RKS 2023 Wine: Global Inclusion is Not Profitable! A St. Laurent from Austria

Posted byRobert K Stephen (CSW)Posted inWineTags:, , , , ,

You would expect a state liquor monopoly like our brave and fearless Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) would be a champion of “global inclusion” a popular term these days rammed down our throats not because it is indeed a worthy concept but rather a corporate game historically designed to meet bidding requirements of governmental bodies tendering out business. Interesting to witness a corporation internally championing global inclusion but when it was a question of bidding on some Saudi business all woman on the “corporate team” making the presentation were pulled so as not to “offend” the Saudis. Make no mistake corporate promoted global inclusion is shallow marketing…just look at the board of director composition of corporate global inclusion “champions” and see if they walk the talk.

Back to global inclusion and wine in the Province of Ontario. Very little attempt is made by the LCBO to sell a variety of different grapes from a variety of countries. The LCBO has a torrid love affair with California and aside from that profit driven relationship the usual suspects of Australia, Ontario, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, New Zealand, Chile and Argentina dominate LCBO shelves.

Isn’t it time for all of us to stand up and say Romanian wines matter or more wines made from St. Laurent from Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic!

In this case a 2020 Ried Stiftsbreite St. Laurent wine from Austria. It is their “basic” St. Laurent as they also have a Reserve and Grand Reserve St. Laurent.

Aroma: A plethora of soft centred smokey cherry and blackberry.

Palate: Big time black cherry in this soft and almost juicy wine. Minimal tannins and acidity with a moderately long finish. The oak influence is gentle. The wine rested in large oak vats for 18 months and my guess is Hungarian oak.

Personality: I am so easy to drink and highly approachable so LCBO bring more St. Laurent into your stores.

Food Match: Cabbage rolls in a light tomato sauce.

Cellarbility: Best consumed fresh. BB end of 2024.

Price: $26.95 CDN (Ontario).

RKS 2023 Wine Rating: 91/100. Peter Moser, Falstaff.com 91.

(Ried Stiftsbreite St. Laurent Ausstich 2020, Thermenregion. Weingut Stifts Kloster Neuburg, Klosterneuburg, Austria, 750 mL, 13%).

Published by Robert K Stephen (CSW)

Robert K Stephen writes about food ,drink, travel, film, and lifestyle issues. He also has published serialized novels "Life at Megacorp", "Virus # 26, "Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog" and "The Penniless Pensioner" Robert was the first associate member of the Wine Writers’ Circle of Canada. He also holds a Mindfulness Certification from the University of Leiden and the University of Toronto. Be it Spanish cured meat, dried fruit, BBQ, or recycled bamboo place mats, Robert endeavours to escape the mundane, which is why he has established this publication. His motto is, "Have Story, Will Write."

Leave a comment