Twenty-five Canadian wines that rocked in 2025

Godello in Vancouver

These past 13 years have offered countless opportunities to taste the coffered excellence of Canadian wine and in turn these Godello pages have produced 12, now 13 sets of recollection, reminiscence and appreciation. Formulating these lists has always been time consuming, the process delicate, the stress they induce troubling and wrought with hours of heedful consideration. The 13 years of tasting and assessing have accounted for more than 15,000 Canadian wines in glasses well-used, replaced and updated, through Zalto tragedies, Riedel and Spiegelau mitigation. The number 25 may appear to be an easy target because that seems like more than sufficient spaces to fill, but every year gets harder and the task weighs increasingly on the taster’s duty to accountability. These twenty-five Canadian wines that rocked in 2025 represent a cross section of Canadian merit always edging into brilliance, an annual catalogue never ignored nor glossed over, completed with conscientious thought towards the end goal of celebrating Canada’s best. Ethical and justified, by now a matter of tradition and in this opinion, a cultural imperative.

Godello in the Okanagan Valley

Twenty-five percent of this year’s tableau are sparkling wines, one less than 2024 but still a number that serves to prove the enduring coast-to-coast quality of that sector in Canadian wine. As a reminder, “the math is really quite simple. Cool climate viticulture means longer growing seasons for more developed, therefore riper phenolics matched dutifully by kept acidities. Climates have changed but Canadian growing areas have not yet lost their edge and besides, extreme events are more likely and increasingly the culprit when it comes to extenuating snafu circumstances like crazy cold snaps that take out wide swaths of grapevines. For the most part this country can still hang a wide variety of grapes to create killer sparkling wines. Be immersed in the emerging industry that is Canadian sparkling wine and you will find yourself amazed. Canadian wine regions form coast to coast are not trying to make Champagne, but, the promise grows for producing sparkling wine better than anywhere in the world…with the exception of Champagne.”

NWACs 2025

At the 2025 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada there were 100 medals awarded to sparkling wines. 100! 100 is an insane number of Gold, Silver and Bronze medallions allotted to any category and yet sparkling is in fact so deserving of the hardware. Of those 100 medals, 23 were Gold, 34 Silver and 43 Bronze. The two most expensive wines entered both received Gold recognition and the provincial breakdown at that level was 12 from Ontario, 10 out of British Columbia and one for Nova Scotia. In fact the average price of Gold winning wines is $56.10 which surely says something about two dozen WineAlign judges’ ability to identify the highest Canadian sparkling wines.

The School of Cool July 17, 2025 Edition
(c) Cool Chardonnay

One riesling, one roussanne/marsanne and six chardonnay make up the gaggle of white wines and there is never any wonder why this country’s most successful grape variety always occupies more spots than any other single variety. The 15th International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration took place in July, 2025 and while every annual Niagara chardonnay experience is cool, this above the clouds 2025 edition was something other. Unexpectedly Godello was tasked with steering the educational component as emcee for the Thursday School of Cool at White Oaks Conference Resort and Spa. An honour and indeed a privilege it was, to share a stage with Canadian and international winemakers, winery representatives, distinguished minds and presenters. There was a palpable buzz in the room at this year’s School of Cool and also an uncommon level of expert conviction conferred by the moderators and panelists. The Canadian wine industry has assuredly come of age and chardonnay’s cool weekend was the perfect time to express the explorative, collaborative and measurable maturity of experience. Over those four days from July 17-20, the i4C was the coolest place to be.

Another solid showing for pinot noir although three were chosen as compared to five the previous year, a drop attributed to more cabernet franc and syrah making it into the fray. The rise in franc quality is a by-product of a collective new understanding by winemakers producing pure, unadulterated cabernet franc equipped with a true and clear message to represent a sense of pace. A confident prediction will see the number of franc hitting best of lists rise with increasing regularity, not as a trend but with the notion they are here to stay. The syrah clusterf%*k is another matter because of the winter catastrophe that wiped out most of the Okanagan’s plantings. The three chosen for 2025 are all profound examples and are here because of their excitement inducing factors, not because of empathy or sentimentality. The finale is a remarkable red blend at a steal of a price from a winery that produces bigger red blends at much higher costs, but this one is “real indeed, honest as F and clearly made in good faith.” Far too good to ignore.

Meritage is still a big deal and stylistically speaking, some of the most complex Canadian red blends are the equivalent or coalescence of two famous European attributes, they being the French garrigue and Italian macchia. Still others bring about a mix of merde Française and Italianate animale. In such cases tasters are split between the forces of complexity and flaws. Unwanted microbes are distractions, especially Brettanomyces which is not an accent upon the language of great wine. Canadian wine consumers are fortunate because their makers’ cellars are cleaner (and not nearly as old) as many Euro counterparts and to a winemaker, clean and technically sound wine is this country’s wine religion. Thank goodness for that.

Canadian judges concluded the annual 2025 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada with a resounding roar in thanks to the ever increasing quality this country puts forth year after year. The 2025 edition was once again held in Penticton heading up towards the northerly growing areas in the Okanagan Valley. Evening programs between site visits took place at JoieFarm Winery hosted by BC Winegrowers; Liquidity Winery with Mission Hill, CedarCreek, Martin’s Lane, CheckMate, Red Barn at Jagged Rock and Road 13; Garnet Valley Ranch with the Summerland Bottleneck Drive members. These get togethers take judging wines blind to another level by solidifying their meaning when tasted with the producers who make them.

In nine days 2026 will be upon us and the new year will mark a change in job description with the addition of a new title: National Wine Advisor to Canada’s Great Kitchen Party. Thank you to David Lawrason, on a deeply personal level, for your many years of contribution and all you have done for Kitchen Party and Canadian wine. We have all witnessed the growth, maturity and excellence of the culinary events during which David has been instrumental in bringing the finest Canadian wines to light. “I will never forget how he stood at the Kitchen Party podium some 12 years ago and introduced me as “Canada’s wine wordsmith,” a compliment taken to heart and an encouragement to always be myself. You have been an inspiration, a great friend and colleague. As my true mentor in wine journalism it feels only fitting to take the Kitchen Party baton from you, now proud and honoured to act as this next messenger for Canadian wines and to share their world class quality with Canadians, from Victoria to St. Johns.”

Godello’s annual crème de la crème collection is a matter of messenger passing on a message from all the vintners, winemakers and marketers that bring Canadian wine to the people. So many worthy wines are omitted not because they lack stuffing, honesty or quality. Twenty five is still a very small number representing just two and a half percent of what is tasted each year and so let us give credit to those that are here. These are the twenty-five Canadian wines that rocked in 2025.

