until the dust settles from COVID-19. The Penniless Pensioner quite frankly has told me his pension income from his Canadian Pension Plan puts him below the poverty line. So he can’t really travel until he wins the lottery and he can’t afford more than $15 for a bottle of wine and he isn’t interested in tasteless rotgut so he’s willing to have me snoop around for him. So at times with so many penniless pensioners in Canada I feel I have the weight of the world on my shoulders.
So when I told him I found a Bordeaux for $13.95 at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario his eyes lit up as he was not a neuro surgeon, cardiologist or a captain of industry as those were the people he thought could afford Bordeaux wines. Well there are many small producers in Bordeaux and there are some bargain basement prices to be had. But what of the quality he asked? My reply was that one of the best wines I had this year was a $14.95 Italian wine from Campania. But I cautioned him simply because a wine is from Bordeaux does not guarantee quality.
In this case we have a simple Bordeaux Blanc called a 2019 Château Haut-Garriga. It is made entirely from the Semillon grape.
On the nose it shows little flashiness, depth or complexity. Simple aromas of pear, apple with a faint bit of pineapple. On the palate it is simple light and refreshing. A bit of grapefruit, lime with a subtle minerality. There are no flaws in the wine. It just is a simple nondescript wine. The Penniless Pensioner is holding his annual pickle ball tournament in his backyard with his buddies and he told me it will be a hot and humid day where red wine is out and a simple refreshing white is a must. He has one here! And his guests not being terribly savvy may just think he has won the lottery as he is serving a wine with a Château in its name. The Penniless Pensioner is a crafty fellow. In fact he was once a successful corporate lawyer who made an unfortunate mistake of investing his money with a guy named Bernie Madoff. Accordingly at the end of the line of a Ponzi scheme he lost it all.
More about the Penniless Pensioner to follow.
(Château Haut-Garriga Bordeaux Blanc 2019, Vignobles C. Barreau, Gironde, France, $13.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 18789, 750 mL, 12%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 86/100).
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