Lean on, Macduff

: Leaning Post Wines, PHOTO: Michael Godel

Leaning Post Wines was until very recently virtual and to the uninitiated, wholly abstract. The young Niagara Peninsula operation located at 1491 Highway 8, in Winona, Ontario is now the real deal, a bricks, barn board, mortar and hand fashioned nails winery. The risk taken and the effort put into establishing a winery in Winona is nothing short of heroic. LPW is the hands and knees, sweat and blood project of winemaker Ilya Senchuk and wife Nadia, Winnipeggers living the dream on the eastern edge of Niagara’s winegrowing Escarpment.

Grapes need the support of posts and wires, thus the name. With a couple of vintages under his actual Winona belt, new acreage planted and only a couple of years away from producing estate fruit, now is the time to lean on Ilya Senchuk for righteous Niagara wine. Senchuk is no Macbeth. His tasting room is no Dunsinane Castle. The alternative choices he has made are emphatic but not combative ones. He would not say, “Lay on, Macduff, and damned be him who first cries ‘Hold! enough!’” He’s confident his locale and his methods will lead to success. He believes in the microclimate and soil composition of the Winona flats tucked in like a pocket between the Escarpment and the Lake. Ilya has taken up the good fight. He is an antagonist and a hero in the Niagara play.

Winemaker Ilya Senchuk in the Leaning Post Barrel Room

Senchuk is part of a breed of young and risk-taking Niagara winemakers ready and willing to push the envelope. Ilya’s wines may not fall into a stylistic category defined and categorized by standard Niagara varietal or appellative descriptions. Some of his wines challenge the notion of what is considered a true representation of the Niagara Peninsula. Though he may run into VQA panel consternation on some future occasions, he will be a part of the evolution and reworking of its mandate towards the open-minded acceptance of modern, varietal expression. He believes in ripe fruit. He’s a strong proponent of terroir, even if it means redefining or pioneering new plots.

Leaning Post Tasting Room

The wines will offer a balance of Bench terroir, with its vigorous, heavy clay meets loam and the Winona landscape, where sandy soil is maculated by largish stones three to four feet down. This atop a bed of grey clay so the low vigor of the sandy soil will be offer up a flipside, a foil to the heavy clay of the Bench. The agglomeration should be more than interesting to follow.

On the occasion of the “eve eve” for two new Leaning Post releases, the 2013 Chardonnay ‘The Fifty’ and the 2013 Riesling, here are some notes on the wines I tasted two weeks ago at the Winona winery. Senchuk led me through the new releases, along with the comings along of his wines in barrel and in tank.

Leaning Post ‘The Fifty’ Chardonnay 2013 and Riesling 2013

Leaning Post Chardonnay 2012, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Winery, $35.00, WineAlign)

The 2012 Chardonnay has now been in bottle four months, just enough settle time to grant access to its magnanimous 14.2 per cent alcohol frame. This from fruit that came in at 22.5 – 23.5 brix, or as winemaker Ilya Senchuk calls “the conversion rate of the century.” From a warm year that offered a sweet Smörgåsbord for the inoculated (as opposed to wild) yeast. Chewy, dense, catalytic toast with butter. Butterscotch flavour atop a waft of Crème Brûlée, the sugar in a feverish pitch to reach hardball. This is a really big wine, a confident expression, a national statement. Lean on this Chardonnay and let it lead because “everybody wants a sip of wine to drink, everybody wants a little more time to think.” Tasted April 2014

Leaning Post Chardonnay ‘The Fifty’ 2013, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Winery, $22.00, WineAlign)

This is a barrel-fermented but not barrel-aged Chardonnay that borrows its name from the old town of Winona. From approximately 9-10 barrels of Foxcroft fruit racked off and thrown into tank. The aught omission of full Malolactic fermentation means a clean and jerk feel, though the wine’s lees perform the middle palate and textural duty. Bottled just eight days before sampling and yet eminently drinkable. “A wine to make friends” and make friends with. A soft and creamy sensation brings to mind Bordeaux Blanc, or more specifically Semillon’s contribution, but also the notion of Wismer Sauvignon Blanc. Make no mistake, it’s absolutely Chardonnay, in toto unique and still influenced by both the barrel and the vineyard. Tasted April 2014

Leaning Post Riesling 2013, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Winery, $25.00, WineAlign)

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. Tasted April 2014

A rush hour configuration holding the high wire walk of edgy, ripe '12 Pinot Noir, Merlot & Syrah @LeaningPostWine pic.twitter.com/HwWY1tM0lz

— Michael Godel (@mgodello) April 24, 2014

Notes on wines from barrel and tank

Gamay 2013 – Guiltless and virtuous straight out of stainless, the meaty side of Gamay game boldly goes where few from the Bench have gone before. Like a rare venison steak sitting in a silky pool of lavender-scented demi-glace. Floral like Fleurie and despite zero new oak, vanilla joins the gravy. A Senchuk steal of quality Wismer (McLeary…sort of) fruit sets this Gamay up for easy sell success.

Pinot Noir Lowrey 2012 – Sweet fruit, remarkable purity, length and certainly warm.

Pinot Noir Mcnally 2012 – The vineyard made famous by Peninsula Ridge. In Ilya’s hands and from young vines higher in elevation there is spice-spiked orange, in clove, cardamom and also black cherry. A bigger style, akin to Central Otago (as per the Senchuk half-beat). Only two barrels (45 cases) will be made.

Syrah Keczan Vineyard 2012 – White pepper, smoked meat, game all in but still somehow delicate. Mediterranean sensation, in black olive and with some salinity. The least ripe and the most savoury of all the wines. Has got grit, tang, florality, hubris and verdigris.

Good to go!

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A ramp to Austrian wine

May2

Rib Steak and Ramps
PHOTO: Michael Godel

‘Tis the season to partake of two things denied opportunity the rest of the calendar year. Wild leeks and Austrian wine. The first is just a seasonal thing. The second, entirely my fault. The forest and my backyard provide the ramps. Two most excellent wine agents, Bernard Stramswasser of Le Sommelier and Mark Cuff of The Living Vine are the messianic purveyors of the wine.

Mark came to Barque Smokehouse last month to share his wares, talk organics, biodynamics and to teach a staff what honest wine is all about. More on that extensive tasting coming soon. Bernard brought top estates from Austria with Andreas Wickhoff, MW to Toronto’s Fine Wine Reserve on April 16th, 2014 for a special portfolio tasting. The Master of Wine is deeply passionate and terroir obsessed when it comes to the Austrian landscape. The presented set of whites and reds rose up to incline an exemplary ramp to the nature of that country’s fine wine tradition.

The whites, mainly centered around the signature variety Grüner Veltliner, showed the mineral and salinity so necessary to the grape’s success. Reds made from Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch are Austria’s trump card, ready and willing to take on the world’s reds imbued of elegance and finesse. Here are notes on the 12 Austrian wines tasted.

From left: Meinklang Grüner Veltliner 2013, Burgenland, Sattlerhof Sauvignon Blanc Vom Sand 2013, Südsteiermark, Wieninger Gemischter Satz 2013, Vienna, Weingut Heinrich Blaufränkisch 2012, Burgenland, F.X. Pichler Federspiel Loibner Klostersatz Grüner Veltliner 2012, Loimer Spiegel Grüner Veltliner 2012

Meinklang Grüner Veltliner 2013, Burgenland, (Agent, $15.95, WineAlign)

Meinklang is a passionate, biodynamic (Demeter farming) producer in eastern Austria, south of Vienna. Their practices include abstaining from the pruning of vines, called “graupert” and maturation in concrete egg-shaped containers. The vineyard is their biotope and they make compost from animal dung, pomace, plant cuttings and ground quartz. Their entry-level Grüner is so mineral dominant and saline it’s as if the stones are bleeding. Extreme tang, with that salinity that never lets go and so much lime. Then makes quick work of itself.

Weingut Loimer, Grüner Vetliner ‘Lois’ 2013, Niederösterreich, Austria ($18.95, WineAlign)

From Niederösterreich in the Kamptal region, from soil compositions of bedrock and loess, this is straightforward Grüner Vetliner made in 200,000 bottle loads. That it succeeds in spite of the quantity and the work with contract growers is a testament to Fred Loimer’s sense of quality control. A bit shy aromatically but really tangy on the palate. Clear, crisp, clean and appreciably pure. Lithe in body and with some salinity on the back-end. Versatile mingler.

Sattlerhof Sauvignon Blanc Vom Sand 2013, Südsteiermark, Austria ($19.95, WineAlign)

This is bewusst territory for the Südsteiermark producer, from organically farmed vineyards. An elegant Southern Styrian Sauvignon Blanc made from grapes previously destined to get lost with other traditional varieties. Most striking is the salinity on the nose, often abstruse for Sauvignon Blanc but most obviously explained by the land; sand, gravel and shell limestone. Estimable restraint in the whispered aromas of herbs, green vegetable and tangy tree fruit. Dewy finish that lasts well into the morning.

Wieninger Gemischter Satz 2013, Vienna, Kamptal, Austria ($20.95, WineAlign)

Though Grüner Veltliner, Weissburgunder, Welschriesling and Chardonnay make up most of the formidable aspects of this blend from the Vienna Hills, there are bit but integral parts played by 11 others. From bio-certified Bisamberg and Nussberg vineyard sites, this is antithetically seamless, the varieties drawing all possible logical relations woven by their finite collection. Approachable, gritless, effortless, integrated and bound together by a solid core of juicy acidity. Even if only because it agglomerates 15 grapes, this beats white Châteauneuf-du-Pape (by at least six varieties) at its own game.

Nigl Gartling Grüner Veltliner 2012, Kremstal, Austria ($21.95, WineAlign)

The locus point of Nigl’s single vineyard Grüner Veltliner is sharp and stinging in 2012. Although that chemically reactive laser pinning takes control, it is extremely refreshing to not have to talk about flat and flabby fruit. Mind you the fruit here is under stress so balance needs to be questioned. Ultimately there is a palpable sense of grapefruit, flowers and a finish marked by the scraping of stones.

Loimer Langenlois Grüner Veltliner 2013, Kamptal Dac, Kamptal, Austria ($23.95, WineAlign)

Increased hang time has put this Kamptal in a deeper state of focus and understanding concerning the intricacies of Langenlois Grüner Veltliner. Continues the pure, clean and crisp axiom of the basic Lois but here the aromatics are spoken in acroamatic terms, obvious to disciples and yet available for all to comprehend. Though five per cent big wood barrel aging does not seem significant, that practice along with four months of aging on the fine lees has had a textural impact. The added weight is a questionable thing, though arguably just splitting hairs. Will help carry this vintage through five to seven years of graceful settling.

Dirty Ramps

Weingut Heinrich Pinot Noir Dorflagen 2013 (Tank Sample), Burgenland, Austria ($24.95)

From two sites in Gols, one being the gravelly Riede Goldberg on the Parndorf Plateau, the other a sand and loam slope of the Salzburg. Short-ish ferment in large-ish barrels. Marked by bright cherry of the upstanding young fruit kind and only a brushstroke of paint. Very linear in that a Rube-Goldberg Pinot machining ensues, as the dominoes fall into each other. One action creates another, mostly due to a fine-grained chain of tannin. As delicate and approachable as Pinot Noir ever was from this far east.

Weingut Heinrich Blaufränkisch 2012, Burgenland, Austria ($24.95, WineAlign)

From a combination of vineyards on both the eastern and western sides of steppe Lake Neusiedl, situated between the easternmost parts of the Alps and the western part of the Small Hungarian Plain. A Blaufränkisch with so much geological and climatic history behind it, with Alpine, Pannonic, Asian, Mediterranean, and Nordic influences. The inclination is to express this unique, later ripening red with terms of bright endearment but it’s much more serious than that. Deeper, earthier and entrenched in the limestone and slate vineyards on Burgenland’s Leithaberg slopes of the Parndorf Plateau. The terroir amplifies and cloaks the fathomage of what is ostensibly tangy, effulgent fruit. More tannin than one would expect, this is a complex organism from a variegated landscape.

Heinrich Zweigelt 2012, Burgenland, Austria ($24.95, WineAlign)

Though 2011 was the best vintage of the last three and Blaufränkisch is the estate’s signature red, this 2012 is a real charmer. The vines for this Zweigelt lay lower, on the flats east of the alpine, steppe lake. They benefit from gravel Heideboden soils and from a nurturing microclimate. The aromatic profile is of spice and dried fruit; licorice, tar, carob and even more specifically, Bokser. All the right pods. Hydrates to sweet cherry fruit and begs for slow-cooked, smoky protein.

F.X. Pichler Federspiel Loibner Klostersatz Grüner Veltliner 2012, Wachau, Austria ($37.95, WineAlign)

From the Loiben basin where eroding, rocky Danube sands mix with gravel to produce lacey and textured Grüner Veltliner. This Federspiel (classified as wines between 11.5–12.5 per cent with a minimum must-weight of 17 degrees) shows more richness, viscosity and body than many with a pronounced spicy edge on top of the highly floral citrus zest. It gives the strange sensation of chewing spicy gum. A Grüner of good temperament beseeching the imbiber to have more than just one taste.

Loimer Langenlois Terrassen Grüner Veltliner 2012, Kamptal, Austria (149674, $39.95, WineAlign)

Loimer’s Terrassen is a Kamptal four vineyard Premier Cru (“Erste Lage”) schmear that is fermented in big wood barrels. The increased weight and body is helped along by extended time on the lees. The ligneous weave is underscored by wood spice and a waft of buff, calcareous Aeolian sediment. The character is as if this Langenlois is scenting a barrel ferment aura in a Chardonnay vein. Classic Grüner Veltliner that is all about texture. Will last for 10 or more years without shedding its baby fat.

