Anthony Gismondi: Top-notch California wines at select B.C. stores

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California takes the spotlight in B.C. liquor signature stores this month.

Beginning June 1, 17 designated signature stores will feature 30 specially selected luxury wines for those with deep pockets. Although California was an early entrant to the B.C. market, it seems like it took forever for the monopoly to recognize there would be as much interest in Golden State producers as there was in the annual release of the wines of Bordeaux.

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The prices are not for the faint of wallet, but they pale in the face of Burgundy and Bordeaux greats and some of Italy’s top wines, which have risen at lightning speed over the last decade. There is plenty of angst in the global wine business and umpteen reasons why sales are failing, but few ever mention ever-rising prices that no longer make sense to the average consumers who want to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner.

We advise turning luxury wines into a shared experience by gathering your wine-loving friends and splitting the cost of dinner and two or three bottles at home. This can significantly reduce the cost per person, allowing you to savour these wines without breaking the bank.

Here is a quick breakdown of the list. All the stores involved, including some pouring select wines, are at bcliquorstores.com. We couldn’t taste everything in the release, but here is a short look at what we did, plus some full reviews of others in our regular Weekend Picks.

There are two excellent Chardonnays in this release: Ridge Estate Chardonnay 2021, $110 a picture of complexity, with a rich hazelnut current running through its fine leesy textures, and Dumol Wester Reach Russian River Chardonnay 2022, $88, a wine that blends grapes from the valley and vineyards further west to the coolest reaches of the high-elevation coastal ridges. Look for multiple orchard fruits with electric acidity, pear wrapped around citrus-flavoured hazelnuts and pineapple.

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You can jump into two rich Sonoma reds from the Knights and Alexander and Valley: the Anakota Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, $119, and the Stonestreet Estate Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, $80. Anakota is a structured hit of blackcurrant and black cherries dusted in a savoury Sonoma mix of dried herbs. The Stonestreet is a slick, robust, muscular cabernet packed with blackberry, licorice, menthol, smoke and tobacco.

The Caymus Zinfandel, $60, sources fruit from across California. A sense of freshness here adds charm to a solid everyday Zin, reminiscent of a southern Rhone Grenache.

Schrader Cellars Double Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon at $135 is a strong effort, pitching black fruits and a dusting of dried herbs, vanilla, and wet stones. Complex, long, and inviting, this is Napa at its best.

The Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander’s Crown Single Vineyard 2019, $105.99, has been in and out of this market for decades, but 2019 may be the best yet. The replanting of the Crown vineyard has paid off, giving this wine new life — an opulent mountain wine with the Holy Grail of power and elegance.

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If money is no object, some of the other labels to look for and rarely seen in government stores include Kistler 2022 Les Noisetiers Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast, $110, Louis Martini 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Rosso, $149.99, Cathiard 2020 Founding Brothers Red Blend, $399.99, perhaps the quality for price pick are the Opus One 2018, Napa Valley, or 2019, $680, the Colgin 2018 IX Estate Historic Collection, $1,350, and Screaming Eagle 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon $5,000.00.

It’s fun to explore the outer edge of the wine business once in a while to see what’s out there, but worry not; we will return to wine for the people next week.

Weekend wine picks

All from California.

Caymus Zinfandel 2021, Napa Valley

$59.99 I 89/100

UPC: 17224730101

Founder Charlie Wagner Sr. was a big fan of Zinfandel, so the winery still produces a small amount of California Zinfandel yearly. The 2021 is a varietally correct packed full of bright red fruit flavours reminiscent of a southern Rhone Grenache. Look for crushed raspberries, some boysenberries, a touch of pepper, and moderate alcohol. There is a sense of freshness here, adding charm to this solid everyday zin that would be the perfect foil to a favourite pork rib recipe or a mushroom pizza.

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Schrader Cellars Double Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, Oakville, Napa Valley

$134.99 I 92/100

UPC: 086003282551

The 2021 Double Diamond cab is 100 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon that is only beginning to breathe at the three-year mark. It has that slick Napa persona, rich, ripe black cherry aromas, fruit and slippery tannins. Weighty and dense but with perfectly balanced tannins, it is awash in black fruits and a dusting of dried herbs, vanilla and wet stones. Complex, long, and inviting, this is Napa at its best — close to over the top but not quite. It is drinkable now, but it will age effortlessly through 2030.

