(Re-Tasted October 2009) ... If truth be told, it was probably Derek Saunders (owner of Calamus) who got me to think strongly about doing this blog. I had already been putting wines down for aging purposes before this wine found its way into an aging box (number 10 to be exact), but Derek said, "I want you to take this bottle and age it for a few years so we can get an idea of how it tastes." At the time he gave me this bottle Ontarians thought it tasted pretty good, not only did Derek sell out quickly of this $12 Riesling (a real bargain), but he also won an award for best Riesling at the Ontario Wine Awards for it. I had written on the bottle "Derek wants to know what I think of this wine after a stay in my cellar" - and I guess now I am about to tell him. The initial nose (upon opening) was heavy on gasoline; the taste was high octane with lemony-peachy notes with high acidity - but the sweet petrol was powerful and overtook much of the flavours. After about 20 minutes the wine calmed down a little, the petrol notes settled, though it was still there, and we were able to pick out big citrus tastes including grapefruit and lemon rind and an acidity that really rocked the tongue. It aged pretty well, though still suffers from "premature petrol" that most (if not all) 2005 Ontario Rieslings came to get.
October 19, 2009
October 11, 2009
Norman Hardie 2005 County Cabernet Franc
(Re-Tasted October 2009) ... Norm Hardie isn't known for making Cabernet Franc, his specialties are Pinot Noir and Chardonnay; he's also been known to make a pretty good Riesling and Pinot Gris, this would have been his first Cabernet Franc at his eponymous winery. 2005 was a pretty good year for Ontario reds, though it was a short crop year (meaning we had far less fruit then usual due to a worse than usual winter). This Franc is very Pinot like with a nose that's very raspberry and smoky with tobacco notes. The palate also screams Pinot Noir, so much so that I re-checked the label to make sure it really did say "CabernetFranc": light red fruit, cranberry, sour cherry and some tobacco with a tart acidic finish. There was also a fair bit of earthiness on both the nose and palate, which was another reason I had to re-look at the label. This tasted like a Franc made by a Pinot producer - or a Franc that was mislabelled; either way it was unrecognizeable as a Cabernet Franc, but it was far from a bad wine.
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