Category Archives: Vineland

When experts break wine together

Wine tasting

The experts broke down 33 wines in five flights, progressing through Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Red Blends and culminating in a friendly blind tasting competition round, each table of seven for themselves.
Photo: Jeanne Provost/Fotolia.com

as seen on canada.com

With frozen Pond Inlet at Brock University as the backdrop to the 25th anniversary of the Cuvée 2014 Expert’s Tasting, 160 industry professionals gathered to break wine together. The original congress in 1989 might have heard the whisper, “si tu id aeficas, ei venient.” Fast forward to 2014 and Dr. Linda Bramble references Phil Alden Robinson’s declaration in Field of Dreams, “if you build it they will come.” Come they have, for 25 years running.

Dr. David Bergen spoke about the history of Niagara wines meeting the world and the movement towards what would eventually become VQA. He complemented Niagara’s true sense of community as an industry. Dr. Bergen was himself a vinous pioneer, having been a part of a group of other wine geeks back in the 1980’s tagged the PDU or, the Port Dalhousie Underground.

On the après, après, après Cuvée foggy (not the weather) morning of Saturday, March 1st there was ’89esque Steel Wheels Tour electricity in the air, waiting for the band to come on stage. The feeling was palpable, on a Bodhi guide to parochial wine enlightenment, through an aggregate of palate harmony and a caucus of local knowledge. Glass (a VQA Promoters Award decanter to be specific) was even broken, as if a Semitic bride and groom had spoken their vows to signal the reception’s begin. They had come from Niagara near, they had travelled from Ontario, Quebec, New York and beyond far. All for the purpose of tasting a covey of blindly, though anything but randomly chosen flights that have helped to define and will see to advance the future of Niagara’s viticulture industry.

CCOVI Brock U Expert's Tasting 2014

PHOTO: Michael Godel
CCOVI Brock U Expert’s Tasting 2014

There were Brock University Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute luminaries, including Dr. Bramble, Dr. Janet Dorozynski , Dr. Belinda Kemp, Barbara Tatarnic and Brock’s Brian Hutchings, Vice-President, Finance and Administration. Wine Country Ontario’s Magdalena KaiserSmit, Quebec’s Véronique Rivest, winemakers and winery leaders filled the room. WineAlign was well represented by David Lawrason, Sara d’Amato and Steve Thurlow. I spoke at length with Bryan Calandrelli, winemaker at Freedom Run Winery on Friday night about the Cuvée weekend. His thoughts returned again and again to Niagara’s sense of community. That and a depth of quality are what separate the region from its American brethren in Niagara, the Finger Lakes and Long Island.

The 2014 edition of the Experts Tasting was different. The room was packed. I’m not sure there was a single empty chair. This year a larger group of Toronto Sommeliers made the trip, including Will Predhomme, Christopher Sealy, Bruce Wallner, Lori O’Sullivan, Joel Wilcox, Michelle Paris, Craig MacLean, Marissa Kelly, Joshua Corea, Rebecca Meir Liebman and Emily Bibona. City chefs joined in, including Ortolan’s Daniel Usher and the Cheese Boutique’s Afrim Pristine. Forging a tasting relationship with a core of Toronto’s most passionate wine dealers is both brilliant and necessary, for all parties involved.

Riesling Flight CCOVI Brock U Expert's Tasting 2014

PHOTO: Michael Godel
Riesling Flight CCOVI Brock U Expert’s Tasting 2014

The experts broke down 33 wines in five flights, progressing through Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Red Blends and culminating in a friendly blind tasting competition round, each table of seven for themselves.

Studying wine in a setting and with a structure like the Expert’s Tasting presents a constructible universe in infinitary logics. In the bubble of a cozy room like the Pond Inlet “every set will arise in the construction process…. In infinitary logic, there are far more than only countably many formulas, and one can cook up a formula to define a specific set, by using the formulas that define its elements.” There are limitless boundaries and infinite possibilities allowed when attempting to identify, describe and define the wines at such a blind tasting. The latitude afforded, the manifest humility and the cooperation leading to revelation combines for an exhale of the most relaxed kind.

The #CCOVI event also celebrates the year’s VQA Promoters and lives that were lived. The 2014 awards were handed out to William Mancini, Lloyd Schmidt, Erik Peacock, Shawn McCormick, David Lawrason and posthumously, care of his wife Rose Lamas-Churchill, to David Churchill. Charles Baker of Stratus Vineyards had the difficult task of reminding the Niagara community of friends lost in 2013, Gerry Ginsberg & Barbara Ritchie. Baker then spoke about Churchill, the long time VINTAGES writer and LCBO lab tasting room director. It was David who granted me entrance into the lab in 2012. I will always be grateful.

Here are notes on the first two flights at the Expert’s Tasting.

FLIGHT #1 – ARE YOU EXPERIENCED

Clockwise from left: Charles Baker Riesling Picone Vineyard 2012, Rosewood Estates Riesling 2011, Ravines Wine Cellars Riesling Argetsinger Vineyard 2011, The Foreign Affair Riesling 2010, Charles Baker Riesling Picone Vineyard 2009, Charles Baker Riesling Picone Vineyard 2006, and Cave Spring Cellars Riesling CSV 2003
Clockwise from left: Charles Baker Riesling Picone Vineyard 2012, Rosewood Estates Riesling 2011, Ravines Wine Cellars Riesling Argetsinger Vineyard 2011, The Foreign Affair Riesling 2010, Charles Baker Riesling Picone Vineyard 2009, Charles Baker Riesling Picone Vineyard 2006, and Cave Spring Cellars Riesling CSV 2003

Presented by writer Rick VanSickle, winesinniagara.com with an ode to Jimi Hendrix and also, curiously to Taylor Swift. The absurdity of the duet mirrored the .429 (three for seven) batting average of Charles Baker Picones being passed into the flight by the CCOVI panel. That and a comedic pathos to soften the cumulative, piercing acidity of the Riesling gathering. An auspicious beginning. Not to be ignored were Rick’s improbable choice of kitsch props. Ice broken. Rick’s apocalyptic take? “I love the smell of Riesling in the morning. Riesling is the bomb.”

Charles Baker Riesling Picone Vineyard 2012, VQA Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula (241182, $35, WineAlign)

Baker’s iconic child yet breathes in unsettled, spumous emission from out of a warm vintage. So primary and such a hard act to follow. Vanguard Vinemount Ridge, arid as the desert and citrus, carbonic tight. Treated with cool, cooler and colder methods to seek result and strike balance in an opulent, lees-appertained, tangy finish. A Picone that says I don’t live today, so it is told and canvassed, “uh, get experienced, are you experienced?”  91  Tasted March 2014 @cbriesling

Enfant emblématique de Baker respire encore en suspens, l’émission spumeux de l’extérieur d’un millésime chaud. Alors primaire et un acte difficile à suivre. Vanguard Vinemount Ridge, aride comme le désert et les agrumes, serré carbonique. Traités à l’aide des méthodes les plus froids et les plus froids frais de rechercher résultat et bilan de la grève dans un, lies-appartenu, finition piquante opulent. Un Picone qui dit que je ne vis pas aujourd’hui, il est dit, et avait prospecté, “euh, se connu, Are You Experienced?”  Dégusté Mars 2014

Rosewood Estates Riesling 2011, VQA Beamsville Bench (Winery, $16, WineAlign)

Single (21 Street) Vineyard, clone-focused, superior Twenty Mile Bench fruit steals its way into the flight. Seltzer dry, austere and asking, can you see me? Pumps up its volume with an off-dry request, in pineapple, white flowers and a bite of yellow plum. Tied together by a thumping, Noel Redding bass line. Definitive, affordable stuff. For the Bench, “you can see in the future of a thousand years.”  88  Tasted March 2014  @Rosewoodwine

Simple (21 rue) Vignoble, clone axé, supérieure Twenty Mile Bench fruit vole sa place dans le vol. Seltzer sec, austère et demander, pouvez-vous me voir? Pompes son volume avec une demande de demi-sec, de l’ananas, de fleurs blanches et un morceau de prune jaune. Attachés ensemble par un bruit sourd, Noel Redding ligne de basse. Définitive, trucs abordable. Pour la Chambre, “vous pouvez voir dans le futur de mille ans.”  Dégusté Mars 2014

Ravines Wine Cellars Riesling Argetsinger Vineyard 2011, Finger Lakes, New York (winery, $24.95)

The Ravines ringer that dwells high above the shore of Seneca Lake is conspicuous for being of the oldest Riesling vineyards in New York’s Finger Lakes. The limestone soils on one hand apply swift, lean minerality and prickling flower aromas, on the other a drix sense of verboten. Did Argetsinger come to add love or confusion? “Would I be truthful, yeah, in, uh, in choosin’ you as the one for me?” The winemaker would ask to wait 10 years to reel in this Riesling’s wonders. In its current stark, dry as a bone (three g/L residual) state, it’s all lime and minerals. Though they tell each other “we are never getting back together again,” perhaps time will tell if the Jimi and the Taylor in this Riesling can coexist.  89  Tasted March 2014  @ravineswine

The Foreign Affair Riesling 2010, VQA Niagara Peninsula (127290, $24.95, WineAlign)

Older, bolder, warmer, darker. In 2010 this retrofits 10% NP dried grapes in the Venetian appassimento method. The rubric sees to an early showing of secondary notes, pushed along by 20 g/L of residual sugar. Wholly unique Riesling with “strange beautiful grass of green, with your majestic silver seas.” The most hydrated in the flight (ironic, no?) and this in spite of a third stone from the sun vintage. Up on the Vinemount Ridge.  87  Tasted March 2014  @wineaffair

Plus ancien, plus audacieux, plus chaud, plus sombre. En 2010, ce rétrofit 10% de raisins secs NP dans la méthode de appassimento vénitien. La rubrique voit un indice précoce de notes secondaires, poussés le long de 20 g / L de sucre résiduel. Riesling tout à fait unique avec des “étrange belle herbe de vert, avec vos majestueux mers argent.” Le plus hydratée dans le vol (ironique, non?) Et ce en dépit d’une troisième pierre à partir du millésime de soleil. Sur la Vinemount Ridge.  Dégusté Mars 2014

