Soft, smoky, fusible #fiorentina at #noce #queenstreet #mcgeefarms #canadianbeef
Every VINTAGES release we dig deep at WineAlign to pick a wine in response to the question “were we faced with buying only one, what would it be?” David, John, Sara and I do not take this responsibility lightly, nor do we approach the description of said wine without carefully scripting, editing and then publishing our thoughts. Most of our readers are pleased with the content. But you can’t please everyone. As a subscriber or passer-by, if there is something you don’t like, why wouldn’t you just keep moving on and choose to align with another?
Here is my preamble to my Only One from the VINTAGES, January 21st release:
“I am always on the lookout for wine off the beaten path. The term could actually be considered a metaphor for “authentic” and this is what winemakers and consumers, even if they need to be enlightened, really want. Winemaker Patricia Tóth’s Planeta Noto Nero D’avola 2012 is such a wine, grown on the white Sicilian soils of Noto and please do think about this. The mineral is salinity and that saline infiltration tears into bright bred red fruit, fragments it like the rock it came from and brings a brightness of being to otherwise dense and cimmerian nd’a. Today, the production from lesser, even totally unknown grape varieties, despite the zealous search for them by hipsters and geeks, is still considered a marginal pastime and a financial risk. Terrific wines like these are not inexpensive to produce. All sorts of meat clinging to and wishing to fall or be teeth-torn off the smoked bone will work wonders alongside this varietal-defiant, return to how things going forward must be Planeta nero d’avola.”
Is there anything in this section that is unclear? Is the term “beaten path” not obvious as the one I am referring to? Does the passage indicate that authentic wines MUST only be sought out in unusual locations or that seeking wines in unusual places is a metaphor for authentic wines? No. First off, I write “could actually” so I don’t make a blanket statement and secondly, the point I make is that authentic (or honest, if you will) wines are what we want. If they happen to be found off the beaten path than the interest level is increased.
The mineral discussion is always a heated one and like global warming, will always be challenged by those in denial and/or those who find it gets in the way of what they spend and what they earn. Grammatically and theoretically speaking, the words mineral and salinity can be interchangeable. Last I checked, both are nouns. I’ll even concede that the equation is predicated on perception, in aromatics, taste, texture or however else you wish to describe the sensation. Am I saying that the mineral one can detect in the wine is “saline” in quality? To some extent, yes. That much is obvious. But I am also saying that whatever trace minerals are found in soils do find their way into the grapes. And yes, salt, salty, saline and salinity are all ways of bringing the idea to the use of descriptors in a tasting note.
Writing is a tricky slope to navigate and there will be some who will read one’s words and it simply will not speak to them. To refer to something you don’t quite get as crap or someone who’s work you don’t like as a “slap in the face” is an opinion, not a fact. Or perhaps an alternative fact. We can all be judges and critics. Some of us do it better than others and those of us who do it for a living, work and stick together. “It is the difference of opinion that makes horse-races.” Thank you Pudden’head Wilson for that. And Mark Twain. And Samuel Clemens.
That Planeta wine, the preamble I penned in its support and more are the subject of my recommendations for the VINTAGES January 21st release. As always, please jump over to WineAlign to read the full reviews. You will also see a link to the presentation of our new wine revolution. Click on it. You are going to want to be a part of it. Thanks for coming and for reading. Your patronage is appreciated. Best regards, Godello.
Pop Art Red 2014, Pgi Evia, Greece (468686, $12.95, WineAlign)
I’m splitting up the teaser for the VINTAGES December 10th release into three sections; Canada, New World and Old World, if only for the old-school, nostalgic and compartmentalized way of things. First up are wines that stretch across the great Canadian divide, from all the way west to east, by way of Ontario, of course. Eight up, right now.
Welcome @muller_brent to team RED! with nazlanmak captain @treve_ring #nwac16 @winealign
The WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada are a complex, multifarious and many-splendored thing. The Nationals bring unity, cross-provincial comity and international variety to the Canadian wine scene. That’s more than can be said about the commerce side of things. It requires a whole lot more than good will to make this most important Canadian competition happen. It takes 1,500+ unique wines, algorithms, logistics, space, time and people.
My fourth Nationals in the books and the apogee of perquisite function is reached. That’s how it feels, in retrospect. The overture of function and the apex of wine journalism culminates at the vertices of colleague and responsibility. To find the profound wrapped up in the membrane of gifted opportunity allows a wine writer to make a valid and justifiable contribution. It affords a conclusion written in vouchsafe doling, where medals are heaped upon the best wines produced in Canada. It’s an avail of satisfaction, a community distraction and a labour of love.
How lucky we all were to have her back in the captain’s chair. Happy Canada Day @djwines #nwac16
Congratulations to Tawse Winery. In his WineAlign report David writes, “winery owner Moray Tawse and winemaker Paul Pender have harvested Winery of the Year honours at Canada’s largest wine competition again this year, the fourth time since 2010. Tawse Winery is on a roll, with five gold medals in this year’s showdown, plus eight silver and eight bronze medals.”
The people at the forefront are the judges, women and men from across the country (representing seven provinces) as well as international guests, from the U.K. and America. Not just any America, mind you, but native America, from California (by way of Alaska). The judges rule but they are not the most integral cog in the NWAC machine. It is the wine fairies that run the engine and they need naming. Head wineaux Bryan McCaw. Logistics and administrative gurus Sarah Goddard and Carol-Ann Jessiman. Statistics bordering on actuarial science sabermetrics specialist Earl Paxton. Photographer Jason Dziver. Head judges Anthony Gismondi and David Lawrason. Volunteers. Lifters, carriers, movers, pourers and judge-doting servers. These are the heroes.
The 2016 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada judges photo (c) Jason Dziver and WineAlign
In his WineAlign report, Anthony Gismondi writes “this year’s National Wine Awards was the most inclusive yet, with 230 wineries entering over 1,500 wines from across the country. The numbers only make the achievement of Lake Breeze as Canada’s 2016 Best Performing Small Winery of Year all that more impressive.”
I would like to make it clear that I write all of my tasting notes for The Nationals solely based on the notes scribbled during the competition. Though I am fully aware of the wines in question when composing the final copy, the transcribing process remains 100 per cent pure and loyal to the original notes. Nothing is added. No acidification, chaptalization, fining or filtering.
Dispatch @winealign note to Canada- You are making awesome @coolchardonnay …next stop #i4c #nwac16
“There was a dazzling array of top quality Canadian wines at this year’s 16th WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada with over 1,500 entries from 230 wineries in six provinces. There were 16 coveted Platinum medals spread over 14 wineries, and seven different wine categories.”
My top 40 are not necessarily the best I tasted but rather the best of a cross-section that insists on being inclusive for as many categories across the compendium. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay and Riesling are disproportionately represented and for good reason, but there are thirds, fourths and fifths exceptional examples that are not celebrated on this versatile and ubiquitous list.
Treve Ring made it clear that “no matter what shade, it’s pretty obvious that more folks are thinking pink. And with fresh results from the 2016 National Wine Awards of Canada held in Penticton, BC last month, Canadian winemakers are stepping up with terrific offerings.”
The notable exception and varietal inconsequence comes at the hands of Cabernet Franc, a grape that I’ve come to herald over the past two years, especially from out of the auspices of Niagara gatherings and master classes, along with other Canadian competitions I’ve judged at. Franc has shown well at the Ontario Wine Awards, at Gold Medal Plates and at comparative varietal get togethers. When we convened at Peller Estates in the spring of 2015 during a CAPS Best Canadian Sommelier competition, the Cabernet Franc flights were revelatory. At the 2015 and 2016 Ontario Wine Awards the varietal shone in Icewine meanderings. At NWAC 2016 its promise stagnated and receded into wooden shadows.
Why is this? The simple answer could be examined as too many quality CFs made by many good vignerons were not entered. Another view sees a rapid return tho excess barrel aging in less than stellar vintages, namely 2013 and 2014. The last concern is a heavily weighted Okanagan participation. The sage and dry desert impart mixed with wood clouds many B.C. renditions. It’s not that they are poor wines by any stretch, but they tend to blend in as one, especially when eight or more are tasted side by side by each.
Pronto! Largest assembly of Canadian wines in one place- 1,525 @WineAlign National Wine Awards #nwac16
Speaking on behalf of the entire WineAlign/Chacun son Vin crew might be a slight over-reaching opinionated bit of creative license but judging these awards ranks amongst the most important things we do as wine journalists. These wines are in our hands and we pay attention to every detail, on a playing field set as level as there can be in the pantheon of wine competitions. Nothing is taken for granted and the collective palate works towards the most just conclusions possible. These Top 40 wines are what I spent the most energy on. All deserving of their accolades.
Quebec
Les Pervenches Seyval Chardonnay 2015, Quebec (Winery, $20.00, WineAlign)
A two-varietal conjoin of chardonnay (80 per cent) and seyval blanc (20) opined with the sort of high level of acidity that stakes territorial claim out of what is surely the coolest climate in the competition. The sharp drift leans to shale and flint. Great glade energy and piercing phenolics are superb. Oak is not even a twinkle in its eye, nor negative reduction neither. Directly solid phenolics, tart and angling to greenery. Lemons all over and lime too. Such zing. Drink 2016-2018. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @LaRoutedesVins@VinsduQuebec
Domaine Acer Charles Aimé Robert, Quebec (Winery, $30.00, WineAlign)
Maple syrup as maple syrup, reduced, syrupy, caramelized, rich, buttery (brown) and with direct acidity. Mostly in balance. Roasted nuts and even some fig. Roasted chestnuts off the Portuguese cart. Marmite and umami. The return of the sherry semblance that speaks an Oloroso vernacular, the nutty Solera professor, dried apricot beauty. The maple is so in, so reduced and perfectly realized. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016
Desrochers D Cuvée De La Diable Vin De Miel, Quebec (Winery, 375ml, $20.00, WineAlign)
Just amazing honey wine, all beeswax but here without as much funk and so stressed in lemon citrus with savour, not balm. Like sweet sherry, envisaged in the vein of say Montilla-Moriles Pedro Ximenez, from 100 per cent honey. Really haute-fashion acidity. Pine resin and forest floor. Quite complex and irrefragable into its long finish. Honey buttered toast, sour and so good. Really well made, balanced and ethereal. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016
New Brunswick
Happy Knight Black Mead 2015, New Brunswick (Winery, $13.29, WineAlign)
From honey (87 per cent) and black currant (13) together for a wonderfully lactic, chalky, saccharine mess. There are moments of simple sour and insipid tartness but the up and downs bring about structure. And then the lifted florals. Drink 2016-2017. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @happyknightwine
Nova Scotia
Blomidon Estate Winery Tidal Bay 2015, Tidal Bay, Nova Scotia (Winery, $19.99, WineAlign)
Simply the simplest white blend in the flight, for good reason and measure. Languid and salty, bittersweet. Not much fruit of texture but the acidity is zesty and orange juicy. A bit funky and prickling. Leaves behind a green mango paste in the mouth made piquant by lime. Ça marche. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @BlomidonEstate
Ontario – Niagara Peninsula
Chateau Des Charmes Sauvignon Blanc 2015, VQA St. David’s Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Winery, $14.95, WineAlign)
Much ripeness in style, juicy mango and a note of Kenyan pineapple. Palate offers balance returning back west into stone fruit and a shot of metal moonshine. It comes so easy. This is cracker soul. “Come and party with your spirit guide.” The winemaker and the vigneron walk their walk and talk their talk. Drink 2016-2018. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016
Chateau Des Charmes Gamay Noir “Droit” St. David’s Bench Vineyard 2014, VQA St. David’s Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Winery, $17.95, WineAlign)
An adroit poster child for the battle cry of #gogamaygo, this is deliciously and devilishly dark fruit crusted with rusticity. It is also bright, volatile within every threshold of the ideal and tart with cru proportions. Possessive of the relentless ongoingness of gamay syntax, from sour black cherry to ascendant and structurally lean. Well done. Drink 2016-2020. Tasted blind at NWAC16, June 2016 @MBosc
Beautiful variegation is noticed on the leesy, creamy and somewhat reductive nose. Certainly already into the beeswax, this is weighted but lifted chardonnay. Flinty, smoky too. All this before a taste. Good harmony into the texture where palate and tannin meet at the proverbial chardonnay crossroads. No semantic crimps, lexical distresses or syntactical trials. Big and beautiful. Full to the long finish. Drink 2016-2020. Tasted blind at NWAC16, June 2016 @LegendsWinery
Who would fail to comply with the memo for giving it up and appreciating the mineral sauvignon blanc, down along the cove where “I spied my little bundle of joy.” Platinum pear and white peach, sprinkled with maldon, bobbing for rocks, “walking hand in hand.” Direct, white tannic, dry extracted, low pH SB, direct, with purpose and just a wee bit of harmonica. Drink 2016-2020. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016
Here the complete deal is limestone-mineral, old vines, relative altitude and low tonnage. Variegated layering on the palate. The Germanic one, all in, slope driven and dry with citrus compression. This is most excellent, mouth-watering riesling. “This is really, warden in my back, goose all in my gut.” A wine that stretches and turns back on itself. Under the Pressure. Drink 2016-2025. Tasted blind at NWAC16, June 2016 @HiddenBench@BenchVigneron
Compression and a slight bend to oxidation are hallmarks of the 2014 Niagara Riesling season and yet the QRV manages to buck the trend. The oscillations of tannin, extract and off-dry flavours are all wrapped up in greater acidity than some previous vintages have seen. This is one of the more striking 2014 Niagara Rieslings with some credit surely do to the cool Vinemount Ridge site. The rest of can be credited to winemaking and good luck. The sour in this Quarry Road is of a sumptuous kind, laying August stone fruit over layers of fractured limestone. Drink 2016-2020. Tasted April 2016 @Tawse_Winery@DanielatTawse
Really effective actuality, from barrel for couverture and bite, through texture by lees and with inhalant because of the mineral play. This has it all going on. The middle palate is so beautifully filled in, the spice and smokiness just a mild, intoxicating smoulder. Lovely stuff and terrific length. Drink 2016-2021. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @AdamoEstateWine@hinterlandwine
Two Sisters Eleventh Post 2012, Niagara River, Ontario (Winery, $39.00, WineAlign)
