Tag Archives: Cabernet Franc

The 2012 harvest and six current Ontario releases

Backyard Tomato, Basil and Nasturtium

as seen on canada.com

Ontario wine lives well, but the playing field is rapidly changing. Greatness, albeit in fits and spurts, can comfortably be adduced from vineyards going back to at least 1998. I’ve no intention of raining on recent parades but 2012 is shaping up to be something extraordinary. A collective level of confidence and consciousness, meted by a hot, dry summer will surely translate to a banner year for Ontario wines. Niagara’s Man Friday suggests we’re  “heading for a concentrated and ripe (but small) grape Harvest for 2012.” That said, if the tweets and comments coming from the winemakers out of Niagara and Prince Edward County are any indication, some “best ever” bottlings are on the horizon…

Some “best ever” bottlings are on the horizon:

Dan Sullivan, Rosehall Run:

“Fast, furious and fantastic- if the weather holds a little longer this year’s harvest will be a grand-slam in quality!”

Paul Pender, Tawse:

“Harvest has begun in earnest. 16 tonne of premium organic Chardonnay picked and processed.”

Richie Roberts, Fielding Estate:

“Picking Beamsville bench old vine Sauv Blanc today. Coming off with beautiful acid and flavour. Giddy up.”

Brian Schmidt, Vineland Estates:

“We have had an incredibly HOT and dry year.. Weights are quite low but quality is very high.”

Marlize Beyers, Hidden Bench:

“Sparking cuvée pick done and pressed, looking good by the numbers but tasting even better.”

Kevin Panagapka, 2027:

“Crazy early year.. Sparkling in the bag, Pinot next on the radar.”

In the meantime…

While we wait patiently for 21st-century master strokes of vinous genius, here are six current releases to fill your stems.

2027 Falls Vineyard Riesling 2011 (294041, $18.95) from the racy Vinemount Ridge finds Mr. Panagapka in Single-Vineyard heaven. May not be a Genesis ode to a Pat & Lyle ambient masterpiece but the VINTAGES release happens to be on the 32nd anniversary of  Bill Evans’ passing. Flint, lemon yellow sintered micro crystal, bone-dry, brisk acidity. One for the vine. I thought I recognized the 2027 “by the way he fell, and by the way he stood up, and vanished into air.”  89

Lailey Vineyard Chardonnay 2010 (193482, $19.95) looks buttercup yellow and casts a pungent spice note, a trompe d’ail. Resolves quickly into ubiquitous balance and elegance, subtle beauty, body then melting to a creamy, slightly bitter finish. Almost great and one of the best to date.  88

Vineland Estates Elevation Riesling 2011 (38117, $19.95) reserves the right to live off the land with local knowledge and extreme confidence. 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

Featherstone Cabernet Franc 2010 (64618, $16.95) of rooted mahogany and well-deep, depth of fruit is solid as a rock. Lends credence to naming 2010 as Ontario’s best Cab Franc vintage ever, as previously noted. Excellent value here.  88

Henry of Pelham Reserve Pinot Noir 2007 (268391, $24.95) is the bomb. Effectively Cali-candified, it floats in the rarefied air of upper echelon Canadian Pinot. All is resolved at this juncture; fruit, acidity, tannins. A note of rare, roasted game bird keeps it real. Impressive.  89

Norm Hardie County Unfiltered Pinot Noir 2010 (125310, $35.00) may just be the most beautiful purple meets ruby-red Canadian Pinot I have ever laid my eyes on. Vibrant red berries, wildflower blooms and scraped vanilla beans. Warm cereal cooking on a campfire. Then the fruit is turned upside down by carbonate limestone. Wait five years for the mineral to meld into magic.  91

Good to go!

Two forks and New York corks

Palmer Vineyards

The Atlantic coast is flush with dramatic terrain. I have marveled at the Gaspésie, Prince Edward Island, Maine, Cape Breton and Cape Cod. Who can discount the beauty of Chesapeake Bay, Kiawah Island and Myrtle Beach. What confounds is that from Newfoundland to South Florida, one spit of land is not only hospitable, but outright conducive to growing grapes. Risking an avocational hazard of overestimating interest in the topic, in case you hadn’t heard, eastern Long Island produces great wine.