Charles Baker Riesling Picone Vineyard 2009, VQA Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula (241182, $35, WineAlign)

In a struck match state of mind, crazy enough to set a guitar on fire, onstage. The burning smell is infectious and dangerous but the palate heads to higher notes, in honey and at the 22nd fret of top E, string bent. Notable that this tough, economically not-viable vintage was stopped at a natural residual sugar of 21 g/L, 50 per cent higher than in 2012. In that sense this is old-school Baker, closer to mother Germany and not yet the current incarnation of the winemaker’s Vinemount Ridge oeuvre. Alright, in 2009 “I have only one burning desire” Picone, “let me stand next to your fire.”  90  Tasted March 2014

Dans un état de concordance frappé d’esprit, assez fou pour mettre une guitare sur le feu, sur scène. L’odeur de brûlé est contagieux et dangereux, mais les têtes de palais à des notes plus élevées, dans le miel et à la case 22 de haut E, chaîne pliée. À noter que ce millésime difficile, économiquement pas viable a été arrêté à un sucre résiduel naturel de 21 g / L, 50 pour cent de plus qu’en 2012. Dans ce sens, c’est la vieille école Baker, plus proche de la mère et de l’Allemagne n’est pas encore l’incarnation actuelle de Vinemount Ridge l’œuvre du vigneron. Bon, en 2009: «Je n’ai qu’un seul désir brûlant” Picone, “laissez-moi me tiens à côté de votre feu.”  Dégusté Mars 2014

Charles Baker Riesling Picone Vineyard 2006, VQA Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula (241182, $35, WineAlign)

Only Charles can follow Charles, as only Jimi could follow Jimi. Just ask Peter Townshend. The combined forces of vintage, off-dry level of residual sugar (23.9 g/L) and age have ushered this Picone into a realm of adipose, butyraceous, chewy texture. The ’06 is emblematic of its time, stunning, psychedelic, experienced. It speaks clearly and with conceit. Tasting it eight years on you can hear Baker’s 2006 voice saying “if you can just get your mind together uh-then come on across to me.” We have and continue to follow Charles, and we are paying close attention to every vintage along the ride.  93  Tasted March 2014

Seulement Charles peut suivre Charles, comme Jimi ne pourrait suivre Jimi. Il suffit de demander Peter Townshend. Les forces combinées de cru, le niveau de sucre résiduel (23,9 g / L) et l’âge-sec ont inauguré ce Picone dans un royaume de tissu adipeux, butyraceous, texture moelleuse. Le ’06 est emblématique de son temps, à l’étourdissement, psychédélique, connu. Il parle clairement et avec orgueil. Goûter huit ans, vous pouvez entendre la voix de 2006 Baker disant «si vous ne pouvez obtenir votre esprit ainsi uh-alors venir sur vers moi.” Nous avons et continuons de suivre Charles, et nous prêtons attention à chaque millésime le long de la promenade.  Dégusté Mars 2014

Cave Spring Cellars Riesling CSV 2003, VQA Beamsville Bench  (winery, $50, WineAlign)

Mind bending to taste a piece of recent history, a Riesling rooted in the rocks, blues and pop of the limestone, sandstone and shale Bench, but a wine also futuristic, distorted and soulful. From 25 plus year-old vines, this foxy lady has entered into true, secondary territory. She’s softened and her perfume is cast in vanilla butterscotch so much so she might mess with tasters’ minds in a flight of oaked Chardonnay. She’s “a cute little heartbreaker.”  92  Tasted March 2014  @CaveSpring

Esprit de flexion de déguster un morceau de l’histoire récente, un Riesling enracinée dans les roches, de blues et pop de la pierre calcaire, grès et schiste Banc, mais un vin aussi futuriste, déformée et soulful. De 25 plus ans vignes, cette dame rusée a conclu vrai, territoire secondaire. Elle s’adoucit et son parfum est coulé dans la vanille caramel tellement qu’elle pourrait salir avec les esprits de dégustateurs dans un vol de Chardonnay boisé. Elle est «un peu crève-coeur mignon.”  Dégusté Mars 2014

FLIGHT #2 – THE NEW ABC – APPEALING BALANCED CHARDONNAY

Clockwise from left: Flat Rock Cellars Chardonnay 2012, Fielding Estate Chardonnay Estate 2012, G. Marquis Chardonnay The Silver Line 2011, Kittling Ridge Chardonnay Barrel Fermented 2012, Cave Spring CSV Estate Bottled Chardonnay 2010, Rosewood Estates Chardonnay Reserve 2009, and Stratus Chardonnay 2010
Clockwise from left: Flat Rock Cellars Chardonnay 2012, Fielding Estate Chardonnay Estate 2012, G. Marquis Chardonnay The Silver Line 2011, Kittling Ridge Chardonnay Barrel Fermented 2012, Cave Spring CSV Estate Bottled Chardonnay 2010, Rosewood Estates Chardonnay Reserve 2009, and Stratus Chardonnay 2010

Presented by James Treadwell, Sommelier, Treadwell Farm-To-Table Cuisine. Treadwell so astutely refers to Chardonnay as the “polarizing varietal,” the one so many love to love, and love to hate. What turned out to be so striking was the newer to older, first to last ascendency of glycerin and extract. In just a few short years, Niagara Chardonnay has undergone a rapid change and increasingly speaks in a cool climate vernacular.

Flat Rock Cellars Chardonnay 2012, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula (681247, $16.95, WineAlign)

Has spent some quality time and knows its way around a barrel but its attitude is young, fresh and alive. From 12 and 13 year-old estate vines and kissed by only 15 per cent new oak. “But here’s a funky fact that I know is real.” Flat Rock’s Chardonnays are red-hot and this fresh-faced ’12 has “baby appeal.” Blatant, colorable value on the Twenty.  89  Tasted March 2014  @Winemakersboots

A passé du temps de qualité et connaît son chemin autour d’un baril, mais son attitude est jeune, fraîche et vivante. De 12 et 13 ans vignes du domaine et embrassé par seulement 15 pour cent de chêne neuf. “Mais voici un fait génial que je sais, c’est vrai.” Les chardonnays de Flat Rock sont d’un rouge ardent et cette ’12 frais face a “appel de bébé.” Flagrante, valeur colorable sur la vingt.  Dégusté Mars 2014

Fielding Estate Chardonnay Estate 2012, VQA Beamsville Bench (355842, $21.95, WineAlign)

Heavy lees and a charitable, warm temperature barrel ferment have imparted greenhouse humidity into this soft, lush Chardonnay, outgoing in personality. Effortless and easy to love if not perceptibly cerebral, though a mineral streak channels equality and “a delicate balance.” To some this may just feel like spinning plates but take the time to get to know Richie Robert’s wine and music on the radio your head will find.  89  Tasted March 2014  @FieldingWinery

Lies lourdes et un organisme de bienfaisance, chaude température baril ferment ont conféré humidité de la serre en cela, Chardonnay luxuriant doux, sortant de la personnalité. Sans effort et facile d’aimer si pas sensiblement cérébrale, mais une égalité de chaînes minérale à balayage et “un équilibre délicat.” Pour certains, cela peut tout simplement envie de tourner les plaques, mais prendre le temps d’apprendre à connaître le vin et la musique de Richie Robert sur la radio de votre tête trouverez.  Dégusté Mars 2014

G. Marquis Chardonnay The Silver Line 2011, Single Vineyard Niagara Stone Road, VQA Niagara On The Lake (258681, $17.95, WineAlign)

Big, big wine in bold expression. Enveloped by well-judged oak. Might lack just a bit of cohesion, layering and synchronicity. Otherwise really fine effort from the Magnotta world. From earlier notes: “Some extra credit is awarded for a wine that knows its place, in this case the watershed of the Niagara Stone Road. Though faint, the impart of minute shells and rock fragments from an ancient sea-washed down from the escarpment has found its way into the Silver Line. The reality is that the dominant aroma is that of popcorn butter drizzled over top Niagara River stones. Opulent and tropical while at the same time like chewing on pomaded pop rocks. Works the wet and acidified vintage well with a healthy dose of the barrel.” From my previous note: “Streaks across and plays a lick on atomic 16 rails at breakneck speed, all the while jonesing for of a slice of custard pie. “It’s sweet and nice” with lead, nuts and spice. The G. might stand for grateful or great, as in value.”  88  Tasted October 2012, February and March 2014  @GMarquisWines

Grand, grand vin dans l’expression audacieuse. Enveloppé par un boisé bien jugé. Pourrait manquer un peu de cohésion, la superposition et la synchronicité. Sinon effort vraiment beau du monde Magnotta. De précédentes notes: “Certaines cartes de crédit supplémentaire est accordé pour un vin qui sait sa place, dans ce cas, le bassin versant de la Stone Road Niagara Bien que faible, l’confèrent des coquilles minute et de fragments de roche à partir d’une ancienne mer arrosés de l’escarpement a. trouvé sa place dans la ligne d’argent. La réalité est que l’arôme dominant est celui de pop-corn au beurre arrosé sur les pierres supérieures de la rivière Niagara. tout Opulent et tropical dans le même temps comme mâcher sur les rochers de la pop pommadés. Travaux du millésime humide et acidifié bien avec une bonne dose de canon “. De ma note précédente: “. Séries partout et joue un coup sur atomiques 16 rails à une vitesse vertigineuse, tout en jonesing pour d’une part de tarte à la crème” Il est doux et gentil “avec plomb, de noix et d’épices Le G. pourrait se tenir. pour reconnaissant ou grande, comme la valeur “.  Dégusté Octobre 2012, Février et Mars 2014

Kittling Ridge Chardonnay Barrel Fermented 2012, VQA Niagara Peninsula (367862, $16.95, WineAlign)