Red raspberry and a posy of green quintessence filled by oak in a merlot (50 per cent) with equal addendum from two cabernets. There are moments that are somewhat downy soft and mocha-creamy but the brain gladly socializes with the cappuccino bordeaux blend. What ultimately matters is how this soft serve is the least astringent and most silky wine in the flight. Just as your guard lets down the tannins storm the castle. Intriguing blend with cellaring structure. Drink 2017-2022. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @2SistersVine@apearcevino
Hidden Bench Chardonnay Tête De Cuvée 2013, VQA Beamsville Bench, Ontario (Winery, $45.20, WineAlign)
Intensely reductive and so very fresh chardonnay with serious cool-climate excitability. A minor dishy aroma might detract for some but its the phenolics talking, not yet rendering the porcine baby fat, looking for integration, speaking in tart, chalky (liquid) tones. Like fresh pasta dough in a warm kitchen. Complex wine not yet understood. Drink 2017-2022. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @HiddenBench@BenchVigneron
Love the cool feel, the apricot aspic glaze and the herbs underneath the sweet surface. Really tangy fruits and great acidity. This has balance and vitality. Actually causes a bit of mouth watering with clean, clear, crisp and precise riesling character. Drink 2016-2025. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @Jackson_Triggs@CBrandsCareers
Domaine Queylus Pinot Noir Le Grande Reserve 2013, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Winery, $60.00, WineAlign)
The top-tier Pinot Noir is quite fruit intense, but also sappy and uttered in soft, indecipherable if almost resolved words. That said the length traipses to somewhere distant, to a boundary no other Queylus Pinot Noir has yet made. As it is thought on, this wine climbs to that far away peak that can’t really be imagined. The wine lingers longer than the pen and like the sword, pierces with svelte pinpoint accuracy. The flavour profile is indescribable, neither fruit nor mineral dominant and not exactly earthbound either. The abstruse profile persists but can’t be named so like language, must go on and on. Time heeds no dissipation. The wine lingers forever. Drink 2017-2025. Tasted June 2015 @QueylusVin
Ontario – Prince Edward County
Waupoos Cabernet Franc Reserve 2013, Ontario (Winery, $29.95, WineAlign)
Rich cabernet franc, extracted and with some big, but beneficial wood. Quite aromatic stuff here of black cherry with vanilla and lavender accents. Savoury and leathery palate with juicy, sumptuous elevations. Really lively stuff with nary a chocolate or a mocha moment and no bitters. None. Brilliant. Drink 2016-2020. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @waupooswine
Huff Estates Cuvee Peter F Huff 2011, Méthode Traditionnelle, VQA Prince Edward County, Ontario (Winery, $40.00, WineAlign)
Nothing can be so considered as leaning to an oxidative style until you imagine this in a flight of nine and take in its old-school on par with Method Cap Classique like charm. Or Jura. Great acidity circulates and like tribunates protects the sparkling rights from arbitrary acts of reduction. With flavours recalling mandarin, lemon and then an aromatic return to exotic, in lemongrass and galangal. Length is excellent. Drink 2016-2022. Tasted blind at NWAC16, June 2016 @HuffEstatesWine
Ontario – Lake Erie North Shore
Pelee Island Vinedressers Cabernet Sauvignon 2013, Lake Erie North Shore, Ontario (Winery, $19.95, WineAlign)
Dark, muted and tannic, of bitter chocolate, this unforgiving cabernet sauvignon is blessed with high savour and underlying brine. This is an oak monster but not creamy. It’s all bitter chocolate but not astringent. Not mean. Gotta see past the demanding attitude because it’s really quite balanced within the conceit of it’s largesse. Ultimately elegant, floral and complex. Drink 2017-2022. Tasted blind at NWAC16, June 2016 @Peleewinery
British Columbia – Okanagan Valley
Synchromesh Riesling 2015, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $19.00, WineAlign)
Beautifully microbial, beeswax-scenting, wild ferment riesling. Needs agitation to shed its bacterial baby fat. Quite viscous and grippy mouthfeel. Transports the fundamental factors from vine, fruit and fermentation in a suitcase of natural love. The acidity is texturally palpable, essential, extended gainfully from low pH. There is some residual but so much sink your teeth into it stuffing to carry it forward. Most excellent less than off-dry palate and with the drive to finish with impression over the next 10 years. Drink 2016-2026. Tasted blind at NWAC16, June 2016 @SynchromeshWine
The View Ehrenfelser 2015, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $19.95, WineAlign)
So floral, with orange peel, white rose potpourri, a bit of funky humidity, cool and viscous. Great mouthfeel, tart, frozen-gelid acidity. Sweetness never causes any suffering. Great finish. Miles ahead of the field in off the beaten path varietal gambolling. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @TheViewWinery
Wild Goose Stoney Slope Riesling 2014, VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $20.00, WineAlign)
Beautiful atmosphere with hopes and dreams to climb high into the stratosphere. The terpene that lurks is just a prop, a step-ladder for the more purposed realities to use and get up there with the airs and the stones and to thank the terpenes for their unselfish ways. Very concentrated and purposed riesling with compressed bitters. Princess in high tops. Drink 2016-2022. Tasted blind at NWAC16, June 2016 @wildgoosewines
Finals of 24 #pinotnoir in three flights. Mountain tea for all #nwac16 @winealign National Wine Awards of Canada
Volcanic Hills Pinot Noir 2011, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $20.00, WineAlign)
Oranges, peaches and apricots. In pinot noir. Strawberries, cherries and raspberries. So much fruit. Turns earthy and spicy on the palate. It’s a very good characterful expression that walks straight down a line. So much character and then tannic, sharp and acerbic on the finale. The tannins hang around the fruit like a clever. Drink 2017-2021. Tasted blind at NWAC16, June 2016 @volcanichillswi
Ciao Bella Pinot Rosé 2014, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $20.75, WineAlign)
Love the early note of minor volatility to check and balance for soft and downy, simple and into pleasure. Smells like unripe pickled strawberry. Though some decent salinity and brine offer up a rosé reality there lacks a bit of ingratiating 100 per cent pinot noir charm. Improves and brings out some pinosity by good bitters, gin and tonic, orange zest and some spice. In the end it’s actually more than quite good. Drink 2016-2018. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @ciaobellawinery
Spierhead Pinot Gris Golden Retreat Vineyard 2015, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $21.85, WineAlign)
Just a moment of skin contact renders to immediate complexity. Great rust, scraped stone and wild citrus. Lots of white grapefruit on the palate and pith, but not too much. Very persistent. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @spierheadwinery
Haywire Secrest Mountain Vineyard Gamay Noir Rosé 2015, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $22.90, WineAlign)
Really earthy 100 per cent gamay Rosé. Good mineral in here. This was made with a purpose. “Now everybody’s gonna tell you it’s not worth it. Everybody’s gotta show you their own thing.” There is balance and ballad ease. This is just so drinkable. “Is this the past or the future that is calling.” Gamay, I love the times you’ve come. Drink 2016-2018. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @Haywirewine@OKCrushPad
Joie Farm Gamay 2014, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $23.90, WineAlign)
A gamay with global explorations that is so inimitable it founds it’s own, toute de suite, self-dissolving genre. This really sweats and wicks away the umami of gamay. It has the notion, sumptuous spice, tight, circular winds and biggest stage presence. Such a mineral palate, density and the gumption to pour with unwavering varietal swagger. Best in show. Drink 2016-2021. Tasted blind at NWAC16, June 2016 @JoieFarm@LiffordON
Bordertown Cabernet Franc 2014, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $24.00, WineAlign)
Beautifully fragrant cabernet franc, unhindered and unencumbered by obnoxious, noxious barrel plenitude. Red currants, liquorice and plenty of summer savour. Pencil lead to graphite and cool climate attitude. Rustic in all the right ways, like Rioja Gran Reserva meets the Loire. So natural and charcuterie cured. Spicy all over the finish. Just a bit bitter perhaps. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @BordertownWine
Moon Curser Syrah 2013, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $27.00, WineAlign)
Cooler and more Mediterranean savoury. Tart and direct, taut and full of miles away imaginings. There seems to be some elegance to temper the gambling and cajoling in the big chamber. Like a self-correcting shake-up, as if something were veritably being worked out. Give it some time and some love. Drink 2018-2023. Tasted blind at NWAC16, June 2016 @mooncurser
Stag’s Hollow Grenache 2015, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $29.99, WineAlign)
An effete, in effect style of grenache, pretty, pure and elegant. She resists the trappings of overripeness, over-extraction and over-pressing. She is conceived with great purpose and with pelucid substance. Her palate is silken, with fresh berries and then the sort of grand structure that rolls into ambient endings. One of Canada’s great grenache triumphs. Drink 2016-2020. Tasted June 2016 @Stagshollow
Sperling Natural Amber Pinot Gris 2015, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $30.00, WineAlign)
So much beeswax and honey wine attribution. Porcine, delicate and quite elegant for the statement. Plenty of acidity and even more relish. Why not give a little Grauburgunder love to the winemaker for giving the style a shot, and succeeding. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016.
From my earlier note of January 2016:
Ann Sperling is not merely fussing about with natural ferments, skin-contact macerations and non-sulphured, self-preservations. She is learning about winemaking, opening doors to perception and interested in doing things in different ways. Her second go ’round with a natural Amber Pinot Gris furthers the non-plussed discussion and the understanding. While pouring the inaugural 2014 from keg on tap last year at Vancouver’s Belgard Kitchen, it was Sommelier David Stansfield who so succinctly noted “this wine is a raw expression of vineyard, grape, and time.” This gets right to the heart and the crux of the Orange matter, especially within the context of a North American account. Sperling has many supporters in her corner, including husband-winemaker-consultant Peter Gamble, the folks at the Casorso-Sperling Kelowna Farm and Bill Redelmeier at Southbrook Vineyards in Niagara. This 2015 is a veritable pink cloud, anti-orange, still so very musty, funky, tanky, with great Sperling acidity and pierce. There is so much exuviation to evanescence and back again flavour. There is feigned sweetness that purposes towards and with gearing second wind into length. How much pleasure is this from and for Pinot Gris? Drink 2016-2017
Sperling Vin Gris Of Pinot Noir 2014, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $30.00, WineAlign)
Anti-Rosé Vin Gris pinot noir, light of blush and leaning to terpene. While lost in a nether land between the categories of hue, the appeal is wrought by the wine’s refusal to be unclassified. And it need not be. I think I get what the attempt was here; lithe, light, easy free-run with nearly no hue inducing skin contact and it travels the path akin a fruit wine realm; ever so slightly sweet and very tangy, like currant pureé. Prejudices and preconceptions are cast aside. Such a rare occasion affords a taster assessing blind to know so little and enjoy so much. Drink 2016-2018. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @SperlingVyds@AnnSperling
Coolshanagh Chardonnay 2014, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $36.95, WineAlign)
Really beautifully reductive, ranging to all chardonnay fronts, from expectation and into results. Terrific integration, multiplicity and circulation. Chardonnay flush with fabric and forged by framework. Enjoy it now and over five more glowing years. Drink 2016-2020. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @OKCrushPad
Burrowing Owl Cabernet Sauvignon 2013, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (73098, $44.95, WineAlign)
Rich, dried fruit and a welling tension inflates and rehydrates this cabernet sauvignon with cool, savoury, bluff sage and piquant nettle garrigue notions. It has an intelligent and characteristic taste. Tending to write the cabernet sauvignon personality book, this desert play is full of varietal notion and somehow typical. Drink 2018-2024. Tasted blind at NWAC16, June 2016 @BurrowingOwlBC@LeSommelierWine
Moon Curser Dead Of The Night 2013, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $54.95, WineAlign)
Serious syrah and tannat split. Deep cimmerian demi-glacé, rich and chocolatey, somewhat sweet but full of fruit and mineral. Syrah getting together with tannat of augmentation, opulence, concentration, of getting more in. Long and lingering. Drink 2016-2021. Tasted blind at NWAC16, June 2016 @mooncurser
Meyer Pinot Noir Micro Cuvee Mclean Creek Road Vineyard 2012, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $65.00, WineAlign)
A very amenable and mostly, fully, completely copacetic pinot noir with tonic and beneficial bitters managing the fruit. Fruit that is directly up front and neither garrigue nor barrel spice makes cause for any distraction. No mental gymnastics are required to understand this wine. Great leave it be pinot noir. Drink 2016-2020. Tasted blind at NWAC16, June 2016 @MFVwines
British Columbia – Naramata Bench
Deep Roots Pinot Gris 2015, Naramata Bench, British Columbia (Winery, $19.00, WineAlign)
A bit stinky and reductive but on the precipice and so purposeful. Pear, platinum pipe and graphite. Good viscosity and slightly off-dry to the point where savour and spice take over. Better balance here. The reduction blew away with ease. Spicy finish. Drink 2016-2019. Tasted blind at NWAC16, June 2016 @DeepRootsWine
Terravista Albarino 2015, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $25.00, WineAlign)
Quite a dense albarino with plenty of metal in its back pocket and salinity “singing to an ocean.” Gobs of fruit play along with the sea air. I like the acidity and the zeppelin zest, the citrus led with a full twist. Tart and close to sour with some sulphur but “it’s a real fine way to start,” even if it doesn’t quite blow my mind. Drink 2016-2019. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @Terravistawines
La Frenz Syrah Rockyfeller Vineyard 2014, Naramata Bench, British Columbia (Winery, $28.00, WineAlign)
Here syrah plays a floral song while doused in perfume of roses in the tar sands. Less oak driven and fresher than the compatriots in its flight. Give credit where it’s due. Syrah buoyed, lifted and blessed by five per cent viognier. Tasted blind at #NWAC16, June 2016 @LAFRENZWINERY
British Columbia – Similkameen Valley
Twisted Hills Paradise Pear Organic Cider 2015, Similkameen Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $18.00, WineAlign)
Bruised pear leads this spot on cider with a cool whiff of concrete tank and a minor pear puree, of sauce spiked by cinnamon. Quite dry and saline within terrific acidity. Umami makes the salivator glands work overtime. Drink 2016-2018. Tasted blind at NWAC16, June 2016 @twistedhills
Eau Vivre Malbec 2013, BC VQA Similkameen Valley, British Columbia (Winery, $23.00, WineAlign)
A rich juicy malbec of all in red fruit, tom foolery fun things and life affirming positives. Just the malbec with creamy american vanilla anglaise. “Sidewalk sundae strawberry surprise.” A bit of a malbec ice cream cone but that’s more than OK because the ice cream man, one man band will be “good to you yeah, good to you, I’ll be good to you, I’ll be good to you.” No need to hold off because malbec so inviting waits for no one. Drink 2016-2019. Tasted blind at NWAC16, June 2016 @EauVivre
While life is a blur there is always wine. In the past month the WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada, Chablis and three VINTAGES releases have seen me taste through more than 800 glasses of wine. This is something I do often in a four-week stretch but this, this was something other. It was intense.