Loimer Spiegel Grüner Veltliner 2012, Kamptal, Austria (agent, $64.95, WineAlign)

A site-specific Grüner Veltliner from the Speigel “Erste Lage” vineyard site, this is exemplary and definitive stuff. The 2012 vintage saw a two-day (May 16 and 17) frost that meant a 30 per cent loss in fruit. Not all vintages are profitable but ’12 is showing what top quality wines it was able to produce. A 12-month lay in Acacia barrels, natural vineyard yeasts and five months of aging on the fine lees have conspired for a climb to great Grüner heights. Blooming flowers, mellifluous honey and the freshest, most natural acidity abounds, elevating the aromatics and the buoyant flavours of just picked and bitten into apples. Tremendously wise and elegant wine.

Good to go!

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Cleaned Ramps

The group of twelve

Apr28

http://somewhereness.com

History may one day remember them as the group of twelve, or perhaps, “The Ontario School.” They are the 12 wineries who have banded together to ensconce a strange but beautiful word on the tongue, in the dictionary and out in the world. Somewhereness.

They are purveyors of the land from which their grapes grow and ferment into wine. Facilitators of terroir, working a canvas forged by millions of years of geological and climatic evolution. Their assembly is based on both exigency and on Moira; destiny, share, fate.

Like that other famous group, “collectively they agree.” Ontario’s cool-climate wine regions need to qualify and certify a distinctive winemaking style. In juxtaposition to old world, European tradition, the intensity of Somewhereness needs to reflect an increasingly Ontario-centric partiality.

These are the members. 13th Street, Bachelder, Cave Spring, Flat Rock, Hidden Bench, Hinterland, Malivoire, Charles Baker, Norman Hardie, Southbrook, Stratus and Tawse. Matt Kramer of Wine Spectator used the term and now it defines an enterprise. “As a group of 12 wineries growing small lots of site-specific vines in Ontario’s ancient glacial soils, we’ve invoked Somewhereness as a word enabling us to articulate in one collective voice.”

How do you get to Somewhereness? As related to wine that is like asking, Who am I? Why do we exist? What is the meaning of life? The Somewhereness movement, the notion, comes to light through this statement. “Somewhereness is revealed in the mysterious time capsules we know as bottles of wine. As ethereal gifts of a carefully tended location and a moment in time, each is imprinted with a vineyard’s sense of place,
its soil, climate, seasons, vintage variations — and its maker’s methods.”

In 2013 I wrote about Somewhereness over the Canadian wine rainbow. “Above all else, the rainbow’s fulcrum is the “somewhereness” of Canada’s wine regions. Terroir is the great catch word for wine. A vine’s home determines its potential, its structure, its sense of place. Micro-climates, soil, geology, altitude, slope and vegetation all contribute to the make-up of a wine forged from that specific parcel, lot or locale.”

In Come together, over wine I continued the discussion. “Intensity is in the air. The artists are at work, blessed with a geographical, geological and climatic canvas unique to the planet. They share arts and letters, compare and contrast methods, style and results. The sense of community is palpable, obvious and quite frankly awesome. They are Ontario winemakers and they are coming together. Right now.”

At the end of last year my column 13 Canadian wines that rocked in 2013 reviewed what Canadian winemakers do best. “That is producing unique, cutting edge and brilliant takes on cool climate grapes. They also match beautifully with the songs referenced in their tasting notes. When the wines are assessed and considered in part or as a whole, who would dare to say there are no great wines being produced?”

On Wednesday April 9th, Somewhereness brought the band to St. James Cathedral for a full-on tasting that is rapidly being recognized as a must not miss Ontario event. Here are notes on some of the wines I sampled.

From left to right: Malivoire M2 Small Lot Gamay 2012, Flat Rock Nadja’s Vineyard Riesling 2012, 13th Street Sandstone Old Vines Gamay Noir 2012, Southbrook Whimsy! Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Tawse Laundry Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2011, Charles Baker Picone Vineyard Riesling 2008 and Norman Hardie County Unfiltered Pinot Noir 2012

13th Street Pinot Gris 2012, VQA Creek Shores, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Winery, $19.95, WineAlign)

Here you have an honest, 100 per cent stainless steel treated Pinot Gris from an estate vineyard located adjacent the market on Fourth Avenue in the Creek Shores appellation. So very dry and really fine fruit, crisp, neoteric, rising and falling in waves of tempered acidity. Made in a comfortable, country-twanged, folk-rock style, like a Cowboy Junkie. Juicy, mouth-watering work and very easy to fall for. An angel mine, this 13th Street, “and I know that your skin is as warm and as real as that smile in your eyes.” This effort by Jean-Pierre Colas is as good as it gets, a tally for Creek Shores and its kinship with the variety.

Malivoire M2 Small Lot Gamay 2012, VQA Niagara Escarpment, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Winery, $19.95, WineAlign)

A six-month lay in French oak for 60 per cent of the Gamay fruit sourced exclusively from Malivoire’s Beamsville Bench estate vineyard is just what the go doctor ordered. Only Malivoire’s Gamay smells specifically like this; of tart and savoury capers, of small, earthy gemstones, of peppery currants, of meaty braising Bouille. A striking wine from a fortuitous Gamay vintage and great value that puts me in mind of how special the Courtney will be. Though the soils may differ, proximity wise they are close cousins.

Flat Rock Nadja’s Vineyard Riesling 2012, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (578625, $19.95, WineAlign)

Just add three months and witness a new evolution, a density, from a honeyed thing. Entering a pre-adolescence with a new bounce in its step. From my earlier, January 2014 note: “A champion cyclone of forces combined to elevate the already incumbent position of this Twenty Mile Bench Riesling. An ideal growing season magnified transmission upon a paradigmatic two and a half-acre block. This southern-most and highest altitude section of Flat Rock’s vineyard rests aboard a solid bed of limestone and wake me up if that rock was not drawn up into the vines in this stellar Riesling vintage. Sure its warm and nearly off-dry but such an effortless squeeze of lemon hydrates and elevates orchard fruit and honey out of the year of the lemon. After each sip its “every time you kiss me, lemon crush.” Love this prince of a Twenty Mile white in 2012, the dynamism smiling on the tart, succulent fruit. The length is one of outright bravado. This will develop for 20 years, of that I am convinced. There is just so much fruit. A Nadja for the ages.”

Cave Spring Dolomite Pinot Noir 2011, VQA Niagara Escarpment, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (winery, $21.95, WineAlign)

Part Beamsville Bench (70 per cent), part Twenty Mile Bench (30), this best of both worlds Pinot is full of calcium magnesium carbonate, Jurassic bark. Playful as opposed to angry, this is not so much Snoop Dogg’s Dolomite but more like an animated Futurama. Seduces with a sweet red berry entry and bound by a really fine acid/tannin/fruit balance. Admittedly not overly complex but for the price it shows good structure. As far as Pinot goes, this one is a made for beef or rack of veal.

Hinterland Whitecap 2013, VQA Ontario, Charmat Method, Ontario (332809, $22.00, WineAlign)

The most versatile fizz in the Hinterland portfolio, what winemaker Jonas Newman refers to as his “chameleon.” As aromatically floral as this Charmat method bubbles (secondary fermentation in tank) ever gets, the ’13 brings out the garden under the mist of a sprinkler, late on a summer evening. It’s not so much about fruit as it is about texture, pollen and wet rocks. Try it at Barque.

Bachelder Niagara Pinot Noir Wismer Park/Lowrey (Tank Sample) 2013, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (146985, $29.95, WineAlign)

This binary vineyard symbiosis will be bottled as the Niagara Pinot. Just filtered a few days ago it strides out with the utmost confidence in swagger, with a purity of fruit is spite of Thomas’ shock, awe and reductive apology. A bright sway of terroir gives rapture to a peaking raspberry bush imagined forward into a cooled pie. A renewed elegance abides with an absence of humidity and with a fully ameliorated knowing that a fleshing will happen. Really fine.

Malivoire Mottiar Chardonnay 2011, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (146985, $29.95, WineAlign)

Gamay may be winemaker Shiraz Mottiar’s decisive resource but Chardonnay is his thing. The Moira’s ranks as one of Niagara’s best, vintage in, vintage out and this Mottiar, from the winemaker’s home vineyard is the trump card. This Malivoire special agent is set in 2 – 5 year old 300 L French oak hogsheads and aged on the lees in barrel for 10 months. The result? Texture. With the use, or lack thereof in new oak, Mottiar’s Chardonnay becomes a study in compages, with strong abilities and the accents of green orchard fruit and a faint sensation of blanched nut. Nothing toasty mind you because it’s all about density and girth; a Shiraz thing. I find his Chardonnay is all about texture.

13th Street Sandstone Old Vines Gamay Noir 2012, VQA Four Mile Creek, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (130195, $29.95, WineAlign)

If roses were stones they would produce an aroma that only 13th Street’s Sandstone Gamay would recall. Some previous vintages have pushed the boundary to sky-high excess and a subterranean ferrous burrowing but in 2012 the perfume is both grounded and ethereal. The sandy tuff rock is so in that glass, like the smell of a rugged beach, mist and salinity spraying and rising off the rocks. The ’12 now knows “I don’t have to sell my soul.” Wholly singular Gamay and with hopes it will always be this going forward. Where as before it said “I want to be adored,” it now confirms “you adore me.”

Tawse Laundry Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2011, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (130997, $34.95, WineAlign)

A lean Laundry with as much finesse as winemaker Paul Pender has ever shown in his poignant Cabernet Franc realm. When a vintage deals you calm and scale you sit back and relax. The Lincoln Lakeshore advancing in years vines bring yet unseen front end red berry, licorice and red currant softness in 2011. There is elegance but also a refusal to yield its back-end bite. A level of enveloping grain and chalk is unique to this bottle and should be seen as a very good effort with the possibility ahead for movement and a gaining of flesh. A graceful, gently pressed Laundry.

Southbrook Whimsy! Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, VQA Niagara On The Lake, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (260281, $34.95, WineAlign)

A 100 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon whose barrel aging specs are integral to discussing its unfolding. This Whimsy is a seven barrel (172 case) lot of which 86 per cent was aged for 13 months in (71 per cent) French oak. Plain and simple, a wood-heavy decision that has provided allied excellence five years after that demanding vintage. The agglomeration is one of steroidal currants, rocket red berries and an assiduous savoury edge. Just now are the beginnings of a caramel oozing from out of the centre of a dark chocolate house. Really quite an amazing, rich cake example from the vintage. Showing so right and so strong now, in its territory and wheelhouse.

Norman Hardie County Unfiltered Pinot Noir 2012, VQA Prince Edward County, Ontario (125310, $35.20, WineAlign)

Hardie’s 2012 County Pinot Noir is a beacon, a flashing light on the shore, an invitation to copycats because this is what making red wine from limestone foundations is all about. To taste this ’12 is to experience Hardie’s purest berry maceration and distillation to date. It’s as if there was no alcohol present and in fact, at 11.5 per cent it is a modest and transparent pronouncement. Longevity may not bless the ’12 as in other vintages but this is certainly the most groomed and coiffed County Pinot Noir.

Charles Baker Picone Vineyard Riesling 2008, VQA Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (241182, $35.20, WineAlign)

Tasted at Somewhereness 2014 as part of a vertical retrospective going back to 2007. The Vinemount Ridge’s now famous Picone Vineyard is set within a 10-acre estate on the Niagara Escarpment. Planted to the Weis 21 clone, the Riesling grown here digs in for complexity from sectional moieties of clay and sandy soil atop a unique base of limestone bedrock. Charles Baker began working with these grapes in 2005 and it is this 2008 where the learning curve took a turn for the Riesling stratosphere. The ’06 found luck in the stars but this vintage lays the framework and foundation for a master plan. At this stage in the ’08 evolution there is a prodigious and viscous honeyed textured. Ripening tree fruit juices run like maple sap in spring and the run off is beginning to think syrup. A cutting ridge of acidity arrests the sugaring, allowing citrus and flinty rock to recall the wine’s first, fresh steps. Baker’s Riesling time travels in circles with no real beginning and no real end. From my earlier, September 2012 note: ““Whoo-ahhh” Mojito, green apple skin scent of a Riesling. Seductive to sip, a bodacious body of influence, then back-end bite. A wolf pack in sheep’s clothing.”

Hidden Bench Terroir Caché 2010, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (505610, $38.20, WineAlign)

No other Niagara red and for sure no alternative Peninsula Bordeaux blend exists in such a vacuum of dichotomous behaviour. Act one is an out-and-out boastful, opulent show of Rococo. Act two a gnawing and gnashing by beasts. The pitch and pull of the Terroir Caché 2010 optates and culls the extraordinary through the practice of extended délestage, what Hidden Bench notes as “a traditional method of gently draining the wine and returning it to tank with its skins during fermentation.” The ’10 is about as huge as it gets, highly ferric and tannic. Still chemically reactive, you can almost imagine its once small molecules fitfully growing into long chains. Berries of the darkest night and he who should not be named black fruit are confounded by minerals forcing the juice into a cold sweat. Will require a minimum of 10 years to soften its all-powerful grip. From my earlier March 2013 note: “has rich, voluptuous Napa Valley written all over it. Sister Merlot dominant, Beamsville Bench sledge monster. Plumbago, mineral, blackberry and coffee in a wine that will be the ringer in a blind tasting 10 years on. Harald may be saying “this is our family jewel.” Mr. Thiel, you make good wine”

Stratus Cabernet Franc 2010, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (winery, $38.20, WineAlign)

Patient as ever with the cool-climate, slow and low ripening Cabernet Franc, winemaker J-L Groux stuck with belief, regardless of the warm 2010 vintage. The Stratus single varietal space and time continuum of let it hang (though not to December), 20ish months of aging, nearly half in French oak barrels, has brought forth the most dense and luxe Cabernet Franc to date. “It’s never old school, all brand new,” with Groux so this red swells in wholly pure black currant fruit and is as big as it gets for J-L, which is saying something. This beastie boy will age over a 20-year period. Style is the thing, and yes, the aromatics.

