NEON CACTUS WINES

Stop in at Neon Cactus Wines
Friday, February 12 or Saturday, February 13.
Valentine’s tasting:
Wine & chocolate!
Taste some BUBBLY!
Wine makes a wonderful Valentine’s Day gift!

Quinta do Crasto Old Vines Reserva 2007
Grapes from 70-year-old, low-yielding vines of up to 30 different grape varieties are kept back for ageing in French and American oak barrels. A high proportion of the grapes used in the blend are foot trodden.

Brick red colour. Intense and lifted complex aromas of spices, cedar and vanilla combine with fresh dark wild berries and ripe blood plums. Elegant start, developing to a rich full and round palate of great balance. Displaying rich Douro berry fruit characters with integrated oak tannins and a very long finish. The wine may be consumed soon after its release but has the depth and concentration to cellar over the long term. This is a complex, powerful wine with great intensity and a richly textured palate. Bottled without any fining or filtration. $42.50*

Palazzo della Torre
Appellation: Veronese I.G.T.
Grapes: 70% Corvina Veronese, 25% Rondinella, 5% Sangiovese
Fresh juice obtained at harvest is blended with  juice from dried grapes, initiating a second fermentation resulting in a more concentrated, complex wine. The vintner refers to this as a “baby Amarone,” an approachable wine with its pleasant, fruity character and raisin-like qualities.
Pairs well with a wide range of foods, including full-flavoured pasta and risotto dishes. Also enjoy with roast veal, turkey and lamb, as well as with grilled meats such as barbecued chicken, steak or sausages. Excellent with mushrooms and hard and semi-hard cheeses. For maximum expression of fruit and flavour, serve at 18°C (65°F) in large red-wine goblets. $26.96*

Pinot Gris (synonym: Pinot Grigio), although popularly grown in other regions of the world, is a relatively new varietal in Australia. The name comes from the fact that the grapes have a grey (gris) colour to them which allows a range of styles to be produced from dry crisp whites to full, rich-textured styles.

In this wine, notice lifted aromatics reminiscent of quince, nashi pear and citrus flowers with freshness and vitality. A few tropical, guava-like notes add interest and complexity. Clean, crisp palate with full fruit and crisp acid combined with light phenolic structure that adds texture and length. Drink now but short-term cellaring will add further complexity and varietal definition. Excellent as an aperitif or with sushi and sashimi, this wine has an affinity for spice and chili so try it also with your favourite Chinese, Thai or Mexican food. $21.95*

At Neon Cactus Wines
on Friday, February 5
3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
we offered samples of
Charles Heidsieck Champagne,
Faustino I Tinto Gran Reserva,
and Dr. Loosen Riesling
with accompanying snacks!

Mike Longfield, agent for Select Wines, was on hand to present the wines and answer questions.

At Neon Cactus Wines
between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
on Friday, January 29
we held a Scottish event!

Have a look at the pictures.

Attendees tasted some Scotch
with accompanying snacks
including haggis!

We were entertained by a piper!

For the 11th consecutive year, Neon Cactus Wines held a successful Scotch tasting at Cochrane Men of Vision Pipes & Drums 11th Annual Robbie Burns Night!

Here are the pictures.

We have a selection of Scotch on sale at the store to make room for the new items that arrived for the event!

BRUICHLADDICH PEAT
Peat is a new multi-vintage bottling, matured in bourbon casks, that has been crafted to offer a heavily peated flavour with a hint of medicinal sea iodine. The bold packaging features an atmospheric image of the Rhinns of Islay. Taste vanilla wafers, pear, melon, cracked black pepper and smoke. $59.95*

BRUICHLADDICH WAVES
A mix of different ages of Bruichladdich matured in Bourbon and Madeira casks create an incredibly rich, medium-peated Scotch. The bold new pack design evokes the power of the Atlantic shores of Islay. Taste cranberry, dates, juniper berries, citrus tang and fresh mint. Wave after wave of layers of sweet fruit and smokey flavours. $54.95*

In addition to the previous two new Bruichladdichs, Neon Cactus Wines also carries Bruichladdich 20 Year Old  and:

BRUICHLADDICH ROCKS
An unpeated Islay single malt whisky of beguiling elegance and sophistication. Bruichladdich uses ultra-pure Islay spring water that has filtered through the oldest rocks in the whisky world ~ the 1800 million-year-old rocks upon which the distillery stands. This multi-dimensional bottling shows the purity of spirit distilled in Bruichladdich’s unique Victorian stills. Jim McEwan, the innovative brewer, suggests you try Rocks on ice. $56.50*