School of Cool squadra; Josh Horton (Lightfoot & Wolfville), Marty Werner (MW Wines), Ben Minaker (Andrew Peller) and Dr. Jennifer Kelly (CCOVI)

Lightfoot & Wolfville Brut Rosé 2021, Nova Scotia

Organic pinot noir and by now this must be the fifth or sixth leaf for Raven Hill Vineyard fruit situated directly across the road from the winery. The Lightfoot & Wolfville sparkling wine program has matured into one of Canada’s best under the leadership of talented winemaker Josh Horton and vintage Brut Rosé takes a giant leap forward with the 2021 vintage. Beyond balance and now riveted up with a next level transference of fruit gaining in experience aged on really fine lees. The result is increased clarity and a beguiling ride for the senses. An exciting Wolfville bubble, ideal for this holiday season and into the beyond. Drink 2025-2030. Tasted December 2025

With Jonas Newman, Hinterland Winery and The Grange of Prince Edward

Hinterland Blanc De Blancs 2020, VQA Ontario, VQA Prince Edward County

Hard not to couple Les Etoiles and Blanc de Blancs, especially when you taste the two side by each. From that blend of three varieties to here, a solo artist as chardonnay that speaks so succinctly in Jonas Newman’s scintillant of a sparkling wine. It takes a village and a warm vintage to make a B de B with this much polyteleías character, beyond luxe to luxurious and more. The estate-grown chardonnay is aged n 500L five year-old barrels for 10 months ahead of its tirage. Ages in bottle flat on slats for 36 months through to a November 2024 disgorgement. Where fruit meets limestone. The 2020 is quite glorious, thank you very much. Drink 2025-2029. Tasted December 2025

Henry Of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Carte Blanche Estate Blanc De Blancs 2018, VQA Short Hills Bench

To invoke an Asteroid City concept, the time is always right to taste Cuvée Catherine, This becasue it’s simply never a sparkling wine we need to see in “the wrong way,” as Kafka once wrote, “to be able to see things the right way.” Many bubbles fall into the category of that conundrum but in Ontario the Speck brothers’ Carte Blanche always gets the art right. It excuses us the need to learn that artifice is the antithesis of affect, if simply because it is a fizz that presents a consistently clear vision of sparkling winemaking as an art form that casts a light, illuminates and enriches. Case in point and again with 2018, perhaps the most decadent of them all, perfectly aligning base wine fruit with secondary fermentation and felicitous acidity towards an elasticity that snaps back on the palate with each sip. If you need to ask did it turn out, the answer will always be, Cuvée Catherine always turns out. One day the H of P boys have got to pour this for the filmmaker because their’s is benchmark cinematic bubble. Drink 2025-2032. Tasted November 2025

Godello and Pender

Tawse Spark David’s Block Blanc De Blancs 2010, VQA Twenty Mile Bench

Four months should not make much of a difference when talking about and assessing a sparkling wine spent….180 months on the lees…but time’s a tickin’ and so 120-130 days does change the matter. The soothsaying work of the late great Mr. Pender foresaw this ability to not only hang in, but do so with toughness, grit and impressive grip. The flavours are oxidative and phenolic freight demands our attention. In the end the wine thrives…and survives. Drink 2025-2027. Last tasted November 2025

En triage 12 years and just about as dry as they come for a sparkling chardonnay that then winemaker Paul Pender made the choice to go highest acid (9.8 g/L) and lowest dosage (2 g/L). Fascinating as always to look back at some of the earliest Spark! sparkling wines from the coolest of cool chardonnay. This bottle does however feel every day of its age. Notably mushroom, toasty and autolytic. Interesting and though there is some persistent acidity the freshness for this bottle has gone long in the tooth. Tasted at i4C, July 2025

No this is not an optical illusion but it may be a test. A 2010 Blanc de Blancs is in fact chardonnay by now aged nearly 14 years on the lees and if nothing else the colour of this sparkling wine is virtually impossible. Magic at least and the aromas tell another incredulous story. There is petrol in the aromatic mix, as if this were riesling and so maybe think about Icewine, how even chardonnay can develop these sorts of mineral-gaseous aromas with enough time in bottle. As here with sparkling wine and the most fascinating look at Spark in its many varied iterations. There is a note that reminds of Vermouth and so freshness is not the operative word but complexity surely is. Just a faint bit of Rancio, nutty and distinct, so worth the detour. And priceless. Tasted November 2024

Dean Stoyka and J-L Groux – Stratus Vineyards

Stratus Blanc De Blancs 2017, VQA Niagara-on-the Lake

Have always found the 100 percent Stratus chardonnay twice fermented as Blanc De Blancs to reside and take a rightful place amongst the most complex in Canada. Generally speaking the wine ages six years on the lees and now eight years post vintage you can add stunning idiosyncratic personality to already guaranteed complexity, because my goodness what magic and fantasy are going on here? What wizardry of physiological conversion from chardonnay to Blanc De Blancs is happening? Scents are savoury to a level that invokes some Mediterranean macchia, phenolics are indicated by a ginger and allied friends spice masala, bitters are of a fine digestive tincture, distilled from compound leaf exotica. Not only unfamiliar but come from a wild mix of South Asian and Southeast Asian aromatics to put this B de B in a sparkling guild of its own. Have never tasted anything like it. Drink 2026-2032. Tasted November 2025

Marty Werner

York Vineyards Reserve Brut, VQA Niagara-on-the Lake

Mon dieu the tight energy wind is ready to explode – but not quite yet. Pent up like no other Niagara sparkler, on the lake or otherwise, fuelled by emotion and toasty intensity this close to letting loose. Would wait another few months to allow for further lees meets fruit and acid development, pegging and coalescence. The sky is the limit for the Brut NV, top of the bubbling heap for York Vineyards. Drink 2026-2031. Last tasted November 2025

York Vineyards’ Brut is a two-thirds to one-third chardonnay-pinot noir joint that sees 72 months on the lees. A sparkling sensation taking the country and apparently also the world by storm. The attention to detail, focus and determination are credible, felt with palpable energy and there is no doubt as to how much trial, experimentation and consideration went into making this and other York Vineyards wines. The Reserve moniker may at times feel like an add on but here one can imagine the assessment of base wines and the selection being both a stringent and anticipatory one. This is richness off the proverbial Ontario charts with a toasty-autolytic complex character that defies regularity. Toned, defined and appreciable because the flesh is yet to fully develop. Tasted November 2024

Culmina Winery, Oliver

Culmina Riesling Decora Margaret’s Bench Vineyard 2021, BC VQA Okanagan Valley

There is Decora and then there is the high elevation vineyard above the Golden Mile Bench boundary qualification in the South Okanagan. Margaret’s Bench is one of the area’s top riesling sites – Think of it as the Okanagan’s version of carricante growing above the Etna DOC designation, say in Rampante or Guardiola. The levels of extract, tannin and phenolic grip gather to elevate, lift and transmogrify riesling into something other, magical and munificent. Some age has already brought about the savoury honeyed effect, like Hunter Valley sémillon and the aforementioned L’Etna mystery. But this is the Okanagan and riesling gets no more amazing than this. Drink 2025-2030. Tasted November 2025

Geoffrey Moss M.W. – Søren Wines

Søren Results May Vary Roussanne Marsanne 2022, BC VQA Okanagan Valley

Can’t imagine Geoffrey Moss M.W.’s choice of wording is in ode to Limp Bizkit’s fourth studio album, though you just never know and with this rather dubious first Rhône-ish Blanc he might say “Gimme the Mic.” Perhaps also “Red Light-Green Light” because along with his first kick at syrah the pair signal the arrival of two important wines onto the Okanagan, British Columbian and Canadian markets. Results May Vary is a joint roussanne-marsanne with a gently swaying mix of optimism, optimally ripe fruit and the sweet support of stride for stride acidity. Dutiful march up the sides of the jawline and across the palate with each green grape providing, integrating and then connecting for equal contributive proportion. Terrific effort for this dual purposed nexus of Rhône varieties done up with distinction as a promise of the Okanagan Valley. Can’t wait to try this again, but also future iterations that will surely evolve towards the profound, one subtle step at a time. Drink 2025-2027. Tasted January 2025

