Author Archives: John Galea

Wines of Germany

Posted on May 6, 2009 by John Galea

Last night we attended the Wines of Germany event here in Toronto. The event was held at Roy Thompson hall in downtown. The event was very well done with a nice assortment of wine as well as plenty of very … Continue reading →

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MANGA DEL BRUJO 2006

Posted on May 5, 2009 by John Galea

Sometimes a blend just goes awry … This is what this one does for me. The blend does not work well together and the flavors fight. The wine has a jammyness almost like a petite syrah with some strong Blueberry … Continue reading →

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ALKOOMI CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2005

Posted on May 4, 2009 by John Galea

This one came on my radar as a pretty good deal. A 90 rated wine below $20. This is a lovely cab. Slightly different than a California cab. Plenty of deep rich black berry flavors. The finish on the wine … Continue reading →

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HESS CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2005

Posted on May 1, 2009 by John Galea

We had the pleasure of trying this wine as part of a night out for Charity for Canadian Care an organization bringing better lives to those in Guatemala. The wine was a special being offered by Queen’s Pasta . If … Continue reading →

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CHATEAU ST. GERMAIN 2006

Posted on April 30, 2009 by John Galea

I had this wine as the table wine at Moxxies so I bought a bottle. For the price, why not. It is not a bad wine with reasonable depth and complexity for a wine of this price. Not a fabulous … Continue reading →

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MISSION HILL RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2006

Posted on April 27, 2009 by John Galea

I’ve blogged about this one before. We tasted it at the BC wine event a while back. So based on how much I liked it at the tasting I bought one. I was not disappointed. This wine is perfect right … Continue reading →

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CHATEAU SAINT-ROCH CHIMERES 2006

Posted on April 24, 2009 by John Galea

The rating makes on this wine caught my eye, it looks like a bargain. The wine is 65% Grenache Noir, 30% Syrah, 10% Carignan. As usual I find Parker is high in his rating. I believe this one really deserves … Continue reading →

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ROBERTSON WINERY KINGS RIVER CHARDONNAY 2006

Posted on April 23, 2009 by John Galea

This is an absoloutely middle of the road mild chard. Color is typical honey, on the nose this is a light wine. There is a little bit of butteryness but not a lot and no creamyness. There is a bit … Continue reading →

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INNISKILLIN 2007 RIESLING

Posted on April 22, 2009 by John Galea

I had this wine at the Keg paired with King Crab. The wine is a VERY mild Riesling. The finish is quite short and there is not a lot going on here. It is a varietal Riesling but nothing too … Continue reading →

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CATHEDRAL CELLAR PINOTAGE 2005

Posted on April 19, 2009 by John Galea

This was recommended by Gord Stimmel from the star as a good Pinotage. So I thought I would give it a whirl. This is a very harsh wine. Burning the throat when first opened. 1 hour worth of breathing helped. … Continue reading →

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PILLAR BOX RED 2005

Posted on April 19, 2009 by John Galea

I have some of the 2005 and the 2006. This is a big bold classic Aussie wine. The dominant flavor is Shiraz with some edge taken off by the blending grapes. The wine is quite high in alcohol. I recommend … Continue reading →

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WYNNS COONAWARRA ESTATE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2005

Posted on April 17, 2009 by John Galea

This is an absolutely varietal Aussie cab. There are all the typical flavors and aromas of a cab mixed in with a very slight pepperyness on the finish as is typical for an Aussie. Terroir can never be underestimated and … Continue reading →

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TOMÀS CUISINÉ VILOSELL 2005

Posted on April 16, 2009 by John Galea

I bought this wine back in June of last year. Looks like there isn’t any more at the LCBO, which is a crying shame. I actually went back and grabbed more it was so good. Out of the bottle there … Continue reading →

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HENRY OF PELHAM OFF-DRY RESERVE RIESLING 2007

Posted on April 15, 2009 by John Galea

I cracked this one the other night. This is a smack in the middle Riesling. Not too sweet, but also not that long in flavor. It is varietal on the nose, with a pale color. This wine is in the … Continue reading →

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Basics of decanting

Posted on April 12, 2009 by John Galea

To decant or not to decant. A question often asked so I thought I would give my thoughts on the subject. Decanting is all about allowing some oxygen at the wine. Growing up I always thought taking the cork off … Continue reading →

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Waterstone Cabernet Sauvigonon 2005

Posted on April 10, 2009 by John Galea

We attended the California wine event. The majority of the wines were not available at the LCBO. There was a dizzying array of wines at the event and not one of them was bad. I was quite impressed. Never did … Continue reading →

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D’ARENBERG THE CUSTODIAN GRENACHE 2006

Posted on April 9, 2009 by John Galea

I’ve had this one before and has been consistently quite good. Out of the bottle this had quite a bitter taste to it. Decanting 45 min fixed this and left what I have come to expect from this wine which … Continue reading →

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GANTON & LARSEN PROSPECT WINERY LARCH TREE HILL RIESLING 2007

Posted on April 8, 2009 by John Galea

Another one from the Global wine tour’s BC event. This wine is a reasonable Riesling, varietal in flavor and nose. It had a slight effervescent tingle on the tongue. It had a nice bit of tartness on the finish and … Continue reading →

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Sumac Ridge Private Reserve Merlot/Cabernet 2005

Posted on April 7, 2009 by John Galea

This is a lovely Bordeaux blend that includes Merlot, Cab Sauv and Cab Franc. The Cab Franc is noticeable but not overwhelming. The wine is well under control with reasonable tannins, and a nice finish. A good solid wine priced … Continue reading →

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Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Estate Proprietors’ Grand Reserve Merlot 2005

Posted on April 6, 2009 by John Galea

I’m on a BC roll. We attended a BC Wine event put on by Global wine tour. After tasting this one at the event I ran out grabbed 5 of them. This is a lovely Merlot. Some varietal nose and … Continue reading →

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Mission Hill Chardonnay Reserve 2006

Posted on April 4, 2009 by John Galea

This is a very good Chard. It has a lovely bit of butteryness, not over the top though. Clearly secondary fermentation has been done. Some oak is present and it has a creamyness to it. The wine was left in … Continue reading →

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Ridgepoint 2005 Chardonnay

Posted on April 4, 2009 by John Galea

We bought this wine at the winery and is not available at the LCBO. The wine has a nice honey yellowish color to it. This wine is a VERY mild Chardonnay. Maybe leaning more towards the Chablis style than the … Continue reading →

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FAMIGLIA BIANCHI MALBEC 2005

Posted on April 3, 2009 by John Galea

I’ve had this one in my collection for a while now and it has softened nicely. The 2006 is in the stores now and seems to have a similar rating. It is a lovely smooth Malbec, absolutely varietal. It has … Continue reading →

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PELLER ESTATES FRENCH CROSS CAB MERLOT

Posted on April 2, 2009 by John Galea

We were served this one free of charge on the flight back from Cuba. This wine was grape juice with alcohol thrown in. You can see why it was free. The vines must be a couple years old. There was … Continue reading →

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Soroa red and white wine

Posted on March 31, 2009 by John Galea

Just back from a trip to Cuba. The all inclusive pricing included all the alcohol you could drink. We drank the Soroa band Red and White wines. We were told these were brought in from Spain and bottled in Cuba. … Continue reading →

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