From many miles away within a single vineyard along the Merrit Road, this KRC is akin to a mini-Lenko, in high-tone toast and micro-Pender like by way of a comparison to his treatment of Daniel’s fruit in 2011. Wild, piercing ray of unbroken Beamsville laser vision hits a wall of lees within the barrel to settle quietly upon the can’s floor. Buttered niblets are the warm and comfortable conclusion.  87  Tasted March 2014

De nombreux miles de distance dans un seul vignoble le long de la route de Merrit, ce KRC s’apparente à un mini-Lenko, en haut ton pain et micro-Pender comme par le biais d’une comparaison à son traitement de fruits de Daniel en 2011. Sauvage, rayons perçant ininterrompue vision laser Beamsville frappe un mur de lies dans le canon de régler tranquillement sur le plancher de la boîte. Niblets beurre sont la conclusion chaleureux et confortable.  Dégusté Mars 2014

Cave Spring CSV Estate Bottled Chardonnay 2010, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula (529941, $29.95, WineAlign)

Citrus meet butter. From oldest (36-40 year-old), lowest-yielding vines on Cave Spring’s stony, limestone, rich clay, overlying shale and sandstone soils, this CSV sashays out in depeche mode. The oak, lees, malolactic, batonage and assemblage is nothing short of mad science meets high fashion. “Don’t take this way, don’t take that way. Straight down the middle until next Thursday. Push to the left, back to the right, twist and turn ’til you’ve got it right.” Builds up slowly, scales back in restraint and with only 60-65 per cent barrel ferment in 2010, it set out to get the balance right and succeeded. The definitive CSVC study.  91  Tasted March 2014

Citrus répondent beurre. Du plus ancien (36-40 ans), les vignes sur la pierre de Cave Spring, le calcaire, l’argile riche, recouvrant schiste et de grès sols plus bas rendement, ce CSV flâne dans depeche mode. Le chêne, lies, fermentation malolactique, bâtonnage et assemblage n’est rien de la science folle rencontre la haute couture. “Ne prenez pas de cette façon, ne prenez pas de cette façon. Droite au milieu jusqu’à jeudi prochain. Poussez vers la gauche, vers la droite, tourner et tourner jusqu’à ce que tu as raison.” S’accumule lentement, échelles de retour en retenue et avec seulement 60-65 pour cent baril ferment en 2010, il a entrepris de trouver le bon équilibre et réussi. L’étude CSVC définitif.  Dégusté Mars 2014

Rosewood Estates Chardonnay Reserve 2009, VQA Beamsville Bench (winery, $28, WineAlign)

One of then winemaker Natalie Spytkowsky’s under the radar and unsung oeuvres out of the estate’s Renaceau Vineyard. A wild ferment, full-out malolactic and French oak barrel thang, beginning to show some age, like a well-made, dirty martini for a hard living brat pack. Sappy, herbal resin leads this ’09 into anointed autumn ripeness. It was and is a 14 per cent, 4.2 g/L, small lot (125 cases) piece of Beamsville history.  88  Tasted March 2014

Un de puis vigneron Natalie Spytkowsky de sous le radar et d’œuvre méconnus de Renaceau Vignoble de la succession. Un ferment sauvage, pleine à malolactique et français fût de chêne thang, commence à montrer des signes d’usure, comme un bien-fait, dirty martini pour un paquet de gosse dur vivant. Séveux, résine à base de plantes conduit ce ’09 en oint maturité en automne. Il a été et est un 14 pour cent, 4,2 g / L, petit terrain (125 cas) morceau de l’histoire Beamsville.  Dégusté Mars 2014

Stratus Chardonnay 2010, VQA Niagara On The Lake  (Winery, $55.00, WineAlign)

Can’t help but think about buttered popcorn; the best that money can buy in heritage kernels. A magnanimous effort, in a state of equatorial weave with cajoling, candied aromatics. Previous note: “From natural yeast, full batch (bunch) pressing and heeded by Paul’s (Hobbs) call to full malolactic fermentation, this fruit was picked on November 15th, a day “you had to go run and pick fast.” Groux is not trying to make California or Burgundy but make the best in Niagara. Clarity and sun drenched hue, tropical fruit dominance, sweetness, malo-butterscotch obviousness. Some tart orchard fruit late but certainly warm vintage wine. Not the most arid Chardonnay but blessed with great length.”  91  Tasted March 2013 and 2014  @Stratuswines

Vous ne pouvez pas m’empêcher de penser à maïs soufflé au beurre, le meilleur que l’argent peut acheter dans les noyaux du patrimoine. Un effort magnanime, dans un état de équatoriale tisser avec cajoler, aromatiques confits. Note précédente:. “De la levure naturelle, pleine lot (groupe) en appuyant et en tiennent compte (Hobbs) l’appel de Paul à la fermentation malolactique complète, ce fruit a été sélectionné le 15 Novembre, un jour” il fallait aller courir et prendre rapidement “Groux est ne cherche pas à faire de la Californie ou de Bourgogne, mais faire le meilleur à Niagara. Clarté et baignée de soleil teinte, la dominance de fruits tropicaux, de la douceur, malo-caramel évidence. Certains tarte de fruits du verger en retard, mais millésime certainement chaud. Pas le Chardonnay plus aride mais béni avec grande longueur. ”  Dégusté Mars 2013 et Mars 2014

Good to go!

Deep freeze: Controversies, polar vortex and icewine

Extreme Lows, Niagara Peninsula, December 2013 and January 2014

Extreme Lows, Niagara Peninsula, December 2013 and January 2014
Photo: Weather INnovations Consulting LP (WIN)

as seen on canada.com

The physiological and emotional roller coaster heaped upon grapes and growers these past 55 days has been nothing short of exhilarating, frightening and exhausting. First this monster climatic Dementor known as the Polar Vortex. Along with the demonic weather came the devastation of an ice storm, followed by record low temperatures. More recently, thaw and re-freeze. Consequences and challenges have abounded. Also, a silver lining. Freezing temperatures can kill grape buds on vines unprepared and left to fend for themselves. Those little vine kinder can also just be unlucky enough to grow up in the wrong place at the wrong time. Some Niagara growers are reporting heavy losses to Riesling, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay vines. Here are the numbers as reported by Wines In Niagara’s Rick VanSickle.

I spoke with winemaker Paul Pender of Tawse Winery in Vineland, Ontario yesterday. Paul is both unconcerned and not yet ready to make any sort of call on damage to his crops. “It’s still too early to tell,” he notes, “I won’t really head out to assess any potential damage until early March.” While Beamsville vineyards are reportedly hard hit, Pender is confident that his team’s strident and prudent vineyard management will see the vines through.

Balanced pruning means leaving a specific number of buds during the winter on a dormant cane for this year’s crop, the number based on the amount the vine grew the previous season. Tawse’s canes are cut back to two feet, the dead wood removed before winter’s freeze can hit. Buds this season were thinned from 12 to six, giving those tender bits a fighter’s chance to survive. And while Pender will not enter into an unequivocal conversation with respect to the heartiness of his vineyards as a consequence of 100 per cent organic and biodynamic farming, I can hear the surety in his voice and imagine the twinkle in his eye at the thought.

Other growers concern themselves with what may happen inside the many parts of the vine when there are freezes, thaws and re-freezes. Again, Pender is not concerned. Proper pruning should prepare a vine for a harsh winter, whether or not they are protected by a warm blanket of snow. In New York’s Finger Lakes region, Lenn Thompson is reporting “some minor bud damage to vinifera vines, but little to no vine death.” Steve Shaw of Shaw Vineyards on Seneca Lake had this to say. “Yes, this winter is definitely presenting itself in a rather volatile manner. As far as I can tell from checking a number of varieties and many buds, there does not seem to be any catastrophic primary bud kill. There is damage, but not too bad so far. I do not think that with things being this wacky that we can really rest easy until most of the winter has passed.” Brock University’s Cool Climate and Viticulture Institute in St. Catherines helps local growers with much needed information and infrastructure to deal with damaging weather. Their VineAlert program helps protect vineyards during frigid temperatures.

Icewine Hours 2013

PHOTO: Weather INnovations Consulting LP (WIN)
Icewine Hours 2013

The news is not all bad. According to many icewine makers in Niagara, 2013 will shape up to be what many are forecasting the best ever vintage for the province. Temperatures dipped to the requiem in late December and most picked their shriveled, sugary berries before the new year. That is unprecedented, allowing this season’s icewine to remain high in necessary balancing acidity and well ahead of the fermentation arresting challenges from most years. Wine Country Ontario reported that “early icewine harvest in Wine Country Ontario starts the festival fever.” Look for the most balanced icewines out of 2013. Not to mention the Grape Grower’s of Ontario reporting the province’s grape growers gathered a record 79,756 tonnes of grapes in 2013 valued at nearly $100 million.

The Niagara Icewine Festival encompasses three weekends in January dedicated to the region’s beloved ambrosial elixir, wines that have become the calling card beyond the broader confines of Canadian borders. Icewine has been made since 1981 and in that short span of 33 years, Ontario and B.C. winemakers have challenged, and in many cases lapped their counterparts in Germany and Austria. Canadian icewine is globally renowned, even if it is not the most important wine resource bequeathed upon the rest of the world.

Icewine 101. Simply put, made from grapes that have been left to freeze naturally on the vine. Ontario’s stringent Bolshevik Initial Decrees-like laws insist that icewine must be made from approved grape varieties; the most popular are Vidal Blanc, Riesling and Cabernet Franc. Some small lots include Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Grapes are left on the vine until a sustained temperature of -8°C or lower is reached and then picked from those vines encapsulated in nets to protect them from birds possessive of a sweet tooth.

A national icewine debate is ongoing, inflamed by a recent Macleans Magazine article discussing the ideological differences between the VQA law preventing vine and grape separation before pressing and the Quebec practice of letting the grapes freeze in nets. Quebec growers do this out of necessity for fear of their fruit being smothered by excessive snowfall. Ontario’s old guard vehemently oppose the practice. The irony of VQA Ontario’s website low volume statistic, “with average yields of 500 litres for each acre netted,” is not lost on the curious. Two questions arise. How many grapes in Ontario nets end up in bottles of VQA labelled icewine and how can a culture of Canadian icewine be brought together without some form of compromise and collaboration? Yet again, is togetherness integral to the success of Canadian icewine, or more specifically, Ontario’s industry?