The Long Way Home Chardonnay 2023, VQA Beamsville Bench

The next Beamsville Bench 2023 Long Way Home chardonnay from one time Hidden Bench and South African winemaker Marlize Beyers may just be her deepest metaphorical exploration, of Escarpment longing and the quest for inner varietal peace. Notes of vivid aromatics and metaphors are imagined, whether conventional or unconventional, yet all speak to the long journey. Balance is struck between fruit and barrel, ripeness and elastic tension, all primed and relished this time around. Everyone waits for great chardonnay and when it is found, inner peace becomes the satisfying result. And so if you have ever said “love’s the only thing I’ve ever known,” consider adding chardonnay to the longing and looking past this 2023 would be a missed opportunity. Once again and this time with the writer’s original gravelly bawl, “come with me, together we can take the long way home.” Drink 2025-2030. Tasted May 2025

The Senchuks – Leaning Post

Leaning Post Chardonnay Senchuk Vineyard 2022, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore

Sharp and pinpointed without equivocation in home base chardonnay of vines further matured into early adulthood. Now in delivery for fineness and a development into true realism in western Niagara chardonnay. In fact place does not get any more west and so we begin to believe that the west is indeed the best. The concept may express a subjective opinion and also convey a preference for a specific geographic region but who can deny what the Senchuks have accomplished with the clay based block behind the winery. The 2022 is in fact a warm chardonnay from a cool climate that shows just the existential where and when history of a wine like this. With depth of flavour, rise and length. Drink 2025-2032. Tasted at i4C, July 2025

Quails’ Gate Winemaker Kailee Frasch

Quails’ Gate Chardonnay Rosemary’s Block 2022, BC VQA Okanagan Valley

From first nose you just know this is proper chardonnay and without question the one that comes from a pinpointed place. Sapid and tonic-driven chardonnay with wood spice and a whiff of smoulder, slightly higher acetic presence as well. All these things are within reason and the lemony character is really what defines the wine. The aromas are distinct, the flavours compact and the finish elastic. Everything reaches out to be experienced, snaps back, retreats behind the wood and comes back out again. Repeats the process ad infinite though not without a kind of quiet or demure. Grace and charm are evident while tension keeps the energy alive. Drink 2025-2029. Tasted blind at NWACs, June 2025

Grimsby Hillside Vineyard

Bachelder Chardonnay Frontier Block Grimsby Hillside Vineyard 2023, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore

The golden Grimsby Hillside Vineyard child is Frontier Block, with no dis to Red Clay Barn Block, but of the two the weight, clarity, organic purity and morphological flexibility here is second to none. Simple to say but there’s so much more, including an elevated stone-mineral experience come from this GHV stunner, tasting exemplar finale for the Toussaint release played out in 14 chardonnay bars. If there were any wine produced from fruit raised out of this dubious reverse L-shaped vineyard located in the far western section of the Double “L” to make a case for designating a new Niagara sub-appellation – The Frontier Block would be that wine. The stage presence enables and enacts the most positive effect on pleasure and peace of mind. Pour this to only they who will appreciate the nuance, impeccable timing, structure and philanthropy. Drink 2026-2032. Tasted December 2025

Kaylee Barss, Checkmate Winery

Checkmate Chardonnay Capture Buena Vista Vineyard 2023, BC VQA Okanagan Valley

From the by now well famous Buena Vista Vineyard parcel near the US border at Osoyoos in the southern Okanagan. My goodness what restraint and linearity, tight lines and fruit wound around a spindle, winced like laces pulled perfectly tight. Fine and precise, a dare it be said perfect capture of chardonnay fruit from a perfect vintage. Simply, unequivocally and ostensibly wow. Drink 2025-2032. Tasted September 2025

Winemaker Taylor Whelan

Mission Hill Perpetua 2022, BC VQA Okanagan Valley

Comes from Dijon planted clones in four blocks at Mission Hill’s Border Vista Vineyard in Osoyoos. Most southerly and warmest location at the border with Washington, one of Canada’s great vineyard sites and capable of delivering the highest quality of chardonnay. As it does from 2022 with perfectly judged reductive element for freshness incarnate urged to fruition by citrus and orchard fruit in the flesh. Last tasted September 2025

Big and fulsome chardonnay with a whole lotta love, Rosie and barrel going on. Steals the show with fruit the AC, barrel the DC, arriving together. Working as soulmates should, integrating, sharing and complimenting on another, words unspoken. Notes of lemon, pencil led and an airiness, rising overhead. Hand in hand and this is what we ask from chardonnay. Want a whole lotta this. Drink 2025-230. Tasted blind at NWACs, June 2025

Apāra Winery Gamay Noir 2023, BC VQA Okanagan Valley

The work and dream of Nav & Andreas only began in 2021 when land was acquired and then with 5,700 vines put into the ground the following year. Their wines are made at Rigour & Whimsy Winery in Okanagan Falls. Just 113 (sold out) cases were made of this three-day wild carbonic fermented gamay, 15 days total on skins, aged 6 months in neutral French oak, unfined and unfiltered. Love the spice cupboard on the gamay nose with freshest of fresh red fruit. Crunchy red without trying hard at any moment for the how, what and why it generously delivers in waves across your palate. Simply awesome cru-Beaujolais style. Drink 2026-2030. Tasted September 2025

Martin’s Lane Pinot Noir Hieroglyph 2020, BC VQA Naramata Ranch

Stony does not begin to describe the nature and character of this phenolic pinot noir. First vintage for a single, south-facing block at the most northern end of the Naramata Bench, bordering Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park. Cliff-perched over the the lake and nutrient-poor soils of fine talcum powder glacial silt. Smallest of parcels for 100 cases from fruit picked on September 29th. Spontaneous fermentation, 80 percent whole cluster, 18 day maceration, 16 months in (25 percent new) French and Austrian wood. Magical conversion rate to 12.8 percent alcohol, impeccable balance between medium-key (5.8 g/L) acidity and (3.66) pH. Serious, structured and my kind of tension. Drink 2026-2032. Tasted June 2025

Closson Chase Pinot Noir South Clos 2023, VQA Prince Edward County

From demure to exuberance, leaving that absolutely fine and elegant 2021 and moving ahead two years into this powerful 2023 pinot noir. Then again the County and South Clos-ness can never be shaken or removed from the equation and frankly this sku is one of Canada’s most balanced varietal wines. Punch and circumstance combine for more power and pop but restraint as the wine’s middle name does keep SC grounded, with thanks to the agriculture meeting Keith Tyers’ acumen, steady in experienced winemaking hands. Some savour with verdant crunch this season, parts that will bolster structure and see this pinot noir age well into the next decade. Drink 2026-2033. Tasted November 2025

Thomas Bachelder and Mary Delaney-Bachelder

Bachelder Pinot Noir Wild West End Wismer Parke Vineyard 2023, VQA Twenty Mile Bench