During the same stretch I completed my tasting notes on 50 Chianti Classico (including 18 Gran Selezione) and those ruminating thoughts will be published in the coming weeks. Tomorrow I head down to Niagara for the sixth annual International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration, or as it is affectionately hash-tagged, #i4c16. Just in case I didn’t have enough tasting notes to transcribe, edify, pop-culture aggrandize, indoctrinate and embellish, well, get ready for 100 more.
For now there is the upcoming July 23rd VINTAGES release and 15 wines I recommend with Godello certainty. Now if I could just get off this grid.
Sutherland Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Wo Elgin, South Africa (203877, $14.95, WineAlign)
A pungent, insistently perfumed cooler clime sauvignon blanc from a big, need to be picked quick crop. Spice, grapefruit, agave and yellow flowers and with more texture than its Thelema ’14 cousin. Fleshy, tropical, juicy, ripe and spirited. Classic Elgin cool savour running linear like a beam through the joist of structure. High quality fruit ready for all comers. Drink 2016-2018. Tasted September 2015 and July 2016 @ThelemaWines@WOSA_ZA@WOSACanada
Castillo De Almansa Old Vines Selection 2010, Almansa, Spain (586719, $16.95, WineAlign)
Rich and concentrated, nicely balanced between roping fruit and ripping acidity. Has real firepower but enough sense to remain calm at the right moments. Plenty of verve, concentration and development from old vines and the stuffing to stand up to blessed char off the grill. Terrific summer BBQ red. Will also work for winter stew. Drink 2016-2020. Tasted July 2016 @BodegasPiqueras@almansaturismo@DionysusWines
Vinedos Y Bodegas Pablo Menguante Garnacha Selección 2012, Cariñena, Spain (313833, $16.95, WineAlign)
Two years on and with more oak this is a very different animal than the subdued ’14, integrated but on the other side of the aromosphere. The oak is dominant, vanilla and cocoa are the great waft in what is ostensibly pitch perfect fruit, in bottle on the dark side of the moon. Coconut, vanilla extract and cinnamon. The wood brings layered and sheathed character. Very plush and notes Jorge, “if you come to Cariñena to experience Garnacha, this wine will allow you to discover the wonders of American oak.” The deep fruit and earth melded into and by the barrel makes for a very pleasurable drop. The ’08 released into the Ontario market in November 2014 lends credence to the ageability of this Garnacha. Drink 2015-2019. Tasted October 2015 and July 2016 @GranViu@VinosCarinena@DoCarinena@Vinexxperts
Quails’ Gate Gewürztraminer 2014, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (354480, $17.95, WineAlign)
The ripest Quail’s Gate gewürztraminer ever may be some kind of anomic desert hyperbole but wow is this fleshy, extracted and beautiful. Spicy too, with a minor citrus pith and almost into slight effervescence. Fun with gewürztraminer. Drink 2016-2018. Tasted July 2016 @Quails_Gate@hobbsandco@AMH_hobbsandco
Santa Rita Medalla Real Syrah 2012, Limarí Valley, Chile (443523, $17.95, WineAlign)
From the northerly clime of the Limari this is seductively floral syrah with an edge of peppery spice. It just feels balanced on the nose and silky sweet in mouthfeel. Pushes characterization towards incomplex tautology. Linger with it long enough and the fine tannins will rear and bring everything back to earth. Cue the value jingle. Drink 2016-2020. Tasted July 2016 @SantaRitaEst@WinesofChile@DrinkChile@ImportWineMAFWM@MarkAnthonyWine
The lower bowl of this Tawse-Redstone plot is the shiny one, as in happy scintillant of riesling proportions. A year on the attitude persists, in lime and honey, acacia and beeswax. Terrific tartness and direct enjoyable deposit. Enough mineral to satisfy a calcaire lover’s soul. @RedstoneWines@Tawse_Winery@DanielatTawse
From my earlier note of May 2015:
So much lime and liquid chalk make for desired and dreamy texture. The lime slides like a slick of oil into the full flavours, spiked by peach and white plum liqueur. Terrific 20 Mile value. Drink 2015-2019.
From my earlier note of May 2014:
This inaugural Riesling foray from atop the Twenty Mile Bench out of the Limestone Vineyard is a sister to the Tawse exploration from same. The comparisons end right there. Paul Pender’s take is kinetic, frenetic and electric. Redstone winemaker Rene Van Ede tends to and lends from a reconnaissance that heralds Mosel. His first, fixed take is off-dry (in obvious ubiquity) with circular acidity. The co-agitation is early picked at low brix, with realized high residual sugar (36.4 g/L) and low alcohol (10 per cent). Toothsome, with a ying/yang, lemon/lime, push/pull. The case load is formidable for a first go ’round (1000 plus) yet paddled through limestone acreage with effortless strokes.
Lovely Ripasso liqueur with pretty red fruit and compressed earthy accents. Resides on the correct side of tart and the exemplary aspect of sweet, fine-grained tannin. Accomplishes Ripasso intimacy by doing so at a mimetic remove. Lingers like a perfect pastille. Drink 2016-2019. Tasted July 2016 @AllegriniWine@C_Valpolicella@RegioneVeneto
William Fèvre Champs Royaux Chablis 2014, Ac Burgundy, France (461640, $24.95, WineAlign)
The Champs Royaux is Chablis drawn from a selection of Fèvre’s better grower contracts and five to 10 per cent is aged in old oak, the rest in stainless steel. It is a generalized but oh too important expression from kimmeridgian soil, hedged and qualified from all over Chablis. Takes all the hills, valleys, les clos and slope/aspect dimensions into account. It is textbook Chablis, a guarantee of quality, especially out of the cracker 2014 vintage. The fruit is ripe and the acidity a study in Chablis exactitude. The balance may be the best this cuvée has ever shown. Drink 2016-2020. Tasted July 2016 @williamfevre_@WoodmanWS@BIVBChablis@purechablis
Roger & Didier Raimbault Sancerre 2014, Ac Loire Valley, France (82255, $26.95, WineAlign)
This white scintillant by Raimbault from Sancerre is laid out with clear instruction, like Rimbaud through Van Morrison, in precisely what sauvignon blanc needs to impress from the Loire. The beseeching immanent, insulated implosion of fruit, searing mineral and tannin multiplying within a bubble. This is tres fort fricative stuff, tart without any excess tang, notes all important and leading to a grand result. Pungency does not enter the vocabulary but the mouthful of stones is palpable and sonant. Raimbault’s 2014 offered up a sense of wonder, “showed me ways and means and motions. showed me what it’s like to be. Gave me days of deep devotions, showed me things I cannot see.” Essential sauvignon blanc with poise, precision and mandatory feel. Sincere Sancerre tore down a la Rimbaud. Drink 2016-2022. Tasted July 2016
Château Des Charmes St. David’s Bench Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2012, VQA St. David’s Bench, Niagara On The Lake, Ontario (453415, $27.95, WineAlign)
I’d put my money down on a French woman to work magic from cabernet franc grown on the warm, generous and giving St. David’s Bench. Lo and behold here is Amélie Boury with such fruit of spot on varietal countenance, magnified by the exhort of 2012. The gifts of that vintage could have been clouded with oak smothers but that case is not presented nor was it predicted. Boury certainly makes use of the barrel but its presence is textural, with mellow spice and for la longeur. This will develop efficiently and with grace, from this current anglaise stage into something modern Loire Valley en croute. It will accrue its culture and its character over seven to 10 years. Drink 2018-2022. Tasted July 2016 @MBosc
Bachelder Hautes Côtes De Beaune 2013, Ac Burgundy, France (445247, $27.95, WineAlign)
My sweet Beaune from Thomas Bachelder, as in sweet on the spontaneous haute ideal, not the cloying of residual imbalance. From a winemaker who lets his wines narrate themselves. Exemplary by George (well, Thomas) of a Beaune perfume with an underlay of acidity and tannin. No bitters here, nor astringent behaviour, nor harassment, which is nice. My sweet Beaune. Hm, my Beaune. Hm, my Beaune. Though a touch firm at present, a year ahead will see it come closer to hallelujah harmony. Drink 2017-2020. Tasted July 2016 @Bachelder_wines@BourgogneWines@vinsdebourgogne@LiffordON
Remarkable sangiovese so fleshy and forthright, modern and of an extreme brightness of being. There is an underlying Greve truth be told in moderation, tradition and historical meets varietal significance but it’s a new oration. This means that the structure is both sound and hermetically sealed. The lightness of volatility is a reminder of the past but it treads so delicately you just know this is a shining star pointing the way to the future. A brilliant “normale” without the the new slang of Gran Selezione but in many respects it may as well be. Drink 2018-2025. Tasted July 2016 @Querciabella@chianticlassico@rogcowines
Fisticuffs Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Napa Valley, California (457507, $49.95, WineAlign)
From Pavi Wines comes this study in hedonistic Napa Valley balance from out of a top-notch vintage. Ripe fruit and oak spice dance a simple cabernet sauvignon language with rope-a-dope drupe, right-handed acidity and a solid tannic left. A peremptory wine but its message is an assertion rather than a persuasion. Not a heavyweight by any means but behold the high-strung, svelte and agile middleweight. Possessive of the stuffing and the stamina to go a full fifteen rounds. Drink 2018-2022. Tasted July 2016
A near perfect vintage after a mild winter was presented to shape this ripe gathering of increased extraction. Though the previous years pale in comparison, there can be no mistaking the load of impression. The causation supplied by extreme coastal vineyards with dramatic altitude stretches and elongates the fruit and so it is hard to get to know the oak. The bite is toothsome into great green apple, perfectly ripened grapefruit and a far eastern note of Indonesian sasak (snake) fruit. The materials and the handling are as one, from purchased coastal fruit to winemaker Dave Keatley’s acquiescent dispensation. Delicate fortitude from Sonoma. Where else before but here can chardonnay sire and develop such a family? Drink 2016-2022. Tasted July 2016 @FlowersWinery@rogcowines@sonomavintners
Two Hands Samantha’s Garden Shiraz 2013, Clare Valley, South Australia, Australia (67355, $71.95, WineAlign)
This is simply gorgeous shiraz from the Clare Valley. A wine of balance, precision and focus. It seems the wood regimen has been relaxed in welcoming retreat. On a rare occasion when a garden of flowers can bloom through despite so much fruit and an equal tempering by wood, well that is a joyous thing. The texture is woven from pure silk and the quality of the ganache painted with the finest brush. This never over soaks, runs roughshod or lays down the hammer. It is a fine-tuned shiraz of the highest esteem. Drink 2018-2030. Tasted July 2016 @twohandswine@bwwines@Wine_Australia
In 2016 and for the first time in its brief yet facund tenure, Ontario’s International Cool Climate Celebration will include some other cool-climate varietal representation; pinot noir, gamay and cabernet franc. Yes it is true. Plus has joined the i4c, an ideogram of addendum, a character of diversity for the fluently persuasive and forceful congress. This gathering will open its arms for colour and to allow its constituents to regale with what they do best. For an event-driven pure as single-varietal snow and formerly known exclusively as chardonnay, is this really a shocker? This is the reality of democracy.