According to Klaus W. Reif of Reif Estate, apparently there are 3,750 berries needed for one bottle of 375ml icewine. Just consider the concentration for a moment, the hand-picked (though not all) labour involved and the specificity of the practice. The sweetest wine known to Canadians can indeed be re-worked as a palindrome for Niagara Ice Wine Festival.

A wet vial is fine nice agar

PHOTO: Michael Godel
Rick James Ice Sculpture, Niagara Icewine Festival

On Friday, January 10th, 2014 I was a most elated guest at the Xerox Icewine Gala: A Bacchus Evening of Icewine and Revelry. For a list of continuing events this weekend and next, here is a link to the festival site. More information here. With kind thanks to Magdalena KaiserSmit and Wine Country Ontario, I had the good fortune to taste a host of Niagara’s finest renditions, along with some very special bottles of sparkling and still wines. Here are notes on six wines sampled at the Fallsview Casino Grand Ballroom last Friday night.
From left: PELLER ESTATES SIGNATURE SERIES ICE CUVÉE, CREEKSIDE ESTATES WINERY SYRAH RESERVE BROKEN PRESS 2010, RAVINE VINEYARD RESERVE RED 2008, PILLITTERI ESTATES CABERNET SAUVIGNON ICEWINE 2011, and VINELAND ESTATES RIESLING VIDAL ICEWINE 2012

From left: PELLER ESTATES SIGNATURE SERIES ICE CUVÉE, CREEKSIDE ESTATES WINERY SYRAH RESERVE BROKEN PRESS 2010, RAVINE VINEYARD RESERVE RED 2008, PILLITTERI ESTATES CABERNET SAUVIGNON ICEWINE 2011, and VINELAND ESTATES RIESLING VIDAL ICEWINE 2012

PELLER ESTATES SIGNATURE SERIES ICE CUVÉE, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Onatrio (284547, $31.95, WineAlign)

This is Peller’s most versatile fizz, a blend of traditional method Chardonnay and Pinot Noir sweetened by a dosage of Vidal icewine post disgorgement of its lees. The lees has been left to linger in the bottle, in spirit. Sapid, savoury bubbles tingle the senses to the bone and will offer the most comforting and proper pleasures to those discriminating and otherwise. Appealing to a large common denominator, this Peller Sparkling can really do no wrong.  90  Tasted January 2014  @PellerVQA

CREEKSIDE ESTATES WINERY SYRAH RESERVE BROKEN PRESS 2010 (202127, $39.95, WineAlign)

The floral lift from three to four percent Viognier gives notice to bend the brawny, savoury black olive and blistered Ancho fruit into balance. Syrah in a sunshine state but not from concentrate. Would accept a glass of this Brokenpress at any beck and call. “Grab your wine, take me where you been, with the violin time and the moon gettin’ thin.” From my earlier note: “Offers up gorgeous pine and pepper-laced correctness and so much juicy, fresh warmth from a terrific Syrah vintage in Ontario and even more parochial so on the St. David’s Bench. This Queenston Road Vineyard red is winemaker Rob Power’s secret weapon, absolutely freakin’ delicious stuff and the epitome of what Syrah should be like from Niagara. Verve, rigor and yet also flirtatious with expertly judged wood and tannin to re-fresh its spirit and lengthen its life. Love it.”  91  Tasted twice, October 2013 and January 2014  @CreeksideWine

PILLITTERI ESTATES MERLOT FAMILY RESERVE 2002, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (71753, $39.95, WineAlign)

Served from Jeroboam, one of 23 produced and a testament to the precocious, facile touch of then winemaker Sue-Ann Staff. The extreme five litre format has certainly been kind to the hermetic 11-year slumber of this Merlot, as has the above average red Niagara growing season. Charlie pulled out this rare behemoth “for the special occasion” and despite and with thanks to the perfect vintage meets size storm, it has held up with dramatic fortitude. Unmistakably predicated Pillitteri chocolate perfume, brushed violet, mulberry and oven-warmed baking spice. Holding in sustained concentration, the toffee, caramel and umami of wizened, oxidized fruit not yet a twinkle in its soapy sandalwood eye. How could Sun-Ann have known what time-cheating lengths her Merlot would see to?  93  Tasted January 2014  @Pillitteriwines

RAVINE VINEYARD RESERVE RED 2008, St Davids Bench, Niagara Peninsula (20483, $55.00, WineAlign)

This Bordeaux style blend (40 per cent Merlot, 33.3 Cabernet Sauvignon and 26.7 Cabernet Franc) is clothed in a coat of arms all about texture. A drawn and raised relief of dried, candied bramble fruit and charcoal lines of savoury, earthy hickory and herbs. Hearty warmth from a cool vintage, meat on a stick in a glass, charred, roasted and smoking. A spit of gamey goodness. Holding strong but drink now.  90  Tasted January 2014  @RavineVineyard

PILLITTERI ESTATES CABERNET SAUVIGNON ICEWINE 2011, Niagara On The Lake (46557, 375 ml, $60.00, WineAlign)

A most unique and striking rendition, wearer of many hats, confounding and curious. There is a funk about him that stands apart from the rest. Like a really well-aged, superb piece of washed rind cheese, then turning unabashedly sweet, with verve and symphonic tone. An orange sky of an icewine, anti-bittersweet, accented by mace and anise, carob even. “Here is what I know now brother. Here is what I know now sister.” Cabernet Sauvignon, in a vintage equipped with striking acidity, can turn into something to look forward to. One of the more interesting icewines to date.  91  Tasted January 2014  @Pillitteriwines

VINELAND ESTATES RIESLING VIDAL ICEWINE 2012, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (163018, 375 mL, $60.00, WineAlign)

This represents the icewine revolution, for the first time adding 15 percent Vidal juice into the Riesling mix. In 2012, the normally stand alone Riesling needed a shot in the arm, provided by the Vidal, a dose of icewine magic by winemaker Brian Schmidt. Lifted tree fruit blossom and added weight are the result, without hyper-sweet flavours. Riesling is the rock, Vidal the roll as this RV crashes into me. The pit orchard fruit is reduced and recognizable to taste, yet reserved and in phonic harmony. “Sweet like candy to my soul, sweet you rock and sweet you roll.” Brotherly love icewine, full of Schmidt wisdom.  93  Tasted January 2014  @benchwineguy

Good to go!

A paradox of wine accents

Soil and birthplace predetermines both wine and language.
PHOTO: JUNGE REBE/FOTOLIA.COM

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Wine and language, two very complex organisms, first and foremost predetermined by the land from which they’ve come. Soil and birthplace. Climate is so very important too, in ripening fruit and developing speech. Weather and pedigree. Then there are the clones, genetic variants of a cultivar, or in language, slang and urban/rural diction. Variety and dialect. The study of wine (oenology) is very much like the study of language (linguistics). It’s all in the accents, in articulation and tonality, in aroma, taste and texture.

Related – More from the VINTAGES August 17th, 2013 release

Wine is generally divided into Old and New World styles, old school versus new wave. Though many New World wines have bested Old World stalwarts in blind tastings, are those results more than just a matter of taste? Old World varieties of a common region who have been cohabiting side by side exhibit a wide assortment of accents. New World clones from disparate backgrounds that have been living together for just a few generations show similar accents.

Old World stereoisomer stereotypes suggest that if your wine smells like vanilla, it was likely aged in American oak. Got flint and steel? Chablis. Brioche and yeast? Champagne. All this may be true but the grand wines within a particular growing area like Chablis, Champagne, the Rhône Valley, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Tuscany and Piedmont might share and yet bogart an infinite number of subtleties and dominant traits, each specific to the monopole, villages, indicazione geografica tipica, or appellation of origin. Napa Cabernet, whether from Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena or Howell Mountain, shares a commonality and decreased peculiarity so much more so than counterparts in the communes on the Left Bank in Bordeaux, including Paulliac, St-Estèphe, Pessac-Léognan, Margaux and St. Julien.

New World Chardonnay growing sites produce less delineation as compared to the various lieu-dites in Burgundy. Niagara is beginning to enter into an Old World state of mind, so now winemakers, and by extension wine geeks, are posturing over micro-terroirs; Niagara-on-the-Lake, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Escarpment, St. David’s Bench, Lincoln Lakeshore, etc. While many will disagree, if you consider growing sites as circles within a Venn Diagram, the shared subtleties get buried or muddled within the common areas. The lines may be drawn but the web is tangled.

In Old World locales such as France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal, the sustained adjacency of wine regions ought to carry considerable weight against differences in accents, while in a vast but small growing area like Canada, the relative isolation of wine regions ought to encourage regional intonations. Yet comparatively speaking, there is a great deal of similar speak among Canada’s various cool climate wines. So, the question begs. Has the maturity of Canadian vines and its isolated industries increased or decreased the diversity of dialects?

If you stood with one foot in a Niagara vineyard and the other in Prince Edward County, you might be disappointed to find that the geology, climate and wine accent are nearly indiscernible. A wine patriot might disagree with that statement with reverence or indifference, yet the average wine consumer would be hard pressed to intuit the subtlest of idiosyncrasies. Even in the case of, let’s say, the temperature disparity between a St. David’s Bench vineyard and one from the Queenston Road, as a winemaker, who are you speaking to anyway?

The wine world has attempted the vinous equivalent of heteroglossia, “a blending of world views through language that creates complex unity from a hybrid of utterances.” This heteroglossia is an abstract convenience for the benefit of geographical oenophiles. In the New World (especially), we are dealing with huge generalities. To say that each viticultural area is singularly unique from another is to suggest that one region’s accent starts where another one ends. This is simply not true.