Sure feels like we’ve left coach and now live comfortably in business class aboard the Bachelder pinot noir train. Still in Wismer Parke yet the seats are in the Wild West End, in most vintages a place of untamed territory, but 2023 is not every vintage. The amenability factor now runs about as high as it could possibly fly and while Wismer Parke expresses its sneaky structure at the last possible moment, in the Wild West End it makes itself known from the very beginning. This dichotomy of immediate gratification juxtaposed against age-ability makes this the most fascinating of the 2023s. The music is no longer Bluegrass but now Wild 80s Country where guitars, Cadillacs and hillbilly rule the day. That’s where pinot noir comes in because on this train “it’s the only thing that keeps me hangin’ on.” Drink 2026-2032. Tasted December 2025

Ron Giesbrecht – Wending Home

Wending Home Cabernet Franc Estate Vineyard 2021, VQA Creek Shores

First tasted blind and this second go leaves me duly impressed. This time knowing full well what wine is poured but no change in attitude or assessment – only reinforcement because Wending Home’s 2021 defines the beauty and potential of Niagara cabernet franc. Last tasted August 2025

Fulsome and well-oaked cabernet franc with all the fruits involved, of blacks, reds and especially blues. Very varietal in that respect yet without any sidling kinship to varieties like tempranillo, malbec or petit verdot. This is a seamless expression in which acidity plays a key role to lift, cool down and stretch fruit in the face of skin plus wood tannin. Impressive expression all around. Drink 2026-2029. Tasted blind at NWACs, June 2025

Winemaker Jonathan McLean, Black Bank Hill

Black Bank Hill Cabernet Franc 2022, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore

Tasting this from a bottle opened yesterday only reinforces the finding for what will go down as one of the finer cabernet francs ever made in Ontario. The cup runneth over with red fruit and varietal intangibles that only these Lincoln Lakeshore vines could have possibly produced. BBH’s 2022 was most certainly made in the vineyard, coaxed along in the cellar by the estate’s and founder Taylor Emerson’s most thoughtful winemaker Jonathan McLean. Last tasted July 2025

Juiciest of the cabernet franc and also one of the more tannic, a.k.a structured expressions. Comes at the palate (especially) in waves and with layers waiting to be peeled away, exposed and experienced. There is everything in this ultra special cabernet franc and it will live a very long time. Drink 2026-2033. Tasted blind at NWACs, June 2025

Grange Of Prince Cabernet Franc Edward Aurelia Series 2023, VQA Prince Edward County

What absolutely killer, beautiful and appropriate volatility in the sweetest and most elastic vein. There are Loire and Ontario cabernet franc and then comes along Aurelius at Prince Edward County’s Grange made by Jonas Newman – and the skies re-open. Feels like a cabernet franc epiphany sent after a storm with order restored post chaos and darkness. The wine’s opening salvo is something understood to be professional and artisanal rolling into the proverbial emergence from risk relatable to reward. Brightness and potential ensues. Near, near absolutely brilliant bottle of cabernet franc. The pinnacle is coming soon. Drink 2026-2031. Tasted at i4C, July 2025

Jesce Baessler – Corcelletes

Corcelettes Syrah 2022, BC VQA Similkameen Valley

Easily the biggest and most structured syrah of the lot, dripping with hematic juices, sanguine and also the greatest ferric presence. Massive waves of fruit and tannin, wood so very much a part of the mix and the style incomparable, save for like-minded efforts and with a nod to the motherland. Smoky bacon and acid structure. The most complete example for aging long term. Drink 2027-2033. Tasted blind at NWACs, June 2025

Rainmaker Wines Syrah Viognier The Modernist 2022, BC VQA Okanagan Valley

The epitome of (Barbecue) smoked meats as a hunch in syrah, more beef than pork and with all the attributes the variety is bent to display when a place and winemaking conspire to bring purity and reality to the table. Love the meat sweats feeling, the full concentration of fruit and the seriousness of mineral running through. Top notch without any semblance of lean, mean or green character. Drink 2026-2032. Tasted blind at NWACs, June 2025

Black Hills Winemaker Ryan McKibbon

Black Hills Estate Winery Bona Fide 2022, BC VQA Okanagan Valley

Real indeed, honest as F and clearly made in good faith, of 42 percent malbec with carménère and syrah for one of this country’s most determined and yet genuinely restrained red blends. There is no mistaking or missing the purity of the blue meets purple fruit of malbec, nor the righteous use of toasty and sweetly vegetal carmenère. The syrah is the tie that binds, the meaty and juicy rare cut of beef that lends both a mildly smoky but also rich depth of plasma and iodine. You will be forgiven for imagining Chile, Argentina or South Africa, yet you will be rewarded for celebrating the Okanagan Valley-ness of the final effect. That from a complete wine which is silken, virtuous and proper. Drink 2025-2028. Tasted September 2025

Okanagan Valley

Painted Rock Syrah 2022, BC VQA Skaha Bench, Okanagan Valley

The 2022 is a bold and patented syrah with trenchant purpose and likely clocking in at a higher alcohol level than the rest of the Painted Rock reds. Just a hair short of 15 percent, wily, woolly, fruit gilded and exotically perfumed to the hilt. Silken and suave but not without a sense of “animale,” as can also be said of some northern Rhône syrah. Drink a glass too fast and you may feel as though you are sporting a hairshirt on the skin as a form of religious penance or self-discipline. The structure is in fact impeccably conceived and constructed, which is to say a few years down the road you will appreciate this wine for how it has moved from green to red. Share it with people who make a difference in your life, put on the seminal pop-transition record by R.E.M. and say to them “feed me banks of light and hang your hairshirt on the lowest rung. It’s a beautiful life.” Drink 2027-2034. Tasted April 2025

Good to go!

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Twenty Canadian wines that rocked in 2020

Dec24

Year-end lists and greatest hits have always elicited a personal introspective fascination, not any lists mind you but mostly those involving music. Always curious to find out if someone else thought the same songs or albums aligned with your own. Such lists are met with growing skepticism and so the words “top” or “best” should be taken with a grain of salt, scrutinized with impunity, viewed with subjective prejudice. Music and wine need not be considered as ranked, top or best but instead contemplated with dead reckoning, as if throwing a buoyant opinion overboard to determine the speed of the mind’s emotion relative to thought, which was assumed to be dead in the waters of judgement. The feeling of being moved, stirred up in sentiment, excited and reaching deeper into understanding, these are the reasons to tally a culminating register. Neither for enumeration nor for classification, but for the indexing, of harbingers and that which makes us feel.

What transpired over the previous 12 months has not left the arena of the unfathomable and the absurd, but with respect to Canadian wine there can be no doubt that a next level of greatness was reached. Holiday time will be somewhat solitary as 2020 winds down and while the sharing of bottles will surely mean more repeated sips for the few involved, they will be sweet ones and are not to be taken for granted. As for the exercise of creating a rocking roster of Canadian made wine, well here on Godello this so happens to be the eighth annual for an instalment that first appeared in 2013. Now adding up to seven more entries than the first and acting as natural segue, a transition and salvo towards crossing over the threshold where 2021 awaits.

Twenty. Not an arbitrary number but rather an arbiter of perpetual and developmental prowess of a nation’s wine-producing ability and surely while knowing that no fewer than 20 others could of, would of, should of made the grade. The quote is a timeless one and will be employed once again. This curated list is “biased, exclusive and decisive but it is meant to celebrate a select few with a mandate to elevate and exult the rest. It’s also a proclamation read to many who remain ignorant to an ideal of great wine being made in Canada. The winemakers in this country are in full command of their acumen, craft and future. They own it.”