Hidden Bench Locust Lane Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (winery, $48.00, WineAlign)

The Locust Lane Vineyard, originally planted in 1998, was Hidden Bench’s first acquisition, in 2003. It has a unique perpendicular cross-slope effect, undulating in all four directions, gathering sun hours in its own special way. The vineyard produces the richest and warmest Pinot Noir with fruit flavours more akin to ripe plum and black cherry than almost anywhere on the Beamsville Bench, certainly as any from the Hidden Bench stable. While the ’11 is not the biggest beast nor the Bordeaux bully of the Terroir Caché, it is surprisingly tannic and strong. It’s anything but hot, though it attacks with fervor. Big berry fruit, macerated strawberry, rich pie notes and spice. A great Locust vintage.

Good to go!

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Reds for a blood moon

Apr15

From left to right: Concha Y Toro Marques De Casa Concha Carmenère 2008, Jim Barry The Cover Drive Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, L’ecole No. 41 Red Wine 2011, Blue Mountain Reserve Pinot Noir 2011, Michele Castellani Colle Cristi Collezione Ca’ Del Pipa Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico 2008, Domaine Des Martinelles Hermitage 2009, Painted Rock Red Icon 2011

That the ‘Blood Moon” tetrad of 2014-2015 fall on Passover and Sukkot should come as no surprise. That it’s snowing again on April 15th while the Moon meets the Earth’s shadow for a total lunar eclipse is a cosmic connection that requires red wine. Big reds.

Last weekend’s VINTAGES April 12th release had some beauties and a recent tasting at WineAlign of B.C. wines showed that power and finesse can co-exist on the Left Coast. Who knew they would come in handy with the mercury again dipping below zero and people everywhere howling at a moon they can’t see. Crazy times.

Thanks to Dave Dickinson, the lunar phenomenon is broken down into laymen’s terms, in shades of red. “Does the eclipsed Moon appear reddish to you? What you’re seeing is the sunlight of a thousand sunsets worldwide, streaming through the Earth’s atmosphere into the shadow. This color can vary considerably from eclipse to eclipse, causing it to appear anywhere from a dark tea-stained color to a bright cherry red. This variation is due to the amount of dust currently in the Earth’s atmosphere, and is measured on what is known as the Danjon scale.”

Here are seven immense red wines, from three continents, each with their own unique style, to match with a blood moon.

Concha Y Toro Marques De Casa Concha Carmenère 2008, Peumo Vineyard, Rapel Valley, Chile (169862, $19.95, WineAlign)

A trifecta of regard makes this worth looking at, the least of which, at first thought, is the effect of some age. The Concha y Toro Carmenère examination, in Carmín de Peumo, in Terrunyo and in Marques de Casa Concha is the Chilean reference point for the variety. The impart of deep, clay soils and the expectation of gentle tannins make for a curiosity call when considering an ’08 specimen. Tough and gritty, on one hand, on the other soapy, sandalwood and waxy. The third hand has smouldering wood, berries and tannins. Very much like its Cab and Merlot brethren, the fruit is just starting to be outrun. Try it now and see what Carmenère can bring. Tasted March 2014 @conchaytoro

Jim Barry The Cover Drive Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, Coonawarra, South Australia (677476, $26.95, WineAlign)

Young-ish vines on the site of the old Coonawarra Penola cricket ground receive perpetual hydro-mineral support from porous limestone under rich terra rossa soil. That fruit is then blended with extract from estate vineyards in the Clare Valley. Smashes the cover off the grapes towards a full on gain of flavour. Charred peppers and lush black berries are smothered and splintered by a 50/50 split of French and American oak in no less than a crush of conceit. Tannin, grit, joy, flesh, full on deep fruit and mineral. Obviously over-swung and with too much club (switching sports), like using Driver used when a long iron would have sufficed. But you drive for show and this Barry can putt for dough. Tasted March 2014 @Jimbarrywines

L’ecole No. 41 Red Wine 2011, Columbia Valley, Washington, USA (366237, $29.95, WineAlign)

A really good, high-octane red blend if blatantly massive. Like the smell of a shiny, varnished, fresh wood cabin glazed by highly aromatic and resinous epoxy extract. That’s the simple tasting note. The more complex version includes a perfume potpourri of Bougainvillea, violet, orange peel, cinnamon, dark chocolate and a lumber factory. The electric, fully plugged in blend is Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Grenache (38, 36, 15, 6, 4 and 1). The quotient seeks learned Nirvana and with a little luck, some power chords, a bit of screaming and historical, retro-cult exoneration, it may just get there. Right now it just feels like High School. Impulsive and uncomfortable. Wouldn’t you believe it, it’s just my luck. No recess.” Tasted March 2014 @lecole41

Blue Mountain Reserve Pinot Noir 2011, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada (Winery, $36.00, WineAlign)

The Reserve Pinot is intoxicating to say the list. Some whole clusters in the fermentation process add mouth feel, cure and needed grit but how this can not be viewed overall in the shiniest west coast light would be confounding. The reserve ’11 is both “sky as I kite, sticky as lips” and “as licky as trips.” If there was ever an Okanagan Pinot Noir to get you high, this would be the one. What a boisterous effort out of a less than scorching vintage and considering the modest to riches price, no shame in visiting with flavourful fare, imbued with spice, any day of the week. Tasted April 2014 @BlueMtnWinery

Michele Castellani Colle Cristi Collezione Ca’ Del Pipa Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico 2008, Veneto, Italy (222109, $45.95, WineAlign)

The magic of age is a friend to Amarone and funk trumps fruit. In a nutshell the axiom describes the old-school Colle Cristi. A brooding Amarone, cut by zest that’s citrus-like and savoury/earthy in pine needles, juniper and a Venetian forest in autumn. Inviatura and Chiaroscuro. Caravaggio meets Giorgione. The most complex Valpolicella in the April 12th VINTAGES line-up. Tasted March 2014

Domaine Des Martinelles Hermitage 2009, Rhone, France (112268, $54.95, WineAlign)

Clearly modern and style-heavy though not out-of-place in the world of Hermitage. From steep slopes of stony brown sand, a high level of grit might be expected but this Syrah is refined, lush and smooth as silk. At 14.5 percent it’s no shrinking violet, honest and futuristically traditional. At $55 it’s a mandatory, appellative Northern Rhone steal. Matter-of-fact acidity, verve and mineral content are all in, with elegance and balance. Really fine Syrah with a five to ten-year fruit-tannin power struggle ahead. Tasted March 2014 @LeSommelierWine

Painted Rock Red Icon 2011, VQA Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada (Agent, $55.00, WineAlign)

Painted Rock’s red icon could be considered more black than red, as exemplified by the layering of grapes, their pitchy extracts and the fruit associated with their gathering. If the man should ask, “tell him what we said ’bout ‘Paint It Black.’ Rock ‘n Roll is here to stay.” Yes, the Icon will be a big star someday and perhaps this ’11, despite the cooler vintage, will be the first. Might have to wait 13 years or more to find out because the tannic structure is in beast mode and will remain so for likely that much time. The wine plays memorable chords and its song lingers on the brain. Tasted April 2014 @liffordwine @PaintedRockJohn

Good to go!

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Release the wines, catch an Ontario phrase

Apr10

Pinot Noir from the Mountainview Road on the Beamsville Bench. Photo: William Roman, http://www.rosewoodwine.com/

Pinot Noir from the Mountainview Road Vineyard on the Beamsville Bench.
Photo: William Roman, http://www.rosewoodwine.com/

In the past 10 days there have been opportunities to taste the Ontario wine industry’s state of the union. Tawse Winery rolled out the red carpet, the Key Keg and a must check ’em out set of new wines in a sister brand known as Redstone Wines. County in the City presented a major introspective of Prince Edward County at the Berkeley Church and Somewhereness, the definitive Ontario goût de terroir on display April 9th at St. James Cathedral has the local wine community abuzz with new catch phrases.

#somewhereness event in TO highlights the high level of quality wine on offer from Ontario. Genuine cool climate stylishness. Bravo

— John Szabo (@johnszabo) April 9, 2014

Great day @somewhereness in Toronto. Important that single site wines shine so that Ontario knows what we have got. And it's good.

— David Lawrason (@DavidLawrason) April 10, 2014

Can't wait to share my thoughts from @SOMEWHERENESS An event that again showed ON makes brilliant wines & continues to improve ea. vintage.

— Michael Di Caro (@mikedicaro) April 9, 2014

#somewhereness was terrific today, as always. Dozens of pure terroir wines with personality.

— Konrad Ejbich (@WineZone) April 9, 2014

Full reports on those three events will be coming out over the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, Ontario wines and winemakers are well represented in this week’s VINTAGES April 12th release. That and a mess of catch phrases, idioms, colloquialisms and overall word play.

A sundry type of tasting note composition can theoretically make cause to “burn one’s boats” though the phrase “crossing the Rubicon” holds more water and instills greater confidence. Before feeling the need to act on a Mr. Bursian attack and screaming “release the hounds,” it is highly recommended to read between the lines, click on the pop culture references but refrain from and “don’t look the gift-horse in the mouth.”

Ontario wines have come so far and in such a short period of time. Sure there are some outfits that might be considered a “flash in the pan” and specific examples weighted down by “feet of clay.” Who does not hope that as a group, wines from Niagara, Prince Edward County and Lake Erie North Shore avoid a “hoist with one’s own petard’ or go “sailing under false colours.” There should be no fear. Ontario wines are no longer merely improving. They are “throwing down the gauntlet.” There is no reason to reject the idea of spending $38 on an Ontario red or white. Quality is officially and incontestably in the bottle.

Here are six wines in stores now, five from Ontario, the other made by an Ontario winemaker, to have a go at this weekend.

From left to right: Pondview Riesling 2012, Fielding Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2013, 13th Street June’s Vineyard Riesling 2011, 13th Street June’s Vineyard Riesling 2012, Bachelder Oregon Chardonnay 2011, Rosewood Estates Reserve Pinot Noir 2010

Pondview Riesling 2012, VQA Four Mile Creek, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (271148, $15.95, WineAlign)

While winemaker Fred di Profio’s ’12 remains true to the Pondview idea of mineral-driven Riesling, the vintage dictates the course and this one simply carries four miles of juicy fruit, accented by green herbs and a spread of lime jam. It’s dry, vinous and cidery with a slight sour aftertaste. A lamb Riesling, lambic, iambic and pedantic. Good value. Tasted March 2014 @Pondviewwinery

Fielding Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2013, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (131235, $18.95, WineAlign)

Ever orchard fruit bearing, omnipresent juicy Sauvignon Blanc. Pliable and informal, typical in itself and for the local marl. Kept on its toes by a wailing, sharp green peppercorn cut by caper line that runs through, then gracefully descends towards a grassy, song of freedom refrain. Tang is the final act of its redemption. Well-structured and proper. Does a Fielding wine ever not abide and chant “we forward in this generation, triumphantly?” Tasted March 2014 @FieldingWinery

13th Street June’s Vineyard Riesling 2011, VQA Creek Shores, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (147512, $19.95, WineAlign)

June’s vineyard, now in its (correct me if I’m wrong) 12th year is both nascent and senescent, increasingly producing a blatant expression of Creek Shores Riesling. Today’s fleeting study faces a direct, anti-diminutive aridity and more dried herbs. In 2011, the austere vineyard speaks but the Riesling realizes atonement through a corpulence of flesh and bone down by the sheltered shores. A much tougher assignment than the gilded platinum hand dealt to vineyards upon the upper reaches of the Escarpment. Tasted September 2013 @13thStreetWines

From my September 2013 note: “from Niagara’s Creek Shores and built of the classic Alsatian Clone 49 inordinately defines place and time in an agglomerated manner. Maximum floral intensity, zero petrol tolerance and an arid accumulation speak volumes about the appellation. To taste you will note it just barely believes it’s off-dry. Unique and unambiguous, plosive Riesling.” Tasted March 2014

Tawse Sketches Of Niagara Cabernet/Merlot 2011, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (130252, $20.95, WineAlign)

Call it whatever you like; house red, Bistro red, un verre de vin rouge maison. All phrases to describe a refreshing and wholly compatible glass of red wine. The Tawse is crafted for such purpose, combining Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot in a Médoc state of mind. Aromatically it spews tobacco, tea, currants and white pepper, all wrapped in a tight, food-friendly package and demanding to be paired this way. Solid red. Tasted March 2014 @Tawse_Winery

Bachelder Oregon Chardonnay 2011, Willamette Valley, Oregon (273334, $29.95, WineAlign)

The citrus stands out today. If the base and necessary oak treatment is your kryptonite, by all means, walk away from the Oregon Bachelder Project. But that decision deprives that part of your brain that processes progress and reason. This is not the oak-driven Chardonnay of your 1985. This is the future. Embrace the angles, the quotients and the variables. Fruit as function, rock as relation and barrel as the algebraic cauldron that allows the wine to come to conclusion. Sure there’s oak but it drives the equation. Deal with it. Tasted April 2014 @Bachelder_wines

From my earlier February 2014 note: “Yet another three months later re-taste to show Bachelder’s Oregon terroir may be the most difficult to assess in its infancy. This short slumber has changed everything. Oregon distinction, smell it, commit it to memory and you’ll never forget it. “Picture yourself staring at a loved one in a restaurant,” says Thomas. “Would you be able to pick this out as Chardonnay?” Some ciderish activity, from sedimentary and volcanic soils that used to mingle with ocean waters, give this a sea salt and fossilized lava stillness. More buttery (dare I say, popcorn) goodness than the rest. And restrained tang. And length. Wow.

