Scary Wines

15 adventurous and hardy Wine Swines gathered on Halloween for the "scary wine tasting". Interesting food accompaniments added to the general festive atmosphere.

We had two whites and five reds. The scary part turned out to be either the name or the label.

First white - p/m to m gold. Nose starts out nutty, tutti frutti smell develops and gets stronger. l/m acid, some residual sugar, tangerine melon flavour and a nutty finish. 14 pts. This was the 2006 Beck Hartweg Pinot Gris "Frankstein Vineyard" from Alsace. $30.

Second white - m to m/d gold. Smoky toasty nose, with hints of rubber. Some say the dreaded perm solution. m acid, rubbery taste, some apple and citrus. 14.5 pts. This was the 2005 Black Widow Pinot Gris from BC. About $20. This wine was bought a couple of years ago and has really changed. I really thought it was a Riesling, the rubbery note wtih some apple would have made it a fine example. Pinot Gris would have been far down the list of possibles.

First red - d ruby. Nose is raisiny and toasty, with notes of clove and cinnamon. A bit heavy handed on the oak. l/m to m acid, similar tannins, ripe dark berry fruit. Not as ripe as I expected from the nose. Oak is heavy on the fnish. 13 pts. This was the 2007 Twisted Oak "River of Skulls", a rhone blend. About $25.

Second red - inky. Nose is sweet coconut and dk cherry, but overall fairly light. l/m t m acid, similar tannins, nice cherry berry fruit and restrained oak but quick finish. 13.5 pts. This was the 2006 Bogle Phantom, mostly petit sirah. $16.

Third red - d ruby. Nose is smoky, bit of burnt rubber. l/m acid, l/m to m tannins, dk plum and smoky notes. Fairly long finish. 15 pts. This was from Washington, an Owen Roe "Sinister Hand", a rhone blend. $23.

Fourth red - d ruby. Nose is a mix of vanilla, dark bramble and currant. l/m to m acid, l/m tannins, red berry fruit and a hint of stalk. Nicely structured. 15.5 pts. This was the 2006 Dead Letter Office Shiraz from Australia. $20.

Fifth red - inky. Nose is raisiny and ripe. l/m acid, m tannins, rich ripe brambly fruit with integrated oak. 15 pts. This was the 2007 Orin Swift "The Prisoner" zin. $35.

The Prisoner got 4 first place and three second place votes, so it was the overall winner. The Frankstein Vineyard Pinot Gris got 4 first place and two second place votes, so it was a close second. The Dead Letter Office Shiraz got three first place and five second place votes, so it came third.

The least favourite was the Black Widow with five negative votes (the perm solution thing is not a big seller). However, the first two reds were not popular either and each got 4 negative votes.

There you have it. Another fabulous event.