In 2020 Canadian wine came to my tasting table in ways no other year made it happen. There were no excursions to British Columbia, Nova Scotia or Quebec, save for a 36-hour round-trip drive to Halifax in delivery of precious human cargo. No Cuvée or i4c. No VQA Oyster competition, Somewhereness or Terroir Symposium. No walk-around tastings. Despite going nowhere the opportunities to sample Canadian wines were of a number higher than ever before. Safely distanced tastings at WineAlign headquarters, at the welcome emptiness of Barque Smokehouse and in our homes brought Canada’s finest bottles to us. Though we were unable to convene in June at the WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada, a prodigious alternative became surrogate in the guise of the Guide to Canada’s Best Wines, a.k.a WineAlign’s GCBW. Over the course of six weeks we tasted through 860 samples and not just any mind you but truly Canada’s best. We were sad to miss Tony Aspler’s Ontario Wine Awards and David Lawrason’s Great Canadian Kitchen Party, the artist formerly known as Gold Medal Plates. Here’s to hoping 2021 will usher in a return to assessing and celebrating together.

Aldé Rosé, Interloper and As Is

The numbers chosen to cant, recant and decant excellence in Canadian wine continue to march ahead, as promised by the annual billing. In 2018 the list counted 18. In 2017 there were 17 and in 2016, 16 noted. In 2015 that meant 15 and 14 for 2014, just as in 2013 the filtered list showed 13. Last year? You would be correct if you guessed 19. There is no red carpet for 2020, it just doesn’t feel appropriate or right but keeping on is essential. “Whence comes the sense of wonder we perceive when we encounter certain bottles of art?” Here are 20 most exciting Canadian wines of 2020. Twenty Canadian wines that rocked.

Le Vieux Pin Ava 2018, BC VQA Okanagan Valley ($29.99)

Calculated, figured and reasoned, a 51 per cent roussanne, (36) viognier and (13) marsanne organized, Rhône motivated blend that just fits right. A kiss of new wood and a 35 per cent wood campaign, slightly more in steel and then the other freshener, that being a fifth of this exceptional vintage fruit having seen time in concrete tank. Yes the aromas are wildly fresh, far away tropical and cumulatively enticing. A white blend of rhythm and soul, actionable in every part of its drift and coil, democratic, of no accident, come up to please and at the same time, foil. Offers this and that, high tempo acids opposite fully ripened fruit and all tolled, wrapped up with a tailored bow. Drink 2020-2024. Tasted October 2020

Cave Spring CSV Riesling 2018, VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario ($29.95)

Cave Spring’s is Ontario riesling and along with three or four others the CSV has been the benchmark for decades. CSV is one of the reasons to believe in riesling, versatile, brutally honest, speaker of the mind, telling us like it is. As for 2018, frosts in late ’17 reduced the upcoming vintage’s yield potential. Long, hot and dry was ’18’s summer and so doubling down occurred. Less yet highly concentred fruit was pretty much assured before September turned wet and humid. CSV embraces and stands firm in its dealings with nature so while there is more flesh and flavour intensity there too is the tried and true structural backbone. Surely a highly phenolic riesling but every aspect is elevated in this game. A hyperbole of itself, gangster riesling, the jumbo package, age-worthy and stone-faced beyond compare. Best ever, perhaps no but perchance something new, riveting, magnified, extravagant and well, fine. Drink 2022-2032. Tasted October 2020

Charles Baker Picone Vineyard Riesling 2017, VQA Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario ($37.20, Stratus Wines)

The concept behind Baker’s single-vineyard riesling is for the top tier one to be possessive in the matters of majestic and dignified, which quite honestly it is. Funny vintage that ’17 was and yet in riesling there can be this slow melt, tide and release of intricacy and intimacy, which this Picone does. Like taking a picture with the slowest shutter speed, allowing the sensor a full allotment of time in its exposure to light. This is the dramatic and hyper-effect and how Baker captured the highest riesling resolution imaginable. The succulence in the acids over top juicy, juicy fruit and this great entanglement is majestic and dignified. My goodness Charles, I think you’ve done it. Drink 2021-2032. Tasted April and October 2020

Martin’s Lane winemaker Shane Munn

Martin’s Lane Riesling Simes Vineyard 2016, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia ($45.00)

First tasted at the winery in 2018 after only one year in bottle. A cooler vintage and less residual sugar (4 g/L vs. 6 in 2015) and also one reaching for its phenolics. The Alsace Clone (49) planted in 2008 is coming into the zone with this textured ’16 from one of three single vineyards on granite in East Kelowna. There is that minor number of sugar but there are acidities and reminiscences to the motherland that supersede and infiltrate the nooks and crannies of the fruit. Who in the Okanagan neighbourhood would not be envious of the clean clarity that this riesling achieves. Very focused, tightly wound and surely able to unravel ever so slowly, developing beeswax, honey and gasses as it will, over a ten year period. Drink 2020-2026. Tasted April 2020

Tawse Chardonnay Quarry Road Vineyard 2016, VQA Twenty Mile Bench ($37.15)

Wound tight like a coil around a winch with precise threading and pinpoint spacing for chardonnay that wins the vintage. Reductive style to be sure but only truly noted because of the freshest vibes this side of Motown. Got rhythm and blues, not to mention funk and soul. Clean beats, in step, three-part backing vocals and a purity of sound. Taste relays all these things and more, of succulence and in satiation guaranteed. In other words timeless and the willingness to pour on repeat will be a continuous thing of perpetual satisfaction. Last tasted October 2020. There is no secret that 2016 can align itself with the best of them in Niagara and chardonnay is clearly right in the middle of the discussion. Knowing that, how could the iconic triad of varietal, producer and vineyard not rise like fresh summer fruit cream to the top of the discourse? The years of Pender and Bourgogne barrel studies have come to this; spot on in blending Quarry fruit from wood and associated forests, staves and toasts, here the crux of sonic, sonar, and olfactory waves are met in optimum phenolic crash. The crush of chardonnay, the cryogenic liquid wait and the ultimate goal is achieved. Balance is struck at 12.5 degrees alcohol and all the perfectly seasoned grape tannin you could want. Drink 2020-2027. Tasted May 2020

Leaning Post Senchuk Vineyard Chardonnay 2018, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore, Ontario ($45.20, Nicholas Pearce Wines)

Set apart from the Bench wineries and while still beneath the Niagara Escarpment Senchuk Vineyard sits on more of a plain that gently slides down the Lincoln Lakeshore and into Lake Ontario. Perhaps it will become Ontario’s next sub-appellation. Sandy soil is maculated by largish stones three to four feet down. This atop a bed of grey clay so the low vigour of the sandy soil will be offer up a flip-side, a foil to the heavy clay of nearby locales like the Beamsville Bench. This third chardonnay from the home vineyard comes off of vines planted in 2011 so now this seven-year old fruit is starting to really mean something. And Ilya Senchuk is a winemaker who studies, concentrates and plans his work around clones. It’s not just about where to plant which varietals but which clone will work best and where within the greater where. Vineyard, vintage and variance. Senchuk truly believes that greatness is determined by varietal variegation, from vineyard to vineyard and from year to year. From 2018: 64 per cent Clone 548 and (36) Clone 96. Listen further. Warm season so picked on September 18. The grapes were gently whole cluster pressed (separated by Clone), allowed to settle in chilled tanks over night. The juice was then racked into barrels; Clone 548 – one puncheon and three barriques, Clone 96 – three barriques, where they underwent spontaneous alcoholic and malolactic fermentation. The lees were not stirred and it was allowed to age for 16 months. Power, body, tons of fruit, definite barrel influence, a southern Bourgogne kind of vintage, so maybe Pouilly-Fuisée or Maconnais Village with a specific Climat. For the time being we call the Village Lincoln Lakeshore and Senchuk Vineyard the geographical designation. The lemon curd and the acidity are there in a great tangle so yes, this is trés cool chardonnay. I think we can safely say already that the Pinot Noir and the Chardonnay grown in Ilya and Nadia’s home vineyard is on its own, one of a kind and makes wines that don’t taste like anywhere else. This 2018 cements the notion and opens the next stage of the discussion. Drink 2021-2027. Tasted July 2020

