If you prefer the wines of Bordeaux a common feature on their label is some Château in picture and in name. Who kidnaped the château on the front of this bottle? There is no château written and for pictorial representation perhaps it is there but so far in the distance.
The wine is 100% Merlot. It has been aged in oak barriques. Where is the oak from? How long was it aged in oak? The reclatricant label?
On the nose redolent with ripe red cherries. In the background a hulking yet non-threatening mass of just on the edge of maximum ripeness raspberries and strawberries.
This Bordeaux is smooth with gentle tannins and it is wine fit for sipping. A thin but prescient streak of cherry, cranberry tinged by a bit of raspberry jam charges down the tongue culminating in a juicy finish with a slight bit of grey pepper.
The wine is at its peak. Best consume by the end of 2022.
(Chombart & Speck Cave Mystére, Merlot 2019, Châteauu Lamothe de Haux, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 17232, 750 mL, 14%, RKS Wine Rating 90/100).
I am not quite sure what to classify Pantopolio as? A deli would be too crude. I think I will settle with a “food emporium” crammed full of Greek delights, cheese, wine, seafood, meats just to name a few. There are literally hundreds of high-quality food items here. I discovered this wonderful shop 4 years ago and revisited it again uin Sptember in the mood to eat on our hotel balcony. So for octopus, stuffed grape vine leaves and pickled artichokes with a bottle of Moschofilero wine it was all consumed happily watching the sun set over the Gulf of Thessaloniki. Great selection of foods but a gaping hole when it comes to bread!
On the surface in the heavily trafficked areas of Thessaloniki one may be left with the impression the younger set survives on coffee and as the sun sets move on to cocktails. As in Toronto so it goes in Thessaloniki where wine and beer is dying and the mighty cocktail lifts its costly head. There is a multitude of food and delicious accompanying smells but when and where do these young bucks have time to eat?
Find the Pyrgos and you’ll find Kafeneio Pyrgos: Photo Robert K. Stephen
The poor buggers may be slipping into anorexia but I have found a wonderful restaurant, very traditional full of over 50-year old’s without a cocktail in sight! A multitude of tables outdoors on a balmy mid-September night with seafood being the name of the game here. While many Greeks enjoy an ouzo with a traditional seafood dinner there are certain rebels about that are drinking wine here at Kafeneio Pyrgos!
The view is of the Pirgos (White Tower). The sea smelts (Gavros) smell of the ocean as if they were caught in the morning. Heaping plates of cuttlefish, octopus, mussels, eggplant dip, Greek Salad, delectable fries and fresh Greek bread. The Thessalonians are big eaters but very measured. 4 hours later when the appetite is beginning to resurge there are pickings left with wine. None of this 90 minute per sitting self important restaurant hegemony you might encounter in New York or Toronto. Stay as long as you want and take your time. As the restaurant has been open since 1924 why hurry?
Kafeneio Pyrgos 3 Tsirogianni Street (opposite the Pyrgos)
“Always attuned to changes in the mood of the market, drug dealers had quickly realized the advantageous commercial consequences of a year of continual stress. When the numbers of the infections increased, so had the need to find drug-induced solace in what seemed like the Valley of the Shadow of Death. When the numbers decreased, what better way to celebrate the possible return to life than with a little of this or a lot of that? Even now, with things calmed down, the stress, it seemed to Brunetti, had not disappeared, nor had the desire to seek the comfort of narcotics.”
Donna Leon: “Give Unto Others”: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2022
“But artists, he had long since concluded, were rather like politicians in their interest in the tasteful appearance of truth rather than the truth itself. “
Donna Leon “Give Unto Others” : Atlantic Monthly Press 2022
Thessaloniki is Greece’s second largest city behind Athens. Despite being an old fogey I certainly pick up a very youthful and hip vibe in Thessaloniki. And that has been constant in the last decade. The cafes and bars are packed and it is a love affair with the cocktail and coffee. I prefer Thessaloniki to Athens. Athens this September had more Americans in it than Greeks! Thessaloniki is more of a Euro insider secret.
My savvy wife booked Daios Luxury Living choosing a Junior Suite with an ocean view. The entrance to the hotel is on a tree lined side street with a Manhattan feel. Check in was, shall we say, indifferent. After 3 flights in 5 days one can become dazed all of which crumbled with an exceptional room and not only a fantastic sea view but a huge wrap around private balcony one side facing the ocean and the other side the side street where the hotel’s entrance is. Why on earth go out for tea or a glass of wine with a huge balcony facing the sea. This for me was luxury. Hundreds of interesting people on the promenade below and stunning views. We did also eat in a couple of nights watching the sunset . Certainly there are times you don’t want to eat out and with this wonderful balcony the omnivore was out searching for a feast.
