Category Archives: Wine

RKS 2023 Wine: Colossal Reserva from Lisbon: Big Name but What Quality?

Red wines from the Lisbon appellation in Portugal are not timid about blending with Syrah, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon aside native indigenous varieties but all we can read on the label is that it is made from “typical grape varieties planted in the region”.  A trip to the Casa Santos Lima website reveals the grapesContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Colossal Reserva from Lisbon: Big Name but What Quality?”

RKS 2023 Wine: Alyan A&A 2017 Carménère from Chile

The Alyan A&A 2017 Carménère from Chile is produced in the Maule Valley, Chile’s largest viticultural area yet one of the most geographically and climatically diverse encompassing the Andes to the east, the sunny plains throughout the central corridor and the rolling coastal hills to the west which makes it possible for both red andContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Alyan A&A 2017 Carménère from Chile”

RKS 2023 Wine:  Ho Hum Pinot Noir from Ontario’s South Islands

When it is a question of Canadian Pinot Noir my favourites are from British Columbia’s Okanagan. Smooth, elegant, soft and just perfect with salmon. Ontario Pinot Noirs? More of a hit and miss proposition. Pelee Island is always a fun place to visit even if you do not like wine. Pelee Island Winery produces someContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine:  Ho Hum Pinot Noir from Ontario’s South Islands”

RKS 2023 Wine: Better Pinot Noir for Less? Chile? A Darling of the Medical Profession?

I am a wine writer from the other side of the tracks! A retired and impoverished old codger. I even had lunch in a suburban restaurant 36 kilometres from Toronto! There wasn’t an orthodontist in sight! Actually, the food was excellent as was the conversation with a veteran wine writer friend! There are no wineriesContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Better Pinot Noir for Less? Chile? A Darling of the Medical Profession?”

RKS 2023 Wine: Laura Hartwig Chilean Carménère: Pinot Noir on Steroids?

From the Colchagua Valley in Chile we have a Laura Hartwig Single Vineyard Carménère. In 1966 Laura Bisquertt inherited the “Santa Laura Estate” from Osvaldo her father who had planted traditional crops and raised dairy livestock on it. Laura’s husband Alejandro Hartwig bought adjoining plots of land and planting of traditional Bordeaux grapes commenced inContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Laura Hartwig Chilean Carménère: Pinot Noir on Steroids?”

RKS 2023 Wine: The Superhero Wine Writer Humbly and Inadequately Explores a Chilean Carignan

Occasionally you encounter the superhero wine writer proud to be a judge at a wine competition or simply at some wine tasting event. Superhero has just tasted 83 wines and rated each of them maybe in the space of a couple of hours! Amazing! My crappy palate is put to the test on certain pressContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: The Superhero Wine Writer Humbly and Inadequately Explores a Chilean Carignan”

RKS 2023 Wine: A Georgian Wine Tasting at The Russian Gun Club

Most of my wine tastings have been at estates, chateaus, restaurants, ships and all sorts of event venues. The most memorable have been in various quintas in Portugal’s Douro region where I have been treated on occasion like visiting royalty. Perhaps the strangest venue in a Canadian city years ago was a Georgian wine tastingContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: A Georgian Wine Tasting at The Russian Gun Club”

RKS 2023 Wine: L.A. Cetto Petite Sirah: Treasure of the Sierra Madre?

I recently watched John Huston directed “Treasure of the Sierra Madre”. The 1947 film centres on the hunt for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountain range in Mexico. Bogart is a sociopath and Walter Huston an entertaining and honest old coot. Is there treasure in this L.A. Cetto Petite Sirah from Mexico? I saw aContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: L.A. Cetto Petite Sirah: Treasure of the Sierra Madre?”

RKS 2023 Wine: Italian Merlot Could be the Change You Need!

It is not frequently we encounter Italian Merlot as a single varietal in Canada. So we have a chance now with a somewhat unique Terre Magre Merlot from Friuli. Aroma: Black cherry, blackberry and cola with some intensity. Palate: A robust aroma for a wine does not always equate with a robust wine! Not muchContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Italian Merlot Could be the Change You Need!”

RKS 2023 Wine: Viña Tarapacá Gran Reserva Biodiversity Organic Wine: Confessions of a Rat!

Here we have an organic red blend from the Maipo Valley in Chile consisting of 58% Carmenère, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. It has aged a year in French oak barrels. Aroma: Raspberry, blueberry, blackberries and root beer. I can detect some acidity on the nose hoping it will beContinue reading “RKS 2023 Wine: Viña Tarapacá Gran Reserva Biodiversity Organic Wine: Confessions of a Rat!”