Lightfoot And Wolfville Ancienne Chardonnay 2017, Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia (462093, $56.95)

Exceptionalities worthy of hyperboles are befitting this chardonnay of concentration, textural satisfaction and immediate gratification. Apple distillate to nose, a walk through a perennial garden on Fundy shores in late summer bloom and then citrus in so many ways, incarnate and teeming with briny, zesty flavour. If your are counting at home, this Lightfoot family wine by way of Peter Gamble and in the hands of winemaker Josh Horton is now six years into its tenure. As the crow flies, qualitatively and quantitatively speaking refinement has never ceased to improve. Has arrived at its new Minas Basin tidal heights, crisp and salivating, finishing on the highest of notes. Chardonnay god of ocean tides, “all night long, writing poems to” Nova Scotia. Drink 2020-2024. Tasted October 2020

Mission Hill Perpetua 2018, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia ($60.00)

Dichotomy in chardonnay, grand and graceful, powerful and elegant. Reductive and not acting this way but rather in what is now descried as the post modern style of chardonnay, from Australia to New Zealand, Bourgogne to B.C. Huge fruit concentration, wood equalizing yet in check, acids controlling yet relenting, structured assured though not overly complicating. Orchards combed and fruit brought in to make the composition sing with flavour while the work put in shaves down the rough edges and pieces fit snugly together. Top vintage for this label. Drink 2021-2026. Tasted October 2020

Blomidon Cuvée l’Acadie, Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia ($35.00)

The entirety of a sparkling wine oeuvre is modified and transmogrified, designed and decreed of a new morphology where l’Acadie is concerned. It must be conceded that the Nova Scotia varietal speciality is destined to create cracker, lightning rod, back beats and bites in Nova Scotia sparkling wine. This from Blomidon adds spice, apple skin, orange zest and stony moments throughout. It’s amazing. Drink 2020-2025. Tasted October 2020

Henry Of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Carte Blanche Estate Blanc De Blanc 2015, Traditional Method, VQA Short Hills Bench, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario (315200, $49.95)

As always 100 per cent chardonnay and 2015 is perhaps the vintage of the most golden toast, as if made by agemono, with the most lemon and lees ever assembled in a Cuvée Catharine, vintage-dated Sparkling wine. An intensity of aromas swirl around in citrus centrifuge into which the gross cells don’t seem to want to go. On the palate is where they rest, layered and leesy, textured with a sense of weightlessness and wonder. Henry of Pelham channelling an inner Japanese cooking technique. Feels like some time is warranted to pull all this together. Drink 2021-2025. Tasted October 2020

Stratus Blanc De Blancs 2013, VQA Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario ($75.00)

The first (commercial) J-L Groux foray into traditional method Sparkling wine has been six plus years in the making, or in this case, senescence as the lees fly and his Blanc de Blanc has finally arrived. A notable moment in the Stratus continuum as they too now own a program of development, time, investment, research and acumen. The nose on this bubble tells a pensive story, or as fantasy goes like dipping your face into a tale-spun pensieve as it takes you back in time. In 2013 chardonnay excelled on the Niagara Peninsula and still today in 2020 we are drinking vintage examples persistent in their freshness and durability of construct. That this reeks of varietal lore is a hallmark moment, that and a conscientious adherence to reverence for solids and the focus on rotational detail. Speaks a Blanc de Blanc vernacular as a chardonnay should, with a bite out of a sharp fall apple, a pesto of verdant aromatics and a crunch of texture before drifting saline, briny and fine. Pretty good work J-L. Kudos for getting from there to here with intelligence and humility. Drink 2020-2026. Tasted November 2020

Bachelder Wismer Foxcroft Gamay Noir Niagara Cru 52 Whole Cluster 2018, Twenty Mile Bench, Ontario ($27.00)

At a Somewhereness gathering a few years back Thomas Bachelder poured me his first gamay and while I remember the light, I could not have known what complex cru notions the maniacal monk had up his sleeve. Who knew that Twenty Mile Bench gamay would gain standing in “Villages,” “Naturaliste,” and two Wismer-Foxcroft iterations. And so here we are with the more intense of the two whole cluster siblings and the one chosen to celebrate its 52 per cent wild bunch inclusion. The fermentation technique transposed seems almost “alla vinificazione Piedmontese a cappello sommerso,” though by way of sangiovese in Chianti Classico what with a glycerin feel and a formative fabric so tactile to the mouth’s touch. Stemmy? Not a chance. Herbal? Nope. More like a Côte de Brouilly to the Wismer-22’s Brouilly, not quite Morgon but savour and structure are serious, righteous and very much here. That I did not buy cases of this stuff is a real concern. Drink 2020-2027. Tasted November 2020

Malivoire Courtney Gamay 2018, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario (524231, $29.95)

What Courtney brings to the table in gamay is what we’ve come to expect from Ontario, that is structurally contracted and age-worthy wine. Now understood to be a Cru designate, carved from a decade of research and well-defined. You could build an entire cellar by way of Malivoire’s multi-varietal work and the many tiers they fashion from drink now, through mid-term aging and up to here in a gamay that will go long. I’ve tasted a few older Malivoires lately and have been blown away by their longevity and also tasted this Courtney from barrel last winter. The whole bunch strategy has come to this, a knowable, beautifully swarthy, fruit protected and into the future protracted guarantee of fortitude and change. Reminds me of Michael Schmelzer’s Montebernardi Panzano sangiovese. Grande. Drink 2021-2028. Tasted October 2020

Rosehall Run’s Dan Sullivan and Goode

Rosehall Run Pinot Noir JCR Rosehall Vineyard 2018, Prince Edward County, Ontario ($42.00)

Fortuitous time and place are the combined recipient of the primary assist for Rosehall’s JCR Vineyard pinot noir, a varietal stunner that seduces from the word go. A drinking vintage, early, ethereal, not lacking but easing in and out of structure, ready to please in the proverbial vein of immediate gratification. Then the County tones, reverb and static mosey on in like a Telecaster’s light jing-a-ling. Rises to an interlude crescendo and explodes into rock ‘n roll bands. In the County the poets make these things happen, then “sit back and let it all be. Tonight, in Jungleland.” Drink 2022-2026. Tasted July and October 2020

CedarCreek Platinum Pinot Noir Block 2 2017, BC VQA Okanagan Valley ($54.90)

Block “2” is genuine and fine pinot noir, a pinpointed example multi-faceted in its origins. An exclusive block and also a dedicated clone to make this what it is; ripe stem earthy in phenolics ripe and ready plus a natural and wild fruit sweetness that can’t be replicated by anything but what happens on and from the vine. Anytime pinot noir is experienced as a wine at one with site, clone and vine you know it, feel it and intuit the connection. The forging is a bond unbreakable, as here with Block number two. Drink 2020-2025. Tasted October 2020

Culmina Hypothesis 2014, Golden Mile Bench, BC VQA Okanagan Valley (414243, $49.95, Arterra Wines Canada Inc.)

