You knew this was coming. It's Christmas and that means tradition and here at Pique that means a look back on 12 months of travel, tastings, meetings and tramping around vineyards across the international wine world in search of a dozen affordably priced wines you can serve over the holidays.
Much has transpired in 2013, including the collision of two new wine categories. On one hand there's the disturbing move to cheap and not-so-cheap sickeningly sweet red wines while, on the other hand, a small band of producers are heading in the opposite direction cranking out a fresher style red made with less new oak and more red fruits, a style that's more food-friendly when young.
But let's put that aside for the moment and celebrate the good this month with a selection of bottles we double checked at press time to make sure they're widely available in government stores and, in some cases, in private wine shops.
This year my travels took me to France, Spain, Italy, Niagara, Sonoma County, Napa Valley and to the Okanagan several times, as well as meeting scores of producers who travel regularly to Vancouver to visit the market. Here are some personal favourites.
On the first day of Christmas... We begin with the best value sauvignon blanc in the market and it doesn't come from New Zealand. The Santa Carolina 2012 Sauvignon Blanc Reserva $13 from Leyda, Chile is crazy good and dirt cheap. Fresh, creamy and juicy, its floral, passion fruit, pink grapefruit, grassy, nettle flavours over delivers for its price. Shellfish, sushi and or chicken all work.
From the Okanagan, another steal and a super food-friendly appetizer white is the Gray Monk 2011 Riesling $15. The palate is all freshness and minerality with green fruits, lemon grass and mineral characters. It was the top scoring riesling, top Canadian wine, and best wine in the $15-$25 category at the WineAlign 2013 World Wine Awards.
Best Rhone white of the year has to be M. Chapoutier 2012 Domaine de Bila-Haut Blanc $16, a blend grenache blanc and gris with macabeo. It is round with a juicy, fruity, citrus/ginger nose splashed with orange peel, wet stones and salt. Calamari, chicken, or pair with creamy pastas.
My two favourite value chardonnays for 2013 have to be the Mission Hill 2012 Five Vineyards Chardonnay $15. Love the fresh bright style and the pear and green apple fruit with floral mineral support. Equally inviting is the Penfolds Koonunga Hill 2011 Chardonnay $15. Here pear, honey and butter aromas and flavours mix with light lees and brioche. Turkey is a fine match; so, too, is fresh cracked crab.
Consumers continued their love affair with pinot noir in 2013, attracted to its soft, round sweet fruit nature. Our pick is the Cono Sur 2011 Single Vineyard Block 21 Pinot Noir Viento Mar $20 from Valle de San Antonio, Chile. Dry, fresh, juicy, with savoury, celery, cherry, coffee and rhubarb flavours with a hint of tea and smoke on the finish. Good elegance and fruit intensity. Tough to beat the value here.
And on the sixth day of Christmas we always stop for sparkling wine. This year our champagne pick is Moët & Chandon 2004 Grand Vintage $81. Fresh, crisp and creamy with plenty of baked Granny Smith apples, quince, raspberry and toasted nut flavours. Try this with cheese sticks warmed in the oven.
If champagne is not in your budget, how about a champagne producer in Napa Valley? Try the Chandon California N/V Brut Classic $24. Fresh, crisp and nutty with baked apple, pear and lemon flavours. Finesse and balance in an easy-to-drink style.
Last year we suggested you buy every 2010 Rhone you could find and we still think so, beginning with Le Domaine Montirius 2010 Vacqueyras Garrigues $35. We love the black cherry, black raspberry, garrigue, meaty, orange peel, licorice flavours, all with purity and concentration. The wine is certified bio-dynamic. Try it with assorted grilled meats.
Another French star comes from the south of France the Gérard Bertrand 2011 St Chinian Syrah Mourvèdre, $21.50. The 2010 was impressive and the 2011 maybe even better. They have been making wine since the Middle Ages in St. Chinian and Bertrand is dialled in with his syrah grapes planted over calcareous soil and the mourvèdre ones over schist. This is a big juicy rich red, almost North American in style, with smoky, savoury red fruits and black liquorice notes and similar flavours flecked with smoked meat. A blockbuster style but still with a fresh almost mineral streak in the finish. Good value.
A top Down Under pick is the Yalumba 2011 Bush Vine Grenache $25 from Barossa Valley. Yalumba does a great job with Grenache, taming the spice, black raspberry, black cherry jam aromas and fitting them into a smooth, fresh, elegant palate. A hedonistic red but with balance. Try it with your turkey over the holidays.
A favourite Italian pick for the year has to be the Altesino 2011 Rosso di Montalcino 2011 $30. A baby Brunello made from a mix of younger sangiovese grapes in a warm vintage has produced a slightly riper style with intense black cherry fruit. Big game dishes, stews and meaty pasta dishes work best here; it would be fine with turkey, too.
And on the twelfth day of Christmas... The finale in 2013 comes from Argentina, where malbec blends are gaining some traction. The Terrazas de los Andes 2011 Malbec Reserva $21 from Mendoza is the pick — in fact, we recommend you back up the truck and load up. Terrazas works hard at making sophisticated, elegant malbec and they have done it in 2011. Medium dark and awash in stony, aromatic black fruit, it hits the palate silky and slides through the finish. Love the peppery, smoky, spicy, cherry jam fruit flecked with orange and licorice flavours. Savoury, sophisticated, and you can drink it now.
Have a wonderful, responsible holiday — and do not drink and drive.
Anthony Gismondi is a globetrotting wine writer who makes his home in West Vancouver, British Columbia. For more of his thoughts on wine log onto www.gismondionwine.com.
