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Fresh off my palate
Dinner with Guigal
Philippe Guigal and his new bride Eve were in
Vancouver
last week and we sat down to taste some of the
Rhone Valley's best at Five Sails. The family
owned
and run Guigal
was founded in 1946 by Etienne Guigal in Ampuis,
Cote Rotie.
Marcel, Philippe's father followed in his
footsteps and
now the
third generation (Philippe) continues the Guigal
traditions.
Over the course of dinner we
tasted the
remarkable Guigal Condrieu 2007 ($63) - a
fragrant
but elegant, crisp Viognier so unlike those
from the
new world and paired with small bites of tempura
asparagus dipped in soy in a word - delicious.
That was followed by the stunning
Condrieu 'La Doriane' 2007 ($110) which
showed its
earthy, complex, zesty spiced character
beautifully
and
paired well with the mushrooms and truffles I
was
eating.
The entry level (exceedingly good
value)
Cotes du Rhone 2005 ($24) was spicy,
garrigue and
sweet red berries with great acidity, perfect
for food
pairing.
The Cote Rotie 'Brune et Blonde' 2005
($175)
was a treat to taste - the amazing fruit,
raspberry and
blueberry aromas with leather and loads of
pepper
and minerality were apparent in this elegant,
iconic
wine. But perhaps my favourite red of the
evening was
the St.Joseph 'Vignes d'Hospice' 2006
($110),
Blackberry, leather and a hint of blueberry,
bacon fat
and spice - a powerful, addictive wine...
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Coming next: Wine Diva does
Oz...
Don't
forget to visit
winescores.ca
and winediva.ca for new wine reviews
every
day!
Pink and Cheeky...
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One would expect the Napa Valley to be about ten
times its size based on the world-wide
perception of it producing
dominant Cabernets. Even the word Napa
conjures power.
But it's not large - as you fly down the
Silverado Trail
or Hwy 29 - one stunning property after another
(names well-known) are signed by the road.
Some of
these properties are jaw-dropping, architectural
pieces of functional art while others are low
key
farmhouses. Driving through Napa is like walking
down Hollywood's walk of Fame and pointing
out one
famous name after another, "Look there's
Rubicon
Estate and Cakebread and Robert Mondavi...and
look
there's Opus One and Far Niente..." and so on
and so
on... link to 
