Fielding Estate 2006 Chardonnay Musque

Found February 2014

thanks to K. Selezen for taking the pic

I put little to no faith in un-oaked wines being age-able (except Riesling) - and I've done plenty of tests to come to that conclusion (knowingly and unknowingly).  This year alone I've opened a 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, a 2008 Un-oaked Chardonnay and a 2007 Gamay each with no oak and each had its problems.  So when I found a bottle of Fielding 2006 Chardonnay Musque in a box of "to hold" wines in my cellar I had to question myself: "What was I thinking?"  Now Chardonnay Musque is traditionally an un-oaked, flowery, fruity version of Chardonnay made from a clone of the Chardonnay grape that has musky aromas to it - which is where the "musque" name comes from.  I popped the cork, poured the wine into a glass, and took a deep sniff, totally prepared to be disappointed and walk away ... but wait, it's non-offensive:  honey, melon and floral aromas greet the nose ... it's actually downright pleasant and most importantly it continues to be thus over the next hour.  Surely the palate is where this wine will fall apart (I think to myself) - but no: tropically tinged fruit, mainly pineapple, greet the buds, followed by over-ripe peach backed by wildflower honey aspects ... sweet fruit with an interesting medium length finish that keeps you coming back for more.  Surprisingly drinkable and pleasantly so, if you have some in your cellar I suspect now is the time to drink up and truly enjoy this find.  [I also served this during one of my wine classes and of the 7 wines poured this received top marks and raves from everyone].   Lost & Found Rating:  Treasure

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Fielding 2005 Reserve Riesling

Click here to read the original review from August 2007

(Re-Tasted December 2012) ... August 2007 doesn't seem that far away to me, not sure why, but in truth it was over 5 years ago that I tried this wine, loved it then - was pleasantly surprised by it now.  Most of the 2005 Rieslings I have tried years later have been loaded with petrol - as if I were drinking them right next to the autobahn - this was and is because 2005 was a hot year and the Riesling grape does not like weather like that.  So when I opened this bottle I was expecting lots of gas ... and the truth of the matter is that it did have plenty of petrol notes, but they were just that, notes, hints if you will, it is what carried the nose but the palate was much different.  Palate was lightly petrol-ed with a whack of green apple on the mid-palate.  There was also a lovely hint of sweetness on the lingering finish and the more you tasted the wine it seemed that delicious apple and pear puree emerge from the light smear of petrol that coated everything.  The petrol note did continue on the nose but it diminished with some time while the palate seemed to get sweeter with delicious apple dominating more than any other flavour.  Very impressive and very delicious.  Not sure I would hold this much longer but it might have a few more years left in it.

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Fielding 2006 Sparkling Riesling - Charmat Method

Click here to read the original review from July 2007 and the re-taste from May 2011

(Re-Tasted September 2012) ... It was still the week of my anniversary - so far we have have two other bubblies this week to celebrate:  an Oyster Bay Rose and a Chateau des Charmes 2008 Rose (see a pattern) ... one last one before we lock up the sparkling wine cabinet (till next week).  I'm not going to tell you this was the best bubbly of the week (that goes to the Charmes wine), but I will tell you it was the most interesting and the oldest.  This 6-year old bubbly sure was the surprise of the week, as it had so much more complexity than I remember.  The nose had beeswax, lemon rind and a hint of petrol - the palate was baked apple, bosc pear, with apricot and a lingering finish of wild-flower honey ... the bubbles were good some 4 hours later as we poured the last drops of the bottle as a night cap.  Good job Fielding, for a charmat method sparkler this one stood up for longer than I would have expected.  For those with a bottle in the cellar, don't be afraid to pop the cork on a bottle , I think it is drinking better today than it ever has.

