Found November 2009
Lionel Rancourt was one of those guys that made wine fun and made you feel welcome. The first time I happened upon his winery it was after 5 o'clock at night, I was leaving the Shaw festival, having just seen a play with my mother. Today I'm not sure what the play was but I sure remember Rancourt's winery. We were puttering along Hwy. 55 (Niagara Stone Road) and spied his sign, 
we made the right hand turn and then another to pull down the driveway, all the time wondering if the winery was still open. The door was locked and the sign on the door said they closed at 5. I was getting back into the car when I heard a voice, "wait ... I'm coming." I turned to see a little limping man hobbling down the stairs of a house across the drive. "You came all this way to see my winery," he said as he got closer, "the least I can do is give you a taste of what you came for." And with that we shook hands and he opened the winery door. That evening Lionel took me on a tour of his winery and of his wines - told me of his great plans for the future and his passion for the wine industry. Alas, many of Lionel's dreams never came to pass, he passed away suddenly a couple of Chirstmases ago, but I still remember that visit. Tonight, I was having dinner with mom and dad and found this bottle to Rancourt's 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon in my cellar; I brought it along to bring back the memories of that interesting evening, my mother still says "poor Mr. Rancourt" whenever she passes the winery or sees a bottle of his wine. We opened it to try. Yet again I must say alas when it come to Mr. Rancourt: the nose was pruney with celery and other veggie notes , and when given a little air the woodiness shone through. On the palate there was much of the same with woody and vegetal notes. Gone was the fruit. When decanted all that was left was wood: cedar planks and sawdust. This wine had crested the hill and was in its steady decline, but something tells me it happened within the last year, so this one is just barely trash, but trash none the less. Lost & Found Rating: Trash
we made the right hand turn and then another to pull down the driveway, all the time wondering if the winery was still open. The door was locked and the sign on the door said they closed at 5. I was getting back into the car when I heard a voice, "wait ... I'm coming." I turned to see a little limping man hobbling down the stairs of a house across the drive. "You came all this way to see my winery," he said as he got closer, "the least I can do is give you a taste of what you came for." And with that we shook hands and he opened the winery door. That evening Lionel took me on a tour of his winery and of his wines - told me of his great plans for the future and his passion for the wine industry. Alas, many of Lionel's dreams never came to pass, he passed away suddenly a couple of Chirstmases ago, but I still remember that visit. Tonight, I was having dinner with mom and dad and found this bottle to Rancourt's 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon in my cellar; I brought it along to bring back the memories of that interesting evening, my mother still says "poor Mr. Rancourt" whenever she passes the winery or sees a bottle of his wine. We opened it to try. Yet again I must say alas when it come to Mr. Rancourt: the nose was pruney with celery and other veggie notes , and when given a little air the woodiness shone through. On the palate there was much of the same with woody and vegetal notes. Gone was the fruit. When decanted all that was left was wood: cedar planks and sawdust. This wine had crested the hill and was in its steady decline, but something tells me it happened within the last year, so this one is just barely trash, but trash none the less. Lost & Found Rating: Trash