The Triggs original, Hypothesis is an Okanagan Valley flagship red that celebrates the upper benches in what has become the great Golden Mile. This district is no longer a matter of new fashion, it is in fact a place to make serious Bordeaux-varietal red wine. Whether cabernet franc or merlot take the lead there is always cabernet sauvignon to tie the room of lit luminescence together. Culmina’s is bright-eyed on a face of dark fruit, chewy like liquorice and sweetly herbal, naturally sweetened by dessert warmth ripening. You smell, feel, sense and taste the land in this wine. That’s what makes it so special. Drink 2021-2028. Tasted June 2020

Black Hills Nota Bene 2018, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia ($68.99)

Methinks winemaker Ross Wise is giddy (and that’s a stretch for the stoic man of leisure) in what he must know will be the great eventuality of the Nota Bene 2018. By way of reminder this is one of Canada’s most accomplished and massive reds of great notoriety. The flagship of Black Hills in Bordeaux blend apparel, master of ceremonies and lead singer for B.C. Climat, Somewhereness and terroir. The maestro blend to speak of mystery, riddle and enigma. This ’18 is smooth and I mean smooth, ganache silky and focused. In youth you chew the mouthful, later on you’ll draw and imbibe. Further on down the road you will sip and savour. Quietly luxurious, rampantly delicious and pridefully profound. Top. Grande. Drink 2023-2031. Tasted June 2020

Megalomaniac Reserve Cabernet Franc 2017, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Ontario ($49.95)

Ah, finally! This is the aromatic profile of a reserve style Ontario cabernet franc, well, not “the” but “a” godly one. Concentrated and layered, like phyllo or puff pastry folded again and again upon itself. May seem dense and without air at this time but with time the folds will expand and stack with weightlessness. The variegated red fruit in betweens are juicy, sumptuous and so packed with flavour they will burst when bitten into, or in this case, explode in the mouth. Texture too is all pleasure, as will be the eventuality of exceptionality created by a triangle that includes complete and fine tannin. One of the finest and from a vintage that holds the cards for cabernet franc excellence. Drink 2022-2029. Tasted October 2020

Thirty Bench Small Lot Cabernet Franc 2017, VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario ($75.00)

Niagara’s most premium solo cabernet franc is turned upside in 2017 and does everything that needed doing to make what is quite possibly the best solo effort in that vintage. Of fruit so dark yet pure and allowed to act, move and speak as varietal in place. Walks that Beamsville Bench walk and talks that cabernet franc talk. World-beating, wholly and truly. Drink 2020-2023. Tasted October 2020

Hidden Bench La Brunante 2016, VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario ($85.20)

From a La Brunante year to speak of truths and there is no doubt the team was excited about the prospects of this formidable Beamsville Bench blend. The triad is merlot (43 per cent), malbec (35) and cabernet franc (22). I’d say it was the warm climate and long season that lead to then winemaker Marlize Beyer’s decisions of assemblage. You could pour this blind with red blends from Bordeaux and Australia with nary a taster being able to truly separate one from many others. And yet there is a singularity about these aromatics that are so hard to define, like spices in their simmering infancy ahead of what brand of togetherness they will assign. As for texture and length, balance is exemplary and longevity guaranteed. Drink 2022-2030. Tasted May 2020

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godello

Twitter: @mgodello

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WineAlign

Single white varietals: No roommates required

Aug1

Godello

as seen on WineAlign – Riesling, Other Single Red and Single White Varieties – Medal Winners from NWAC 2019

It may or not need clarifying but the single white varietal category does not include chardonnay, riesling, pinot gris/grigio and sauvignon blanc. In terms of medal winners it does include albariño, arneis, bacchus, chenin blanc, coronet, gewüztraminer, grüner veltliner, marsanne, muscat, obrigado, pinot blanc, roussanne, sémillon, sauvignette, siegerrebe, sovereign opal, trebbiano, unicus, viognier and white pinot noir. The total medal count for single white varietal wines in 2019 was 70, an unprecedented number awarded for this competition covering 20 grape varieties. Can you guess which was the most celebrated? If you said gewüztraminer you would be correct at 21 total medals, with viognier a close second at 17.

There is little surprise that these French vinifera grapes make up more than half of the awarded wines because their acreage, vine age and their winemaker’s acumen in crafting quality goes back a generation or two, or even three. That 10 percent are pinot blanc is truly encouraging, as are the multiple medals doled out to grapes with great potential on Canadian soils, including grüner veltliner, albariño and chenin blanc. This will encourage more plantings and pioneering work backed up by post-modern viticultural theory, while also ensuring biologically genetic and varietal diversity. Most surprising is that two of the top wines made from marsanne and roussanne represent two of only three medals awarded to wines from these classic and exceptional Rhône Valley grapes. If two can be great, why not others and why not grow more?

Congratulations to the Road 13 Marsanne 2017 out of the exceedingly promising Similkameen Valley. There can be no denying the effect of ripe fruit and the richness of developed sugar into proportionally knowing phenols in this beautifully integrated wine. Black Hills Roussanne 2017, Blasted Church Small Blessings Sémillon 2017, Thirty Bench Small Lot Gewürztraminer 2017 and Road 13 Viognier 2017 round out the judges top picks from the competition.

Littlejohn Farm‘s Smoked Trout, soubise, french onion rings, pickled shallots – at Closson Chase Vineyard, Prince Edward County

The question truly begging to be answered is with 20-plus different grape varieties represented and being assessed side by side how do the judges separate the apples and oranges to figure out which wines stand apart as being more impressive than the rest. It may sound cliché and redundant to hear but balance is the key to our single white varietal hearts. If acidity matches, supports and elevates sugar than all will fall into place and if the wine is a dry example it will likely be flesh, mouthfeel and texture that work to elevate its status. Proportion, seamlessness and length are all essential tenets of quality single whites, as are energy, drive and spirit.

Plain and simple, single white varietal wines are able to succeed because of their inherent ability to express their varietal selves, provided they are planted in the right location and their handlers allow them to speak on their own behalf. Quality single white varietals display attributes of confidence and are anything but insecure. No roommates required.

I’ve also tasted some more single white varietal wines as of late and all would certainly qualify for medal consideration in this category. These are the three.