From my earlier November 2013 note: “While Burgundian in hopes and dreams, this is very much a $29 Oregon white. No mask, no hidden altruism, simply the right Chardonnay for the right price. Bone dry, orchard driven, high acid, void of harmful terpenes. There is a salinity and piquancy not influenced by PH, perhaps by the ocean, by sandstone, but regardless it’s unique to place, unlike Niagara, Prince Edward County, or for that matter Burgundy.”

Rosewood Estates Reserve Pinot Noir 2010, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (318345, $39.95, WineAlign)

Prettier in 2010 the Rosewood is, the aromas a precise glowing arcade of earthy, warm, peppery fire. April redolent of a burgeoning, sweet cranberry marsh. Present, accounted for though not tough tannins. Glazed by an unobtrusive candy shell. A fine, inviting, sweet and soft Rosewood Pinot, true to vintage and neighborhood. “Then I’ll dig a tunnel, from my window to yours.” Tasted March 2014 @Rosewoodwine

Good to Go!

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March grape madness

Mar20

Andrew Wiggins, #22 of the Kansas Jayhawks, drives upcourt as Marcus Smart, #33 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys, defends during the Big 12 Basketball Tournament quarterfinal game at Sprint Center on March 13, 2014 in Kansas City, Missouri.Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

as seen on canada.com

Choosing wines from a wall of brace and girder filled options presents as much a degree of difficulty as picking winners from an NCAA March Madness bracket. When it comes to teenage basketball, do you stay the favourite course and go with all number one seeds? Should you think underdog, like Coastal Carolina Chanticleers or the Albany Great Danes? Who will be this year’s 2013 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles? Or the other 2013 final-four sleepers from Wichita State? Or Virginia Commonwealth in 2011? Butler, Davidson, George Mason, Kent State, Indiana, Loyola Marymount, Villanova, this list goes on. Who can forget the Jimmy V. coached 1983 North Carolina State Wolfpack?

When you consider what wines to open alongside the march to the Final Four, or what to drink in March, are you thinking Cinderella story or go to, can’t miss favourites? Being partial to the underdog, the lesser known, smaller lot, less marketing backed bottle is not only smart but worth the risk. Winning the pool because you chose the right lower seed and picking out a wine gem from a sea of same-old, same-old is a winning combination. Here are six unsung heroes, dark horse wines to seek out this March. Get a little madness in your life.

Clockwise from top left: Casa Do Valle Grande Escolha 2012, Maison Adrien Vacher Les Adrets Altesse Roussette De Savoie 2012, Rockway Vineyards Small Lot Reserve Red Assemblage 2011, Niagara Peninsula, Tawse Gamay Noir 2012, Prà Soave 2012, and Le Clos Jordanne Le Clos Jordanne Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011

Casa Do Valle Grande Escolha 2012, Vinho Verde, Portugal (276220, $15.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES March 1, 2014 Release

Up a buck but for its nerve, ball fake, back-door cut and caution thrown to the wind, deserves to be so. Fast breaking mineral Vinho Verde without the hot spring, travertine effervescence. Rocks upon rocks, torched by the sun and set beneath a ripe apple orchard. A good bitterness, blanched nuts and lime in full-toasted flavour. Not your avô’s VV and that’s a good thing. Progress matters. 89 Tasted February 2014 @winesportugalCA

Maison Adrien Vacher Les Adrets Altesse Roussette De Savoie 2012, Savoie, France (365163, $16.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES March 1, 2014 Release

Expectations run high for this montane white to be light, ethereal and delicately floral. To the contrary, the Savoie Altesse/Roussette (sort of like saying Bourgogne Blanc/Chardonnay) is at first an offensive foul, a bit stinky, sweaty and humid, like the efflux of a runny, unwashed rind cheese. Auto emissions too, acquired aromas for sure, with more mineral to taste, along with funky apples on steroids. Thoroughly invigorating. Can you get on board? 89 Tasted February 2014 @ProfileWineGrp

Rockway Vineyards Small Lot Reserve Red Assemblage 2011, Niagara Peninsula (321893, $16.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES March 29, 2014 Release

Backs up the 2010 with another vintage that offers talented local ”Meritage balance for under $20.” The blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot is a Nik Stauskas-like pure shooter, a thing of BEEF: Balance, eyes, elbow, follow through. Solid extract winged by top-notch acidity and nicely packaged with waves of fruit. The extraction may not allow this modestly priced red to age without some deconstructing so enjoy the fresh and vibrant fruit now and for two or three more years. Will really work with game nights. 88 Tasted February 2014 @Rockway Vineyard

Tawse Gamay Noir 2012, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (322545, $18.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES March 29, 2014 Release

The Tawse 2012 Gamay is a roaming shark with a Hammerhead-butt of (the serious side of) varietal aromas; tar, char and cherry pie. Capable of scoring points in the paint, a double-double even, like the twin tower Brampton brothers at New Mexico State. A very humid ’12, as per the vintage, with full-on flavour and in avoidance of the floor’s splinters. Forsakes the shaken and reductive instability of some young Tawse (big reds in barrel) for easy buckets kissed off the glass. For now and with every meal, including breakfast. Tang, inhibition, ball-stripping, #GoGamayGo. 89 Tasted February 2014 @Tawse_Winery

Prà Soave 2012, Veneto, Italy (74534, $19.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES March 1, 2014 Release

Enter screw cap, exit the designation Classico. Pra Soave the man repossesses its self-respect and re-brands itself under the name “Otto.” This Garganega ventures into rangy, rambunctious, starburst territory. The tang pitches in many tones, there is texture to chew and it travels to lengths not typical for entry-level Soave. Bold Venetian. Madness even. “And I remember how we’d play simply waste the day away,” something the Otto will gladly encourage. The only Soave you might consider eating on a plate but Otto insists “couldn’t enjoy it any more, Mom. Mm, mm, mmm.” And one! 89 Tasted February 2014 @TheVine_RobGroh

Le Clos Jordanne Le Clos Jordanne Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Twenty Mile Bench (33902, $45.00, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES March 29, 2014 Release

Extremely good showing for this stalwart in what is becoming a classic Twenty Mile Bench vintage. Cran/Raspberry earthy-straw scents layered in a cake of overlapping, alternating flavours in raspberry (again) and quality chocolate. More intensity than the other ’11 LCJ’s at this early stage, simultaneously concentrated and light, like a ball-distributing point guard with 20-20 vision. Increased oak in dribble drive motion really ties the spiced flavours together, without sacrificing freshness. This will improve for five years, if not more. Winemaker Sébastien Jacquey must have called on his muse for this LCJ because “some kind of madness has started to evolve,” and from here on in this Pinot will solicit a “need to love.” 92 Tasted February 2014 @LeClosJordanne

Good to go!

Bottles, barrels, tanks and a vertical

Mar18

Flat Rock Vineyard, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula
Photo: Brian Barton

as seen on canada.com

Listening to Flat Rock Cellars’ winemaker Jay Johnston rattle off the numbers and particulars of his 2013 Pinot Noir harvest you can’t help but survey the odds of something preternatural. Vintage speculation for 2013 in Niagara has met with tempered interpretation, a play down on the effects of weather and generalizations that it was just another normal meets classic year. Nothing to see here. You sure about that?

This according to VQA Ontario. “2013 was an interesting year with some significant weather variations through the growing season…weather conditions during the 2013 season were quite variable…with some isolated late frosts in Niagara…temperatures through September and October were slightly higher than normal but October was wet putting pressure on harvest schedules and many wineries worked long hours to optimize harvest strategies around the weather.” Sound the alarm?

Flat Rock’s vineyard is a wondrous bit of topography. Peer out from the conclave tasting room and witness a rolling set of undulating and breaking waves, ascending, descending and demarcating the landscape. Let Ed Madronich point out individual plots and blocks. Imagine each sub-section of the vineyard as its own little hermetic world, with its own soil biology and guided by its own little set of rules. Now taste Pinot Noir tank samples from 19 disparate parcels. Internalize, disseminate, deconstruct and reconstruct. As if you were the master of single varietal assemblage. Mind blowing actually. Nerdy, but mind-blowing.

House and Home Food Editor Eric Vellend and I sat down with Johnston and Madronich at the winery for a comprehensive look at those ’13 Pinots, fresh out of their infancy and just beginning to offer a glimpse of what they will be. A total of 185 tonnes were harvested at a more than modest 24 to 24.5 brix, a sugar quotient effectuated by timing as much as sunshine. Nineteen chapters delineate the story, in 160 barrels and in the end there will be two wines. The 2011 Block Series experiment will once again go unrepeated, though Jay notes a return could be considered for 2014.

2013 Vintage Flat Rock Pinot Noir Samples

PHOTO: Eric Vellend
Flat Rock Cellars Pinot Noir samples from the 2013 vintage

The tank room was very cold on this last day of February 2014 (you don’t say) so Johnston brought up the samples in what can only be described as a highly classified, secret society of winemakers, high-tech way; in plastic water bottles and Erlenmeyer Flasks. The goal was to offer a representation of the fingerprint of the vineyards and the fermentation management through full composite blends of each batch. We tasted through eight of the 19. The first three are from batches that end up in the Flat Rock Estate Pinot Noir. Clonal selections are noted in brackets.

PHOTO: Michael Godel
Flat Rock Cellars 2013 Tank Samples

South (115)

Tang at the forefront, a mineral streak, red berries and a lingering whisper of citrus squeeze from recent (X-mas) sulphuring.

Horseshoe (777)

Dusty and also juicier, from an icy, polar beginning to come back around, calm down and seek a softer, common (to South) end.

Road (777)

Beastly, meanest sucker of the three, speaking with the most rock. The only one (of the first set of three) with some funk.

Monster (A blend of clones)

Funkadelic funky but also the fresh maker. Cherries and high-toned perfume, a feral hint in a leafy, good compost way.

Pond (667/777)

Most like cousin Monster, with increased ferrous activity and striking as the most recognizable to be Flat Rock Pinot Noir, even at only four months of age.

Mountain (667)

The darkest hue yet, with more smoke, heavy rock and a fuller structure.

Bruce/Summit

Bottom and top of the (west) vineyard collide with a mineral tie connecting the two. Grit and toughness here, depths of Mordor and Prunus Serotina, cherries gone black. The combo effect confuses the fruit, rendering the B/S the least subtle and distinctive.

Bruce West

Back to dust but also tang and bigger tannins. Vines with less vigor and smaller berries to thank.

These eight samples all begin in antipodal and far away places but come together to seek common ground. As a window to the outlook for 2013 I can say with unequivocal doubt that if these wines were in bottle they could all be enjoyed right here and now. Pinot Nouveau. They are possessive of a computation in complexity to each tell an individual story. It would be hard to figure Jay and Ed waiting a full 12 months to see them into bottle, especially from the showy blocks. Look for Flat Rock to knock some off to racking in late spring to preserve their amazing level of freshness. The 2013 vintage looks to offer immediate gratification. Its longevity remains to be seen.

PHOTO: Michael Godel
Vineyard view, Flat Rock Cellars. Note the warmest rows.

Notes on (not yet released) 2012′s and 2013′s

Pinot Noir 2012, VQA Niagara Peninsula (1545, $18.95, WineAlign) VINTAGES Essential

Nearly 4000 cases will be available of this nearly-unfiltered, very established and always well-thought out Pinot Noir. A consideration of the plots and barrels micro-management that determine the crasis of this Estate wine demands an extrapolation in full-on assessment. The medium-coarse Chinois filtering lends to a tannic chain of texture thick in grain and chalk. A heavier Estate because when the weather gives you heat you make a climate appropriate wine. This monkey is not a product of arctic air and it “got too deep, but how deep is too deep?” Thermal vintage melt, ritzy ripe cherry stuff in 2012. From the Ritz to the Rubble, if you like, or the Flat Rock. 88

The Rusty Shed Chardonnay 2012, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula (1552, $24.95, WineAlign)

There will be 660 cases of this barrel cherry-picked, now iconic Bench Chardonnay. The warm vintage called for a combo-malo approach, part batch all in, part arrested development. Gravity influenced top down blending also work to seek a svelte elegance and this ’12 really straddles the humid line. Thinks to be ribald but remains chaste, only allowing a kiss from the barrel and a caress from the rocks beneath the soil. Accept immediate but know that deferred gratification is the hallmark of this bottling. 89

Nadja’s Vineyard Riesling 2013, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula (578625, $19.95, WineAlign)

From a sample just pulled from the tank. Jay Johnston’s concept for Nadja is to create many fermentations together, using 2000L tanks and some barrels. The ferments are arrested when they achieve balance and then blended. Nadja still has her young fizz on and she’s exaggerated in Metallica meets a wondrous kind of sour. Already showing an unfurling of (mostly citrus) fruit but also spice and hurried depth. Frantic Riesling, will she “stop to warm at karmas burning, or look ahead, but keep on turning?” 89-90

Pinot Noir Rosé 2013, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula (39974, $16.95, WineAlign)

Tasted from a tank sample. The 2013 Rosé marks a change in direction and approach. No longer a one-dimensional, typical method blush made by saignée, bled off cold soaks, the ’13 goes at it half and half through skin fermenting. As soon as the skins dry out they are removed. The result (though not really apparent four months in) will be aridity with the sweet balance arriving by way of a six to seven percent sulphured dose of Gewürztraminer. The sample swims both upstream and down, through waves of salinity and dulcitude. Will lay claim to being one of the more interesting Rosés from the vintage. 87-88

Red Twisted 2012, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula (86918, $19.95, WineAlign)

Tasted from a barrel sample, this singular Bench brew of Syrah, Merlot and Pinot Noir. After 14 months in barrel, all separated at birth, the varieties were blended in mid-January and will be bottled this March. Yet unsettled, there is a level of unctuousness and cake layering. A big red for the believers, for those who lust for big reds. Currently showing its wood, freshness, acids and potential for balance. 87-88

Sparkling Brut 2006, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula (0238311, $35.00, WineAlign)

Tasted with proprietor Ed Madronich at the winery. This was Flat Rock’s first ever Sparkling wine made in a challenging vintage. The base wine was fermented dry and sent to neutral barrels. Sugar and yeast were added after eight months and it then entered the bottle. Newer vintages may see time stretched to 20 months. At this stage it is very much alive, showing the whole orchard and nothing but the orchard, albeit with some fallen fruit. Some sugar lingers but not enough to pull it from dry. With time the orchard gives to grapefruit. In the end it’s big and biscuitous. Says Madronich, “Our wines can go 15 years, no problem.” We’ll see about that. 89

Unoaked Chardonnay 2007, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula (68015, $16.95, WineAlign)

Tasted with proprietor Ed Madronich at the winery. Six and a half years have done this unoaked Chardonnay six and a half years of wonder. Green herbs and apple jam spread on a whole wheat cracker. To believe there is not a day of oak on this wine is to bury one’s head in the sand and begin again. It’s that stubborn Bench limestone doing the fooling. “We have great soil,” grins Ed. A few minutes and a few more swirls in it begins talking in the vernacular of Chablis, in a matchstick tone. It’s also fleshing as it goes. Six plus years and $17? “It’s crazy.” 90

PHOTO: Eric Vellend
Flat Rock Cellars Rusty Shed Vertical

Rusty Shed Chardonnay Vertical 2011-2006, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula (1552, $24.95)

Barrel fermented, barrel aged, gravity fed. No other Niagara winery can offer up a vertical like this, in this price range. If there is another, let me know and I’m there.