Note as a real winner there is a mini fridge with beer, Coca-Cola (the neat old bottles), water and juice which is replenished daily. That is a real nice touch very much appreciated by a jet lag pummelled traveller. The room exceeded expectations with a wood accented bathroom stocked with Greek Zealot toiletries. Linen and toiletries are first rate. By objective standards the suite is not huge but its design makes it feel much larger and comfortable.
Side street entrance: Photo Robert K. Stephen
Breakfast was impeccable with everything you could possibly need. A very professional vibe in the dining room. I enjoyed the Norwegian smoked salmon draped over a “Greek bagel” which I call a koolirakia. Want a custom egg dish just ask the staff. The freshly squeezed orange juice was a good way to start the day. Based on past experience “luxury hotels” often make available lose leaf teas. Not the case here. Is it my fault I can’t start the day without two mega cups of various green teas!
Cleaning staff were efficient and meticulous.
Location is superb.
While the hotel represents “nouvel luxe” with an 80’s boutique hotel vibe the room layout and the balcony made this a deluxe experience.
So 5 stars means a lot of dough? Not really in fact you might want to say my savvy wife snagged a great deal. For me paying more for a balcony was a stellar investment.
Be forewarned at 62 degrees Fahrenheit the wine is flabby so try to bring it down to 55 degrees which is what your refrigerated cellar temperature should be. The nose is primarily black fruit with some plum and mocha all sitting on a pool of kirsch. On the palate the tannins are soft but a bit of pepper on the finish. There is cherry and overly ripe strawberries. Definitely drinkable but mundane and boring which unfortunately rather summarizes 90% of the wines on the shelves of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. Their buyers are asleep at the wheel boring consumers to death. Is there no daring and chutzpah at the LCBO? Yawn! A falling asleep wine. Jamessuckling.com gives this a 91. Give me a break. Wineflation seems to be the Suckling game. And the Liquor Control Board of Ontario loves it as does the pay to play cadre. Quite frankly are there other wine writers that the LCBO recognizes other than Suckling at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario “media control centre”?
(Château Larroque 2018 AC Bordeaux Supérieur, $15.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 92536, 750 mL, 14%, RKS Wine Rating 84/100).
Château de Marsan 2018 Cadillac-Côtes de Bordeaux (84)
The wine is a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. The label says open the bottle an hour prior to serving but I think after you open it up then pour into a decanter/carafe to let it breath. Simply opening up a bottle doesn’t facilitate the flow of air to the wine. If you are searching for a top-quality wine above the “usual” you will not find it in this wine. It is a respectable wine without a wow factor. But again isn’t that the case with 95% of wines you buy?
On the nose immediately one notices a high-test alcohol wine at 14.5%. Is this Australia? Black cherry, blueberry, licorice and red plum. Fine grain tannins with acidity to perfection. The finish is dilute. Again the LCBO obsession with Suckling as they include a Suckling rating of 90. My experience is that there is always a minimum 3-point inflation in a Suckling rating. I give this an 84. There are 7 Bordeaux reds in the LCBO August 13, 2022 Vintages release and 5 are Suckling ratings. Give me a break. Could it possibly be Suckling ratings are inflated so they can be used to sell wine? My God are wine writers pimps! No way! Right?
(Château de Marsan 2018 Cadillac-Côtes de Bordeaux, Confrier Freres, Gironde, France, $17.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 46245, 750 mL, 14.5 %, RKS Wine Rating 84/100).
Château Haut-Mazières 2019 Bordeaux (86)
A blend of 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15 % Cabernet Franc which has aged 12 months in oak. On the nose loads of black cherry and blueberry all rather dense and sleepy. On the palate expect a brief clash with muscular tannins but it is only momentary and edifies the structure of the wine. Quite frankly this is a burly if somewhat explosive wine but not a cheap thrill. Put another way a well-made wine that can lift beef and lamb to stellar heights. Yes this is a foodie wine. And cheapest of the three I find it to be the best.
(Château Haut-Maziéres 2019 AC Bordeaux, Caves de Rauzan, France, $14.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 487546, 750 mL, 13.5%, RKS Wine Rating 86/100).
Conclusion
Bordeaux reds usually do far better than the three reviewed here. Those wines are drinkable but certainly not the hidden gens for Bordeaux reds I have tried in the past.
“Red River Road” is about as indie as they come. The entire production was a family one made during a COVID lockdown. Although in most locations the lockdown no longer exists and if you believe President Biden of the United States COVID is over. Watching the Schuyler family struggle through the perceived terrors you might even recognize yourself from earlier COVID days.
