Bill Tieleman is the Wine Barbarian, a Vancouver, BC wine drinker and collector who scorns wine snobs, is willing to drink 3rd growth Bordeaux with pizza and helps his friends find good, quaffable wine at reasonable prices. Based in Vancouver, Bill is also a communications consultant and political columnist and commentator.
Bill is an avid food lover and amateur cook who reviews restaurants and travel here too.
Did you know it's World Malbec Day today - April 17? Neither did I until a few weeks ago! But it's a great idea, because Malbec is a wonderful grape that deserves it's own day. Malbec Day has only happened the last two years and it may create a trend - of course, there are almost enough grape varietals for the 365 days of the year!
Norton
Colome
I recommend celebrating with Norton's Malbec Reserva 2010 from Argentina's Mendoza region - a fabulous wine that is both very reasonably priced at just $17.99 [on sale by $2 right now], very accessible with over 1,200 bottles in BC Liquor Stores and also in some private stores and best of all - it is #51 on the Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2012 - rated at 91 points out of a possible 100!
I enjoyed a bottle a few days ago and it is a remarkable value, full of berry, plum and smoky flavours.
But for my own Malbec Day dinner I'm going with another great 91 point wine - the Bodega Colome Estate Grand Altura 2010 from the Calchaqui Valley in Argentina - which the Wine Spectator promises is a suave, racy wine that will deliver game, crushed cherry andwild berry notes - all for $30 from BC Liquor Stores, who have only 176 bottles left! Happy Malbec Day! .
Two Hands Bella's Garden Barossa Valley Shiraz still on LDB shelves - 95 point wine ranked as #3 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2012 Many people in BC like to think of themselves as wine experts and savvy collectors - so why is one of the very best wines in the world still on BC Liquor Store shelves? Not only is it #3 on the Wine Spectator's Top 100 of 2012, it was also rated 95 points by Robert Parker, the other key wine critic in the world. At $80 clearly it's not cheap but neither was the extremely expensive 2009 Bordeaux [well overpriced in my opinion -and near impossible to get because of hyped frenzy buying]. And lots of cult California cabernets and other wines fly off the shelves - but this fabulous wine that I have enjoyed in previous and also highly rated vintages can still be found - 101 bottles are still listed in BC, including 55 in Metro Vancouver - though none in the city itself. My advice? Don't delay - some smart restaurant may just buy up the whole supply - and then charge $160 to $240 a bottle for this masterpiece! And I've already got mine in the cellar!