2011 (WineAlign) Conspicuous by its texture from a mild to middling vintage “when you picked before or after the rain.” Though combined, the antechamber of acidity and good cheer trumps the mudroom of funk and doldrums. A Guns ‘n Roses vintage, a pull in two directions, with a potential for breakdown. “Ev’rything was roses when we held on to the guns.” A soft, buttery note tempers the tang and yet that tang lifts the fruit. The tension is what sets the ’11 up for a classic run. 91

2010 (WineAlign) Increased sugar from a hot year with early ripening. Picking decisions played a crucial role, the prudent winery avoiding the heat of the day. This was key to preserving freshness and acidity. Though the aromas are soft and muted, the palate is lush and plush with a mid-section of adolescent body fat. 89

2009 (WineAlign) A slow and even ripening season culminated with a warm and dry harvest. Ideal harvest conditions. This ethereal ’09 has that late harvest come of age feel but is unwavering from a dry sense of humour. Acting as fresh as the day it was bottled, ole’ blue eyes is in ownership of the best of all the surrounding vintages. It was a very good year for the old Rusty Shed, like “life as vintage wine from fine old kegs, from the brim to the dregs and it poured sweet and clear.” A classic crooner, with wood now neutral and supportive, that will last alongside fruit, to the autumn of its years. 91

2008 (WineAlign) From a cooler, wetter, “Burgundian” vintage. Noticeable terpenes and delineated streaks in the aroma, palate continuum. Like mild cider in a diluted but not watered down way. A matter of elegance and refinement. The oak integration may be the most calming yet and the wine has maintained its freshness. A vintage to measure with clonal ancestors and distant cousins if not Flat Rock siblings. 90

2007 (WineAlign) From a very warm and dry vintage with low yields. Dichotomous, with clean fruit working with and against some barrel and earthy notes. Was a tough year to “manage acidity and freshness,” a fight that was paramount to success. Flint and matchstick also work this ’07, as much like Riesling as Chablis so in that sense this is reminiscent of the Unplugged. In another way, the earth says this is as much of a Brett-influenced vintage as any. 89

2006 (WineAlign) Like the 2007, this has that golden hue so it appears that seven to eight years is the marker for the apogee of consumption. A vintage tough on reds, good on whites. Though not high on opulence, the ingot sheen is like fool’s gold and the trickery works to great effect. A fortune is won in patience because this elegant ’06 eventually sheds its rust, gives up fresh apple and palate cleansing acidity. A show of age and propriety. 90

One more for the road.

Pinot Noir 2003, VQA Niagara Peninsula (WineAlign)

Less than a case is left of this first Pinot Noir made by Ed Madronich. At the time Flat Rock made just 500 cases, including two Rieslings (Estate and Nadja) plus two barrels (43 cases) of Chardonnay. From a cool vintage, 11 years on this Pinot is reddening to maroon, with sour cherry flavours submitted to earth. A hint of soy and toffee. Herbaceous, young vine minted, accented by dill and mushroom. Holding on and showing that older vintages had (not known at the time) depth and structure. Creamy texture if not the cleanest Pinot ever made. First world problem. 88

Good to go!

Godello’s excellent Cuvée adventure

Mar17

As frozen Niagara Falls, so frozen Niagara Falls
Photo: yobab/Fotolia.com

as seen on canada.com

Doesn’t every local wine writer’s pilgrimage begin this way? There’s 130 kilometres to Niagara Falls, we’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes (not really – the only thing we smoke is BBQ), it’s blinding winter morning light out and we’re wearing sunglasses. Well, one of us is.

With Jake riding shotgun to Elwood we hit the QEW, pause for bench land visits to Flat Rock, Zooma Zooma and Creekside Estates, then make the frozen Falls by dusk. Two slackers we are, Bill and Ted, ponces submissive to wine, travelling through Niagara assembling a library of tasting notes to condign for memory in lieu of history missed and as practice for futures to come.

PHOTO: Michael Godel
Canadian Food and Wine Institute at Niagara College Salmon and Scallops

Niagara’s annual Cuvée rolls out the red carpet for a black-tie gala at Fallsview Casino’s Grand Ballroom. Touted as a celebration of excellence in Ontario winemaking, the event gathers more than 50 wineries and asks that they pour their winemakers’ favourite wines alongside a room full of esculent Niagara eats. Local chefs set lavish food stations and guests are treated to comestible ruminations composed by students from the Canadian Food and Wine Institute at Niagara College. The Sun Media Après Cuvée party features Icewine, sparkling wine and craft beer bars, not to mention a repeat performance by the impolitic, patent, I want you to be moved sound of Jonesy.

PHOTO: Michael Godel
Zagat and Spotlight Toronto’s Suresh Doss and Wine Country Ontario’s Magdalena KaiserSmit

Proceeds from the Cuvée Weekend go to the Niagara Community Foundation. Created in 2000, the Niagara Community Foundation has raised more than $23 million in endowment funds and has granted in excess of $5.5 million to charities working in the arts, heritage, environment, social services, health, education and community development. In 2015, the event will leave the very capable hands of the NCF and fall into the most capable hands of Brock University.

The word cuvée can mean many things in the world of wine. The Champagne tradition carries the most recognizable weight, the practice dictating that the best grapes be used and gently pressed to ultimately produce a sparkling wine of superior quality. In the end any cuvée is a blend no matter how you slice, interpret or break it down. It really comes down to the question of quality. Did Cuvée 2014 put its best foot forward? Were the ace grapes on display?

PHOTO: Michael Godel
Pulling candy from sugar, Canadian Food and Wine Institute at Niagara College

The Cuvée gala, at one time an awards showcase ceremony, has welled to the point of a brimming kitchen sink, perhaps in danger of overflowing. Those who know and have been there agree the change in structure has been for the better. Growing pains are natural, inevitable side effects of growth. It’s more party than oenophile wine think tank, a cultural mosaic and for some, a melting pot. Speeches, awards, thank yous and acknowledgements are barely audible above the revelling din.

PHOTO: Dan Trcka/grapeselections.com
VQA Promoter Award At Large winner Shawn McCormick and Michael Godel

In 2013, to a wine, the pours were best of the best. My take was put into these words. Top juice flows at Cuvée 25th anniversary. In 2014 many vintners poured either their best (Domaine Queylus, Five Rows, Coyote’s Run, Rennie Estate, Stratus, Thirty Bench) or their most unique (Peninsula Ridge, Trius, Southbrook, Riverview, 13th Street, Malivoire). The event and the following morning’s Expert’s Tasting would not be diluted by a few more shots of Prince Edward County and Lake Erie North Shore in the arm.

The real adventure lies in the attempt to taste everything in the room. Time and excessive schmoozing gets in the way so getting to more than half is a win, win. Here are notes on 10 wines tasted at Cuvée 2014 and the reasons for singling them out as separating themselves from their peers.

Riverview Gewurztraminer Angelina’s Reserve 2012, VQA Niagara River (368092, $18.95, WineAlign)

A creamy, corpulent expression with a stinging enzymatic yogurt texture. Would swear there was extended lees contact. Furthest thing from the truth says winemaker Angela Kasimos. That striking salve gives way to a vacuous aridity without conceding to nuts and residual sugar. Well-made and without interference. Thanks to Riverview, Gewürztraminer has found a home in the pliable, silty loam of Niagara River. 88 Tasted February 2014 @RiverviewWinery

PHOTO: Michael Godel
Peninsula Ridge Sauvignon Blanc Wismer 2013

Peninsula Ridge Wismer Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2013, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula (Winery, $19.95, WineAlign)

Winemaker Jamie Evans and Sauvignon Blanc share a kinesis. When kissed by the wise and wistful fruit that Wismer cedes, compounded by the vintage, this Peninsula Sauvignon Blanc inclines to aeaeae. All parts contribute to a stretched length, from fresh beginning to mouth-watering end. In between there is lees-stirred spice, dry and toasty points but the grass is never overgrown and the berries are golden. A kickstarter sour note propels the wine forward for an even longer taxi onward. What a vineyard, what a wine. 90 Tasted February 2014 @PeninsulaRidge

Westcott Vineyards Chardonnay Reserve 2012, VQA Vinemount Ridge, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (winery, $29, WineAlign)

From vineyards planted in 2005, this new kid on the Jordan block spent 12 months in oak, half of it new. To a taster, you would never know it. In clone cousin to Le Clos Jordanne’s Chardonnay, this special project is the nephew of a set aside, four-barrel selection. Winemaker Arthur Harder (Calamus) has fashioned a head-turning clean, pure and most mineral-driven Chardonnay from impossibly young Vinemount Ridge vines. A quartz chord runs through it and with just two or three more years of vine age the fruit and adjoining texture will catch up to the rock. That integrated, subtle oak impart is of a Granny Smith apple kind, crisp and taut. Such a memorable inauguration with so much promise that lays ahead. 90 Tasted February 2014

Trius Sauvignon Blanc Wild Ferment 2012, VQA Niagara On The Lake (Winery, $32.00, WineAlign)

Less than 300 cases were produced of this, you guessed it, natural grape skin, wild yeast fermented unique Sauvignon Blanc. Cold bunch pressed and 11 months on the lees lend a fruit/wood spice and gregarious character that is impossible to miss. Winemaker Craig MacDonald shows a savvy Savvy love in his carefully considered treatment of this wine. This ’12 WF steals the show at Cuvée in the category of most compelling and thought-provoking. 91 Tasted February 2014 @TriusWines

Hidden Bench Estate Pinot Noir 2011, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula (274753, $32.95, WineAlign)

Five months more in bottle has come to this, a Bench perfumed state of mind. On a red raspberry road to absolution. The international coat has now begun to surrender to the maturity and wisdom of the local vine’s intellect, its maker and overseer acting as artificers in planned execution. Earlier note: Deeper, earthier, decreased propriety and more pelage than the previous two vintages. I sense longer hang time, more redress and slower slumber. In Hidden Bench I thought I knew and would always associate with a specific Pinot Noir feel but this ’11 confounds. In a way, that is a large compliment. Fruit reminiscent of a top Central Otago in that it grips my Pinot interest if not my Ontario heart. 91 Tasted October 2013 and February 2014 @HiddenBench

PHOTO: Michael Godel
Southbrook Vineyards Whimsy! Winemaker’s White 2011

Southbrook Vineyards Whimsy! Winemaker’s White 2011, VQA Niagara Peninsula (Winery, $34.95, WineAlign)

While the triple W represents neither traditional alchemy nor screaming value it begs to be considered for sheer shock and awe. A co-fermented, low brix, who varietal blend of 58 per cent Chardonnay, 27 Semillon and 15 Muscat, winemaker Ann Sperling’s capricious fancy white and nerdy captures the vintage to alight and delight effect. Spice, texture, florality and acidity really work the room. Though the varieties seem to sing ”we don’t move in any ‘ticular direction and we don’t make no collections,” they somehow join together. White wine of whimsy, not shallow, like a Wes Anderson film. 88 Tasted February 2014 @SouthbrookWine

Bachelder Chardonnay Wismer Vineyard 2011, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (345819, $44.95, SAQ 12089591, $44.95, WineAlign)

Got game tonight, in auxiliary moxie, magisterial atmosphere and long strides up and down the ice. Earlier notes: “Increased richesse and oomph and though I continue to hesitate to admit it, Saunders is the (Jackson Browne) elegant bottling in ’11. Wismer the (Warren Zevon) gregarious, mineral character werewolf of Niagara, what with its a touch of anxiety, fuller texture and “bite down…draw blood!” From my earlier November 2013 note: “From the Wingfield Block within the 20 Mile Bench grand cru vineyard, ’11 Wismer is greener, in apple and sapid behaviour. The tension is palpable, quarryful, querulous, more calciferous. Fruit here is picked at an altitude as high as the lowest part of Flat Rock’s vineyard. Can a spot be pinpointed, anywhere on the peninsula that produces more piercing Chardonnay in 2011 as this Wismer micro-block?” 91 Tasted November 2013 and twice February 2014 @Bachelder_wines

Five Rows Craft Wine Pinot Noir 2010, VQA St. David’s Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (winery, $50, WineAlign)

Gimme soft and sage treatment of a vineyard’s wondrous, pure fruit transcends most previous notions of Niagara Pinot Noir. That Lowrey vineyard in the hands of its first family drives spice into red fruit direct from soil and vine. Winemaker Wes Lowrey handles his family vineyard fruit like it were a baby and from this comes a promiscuous perfume. The ’10 is so youthful but coming into the springtime of his voodoo, having now been in bottle for a year. Though thoughts were that “he was going to show me spring,” the wine should clearly be left to flesh for a few more seasons. 92 Tasted February 2014

Thirty Bench Small Lot Benchmark Red 2010, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula (winery, $60)

Indoctrinated Right Bank agglomerate built on 62 per cent Merlot, supported by equal parts Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon. Impressively warm and dusty, large, bursting berry dominated with a peppering dredge all around. So much flavour abounds, blanketed by a shaker full of vanilla spice, like “an endless ocean landing on an endless desert.” Still the Benchmark is modest, oaked (18 months) but not overly soaked, pure and in balance. The berry concentration renders it as a resident of the dark centre of the Niagara red blend universe. 92 Tasted February 2014 @ThirtyBench

PHOTO: Michael Godel
Queylus Pinot Noir Reserve Du Domaine 2011

Domaine Queylus Pinot Noir ‘Le Grande Reserve’ 2011, VQA Niagara Peninsula (winery, $65, WineAlign)

The Thomas Bachelder mentored, two-vineyard assemblage Grande Reserve Pinot Noir grinds more cracked pepper than any predecessor. Every barrel from the Twenty Mile Bench (formerly Le Clos Jordanne’s, Neudorf Family La Petite Colline Vineyard) and Mountainview vineyard were scrutinized to determine the final blend.Bachelder sees black fruit in the early life yet despite the ebullient seasoning, the LGR’s genes are intrinsically feminine. Red cherry, tellus fertility and a mother’s strength hold the family of barrel children together. This is an ambitious and hard to read Pinot Noir. Judgement reserved for five years before the word classic will be used. 92 Tasted March 2014 @QueylusVin

Good to go!