In August of 2015 I asked the question, can chardonnay get any cooler? My immediate answer to myself was this. “Five is a big number. Any annual convention that survives and thrives into a fifth caucus must be divined by some unseen force, a guiding hand perhaps, by avatar or prosopopoeia. And something other. The International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration has priceless equity on its side. Three aces in the hole. Canadian climate and geology, adroit farmers and winemakers, simpatico of communities.” That answer was not exclusive to chardonnay. It held the door open for more.
Niagara’s Cool Chardonnay Conference will take place between July 22nd and July 24th. It begins on Friday with the annual School of Cool, Viticultural and Winemaking Sessions in the Grand Room at White Oaks Conference Resort & Spa. Ian D’Agata (Decanter, Vinous.com), John Szabo (MS) and twenty of the brightest talents in the world of Cool Climate viticulture and winemaking will explore three provocative topics. Two seminars from Wines of Chablis and Riedel Canada will follow.
Friday’s main event, “Flights of Chardonnay” will be hosted at Niagara District Airport. Sixty winemakers from nine countries and 75 wines will be poured at this “boots and blue-jeans” event. The new culinary marché will offer dishes from Niagara’s top chefs and the mainstage will feature live bands as the sun sets over the airstrip. On Saturday night the Cool Chardonnay World Tour Tasting & Dinner will return to Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario.
When I reflected back on i4c 2015 I wrote this. “Yes, we thought these things and then year number five blew our minds. We had been wrong. We found out that the bar had yet been breached. Further was still out there, not yet claimed, hovering in the realm of the possible and still, going forward, yet remains plausible.” And so in 2016 there will be reds. Oh, the blasphemy, the bastardization, the spurious board gone askew. Really? Can this multifarious variegation really cause such angst? Must we express ourselves with varietal racism just to be heard? Just take it easy man.
The internal red invasion comes at an appropriate time, by coincidence or not with “TanninAlert” a new Brock University Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) program that will track tannin levels in red wines which impact bitterness and astringency. The joint CCOVI and Ontario Grape and Wine Research Inc. (OGWRI) concept will provide Ontario grape growers and winemakers with information on the ripeness of these flavours to help consistently create rich and robust Ontario red wines. Red wines and cool chardonnay living together like cats and dogs. What a revelation.
At the end of this week I will prep my chardonnay palate in Chablis for six days. Last week I tasted, assessed and judged more than 40 Canadian chardonnays in Penticton at the WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada. Now I count down the days (22 of them) and in anticipation I’ve drawn up more cool tasting notes as the great #i4C16 event nears. Many will become available through VINTAGES next week for the July 9th release. After Canada Day. Notes that include chardonnay, gamay, pinot noir and gasp, riesling. Imagine the horror of tasting such an intruder at a cool chardonnay conference sometime soon.
Tawse repeats itself in 2014 with a gamay noir that breathes deeply and breeds consistency. From a vintage that few varietals could find great shine, gamay seems the outlier and Tawse does what was required. The firm, dark and tasty taut fruit is really all that matters, a result of a driven desire to celebrate the simplicity of the grape In Niagara when uncertainly lurks. Eight months in oak committed neither diversion nor crime. Drink 2016-2018. Tasted June 2016 @Tawse_Winery@DanielatTawse@Paul_Pender
Château Des Charmes St. David’s Bench Vineyard Chardonnay 2012, VQA St. David’s Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (430991, $19.95, WineAlign)
Tasting the CdC SDB chardonnay a year after it may have been held up with halting reduction is the best thing I could have done and props are fisted forward to the folks at the winery for timing this perfectly. It’s so very mineral-driven and may have stung like a bee in 2015, now fluttering and dancing like a butterfly instead. The barrel presented texture is all marzipan and honey butter with a crunchy bite of rye toast under-spread. Dramatic for the vineyard and exceptional as a price with quality quotient from a polarizing chardonnay vintage. Exceptional timing is exemplary and day assessing uplifting. Drink 2016-2021. Tasted June 2016 @MBosc
Oak Bay Pinot Noir 2012, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (267146, $19.95, WineAlign)
The Oak Bay pinot noir by St. Hubertus has drifted into settled middle age at a time when whatever high tones may have once spoken loud have now faded away. This is light, truffled and whiffing of a vanilla cigar. Blackberries and currants too. Simply complex enough to offer up some value that exceeds decent and enters the realm of great. Drink 2016-2017. Tasted June 2016 @St_HubertusWine
Tinhorn Creek Chardonnay 2014, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (378489, $19.95, WineAlign)
Classic cool-climate please all camps Okanagan chardonnay. From here and there, with this and that; Black Sage and Golden Mile Bench fruit. New oak and stainless steel, wild and cultured yeasts. Herbs and spices, fruit and mineral, ying and yang. Lean, green verdancy and warm, textured liquor. Cool and boozy. All in for $20. Drink 2016-2019. Tasted June 2016 @TinhornCreek@SandraOldfield
Flat Rock The Rusty Shed Chardonnay 2013, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (1552, $24.95, WineAlign)
It’s as if this label had bided all this time to be the benefactor of 2013 fruit. This Rusty Shed, this 20 miler with the track record to age, a wine that sheds baby fat over a 10 year mineral through echelon stratum, in ways few other peninsula to bench chardonnay can do. This Jay Johnston handled surfer of a wine, buoyant and balanced, centred and able to withstand turbulence, oscillation and tidal sway. Here with sumptuous and spiralled fruit gaged in lode intervals and a tartness held in lope and line by a membrane of extract and tannin. Best ever. Showing well, repeatedly and to forecasted repute. Impressing critics and consumers alike. Bravo. Drink 2016-2025. Tasted June 2016 @Winemakersboots@UnfilteredEd@brightlighter1
Charles Baker Riesling Ivan Vineyard 2015, Niagara Escarpment, Ontario (395921, $27.20, WineAlign)
In 2015 Ivan delivers the labour of ripe, concentrated fruit, by lower yield, alcohol and spine, concomitantly and conversely to elevated, amenable juicy potability. I can think of 100 reasons to drink this repeatedly over the next three years while the more structured ’13 and ’14 Ivans continue to mature. Three good reasons would be breakfast, lunch and dinner, from scones, through croques and into fresh, piquant and herbed shrimp rolls. Drink 2016-2019. Tasted June 2016 @cbriesling@StratusWines
Bachelder Bourgogne Blanc Chardonnay 2013, Burgundy, France (416602, $28.95, WineAlign)
The winemaking gypsy Thomas Bachelder “flies from coast to coasts” and his 2013 French foray into basics and the essential tenets of white Burgundy is a trip replete with a sunbeam shining through your hair. A sweet Melissa of a chardonnay, an ode to what is pretty, simple and carefree about Bourgogne Blanc, but also the idea of chatting up and producing pure driven varietal wine from ideal terroir. Bachelder does this, albeit with romantic vision, here with phenolics, dry extract and mineral of organza sheathing. The vintage speaks clearly and the wine responds with thanks, in kind. “Crossroads, will you ever let him go?” Drink 2016-2020. Tasted June 2016 @Bachelder_wines@LiffordON
Henry Of Pelham Speck Family Reserve Chardonnay 2013, VQA Short Hills Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (616466, $29.95, WineAlign)
The barrel toast is a gift of the highest order, dispensing a twinge neither wholly lucid nor abstruse, but somewhere on the demurred line in between. Exposes flint in mineral over fruit in its younger development, with elements of sunshine, forest glade and some herbal tones. Not to say it is balmy in any perceptible way, its lees layered body pops fresh in happily reductive design, in a real Ontario way. So representative of the regional, modern, cognoscenti connection. Drink 2017-2023. Tasted blind at the WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada, June 2015 @HenryofPelham@SpeckBros
The greatest surprise is a skeptic’s dream, that is, no surprise. The vintage was a gift for chardonnay as we all know and so Francois Morissette does what a wise winemaker does. He lets the fruit from such conditioning speak on its own behalf. The less is more approach allows his fruit to do more than most, to condense into pure elixir of terroir, to inflate with airy, philosophical heir and to exhale a perfume so very, very Cuvée Dix-Neuvieme. Like marzipan but more umami and like stone fruit but crossed with the orchard. The palate and the texture speak of resolution after the revolution and the level of calm post chaos is quietly dramatic. Hypnotizing clarity is what it is. Drink 2017-2027. Tasted June 2016 @PearlMorissette
Olivier & Lafont Gigondas 2013 and Domaine La Fourmone Le Poète Vacqueyras 2013
When you face the reality of finding yourself in VINTAGES ambivalence, slowly pacing, randomly, to and fro across the wine map of the world. These are times when you don’t have the faintest clue why, or what, or, for what reason and to what end. It’s not simply a matter of what wine should you pick. No, it’s deeper than that and even if you don’t realize the magnitude of the decision, the lucubration is also there. The exercitation of the intellect incites the self-reflective question. Drink now or save it for later?
It does not matter if you have come to this place to purchase a bottle of wine for tonight’s dinner. It matters not if that wine is a dinner invitation gift, in fact, it matters more. You might bring that purchase home and decide that another more prescient bottle is ready. Your friend may choose to save your contribution for another, further down the cellared road day. And so every purchase is fraught with trepidation, with dichotomy, with doubt.
Price is the most obvious demarcation point for early, middle or late consumption. The number is not a hard one nor is there a guarantee for success. Everything is based on probability, risk, reward and chance. Twenty five dollars can buy you 10 years and in some cases, 10 months. If provenance is near-perfect, before and after purchase then the odds increase dramatically. Any bottle of wine, whether $10 or $100 that spent time in the sauna of a storage tank, tanker or storage tomb will take their leave in adolescence. You have to ask yourself the question, level up or level down? Spend $15 or $50. Crack it tonight or in 2025? Remember this. Contradictions are what make wine interesting. Consistency is for cooking.
I have spent the last 30 years considering wine in some respect. The last 15 much more so. The tries, trials, errors, tricks, and tribulations have taught me one thing. I prefer and receive much more instant gratification from drinking wines young but nothing compares to the insight and the exhilaration of partaking in older wines. Fifteen years are that terminus, at least for me. You will notice that five wines reviewed below fall into the near breaching $30 price category. A certain kind of sweet spot for wines that can spend quality time in the cellar.
As the weekend approaches, the VINTAGES June 11th release brings the two worlds together, as it always does, to tease buyers into making yet another bi-weekly decision. Drink now or save it for later? The answer is both. Some things never change. I’ve 15 recommendations for you. After all, isn’t that the magic number?