The argument is no longer about good and bad, natural and synthetic, Old and New World. We’re not talking about a Roman Paradox here. In a short period of time it seems we have gone from saying “there’s a remarkably great deal of homogeneity in wine today” to now, “some wines are so over the top they could only be from that place.” A recent California Pinot Noir, heretofore known as “he who shall not be named” laid insult and depression upon a group of tasters. Pushing 16 per cent alcohol by volume and thicker than a McFlurry, this Pinot could not have been from just anywhere. Only the hot California sun and heavy winemaker’s hand could have produced such an utterly undrinkable, faux-chocolate, simulated berry shake.

Special thanks to Bill Bryson, who’s good read “Mother Tongue” was the inspiration for this column. Here are six examples of really fine wine, from the Old and the New World, each expressive of a particular set of accents, out of a specific place.

Clockwise from left: André Blanck Pinot Blanc Rosenberg 2011, Pillitteri Estates Viognier 2011, Daniel Lenko Estate Winery Old Vines Chardonnay 2010, Greenlane Estate Winery Cabernet 2010, Zema Estate Cluny Cabernet Merlot 2008 and Château La Croix De Gay 2009

André Blanck Pinot Blanc Rosenberg 2011 (626606, $14.95) is high on lime citrus and heavy in stones, so much more so than in ’09 and ’10. Green apple in tart tonality, lean and mean.  Much juicier and riper to taste, with the faintest lees note to ground it firmly on Alsatian terrain ferme.  Love this designation. Same vintage release from a year ago.  89  @drinkAlsace

Pillitteri Estates Viognier 2011 (330894, $19.95) from 20+ year old estate vines is really quite pretty. Honeysuckle and white flower aromas with a taste of honey dew, tangy mango fruit, creamy and soft, and  a hint of white pepper.  Will look for it to flesh a bit in a year or so.  88  @Pillitteriwines

Daniel Lenko Estate Winery Old Vines Chardonnay 2010 (352328, $22.95) punches its ticket to Niagara stardom but a toast and punch down period is the requiem to mellow before the fruit can truly and fully be assessed. It’s certainly large, inviting and warm, a cedar cottage with its hearth flaming and crackling. Borrows a page from Quarry Road’s handbook and takes risks, if ambitiously over-seasoning a bissel. The late buttery seafood note is striking and just makes you want to suck back a bucket of claw. Must pay heed to Lenko’s uncompromising winemaking. Were you to ask me what 10 Ontario Chardonnay would I buy, in any vintage, to study, follow the evolution and ultimately learn about cool climate Chardonnay, this Lenko OV 2010 would be a must.  91  @daniel_lenko

Greenlane Estate Winery Cabernet 2010 (winery, $14.95) combines Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon (80/20) fruit in demurred Niagara/Vineland modulation for full, soft and silky effect. Black pepper in a key of fire-roasted sweet capsicum, anise and gun flint are met by the plasticity of black and red berries and cherries.  Deal.  88  @GreenLaneWinery

Zema Estate Cluny Cabernet Merlot 2008 (325910, $26.95) hollers modernity, in oxy-toffee, blueberry pie, eucalyptus and smoldering earth. Bordeaux fettle yet GSM-like in mineral meets lush fruit.  Frantic verve in acidity, crazy actually and certainly no fruit bomb. Almost citrus spiked, punchy and grainy on the finish. Requires patience. Intriguing Coonawarra.  90 @ZemaEstate

Château La Croix De Gay 2009 (192955, $51.95) is flat-out delicious. Grilled meat, licorice, big black fruit, raspberry, Merlot to the max and yet a very affordable Pomerol ’09. At $52 you may not find a better deal. Tannic heft deep as a coal mine, where mineral meets herbal bondage. Very long and true.  92

Good to go!

Alternative wines for the August long weekend

Barque Smokehouse Cuban Corn
PHOTO: JILL CHEN/FREESTYLEFARM.CA

as seen on canada.com

A word of advice if I may. Grab hold of the coming long weekend and put it in your pocket. Take full advantage of the time you have with family and friends. Eat corn. Local ears will never be as tender, sweet and perfect as they are right now. If Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio are your go to grapes, by all means, enjoy them. The caveat comes now; just one more whisper of unsolicited wisdom to consider. Try something new.

Canadians will be sharing meals in larger groups so in many cases, a single bottle of wine will not suffice. Why not engage in a grape showdown? Open two wines of the same grape but from different producers or regions. So much can be learned from the comparison, most notably your preference so you will know what to buy next time around. Here are seven alternative wines to look for this coming August holiday long weekend.

Clockwise from left: Marc Bredif Vouvray 2011, Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc Old Vine Reserve 2011, Rolly Gassman Riesling 2009, Greenlane Riesling Old Vines 2011, Featherstone Cabernet Franc 2011, Tawse Cabernet Franc Laundry Vineyard 2010, and Domain Capmartin Pacherenc Du Vic Bilh 2011

The grape: Chenin Blanc

The history: Native to the Loire Valley in France and cultivated world-wide but is most notably and commercially successful in South Africa

The lowdown/showdown: Loire versus Stellenbosch. Two polar opposite and conflicting styles, both representative of place and the versatility of Chenin, especially in dry styles such as these

The food match: Barque Smokehouse Cuban Corn

Marc Bredif Vouvray 2011 (LCBO $19.95, 685362, SAQ $19.55, 10267809) indicates grapevines grown of a mineral-rich terroir, like land left after the draining of a lake. Travels into the Loire Valley’s heart of darkness but also shows some increased honey in ’11, fattening the ever-present lemon drop, candied peel, ginger and stony goodness. Chenin as a man in pink pajamas. There is just no worthy value adversary to this tight, racy and wondrous Vouvray.  91  @ProfileWineGrp   @LoireValleyWine

Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc Old Vine Reserve 2011 ($17.95, 231282) has an extended stay on the lees to thank for its impressive level of complexity. Works near-dangerous toasty oak to great advantage. Elevates Chenin to skillfully reckoned, barrel fermented Chardonnay status. Snug and spicy, viscous, charged and rising into a golden stratosphere. A bit furry and furtive in movement. Would be enriched by luxuriant food.  89  @KFwines  @WOSACanada

The grape: Riesling

The history: No longer an idiosyncratic Alsatian or German wine. Whether from Marie-Thérèse, Louis Rolly and Piere Gassmann in Alsace or Dianne Smith in Vineland, Riesling is incredibly versatile

The lowdown/showdown: Aromatic Alsace or Piercing Niagara?

The food match: Summer Corn Chowder

Rolly Gassman Riesling 2009 (328898, $20.95) has entered secondary life which only emphasizes its semi-dry mien. Mineral peach tang and non-taxing, petrol beach buoyancy are met by nectarine pith and ambient nut.  By George, this is quintessential, basal Alsace. “There’s one for you, nineteen for me.” Complex impressions cuz’ he’s the gassman.  90

Greenlane Riesling Old Vines 2011 (351486, $22.95) cracks the mineral whip, froths lime into foam and atomizes stone fruit into sweet and sour heaven. Wants to be semi-dry but never quite goes there. Walks a fine line, a tightrope actually. Up there with Charles Baker and Thirty Bench for sheer madness.  91  @GreenLaneWinery

The grape: Cabernet Franc

The history: Loire Valley reds are the benchmark but tell me this isn’t the most important varietal to grow in Ontario

The lowdown/showdown: Two consumer-friendly versions, both made by farmers working in natural and sustainable ways. One shows off the ambient climate of the Twenty-Mile Bench, the other the long tempered growing season of the Lincoln Lakeshore

The food match: Parlour Yaletown’s The Big Prawn Pizza

Featherstone Cabernet Franc 2011 (64618, $16.95) from David Johnson and Louise Engel is girl-next door pretty, perfumed by violet and mid-summer red berries. American oak lends a whiff of tobacco and spice.  Modern and tarried in capacious extraction yet unencumbered by the oak. Not overly chewy, unctuous or layered but just right.  88  @featherstonewne

Tawse Cabernet Franc Laundry Vineyard 2010 (130997, $31.95) assures us of several things. First, 2010 was a gift for making idiot-proof Cab Franc in Niagara, Second, the Lincoln Lakeshore is one of three obvious and essential CF locales in Niagara. Third and most important, properly adjudicated new oak can elevate CF to the upper reaches of the cool-climate troposphere. While not as masculine or bovine like brother Van Bers, Laundry’s got black cherry, tar, coal, herbs and a peaceful, grilling feeling. Essential CF from winemaker Paul Pender.  92  @Tawse_Winery  @Paul_Pender

PHOTO: Michael Godel
Parlour Yaletown Ahi Lettuce Wraps

The grapes: Gros Manseng, Arrufiac and Petit Courbu

The history: From Maumusson in southwestern France, Domaine Capmartin produces 12 wines, which roughly divide into 65% Madiran reds, 20% Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh whites, and 15% Côtes de Gascogne reds and whites

The lowdown: For something bull and full-bodied, unique and completely different,

The food match: Parlour Yaletown’s Ahi Lettuce Wraps

Domain Capmartin Pacherenc Du Vic Bilh 2011 (328617, $15.95) is built upon 80 per cent Gros Manseng plus 10 each of the other two (Arrufiac and Petit Courbu).  Though 80 per cent of the juice ferments in tanks, the remaining 20 that spends time in oak barrels adds histrionic weight and structure. Philosophically elevated in brix and alcohol yet sweet talks dry. Akin to cool climate Chardonnay made in a restrained oak style. Vivacity, rigor and passion here, dissing the notion of simple sipper. There are notes of lime zest and ginger and the wine is both tight and tingling . Also possessive of an earthy morel-ness. Steal it. Give it a whirl.  90

Good to go!

A long and “wine-ding” tasting road

Wine tasting PHOTO: JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES

as seen on canada.com

It was right in my wheelhouse and on so many levels. Thirty-three wines, all but two from the Niagara region, spanning vintages from 2001-2010. Poured blind, each of five flights introduced analogous to pop music culture; Aretha Franklin, Frank Zappa, The Sister Sledge, The Who and Simply Red. It could only be zeitgeist for my virgin Experts Tasting experience at Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI).