A beautifully crafted, complex single malt matured for at least 12 years in American and European oak casks of exceptional quality, all individually tended by an experienced team of coopers. The fragrance of the whisky is distinctively fresh and fruity ~ a delicate balance of the fruitiness of pear with the richness of subtle oak. Characteristic sweet, fruity notes on the palate develop into elements of butterscotch, cream, malt and subtle elegantly rounded oak flavours. Long, smooth and mellow finish. $46.95*

Gold Medal ~ 2007 International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC)

Coopers Creek Gisborne Malbec
Malbec has commenced a love affair with New Zealand. This forgotten grape from Bordeaux is thriving in the maritime climate. Warm, sunny days and cool nights produce fruit with stunning aromas, flavour and colour. This Malbec is a full-bodied, dry red wine, and is great matched with red meats, pasta and hard cheeses. $18.95*

Coopers Creek Gisborne Viognier
Stonefruit dominates the nose of this wine: peaches, nectarines, apricots. Mingled with this are floral notes (lemon flower and orange flower) backed by gentle spice notes.Viognier is a low-acid varietal so the palate is broad, rich and weighty. The wine coats the tongue from front to back and side to side and the finish lasts and lasts. The wine is technically dry, but the fruit character is so strong that it seems sweet. This adds to the flavour intensity and length. Drink this while it’s young and fresh with fish, white meats and salads. Also, a very good match for creamy mild chicken curries or butter chicken! $19.95*

“The Scots do not drink. During the whole of two or three pleasant weeks spent lecturing in Scotland, I never on any occasions saw whisky made use of as a beverage. I have seen people take it, of course, as a medicine, or as a precaution against illness, or as a wise offset against a rather treacherous climate, but as a beverage, never.

“There are seventeen reasons advanced in Scotland for taking whisky. They run as follows: Reason one, because it is raining. Two, because it is not raining. Three, because you are just going out into the weather. Four, because you have just come in from the weather. Five; no, I forget the ones that come after that. But I remember that reason number seventeen is ‘because it canna do ye any harm.’ On the whole, reason seventeen is the best.”

~ Stephen Butler Leacock, Ph.D , FRSC (1869 ~ 1944) Canadian writer and economist

“The Peacock,” released August 13,  2009, is the first in the “Icons of Arran” Limited Edition series.
 
The proud peacock that roams the grounds at the Isle of Arran Distillery has become an endearing symbol of Arran’s distinctive whisky. His vivid character is reflected in this glorious single malt, from 20 casks, chosen exclusively by Distillery Manager, James MacTaggart. This 1996 distillation, aged for 12 years, is typically Arran in style, with orchard fruits and rich vanilla sweetness followed by a spicy twist in the tail, resulting in a truly impressive display. $86.95*

Matured wholly in air-dried, hand-selected ex-bourbon casks, the ‘unashamedly excellent’ Old Pulteney 12-years-old is the definitive expression in the Old Pulteney family. Traditionally crafted using techniques that other distillers have long abandoned, this winner of numerous gold medals at the most prestigious international competitions is a high water-mark of quality spirits.

The colour is deep amber with a slight pink hue. Medium- to high-intensity nose with a hint of sea air. Dry, medium-bodied, smooth palate with a clean finish: faintly salty with a slight sherry note. Intricately balanced with a delicate mineral-salted spiciness, Old Pulteney is a distinctive and evocative spririt ~ truly the “Genuine Maritime Malt”! $64.95*

This is “The Quincentennial Malt” celebrating the 500th Anniversary of King James IV’s coronation.

The 1988 is a light, refreshing malt that exhibits all the quaffable characteristics of the Tullibardine family of single malts. With hints of vanilla on the nose and white chocolate in the finish, this is a well-mannered malt, an easy-going whisky that’s simply a pleasure to drink. Fine, rare, smooth and mellow. $92.95*

This nectar of life fuses single malt whiskies made from barley grown and malted from two geographically distant regions. The bulk of the barley originates at the feet of the great Himalayas and the rest is peated barley from Scotland, both mashed and distilled independently and matured in old and new American oak barrels at the Amrut Distillery (established 1948) in Bangalore, India. These special malts are combined to give your palate an exquisite fusion of East and West, denoting the spiritual values of Unity, Peace and Prosperity.
Tasting notes: Fresh oak, hints of vanilla and fruit with sublime peat on the nose. The taste is initially fruity, transcending to sheer delicacy of fruity peaty notes. The finish is long with the supremacy of the peat-fruit combination excellently balanced. $74.95*