In this case COVID is not mentioned instead it is some virus propagated over the internet that leads to violence and collapse of the cognition process. Yes there are plenty of Alzheimer moments in “Red River Road”. So the Schuyler boys access their Mom’s iPad and phone and matters become very wonky and threatening. The virus is spread by the internet think the Schuyler family and they are thinking literally so in their thoughts connecting with the internet could be inviting an infection.
Matters progress and Anna Witter (Jade Schuyler) complains of a series of strange dreams. After the access to the internet incident her husband Stephen (Paul Schuyler) vanishes as well as Wyatt Witter (Quinn Schuyler) and Shaw Witter (Sean Schulyer). There is no one left in the Schulyer family aside from Anna. Has the virus hit decimating the family?
And why is there a forcefield surrounding their house. Who is delivering daily food baskets? Why has a chip been implanted in their necks? Who is behind this control causing recipients of “control calls” to flip out in terror.
Sorry no answers here and the writing is complicated enough to prevent “the easy answer”. No I am not buying the “I was feverish so I missed the entire series of events”. That smile between Anna and Paul as the move concludes is a great movie moment. And that bar code on the green hamper may just send chills up your spine.
The film begs the question of whether COVID was the virus or was it the media and government circus that was the actual virus and internet rantings of a cabal of many? Or was the internet demonized by those in power as a method of preventing news from being spread contrary to the “official line”?
A solid mystery raising a whole host of questions it fails explicitly to address giving you that job. It as if there are no grounds for reality in “Red River Road”.
“River Road” will be released on digital platforms on October 4, 2022. You can catch the trailer here https://vimeo.com/588141957
With all deference surfer documentaries manipulate a tired plot of a determined surfer looking for the perfect wave and slather it with good cinematography. In this case don’t expect a novel plotline but be prepared for the stunning cinematography Rick Rifici has handed us here. In fact watch the huge curling monsters and Rifici will take you on magic carpet ride to the surfing world of Australian surfer Kerby Brown.
The monsters faced by Kirby are numerous and you’ll conclude that it is not only waves that can be a monster but mental unease and uncertainty about the future both of which he muses about through the documentary.
OK so not a soul-searching documentary but a bloody good relaxing documentary chock full of some of the nastiest waves you may have seen. As Kerby opines it is not the size of the waves that is key but rather the thickness in them. Rest assured in the Southern Ocean there are some exceedingly thick looking waves and at times one may wonder is this Kerby Brown a kamikaze or a brazen surfer. Probably a bit of both.
“Facing Monsters” is directed by Bentley Dean and it opened in the United States on September 22. On October 15th it will be available on various VOD outlets.
A nice little detour into Greece for three weeks this month had helped me cleanse the rancour of American politics inflamed by a series of events and personalities and despite a Democratic President being elected the bitterness and hostility continues unabated despite the Trumpster falling from the sky. It was simply too much to endure for someone like me that strictly limits of late any exposure to US news programmes. Instead in Greece it was watching the BBC for “the death of our Canadian queen”. GAG! But at least no orange toad to look at on the telly or for that matter senile Republican rants.
The first documentary film up for review by me was “From the Hood to the Holler” a moniker wanabee Democratic Senator, Charles Booker, coined during his 2020 primary battle with Amy McGrath for the position of Democratic Party candidate to run against Republican senator Mitch McConnell who has a habit of shooting down progressive political agenda as anti-American. Aren’t we getting sick of that line!
Booker was brought up clean but very poor by a single mother who was also assistant pastor of a local church. I mean at one point in the film Booker and his campaign staff hold arms and pray to the Lord. A fundamentalist Democrat?
Best as a non-American to escape the detailed nature of Booker’s campaign in Virginia and look for generalities.
Virginia politics is dirty with drastically reduced polling stations for the primary. Who made that decision?
Booker is a relatively laid-back politician who has an ability to extend his popularity amongst a broad class of Virginians. There is an absence of vitriol emanating from Booker but no lack of passion.
Coming from nowhere and sadly out funded by McGrath he narrowly loses to her managing to cobble together a progressive alliance of voters. Quite remarkable in the Republican state of Virginia. Booker is now running against Republican Rand Paul for a Senate seat in the upcoming general US election.
So you see a decent man coming from the hood hollering in politics. Hillbillies in Virginia holler when they are displeased and Booker hopes to holler for Virginians in the US Senate.
“From the Hood to the Holler” was directed by Pat McGee and runs for 102 minutes. It has won 7 awards on the documentary film circuit and on September 23 it was released on certain digital platforms.
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