It happened at Pond Inlet, a cozy, light-filled space, surrounded by a wine local’s who’s who. Vignerons, proprietors, journalists, sommeliers, marketing gurus and Brock U. luminaries. Seated next to Niagara’s über taster and 2013 VQA Promoters Award winner Rick VanSickle, but also in the ameliorated company of Mr. Wine Discovery, The Grape Guy and the Wine Sisters.

CCOVI Experts Tasting 2013 (Photo: Michael Godel/canada.com)

More than 140 samples were submitted by wineries to this year’s tasting panel, assessed blind and chosen for excellence, complexity but also adjunct in relative merit to their peers. The 2013 Experts tasting was akin to a structured wine in itself, seamless in flow thanks to Barbara Tatarnic of Brock University. The mostly in vain attempt at assessing vintage, origin and producer was a humbling and submissive gesture. This Storify board captures the social media buzz around the event.

A panel of four winemakers each gave their own unique in flight preamble perspective, followed by a tutored tasting and a reveal of the flight’s wines. The final coterie was a group test, in teams table by table, led in cheeky and mischievous form by a soon to be head-shaven sommelier.

The VQA Promoters Awards were presented at intervals during the event by wine educator Dr. Linda Bramble. Here were this year’s four recipients:

LCBO: Waterloo’s Charley Ronzio of Store 115.

Hospitality: CN Tower’s James Muir, the proprietor of Toronto’s highest cellar.

Promoter-at-Large: Harald Thiel, Vigneron and Proprietor, Hidden Bench Winery.

Media: Rick VanSickle, Wine Journalist, Wines in Niagara.

The wine tasting was then introduced by April Kilpatrick, Sommelier at Windows by Jamie Kennedy.

From left to right: Pillitteri Estates Winery Merlot Reserve ‘Exclamation’ 2010; Peller Estates Cabernet Franc ‘Signature Series’ 2010; Hidden Bench Vineyard and Winery ‘Terroir Caché’ Meritage 2010; The Foreign Affair Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2010; and Stratus Malbec 2010.

Flight #1: R.E.S.P.E.C.T

Presented by Rob Power, Winemaker, Creekside Estate, employing Aretha Franklin’s signature because Miles dissed the grape when he said, “I’m not drinking any fucking Merlot!” This assemblage brought Merlot some respect, difficult as they were to pin down and Power later summed it up best. “Mission accomplished. We’ve messed with all your heads.”

Malivoire Wine Company Merlot ‘Stouck Vineyard’ 2010 ($29.95, winery only) of high-toned raspberry fruit is the Dr. Feelgood track. From mendicant, heavy red clay soil on the Lincoln Lakeshore making for concentrated small berries and dense, richly textured Merlot. Tarry, warming, accented by late baking spice and anise. Merlot is a serious business and “taking care of business is really this man’s gain.”  90-91  @MalivoireWine

Trius Winery at Hillebrand Merlot ‘RHS’ Clark Farm Vineyard 2010 ($40, winery only) is a rock steady, Four-Mile Creek, single vineyard effort full of mulberry fruit and dusty, chalky tannin. Let’s call this Merlot what it is, “a funky and lowdown feeling.”  89-90  @TriusWines

Creekside Estates Winery Merlot Reserve, Queenston Road Vineyard 2006 ($34.95, limited availability) spent 32 months in oak and now bricks its age in weathered, splintering cedar with a note of funky prune.  Illustrates the importance of site to Bordeaux varietals in Niagara. A Merlot to make you think, consider the past, “let your mind go, let yourself be free.”  88-89  @CreeksideWine

Creekside Estates Winery Merlot Reserve 2008  ($34.95, winery only) on the St. David’s Bench is “the smoked meat sandwich” says Power, and “a bit of a funkmeister.” Perhaps the flight’s chain of fools, like a blender looking for a Cabernet or two to join the party. Its slumber was 29 months in barrel. “For five long years I thought you were my man.”  88-89  @CreeksideWine

Twomey Merlot 2007 ($61.95, 14043) is the ringer out of Silver Oak in Napa Valley. Whiffs the most funky fromage but also a woman’s perfume. Racy, roaming, with umami, earth and a sweet/savoury line. Goes both ways, a Do Right Woman, Do Right Man kind of Merlot.  “And as long as we’re together, baby.”  89-90  @Twomey

Pillitteri Estates Winery Merlot Reserve ‘Exclamation’ 2010 ($25, winery only) tends Right Bank to me, certainly not Niagara. Big berry, citrus, bright fruit perfume. Heavy tannin, guns a’ blazing and an obvious strong use of American Oak. This one demands respect. “Oh, sock it to me, sock it to me.”  90-91  @PillitteriWines

Cornerstone Estates Winery Merlot 2010 ($23, winery only) appears to show some age though it’s really just a pup. Displays aggressive high-toned tannin with a patience towards potential. I say a little prayer for this Wismer Vineyard, Twenty Mile Bench on the Niagara Peninsula Merlot because if it falls apart, it “would only be heartbreak.”  87-88

Flight #2: The Mothers of Invention

Presented by Emma Garner, Winemaker, Thirty Bench, using Frank Zappa’s band as analogy to denote Cabernet Franc as the matriarch to all Bordeaux varietals. Could have sworn #4 was a ringer but no! There were none in the group.

Stratus Cabernet Franc 2008 ($38, 665034) from fruit picked on December 8th (what???) in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Young at heart, full of smokey, tangy, currant baking aromas. Maternal but blessed with firm, plush tannin. “Some people like cupcakes,” I prefer a muffin man.  89-90  @Stratuswines

Stoney Ridge Estate Winery Cabernet Franc 2010 ($18.95, winery only) is a Niagara Peninsula, red pepper jelly and citrus-spiked currant concoction made from Fox and Edwards Vineyards, 100% Bench fruit. Thought it was ’08 but wrong! Coffee and herbal balm make the water turn black and this Franc screams for food. 87-88  @stoneyridgewine

Riverview Cellars Cabernet Franc Reserve ‘Salvatore’s’ 2010 ($49.95, winery only) leans a lighter, elegant Loire style. Built upon clay/loam soils out of Niagara-on-the-Lake, aged in both French and American oak. Cool, cherry fruit, mint, herbaceous and full of personality. A fine girl this Riverview, “she do yer laundry, she change a tire, chop a little wood for de fire.”  89-90  @RiverviewWinery

Pillitteri Estates Cabernet Franc Reserve ‘Exclamation’ 2010 ($35, winery only) from family vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake ventures into voluptuous, black forest, fruitcake territory. A 24-month soak in French oak imparts espresso and leather and it’s as if this CF was raised in Napa or designated IGT. But this is NOTL were talking here. Improbable and believable. Modified Note: Big Leg Emma. “Sock it to me!” Tasted twice.  91  @Pillitteriwines

Peller Estates Cabernet Franc ‘Signature Series’ 2010 ($40.20, winery only) has got the funk in dark and dank waves. Top-tier barrel selection out of Four Mile Creek, this one is tight, tense and ready to jam with “a Stratocaster with a whammy bar” in Joe’s garage. Saw through to 100% Malolactic fermentation after 20 months in barrel. If you are jonesing for Cab Franc, don’t miss this player.  91-92 @PellerVQA

Trius at Hillebrand Cabernet Franc ‘Red Shale’ Clark Vineyard 2010 ($40, winery only) at 25.6 Brix is a huge wine from Four Mile Creek. Black beauty, with lots of chocolatey oak and dark fruit. Chalky, grainy thread indicates time is needed to settle it down. No valley girl, this one, nor shrinking violet. “It’s like so BITCHEN!”  89-90  @TriusWines

Pondview Estate Winery Cabernet Franc 2010 ($29.95, winery only) again out of Four Mile Creek has the red pepper, currant jelly notes but it’s less ripe and not nearly as big as some siblings in this flight. May have “no cars no diamond rings,” but it shows passion in a Zappacosta, spandex kind of way.  87-88  @pondviewwinery

CCOVI Tasting

Flight #3: We Are Family

Presented by Ron Giesbrecht, Winemaker, Henry of Pelham Estate Winery, discussing “vinified” incest, i.e. Bordeaux grapes which have essentially married their kin. His dissertation, impossibly deadpan, was a cross between Stuart McLean and Ron MacLean. His take on attending to wines of Bordeaux genealogy? “How do you know which side of the church to sit on when you’re related to so many on both sides?”

Fielding Estate Winery Cabernet Merlot 2010 ($34.95, winery only) alights in lithe tendrils before adding coffee, meritage mid-weight. Currants, nasturtium and red fruit compote buoy this cooler Niagara blend that combines fruit from the the Lincoln Lakeshore, St. David’s and Beamsville Benches. A good dancer with “the kind of body that would shame Adonis.” Expertly balanced with the spine to age.  88-89  @FieldingWinery

Malivoire Wine Company Cabernet Merlot ‘Stouck’ ($29.95, winery only) from down on the Lincoln Lakeshore is a pitchy rendition with a pronounced roasted espresso note. Seems to me the motherly, Cabernet Franc’s genes have imparted their wisdom into this (63%) Cabernet Sauvignon dominant beauty with big Cassis fruit. Chic, juicy, with a filled in mid-palate and stiff structure. Grab a glass, “leave your cares behind, these are the good times.”  90-91  @MalivoireWine

Stratus Red 2010 ($44, winery only) seemed older but that just might be the 617 days it spent in barrel. Cab Franc dominant with the help of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and the late bloomer, Petit Verdot. Got to love somebody so it may as well be this red, because “I won’t let my life pass me by.” The four grapes help to explain Giesbrecht’s “relative merits of relative meritage.”  89-90  @Stratuswines

Hidden Bench Vineyard and Winery ‘Terroir Caché’ Meritage 2010 ($35, winery only) has rich, voluptuous Napa Valley written all over it. Sister Merlot dominant, Beamsville Bench sledge monster. Plumbago, mineral, blackberry and coffee in a wine that will be the ringer in a blind tasting 10 years on. Harald may be saying “this is our family jewel.” Mr. Thiel, you make good wine.  91-92  @HiddenBench

Hidden Bench Vineyard and Winery ‘Terroir Caché’ Meritage 2007 ($45, winery only) emits the varnish of the ’07 Niagara vintage. Soy, meat protein and caramel give way to a sweeter, plum accented palate. This ’07 is Le Freak, with more Cabernet Sauvignon, indicative of what we did not know then. So much to learn from wines like this, “like the days of stopping at the Savoy.”  87-88  @HiddenBench

Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery Speck Family Reserve Cabernet Merlot 2002 ($50, not available) from the Niagara Peninsula shows toffee and concentrated, oxidized fruit. That said, it has aged well and still offers intellectual spirit in dried fruit and potpourri. Great old tune to Dance, Dance, Dance along to. 88-89  @SpeckBros

Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery Speck Family Reserve Cabernet Merlot 2010 ($50, 616433) from the sunnier and warmer sponge that is the Short Hills Bench is built of a learned structure that only a select few Niagara wines can boast. Fresh, juicy fruit and blitzing acidity for a 38/35/29 Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc family sledge blend. “I’d like to see you reach your peak” SFR but I’ll have to heed Giesbrecht’s warning of oeno-infanticide and wait five to ten years. Tasted twice over the weekend.  92  @SpeckBros

Flight #4: Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy

Presented by Ilya Senchuk, Winemaker, Foreign Affair Winery, relating (mostly) Cabernet Sauvignon wines to the idiomatic album by The Who. “We want wines with bounciness,” says Senchuk, “with a knife edge balance of weight and complexity.”