Crios De Susana Balbo Chardonnay 2014, Mendoza, Argentina (243196, $13.95, WineAlign)
Fresh, reductive and herbal scented chardonnay from winemaker Susana Balbo, nicely delineated from ripe 2014 fruit. There is a decidedly toasted barrel edgy spice and good tart complications. Simply stated, properly made chardonnay. Drink 2016-2018. Tasted May 2016 @susubalbo@sbalbowines@ProfileWineGrp@winesofarg@ArgentinaWineCA
Waves of natural, fresh-air, verdant meadows running cool with rapid run-off springs aromas make this Casablanca Valley sparkler feel fresh and inviting. The palate takes it to a very citrus place, albeit within the context of pale, lucid and pellucid. Great value and fresh as there is. Drink 2016-2018. Tasted May 2016 @VinosEmiliana@WinesofChile@DrinkChile@WinesOfChile_CA
Jardin Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Wo Stellenbosch, South Africa (663302, $16.95, WineAlign)
Reductive and so very pungent, here we receive sauvignon blanc from Stellenbosch with a real sense of high-spirited purpose. Carries a bit of fresh Sancerre proposition in its heart and seeks to take matters up to another South African level. It mostly succeeds. Drink 2016-2018. Tasted May 2016 @AbconWine@WOSACanada@WOSA_ZA
Château Des Charmes Estate Bottled Old Vines Pinot Noir 2011, VQA Niagara On The Lake, Ontario (256834, $18.95, WineAlign)
Perhaps a difficult vintage for pinot noir but not so for healthy, established, confident old vines. From berries to beets and cola, all wrapped up in cozy sweetness, here pinot noir sings uninhibited and free. It is surprisingly easy to drink and not at all astringent. Thanks afforded the vineyard and the winemaker’s deft, less is more touch. Drink 2016-2020. Tasted May 2016 @MBosc
A rich, heady, toasty and vital Riesling from the terrific Twenty Mile Bench Limestone Road Vineyard, tilted out with preserved citrus and waxy, lemony concentration. At present this outlays on the sour-rutaceae-rusticae ledge and I can see why it would be both confounding and misunderstood. The vineyard and its riesling in sparkling form search for a coming together, in bottle, without the assistance of gross lees. A few years are required and needed for the sugars to work their magic and strike fear into the citrus for future balance. I think this will come around and really find its aim to please. Drink 2018-2022. Tasted May 2016 @Tawse_Winery@DanielatTawse@Paul_Pender
Byron & Harold Rose & Thorns Shiraz 2013, Great Southern, Western Australia, Australia (453183, $19.95, WineAlign)
Just as every rose has its thorn, Western Australia has its knight is shining armour in Great Southern. Shiraz from this place is possessive of its very own, singular and distinctive perfume, like roses in hyperbole and varietal specific oak-imparted exotic spice. Byron and Harold does shiraz as if by Shakespeare, of the Dane, with his courtesans on call. A cool, long drink of shiraz soliloquy, finished with currants, citrus and relative cool climate acidity. Special value here. You can pick the right poison with this power ballad. Drink 2017-2024. Tasted June 2016 @ByronandHarold@KylixWines@Wine_Australia
This is an outlier for the Nadja’s Vineyard riesling, with deeper concentration and compression than before. More Mosel and less Twenty Mile in 2015, of light alcohol and an increase in off-dry, extract meets acidity. There have been Nadja’s with more air and exhale but I can’t recall one with such density in vitality. A great Nadja to be sure but of a deferential sort of character. Two or three years should bring it back into its self-imposed and created line. Drink 2018-2024. Tasted May 2016 @Winemakersboots@brightlighter1@UnfilteredEd
Seresin Sauvignon Blanc 2014, Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand (735043, $24.95, WineAlign)
Sauvignon Blanc borrows a page from its first Marlborough golden age in this Serezin 2014, finning balance in the most important facets of its character. Ripe fruit, natural acidity and memorable dry extract. The citrus is exotic, the stone fruit balanced between tart and ripe, the finish long and meaningful. With so much pungency in surround abound this exhales a true breath of fresh spring air. Were Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc always like this I would be glad with a glass, every day. Drink 2016-2019. Tasted May 2016 @SeresinEstate@DionysusWines@NZwineCanada@nzwine
Limestone and martime influences converge in this highly perfumed pinot noir. It smells of red berries, soft, wet rock and mollusc shell. The crustaceous salinity is a new drift for pinot noir but not entirely out of the happy equation. Loquacious and malleable, the flavours replay what red berry meets white light the nose had given. This is quite singular in expression, natural and handsome. At $28 it is a terrific, unexpected find. Drink 2017-2023. Tasted May 2016 @TabaliWines@hobbsandco@WinesofChile@DrinkChile@WinesOfChile_CA
Oldenburg Vineyards Syrah 2012, Wo Stellenbosch, South Africa (443457, $27.95, WineAlign)
Indicative of the new and improved Stellenbosch for syrah, in which perfectly ripe phenolic fruit meets consumer appeal. Quite a traditional upbringing means clean, pure, rich and plenty but it does not embrace new or outside the box. For the price this represents tremendous, albeit traditional value in a syrah with no fraying or funky edges. It will live a perfectly long life. Drink 2017-2027. Tasted May 2016 @Oldenburgwines@WOSACanada@WOSA_ZA
Domaine La Fourmone Le Poète Vacqueyras 2013, Ac Rhône, France (452268, $29.95, WineAlign)
Poetic and stunning Vacqueyras, so fluid, natural and effortless. From raspberry to plum, by garrigue and though dusty, delicate underbrush, the cure is cut with hands-off dedication. A certain kind of delicate spice just pricks here and there but you know it’s there. This is exactly what restrained Rhône and vacuous Vacqueyras need to be. The tannins are so fine. Such great structure will take this very long. Drink 2017-2025. Tasted May 2016 @Lafourmone@VINSRHONE@RhoneWine@TFBrands
Concha Y Toro Terrunyo Peumo Vineyard Block 27 Carmenère 2012, Entre Cordilleras, Peumo, Cachapoal Valley, Chile (562892, $29.95, WineAlign)
Concha Y Toro’s Block 27 has always dominated the price meets profundity of this signature varietal success story for Chile. Calling out a vineyard its equal for correctness and depth at under $30 Canadian is a tall order. Gobs, waves and oscillations of dark fruit, intense savoury scents and the rush gained from a syringe-injection of its lush elixir perpetuate in 2012. This albeit with a roast and a confiture of black currant and bell pepper. Or vice versa. Ripe acidity and tannin add layers, not opposition. The overall amalgamation seems a bit sweet though in actuality the grit is what stakes claim and standing. Nothing but huge in 2012. Drink 2018-2023. Tasted May 2016 @conchaytoro#escaladewines@WinesofChile@DrinkChile@WinesOfChile_CA
Olivier & Lafont Gigondas 2013, Ac Rhône, France (452300, $29.95, WineAlign)
Beautifully accomplished and confident Giogondas from messieurs Olivier et Lafont, ripe but restrained, balanced and carefully, contractually structured. Purity and silky albeit spicy textures wrap themselves up in flavour. No spikes, rips or fissures are to be found. Exemplary Gigondas. Drink 2018-2028. Tasted May 2016 @vonterrabev@VINSRHONE@RhoneWine
Jean Dauvissat Vaillons Vieilles Vignes Chablis 1er Cru 2009, Ac Burgundy, France (457002, $49.95, WineAlign)
Any signs that put this old vines Dauvissat into a time machine dating back to 2009 are less than obvious. Its freshness and composure are astounding. Chablis of structure as laid out in this Vaillons walks a particularly direct line and steadies effortlessly in one spot. The flint, toast and struck rock are subtle, atomically spicy, fine and unseen. The direct connectivity between vineyard and chardonnay is near perfect. Premier Cru would be hard pressed to exceed the limits of this Vaillons’ ability. Drink 2016-2024. Tasted May 2016 @BIVBChablis@BourgogneWines
Ridge Lytton Springs 2013, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA (982413, $57.95, WineAlign)
From the vineyard planted in 1902, with petite sirah as the number two support to Zinfandel (as opposed to Geyserville), the Lytton Springs is not as mineral but it has a deeper intent. Perfume repeats as it should and has to. Only Lytton Springs smells like this, more floral of fruit and its blossoms in opposition, interchangeable and in support of one another, out of a pretty aromatic vintage, It is the palate that digs into baked earth, so very masculine and tougher by tannin. Density is but ethereal, acidity so similar but this is certainly richer and retreats back to that feel of natural fermentation. A tremendous Lytton Springs, born this way, with wisdom and structure and will remain for 10 plus years before really beginning to change. Tremendous balance in a characterful field blend red. Drink 2018-2024. Tasted twice, May 2016 @RidgeVineyards@VinoTorino@rogcowines@sonomavintners@CalifWines_CA
While rambling in Vinho Verde last week, I was taken by overnight precipitation that would carpet the mountains above 400m with white stuff. It was magical to wake up in Amarante, Ponte da Barca and Melgaço to see the late March greenery contrasted with a jacket of celestial deliquescence. Then I returned to Toronto. Early April snow just didn’t quite have the same heart-stirring effect.
In VV the reputation is for producing crisp, light and refreshing wines. This from a place where it rains a lot. Nearly all the time. The land is so green you can see the fairies and pixies scurrying about. The place is such a verdant paradise it feels as though life springs from every tuft, tuffet and bit of life-affirming turf. With so much damp, wet and soggy abound you might think that hearty reds are both essential and necessary. To the contrary, it is Alvarinho, Loureiro, Arinto and Avesso that speak the most sincere truths. White wines rule.
The VINTAGES April 16th release is the launching pad for whites and my seven picks will lock in to every wheelhouse wished for, from $16 to $30 and from grape varieties both recognizable and habituated outside the familiar box. From Jacquere to Assyrtiko, through Riesling, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. Something for all.
Here we are in mid-April, temperatures still hovering around the zero mark and Spring still fighting to break out. Like Frog and Toad I keep turning around, left and right, expecting to find Spring just around the corner. It never seems to come. So in ode to Vinho Verde, the current plan is to seek out cool, crisp whites and to wait patiently, for without even realizing it has happened, Spring will have sprung.
Château Des Charmes Old Vines Riesling 2013, VQA Niagara On The Lake, Ontario (277228, $16.95, WineAlign)
The happy place effect by age in the Château Des Charmes’ vines coupled with location is usually enough to carry this Riesling through an obvious and readily identifiable tunnel but 2013 confounds. The elemental ratio, derived from multiplying reduction by altitude leans thoughts to the Vinemount Ridge or the Cave Spring Escarpment Vineyard. The compound aromatic waft, or more succinctly, the deconstructed stone, the breaking down of periodic Hollywood squares is a force to reckon. That this arrives from such close proximity to the lake is nothing short of amazing. It’s as if this Riesling is the product of stressed vines and the pierce is just so pinpointed. Less accessible than ’12 for sure, so drink up previous vintages going back at least three before even thinking about getting to know 2013. Drink 2018-2022. Tasted May 2015 and April 2016 @MBosc@WineCountryOnt
Pierre Sparr Réserve Pinot Gris 2014, Ac Alsace, France (983395, $16.95, WineAlign)
Mineral trumps fruit is this dry take on Pinot Gris from a house on a seriously competitive roll. Good beneficial bitters join tannic sweetness on the broad palate. This is a prime example of what PG can and should be, albeit without the intensity delivered out of more demanding Alsatian vineyards. Drink 2016-2019. Tasted April 2016 #PierreSparr@VinsAlsace@AlsaceWines@drinkAlsace@ProfileWineGrp
Jean Perrier & Fils Cuvée Gastronomie 2014, Ac Savoie Abymes, France (320093, $18.95, WineAlign)
This montane-raised 100 per cent, low alcohol (11.5 per cent) Jacquere is built on premises of tart, savoury, herbal and peppery fruit not so high in acidity. A very aromatic and flavourful Savoie that could easily confuse for Sauvignon Blanc and without transversing over to high tones territory. Good for patio imbibing and for spring vegetables of all shapes, sizes and subjected to various levels of sauté. Drink 2016-2019. Tasted April 2016
Here in 2014 the triumvirate expression that is St. Urban, of low alcohol, captured natural acidity and necessary sugar talks the Elevation talk. This is a vintage in which expectation is met without waver, whatsoever. It’s very young and not yet exciting. The aerified territory is in teasing, not succeeding mode and the tension floats without ties to anything grounded. This ’14 will have to wait. It should be letf to waft around in the Riesling winds of Bench time until a future arrives when secondary notes will begin to appear, like acacia, honey and maple nectar. At present the stoicism is a trifle frustrating. The willingness to wait will offer just reward. Drink 2018-2026. Tasted April 2016 @VinelandEstates@benchwineguy
Seems to be richer, deeper and increasingly unctuous in 2015 though its extreme youth could be the source. The sheer, utter mineral macho meaning is always felt, along with the purity of its fun. What is so special about this Santorini is not just the early life mineral with the soothsaying protraction to a future filled with thyme-infused honeyed fruit drizzled over stone. No, it’s more complex than that. It’s about the true-heartedness with which it represents consciousness. This essential Argyros always offers the pleasure to bathe in its saline, sunlit waters and drink of its energy. Never failing Assyrtiko. Drink 2016-2020. Tasted April 2016 @Santoriniwines@DrinkGreekWine@KolonakiGroup
Coming to #VINTAGES April 16th @vassefelix Filius #chardonnay 2014. Try and find more gem for $25 #idareyou #youcant #margaretriver #virginiawillcock
Vasse Felix Filius Chardonnay 2014, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia (416511, $24.95, WineAlign)
It would be an impossible expectation for winemaker Virginia Willcock to do more for the Filius Chardonnay with equal or less in 2014. The 2013 is a cracker for a pittance. The 2014 holds the candle and bears the torch. A prodigal ‘son of’ fathers Premier and Heytsbury and up to the Margaret River task, Filius is the good. Fashioned in the freshest, reductive and ultra-modern way with a sous-vide savoury and animale gait. Crispy, crunchy green apple fruit is joined by a transparent, manifest barrel written in cursive and ladling out a healthy dose of duck soup. This is Australia’s great cool-climate value Chardonnay. The mineral finish is excavated agleam of gemstones. Case buy. Drink 2016-2021. Tasted March 2016 @vassefelix@MargaretRiverWi@WestAustralia@Wine_Australia@bwwines
Bouchard Père & Fils Montagny Premier Cru 2013, Burgundy, France (653683, $29.95, WineAlign)
Quite the round and reductive Chardonnay with exceptional ripe fruit and tamed acidity. Love the tannin and the rotation. This is highly pleasurable though not meant to linger for much of an extended stay. Enjoy it now with something that swam, flakes and is marked by a slight char. Drink 2016-2019. Tasted April 2016 #BouchardPereEtFils@WoodmanWS@BourgogneWines@bourgognespress
In the past 12 months I have tasted Canadian wines. Somewhere between hundreds and a thousand of them. Aside from day-to-day assessments at home, in the LCBO sensory lab, at the WineAlign office and at events in Ontario, I’ve also been a part of judging panels. In 2015 I sat in at the Ontario Wine Awards, WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada, WineAlign World Wine Awards of Canada and Gold Medal Plates.
Flight 3, code red #pinotnoir redux. Right proper #NWAC15 picks & pours @FortessaCanada stems @winealign staff rock!
In 2014 the highlights numbered 14, just as in 2013 the number chosen to cant, recant and decant excellence in Canadian wine was 13. And so forth leads to 15 in 2015.
The Legend, the Sommelier and the Godello #geddy #yyz #gmp2015 #goldmedalplates #rush
Canadian wine is growing with exponential force, gaining ground in markets at home and abroad. Brits dig us. I know, they told me. British Columbia is a desert oasis of variable climates to fascinating degrees. Oh the Syrah, Riesling and Gamay that rocks forth. Ontario stood up to two straight brutal winters and screamed, “we still made great fucking wine.” Take that mother nature.
And I quote. “Picking a top anything list is both a chore and a labour of loyalty. The opportunities to learn more about Canadian-made wine, especially the processes and the efforts, were numerous in 2014. Canadian winemakers opened their doors and when people came, they taught. They walked the vineyards, showed off their prized barrels and walked through the processes of making wine. Tasting and barrel rooms make for the greatest classrooms. Get out there in 2015. The experience is priceless.”
