The Date and Time: Monday April 16, 2018 Noon - 3PM
The Event: Ogier Winemaker Tasting and Lunch
The Venue: Wine Academy
The Target Audience: wine writers and influencers
The Availability/Catalogue: wines are available through the LCBO or the agency, Select Wines.
The Quote/Background: Ogier was founded in 1859 in Chateauneuf-du-Pape and purchased in 1995 by JeanJean. Raphael Pommier, an associate winemaker at Ogier, gave us a seminar on his terroir-driven wines for Ogier. They have a focus on grenache (70% of their vines, cultivated for a fruity late harvest style) which is co-fermented with syrah and/or mourvedre, cinsault, and other varieties when needed. Pommier works with 44 other "associate" winemakers, each with their own levels of responsibility. He makes his wines in the north Ardeche. He's in Toronto as a promoter this time, with presentations to the LCBO and other customers. Pommier took us through the various plots of land with different strata. The Safres has compressed sand, the Gres Rouge has everything (sand, gravel, rocks, and red clay). The Vinolithic is here in its second vintage – only 15 300-litre barrels were made (6000 bottles). Each year will be slightly different while they experiment to find an upscale Cotes du Rhone. This year – 2015 – had 15% ABV.
The Wines: We had eight wines plus the new vintage of Ventoux Rose 2017.
**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Clos de l'Oratoire des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape White 2016 [five grapes] $54.95
-Gres Rouge Chateauneuf-du-Pape Red 2015 $57.95
-Safres Chateauneuf-du-Pape Red 2015 $57.95
-Domaine Notre Dame de Cousignac Vinolithic Cotes-du-Rhone Villages Red 2015 $26.95
***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Clos de l'Oratoire des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape Red 2015 $49.95
-Ogier Heritages Cotes du Rhone 2016 $14.95
-Ogier Ventoux Rose 2017 $13.95 [coming soon]
*** GOOD -- Three Stars (85 – 87 in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Ogier Ventoux Red 2016 $11.95
-Ogier Ventoux Rose 2016 $13.95
The Food: we ordered from a special menu. I had ham croquettes and a pork chop. Others had Cornish hen, salads, and veggies.
The Downside: bad weather made it a struggle to get downtown.
The Upside: the postponement of the Wine Writers' Circle of Canada annual rose tasting due to the bad weather gave me the opportunity to attend this terrific luncheon.
The Contact Person: mitchell@selectwines.ca raphaelpommierusa@gmail.com
The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 90
Chimo! www.deantudor.com
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