Dumol Wester Reach Russian River Chardonnay 2022, Russian River, Sonoma County

$118.99 I 94/100

UPC: 814460010529

This wine blends fruits from the Russian River Valley and vineyards further west to the coolest ‘reaches’ of the high-elevation coastal ridges. As you might expect, it is reflected in the wine, from broad orchard fruit to electric acidity, pear and a rich, honeyed texture wrapped around citrus-flavoured hazelnuts and pineapple. It’s tight enough for the fans but rich enough to capture the California wine market. Classy California.

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Ridge Lytton Springs 2021, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County

$87.99 I 93/100

UPC: 744442901005

If there is an authentic California cult wine, my vote goes to Lytton Springs, given its ridiculous level of quality year in and year out and Ridge’s price restraint. The blend is a complex mix of 72/15/9 Zinfandel/Petite Sirah/Carignane with a sprinkling of Alicante bouschet, Cinsaut, and Counoise. Red licorice, crushed strawberries and black pepper lead smoky, meaty notes with bright acidity and dense sweet tannins that carry the finish. This wine will age effortlessly for a decade, but you can enjoy it yearly as it fattens up and feathers out at the edges.

Stonestreet Estate Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County

$79.99 I 92/100

UPC: 737038001500

If you have ever wondered what Cabernet smells like when perfectly ripe, this 2018 Stonestreet would be the one. It is always a mix of the best Cabernet Sauvignon grown at Stonestreet’s Monument Ridge and the Mayacamus Mountains at the large Alexander Mountain Estate, only a portion of which is planted in 235 individual blocks. Savoury and aromatic, translation Alexander Valley, the fruit sets the stage for a slick, robust, muscular Cabernet packed with blackberry, licorice, menthol, smoke and tobacco. In 2018, the weather gods co-operated, and this wine has risen to a quality level that reflects its price.

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Calendar items

The annual B.C. Seafood Festival returns to the Mount Washington Alpine Resort on Vancouver Island from June 21-23. The Comox Valley is well known for its culinary bounty from the farms and sea and is Canada’s largest producer of oysters. This year’s festival promises an exciting lineup of top chefs, interactive booths, tastings, and the popular Fanny Bay oysters shucking competition. The festival will again feature a variety of interactive booths and tastings, showcasing the best of sustainable B.C. seafood, dozens of events, and top talent musicians. Among the new events are Show Me Your Mussels! Lunch, Late Riser — The Art of Making a Seafood Breakfast Roll and a Leaning Towers of Seafood master class. For more information and tickets online, go to bcseafoodfestival.com.

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Provence Marinaside’s very popular Lobster Festival returns for year eight throughout June. Owner and executive chef Jean-Francis Quaglia says, “In Marseille, where I grew up, there was always a celebration of the various seasonal catches. Something similar happens in P.E.I. and Nova Scotia with their traditional lobster boils. In that spirit of seasonality, we started offering our Lobster Festival in 2015.” The special three-course menu costs $89 per person, with the optional two-course wine pairing at $36. Full menus and reservations are at provencemarinaside.ca.

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B.C. wine of the week

LaStella Vivace Pinot Grigio 2023, Okanagan Valley

$22 I 90/100

UPC: 808755017256

If you are a Pinot Gris fan, one of the best in B.C. and a best value is LaStella Vivace. We want to say Vivace is not your grandmother’s Gris. Vibrant and showy, it is grown and managed to be picked early from cooler sites, and it yields a wine with lively, relatively low alcohol. Look for zesty lime notes on the nose dusted with desert sagebrush. The palate is a citrus, saline, mineral affair that finishes with Granny Smith apples and notes of citrus zest. Clean and fresh but not simple, it was made for summer seafood. Sold at the winery, Marquis Wine Cellars and Everything Wine.

Value wine of the week

El Petit Bonhomme Tinto Monastrell – Garnacha – Syrah 2022, Jumilla, Valencia and Murcia, Spain

$19.99 I 89/100

UPC: 8437005068711

El Petit Bonhomme sources its fruit from 55 per cent, 30-year-old Monastrell, 30 per cent Garnacha, and 15 per cent Syrah bush vines and the harsh climate of Jumilla in southwest Spain. Canadian winemaker Natalie Bonhomme says the label is “made with the same zeal that we produce all our wines, which is to create approachable wines of quality that over-deliver for the price.” I agree. The yields are easy to control in Jumilla due to the lack of water, which gives the wine a concentration you seldom see at this price point. As mentioned, I enjoy the quality: price ratio that gives this spicy workhorse weekday red a well-earned place at the dinner table. Ready to drink.

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