Oysters – South Fork Kitchen

With no disrespect to the manicured Hampton vineyards of the South Fork, it’s the stellar whites and reds of the North Fork that are turning heads. While invisible to most of the planet, they are well-known to the island’s cognoscenti, in Manhattan restaurants and across the boroughs. Locavinous, locavore Bruce Bushel of South Fork Kitchen is a champion of the industry. His Bridgehampton restaurant features seven domestic table wines on tap. An additional five sparkling, nine white, four rosé and five reds are available by the glass. There are a further 37 by the bottle. That’s commitment. I tasted through a few that paired beautifully with oysters and crispy Sardines.

related story

Clovis Point Vineyard

Clovis Point Vineyards, Jamesport, North Fork

Somewhere around 10,000 years ago there lived a group of Paleolithic Native Americans known as the Clovis people. Their spear tips were found on the land where this 11-year old winery farms and fashions less than 2,000 annual cases of garagiste Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Managing partner Hal Ginsburg arranged for me to meet manager Kelly Bruer for a revelatory tasting of Clovis Point’s portfolio.

Clovis Point Tasting Barn

Bruer is as close to a native son as you will find on the North Fork of Long Island. He began his immersion life as a teenager on a journey for all things wine. He is at one with this spit of land measuring less than six miles between Long Island Sound and Peconic Bay, speaking more of micro-climatology than he does of terroir. Vines here must survive and thrive in sand and gravel soil (if you can call it that), where organic matter comes at a premium. Ocean waters and breezes work their saline ways into the wines, more obvious of note in whites. What is imbued to reds is a fascinating calm that neutralizes harsh varnish lines, resulting in beautifully balanced Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This is the North Fork’s somewhereness, something Niagara reds strive towards with hopeful and exponentially maturing vines, yet still remain in search of.

Clovis Point Chardonnay

Chardonnay 2011 ($18) like vegetable consommé gets a floral lift from the smallest amount of Gewurztraminer. Think summer corn, linden/basswood/sumac blossoms and chamomile. Stainless steel fermenting allows the Sound’s airy salinity to breeze away. Early evening summer shadows in a glass.  87

Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2008 ($25) is aged for 10 months in French oak barrels. Energy and lively current passes through its white-hot incandescence. Accretes past Obsidian flint to a melon patch of flavours and fades dispassionately into a cultured end. Chardonnay for oozing cheese.  89

Merlot 2005 ($21) shares French and Hungarian oak with 19% essential Cabernet Franc in mendicant adulation ça vaut le détour. Cotton to the successful notion of Merlot’s North Fork planting and in turn, chemical certainty as to the outcome of its composition. Pins ’05 as the jumping off point for historical success. Better than the Peconic Bay, with longer lasting ever red fruit, twang and sandy spice.   88

Vintner’s Select Merlot 2006 ($35) will force North Fork disbelievers to eat crow. French oak adds smokey barbacoa, devil’s tea, espresso and bittersweet chocolate notes. Gamey yet resolved, Merlot of a quiet avarice, confident, self-assured.  89

Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 ($27.50) nearly goes it alone at 96% Cab. Sauv. capacity and it shows. Cedar and burning, luminescent charcoal smother ruby, red fruit. Time will tell the story of greatness lying in wait due to the heat and dry conditions of the vintage.   87

Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 ($27.50) incorporates 15% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. Inaugural vintage hie to success. Salty sea drafts work their way into the crimson fruit, accented by Left Bank smoke and tobacco leaf. Beginner’s luck or oracle to the future? It matters not. Could drink this quotidianly.  88

Cabernet Franc 2008 ($27.50) is outright cerulean in blueberry and Clintonia. Caliginous and mysterious Cab. Franc, like nothing that has come before. Sea air at work once again, sifting with chalky sand, gravel and dulcet espresso. No Loire, no Niagara signal here. Pure North Fork.  91

Archaeology 2007 ($60) the flagship, Merlot based, proprietary blend is not a “Meritage,” insists Bruer, wink, wink, say no more. Laser focused like a Paleolithic spearhead, acidity and tannin are OTT. Sly and muscular, you have to wrestle to exhaustion to uncover a Bordeaux-like belle epoque.  90

Palmer Vineyards

Palmer Vineyards, Aquebogue, North Fork

Considering that the 1961 Palmer is one of the legendary wines of the universe, naming your Long Island winery  as same might seem a bit surreptitious. If your name happens to be Robert Palmer, then all is forgiven. His eponymous vineyard is one of Long Island’s oldest with a wine rep cemented in good standing. In 2006 Miguel Martin was hired as winemaker and the rest is, history.