Riesling at the Carriage House, Vineland Estates Winery – March 7, 2015
So I did. In 2015 I visited Niagara for Icewine Fest, discovered exceptional cider (with percentages of Pinot Noir and Riesling) made by Angela Kasimos at Small Talk Vineyards and have been pouring it on tap at Barque Smokehouse and Barque Butcher Bar ever since.
The pioneer for #vqa #wineontap feel good recognition from @winecountryont Thank you from @barquebbq #ontariowineweek #ontwine #drinkontario #pourontario
The taps at the two restaurants poured a record number of wines in 2015, from Tawse, Lailey, Norm Hardie, Creekside, Between the Lines, Kew Vineyards, Redstone, Stratus and Leaning Post. In March we travelled with CAPS Ontario for an eight-hour intense immersion into Niagara Riesling and Cabernet Franc.
Another visit with Ilya and Nadia Senchuk at Leaning Post Wines in Winona, Ontario shed new lights, especially for Syrah from the Lincoln Lakeshore. In June I toured the facilities at Niagara College with Dr. Jamie Goode, Magdalena Kaiser and our host Chef Michael Olson. Jamie and I tasted through an impossible number to count Domaine Queylus wines with Thomas Bachelder. On that I will report really soon. Really soon…
Cool Chardonnay at Ridley College
The Cool Chardonnay conference in July was in fact, the coolest yet. I spent three more glorious Annapolis-Gaspereau Valley days with Mike and Jocelyn Lightfoot in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Visits to Domaine de Grand Pre, L’Acadie Vineyards and Benjamin Bridge filled out the east coast foray.
Comity in the County godello.ca #PECwine #princeedwardcounty #cherryvalley #clossonridge #danforthridge #greerroad #laceyestates #hubbscreekvineyard #hinterlandwine #lighthallvineyards #clossonchase #adamoestatewinery #northshoreproject
In the fall I made pilgrimage to Prince Edward County to get a grip on the eskers, ridges and aspects of what makes wine so special in that part of Ontario.
As always there are wines that should have, would have and could have made the cut were there more time, space and yet another, better headline to write. Somewere knocked off the shortlist because they may not have been quite as exciting though were this list one of “most important,” then perhaps they would have stayed put. These four are perfect examples of that condition.
Château Des Charmes Old Vines Riesling 2008, VQA Niagara On The Lake, Ontario (277228, $16.95, WineAlign) Perhaps the assessment seven years later creates an unfair advantage but come now, a great wine is a great wine from its humble beginnings. At $16.95, in 2008 or 2015, in Niagara-on-the-Lake, on the Peninsula, this type of emerging propensity is more than gold or platinum, it’s money.
The Good Wine Cabernet Franc 2012, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore, Ontario (350751, $20.95, WineAlign) from winemaker Ross Wise and The Good Earth Wine Company’s Nicolette Novak is a necessary example of $20 Lincoln Lakeshore Cabernet Franc offering up every reason to drink it and demand that more me made.
Creekside Estate Winery Pinot Noir Queenston Road Vineyard 2013, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Winery, $22.95, WineAlign) is what winemaker Rob Power refers to as a lay lady lay style. Still the Kama Sutra Pinot Noir of inviting behaviour.
Hubbs Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir Unfiltered 2010, VQA Prince Edward County, Ontario (Winery, $28.95, WineAlign). The HCV Danforth Ridge is clearly a top Pinot site in the County (along with slopes on the Greer and Closson roads). Planted to high density the results are proven in wines like this 2010
The year that was 2015 seemed to bring out the adventurous winemaker, the risk-taker and the progressive thinker. While these five wines were not so much exciting as much as they were cerebral, they need to be mentioned. Whenever the envelope is pushed and the emotions of geeks are sequestered, well then a wine has achieved something special. These five really opened some doors.
Hillebrand Showcase Series Wild Ferment Chardonnay 2011, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (199273, $36.20, WineAlign) speaks the treble language of the vintage, predicated on bold ideas looking forward towards a bright future. Ultimately it is yeast and vintage, non partisan to site, that elaborate the Wild Ferment.
Southbrook Vidal Orange Wine 2014
Southbrook Vineyards Whimsy! Orange Wine 2014, Niagara On The Lake, Ontario (Winery, $34.95, WineAlign). The technique and the practice is ancient and has been kept alive. The only questions need asking are “is it good, is it well-made and would I like to drink it?”
In bottle @Tawse_Winery #quarryroad 2014 #natural soon to tap @barquebbq #chardonnay #naturalwine #unfiltered #paulpender #vinemountridge #niagarapeninsula #vqa #ontwine
Tawse Chardonnay Quarry Road Natural 2014, VQA Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Winery, $35.95, WineAlign). It’s one thing to make a natural wine in Ontario and a world away to do so with Chardonnay. “The law was never passed, but somehow all men feel they’re truly free at last. Have we really gone this far through space and time?”
The latest rendition of Vin de Curé, the “Parish Priest’s,” and the Jura’s Vin de Paille (Straw Wine) of Burning Kiln Stick Shaker Savagnin 2013, VQA Ontario (367144, $24.95, WineAlign) is a white elixir in search of roast pork, braised belly and cured bacon. Not to be missed.
Inniskillin Discovery Series Botrytis Affected Viognier 2013, VQA Niagara Peninsula (375ml), Ontario (405027, $39.95, WineAlign) though not a common Viognier practice can be imagined with Vendanges Tardives simulation.
Filtering Nova Scotia #peggyscove #eastcoastswing15
I try to concentrate on new releases, unless something old (read: Riesling) jumps out and bites me in the ass. The 15 Canadian wines tasted in 2015 that wooed, wowed and whetted the appetite are the fingers, toes and tongues of their creator’s ideals, hopes and dreams. They are also quintessentially representative of their time and place.
And the winners are…
Charles Baker Riesling Ivan Vineyard 2014, VQA Niagara Escarpment, Ontario (Winery, $27.00, WineAlign)
From the rich limestone and sandstone beneath the clay, 1.1 acre Misek vineyard, a southerly ledge up from Highway 8 and an easterly hill down from Cherry Avenue. A very linear Ivan combs the catacombs of the Escarpment’s underpinning. A retaining wall of vintage attenuated rocks and stones, a vineyard’s low yields and the voices in Charles’ head have produced a striking Riesling. In 2014 adolescence has entered adulthood. Now before us is a grown up Ivan, mature Ivan, maybe even wise Ivan. Texture is in manifest control in this loyal, stay at home Baker, not yet running wild like free-spirited Picone. Ivan has presence, sometimes a great notion and is Baker’s longest bit of prose to date. The next great Riesling vintage will make it iconic. Drink 2016-2020. Tasted April 2015 @cbriesling
Closson Chase Chardonnay Closson Chase Vineyard 2013, VQA Prince Edward County, Ontario (Winery, $27.95, WineAlign)
This CCV Chardonnay is one of departed winemaker Deborah Paskus’ final acts at Closson Chase. It will forever be noted as a legacy-cementing, swan song of career excellence. Crafted by Paskus and bottled by the next one, current winemaker Keith Tyers, the 2013 CCV is simply a tour de force. No such combination of richness, tropicality and pure grape tannin has ever infiltrated this Chardonnay, from this vineyard. I’m not sure there is a comparison in Ontario, at this level of excellence and at this price. A wine of pure impression, with Montrachet-like structure and Folatières-like precision. Seemingly capacious, its facile legerity is hypnotizing, quantitatively escalating in assembly of aromas, flavours, through texture and finally to longevity. The wine spent 16 months in a mere (17.25 per cent new) oak. That it notes 12.5 per cent alcohol on the label is next to impossible. The substance is just too buttressed to be so tender and effete. Impeccable balance, refinement and mineral finish. This is Chardonnay to confuse the world’s fine white collectors, to wreak havoc at international tastings for five to 10 years. Only 712 cases are available and at $27.95, is down $2 in price from the 2012. Best ever, hands down. Drink 2017-2023. Tasted March 2015 @ClossonChase
“There’s no work in walking in to fuel the talk.” @MalivoireWine Melon & @PearlMorissette Gamay #NWAC15 Parting of the Sensory #CuvéeMonUnique #shirazmottiar #treadwells #winealign #winecountryontario
Pearl Morissette Gamay Cuvée Mon Unique 2014, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Winery, $29.00, WineAlign)
In December of 2014 I counted the ’13 CMU Gamay as one of my mind-blowing wines of the year. Once again we are witness to the authentic, raw and natural impossibility of the wine, from 100 per cent whole clusters sent to cement fermenters. The hue is just impossible, the wine sulphur-free. That ’13 Gamay did not last. I tasted again this winter and it failed me. It may return. This ’14 will never leave. It is natural to the 14th degree and yet its rich, smokey chocolate centre and structure of pure physical stature will not let it slide, into a dumb phase or oblivion. This Gamay will strut. It already does. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted June 2015 @PearlMorissette
Cave Spring Csv Riesling 2013, Cave Spring Vineyard, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (566026, $29.95, WineAlign)
That flesh, that Kabinett flesh, fills the CSV in every crevice. In 2013 the residual sugar number lies between 15 and 16 g/L, and though the crop was bigger, it was still picked later than in 2012. The result is formidable corporeal concentration, consistency of house style and perhaps the only ’13 Niagara Riesling to imitate, perpetuate and extrapolate on the vintage that came before. This Cave Spring concentrates fruit and Escarpment into a powerful Riesling, streaming like charged particles through changing expressions. A lingering ascension hovers as it rises, until it slowly fades into the welkin, like a balloon that languidly gets lost into the blinding blue of a midday sky. Drink 2017-2025. Tasted April 2015 @CaveSpring
Any Chardonnay from a vineyard discovered on a bicycle just has to be the bomb. Winemaker Shiraz Mottiar has had many an adventure on his bicycle and it all began here in a plot of perfectly planted Chardonnay. A block that became his home vineyard. The fodder for this most balanced Chardonnay and its abilities transcend all that has come before. You would never know a barrel was ever involved and yet the silken sheaths of texture are well compressed and expertly ingrained. Nothing falls out of place. Everything remains in its right place. The radio is dialled in, from the top and outward in waves. “There are two colors in my head,” Everything in its right place. Drink 2016-2024. Tasted November 2015 @MalivoireWine@ShirazMottiar
Thirty Bench Small Lot Steel Post Vineyard Riesling 2009, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Winery, $30.00, WineAlign)
Riesling Masterclass at Terroir 2015
Balance is and therefore always was struck. The match percusses flint for a mere nano-second, with just a brush on cymbal, the rock bleeds but is quickly clotted because the fruit shines still, like around the clock light. The steely aspect is a posterior one, antithetical and yet purposed, from this vineyard. Youth tells common sense to think 2011. The Riesling behaviour seems to play that part, of a chalky, piercing acidity, so typical of that vintage and so distinctly Thirty Bench. That the wine is older is not a big surprise because 2009 is the bomb. It may just be the best Riesling vintage, from on that Bench, in the last 10. Drink 2015-2025. Tasted May 2015 @ThirtyBench
C.C. Jentsch Syrah 2013, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada (Winery, $34.95, WineAlign)
Oh so beautifully nasty Syrah, spicy, saucy and wicked. Resin, somewhere between myrrh and mastic, redacts reductively and tension stretches the savoury aspects in all directions. Blood orange and anise blend into the aromatic grain, repeating again through flavour mettle. Fruit, acidity and tannin are interwoven, circulating and on edge, in pitch perfect darkness. Syrah in the big time with the stuffing to age. Drink 2016-2022. Tasted blind at WWAC15, August 2015 @CCJentschCellar
“I want you to see the difference between vineyards. That’s terroir.” This the crux and the impetus to abide and acquiesce fruit from McNally, a cooler, higher site of younger vines. For Ilya, this is “truffle hunting, eating roasted pig, at the base of an oak tree.” The forest floor and the catalytic funk come across more in flavour than smell, following cherries in the dead of an aromatic night. Modernity be damned, this strikes ripe, layered and nearly indelicate. The wine’s got some real chew to it, along with crispy flowers, like nasturtium and lavender. “I think this is the best Pinot that I’ve made,” boasts Senchuk, from 15 year-old vines at Peninsula Ridge. Ilya’s muse came from the 2010 made by winemaker Jamie Evans, along with the Voyageur ’10 made by Ross Wise at Keint-He. Wines that spoke in a vernacular that Senchuk could understand and relate to on a deeper level. Prime ripeness defines 2012. Though it teases of grandiose terroir, its complexities reign in the power with each sip, every time. Drink 2016-2022. Tasted June 2015 @LeaningPostWine
Potatoes, not wine #pei @normhardie
Norman Hardie County Unfiltered Pinot Noir 2013, VQA Prince Edward County, Ontario (125310, $39.00, WineAlign)
Procuring depth in County Pinot Noir is a tough task within the constraints of resisting a temptation to reach for sugars, alcohol and dark berry fruit. Norm Hardie’s 2013 unfiltered (at 10.9 per cent) and lambent exegesis succeeds because it offers the best of all available worlds. Roots for vines that burrow to limestone develop a structure that while may have at one time been inconsistent, have crossed the threshold in ’13 to establish a guarantee. A Hardie PEC Pinot Noir can be bright and accessible. It can also be tough, tart and tannic, as it is here, again, but not without its foil. The work is now innate, the transitions seamless, the crossroads left in the dust. This wine will please two camps; those who can afford and demand immediate gratification and those who are willing to wait for secondary (two to three years) and tertiary (four to seven) character development. Drink 2017-2022. Tasted April and September 2015 @normhardie
Culmina Hypothesis 2013, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada (Winery, $39, WineAlign)
