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Friday, September 25, 2015

The Event: a tasting of Antique Europe wines (Hungary, Bulgaria, Moldova, Georgia, Romania) plus some rare Greek wines for sale at the LCBO's “200 Danforth” store, the first roll-out of the specialty wine markets.

The Date and Time: Thursday, September 3, 2015   11:30 AM – 3 PM
The Event: a tasting of Antique Europe wines (Hungary, Bulgaria, Moldova, Georgia, Romania) plus some rare Greek wines for sale at the LCBO's "200 Danforth" store, the first roll-out of the specialty wine markets.
The Venue: Cava Restaurant
The Target Audience: members of the Wine Writers' Circle of Canada
The Availability/Catalogue: most of the Eastern European wines are now (or will be) at the LCBO, the balance are via private orders and consignment.
The Quote/Background: We started the Fall 2015 season off with a bang, with a huge turnout of members for this great tasting. Zoltan Szabo made all the arrangements for the restaurant and for the wine collection.
The Wines: I did not taste all the wines, many were roaming around the room as there were only one or two bottles of each wine. However, I did have some names and prices of
some of these wines, and they are noted below as unrated and untasted.
 
ANTIQUE EUROPE
 
**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Puklus Pinceszet Tokaji Aszu 3 puttonyos 2010 $20.95 +980805 Vintages
-Purcari Chardonnay "1827" 2013 Moldova $16.50 Vintages TBD
 
***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Purcari Rara Neagra de Purcari "1827" 2013 Moldova $19.55 +426262 Vintages October
-Gitana Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 Moldova TBD CARTO Wines  info@cartowines.com
-Feteasca Neagra Monser 2012 $14 +315069 Vintages December
-J & J Eger Kekfrankos 2011 Hungary, ~$24.95 Trialto Liquid Art Consignment
-Garamvari Szolobirtok Balatonlellei Irsai Oliver 2013 Lake Balaton
$12.25 +12070 Vintages
-Orbelus Hrumki 2012: Early Melnik 30%, Mourvedre 30%, Marselan 30%, Syrah 10% Bulgaria   PO  Bogie's Best Imports
-Grasa de Cotnari 2013 $13.95 Romania +73205 Vintages April 2016
-Gilvesy Sauvignon Blanc 2013 Balaton Hungary  Nicholas Pearce np@npwines.com
-Lovico Winery Syrah/merlot 2013 Stambolovo Estate $15.05 Bulgaria www.vinatovin.com
-Lovico Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2011 $15.05 Bulgaria www.vinatovin.com
 
*** GOOD -- Three Stars (85 – 87 in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Lovico Winery Chardonnay 2013 $14.35 Bulgaria www.vinatovin.com
-Lovico Winery Kotta299 Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 $21.30 Bulgaria www.vinatovin.com
-Garamvari Szolobirtok Tokaji Yellow Muscat Semi-Sweet Puklus 2013 $15.95 +46508 Vintages
-Orbelus Melnik 2011 (organic) Early Melnik 86%, Grenache 9%, Petit Verdot 5% Bulgaria PO Bogie's Best Import
-Marani Saperavi Kakheti 2013 (Georgia) $15.95, +419382 Vintages
-Vranec Tikves 2012 Stobi (Republic of Macedonia),$13.95,+317297 Vintages
-Alazanis Valley Red S-sw 2013 Tbilvino (Georgia), $14.95, +142109 Vintages
-Cotnari Tamaioasa Romaneasca 2012/2010 Romania $13.95 off-dry +651653 Vintages Dec.
-Cramele Odobesti Sarba Monser 2013 Romania $14 +417006 Vintages
-Castel Mimi Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Moldova TBD CARTO Wines  info@cartowines.com
 
GREEK WINES
 
From Cavas Piliadis, all wines are at LCBO 200 Danforth Store (special Greek section)
 
**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Biblia Chora Ovilos 2012 Pangeon White [50assyr/50sem], $38.89 +151125
-Biblio Chora Plagios 2012 Pangeon White [85chard], $37.65 +151166
 
***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Katsaros Valos 2013, $32.80 +151216
-Ktima Brintziki Enipeas 2014 Pisatis [75roditis], $21.40 +151331
-Parparoussis The Gift of Dionysos 2014 Achaia [sideritis], $25.15 +151265
-Biblia Chora Areti White 2013 Pangeon [assyrtiko], $30.25 +151067
-Ktima Rhous Estate 2014 Crete White [80muscat], $27.45 +151372
-Brintziki Avgoustiatis 2011 Ilia, $27.70 +151356
-Parparoussis Petite Fleur Rose 2014 Achaia, $27.70 +151257
-Domaine Katsaros Chardonnay 2014 Krania, $21.40 +151208
-Ktima Rhous Skipper Red 2013 Crete [70kotsifali], $35.05 +151398
 
*** GOOD -- Three Stars (85 – 87 in Quality/Price Rating terms):
-Oenofilos Paraparousis 2011 Achaia [cab/merlot], $35 +151273
-Tselepos Canava Chrissou 2014 Santorini [assyrtiko], $42.60 +151323
-Biblio Chora Sole Pinot Noir 2012 Pangeon, $43.95 +151117
-Biblia Chora Ktima Rose 2014 Pangeon [syrah], $31.50 +151083
-Ktima Rhous Skipper White 2013 Crete [70vidiano], $32.50 +151380
 
Greek wines not tasted and thus not rated:
 
Brintziki Tinaktorogos   $22.65  +151349
Parparoussis Nemea Reserve  $50.19 +151299
Biblinos Oenos   $45.65  +151109
Biblia Chora Estate White  $30.25  +151141
Areti Red   $35.75 +151075
 
The Food: It was impossible to taste all the food against each and every wine, so we all made our own best choices. I did try for a comparison of two wines with each (a white or a red or the same colour). The Purcari Chardonnay 1827 seemed to be the most obvious choice since it was done up in a mid-Atlantic style as a crowd pleaser. The Plagios and Ovilos were pretty good even with the substantial food. I could not find the heavier Greek reds, so I stuck with the 2009 Cabernets which went better with food than when tasted on their own.
 
Food was presented family buffet style, beginning with Langos (Hungarian): leavened potato cake with Edam cheese and garlic chips. Followed by Tolma: cabbage rolls of lamb in a fenugreek tomato sauce, and skewers of Chicken hearts and livers with a walnut pomegranate sauce (Georgian) – which went with every single wine I tried.
Kalmakha: salad of oyster mushroom, bacon, green chilis, basil and cilantro, was very heavy but dynamite in flavour, best with the roses.
Ajapsandali (Georgian): eggplant potato and pepper stew was substantial, with the heavier reds.
Lobio: beans with corn onion and tarragon, and Beef goulash with caraway and paprika went with all forms of red.
Palacinky was for dessert: cheese and peach crepes, along with the unctuous Tokaji 3 puttonyos. This will be the last release of the 3 putts (and any 4 putts) as the Hungarian regulators have decided develop and promote only the 5 puttonyos level, and that is what will be imported to Ontario.
The Downside: it was a bit chaotic in the tasting, and resulted in my missing a few bottles. If we had had more time, a list could have been drawn up and that could have been used as a checklist.
The Upside: great foods from Cava; Chef Doug Penfold tried really hard to prepare a wide variety of substantial food for us.
The Contact Person: deantudor@deantudor.com
The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 91.
 
Chimo! www.deantudor.com

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