Martin is a native of Madrid, Spain and has worked around the globe, in his homeland at Gonzalez Byass, in California for Robert Mondavi and in Australia with Yalumba. Family man (three daughters) and Paella master (he promises we’ll cook together next visit), Martin too is obsessed with weather more than soil. While he shares a North Fork ardency for Merlot, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc, he also has a vision to experiment with European varietals like Albarino and Muscat. I ask him about Tempranillo. He notes that reds out here struggle to achieve maximum ripeness so the great grape of Spain is just not in the cards. Martin guided me through wines from tank, barrel and at the winery’s tasting bar.

Martin is a native of Madrid, Spain and has worked around the globe, in his homeland at Gonzalez Byass, in California for Robert Mondavi and in Australia with Yalumba. Family man (three daughters) and Paella master (he promises we’ll cook together next visit), Martin too is obsessed with weather more than soil. While he shares a North Fork ardent loyalty for Merlot, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc, he also has a vision to experiment with European varietals like Albarino and Muscat. I ask him about Tempranillo. He notes that reds out here struggle to achieve maximum ripeness so the great grape of Spain is just not in the cards. Martin guided me through wines from tank, barrel and at the winery’s tasting bar.

Pinot Blanc 2011 ($20) is typically round but also intriguing with notes of cashew, white strawberry and vanilla cream. Leesy, pear notes join chalk, biscuit and buff. Lieb may be North Fork’s PB darling but Palmer is simply irresistible.  88

Sauvignon Blanc 2011 ($20) is uniquely vegetal and green, at once reminiscent of more famous cousins in Sancerre and Marlborough and then again, not. SB purposely picked early, indicating crab apple, gooseberry, sea grass and akin to a savoury tisane of lemongrass, orange peel and chamomile.  87

Chardonnay Reserve 2010 ($19) is more serious than expected. A Harbor Hill, mineral moraine backbone avers intellectual senescence and wisdom, not unlike Paul Pender’s Quarry Road. Caramel and cream make an appearance but after that it’s all citrus and zest.  89

Albarino 2011 ($25, 500 mL) is the most vivid and sterling white in the portfolio. Rinds of all kinds, Seville orange, grapefruit, lemon and lime join forces with tropically tart punch and white Sangria. Crazy acidity and length.   90

Merlot 2010 ($22) sees four weeks of skin contact for Syrah like, deep colour intensity. You’re a Julia, “a horn section you resemble and your figure makes me tremble.” Absent of reductive aromas out of barrel, this Palmer will be approachable direct from bottle next season. East coast Merlot, there’s the rub. “Julia, you’re a danger, just like giving sweets to stranger.”  89

Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 ($25) is a robust, earthy, muddy cup of morning coffee alongside rye and wheat germ toast smothered with bumble berry confiture. Another intensified red. Who knew? A bit over-leathered so look to pair with a simmered animal bone reduction and red meat.  87

Cabernet Franc 2010 ($29) wins me over. Cab Franc is the artist of the wine world. Never loved enough, bitter, green, work always unfinished. Martin coaxes the most from the unrequited grape and I’d sneak through the alley with Sally for a sip or two. Licorice, black currant, pine. Bring on the duck confit.  92

Good to go!

Wine or beer on the long weekend? Both

Photograph by Fotolia.com

as seen on canada.com

Wine and food captures most of my imagination and this space is in tune with that straight and narrow path. Diversions are always present, but rarely of Pinterest. This past weekend I came across something new in beer. Not so much in terms of brand or flavour, but in closure. Molson Coors has launched a wide mouth can with a resealable screw cap closure. I am certainly not a behemoth beer company advocate but I do applaud the innovation.