Creekside Estates Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2006 ($34.95, limited availability) shows age, wood finish, plums and berries. I had this pegged as an ’06 (scouts honour). Not a classic Bordeaux vintage in the Queenston Vineyard on the St. David’s Bench but well-structured and really, there is no substitute. “I look pretty young, but I’m just back-dated, yeah.”  88-89  @CreeksideWine

Malivoire Wine Company Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Stouck’ 2010 ($29.95, winery only) from down on the Lincoln Lakeshore is a big, blowy, brawny wine of massive concentration. Designed for my generation, with jammy flavours from clay soils on good slopes. “People try to put us d-down, just because we get around.”  89-90  @MalivoireWine

Southbrook Vineyards Whimsy Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Lot I’ 2010 ($34.95, winery only) from the Niagara Peninsula is a chameleon, ever evolving in the glass, perplexing, fascinating to study. Possessed of dried fruit and decidedly earthy flavours, complexity and balance. Can “go anywhere, for something new,” anyway, anyhow.  89-90  @SouthbrookWine

Thirty Bench Winemakers Cabernet Franc ‘Small Lot’ 2010 ($40, winery only) lopes out in lacquer than lifts towards sweet red pepper, dusty mulberry and cracked black pepper. All the while a current of Beamsville Bench, black currant acidity runs through it. This one’s a seeker, “its got values but I don’t know how or why.” At least not yet. Give it time.  87-88  @ThirtyBench

Stratus Petit Verdot 2010 ($38, winery only) with its bounce is the Happy Jack of the flight. Thick in weight and texture, a steak sandwich in a glass. Remarkable effort for stand alone Petit Verdot in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Has a certain Spanish modernity and is certainly neither “petite” nor “little.” Say what you want about this PV but never “prevent Jack from feeling happy.”  90-91  @Stratuswines

Fielding Estate ‘Option C’ Red 2010 ($34.95, winery only) begins with an off-putting, scorched earth funk and I wonder if it will blow off. Makes me “dizzy in the head and I’m feeling blue” so I can’t explain but it does indeed dissipate. Cabernet Sauvignon leads the way out of the Lowry Vineyard on the St. David’s Bench with 15% each Merlot and Cabernet Franc rounding out this strong, rhythmic and beaty Bordeaux blend.  89-90  @FieldingWinery

The Foreign Affair Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 ($37.95, winery only) is very pretty, forward and inviting. Juicy fruit from south facing vines on top of the Niagara Escarpment. Made in the Appassimento style, with 25% of the fruit dried then added back to the wine and 23 months spent in barrel. Puts this Cab in a seat on the Magic Bus. Rogue process, tame result. “I want it.”  91-92  @wineaffair

Flight #5: If You Don’t Know Me By Now

Presented by Peter Bodnar Rod, 13th Street Winery, like a comic book villain, leading the crowd into the uncomfortable nooks and crannies of guessing wines blind. This was a thrilling flight, crushing wine libidos and crowning champions of the game. Notes here are a bit more brief.

Stratus Malbec 2010 ($48, winery only) is made with the help of consulting oenologist Paul Hobbs in an “Alta Vista,” high-altitude style. Cool-climate rendition, a window to the future for the grape in Ontario. Hits a blue note, kind of like Philly soul. Unheard of 10 years ago, this one’s saying “just trust in me like I trust in you.”  90-91  @Stratuswines

Southbrook Vineyards Cabernet Franc ‘Watson Vineyard’ 2002 ($30, not available) shows amazing longevity and freshness. Proof of the Peninsula’s magic to state “you will never never never know me.” Simply solid red.  90-91  @SouthbrookWine

Château Branaire-Ducru, Saint-Julien 2001 ($109, 9852) is the first red herring and stupefies in origin and vintage. I actually found it drying and disappointing. Bordeaux? Whatever.  88-89

Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery Merlot Unfiltered 2002 ($29.95, winery only) was harvested in October on the Niagara Peninsula. Showing the soy sauce, umami and oxidation of its sistren. Yet another anything but simply red wine from H of P to show us “all the things that we’ve been through.”  87-88  @SpeckBros

The Foreign Affair Winery ‘Temptress’ 2010 ($44.95, winery only) is shepherded by Merlot with bits of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot thrown in for good 15.3% abv measure. Sugary, concentrated and full-bodied. Not for the simply red faint of heart. Embrace this big appassimento style  or “what good is a love affair when you can’t see eye to eye.”  90-91  @wineaffair

Good to go!

Top juice flows at 25th Cuvée anniversary

Cuvée 2013 Bubbles and Icewine Bar PHOTO: MICHAEL GODEL/CANADA.COM

You’ll declare it’s simply topping

To be there and hear them swapping

Smart tidbits

as seen on canada.com

It was a night for putting on the ritz at the Fallsview Casino Resort in Niagara Falls, Ontario. On Friday March 1, 2013 the 25th Cuvée was held, a singular celebration of meritorious VQA wines and celestial, local comestibles. Part Toronto Taste and part Taste Ontario, the evening was presented by the Niagara Community Foundation. Established in 2000, the NCF is dedicated to improving the quality of life in Niagara through building endowment funds ($16 million raised), providing grants (in excess of $4.1 million) and enabling philanthropic partnerships.

In the tradition of a grand tasting, more than 40 Ontario wineries were asked to pour their vintners’ personal favourites, determinate wines forged of passion and craft. Many of these signature, nomes de plume will reemerge in future tastings and will help to define their maker’s legacies. This 2013 event signaled a format shift in direction, away and to the dismay of some, from a wine awards ceremony towards a forward thinking industry’s show of togetherness.

Fallsview Casino Resort, Cuvée 2013 Food Station

Live cooking stations, many staffed with armies of chefs, spared no expense to design layered dishes built upon house-cured larder, local and artisanal ingredients. The food component was certainly no afterthought and threatened to steal away the VQA thunder. Fortunately many of the chosen wines were some of Ontario’s best and if you have followed anything I have been writing this past year, you will know that I am serious about Ontario’s wine industry. If nothing else, Cuvée 2013 succeeded to entrench an indisputable truth. The Niagara wine industry is the bomb.

In the words of Hidden Bench Vigneron and Proprietor Harald Thiel, “if Canada wants to have a place in the wine world, we need to carve it.” This sentiment is shared and pursued in kind with the efforts of the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute at Brock University (CCOVI) and the VQA Promoter Awards, but also by the Wine Council of Ontario, The Ontario Wine Society and Wine Country Ontario.

Smoked Meat (Timothy Mackiddie/Jackson-Triggs Estate Winery) Cuvée 2013

The grand tasting gave way at 9:30 for Après Cuvée, complete with an ice sculpted Icewine & Bubbles bar opposite a host of local craft beers. It was the Niagara wine world’s version of Après-ski, with cheese, charcuterie and dancing along with Jonesy, a five-piece pop/rock cover band from St. Catharines. Inglorious 80’s mercenaries, morphing Corey Hart, Platinum Blonde, INXS, U2 and George Michael into one wedding band package. The Ontario wine cognoscenti danced. So did their sons and daughters, thanks and with props to the Adele and Bruno Mars covers.

But I digress. The night and the weekend belonged to the wine. In addition to the gala, the Cuvee En Route passport allowed wine fans to tour, taste and attend events along the wine route Friday through Sunday. Here are notes on ten exceptional wines from Cuvée 2013 with a nod to the winemakers who made them.

From left to right: Chateau Des Charmes Equuleus 2010; Flat Rock Cellars Pinot Noir Reserve 2009; Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery Speck Family Reserve Cabernet-Merlot 2010; Pillitteri Estates Cabernet Franc Reserve ‘Exclamation’ 2010; and Riverview Cellars Estate Winery Gewurztraminer 2011.

