Recap Of The NSLC's 2012 Port Of Wines Festival

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We attended the Saturday afternoon Grand Tasting at this year's Port of Wines Festival put on by the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation.  It is an annual event that we absolutely look forward to each year.  Who are we kidding?  Let's just call it what it is...it's our Christmas.  The event had modest beginnings back in the Nineties will less vendors and a smaller venue.  It is now an extremely successful event with a featured country/region each year.  This year's focus was on Chile.  Ten tables of Chilean wines that we were really looking forward to as it is such a value driven wine country.  Check out the full Event program here (note this link might disappear someday).

The weather was not cooperating with a lot of rain but the kind staff allowed us into the entry area of the Cunard Centre so we weren't drowned rats.  Bravo!  The layout of the room is tasting tables around the edge of the large room with tasting stations in the middle as well.  It flows pretty well (see below from the official guide).

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We decided to do the Portugal and Germany direction first to get some additional whites tasted first as we knew our palates would be exhausted by halfway around the room.  The Portuguese tables were mostly Port (not surprisingly) which we didn't try but there were a couple of Reds including the Fura Douro Red ($20) that was quite tasty though we didn't purchase it.  The German tables were mainly Rieslings (of course) and we found a couple of really nice ones that did the trick including the Blufeld Riesling ($15), which we did purchase.  It is a crisp and clean but not overly sweet which we loved.

The French table had a lot to offer.  There were many choices in the less than $30 and few really great ones. We selected four from this section.  The 2010 Gerard Bertrand Art De Vivre Minervois ($16) and the Languedoc ($16) as well as the 2010 Maison Brotte La Fiole Cotes-Du-Rhone ($15) and the 2010 Domaine Langlois-Chateau Saumur Rouge ($18).

Argentina had some great choices with a lot of great Malbec's of which we bought two; the 2008 Graffigna Grand Reserve Malbec ($20) and the 2008 Trapiche Finca Las Palmas Malbec ($20).  From the vast array of Chilean wines we purchased the 2010 Vina Maipo Gran Devocion Caremenere/Syrah ($19) and the 2011 G7 Reserva Carmenere ($15).  Two great wines that have a lot going for them.  Great value selections!

We selected on Kiwi wine one Pinot Noir, the 2011 The Ned Pinot Noir from Marlborough ($20).  The rest of the roster from New Zealand was slightly unmemorable.  The American wines were all over the map this year as well.  There were a variety of wines at every price point but nothing under $30 really jumped out at us, though the 2011 Chateau Ste. Michelle 14 Hands Hot To Trot ($22) made the short list but did not get purchased....that may have been an oversight on our part.  This decision may need to be reviewed.  Primal Roots ($17) was there which we have previously reviewed and enjoyed, but we didn't buy that one either.

Nova Scotia specifically and Canada in general were pretty well represented overall.  The Nova Scotian wines reflected the cool climate grapes we have here and the new Tidal Bay appellation.  The crisp and clean Tidal Bay's were really great to taste and we had some great highlights from the Sparkling wines which are standouts like the L'Acadie Vineyard Vintage Cuvee ($26), while we didn't buy this one it was delicious.  The Annapolis Highland Vineyards Blushing Bride Rose was also delicious.  From the rest of Canada the overwhelming stand out was the 2008 Sandhill Small Lots Barbera ($30).  Holy crap this was a great wine and at $30 totally worth the price, but was sold out by the time we got to the Event store....D'oh!

Again this year Spain had a small but fantastic selection of wines.  We purchased four wines from this table alone; 2010 Gandia Bo ($22), 2010 Faustino VII ($16), 2010 Bascula Catalan Eagle ($19), and the 2011 Bascula Turret Fields ($17).  Great wines and the winner table in our books.   

There were a few disappointments this year.  The price point on the Italian section was slightly on the high side.  Now, the wines were fantastic but the prices were well north of $30 to get that rich and luscious Italian wine taste.  The Australian table had a lot of wines in the right price range but we found the flavour profile fairly one dimensional on the Shiraz side.  Now, we could have had a flattened palate by that point but they really were all over ripe in our opinion, so sadly no selections were purchased from Oz.  There were exceptions to this of course but that was the impression we were left with.  The same goes for South Africa to a lesser extent.  While we were really looking forward to the Pinotage's that we knew would be on tap, the wines at our price point didn't have the complexity and mocha flavours we love about Pinotage were slightly disappointing.  They were thinner and less round than the ones we normally enjoy.  The one exception being the 2009 Beyerskloof Synergy ($29) but at the price point it was pushing the value scale so that one was not purchased.

Overall this was a good year for the Port of Wines Festival but not as great as other years we have attended, which this is our sixth consecutive.  Our standards are going up for the event, partially because of the Blog and since our palates have expanded and we are looking more critically at wines in our price range.  The good news after all of this tasting is that we will have a new crop of wines to try in 2013....Score!  We keep saying that one of these years we will get a full weekend pass in order to give the Whites and Sparklings their due but time being what it is we haven't had that chance.  But, there is always next year....

Can't wait for next year! 

Keep on tasting!

Chris & Shannon