Wanted : A hard to find White Burgundy, which was really good but doesn't exist in our harsh Ontario wine climate...
Friday night I drove out to Oakville which is about 40 KM from Hamilton to pick up a wine that I was looking for.
Here is the LCBO details on it -
BOUCHARD PÈRE ET FILS LES COTEAUX DES MOINES BOURGOGNE 2005
VINTAGES 29769
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.95
13.5% Alcohol
Vol.Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Burgundy, France
By: Bouchard Pere & Fils
Release Date: May 12, 2007
Description: In 2005, the conditions in Burgundy were ideal for properly ripening Chardonnay. This resulted in wines, displaying wonderfully intense apple, mineral, pear and smoky notes. Enjoy this fruit-forward wine with roasted stuffed chicken.
As I mentioned in my 1010 article, I had tried this wine at Thanksgiving and really enjoyed it. According to the LCBO's database there were 8 bottles in stock at the Dundas & Trafalgar (Oak Park) location in Oakville. This was closest location to me with stock. After a forty minute drive I reached the store. I was impressed at the size of the LCBO, about the same size as the Ancaster location I usually shop at (though small compared to Prime wines in Kenmore).
I browsed through the Burgundy section and found three different Bouchard Pere & Fils (including the Petit-Chabis I had the 1010 last night and grabbed a bottle) but not the Bourgogne I was looking for. I hit the Vintages section a did some browsing but couldn't find it.
I did find that they had The Henry of Pelham 2005 Botrytis Affected Riesling (Vintages #534628 $34.95 for 375mL) in stock and grabbed a bottle to replace the one I tried about a month ago. Do yourself a favour and pick up one of these up, it is truly excellent - pair with a fruit based dessert (Apple is really good), cheese cake or any other non-chocolate based dessert, this will also go well with a Blue Cheese.
I noticed that the Riesling had a little sign that said "Melissa's pick" and thought to myself that Melissa has great taste. I also found a bottle of The Noble by D'Arenberg, it too is a Botrytis Affect Riesling, and picked it up. I ended up grabbing two bottles of D'Arenberg 2006 'Hermit Crab' Viognier (Vintages 662775, 750 mL bottle, Price: $ 16.95). I had the 2005 Hermit Crab three months ago and liked it.
I decided to find some help and grabbed a cashier who looked it up and then we went looking for it, no luck. She called another staff member over who happened to be 'the Melissa' who had a number of picks in the Vintages section. Melissa told me she was aware of the wine I was looking for, knew that the system had listed 8 bottles but had looked for them earlier and had no luck. I told her I drove in from Hamilton especially for this, she replied that I should have called first. I replied that I know the LCBO database can be out and if there were less than 6 bottles listed I would have called but figured with eight listed that I should have been safe. I wasn't happy.
To give Melissa credit, she handled this wonderfully - "Maybe I can recommend something similiar?"
As I had agreed with her pick on the Riesling earlier, I decided to see what she had to offer. We ended up back in the Vintages section and chatted, she said that 2005 was an excellent year for White Burgundy and then offered a Louis Jadot 2005 Bourgogne (Vintages 933077, 750 mL bottle, Price: $ 18.95) as replacement for what I was looking for. It was the same price as the Bouchard Pere & Fils and Louis Jadot is a large, well known producer so I grabbed 3 bottles.
We chatted some more and she also recommended a Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet 2005 (Vintages 51383, 750 mL bottle, Price: $ 64.95, 13.5% Alcohol, Vol.Sugar Content : XD, Made in: Burgundy, France). She said it was pricier than what I was looking for but if I liked California Chardonnay then I would love this. So I picked up a bottle, I have a couple of higher end California Chardonnays on the rack and thought that a dinner with two of them facing off might be fun. There was another wine by Joseph Drouhin beside this one called St. Romain Blanc 2005 (Vintages 590174, 750 mL bottle, Price: $ 28.95, 12.5% Alcohol, Vol.Sugar Content : XD, Made in: Burgundy, France) so on a whim picked one up.
I thanked Melissa for her help, paid for the wine and left. I didn't get what I wanted, but left feeling very excited about the wines I'd picked up.
