40% Touriga Nacional, 30% Tinta Roriz and 30% Tinta Francesca which 30% was aged for 12 months in both new and used French oak the remainder kept in stainless steel vats. Aroma: Superhero black fruit particularly blackberry with pomegranate, blueberry, dark chocolate and just a hint of stewed rhubarb and blackball candy. Hint of someContinue reading “RKS 2026 Wines of Portugal: Churchill’s Grafite 2021 From the Douro”
Category Archives: Wine
RKS ONTARIO 2026 Wine: Magnotta 2021 Toro Negro Cabernet Sauvignon: Baco Noir Suffering a Neurological Hemorrhage
Ontario Cabernet Sauvignon as a single varietal seldom works unless skillful use of oak is involved and when it is it can be quite good. This one was aged in 225 litre new French oak barriques for two years. More often you will find Ontario Cabernet Sauvignon “utilized” in a blend. So there is alwaysContinue reading “RKS ONTARIO 2026 Wine: Magnotta 2021 Toro Negro Cabernet Sauvignon: Baco Noir Suffering a Neurological Hemorrhage”
PORTHEAD ALERT: Fonseca Terra Firma Organic Reserve Ruby Port: And You Thought You Broke the Bank?
Aroma: ATTACK OF THE BLACKBERRIES! No this is not the latest science fiction movie to be made in Portugal’s Douro region but rather a down-to-earth Ruby Port. There are plenty of blueberries, hot chocolate sauce and cooked dates. Palate: Smooth. Creamy. Unctuous. Blueberry pie. Cherry clafouti. With red table wine great attention is paid toContinue reading “PORTHEAD ALERT: Fonseca Terra Firma Organic Reserve Ruby Port: And You Thought You Broke the Bank?”
RKS 2026 BRITISH COLUMBIA WINES: Mission Hill 2022 Reserve Merlot
When Canadian provinces vint wine Ontario and British Columbia rule the roost. Aged 15 months in French oak. In this case from the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, we sample a Mission Hill 2022 Reserve Merlot. Aroma: A lush, plush and floozish wine. Lazy and sultry on the nose. Plummy. Creaminess strongly suggestive. Blackberry, cassisContinue reading “RKS 2026 BRITISH COLUMBIA WINES: Mission Hill 2022 Reserve Merlot”
RKS 2026 Portuguese Wine: Morgado Silgueiros 2021 Reserva (Vinho Tinto) from Portugal’s Dão Region
I was fortunate a few years ago to benefit from a five-day media trip to Portugal’s Dão region relatively close to Porto. The wines and cuisine did not fail to impress. Our base in Viseu was a charming town with a fascinating medieval centre. It is worth a visit as is the Dão wine region.Continue reading “RKS 2026 Portuguese Wine: Morgado Silgueiros 2021 Reserva (Vinho Tinto) from Portugal’s Dão Region”
RKS PORTHEAD ALERT: CROFT 2012 Quinta da Roeda Vintage Port
Rather strange that on my first media trip to Porto in 2014 to sample Ports throughout the Douro region on the bus for the first of five intense days of sampling my seatmate, a French advertising executive, said to me, “Port is an affordable luxury”. It is a statement that has stuck me as toContinue reading “RKS PORTHEAD ALERT: CROFT 2012 Quinta da Roeda Vintage Port”
RKS 2026 ITALIAN WINE: A Primitivo from Tommasi not a Zinfandel from NAPA!
To assuage those North Americans intimidated by the name Primitivo why not simplify and say it is Zinfandel. The wine is from the Apulia region of Italy. It is 100% Primitivo grape grown in limestone soil rich in iron. It was fermented in stainless steel and spent 12 months in oak casks. Aroma: Black cherryContinue reading “RKS 2026 ITALIAN WINE: A Primitivo from Tommasi not a Zinfandel from NAPA!”
RKS 2026 Ontario Wine: Redtail 2020 Meritage from Niagara
Ontario wineries do well by Meritage particularly where Cabernet Franc is in the blend. This Redtail 2020 Meritage is 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot and 28% Cabernet Franc. Aroma: One might say a perfect blend of a “balanced” red wine. The essential aroma characteristics of each grape is identifiable but none predominate so if youContinue reading “RKS 2026 Ontario Wine: Redtail 2020 Meritage from Niagara”
RKS 2026 ONTARIO WINE: Drea’s 2022 Small Batch Cabernet Franc
Aroma: One senses a firm and tight wine lacking fruit effusiveness. Pardon any reference to Gogol’s short story “The Nose” but you need to deeply nose about to detect black cherry, black currant, strawberry jam and those Peek Freen cookies with a blob of red goo in the centre. Overshadowed by oak, perhaps too muchContinue reading “RKS 2026 ONTARIO WINE: Drea’s 2022 Small Batch Cabernet Franc”
RKS 2026 British Columbia Wine: 2021 Volcanic Hills Magma Red from British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley
Volcanic Hills Winery is located on the Southeast slope of Boucherie Mountain a 60-million-year-old dormant volcano. It is a blend of Pinot Noir (51.4%). Marechal Foch (14.3%), Gamay Noir ( 7.4%), Merlot (21.4%) and Cabernet Franc (5.5%). Each varietal was fermented and barrel aged in French and American oak for 14 months then blended. Aroma:Continue reading “RKS 2026 British Columbia Wine: 2021 Volcanic Hills Magma Red from British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley”
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