Winter white out wine, beer and food conditions

Mar13

The weather will step aside in April. Until then, satiate yourself.
Photo: Sergio Di Giovanni/Fotolia.com

as seen on canada.com

The winter that never ends. White out conditions, snow squalls, wind advisory and chill warnings. Everything just feels heavy. The OPP’s request? Just stay home, Ontario. Prepare for the worst, hunker down and warm the belly with full-bodied wines, strong mocker, beer and hearty winter meals. The weather will step aside in April. Until then, satiate yourself.

Here are six strength fortifying libations to ride the final wave of winter’s brutal conditions.

Clockwise from left: Innis & Gunn Irish Whiskey Finish, 13th Street White Palette 2011, Ara Single Estate Pinot Noir 2011, Planeta Chardonnay 2010, Bachelder La Petite Charmotte Nuits Saint Georges 2011, and Antinori Pian Delle Vigne Brunello Di Montalcino 2008

Innis & Gunn Irish Whiskey Finish, Scotland, United Kingdom (279349, $3.25)

Stout matured over American Oak Heartwood and infused with Irish Whiskey. A Cimmerian entry in hue and hunger peels back to a curious lightness of being. The wood tends to an Arabian mocha aroma, the whiskey to molasses and gingerbread baking spice. The 7.4 per cent alcohol is integrated though an incendiary smoky magic weighs in to toast biscuits and braise a beefy pot au feu. “The Smoky Life is practiced everywhere,” in the I & G. A beer of good charm, smooth, silky, singing in melodic grace and with confidence. 90 Tasted March 2014 @InnisandGun

The grapes: Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer and Chardonnay Musqué

The history: Niagara winery founded in 1998. Chablis native Jean-Pierre Colas joined 13th Street as winemaker in 2009. Co-owners of the winery, the Whitty family has been farming fruit in Niagara for well over 100 years

The lowdown: Much of the fruit comes from the estate’s Creek Shores appellation vineyards, sedimentary, well-drained lighter soils on a landscape highly dissected by its many streams.

The food match: Fish Tacos

13th Street White Palette 2011, VQA Niagara Peninsula (207340, $15.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES March 15, 2014 release

JP’s who’s who bottle of white grapes, a mad scientist’s blend, the flask filled with Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer and Chardonnay Musque. A re-release and much improved with a year’s extra weight, its “got your body right now.” Fortified by a carapace of grape spirits and purposeful in a white meritage sense of community, plus citrus, pith and a far-reaching, right correct absinthian length. You better you bet. 88 Tasted October 2013 @13thStreetWines

Fish Tacos
Photo: Michael Godel

The grape: Pinot Noir

The history: From Marlborough on the western side of the Waihopai Valley. The name is both the indigenous Maori word for “pathway” and Latin for “altar”

The lowdown: “With rugged mountains on either side and two icy rivers cutting through, it’s a pretty extreme place. The very definition of raw, cool climate conditions.”

The food match: Potato Frittata with Feta and Green Onions

Ara Single Estate Pinot Noir 2011, Marlborough, New Zealand (361279, $23.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES March 15, 2014 release

Immediate impressions are of a user-friendly Pinot Noir in conceit of black cherry, chocolate and blueberry spice. These are surface notes quickly displaced by an adventurous senses of living on the edge. The wine dips into a brine and lithic earth saturated by glacial melt. This is a different sort of Marlborough Pinot that speaks a modern english, if too young to be understood. “I’ve seen some changes but it’s getting better all the time.” Will try the Ara again in a year or two and likely say I melt with you. 89 Tasted February 2014 @AraWine_UK

The grape: Chardonnay

The history: Planeta first made this wine 20 years ago in 1994. It has become “the image illustrating the changes taking place in Sicilian wines.”

The lowdown: From Ulmo (calcareous with sections of deep vegetable matter) and Maroccoli (medium clay soil rich in limestone) vineyards in the area of Sambuca di Sicilia. Powerful Chardonnay.

The food match: Taco Night

Planeta Chardonnay 2010, Sicily, Italy (109652, $38.95, SAQ 00855114, $39.15, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES March 29, 2014 release

Wantonly lavish, heavy and tropically delicious. If ever there were a red wine substitute this is the one for the wishful thinker. Tasting this Sicilian is like liquid breathing sweet and salty, drawn butter. It’s a glass of dessert Chardonnay, dichotomous and oxymoronic in congealed warmth like cold-stabilized, oxygen-rich, perfluorocarbon. The tropical warmth is a combination of honey and lemon-glade, like Savennières with an unexpected aged Jura, oxidized, herbal angle. There can be no arguing the complexity of this Sicilian dream. Extreme humidity, with a bitter middle streak and ground nut flavours. 90 Tasted March 2014 @Noble_Estates @PlanetaWinery

Taco Night
Photo: Michael Godel

The grape: Pinot Noir

The history: Thomas Bachelder, flying winemaker, architect of the Bachelder Project, of trois terroirs, in Niagara, Oregon and Burgundy

The lowdown: “Burgundy is my favourite place to make wine,” admits Thomas Bachelder. “The large négociant control all (44) 1er cru vineyards so there are not a lot of small growers working with Beaune fruit.” Enter terroirman.

The food match: Roast Chicken, Potatoes, Swiss Chard

Bachelder La Petite Charmotte Nuits Saint Georges 2011, Burgundy, France (357228, $49.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES March 15, 2014 release

Is so floral, mineral, intense and hypnotic it might be dubbed the Serpent Charmer. Iron and wine indeed, the iron of Nuits, the perfume of Beaune. This provocative bottling represents the third year of production, is conspicuous in Anis de Flavigny and an underlying gate. If montagnes is the harming one, this is the charming one. These are all from the same barrels, so what really affects the wines the most? Land and hand. 93 Tasted November 2013 @Bachelder_wines

Roast Chicken, Potatoes, Swiss Chard
Photo: Michael Godel

The grape: Sangiovese Grosso

The history: The family has been in the wine business since Giovanni di Piero Antinori joined the Florentine Guild of Vintners in 1385. The Antinori estate is responsible for some of Tuscany’s most famous wines; Solaia, Tignanello and Guado al Tasso.

The lowdown: As stalwart a Brunello as any, Pian Delle Vigne is not immune to critical conjecture. Applying kudos to any big house in this polarizing vintage will raise an eyebrow or two. Why not Antinori?

The food match: Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Antinori Pian Delle Vigne Brunello Di Montalcino 2008, Docg, Tuscany, Italy (651141, $59.95, Nova Scotia 1006431, $64.80, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES March 15, 2014 release

Goes at it older, bolder, tried and truer than had recently been the case, especially in 2007. Leather, cherries, seeping tea and peppery, earthy, funky dates. Purity of fruit, obviousness in Sangiovese Grosso aromatics and it is only when you taste that you are dealt with the full effect of its power and girth. Quite viscous on the palate, tough, gritty chain of tannin and qualified, felicitous bitters on a very long finish. Best Pian delle Vigne in some time, at least back to 2001. 93 Tasted November 2013 @AntinoriFamily

Good to go!

Wine experts Brock and roll, Brock on

Mar6

The Expert’s Tasting is more than just a study on Niagara wine.
Photo: JEAN-PIERRE MULLER/AFP/Getty Images

as seen on canada.com

Part two: 25th anniversary of the Cuvée 2014 Expert’s Tasting at Brock University

Flights three, four and five: Pinot Noir, Red Blends and Wine Options.

Related – When experts break wine together

The Expert’s Tasting is more than just a study on Niagara wine. It eulogizes what came before, reflects back on what is lost and ultimately asks the questions, “Where do we go from here? Which is the way that’s clear?” Grow grapes, make wine. Rock on.

The Brock University Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute now lays claim to being the central hub of information and guidance for Niagara’s wine industry. In partnership and in sharing expertise with Wine Country Ontario, the Grape Growers of Ontario, the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, VQA Ontario and Niagara Culinary College, Brock’s CCOVI is the go to rock, central to Niagara’s world-class wine growing soil.

In 2015, the annual Cuvée gala weekend, one of the most prestigious celebrations of Ontario wine and food, will now be organized by Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI). The theme will be a look forward to Ontario’s significant wine styles and emerging varieties. Props to that.

The #CCOVI event continued the task of celebrating the annual VQA Promoters awards, handed out to the individuals who supported and promoted the industry through media, the LCBO, at large and over the course of a lifetime. The 2014 awards were handed out to William Mancini, Lloyd Schmidt, Erik Peacock, Shawn McCormick, David Lawrason and posthumously, care of his wife Rose Lamas-Churchill, to David Churchill.

PHOTO: Michael Godel
#CCOVI Expert’s Tasting Pinot Noir Flight

At the Expert’s Tasting wines were poured blind. The third and fourth flights (Pinot Noir and Red blends respectively) showcased just how far Niagara has travelled in fashioning quality reds. The Pinot Flight was all about balance and elegance. Bench Pinot stands out like a beacon on the Escarpment’s shelves. Blends centred around Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc are excelling with each passing vintage, in kind to the ever-increasing wine acumen of the growers and winemakers. That and the macro-intense studies of Niagara’s micro-terroirs.

@ericvellend It's who u ride with. Oh the palates. Greats @Matt_Loney @RichieWine @brightlighter1 FTR, Richie was mum pic.twitter.com/6dE9Y0r8gt

— Michael Godel (@mgodello) March 2, 2014

This final flight of five wines (in order, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend) made for a less confounding competitive round, which was not the case in 2013. I clearly found vicarious fortune through the mates at my table. It’s not just who you know, but who’s palate you draft behind.

Dear @WineCountryOnt & @CCOVIBrockU, you of #glc generosity, largesse, community #Cuvee2014 + #ExpertsTasting = wine cup runneth over #ccovi

— Michael Godel (@mgodello) March 2, 2014

Here are my notes on the final 19 wines poured at the Expert’s Tasting 2014.

FLIGHT #3 – YOU’VE BEEN PINOT’D!!

From left: Devil’s Corner Pinot Noir 2012, Flat Rock Gravity Pinot Noir 2012, Inniskillin Pinot Noir Reserve 2011, 13th Street Essence Pinot Noir 2010, and Fielding Estate Pinot Noir Jackrabbit Flats Vineyard 2010

Presented by Dr. Belinda Kemp, CCOVI Scientist, Oenology. “There is nothing funny about Pinot Noir,” she complains in deadpan humour, “it’s the unfunny grape. Fascinating, but nothing to laugh at. It’s not funny at all.”