Cheers!
Mark
Friday night I drove out to Oakville which is about 40 KM from Hamilton to pick up a wine that I was looking for.
Here is the LCBO details on it -
BOUCHARD PÈRE ET FILS LES COTEAUX DES MOINES BOURGOGNE 2005
VINTAGES 29769
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.95
13.5% Alcohol
Vol.Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Burgundy, France
By: Bouchard Pere & Fils
Release Date: May 12, 2007
Description: In 2005, the conditions in Burgundy were ideal for properly ripening Chardonnay. This resulted in wines, displaying wonderfully intense apple, mineral, pear and smoky notes. Enjoy this fruit-forward wine with roasted stuffed chicken.
As I mentioned in my 1010 article, I had tried this wine at Thanksgiving and really enjoyed it. According to the LCBO's database there were 8 bottles in stock at the Dundas & Trafalgar (Oak Park) location in Oakville. This was closest location to me with stock. After a forty minute drive I reached the store. I was impressed at the size of the LCBO, about the same size as the Ancaster location I usually shop at (though small compared to Prime wines in Kenmore).
I browsed through the Burgundy section and found three different Bouchard Pere & Fils (including the Petit-Chabis I had the 1010 last night and grabbed a bottle) but not the Bourgogne I was looking for. I hit the Vintages section a did some browsing but couldn't find it.
I did find that they had The Henry of Pelham 2005 Botrytis Affected Riesling (Vintages #534628 $34.95 for 375mL) in stock and grabbed a bottle to replace the one I tried about a month ago. Do yourself a favour and pick up one of these up, it is truly excellent - pair with a fruit based dessert (Apple is really good), cheese cake or any other non-chocolate based dessert, this will also go well with a Blue Cheese.
I noticed that the Riesling had a little sign that said "Melissa's pick" and thought to myself that Melissa has great taste. I also found a bottle of The Noble by D'Arenberg, it too is a Botrytis Affect Riesling, and picked it up. I ended up grabbing two bottles of D'Arenberg 2006 'Hermit Crab' Viognier (Vintages 662775, 750 mL bottle, Price: $ 16.95). I had the 2005 Hermit Crab three months ago and liked it.
I decided to find some help and grabbed a cashier who looked it up and then we went looking for it, no luck. She called another staff member over who happened to be 'the Melissa' who had a number of picks in the Vintages section. Melissa told me she was aware of the wine I was looking for, knew that the system had listed 8 bottles but had looked for them earlier and had no luck. I told her I drove in from Hamilton especially for this, she replied that I should have called first. I replied that I know the LCBO database can be out and if there were less than 6 bottles listed I would have called but figured with eight listed that I should have been safe. I wasn't happy.
To give Melissa credit, she handled this wonderfully - "Maybe I can recommend something similiar?"
As I had agreed with her pick on the Riesling earlier, I decided to see what she had to offer. We ended up back in the Vintages section and chatted, she said that 2005 was an excellent year for White Burgundy and then offered a Louis Jadot 2005 Bourgogne (Vintages 933077, 750 mL bottle, Price: $ 18.95) as replacement for what I was looking for. It was the same price as the Bouchard Pere & Fils and Louis Jadot is a large, well known producer so I grabbed 3 bottles.
We chatted some more and she also recommended a Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet 2005 (Vintages 51383, 750 mL bottle, Price: $ 64.95, 13.5% Alcohol, Vol.Sugar Content : XD, Made in: Burgundy, France). She said it was pricier than what I was looking for but if I liked California Chardonnay then I would love this. So I picked up a bottle, I have a couple of higher end California Chardonnays on the rack and thought that a dinner with two of them facing off might be fun. There was another wine by Joseph Drouhin beside this one called St. Romain Blanc 2005 (Vintages 590174, 750 mL bottle, Price: $ 28.95, 12.5% Alcohol, Vol.Sugar Content : XD, Made in: Burgundy, France) so on a whim picked one up.
I thanked Melissa for her help, paid for the wine and left. I didn't get what I wanted, but left feeling very excited about the wines I'd picked up.
Cheers!
Mark
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