Mission Hill Family Estate Viognier Reserve 2018, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia ($19.99, WineAlign)

Perfectly lovely, archetypal, required varietal sipping viognier here from Mission Hill. Yet another notch on the Okanagan Valley pioneer’s impressive climb to forging wines moving from strength to strength. There is nothing over the top about the the florals, the texture or the flavours. Fruit east to west, from the B.C. orchards to the south Asian trees is graced by a dreamy and creamy marzipan texture and finished with low and slow rendered spice. Just what viognier can be for one and for all. Drink 2019-2021. Tasted July 2019

Harwood Estate Gewürztraminer 2017, VQA Prince Edward County, Ontario $20.00, WineAlign)

The 2016 was made from Niagara (Four Mile Creek) grapes and vinified in Prince Edward County but the estate 2007 plantings have now matured so this 2017 marks a new era for gewürztraminer grown in the disapora. It’s one of extreme aridity, lightning quick reflexes, focused and intense. Quite the singular style of expression for Ontario. Drink 2019-2021. Tasted June 2019

CedarCreek Platinum Block 9 Ehrenfelser 2018, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia ($29.99, WineAlign)

Ehrenfelser is the German crossing of riesling and sylvaner, kept alive on slopes like CedarCreek’s lakeshore vineyard in semi-mimic of those cresting on great angles above the river Rhine. There’s a notable juicy sweetness to this from 13-16 year-old, low yielding vines in a very concentrated mandarin orange way. That sweetness yields to many other pronounced attributes like tropical fruit skins as well as creamy orchard fruit under a squeeze of lime. The acidity is ripping and there’s some potential for a bit of flinty, lit paraffin smoulder to emerge in a year’s time. The fun quotient runs high in this unique white wine and it offers up moments of both crushable and cerebral. Good on CedarCreek to keep the dream alive. Drink 2019-2021. Tasted July 2019

Good to go!

godello

Godello

Twitter: @mgodello

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WineAlign

The diplomacy of Canadian Sauvignon Blanc

Jul21

What is sauvignon blanc? More importantly why does it solicit so much winemaking interest, continue to be planted at increasing rates and produced with so much great heart? The Grape Growers of Ontario see it as “an extremely precocious and vigorous cultivar in Ontario, even on sites of low vigor potential.” Though it is very sensitive to extreme cold it is attractive “for its vegetal or herbaceous flavours.” In British Columbia sauvignon blanc experienced an explosion in the 1990s” and is made in a “style (that) benefits from the natural high acidity and fruit ripeness. Both the crisp, zingy, green bean, grass and asparagus style, as well as a riper, tropical fruit, richer version can be found. Some of the most successful wines are oak fermented and blended with sémillon to make wines in a white Bordeaux style.”

In Canada’s cool climate viticultural regions there just seems to be this persistent thirst for grassy, herbal and gooseberry gifting white wines embraced as sauvignon blanc but also those that are flinty, smoky, nutty, creamy and rich. This tells us that sauvignon blanc makes full use of its wiles to attain its ends. Whether or not you see its origins as Loire Valley (Sancerre, Touraine, Pouilly Fumé and Cheverny) or Bordeaux (Pessac-Léognan, Graves, Côtes de Bordeaux Blayes et Franc and Entre-Deux-Mers), Canada’s sauvignon blanc finds a way to please all camps.

There were 25 medals awarded to Canadian sauvignon blanc at the 2019 Nationals, one platinum, three Gold, four Silver and 16 Bronze. The split between Ontario and British Columbia was almost exact with the nod to the east by only one over the west. Trius Showcase Clean Slate Sauvignon Blanc Wild Ferment 2017 from Niagara-on-the-Lake took home top honours, yet another varietal wine in the ever-increasingly impressive Showcase line-up fostered by winemaker Craig McDonald. This is a wine that won Silver in 2017, Gold in 2018 and now Platinum in 2019. I’d say that’s called moving in the right direction. Nearby to Trius out of Niagara vineyards is the Peller Estates Private Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2018, a consistently high quality example that continues to show remarkable success for sauvignon blanc in Ontario with its second straight NWAC Gold.

Related – Pinot Gris goes National

Related – Canada knows Rosé

The other two Gold winners are from British Columbia, first for the Howling Bluff Sauvignon Blanc Three Mile Creek 2018 noted by one judge as “exuberant…zesty acidity and a textural, multi-layered core.” The Hillside Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2018 from the Naramata Bench impressed as well as a “very ripe style of sauvignon blanc…crisp and refreshing with a smooth, medium-bodied profile and a subtly sweet, fruity finish.” The Silver winners are split two and two from both provinces, as are the Bronze winners in equal numbers, eight to eight. It’s just so bloody obvious that sauvignon blanc offers consumers what they want; equality, diplomacy and something for everyone.

Here are more sauvignon blanc tasted in recent weeks.

G.Marquis Sauvignon Blanc The Red Line 2017, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (556894, $13.95, WineAlign)

Yes. Barrel fermented and flinty, reductive, smoky and with full fruit compliment. Crunchy, juicy, in metal motion and full of varietal excitement. So Fumé Blanc in character, rich, layered, variegated and fine. Plenty of acidity, herbal pesto, savour lemon square and length. Really accomplished wine. Drink 2019-2025. Tasted blind at NWAC19, June 2019

Nomad At Hinterbrook Winery Sauvignon Blanc 2018, VQA Niagara Lakeshore, Ontario ($16.95, WineAlign)

Steely, juicy, melons of yellow, orange and green, full fruit straight ahead. Just fruit and stainless steel acquiescing sauvignon blanc. Nothing off track here. Drink 2019-2021. Tasted blind at NWAC19, June 2019

Mission Hill Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2018, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (57430, $22.95, WineAlign)

The hyper-spirited layers of fruit intensity are noted above and beyond the previous vintage of Mission Hill’s Reserve sauvignon blanc. A similar grapefruit to guava to mango to gooseberry accumulation gathers albeit on a drier and more focused frame. The result is a douse of lime and a sprinkle of herbal salt for more complexity and ultimately opening the door to greater and further far reaching food pairings. Great joy in Mission Hill-ville with a nod to Sancerre-land. Drink 2019-2021. Tasted June 2019

Reif Estate Drea’s Sauvignon Blanc 2017, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario ($26.50, WineAlign)

Leafy, savoury, verdant and grassy sauvignon blanc. Metallic, orange juiced and then, more metallics. Not a matter of excitement but definitely a thing of botany, chemistry and integrated science. Drink 2019-2020. Tasted blind at NWAC19, June 2019

CedarCreek Platinum Sauvignon Blanc Border Vista 2018, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia ($33.70, WineAlign)

Aromatic whites are integral to the CedarCreek project and so sauvignon blanc is a natural for joining the ranks and carrying a torch. The wild ferment, 1500L oak foudres and concrete egg all contribute towards this three-pronged effect; musky berry skin scents, creamy and nutty flavours and then the kicker in how texture swells and fills the mouth. You’ve likely never experienced sauvignon blanc this way, not in the Loire, not in the New World and not even in British Columbia. This vintage presents a magnanimous beginning for what will become a benchmark varietal wine when the wild, wooly and moving parts learn how to co-exist in a world of balance. Can’t wait to see how ’18, 19 and ’20 turn out. Drink 2019-2021. Tasted June 2019

Le Vieux Pin Sauvignon Blanc 2018, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia ($34.59, WineAlign)

Wholly engrossing sauvignon blanc of great pungency and perhaps a kiss of barrel here. Grassy and in a sense a crossing of Casablanca with Marlborough though just for a fleeting cerebral moment. Some mango to pear fruit sweetness through texture. Ambitious and reminiscently woolly style but B.C. knows how to make this happen and considering the expressiveness, why not? Dry extract and tannin come across on the finish. Drink 2020-2024. Tasted blind at NWAC19, June 2019

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godello

Twitter: @mgodello

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Tag Archives: CedarCreek

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