Sharp Rich North

Chris Ryan: a skeptic vegan antitheist Canadian oenophile geek

Browsing Posts in Wine

Clear, pale-to-medium lemon-gold in the glass. Clean, medium-plus intensity citrus, slight floral, and apricot aromas. Dry, high acidity, again with lemon and stone fruit, along with a bit of fresh green apple and floral notes. Medium length and 13% alcohol. Overall very good; recommended—this is a very appealing nicely balanced Aussie Riesling. $30 at Crosstown. [...]


Ruby Blues Riesling 2010

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Clear, pale gold in the glass. Clean, medium intensity apple, stone fruit, and mineral aromas. Off-dry verging on medium sweet; high acidity and medium bodied, with a nicely balanced apricot, citrus, and an appealing minerality. Medium length with a nice lemony-sweet finish. 20% alcohol. Straightforward but enjoyable; overall good, and one of the better Mosel-style [...]


Terra Noble Reserva Merlot 2008

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In the glass this is clear, almost-deep ruby with a hint of purple. Nose is a clean, medium intensity black cherry and spice with a background of burnt oak and earthiness. Dry, medium acidity, and more tannins that I might have expected, with a medium body. In the mouth the black fruit again dominates, along [...]


Clear, pale lemon-gold appearance. Clean, medium intensity nose of grapefruit, ripe bananas and apple, and floral aromas. Dry, high acidity, and medium bodied; the tropical fruits really come out on the palate and there’s a hint of residual sugar along with apple, citrus, and a touch of white pepper. Nice balance, and good length; a [...]


Clear, medium ruby with a slight garnet/tawny rim. Medium intensity nose of cherry and wet earth, oak. Dry, medium acidity, medium body, low tannins. Dull-ish flavours of undistinguished red fruit, with some slight vegetal notes. Short finish. 12.5% alcohol. OK, but quite undistinguished; disappointing. This was a gift from my father, so I don’t know [...]


Clear, pale silver-straw in the glass. Clean, intense tropical fruits on the nose—grapefruit with lime—and a grassiness, almost a dry sage like some of the Okanagan wines have from time to time, along with a hint of the typical NZ green capsicum aroma. Dry, very dry, with high acidity of course, and a medium body. [...]


Clear, pale-plus lemon-gold in the glass. Clean, medium intensity floral-perfume aroma with a background of apple and mineral. Dry, high acidity, and light-plus body. The palate doesn’t reflect the nose, and is dominated by sharp minerality and lemon. Medium finish with lingering acidity. 12% alcohol. Straightforward and an enjoyable enough Alsatian Riesling, but a bit [...]


Clear, medium intensity ruby with a hint of purple and a slight garnet rim. Clean, medium intensity nose of black fruits, pepper, and tasteful woodiness: oak and earthy cedar. Dry, medium acidity and low to medium tannins; medium body. In the mouth black cherry dominates, with a smokiness and hints of Merlot red fruits in [...]


Clear, medium ruby with a garnet rim. Clean, medium nose of oak and cedar, peppers—both spice and vegetal—and black currant. Dry, medium acidity, and medium to pronounced tannins; light to medium body. More black cherry than currants in the mouth, with vanilla and perhaps white pepper; a hint of sweetness and oak, nicely balanced. Medium [...]


Clear, deep ruby with a slight garnet rim. Clean, medium intensity nose of earth, mint and oak. Dry, medium acidity with medium to high tannins; medium body. Nicely balanced black fruits, oak and cedar, and an underlying appealing earthiness. Medium length, with a high 14.5% alcohol, which doesn’t come through with as much heat as [...]