Related story: ‘Beerology’: Mirella Amato’s exploration of beer

Three beers are being bottled, well canned, in this fashion. Coors Light, Molson Canadian and Coors Light Iced T. Coors Light in a can, well, that’s res ipsa loquitur. The MC absolutely resembles its Don Cherry self. The Iced T is quite refreshing, on the acrostic poetry, feminine side of beer and quite frankly, I don’t mind it at all.

Courtesy of Chris Schryer, TorontoBeerBlog.com

Courtesy of Chris Schryer, TorontoBeerBlog.com

The can and closure are the rub. Nothing new here, this beer in a can thing, but they get iced cold faster and hold that cold better than bottles. No light transfer means no skunk, so there is a reduction in spoilage. And while the larger opening certainly means you can drink more and faster, the resealable option means nothing can crawl inside between sips. The light weight can also floats so they are perfect for camping and the cottage dock.

If you want to read more about the new line, check this out and this.

OK. Enough about suds. On to the main event.

The grape: Priero Picudo

The history: Rosé from the Tierra de Léon in the south of Spain

The lowdown: Don’t be frightened by the Dayglo colour. This pinky is perfect for hot weather

The food match: Fluke or Medium-rare Tuna Tacos with Pico de Gallo Salsa

Pardevalles Prieto Picudo Rosado 2011 (274449, $12.95) of huge hue is a veritable candy shoppe of licorice, gum drop, strawberry Lola and Kool-Aid. Funky cheese, currant jam and bracing acidity combine for an odd yet invigorating IVR*, Rosé experience.  87

The grape: Chenin Blanc

The history: Loire varietal has become the signature white of South Africa

The lowdown: MAN Vintners out of Paarl employs the original name “Tormentoso,” meaning storm, for the Cape of Good Hope

The food match: Paad Thai with Chicken and Shrimp

Tormentoso Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2011 (278366, $14.95) is outright Victorian where revivalist Gothic meets modern steel. A dark and stormy cocktail of flint, mineral, Paarl granite and Chakalaka. Tomato leaf, fried-green tomato and dusty chalk round out this perfect tempest of purple prose.  Fomenting and fascinating Chenin.  88

The grape: Moscato D’asti

The history: Italian Muscat from Asti, a northwestern province in Piedmont

The lowdown: Very low in alcohol with a slight effervescence. Ideal served well-chilled on a hot summer’s day

The food match: Grilled Chicken Breast with goat cheese and grilled peaches

Dezzani Morelli Moscato D’asti 2010 (187997, $14.95) with its sacchariferous, honey spritz glides quickly past grapefruit and into everything orange. Fresh squeezed juice, rubbed blossom, pith and rind. Light, refreshing and altogether satisfying quencher.  88

The grape: Sangiovese Grosso

The history: Younger sibling to Brunello, meant for early consumption

The lowdown: Esteemed producer and the lowest possible price for a Rosso. Much better choice than the $18 Vino Nobile by Casetllani in neighbouring Montepulciano, the sample of which happened to be corked anyway

The food match: Fresh Tagliatelle with Wild Boar Ragu

La Velona Rosso Di Montalcino 2009 (285429, $17.95) of medium girth is sturdy, taut, spot on. Tar, rose petal and cherry stand out. “My little pretty one” has got the knack just like good Brunello for bringing me back to Montalcino’s intoxicating reds, again and again. My Velona.  89

The grapes: Muscat, Perle of Csaba

The history: As in Moscato D’asti from Piedmont mixed with a smaller amount of the Hungarian Vinifera derived grape

The lowdown: Nova Scotian sparkling wine made in the traditional Champagne style and at a remarkably low 6.5 % alcohol by volume

The food match: Salmon Tartare, salmon roe, crème fraîche and homemade crackerbread

Benjamin Bridge Nova 7 2011 (256289, $25.95) the sweet-smelling starlet is seductive and wholly unique to the world of bubbles. The aleatory contract between unknown sparkling wine and imbiber turns to stone after just one sip. Causes me to react with a start and a coup d’oeuil.  I have been here before; in Champagne, in Moscato D’asti. “Here’s a little agit for the never-believer.” In Nova Scotia they can put a man on the moon. They can make great, if unusual sparkling wine.  89