Bachelder Wismer Chardonnay 2010 (Thomas Bachelder, $44.95, coming to VINTAGES) from the Twenty Mile (Vineland) Bench is the most righteous, understated charred butterscotch remoulade sauce of dreams. Richly textured and built upon a sneaky, slow and stretched breath of wild yeasts. A creeper, gatherer and traveler of both knowledge and persistence. The journey with Thomas Bachelder as related by partner Mary Delaney, from out of Quebec, by way of Ponzi and Lemelson in Oregon and to Niagara is the stuff of dreams. Tasted twice same night and hypnotized both times.  94   @Bachelder_wines

Château Des Charmes Equuleus 2010 (Paul Bosc, $40, ONT, winery only, SAQ,  11156334, $41.25) from the Paul Bosc Estate Vineyard is a classically styled blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc and 25% Merlot, only made in exceptional years. Apropos choice from 25-year old vines (in 2010) from the warmer St. David’s Bench for Cuvée’s 25th show.  Poised, balanced and regal yet this mare is temporarily a head-shy, sensitive equine red. Will trot out furlongs of tobacco and meaty aromas from now and through maturity in five plus years. A saddle of round, red fruit will age gracefully.  92  @MBosc

Coyote’s Run Estate Winery Rare Vintage Pinot Noir 2010 (David Sheppard, $49.95, winery only)  was vinified out of the five best barrels narrowed down from one specific (828) vineyard block. Sheppard’s RV Pinot is a Red Paw/Black Paw block party only thrown in a year possessed of the finest Pinot fruit. In 2010 there is zing cherry, coal, cola, cold stone, fennel, vanilla and a touch of raw ewe milk cheese. Complex PN.  91  @coyotesrun

Flat Rock Cellars Pinot Noir Reserve 2009 (Jay Johnston, $45, winery only) is a breath of fresh ’09 air calmly hovering amid a sea of flamboyant 2010’s. Lush, smooth and silky with a Gevrey-Chambertin verve in acidity so perfectly denoting the ’09 (Twenty Mile) Bench vintage. Assistant winemaker Tom Holt makes the bold statement that Flat Rock owns the best Pinot soil in all of Niagara. The plan is to produce three micro-soil/vineyard Pinots from the 2011 vintage. Can you say Grand Cru?  91  @Winemakersboots @UnfilteredEd

Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery Speck Family Reserve Cabernet-Merlot 2010 (Ron Giesbrecht, $50, 616433) from the sunnier and warmer sponge that is the Short Hills Bench is built of a learned structure that only a select few Niagara wines can boast. Fresh, juicy fruit and blitzing acidity for a 38/35/29 Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc family sledge blend. “I’d like to see you reach your peak” SFR but I’ll have to heed Giesbrecht’s warning of oeno-infanticide and wait five to ten years. Tasted twice over the weekend.  92  @SpeckBros

Kacaba Vineyards and Winery Syrah Reserve 2010 (John Tummon, $69.95, winery only) from terraced estate vineyards on the Vineland Bench was co-fermented with 4% Viogner. Clearly marked for a Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie effect not to intrude on the Syrah but to soften its edges. There is pencil lead, black peppery fruit and citrus zest. Large and yet unsettled, this complex wine is whiles away from showing its true personality.  89  @KacabaVineyards

Lailey Vineyard Winery ‘Impromptu’ Syrah/Malbec/Petit Verdot 2010 (Derek Barnett, $45, winery only) from the Niagara River appellation is a 75/13/12 split and only produced in the finest vintages. Unique and distinctly Rhône-like in style though not easy to pinhole with 25% Bordeaux varietals confusing the issue. Varnished by a dichotomous combination of tar and roses with an obvious wall of meaty tannin. Perhaps a chip off of Mcinerney‘s soulful and earthy, Delta Blues Cornas block.  90  @laileywinemakr

Pillitteri Estates Cabernet Franc Reserve ‘Exclamation’ 2010 (Alex Kolundzic, $35, winery only) from family vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake ventures into voluptuous, black forest, fruitcake territory. A 24-month soak in French oak imparts espresso and leather and it’s as if this CF was raised in Napa or designated IGT. But this is NOTL were talking here. Improbable and believable. Tasted twice.  91  @Pillitteriwines

Riverview Cellars Estate Winery Gewurztraminer 2011 (Angela Kasimos, $18.95, 319830) was sadly not presented to the media in advance of the Feb. 16, 2013 VINTAGES release or I would surely have recommended it a month ago. Straddles a spring flower and tropical fruit line, married as it is by two NOTL blocks, one planted in 1992, the other in 2004. The munificent lychee aroma trumps the Mandarin orange blossom and the 100% stainless steel ferment shrouds no mask over the freshest fruit. Impressive, huge Gewurztraminer, if too much of a good thing.  88  @RiverviewWinery

Vineland Estates St. Urban Vineyard Elevation Riesling 2011 (Brian Schmidt, $19.95, 38117) is, as Brian Schmidt says “simply the best wine that we make.” From Niagara’s most famous and benchmark Riesling vineyard, the Elevation’s pale blue stone eyes is a Pointillist painting both pointed and poignant. As I noted previously, “Riesling made in the vineyard like no other. Off-dry, lingering lemon/lime and utopian acidity. Who knows what minerality lurks in the vineyard of St. Urban? The Escarpment knows.”  88  @benchwineguy

Good to go!

Ontario Wines Won’t Break The Federal Budget

March 29, 2012

 

http://blogs.canada.com/2012/03/29/ontario-wines-wont-break-the-federal-budget/?postpost=v2#content

 

The first true Harper majority government budget will be unveiled this afternoon while VINTAGES product consultants stock their shelves with the March 31st release. The budget will push Old Age Security benefits back to 67. That’s the bad news. The good news is the VINTAGES debut for three stellar backyard bottles. The Tawse Rosé (Echoes incarnate) and the Fielding Chardonnay are on the list at Barque. All three take leave of Canadian politics, tax season and choose to sing of a soothing Spring and Easter otherness.

 

Tawse Sketches of Niagara Rosé 2011 (172643, $15.95) lightens the load laid thick by the 2010 vintage characteristic of the family rutaceae and citrus paradisi. Leans and Dreams Côte d‘Azur where strawberry and candy wiz together ripe and bright.  Warm weather friend crafted by a non compromising cropper.  87 

Featherstone Black Sheep Riesling 2011 (080234, $16.95) elevates above the rim to heights scented by citrus and sea salt to dunk over gleaming minerality. All-star game style on the ball, friable, alley-oop. I’ll repeat the refrain. Less zone coverage and grow more Riesling Ontario!  88

Fielding Estate Chardonnay Unoaked 2008 (164491, $13.95) continues to exude freshness three plus years on.  Prevailing squeaky clean and cheap so ”my money flows like wine.” Still whistling Dixie and eating chicken, like Mitt Romney on the Western Swing. More Mutsu than Meyer, more alfalfa than clover.  A golden, herbal remedy.  87

 

 

 

Good to go!

Tawse For Thought, A Niagara Summer in March

March 22, 2012

 

http://blogs.canada.com/2012/03/27/tawse-for-thought-a-niagara-summer-in-march/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A freakish heat wave smothers Ontario with record temperatures and that does not sit well with Paul Pender. Budding vines followed by frost could spell disaster. “I’ll be looking for a new job” says Pender. Let’s hope not. His first four vintages at Tawse Winery are the stuff of local hero. The wines yet to be bottled from 2010 and 2011 will introduce Mr. Pender to the world.

Paul Pender is a pragmatist. He’s also the most passionate winemaker this side of the 49th. This deadly combination is the proviso towards ensconcing Tawse as the preeminent winery in Ontario. That and the meticulous farming of optimum ripened grapes coddled from top vineyard sites. The land, the fruit and the barrels. Mr. Pender’s Burgundy, Northern Rhône and Bordeaux Right Bank rolled into one dramatic package. He considers himself a farmer above all else and Tawse is on the road to achieving full organic and biodynamic status. Others may fill out forms that declare their outfits “sustainable” but very few practice what they preach.

I spend 90 minutes in the Tawse caves with Moray’s man, tasting through the 2010 and 2011 casks. I emerge energized, head buzzing,  like walking out of a Yorkdale movie theatre as a child in 1980 having just watched Raiders of the Lost Ark. To a batch, the reds show concentration, deep colour, balance and structure. Not a weak or merely acceptable one in the lot. No “iffs” here. Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah for the long haul. White grapes are mined with Burgundy in mind. When I look into the eyes of the Chardonnays, the cut, clarity and brilliance shine of Dresden green. Single Vineyard wines, each its own unique organism, testaments to power and finesse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chardonnay David’s 2011 coruscates like the glare of a Koon sculpture, lambient and luminous. Searing tang of citrus and green apple. A crime to show so well, Zen in its persistence and long finish. This vintage and this vineyard may unseat Robyn.  93-95

Chardonnay Quarry Road 2011 resides on the mineral, slate and lime side of the tracks. The calcareous quality imparted by its eponymous SV terrior makes it the antithesis of David. Creamy, 24-karat fruit.  91-93

Chardonnay Robyn’s Block 2011 will put another gold record on the wall. Combines the best of both David’s and Quarry’s world.  Smacking sapor of melons and pears. Seriously folks, life’s been good to Robyn.  92-94

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cabernet Franc Van Bers 2010 will show that 2010 is the new 1998 for Ontario reds. “Our climate is always workable for early ripening Cab Franc” says Pender, “and when the vintage is right, it’s ideal.” Layers of rich fruit here packed like sardines within a protective bubble of tannin. Should go to 2020 and beyond.  91-93

Merlot David’s 2011 fresh to barrel noses reductive and requires ferocious swirling to aerate and be counted. The wine rebounds so Bob’s your peduncle for this round mound of Merlot. For regular days when you’ve “got some money and a case of wine.” Will drink well in the boat’s cuddy and with grilled ground chuck up on deck.  87-89

Merlot David’s 2010 suffers no stenosis and instead flows as a sanguine and savoury riverine expression. Olives and the smokey whiff of yeasty bread on the grill. Not surprising considering the quality of Pender’s lees so often collected and added back to the next generation’s barrels.  89-91

Syrah Redstone 2011 airs reductive fallacy ad absurdum and so beats it out as a funky drummer.  It takes a major swirl to disambiguate the fetor from the fruit but patience is virtuous. A walled Syrah for sure, and mysterious. Opaque, pepper studded trove of treasure peeks out.  88-90

Syrah Redstone 2010 lays bare visually that rarely, if ever, have I seen this kind of colour intensity from Ontario Syrah.  Pulp and skin impart an easily identifiable dark sheen of complexion. A mess of lush fruit, meed of the maker.  Drink this and “the flutes of the chi will sound again, my friend.” Dangerous. May someday have to be weaned off this one.  91-93

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good to go!