In 2013 the blend is not listed on the label though it strikes as a return to Cabernet Franc, albeit with a layer of lush not yet perceived. The 2013 combines the best of worlds put forth by the two previous vintages; ripe fruit, earthy-mineral tang, proper acidity and ripe, tonic tannin. The composition here is the most, accomplished, distinguished and relished. In 2013 the enjoyment can be right now or up to 10 years on. All this with thanks to exceptional balance. Drink 2015-2023. This wine has not yet been released. Tasted November 2015 @CulminaWinery
Sparkling wines by Hinterland
Hinterland Les Etoiles 2012, VQA Prince Edward County, Ontario (Winery, $39.00, WineAlign)
An axial split between Pinot Noir and Chardonnay balances this traditional method Sparkling wine, specific to and what can only, obviously be from Prince Edward County. Acidity defines its existence in every facet of its being. A rich star to be sure, from a warm vintage, free from frost and more importantly, immune to mould. Jonas Newman talks of the methodology, in growing low to the ground. As the sun goes down, the canopy shades the fruit, slowing down the ripening, extending the season, developing the sugars, the complexities and preserving the acidity. At 6 g/L RS, with limestone communication and that sassy acidity, Les Etoiles in ’12 is pure County Sparkling. It exudes untamed apple and unnamed acidity. The Hinterland acidity. It strikes early and often. Just add warmth, stir and voila. Terrific year. Drink 2015-2021. Tasted October 2015 @hinterlandwine
Ancienne Chardonnay and Pinot Noir 2013 with a glass of soon to be released Rose
If de novo for Pinot Noir is to be found in Nova Scotia then count me in because the inaugural release from Lightfoot & Wolfville is the trailblazer for and from the extrinsic frontier. Tasting the painstakingly measured yet barely handled 2013 for the first time (from bottle) is like falling into a glass of Nova Scotia cherries. Somehow there is this simultaneous and virtual voyage abroad to imagine a comparison with Nuits-Saint-Georges, in its earth crusted, sanguine, welled up tension that begs questions and belies answers. A year yonder the taste from barrel and what can be said? Pinot Noir adjudicated, into a cortex of recognizable consciousness and thus into the natural Nova Scotia mystic. Ignore and forgive the dope of first returns, for no one could have imagined such ripeness and immediate gratification. Future releases will dial back in the name of structure. That said, in 2013 there is a red citrus, ferric debate that will send this to an exordium seven years down the road. Impossible inaugural release. Approximately 50 cases made. Drink 2015-2022. Tasted July 2015 @lwwines@rachel_hope
Stratus assemblage and varietals
Stratus Tannat 2012, VQA Niagara On The Lake, Ontario (Winery, $42.00, WineAlign)
“To me this is one of the most successful new varieties we are planting,” exclaims J-L Groux. In similar ways with Stratus varietal cousin Petit Verdot, acidity rules the roost. Smells like a just sliced open bag of organic earth, freshly neutral, funkless and emptying into a (first use) terra cotta pot. A rich, looking straight ahead expression. What it hides in fruit is lost to the brilliance of balance though plum is the operative hidden flesh and it will make a clearer impression when it steps clear of the tar and the tannin. This is pitchy sagacity, with poise and length. Drink 2016-2022. Tasted June 2015 @StratusWines
Tasting The Old Third at White Oaks
The Old Third Sparkling Pinot Noir à la Volée 2011, VQA Prince Edward County, Ontario (Winery, $59, WineAlign)
“On the fly” is not exactly what comes to mind from this 100 per cent Pinot Noir, first Sparkling wine made by Bruno Francois. Calculated, attention to detail and intensity of ideation more like it. Three years on the lees, no dosage and from a vintage to speak in more than whispered voices, of acidity that announces its arrival with immediacy and a summons to contest. The nose does yeast, toast, citrus and ginger. A first release revelation as ever graced Ontario’s waves, as dry as the desert and lingering with switch back traces of its yeasty, toasty self. A single vineyard can be this way, equally and in opposition of natural and oxidative, with a hue less than Pinot Noir, though unrequited as a triumph when you get a ripe white from such Pinot. The production of 1200 bottles is relatively house high in a stunner that needs no sugar to draw up its flavours. Drink 2015-2023. Tasted twice, July and October 2015
asting across the @Benjamin_Bridge Vero, ’08’s, ’04, Sparkling & Cab Franc Rosé. Thanks JB, Scott & Mike
Benjamin Bridge Brut Reserve Methode Classique 2004, Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia (275396, $95.00, WineAlign)
The ’04 is hanging in beautifully, on a wire of impossible balance, at 11 years old not yet really transitioning. There is simply too much brightness for it to give up its youth. You have to strain your ears, nose and throat to assuage just a hint at oxygen, life affirming breaths and then a keener sense of toast and yeast. Still behold the grapefruit, a sign of remarkable adolescence, the hang time amplified and in mass hyperbole here, in this current appraisal, address and time. How can richness act and display with such alpha freshness? How can an aging body not shed baby weight, turn lanky, lean and awkward? How is it neither the bitter pill of juvenility or senility has been swallowed? That is not the case here in a Blanc de Blancs which still has five to seven years of very active life ahead. Drink 2015-2021. Tasted July 2015 @Benjamin_Bridge@jbdeslauriers
I find the last week of November to be one of the strangest, most eery and unsettling times of the year. Calm before the storm. Frost, indigenous summer, zero degrees, crisp air, fall sunshine. We all know it’s coming; snow, holidays, ice, time off. The acronym might ring true but I would suggest resting your worried mind and tucking those cynical philosophies into a drawer. Pull them out in January when it matters less. For now, have a peek into the VINTAGES catalogue for November 28th.
Inside you will be faced with a thematic titled “Holiday finery.” Twenty some odd iconic Super Tuscans, Venetians, Rhônes, Californians and various, multifarious and sundry bottles leap from the pages like three-dimensional wine beacons in full propagandistic regalia. They are expensive, massive wines with pedigrees to shack up with queens and kings. I’ll expand on them later this week. Some are truly exceptional and all are stupid expensive.
There is Icewine and there is what VINTAGES calls “signature study,” a short and apathetically effective use of white space to extol the virtues of Ontario’s most important cool-climate varietal plantings, of Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Also the notion that Sparkling wine is important to our wine psyche. It’s all true.
What fails is the idea of a feature in a magazine and corresponding release with only 10 wines to drive the point. An angle with five aspects needs more than two examples to prove the multi-pronged determination in support of the bottom line. Why feature Ontario’s signature varietals with next to no illustration? Hard to imagine a paradigm shift in consumer connection with Ontario wines out of such a lacklustre effort.
The good news is that of the ten wines on offer, all are solid and representative of the ideal, with seven worthy of being recommended here. An Icewine and two British Columbia reds round out the top ten list.
Typically juicy and tight, lithe and piercing, popping and reflexive. Very consistent, vintage to vintage. Knows just what it wants to be. Drink 2015-2018. Tasted September and November 2015 @featherstonewne
Henry Of Pelham Estate Chardonnay 2013, VQA Short Hills Bench, Ontario (268342, $19.95, WineAlign)
Sunlight is the key to this ripe Chardonnay, snatched from vines that grow on the most easterly of the Niagara Escarpment’s sub-appellation. Here Henry of Pelham calmly puts its hegemony over Short Hills Bench Chardonnay on display. The fruit layering is very impressive, compressed even, with just a spiced spirit injection from the barrel. The Estate Chardonnay is in a mid-range class of its own, this gatherer of heat days, hoarder in spring water retention, cleanser in sand and gravel drainage. The vintage just seems perfect for this niche bottling, balanced, primed to finespun texture, stretched for length and good to age at least five years. Last tasted November 2015 @HenryofPelham@SpeckBros
Bordeaux blend bearing the name of the former Leaf’s Captain with Ontario sites fruit via Prince Edward County. From a warm vintage and showing every bit of that heat, in spice, not alcohol. Its credo should be “make Meritage love for the group, not varietal lust for the individual.” In it for the right reasons. Team. The fruit is quite green and loaded with pyrazines but quality wood fills the unplugged holes. The wine has heart, just like number 93, perhaps small in stature but gritty like no one else in the County league. A killer playoff red with the ability to weave back and forth behind the net until the wrap around is available. I was in the Gardens that night Doug, sitting in the sixth row behind that net. Big hair guy with his arms in the air, caught on the ESPN video. Gilmour represents one of the best Meritage values the County has yet seen. Good things happen when you add work ethic to the roster. The grapes are surely proud. Drink 2015-2019. Tasted November 2015 @KarloEstates@MettleUnited
Coyote’s Run Rare Vintage Chardonnay 2013, VQA Four Mile Creek, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (426437, $24.95, WineAlign)
A nicely, confidently, smartly adjudicated reductive Chardonnay with beautifully judged oak and a pretty white flower note that elevates the aromatic profile to the verified realm of the near ethereal. This is the prettiest bloody Chardonnay ever produced at Coyote’s Run. It is rare vintage indeed, for the appellation, the sub-appellation and the vigneron. Subtle, placid, restrained, smooth, integrated, just hinting at smoke and spice, easy on the lips, mouth and gums. This will follow a fine parallel line for five years, gain some honey and caramel for five more and fade into the Four Mile reflective sunset for five more after that. Drink 2017-2023. Tasted November 2015 @coyotesrun
The Reif Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a wildly endearing and dangerously delicious wine that should evolve gracefully and purposefully for 10 years. Why? Because it has structure. What does that mean? It means that ripe, warmer(ish) Niagara River sub-appellation fruit was picked precisely on time, with acidity intact. It means that the extraction and maceration culled sweet, supporting tannin and the barrel program added just the right amount of accentuating care. This is dutifully doted over and offers Cabernet Sauvignon plaisir. Well done. Tasted November 2015. Drink 2016-2023 @Reifwinery
Château Des Charmes Vidal Icewine 2014, VQA Niagara On The Lake (200ml), VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (565861, $25.95, WineAlign)
The aromatics forge a beautiful relationship between tropical fruit and intensity. Represents the reason for using Vidal to hang at negative temperatures through the freezing nights of Niagara winters. The pineapple, longan and deep peach intent are the palpable culmination of patience leading to reward. This is a most excellent example of the necessity. The little sensation of drying tannin on the finish is the indicator for conterminous Riesling longevity too. Drink 2015-2022. Tasted twice, October and November 2015 @MBosc
Dirty Laundry Kay Syrah 2012, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (437111, $25.95, WineAlign)
Really perfumed Syrah permeated by spice and promising permutations left, right and centre. Quite young, modern, piqued by white pepper and juicy by way of pomegranate, cranberry, more so raspberry and then vanilla. A really solid wine with nothing but pleasure in mind. Drink 2015-2018. Tasted November 2015 @DirtyLaundryVin@HHDImports_Wine
Inniskillin Montague Vineyard Pinot Noir 2012, VQA Four Mile Creek, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (997353, $29.95, WineAlign)
A crescendo of sorts has been struck in 2012 with the Montague Pinot Noir perpetuity, giving credence to the vineyard as a resource to be exploited. What the site does for Pinot, particularly in warm vintages like 2012, reminds of the Pfersigberg in Alsace, a plot which provides fruit for the Sainte-Claires bottling by Domaine Albert Mann. A site where water-retention is less than average, where soil colour and low humidity attract the radiance of intense heat, which leads to early ripening of the grapes. The richness of Montague’s clay is amplified in the vintage, providing elevated heat units for this red cherry, beet, cinnamon and toasted red of equally exceptional flavours. Fine, linear acidity takes it to depths and will lead it down long, paved roads. Tasted January 2015 @InniskillinWine@CBrandsCareers
Skips the cork, avoids the taint and caps with a crown. A king’s bubble in here, a king of pop perhaps, with “a mind like a diamond.” Like a fine, flat rock that cuts through crap and “red tape fast, thorough, and sharp as a tack.” I want a fizz that gets me up early. I want a Sparkling wine that knows what’s right. I want bubbles with “uninterrupted prosperity and smooth liquidation.” I want a sparkler “with a short skirt and a long, long jacket.” I want bubbles with tang, tang, tang, apples, pears, ginger and cardamom. One that I can drink with cake. Yes, perhaps the Riddled ’09 is just a bit abrupt, at times monotone, awkward in chord changes, tempo switches and suffers from a twittering finish. But it’s twitchy and characterful along the way. Tasted November 2014 @Winemakersboots@brightlighter1@UnfilteredEd
Burrowing Owl Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, BC VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia (73098, $44.95, WineAlign)
In 2012 a beefed up wine of early life unsettling proportion, oversized, dilated, and maximized. Cut through with a current of pyrazine and distended with lots of barrel buoy, though not as over-wooded and clumsy as many. Has enough restraint and Cab character to keep things bustling and whistling, from Boston to Dixie. Cool, savoury, spicy centre. A large expression of multi-faceted desert aridity, all B.C., not Bordeaux. This will age nicely as the tannins are quite ripe. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted November 2015 @BurrowingOwlBC@LeSommelierWine
Treadwell Restaurant is a wine bar, an Ontario extrapolation on farm-to-table cuisine and an iconic Niagara experience. It opened its doors in Port Dalhousie in 2006, has always been ingredient based and has help to usher in a niche simply called “Niagara cuisine.” Now located (since March of 2013) right in the heart of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Treadwells must be experienced at least once.