The tease

The grape: Nebbiolo

The history: Royal red grape of Piedmont

The lowdown: The cheapest Barolo at VINTAGES since the 1990’s seems too good to be true. That’s because it is

The food match: Low and Slow Veal Roast with Nebbiolo, black currant sauce

Patrizi Barolo 2008 (653527, $23.95) is not the weekend wine you might hope it to be. Already bricking like a rural Woodbridge faux-mansion, the Patrizi would have best been consumed in its first year of business. An LCBO buy up for teasing purposes, this Nebbiolo carries a Jarrian curse. “Clichés are the armature of the absolute.” Typically and varietally correct but with fruit already fading. You get what you pay for.  86

The splurge

The grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot

The history: Bordeaux blend in true Napa Valley Meritage form

The lowdown: Though more than just a Cab, it’s essentially a “second” wine to Beaulieu’s Georges Latour Reserve. A loyal servant to the 1980’s heyday of California red wine

The food match: Grilled New York Strip finished with olive oil and a baked potato

Beaulieu Vineyard Tapestry Reserve 2008 (50393, $34.95) is an elegant and masterful blend unmasked and unblinded by oak. There is rusticity, antiquity and servitude to history. A woven carpet of cherries, forest scents and morning coffee. Makes me “feel the earth move under my feet.” You’ve got a friend in Beaulieu.  90

IVR* – Vintage Direct intrigue-to-value ratio

CVR** – Vintage Direct curiosity-to-value ratio

Good to go!

The Wine Diaries. VINTAGES June 9, 2012: Whites and Rosés

Coyote’s Run. Photo Credit: Michael Pinkus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Niagara wines top this list. Coyote’s Run Black Paw Vineyard is a legend in the making. Hinterbrook blows me away with a world-class Rosé.

Nino Franco Faive Brut Sparkling Rosé 2010 (31567, $19.95) the eruptive El Nino of Strawberry fizz is creamy and yet light on its feet. Elevates pink Venetian bubbles to a higher caste and hovers with good length. Wedding ready.  87

Codorníu Pinot Noir Brut Rosé Cava NV (665372, $17.95), always easy on the eyes and nose, boasts red skin apple effervescence and tastes like apple cake in liquid form. But, if you are the largest Champagne-substitute producer on the planet, why does the price have to rise by $3?  Anyone, VINTAGES, Bueller?  86

Coyote’s Run Black Paw Vineyard Chardonnay 2010 (49775, $21.95) whiffs a sliver of Niagara Gold, paw paw and petrol. Take this man-eating elixir to bed and the possibility exists for some arm chewing as a means for escape in the morning. This formidable, complex and consistent vineyard is developing as a legend in Niagara terroir. Nothing beats its CVR** potential at this price.  90

 

Grgich Hills Chardonnay 2009 (346304, $51.95) tests my vertigo. High anxiety, explosive acidity initially causes fear but a rhubarb tropical balance helps to subdue the tension. Ballsy Chardonnay.  89

Grgich Hills Fumé Blanc Dry Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (346296, $29.95) sees the tree for the forest and stands tall like a redwood. Dry humoured and almost Dry Creek-like of a no oak order. LOL at the double designation. Make up your mind Mike, “is he gonna shit, or is he gonna kill us?” Spicoli SB.  89

McManis Chardonnay 2010 (265983, $19.95) the utilitarian one of Wonder white toast and sweet, yellow viscous juice. Sorry, drink.  85

Simi Russian River Valley Chardonnay 2009 (200881, $31.95) suggests socialist stock, RRV buttered popcorn, nuts and bolts. Solid and direct Melon Blanc leading Waylon Smithers to love the A+ score from Mr. Burns. “How old is this guy?” he wants to know. Glad he didn’t offer to take off his belt. “With pleasure sir.”  87

Cono Sur Limited Edition 20 Barrels Chardonnay 2008 (127498, $24.95) simply personifies and aromatically packages cooler Chile in a baked golden delicious, apple pie. From the mineral and red clay soils of El Centinela. A Christian Seventh-day Adventist magazine? No, a Casablanca wine estate.  87