Devil’s Corner Pinot Noir 2012, Tamar Ridge, Tasmania, Australia (317966, $23.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES March 1, 2014 Release

A good fresh start to the flight. At first earthless, weightless, cran-raspberry scented. Feminine, warm, inviting and then turning temperamental, difficult, evolving. Ultimately maternal, clay-influenced, brought down to mother earth. Vanilla ringer. 87 Tasted March 2014 @BrownBrothers

Un bon nouveau départ à la (troisième de l’expert de dégustation) vol. Au début Earthless, en apesanteur, cran-framboise parfumée. Féminine, chaleureuse, accueillante et puis, se tournant capricieux, difficile, en constante évolution. En fin de compte maternelle, argile influencé, ramené à la terre mère. Vanille sonnerie. Dégusté Mars 2014

Flat Rock Gravity Pinot Noir 2012, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula (1560, $29.95, WineAlign)

In a vintage potentially muddled by warmth and a humidor of radio frequency, duplicating berry phenolics, Flat Rock’s Gravity remains a definitive, signature house Pinot Noir. In 2011, the head of the FR class from its most expressive barrels shared the limelight (and top juice) with the Pond, Bruce and Summit one-offs. In ’12, Gravity’s sandbox was its own. The style is surely dark, extracted, black cherry bent, as per the vintage. Yet only the Rock’s soil does earth in this variegate, borne and elevated by the barrel’s grain. There are no fake plastic trees in a Flat Rock Pinot. “Gravity always wins.” 90 Tasted March 2014 @Brighlighter1

Dans un millésime potentiellement confus par la chaleur et une cave de la fréquence de la radio, la duplication des composés phénoliques des baies, la gravité de Flat Rock reste un définitif, maison de signature Pinot Noir. En 2011, la tête de la classe FR de ses barils les plus expressifs partage la vedette (et le jus dessus) avec les mesures ponctuelles Pond, Bruce et Summit. En ’12, bac à sable de gravité était son propre. Le style est certainement foncé, extrait, pliée de cerise noire, selon le millésime. Pourtant, seulement le sol de la roche ne terre dans ce variegata, porté et élevé par le grain du baril. Il n’y a pas d’arbres en plastique faux dans un Flat Rock Pinot. “Gravity gagne toujours.” Dégusté Mars 2014

Inniskillin Pinot Noir Reserve 2011, VQA Niagara Peninsula (winery, $24.95, WineAlign)

A by-product of a rain-heat-rain, cold soak-warm ferment-16 month French barrel childhood. The ’11 Reserve Pinot is impressively floral while simultaneously brooding and serious. The middle palate binds citrus and savoury, gilded, dulcet rose, Langhe-like. Breakdown happens late, in syrupy alcohol and charred pulp. “In that case I’ll have a rum and coca-cola.” Complex Pinot for the common people. 88 Tasted March 2014 @InniskillinWine

Un sous-produit d’une pluie-chaleur-pluie, le froid tremper-chaud ferment-16 mois baril français enfance. Le ’11 Réserve Pinot est alors impressionnante floral simultanément couvaison et grave. Le milieu de bouche se lie d’agrumes et salé, doré, rose suave, Langhe-comme. Répartition arrive en retard, dans l’alcool sirupeux et pâte carbonisée. “Dans ce cas, je vais avoir un rhum et de coca-cola.” Pinot complexe pour les gens ordinaires. Dégusté Mars 2014

Domaine Queylus Pinot Noir ‘Le Grande Reserve’ 2011, VQA Niagara Peninsula (winery, $65, WineAlign)

The Thomas Bachelder mentored, two-vineyard assemblage Grande Reserve Pinot Noir grinds more cracked pepper than any predecessor. Every barrel from the Twenty Mile Bench (formerly Le Clos Jordanne’s, Neudorf Family La Petite Colline Vineyard) and Mountainview vineyard were scrutinized to determine the final blend. Bachelder sees black fruit in the early life yet despite the ebullient seasoning, the LGR’s genes are intrinsically feminine. Red cherry, tellus fertility and a mother’s strength hold the family of barrel children together. This is an ambitious and hard to read Pinot Noir. Judgement reserved for five years before the word classic will be used. 92 Tasted March 2014 @QueylusVin

Le Thomas Bachelder mentor, l’assemblage de deux vignoble Grande Réserve Pinot Noir broie poivre craqué plus que ses prédécesseurs. Chaque baril de Lincoln Lakeshore (anciennement Le Clos Jordanne de, Neudorf famille La Petite Colline Vineyard) et le Twenty Mile Bench (Mountainview) appellations ont été examinées attentivement afin de déterminer l’assemblage final. Bachelder voit fruits noirs dans le début de la vie et pourtant, malgré l’assaisonnement bouillante, les gènes de la LGR sont intrinsèquement féminin. Rouge cerise, tellus la fertilité et la force de la mère détiennent la famille des enfants de baril ensemble. Il s’agit d’un Pinot Noir ambitieux et difficile à lire. Jugement réservé pendant cinq ans avant le mot classique sera utilisé. Dégusté Mars 2014

13th Street Essence Pinot Noir 2010, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (237222, $44.95, WineAlign)

Five months have aged the Essence with more bronzing minerality and core strength. Imagine the old-world chemistry it will enumerate after five more years. Previous note: “Only the second coming of The Essence. Lucid, willing and able Pinot Noir from an assemblage of fruit sourced across the region. Atypical in that sense, speaking to a broader range of terroir and to a wider audience. Breadth and depth much like a Côte de Beaune, earthy of serious dirt layered over top a cherry core. Attention now and for five plus years is needed because though to taste it’s currently confounding, time will see more complexity, development and emerging emotion. It will then solicit a cry of ”baby, sweet baby, you’re my drug. Come on and let me taste your stuff.” 91 Tasted October 2013 and March 2014 @13thStreetWines

Cinq mois ont vieilli l’essence avec plus de minéralité de bronzage et la force de base. Imaginez la chimie du vieux monde, il va énumérer après cinq années de plus. Note précédente:… “Seule la seconde venue de l’Essence Lucid, désireux et capables Pinot Noir à partir d’un assemblage de fruits provenant de toute la région atypique en ce sens, parler à un plus large éventail de terroir et à un public plus large étendue et la profondeur un peu comme un Côte de Beaune, terreuse de terre grave posés sur le dessus une cerise noyau. attention maintenant et pour cinq ans et est nécessaire parce que le goûter est actuellement confondre, le temps voir plus de complexité, le développement et l’émotion émergents. Elle sera ensuite solliciter un cri de “bébé, bébé doux, tu es ma drogue. Venez et laissez-moi goûter vos trucs.” Testé Octobre 2013 et Mars 2014

Fielding Estate Pinot Noir Jackrabbit Flats Vineyard 2010, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore (winery, $24.95, WineAlign)

Though a recent phenomenon, a Bench area winemaker’s keen interest in the Lincoln Lakeshore as a unicorn Pinot growing locale has come out of the forest’s shadows. From dual-vineyard plots and specific barrel choosing, the JRF expressly microwaves its agminate gathering, that is, 14 months on lees in barrel, a warm vintage and virtually unfiltered ferment. Completely free of its closet, there is coffee, toffee and strong tea overtop rufescent fruit close to its earthly roots. An austere, tough and gritty Pinot Noir, from the Burgundy side of the pond, echoing the presenter’s choice of words. “It’s fascinating but nothing to laugh about.” 89 Tasted March 2014 @RichieWine

Bien que d’un phénomène récent, le vif intérêt d’un vigneron de la zone du Banc de la Lincoln Lakeshore comme un Pinot locale croissante licorne est sorti de l’ombre de la forêt. Des parcelles à double vignoble et choix de canon spécifique, la JRF tout micro-ondes expressément sa collecte de agminate, soit 14 mois sur lies en barriques, un millésime chaud et ferment pratiquement non filtré. Complètement libre de son placard, il ya du café, caramel et thé fort overtop Rufescent fruit proche de ses racines terrestres. Un austère, dur et graveleux Pinot Noir, du côté de l’étang de Bourgogne, en écho le choix du présentateur de mots. «C’est fascinant, mais pas de quoi rire.” Dégusté Mars 2014

The Foreign Affair Pinot Noir 2009, VQA Niagara Peninsula (winery, $43.95, WineAlign)

An ambitious and in retrospect streetwise project now in the golden age of its life. From fruit grown both on the estate’s Crispino Vineyard and at the Vineland Research Centre. Then winemaker Ilya Senchuk dried 40% of the grapes which subsequently spent 15 months in French and Hungarian oak. The modest 13.1 per cent alcohol has realized a resolved, gentle and effortless balance of figgy/raisin-driven fruit and clear spirit. The beaver is not so different from a Tawny meets Reserve Port, Pinot-style. Appassimento, you’ve been Pinot’d. ‘Ciao’ for hello and goodbye because now is the time to drink. 88 Tasted March 2014 @wineaffair

Un projet ambitieux et débrouillard, rétrospectivement, maintenant dans l’âge d’or de sa vie. De fruits cultivés à la fois sur Crispino Vignoble de la succession et au Centre de recherche de Vineland. Puis vigneron Ilya Senchuk séché 40% des raisins qui a ensuite passé 15 mois en fûts de chêne français et hongrois. Le modeste alcool 13.1 pour cent a réalisé une résolu, équilibre doux et sans effort de figgy / fruités raisins secs et l’esprit clair. Le castor n’est pas si différent d’un Tawny Port répond Réserve Pinot style. Appassimento, vous avez été Pinot’d. «Ciao» pour bonjour et au revoir parce que c’est maintenant le temps de boire. Dégusté Mars 2014

FLIGHT #4 – RED ROAD TEST – ARE WE ON THE RIGHT TRACK?

From left: Konzelmann Estate Winery Heritage Reserve 2012, Hillebrand Trius Red 2011, Fielding Estate Winery Cabernet Merlot 2010, Trius Grand Red 2010, Stratus Red 2007, Creekside Estates Reserve Meritage 2004, and Henry Of Pelham Estate Cabernet/Merlot 2002

Presented by Trius Winery at Hillebrand winemaker Craig McDonald. McDonald makes one of Niagara’s now flagship red blends, the Trius Grand Red. He brings red blend experience to the table in spades and hearts, particularly from his work at Penfolds in the Barossa Valley, but McDonald is an ardent voice for the relationship between varietal and land. He wants you to decide for yourself, are red wines working and excelling in Niagara? In this flight, Craig’s advice is “I want you to think about the dominant varietal.” Not as easy as you might think.

Konzelmann Estate Winery Heritage Reserve 2012, VQA Niagara Peninsula (149179, $30, WineAlign)

A Merlot-based blend with support from Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The dominant varietal is the blend’s soft presence, lifting up an otherwise ground espresso, black pepper, currant and verdigris paste in its 14 per cent frame. Yet so young and unsettled, with Franz drive, chalky extract and hard bite. In this Heritage’s “edges and lines your engine’s alive,” so as a first red road-test, it sets a solid course. 88 Tasted March 2014 @KonzelmannWines

Un mélange à base de Merlot avec le soutien de Cabernet Sauvignon et Cabernet Franc. Le cépage dominant est la présence douce du mélange, soulevant un espresso moulu contraire, de poivre noir, de cassis et vert de gris coller dans son cadre de 14 pour cent. Pourtant, si jeune et instable, avec Franz entraînement, extrait calcaire et morsure dur. Dans ce patrimoine “des bords et des lignes en vie, de votre moteur” de manière un premier rouge route-test, il établit un plan solide. Dégusté Mars 2014

Hillebrand Trius Red 2011, VQA Niagara Peninsula (303800, $22.95, WineAlign) VINTAGES ESSENTIAL

Most of the 47 per cent Merlot, 40 Cabernet Franc and 13 Cabernet Sauvignon fruit was sourced from the Clark and Carlton Vineyards in Four Mile Creek. From the outset age is the focus point. Is this already showing wear and tear or is the sinewy, cassis, toffee, sweet balsamic and emulous acidity congregation preparing a long road ahead for this Niagara exhibit? Crisis? What crisis? It’s just a normal day and this Meritage will say, “maybe I’ll find my way.” 87 Tasted March 2014 @TriusWines

La plupart des 47 pour cent Merlot, Cabernet Franc 40 et 13 Cabernet Sauvignon fruits provenait de les Clark et Carlton Vignobles à Four Mile Creek. Dès l’âge de départ est le point de mise au point. Est-ce montre déjà l’usure ou est le nerveux, de cassis, de caramel, balsamique doux et jaloux acidité congrégation prépare un long chemin à parcourir pour cette exposition Niagara? Crise? Quelle crise? C’est juste une journée normale et ce Meritage dira, «peut-être que je vais trouver mon chemin.” Dégusté Mars 2014

Fielding Estate Winery Cabernet Merlot 2010, VQA Niagara Peninsula (winery, $35.20, WineAlign)

Does anybody really know what wine this is? Does anybody really care? The experts do, as do I. Chosen for back-to-back Expert’s Tastings by a panel of Niagara’s finest palates? AYFKM? What does that say? Today Richie Robert’s CF (42), Merlot (33) and CS (25) master stroke from Lincoln Lakeshore (warm), Beamsville Bench (warmer) and St. David’s (Lowrey Vineyard – warmest) is singing. Charred cherries, animale game and soft funk like top IGT. Raises its own bar. Previous note: “Alights in lithe tendrils before adding coffee, meritage mid-weight. Currants, nasturtium and red fruit compote buoy this cooler Niagara blend that combines fruit from the Lincoln Lakeshore, St. David’s and Beamsville Benches. A good dancer with “the kind of body that would shame Adonis.” Expertly balanced with the spine to age.” 90 Tasted March 2013 and 2014 @FieldingWinery

Quelqu’un sait-il vraiment ce vin ce que c’est? Est-ce que quelqu’un se soucie vraiment? Les experts font, comme moi Chosen pour Dégustations Expertises dos-à-dos par un panel des meilleurs palais du Niagara? AYFKM? Qu’est-ce que cela veut dire? Aujourd’hui Richie FC Robert (42), Merlot (33) et CS (25) coup de maître de Lincoln Lakeshore (chaud), Beamsville (plus chaud) et Saint-David (Lowrey Vineyard – le plus chaud) chante. Cerises carbonisés, jeu animale et funk doux comme haut IGT. Déclenche son propre bar. Note précédente: “. Descend en vrilles agiles avant d’ajouter le café, meritage mi-poids Groseilles, capucine et compote de fruits rouges bouée ce refroidisseur mélange Niagara qui combine les fruits de la Lincoln Lakeshore, Saint-David et Beamsville Bancs Un bon danseur.” L’ type de corps qui honte Adonis. “experte en balance avec la colonne vertébrale de l’âge.” Dégusté Mars 2013 et 2014

Trius Grand Red 2010, VQA Niagara Peninsula (winery, $55.00, WineAlign)

Roll out the best barrels from the same Four Mile Creek Clark and Carlton Vineyards. Gravity drip freshly-pressed juice directly into barrel, wait 18 months and voilà, the flagship red from winemaker Craig McDonald. The 45/33/22 Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon blend radiates of everything under the sun. It’s rich and lush, marked by huge extract and yet it’s also graced by sweet, limber tannins. The middle ground gives faint notes of soy and dill though it can be imagined they will be smothered as the chain lengthens and the flesh becomes more pliable. I’ve one put aside for a visit in 2018. 89 Tasted March 2014

