Cave Spring Cellars 2005 La Penna

Found June 2013

It's not that I have never tried this wine before, but this is a wine that upon released was so big it was hard to gauge where it was going to be.  This was one of the first Amarone-style wines that was made in Ontario and it only figures that long-time Cave Spring winemaker Angelo Pavan would give it ago.  Now, with some years under the cork I decided it was time to give this wine another go ... and it was delicious.  A nose of cherry, chocolate and sweet vanilla lured you in for a taste and what a taste it was.  Nice cherry and spice with cocoa and vanilla all lending a part to the long finish.  As it sat in the glass a spiced cocoa sensation took over the finish and the mid-palate had lots of big lush fruit like cherry and blackberry.  This wine felt and tasted fresh in the mouth, was lively and it also had a decent amount of acidity to keep it from being cloying or thick.  With 14% alcohol it was a heavy-weight without the heavy-weight feel.  I do believe this wine still have another 5-7 years with ease.  Lost & Found Rating:  Treasure

Found Original Review

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Cave Spring 1997 CSV Estate Bottled Chardonnay

Found June 2011

It's not often that you get a chance to talk with the winery owner a few days after trying a bottle of his wine, but that is just what happened here:  I tried this bottle on a Sunday and (by happenstance) was speaking with Tom Pennachetti about it the following Friday.  My findings on this wine were very poor, but there were a lot of unknown factors to me before I acquired this bottle.  It was given to me by a friend who `found` it their basement.  The friend in question did not have proper storage for the bottle and has moved a number of times in the interim.  Needless to say the bottle was questionable at best.  I opened this bottle up with a number of wine-loving friends and they were excited to sip on a bottle of 13 year old Ontario Chardonnay.  The cork was crumbly and ended up falling into the bottle, after filtering enough of it out to get a proper sample we found the smells and flavours to be off-putting, tertiary in nature with little sign of fruit; there was some butterscotch and vanilla notes but it all got lost in the heavy oxidative and maderized flavours of the wine.  When I told this to Tom he said he had tried a bottle not too long ago and his experience had been much better, but then again (he pointed out) his bottle had been kept under pristine cellaring conditions. A bottle this old will show signs of its adventure to your glass, and this one`s adventure was dodgy at best.  Lost & Found Rating:  Trash (though possibly not the wines fault)

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Cave Spring Cellars 2004 Estate Bottled Riesling

Found January 2011

It was a great New Year's weekend for wine.  First I tasted a 1997 Trius Red on New Year's Eve; then on New Year's Day I found myself face-to-face with a bottle of Cave Spring 2004 Estate Bottled Riesling.  Since the calendar had switched over we could "technically" call it a bottle of 7 year old wine.  The nose was petrol, green apple and peach pit with a touch of mineral stoniness.  On the palate mineral and limeade went hand-in-hand with some nice biting acidity on the finish and over ripe green apple notes. The acidity softened the longer it remained open and in the glass - good thing it was not in the glass too long.  Lost & Found Rating:  Treasure

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Cave Spring Cellars 2005 Dry Riesling

 

Found October 2010

This wine has turned simple over the past 5 years, but simple in a good way.  The nose shows a heavy dose of petrol with a backing of lime rind ... while the palate is far more inviting.  The petrol has lessened from what the nose intoned it had the potential to be; there's still that lime edge, but with a pleasing lingering finish.  2005 wasn't the best vintage for Riesling (the heat was not the kind of weather Riesling likes) - but this wine was made by one of Ontario's masters of the variety and it shows.  nOt sure how much longer this will hold and be pleasant, so if you have some, drink up soon.  Lost & Found Rating: Treasure

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Cave Spring Cellars 2002 Pinot Noir Estate Bottled

Found January 2010

This one goes out to all you good little boys and girls who have been cellaring your 2002 Ontario wines: Kids, it might be time to start looking at these wines and in fact, breaking into them; not that they are over the hill, far from it, but some are starting to drink very, very well, let's take for example this this 2002 Pinot Noir from Cave Spring. Starting from the nose this wine had everything your looking for in aged Pinot, smells of sour cherry, dried cranberry with a slightly smoky nuance. On the palate those cherries turned black with a delightfully delicious smoothness and a touch of tannins - this was a real pleasure to drink, I'm not stretching it at all when I say, "what a beauty", especially when given a little air through decanting. I recently reviewed the 2007 version of this wine, and if it ages as nicely (and I suspect it will), I suggest making a multiple purchase of the '07, the '02 is long gone (unless you have some in the cellar). Lost & Found Rating: Treasure +

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Cave Spring Cellars 1999 Indian Summer Riesling

Found August 2009

This bottle was given to Erica and I the night after our engagement, I think we were suppose to drink it with those that had come to celebrate this momentous occasion with us, but after 3 or four bottles (potentially more, I think I lost count here), food and much merriment the bottle was never opened, so we saved it for a rainy day, so to speak. Turns out on the day we drank it was a rainy day – and exactly three months to the day after our engagement. Tonight I was meeting members of her extended family (Uncle John and Aunt Diane) for dinner. This was the wine we served for dessert with a plum cake, turns out this was a highlight of the meal – except for my pulled pork, which was also a hit (and I can’t fail to mention Erica’s wonderful salads). The first thing everybody noticed was the golden colour of the wine, like apple juice-like but deeper. Those expecting fresh, fruity and lively would have been disappointed, though this wine still had quite a bit of spunk. The nose was rather simple with vanilla and cooked fruit notes, very similar to a compote of apples, pears and peaches. In the mouth is where you could really pick out the individual fruits like dried apple and pears; there were also notes of butterscotch-toffee and vanilla. The sweetness was still quite apparent, and it was balanced out by a nice seam of acidity. This wine has held up very well – not sure how much time it has left, or how much cooked/dried fruit you like in your wine but it is drinking very nicely now. Lost + Found Rating: Treasure.

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