Concha Y Toro Trio Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (678656, $13.95) of purling, floral apricot blossom fragrance whorls pralined pecan. A three-valley SB offering good value if not obvious in identity.  85

Caliterra Tributo Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (283648, $14.95) whiffs calden and peas in a musky b-flat tone beneath the algarobilla. Candied gooseberry, juicy fruit with a touch of bitter carob.   84

Hunter’s Jane Hunter Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (280271, $19.95) of imperceptible tint tropically buffs cerate guava and mangosteen. The duck, duck bypassing of the Chileans lands goose on this SB. The Kiwi is a charmer, a real cake-eater.  88

Paul Cluver Chardonnay 2010 (277939, $21.95) is hardcore, a tough mudder full of yeasty, cranky green eggs and bam. Wild Emeril South African juice for boot camp.  86

Château Moncontour Vouvray Demi-Sec 2010 (16709, $17.95) is an off-bottle. Atomic 16 off the charts.  NR

Domaine Pierre De La Grange Vielle Vignes Muscadet Sèvre et Maine 2010 (274654, $24.95) of coarse, saline grain and winter melon climbing and trailing from lamellar phyllite. Good metamorphic weight and distance. Would be top IVR* in its class at $12.95.  87

Lingenfelder Bird Riesling 2010 (568634, $13.95) has lost its chops over the years. The entry level QbA Bergweiler outdoes the Bird on all levels. Better yet, go any Riesling from Niagara over the Ling at this price and order it with the Lingonberry pancake.  83

Hinterbrook Rosé 2011 (275818, $16.00) is simply brilliant. Top Ontario Rosé to date. Goes well beyond descriptors like “playful” and “quaffable.” A four-day Cabernet Franc cold soak was the ticket to serious pink success, the choice of grape an engineering master stroke. Hinterbrook’s dark side of the moon. Moody, ambient, rich in tone, lyric and extended play. Rosé needs some mystery and here it is.  “There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it’s all dark.”  91

 

Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Pinks Dry Rosé 2011 (277970, $19.95) of rare Valdiguie, a.k.a. Napa Gamay and 1/4 Pinot shows shipshape extraction and variant bitterness. Lacks dimension and ultimately stands like a crane on one leg.   85

Carte Noire Rosé 2011 (319384, $14.95) casts a rainbow, tawny-pink shadow in chromatic film noir fashion. Smells like a pink pleasure palace, cotton candy factory and a mix of rocks and pink lavender. Definitely puts the horse before the cart.  87

La Cadierenne Cuvée Grande Tradition Bandol Rosé 2011 (119453, $17.95) chases a fading blossom on a bitter almond tree. At 14% abv it’s unbraided and a bit anti-Provence in style.  84

Famille Perrin Tavel Rosé 2011 (680801, $19.95) shines as the evening sun, sitting like phosphorous on the wine’s flesh. Serious for Rosé, the olive-skin Mediterranean edges are echoed in a savoury accent, of garrigue and pressed oil.   88


Cabriz Rosé 2011 (30445, $11.95) blends twiggy Alfrochiero with zaftig Touriga for an E-man plea of “light colour but electric pink!” A-1 IVR* value from Portugal’s Dão Sul. Definitely the way to go in cheap Rosé.  86

IVR* – Vintage Direct Intrigue-to-Value Ratio

CVR* – Vintage Direct Curiosity-to-Value Ratio

Good to go!

VINTAGES June 9, 2012 Release: Six from Chile

Chilean Vineyard. Photo Credit: Thad Roan – Bridgepix

Of the 15 whites and reds I tasted from this VINTAGES amassed Chilean lot, six stood out above the pack. Look for Syrah and Cabernet Franc grown at high altitudes on the slopes and valleys of Chile’s mountainous North to be future stars.

http://blogs.canada.com/2012/06/07/vintages-june-9-2012-release-six-from-chile/

Emiliana Signos De Origen La Vinilla Chardonnay/Viognier/Marsanne/Roussane 2010 (0063909, $19.95) exhibits its organic status in millón vanillin yellow crystal scents. Add to that an orange tang and the Vinilla works the Rhône room both North and South, finishing Viognier with an “ice, ice, baby” refrain. Bring on the suckling porcine cena.  88