Etaler les meilleurs fûts de les mêmes Four Mile Creek Clark et Carlton Vineyards. goutte à goutte par gravité jus de fruits fraîchement pressés directement dans le cylindre, attendre 18 mois et voilà, le rouge phare de vigneron Craig McDonald. Le 45/33/22 Merlot / Cabernet Franc / Cabernet Sauvignon mélange rayonne de tout sous le soleil. Il est riche et luxuriante, marqué par d’énormes extrait et encore il est également honoré par des tanins doux et souple. Le terrain d’entente donne des notes faibles de soja et aneth si on peut imaginer qu’ils seront étouffées comme la chaîne s’allonge et la chair devient plus souple. J’ai un mets de côté pour une visite en 2018. Dégusté Mars 2014

Stratus Red 2007, VQA Niagara On The Lake, Niagara Peninsula (winery, $44.20, WineAlign)

On a day like today, the 2007 Stratus Red’s long, long sleep (644 days in mostly new French Oak) seems particularly magnified. Today the moody tincture is a cocktail shaker filled with peat, clay, iodine, strawberry compote, sangria and divaricated tannin. No other red blend today is as complex, shows more road rage or tries to speed off the track. Previous note: “Puts a twinkle in Groux’s eye. “Still very enjoyable, agreeable and ageable,” he smiles and I note it’s not candied like it may have once been perceived. A healthy and high 88 per cent dose of new oak but it’s not the encumbrance you might expect. Still quite tight, eking strawberry and plum, and indubitably a unique amalgamation. Will offer up five more years of pleasure.” 91 Tasted September 2013 and March 2014 @Stratuswines

En un jour comme aujourd’hui, long, long sommeil de 2007 Stratus Rouge (644 jours dans la plupart neufs de chêne français) semble particulièrement agrandie. Aujourd’hui, la teinture de mauvaise humeur est un shaker rempli de tourbe, de l’argile, de l’iode, compote de fraises, sangria et les tannins divaricated. Aucune autre mélange de rouge aujourd’hui est aussi complexe, montre plus de rage au volant ou tente d’accélérer la piste. Note précédente: “. Met une étincelle dans l’oeil de Groux” Toujours très agréable, agréable et gérable “, il sourit et je constate que ce n’est pas confits comme il peut avoir été une fois perçu une saine et haute 88 par dose cent de chêne neuf, mais il est. pas la charge que vous pourriez vous attendre. toujours très serré, eking fraise et de prune, et sans aucun doute une fusion unique. offrira jusqu’à cinq années de plaisir “. Dégusté Septembre 2013 et Mars 2014

Creekside Estates Reserve Meritage 2004, VQA Niagara Peninsula (sold out, $45, WineAlign)

A straight up self-starter, 55/45 Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot, Left Bank galvanized blend. Craig McDonald noted that he and Rob Power “had no idea what we were doing.” What they had was a four year-old vineyard on the Queenston Road, St. David’s Bench in Four Mile Creek. They made this Bordeaux in a challenging vintage when there might not have been a sound mind around (who was paying them any attention) for guidance or encouragement. Though it has crossed the threshold into resinous mannerisms and elements of an armamentarium, the two mad scientists found a way to take 12 per cent alcohol and real fruit on a 10-year journey to the museum. Shows what potential there has always been and where the distinction of the 2014 Niagara reds will be in 2024. 89 Tasted March 2014 @CreeksideWine

A vous auto-démarreur droite, 55/45 Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot, Rive Gauche galvanisé mélange. Craig McDonald admis que lui et Rob Power “n’avait aucune idée de ce que nous faisions.” Ce qu’ils ont trouvé un vignoble de quatre ans sur la route de Queenston, la Cour du Banc de Saint-David à Four Mile Creek. Ils ont fait ce Bordeaux dans un millésime difficile quand il pourrait ne pas avoir été un esprit sain autour (qui les paie aucune attention) pour obtenir des conseils ou des encouragements. Bien qu’il a franchi le seuil de tics et éléments d’un arsenal résineux, les deux savants fous ont trouvé un moyen de prendre 12 pour cent d’alcool et de vrais fruits sur un voyage de 10 ans pour le musée. Montre ce potentiel, il a toujours été et où la distinction de 2014 rouges Niagara sera en 2024. Dégusté Mars 2014

Henry Of Pelham Estate Cabernet/Merlot 2002, VQA Short Hills Bench, Niagara Peninsula (winery, $34.95)

A Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot split with 12 per cent support from Cabernet Franc. Right up there with other classic H of P blends, in ’98, ’05 and ’07. All three levels, the basic Cab/Merlot, this Reserve and the Speck Family Reserve have stood the test of time, perhaps better than any other Bordeaux blends from the region. You can tell this was an enormous wine at one time. Has gently and slowly evolved into its comfortable skin yet the tannin and grit are still in working order. He’s a crooner this CM2, with a soulful Roy Orbison voice. There aren’t many like him. “That’s why I sigh and sip my lonely wine.” If anything has been learned and if anyone had been paying attention to Ron Giesbrecht while he made his wines, there should be many more to come. 91 Tasted March 2014 @HenryofPelham

FLIGHT #5 – WINE OPTIONS

From left: Stratus Chardonnay 2009, Rosewood Estates Pinot Noir 2011, North Shore Project Syrah 2012, and The Foreign Affair ‘The Conspiracy’ 2012

Presented by Peter Bodnar Rod Sommelier and member of the Brock WSET Team. After four serious and wind-sapping flights, the ice was again broken by the jocose Bodnar Rod when he made comment to the hand coverings of a wine pourer. “Maybe Jamie and I can go out tonight with black latex gloves?” Not a word in response from Mr. Drummond but if I were a betting man I’d say he just might join in that fun.

Stratus Chardonnay 2009, VQA Niagara Peninsula (winery, $55)

Comes off like a white blend, aka Stratus White but this is the outright, unchaste vintage talking. Winemaker J-L Groux crafted three wines with viticulturist Paul Hobbs. Here they split the project 50/50 with Hobbs including wild yeast fermentation and whole bunch pressing and J-L adding short skin contact, controlled yeasts and no whole bunch pressing. From extreme low yields, this one puts on a show after only 10 months in barrel. High on aroma, brazen in texture, ambient in flavour bites. Very Niagara if inexactly Chardonnay. Tasted March 2014 91 Tasted March 2014

Se détache comme un mélange blanc, aka Stratus Blanc mais c’est la pure et simple, parler cru impudique. Oenologue JL Groux conçu trois vins viticulteur avec Paul Hobbs. Ici, ils partagent le projet 50/50 avec Hobbs y compris sauvage fermentation de la levure et le groupe entier urgent et JL ajoutant un bref contact de la peau, des levures contrôlées et pas toute la bande de pressage. De rendements extrêmement faibles, celui-ci met sur un spectacle après seulement 10 mois en barrique. Haute sur l’arôme, la texture d’airain, ambiant dans les piqûres de saveur. Très Niagara si inexacte Chardonnay. Dégusté Mars 2014

Rosewood Estates Pinot Noir 2011, VQA Beamsville Bench (112177, $21.95)

What an arid specimen, tasted blind so distinctly Bench Pinot though the earthy, cranberry and cherry dust had me leaning Short Hills. The Rosewood reveal reminds of “little lonely eyes open and radiant,” berries from acidity victorious Wismer blocks on the Twenty Mile Bench. Previous note: “…and her libidinous solid core of red fruit habituated by a fencing of skin-tight acidity will see prolonging returns. Will run on like a Dave Matthews jam, in wine years scads longer than the temperate Rosewood ’10. An Escarpment’s native flint rocky note whispers “hey little dreamer’s eyes open and staring up at me…wait until I come I’ll take your soul.” Halloween wine indeed.” 89 Tasted September 2013 and March 2014 @RosewoodWine

Quel spécimen aride, dégustés à l’aveugle Banc si distinctement Pinot bien terrestre, la canneberge et de cerise poussière m’avait appuyé Short Hills. Le Rosewood révéler rappelle “petits yeux solitaires ouverts et rayonnants,” baies de l’acidité victorieux blocs Wismer sur le banc Twenty Mile. Note précédente: “… et son noyau solide libidineux de fruits rouges habitués par une clôture de l’acidité de la peau étanche verront rendements prolongeant sera exécuté sur une confiture comme Dave Matthews, dans les années à vin scads plus long que le tempéré Rosewood ’10.. silex natif notes rocheux chuchotements d’un escarpement “hey les yeux du petit rêveur ouverte et les yeux fixés sur moi … attendre jusqu’à ce que je viens je vais prendre votre âme.” vin de Halloween en effet. ” Dégusté Septembre 2013 et Mars 2014

North Shore Project Syrah 2012, VQA Lake Erie North Shore (sold out, $22)

A project part Will Predhomme (off the charts Sommelier), Hinterland Wine Company (head of the class Sparkling Wine producer) and Colio Estates (top of the heap Lake Erie North Shore red wine maker). More than impressive first outing with a burst of pretty flowers, varietal perspicuity and articulation. As Predomme notes, this is “pure, naked Syrah.” Farmed at Colio, crushed in LENS and fermented at Hinterland. There is a hint (what can best be described as) carbonic maceration in banana sweetness but it does not linger and the lightness of being meets intensity shows adventure and promise. 87 Tasted March 2014 @northshoreproj

Cave Spring Cellars Riesling ‘CSV’ Estate Bottled 2010, VQA Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula (566026, $29.95, WineAlign)

Was not so easy to return to Riesling 25 wines and three hours later but thanks goodness it was this old (35 years give or take) vines CSV. From the east Bench where limestone rules and rocks, there are apples upon apples in this vintage in waves of luxurious fruit. While Bench Riesling can be so tragically austere, racy and piercing, often in a state of hip “melancholy wine-soaked tenderness,” this CSV ’10 is bathed in luxury and pure pleasure. It’s so much more Germanic in an off-dry way and never forgets its limestone roots. Not necessarily classic Beamsville but not to be missed. 90 Tasted March 2014 @CaveSpring

N’était pas si facile de revenir à 25 Riesling vins et trois heures plus tard, mais Dieu merci, c’était ce vieux (35 ans donner ou prendre) vignes CSV. De la magistrature est, où les règles et les roches calcaires, il ya des pommes sur les pommes dans ce millésime dans les vagues de fruits de luxe. Bien Banc Riesling peut être si tragiquement austère, racé et perçant, souvent dans un état de hanche “mélancolique tendresse de vin trempé,” ce CSV ’10 est baigné dans le luxe et le plaisir pur. C’est tellement plus germanique de manière demi-sec et n’oublie jamais ses racines de calcaire. Pas nécessairement classique Beamsville mais à ne pas manquer. Dégusté Mars 2014

The Foreign Affair ‘The Conspiracy’ 2012, VQA Niagara Peninsula (149237, $19.95, WineAlign) From the VINTAGES Feb. 15, 2014 Release

Young, huge, rich and oozing in oak soaked spice. Currants, pepper, whole grain, berries and chalk. All in for $20. Previous Note: Quickly reminiscent of its 2011 predecessor but also different, in a basking, vintage-related warmth and reductive currency. This could not have been an easy wine to temper in 2012 considering the ripasso methodology. Just softened plum is painted all over its sheen with the poaching aromas steaming away. Grilled, melting licorice, caramelizing and disapparating before your eyes. Not to mention a French vanilla creamy garagiste waft, like nuts and bolts ice cream. But I will admit the tang, acidity and tenacity increases with each sip and swirl. Such a unique bottling to Ontario. Is there anything else like it not from Lake Erie North Shore? 89 @wineaffair Tasted February and March 2014

Jeune, grand, riche et suintant en chêne imbibé d’épices. Groseilles, poivre, grains entiers, fruits et craie. All-in pour 20 $. Note précédente:. “Vite rappelle de son prédécesseur 2011, mais également différente, dans un pèlerin, de la chaleur vintage liés et monnaie réductrice Cela n’aurait pas été un vin facile à tempérament en 2012 compte tenu de la méthodologie de ripasso prune juste ramolli est peint partout. son lustre avec les arômes de braconnage vapeur loin. grillé, fondant réglisse, caraméliser et disapparating devant vos yeux. Sans oublier une vanille française crémeuse garagiste bouffée, comme les écrous et boulons de la crème glacée. Mais je vais admettre la saveur, l’acidité et la ténacité augmente avec chaque gorgée et remous. telle une bouteille unique à l’Ontario. Y at-il quelque chose de semblable pas du lac Érié Côte-Nord? ” Dégusté Février et Mars 2014

Good to go!

Godello

a wine processor

Tag Archives: Pinot Noir

Lean on, Macduff

Notes on wines from barrel and tank

A ramp to Austrian wine

The group of twelve

Reds for a blood moon

Release the wines, catch an Ontario phrase

March grape madness

Bottles, barrels, tanks and a vertical

South (115)

Horseshoe (777)

Road (777)

Monster (A blend of clones)

Pond (667/777)

Mountain (667)

Bruce/Summit

Bruce West

Notes on (not yet released) 2012′s and 2013′s

Rusty Shed Chardonnay Vertical 2011-2006, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula (1552, $24.95)

Godello’s excellent Cuvée adventure

Winter white out wine, beer and food conditions

The grapes: Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer and Chardonnay Musqué

The grape: Pinot Noir

The grape: Chardonnay

The grape: Pinot Noir

The grape: Sangiovese Grosso

Wine experts Brock and roll, Brock on

Part two: 25th anniversary of the Cuvée 2014 Expert’s Tasting at Brock University

FLIGHT #3 – YOU’VE BEEN PINOT’D!!

FLIGHT #4 – RED ROAD TEST – ARE WE ON THE RIGHT TRACK?

FLIGHT #5 – WINE OPTIONS