In the upcoming MAY CLASSICS release, we have three very special wines to share with you, two of which received a perfect score of 100 points!
Many winemakers in McLaren Vale and Baroosa have told me that 2012 was the best vintage they have seen since 1998, and for that reason, the DogRidge MVP Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 really excites me. This old vine Cabernet Sauvignon is the crème de la crème from this small, family owned, quality-focused, estate winery. Only the best fruit from a small parcel planted in the 1940s (called block DV6) is used for this wine. Aged for under two years in mixed new and old French barriques, this wine is one of power and concentration, balanced with complexity and age worthiness. I have an MVP vertical dating back over a decade and the wines continue to amaze me each time I enjoy them.
The sweet wines from Kracher need no introduction. Known for their botrytis affected sweet wines from Burgenland, Austria, Kracher is a third generation, family owned winery considered to rival some of the world’s finest, including Château d’Yquem, at a fraction of the price. The Kracher #8 Welschriesling TBA Zwischen Den Seen 2005 boasts an incredible 274 g/L of residual sugar, but feels fresh and long, as it’s balanced with good acidity. It was fermented and matured for 20 months in stainless steel so the fruit is incredibly vibrant and pure. Try this instead of a Sauternes with foie gras as an appetizer, or in a white wine glass for desert with good company.
The third wine in this release is the Toro Albalá Don Px Convento Seleccion DO Montilla-Moriles 1946. This 68 years old sweet wine received a perfect score of 100 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and sold out within 24 hours the last time it came through CLASSICS in September. Luis Gutierrez from the Wine Advocate wrote, “This is an extreme wine, my first descriptor was ultra-mega-super concentrated… incredibly complex and rich, sweet, balanced and smooth in the palate… it is as decadent as it gets. Drink it if you ever have the privilege to do so from 2013-2060.”
Purchasing wines through Classics has changed from what used to be a lottery system to a first-come, first-served ordering process, either by phone or online. Ordering begins Thursday, May 7 at 8:30am. Click HERE for details. There is a 4 bottle limit per person before noon, after which time this limit will be lifted.
I hope you will have a chance to experience these three wines. I can assure you that you won’t regret it.
Sincerely,
Le Sommelier
416.603.7026
Twitter: @LeSommelierWine
Instagram: @LeSommelierWine
facebook.com/LeSommelierWine
TASTING NOTES
DogRidge MVP Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
Review:
“Cassis is the fruit driver, accompanied by nuances of plum, cedar, oak & earth, the tannins exactly what is needed to provide long-term structure. Drink by 2032.” Score: 96 – James Halliday, Wine Companion
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: McLaren Vale, Australia
Price: $76.00 (per bottle)
LCBO#: 407080
Kracher #8 Welschriesling TBA Zwischen Den Seen 2005
Reviews:
“The intensity of the acidity, piercing through the sweetness, is what is astonishing about this wine. It gives the wine an ethereal quality, a lightness to go with the concentration of the dried fruits and orange zest flavors. The essence of TBA.” Score: 98 – Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast, March 1, 2009
Score: 100 – Falstaff Magazin
“With the 2005 #8 Welschriesling Trockenbeerenauslese Zwischen den Seen, we arrive at another level of complexity and intrigue in this collection. Peach, pineapple, persimmon, pear nectar, prunes, musk, candied lemon, truffle, malt, nut oils, and honey are among the myriad voices raised here in a wine of buttery, oily texture and remarkable levity. The conversation will keep you up long past bedtime, the reverberations will last for several minutes longer on your palate, and the wine will happily evolve for 25 years in your cellar.” Score: 97 – David Schildknecht, Wine Advocate, June 2008
Varietal: 100% Welschriesling
Region: Burgunland, Austria
Price: $85.00 (per bottle)
LCBO#: 412494
Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección DO Montilla-Moriles 1946
Review:
“The 1946 Don PX Convento Seleccion produced with Pedro Ximenez grapes dehydrated under the sun at the time of the Second World War, was only bottled in September 2011. This is an extreme wine, my first descriptor was ultra-mega-super concentrated. It is unbelievably powerful, both in the nose and the palate, full of umami, with sweet cinnamon, Christmas cake, camphor, petrol, lemongrass, Belgian chocolate and butter. Incredibly complex and rich, sweet, balanced and smooth in the palate, it is both very sweet and somehow salty, and with time it develops a black olive note. It combines the texture of the 1962 and the elegance of the 1949. It is as decadent as it gets. 825 bottles were produced. This wine will survive all of us. These wines are kept for generations and offered in very small quantities, but it’s amazing that you can still buy and drink something so old, and I’m even tempted to say that it might represent good value for what it is. A real tour de force sweet wine. Drink it if you ever have the privilege to do so from 2013-2060.” Score: 100 – Luis Gutierrez, erobertparker.com, Aug. 2013
Varietal: 100% Pedro Ximenex
Region: Montilla-Moriles, Spain
Price: $359.00 (per bottle)
LCBO#: 368829
Le Sommelier is a Good Food Fighter. Please support the businesses and organizations that support Good Food Revolution.
