British Columbia Critics’ Picks March 2015

Our monthly BC Critics’ Picks is the place to find recent recommendations from our intrepid and curious BC critics – wines that cross geographical boundaries, toe traditional style lines and may push limits – without being tied to price or distribution through BCLDB or VQA stores. All are currently available for sale in BC.

Spring has certainly sprung in BC, and we’re utilizing that extra hour of daylight to flex our spring cooking repertoire. Along with the cherry blossoms and magnolias, we’re celebrating the start of fresh halibut season (the best) and first of the 2014 wines from the Okanagan.

Rhys Pender is currently travelling through France, and we must be collectively missing him because we’ve all independently selected French wines in our picks.

Accueillir le printemps!

Cheers ~ TR

Anthony Gismondi

It’s springtime in Vancouver and the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. While we should be preparing for warmer days and lighter meals most of us are completely consumed by the current wholesale pricing debacle being foisted on the wine community come April Fool’s Day – and that is no joke. This month my picks reflect a very urgent need for all of us to get back to the business and culture of wine, a subject infinitely more interesting than taxes and the machination of the monopoly. This month my three picks bring something to the table that no tax or bureaucrat possibly could. These are wines that have a soul, that tell a story of place and uniqueness only a true wine lover could appreciate.

From the south of France Château de Lancyre Vieilles Vignes Pic St-Loup 2012 tells a stunning story of terroir and flavour through 50 year old grenache and syrah vines. It’s never too early to fire up the barbecue and this wine would be a worthy companion to grilled lamb.

I spent a wonderful week at ProWein in Dusseldorf, renewing my impressions of the great wines of Germany. In a rare occurrence BC has received the fine fortune of a shipment of Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken 2013. This wine amazes almost all who taste it, even if few in the world know what ‘Halbtrocken’ wine is. If you guessed half dry, good for you, but many will find it drier than most of the so-called dry wines you normally drink. Not to mention salty, mineral, stony and ridiculously electric. From seafood to chicken and beyond this wine will jumpstart your spring.

Finally get a group of friends together and buy a bottle of Joseph Drouhin Beaune Clos des Mouches Blanc 1er Cru 2010. Clos des Mouches Blanc can live a decade with ease but 15 to 20 years is possible in great vintages. At five years old the journey here has just begun for this white wine whose site was once home to bee-hives and mouches à miel (honey flies) the origin of Clos des Mouches. No tax, good or bad will move you like this wine.

DJ Kearney

Spring means one thing to me… lamb. Yes, I eat lamb in the winter, but somehow its intense rangy, lamby flavour – at once sweet, earthy, pungent and succulent – evokes the pulsing life force of spring.

A favourite preparation is a simple oven roasted leg, infused deeply with flavour from garlic cloves and anchovy fillets inserted into slits all over the meat. The anchovies melt into something not at all fishy, but intensely savoury and rich, creating a simple umami-rich jus. Magic with this pure 2013 Les Galchues Chinon from Jean-Maurice Raffault.

Simple grilled chops (massage first with rosemary and olive oil before flinging over hot coals), will uplift the pure cassis of Chateau Meyney 2010, a vigorous Saint-Estephe stalwart.

And because the bald truth is that warmest weather is still months (yes months) away, braising is still an option. How about lamb shanks simmered in a thick and flavourful broth, washed down with the Godelia 2010 Mencia from Bierzo, Spain, where robust meets robust and your tastebuds are the winners. So join me in welcoming spring by cooking some lamb – at least once a week until July when it will finally be summer.

Treve Ring

I’m certainly a member of the rosé-year-round camp, but it’s a lot more fun to enjoy a lively pétillant natural rosé like 2013 Jean Maupertuis Pink Bulles outside on the patio, warmed by the sun. This blend of 50+ year old d’auvergne gamay and gamay is an ideal aperitif – lifted, edgy and subtly sweet – and far too easy to down at 11 percent.

Benjamin Bridge Tidal Bay 2013 is another spring signifier, with its effusive meadow flowers, and lean and juicy palate of lime. Surprising concentration in this Nova Scotian blend of l’acadie blanc, chardonnay, ortega and new york muscat – especially considering its 10.5% alcohol. Hello brunch!

I mentioned fresh halibut season, and it certainly is cause for rejoicing on the coast. I grilled a fresh off the boat catch last week alongside roast potatoes and green beans and the lively, crisp, mineral salted 2013 Tolloy Pinot Grigio from Alto Adige- Südtirol in northeastern Italy. No wimpy pinot grigio here.

Of course, if you wanted to up the game with your fresh halibut dinner or have a deeper cellar (or deeper pockets) to dip into, the oaked 2011 Domaine Christian Moreau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillon Cuvée Guy Moreau would be a stellar, classic choice.

Like Chablis, and on the vein of chardonnay that isn’t really about chardonnay but about the place, I recommend the 2013 Haywire Chardonnay Canyonview Vineyard. Alluringly ‘Raised in Concrete’ though the savoury dried herbs, scrubby meadow bush, creamy, potent palate of desert citrus, herb-laced pear, musk melon, stony, savoury lees and fine spices is really all about Canyonview Vineyard. And a new, brave frontier of chardonnay in BC.

I was intrigued by the 2007 Rainoldi Sassella Riserva recently, the faded orange red hue, heady smoked Ricola nose, alpine herbs, fernet and amaro bitterness and candied marascino cherry creating a memorable connection. From the Valtellina Superiore DOCG in Lombardy, this Chiavennasca (Nebbiolo) would pair with truffled risotto or sautéed mushrooms on rapini.

WineAlign in BC

In addition to our monthly Critics’ Picks report, we also publish the popular shortlist 20 Under $20, as well as the BC Wine Report, a look at all things in the BC Wine Industry. Lastly, Anthony Gismondi closes out each month with his Final Blend column – an expert insight into wine culture and trends, honed by more than 25 years experience as an influential and global critic.

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