In June I had the fortune of visiting the restaurant twice. While Chef Stephen Treadwell‘s plates are the show, they are also the support and the reason for Sommelier James Treadwell‘s wine. Ontario and more specifically Niagara are explored, above all else and righteously beyond the pale. I taste more Niagara wine than the average geek. At Treadwell there is no shortage of new discovery. It’s a veritable playground for Ontario wine. The Chef de Cuisine is Matthew Payne. With chef’s eyes I watched him closely on my first visit. I wanted to climb over the counter, to contribute and execute for him, but did there was no reason to. His team was right on line.
Hoison Glazed “VG’s” Beef Short Ribs, potato purée, pickled red onion, summer vegetables
My visits to Treadwell were made possible by Magdalena Kaiser, Joanna Muratori and the presence of our provincial marketing treasure, Wine Country Ontario. I had the opportunity to sample more than 20 Niagara wines during the two visits. After judging day two at the WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (#NWAC15) the group was entertained at Treadwells and despite a power outage that put NOTL in the dark from 6:30 until nearly 10:00 pm, Stephen, James, Matthew and their incredible staff soldiered on and produced a most exceptional meal. Amazing.
WineAlign judges, a rainbow and the American Falls
Before we made our way to Niagara-on-the-Lake team Rosé donned vermillion ponchos, climbed aboard the Hornblower run by Niagara Cruises and took the most famous of all Canadian boat excursions to the base of Niagara Falls. Then off to Treadwells.
Aboard the Hornblower approaching the Horseshoe Falls
We tasted a few bubbles but they were all wines I have reviewed on previous occasions. The only note I wrote was for a bottle of Sussex fizz brought in by British wine writer Jamie Goode. Thank you Jamie for that treat and the portal into a new market to explore. The winemakers who joined us that night were Shiraz Mottiar (Malivoire), Jay Johnston (Flat Rock), Amelie Boury (Château Des Charmes), Ilya Senchuk (Leaning Post), Brent Anomyces (Associate winemaker at Pearl Morissette) and Martin Werner (Ravine). Here are notes on 14 of the wines tasted and assessed spread across the two visits.
Nyetimber Classic Cuvee 2010 and its excited purveyor Dr. Jamie Goode
Nyetimber Classic Cuvée 2010, Chiltington, West Sussex, England (Winery, £31.95 – BBR)
From the English house with as much accumulated wisdom and experience as any, theClassic Cuvée spent three years on the lees and it shows. Has trod a textured path laid down by the stirred solids towards an increased noblesse. Certainly lean, direct and adaptable, to equivocate a bubble of yeast, toast and a baker’s kitchen, replete with apples and honey ardent in their crust. The residual sugar plays a minor while the acidity (approximately 9 g/L) tintinnabulates in a major key. Citrus pushes all the right elements. This is not your Uncle Monty‘s English fizz. “Free to those that can afford it, very expensive to those that can’t.” Drink 2015-2020. Tasted June 2015 @Nyetimber
Back 10 Cellars The Big Reach Riesling 2013 and Bachelder Pinot Noir Parfum 2013
Back 10 Cellars The Big Reach Riesling 2013, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore, Ontario (Winery, $22.95, WineAlign)
Here Riesling that has reached back and risen up into a breach, beyond the average and the norm. More than a hint of residual sugar catapults and disintegrates into the stratosphere at the hands of linear, direct, pointed and piercing acidity. The citrus is pure squeezed lemon, so natural and circulating in the elemental. The Big Reach takes chances, tries to go where many fear, to extend “and bend our backs and hearts together standing in the breach.” With a few years time it will return from its fissure in the sky and settle into more comfortable closure. Drink 2018-2022. Tasted May 2015 @back10cellars
Flat Rock Gewürztraminer 2012, Twenty Mile Bench, Ontario (Winery, $23.15)
Crafted in the warm vintages, the fruit is a mix from Niagara Benchlands and Estate vineyards. If not fundamentally necessitous this does hit all the right, bright ’12 and 20 Mile notes with clean vision gazing far and beyond to the eastern horizon. Grinds nuts into paste, to a pulpy, whizzed and pure taffeta to tussah. This solid palpation rises above and beyond the expected florals and sweetness so receptive its money. Texture is ultimately key and indispensable in the absence of unmitigated acidity. Drink 2015-2019. Tasted June 2015 @Winemakersboots@brightlighter1
Initially muzzy, moving past the nose for a moment the residual is noted as set to high. It’s immediately interesting to taste such a sweetness, one in line with the Riesling Reserve ’13 yet also in belay of Ravine’s ’14 step back in such matters, tasted same night. The ’13 Gewürztraminer does not concern itself with striking connectivity, but instead concentrates on the corporeity of botrytis and texture. Yet another 2013 in which Martin Werner pushes buttons, envelopes and ways of the Peninsula world. Drink 2015-2019. Tasted June 2015 @RavineVineyard@marty_werner
Even without prior knowledge that the botrytis number was down (to 30 per cent) in this late fall, estate picked organic St. Davids Bench ’14, such a vector is indicated by the salinity on the nose. The miasma reduction, depressed pedal ere impressed metal suppresses sugar, as does the voluminous yet lightning-free (9.6 g/L) total acidity. The unconventional aspect has come back to the appellative norm, like tropical fruit picked in seasons void of rain, humidity and late afternoon storms. This strides into oversized footsteps, in and out of ages, but not to where the wild things are. Winemaker Martin Werner has reigned in the impulse to freak out with this Riesling, in part to see how the other half lives and also because brilliance is a bumpy, two steps forward, one step back road. With the right botrytis and a look at Riesling from both sides now, the ’15 should have every reason to be revolutionary, trend setting and iconic. Damn if waiting to see what will happen won’t be high on the Niagara periscope agenda. Drink 2016-2021. Tasted June 2015
It may hail from the Foxcroft-Wismer-Twenty Mile Bench triangle of Grand Cru territory but this does not go where Rieslings have gone before. The vintage declares tyranny on typical, but it’s not exactly shocking. There is a controlled litheness to be sure, a lime road, an extraction that while not as expansive, is dense somehow. A Senchuk take on Wismer, colour upon colour, in abstraction, time after time.
From my earlier note of April 2014:
Marks a return to the variety for Senchuk, with a dynamic and resounding charge. This barely resembles what may be pigeon-holed as Niagara Peninsula Riesling as it disses the lean, citrus pierce of the dry norm. Don’t panic, it’s not that different, but it does comment on “homes, places we’ve grown, all of us are done for.” From 18 year-old (south block) Foxcroft vines, 15.8 grams of residual sugar and 11.3 grams acidity. Bottled just eight days ago, this is a wine that was “left to develop on its own,” on it lees and with no stirring. “It’s not late harvest, it’s mature, with just enough sugar to make it palatable.” Makes a cold play for warmth, extract, viscosity and natural sweetness. Reaches for complexity beyond acidity, to places old and new, to Germany and to Niagara. Gotta citrus back, endgame palate. I can’t say with certainty that in time this vintage will push the sweetness to the background and develop leathery, gamey and earthy characters. I can say that given some more experience, Senchuk will develop the acumen to make it happen. “There’s nothing here to run from ’cause here, everybody here’s got somebody to lean on.” 200 cases made.
Kevin Panagapka’s take on Niagara Riesling is specific enough for the need to look deeper than its broader Twenty Mile Bench roots. The plot thickens within the confines of Craig Wismer’s Vineyard, to the Foxcroft block where Chardonnay and Riesling are meant to be. Kevin is not alone is making use of this exceptional fruit. Tawse, Leaning Post and now Two Sisters all work from there, but no one puts the spirit into Foxcroft like Panagapka, as he does similarly with his Foxcroft Chardonnay. If the electric spin were toned down a touch in ’12 and ’13, here in ’14 the plug is back in, the amplification turned up to 11 and the house is simply rocking. This probes and punctures citrus fruit to burst, crackle and pop but it has no aspirations for weightlessness and atmosphere. It is so very concrete, grounded on 20 Mile terra firma, present, accounted for, looking straight into your eyes. Pale to purposed, striking in its missive for anti-tropical flavours and nearly massive in its thin delight. Dramatically truthful Riesling. Drink 2015-2022. Tasted May 2015 @2027cellars
Treadwell’s Pan Seared East Coast Scallops, caramelized cauliflower, guanciale, caper vinaigrette and Ontario Asparagus, poached “Bertha’s Bounty” egg , truffled burnt butter vinaigrette
Big Head Wines Chenin Blanc 2013, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Winery, $25.00, WineAlign)
The grape that begat Big Head is so versatile that even in the technical and experimental hands of winemaker Andrzej Lipinski it retains true identity. Appassimento treatment and aging in old oak barrels may add layer and viscosity in the reds but in the whites the leesy funk remains, as does an off-dry, mineral bent. Dried earth, salinity and bitter pith join the fruit wrecking party. This is a bold expression with a big head. We’re the fruit strong enough to defend itself it would be something very special. Poured from a magnum at Treadwell restaurant. Drink 2015-2017. Tasted May 2015 @BigHeadWine
Here is a clean, almost silky Beamsville addition to the Ontario Melon de Bourgogne game, of melons picked ripe with no need for trucks and travel, just cut ’em in half and pull out a spoon. Cool climate lime juice acidulates the melon, it’s that direct and simple. Acidity need not distract from the purity but it’s there, off to the side, on a need to know basis. Glug, glug Melon, a white wine that would pour so fine from the tap. As in wine on…Drink 2015-2017. Tasted June 2015 @MalivoireWine@ShirazMottiar
Château Des Charmes Old Vines Riesling 2008 Ravine Vineyard Reserve Riesling 2014
Château Des Charmes Old Vines Riesling 2008, VQA Niagara On The Lake, Ontario (277228, $16.95, WineAlign)
Perhaps the assessment seven years later creates an unfair advantage but come now, a great wine is a great wine from its humble beginnings. At $16.95, in 2008 or 2015, in Niagara-on-the-Lake, on the Peninsula, this type of emerging propensity is more than gold or platinum, it’s money. This is a Riesling to vacuum up global accolades, to open eyes wide and to enjoy drinking Riesling. The ’08 CdC does what the vintage demanded; created a union for off-dry reasoning, denaturant gleaning, acceptance of petrol, lime condensation, salinity and herbal behaviour. If it were ever once a rough sketch, it is now and will continue to be all those things, a candy’s room full of treasures. With Riesling “if you wanna be wild, you got a lot to learn, close your eyes, let them melt, let them fire, let them burn.” In time, in capable hands, it all comes together. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted June 2015 @MBosc
Château Des Charmes Equuleus 2012, Paul Bosc Estate Vineyard, VQA St. David’s Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (319525, $30.00, WineAlign)
The Cabernet Sauvignon (50 per cent), Cabernet Franc (25) and Merlot (25) Paul Bosc Estate Vineyard confluence produced in heteroclite (warm, warmer and warmest) years has learned from itself. Where at one time the scarce Niagara heat was a blessing, the ability in winemaking consistency in the present and going forward can determine adversity should the winemaker’s hands play the heavy. Subtlety is key, as in here, the moorish weight shed and the black, wood shrouded fruit left behind in the old stable. The oak may not so much have changed as much as the wisdom of the start to finish process, especially in the picking and the soak. The red fruit has been avowed of purity so 2012 affords an increase in legerity, by hand and in kind for the classic Bordeaux assembly. Drink 2018-2022. Tasted June 2015
The Parfum is a departure for Thomas Bachelder, a path not previously taken to pick, ferment and vinify in the name of perfume. The aromatics and legerity have delighted into a Pinot Noir for a licensee song. Don’t be fooled by the sachet of felicity. This wine is also built on extraction, intensity, volupté and richness. A slight rust is observed, one that never sleeps in a Bachelder world, one that works harder with eyes closed, thinking, mulling, fuelling the next thought. The Parfum makes and leaves an impression. It’s quite beautiful and accesible. Drink 2015-2018. Tasted April and June 2015 @Bachelder_wines
Malivoire Melon 2014 and Pearl Morissette Gamay Cuvée Mon Unique 2014
Pearl Morissette Gamay Cuvée Mon Unique 2014, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Winery, $29.00, WineAlign)
In December of 2014 I counted the ’13 CMU Gamay as one of my mind-blowing wines of the year. Once again we are witness to the authentic, raw and natural impossibility of the wine, from 100 per cent whole clusters sent to cement fermenters. The hue is just impossible, the wine sulphur-free. That ’13 Gamay did not last. I tasted again this winter and it failed me. It may return. This ’14 will never leave. It is natural to the 14th degree and yet its rich, smokey chocolate centre and structure of pure physical stature will not let it slide, into a dumb phase or oblivion. This Gamay will strut. It already does. Drink 2015-2020. Tasted June 2014 @PearlMorissette
Has reached near-nirvana. The intensely focused withdrawal, the inward spiral to a fully condensed state is so very close. This is Pearl Morissette’s most shelf-talking Chardonnay, of lemon preserved, reversed, jammed into its own half shell, like a honey-tart sorbet, creamy, fleshed and inward. This is true wine of impression, a marvel in rewind.
From my earlier note of July 2013:
Tragically singular in expression, regardless and in spite of the terroir, mixes metaphors and pulls it off. “Takes arms against a sea of troubles,” by convincing ADHD fruit of an uncertain vintage to settle, play nice and “by opposing, end them.” Now entering the load out zone, this Hamlet cuvée is “the first to come and the last to leave, working for that minimum wage.” A sentimental ballad here to stay, be remembered and to set the stage for all dix-neuvième to come.
Godello 