January 18, 2011

Inniskillin 2004 Klose Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Found January 2011

I will be nothing if I am not totally honest with you here ... this is a wine I was completely scared of.  First, it was from the so-so 2004 vintage, a vintage not known for its great wines (negative), though the wine is produced by one of the older wineries in the Niagara region (positive).  The wine was delicious when I bought it a few years back (positive), but now, six years on (negative?), did I make a mistake to lie this one down?  I really didn't want to find out, so I let the bottle languish about in the box I was suppose to open and taste.  There were twelve bottles in the box and this was the last one to come out ... here goes nothing.  This was part of the single vineyard series, the wine was sourced from the Klose Vineyard, a 15 acre vineyard located on the Niagara Parkway and named for its owner Gerald Klose.  It seems that Mr. Klose knows how to grow Cab in a difficult vintage, because my worries about this wine turned out to be unfounded, in fact I was completely taken aback at how good this wine turned out to be.  The nose is blackberry and cassis with some herbal-mint notes as the wine started to open up.  The taste was just as impressive, sour raspberry and sour cherry take the lead, then turn it over to sweet cranberry, all balanced by some nice acidity and leading to a long spiced-raspberry finish.  With each sip the palate continued to shine and proved to be truly delicious ... I do believe this wine is peaking right now and not sure how long it has left, if you have a bottle or two in your cellar it might behoove you pull it out and drink it - you won't be disappointed.  Lost & Found Rating:  Treasure


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