Maycas Del Limarí Reserva Especial Chardonnay 2010 (0162040, $19.95) offers up sweet, saponaceous fumes from high octane green mountain orchards. Descends momentarily but ascends again for the peak where fried melon rind dips into red pepper piri-piri sauce. Unusual yet striking.  87

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Altaïr Sideral 2007 (0660837, $26.95) waxes Italian through gamey notes, despite its varietal French pedigree. Reticent Cabernet whiffs subtle poached pear in fermented grape juice. Builds mineral pistol momentum then turns vicious on the animale note. The Sideral is always entertaining and can claim “I did it my way.” The great Chilean Bordeaux blend swindle.  88

Concha Y Toro Terrunyo Vineyard Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (0562918, $29.95) may be full in body and bleeding heart extraction yet acts backwardly mobile. It’s terraced Cabernet continence shakes contrary to its bodacious and bootyliscious appearance. Stand five years then pour it with a charred bovine’s blue, beating heart.  89

Maycas Del Limarí Reserva Especial Syrah 2008 (0269423, $19.95) clicks on all cylinders. High altitude vineyards with cool, Andes breezes produce high octane, voluminous Syrah. Bacon fat and smoked meat lead to shrewd tannins possessive of a sudden glare, like its attention has filed down to a single, sharp point.  88

Potro De Piedra Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc 2008 (0273995, $24.95) the beguiler intrigues as a stone cold groove with wild herbs, flowers and underbrush that perfume the glass. A residual piedra sagrada hard edge mars the finish but this is otherwise a stroke of brilliance. Wait three years and call it a day.  89

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!

Portfolio Tasting with Norman Hardie, Barque Smokehouse, January 23, 2012

Norman Hardie flaunts an unbiased instinct for what is genuinely evolving as Ontario wine, be it good or bad.  He is both chemist and magician, pundit and critic. For better or for worse he is Matt Kramer’s (WS) boy now, a nuptial trafficker of both Niagara and Prince Edward County fruit, authoring with bravado, crafting with passion. Wild West meets intellectual East, winemaker as Steinbeck or London, possessed with an honest will to hunt down the object of his life. 

Hardie and his king assistant Richard sat down with JB and I at Barque on an afternoon amid this winter of our discontent.  A six strong John Barleycorn tasting, in temperament but not volume.  Limestone soils are forever in his discourse, he a Hagrid of experiential vinification.  His wines are made of a man, “yes I am and I can’t help but love you so.”

RIESLING 2010 ($21) is cracker jack lemon/lime p.e.c. punch, the sprite as foil to niagara’s sharp, propellant fruit. diesel charged to run a unimog.  89

CHARDONNAY PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY 2010 (149054, $35.20) bends chablis, in specie côte de léchet, calling to mind defaix. minerals as fulvous fluid liquid. this is hardie’s immigrant song “from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.”  88

CHARDONNAY UUNFILTERED NIAGARA PENINSULA 2009 ($35) may mince meursault and mâcon but the proof is in the must. sumptuous loam, an onguiaahra sweat lodge made of birch and poplar. most wines give you only of themselves – this one gives you the wide world.  91

PINOT NOIR PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY 2010 ($35) should appeal to my childhood neighbour, he who created the “not ready for prime time player.” speaks proudly at 11.9% abv from vines “not quite there” admits norm, but like our sugaring maples these creepers will one day help to define our land. uncluttered, modish, honest.   87

PINOT NOIR UNFILTERED NIAGARA PENINSULA 2009 ($39) at 0.5% higher alcohol tepidly ramps up the texture quotient, runs deeper routes yet remains the antithesis of california pinot relish. countenance of subtlety, soft peddling and sober.   89

CABERNET FRANC PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY 2010 (237123, $25) from the foster vineyard in p.e.c. displays flavours so pointed they fell me.  oak loyalty to a stern grape, ode to cherry, currant and cinnabar chinon. smokier fruit here, deeper than your average bourgueil and smarter than your average bear.   90

Good to go!