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Fielding Estate Winery 2006 Sparkling Riesling

Click here to read the original review from July 3, 2007 Weekly Wine Note

(Re-Tasted May 2011) ... Another Friday night and another bottle of bubbly opened ... tonight we were celebrating being young and alive, or was it the coming of spring weather on the weekend, or maybe because it was a quiet night at home ... really do I need a right proper reason to open bubbles?  I chose this inaugural Fielding bubbly for this non-occasion and wondered how a 5 year old sparkling Riesling would taste.  First I have to say the bubbles were quite persistent and long living for a wine that was made in the Charmat method (I expect shorter lived bubbles, you know, they die in the glass 20 minutes after the wine has been opened).  The nose was baked apple and pear, while the palate showed hints of petrol and lovely tangerine notes.  Not sure what I expected but what I got was more than I bargained for - I still have a bottle of this left, will be interesting to taste in another few years.

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Fielding Estate Winery 2006 Gewurztraminer

 

Click here to read the original review from October 2007

(Re-Tasted: January 2011) ... The first thing I noticed, when pouring this wine into my glass, was the golden colour of the wine - it sure did show its age in that respect.  But the rest of the wine showed little sign of age, the nose was full of peach and pear sweetness, maybe a touch of honeyed apricot also played with the olfactories.  On the palate there was a touch of pear, a hint of spice and good acidity that still left the tongue feeling a little prickly.  The finish was also quite exciting with a long lemon pith flavoured finish ... this wine has aged very nicely, but don't wait too long to drink your remaining bottles, I'd hate for you to lose those great smells and flavours to too much ageing.

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Fielding Estate Winery 2007 Cabernet Franc

 

Found November 2010

Five years on and this wine still has so much stuffing left in it, not surprising considering 2005 was a very good year here in Ontario.  The nose is spicy and peppery with dark fruit and cassis aromas.  Flavours are all over the map starting with biting tannins, pepper, blackberry, cassis and sharp acidity.  This wine has some great drinkability when enough air is put through it, plus it has an enjoyably long finish.  There's lots of life left in the bottle and it's worth keeping it in the cellar a few more years to let those tannins mellow and that fruit start to emerge more fully.  Time will tell if it balances out, but I have faith in this one.  Lost & Found Rating:  Treasure

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Fielding 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon

 

Click here to read the original review from May 2007 - OWR Newsletter #56

(Re-Tasted May 2010) ... Well, well, well ... tonight I hold in my hand a wine that my original review says hold for 2-3 years, at which point the wine should be hitting it's peak - I don't think I am far off here.  When first opened there was some pretty aggressive tannins on the back palate thru to the finish, but as I get deeper into this wine, and it has had a chance to air some, there is definitely a real change for the better happening.  The nose has some blackberry and licorice, while the palate is showing rich black fruit, vanilla and nice spice with a finish that has a good deal of tannins backing it up.  I want to say hold it for another 2 years and see what happens - I'm even going to put my money where my mouth is on this one, I see I have 2 bottles remaining, one is going down for an extended sleep of another 3 or so years ... I guess we'll see what happens when it wakes up; but right now I am enjoying this wine so I gotta go.  Cheers.

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Fielding Estate 2004 Cabernet Franc

Found February 2009

Hmm ... I think it's time to drink your 2004 wines, or at least look at them with a little more scrutiny. 2004 was not a great vintage here in Ontario, the wines were good but not great, and if you are holding onto anything maybe it's time you thought twice about what you have in your cellar. I have two bottles of this wine and tonight decided it was time to pull one off the rack and give it a go. The initial smell is vegetal (read subtle green pepper) and cedar (these follow thru on the taste) and they continue through for the next hour. Pleasantly, there is also a few other smells and flavours. Smell: you'll pick up a tiny bit of cherry, but it's of the sour variety. On the palate, cinnamon shows up briefly in the mouth; on the finish it's a mix of cranberry and sour cherry - and of course, wood. I'm happy to report that the wood is far from heavy handed, and currently it is something you can easily drink with little to no interference from big-wood tannins ... but drink now, this one doesn't have a lot of life left. Lost & Found: Tolerable

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Fielding 2005 Reserve Riesling

Click here to read the original review from April 2006 - OWR Newsletter #29

(Re-Tasted December 2008) ... Another ‘05 Riesling and another opportunity to prove my premature-petrol theory. Fielding’s Reserve Riesling did not disappoint in that regard, there was a big petrol smell to this wine, with very little sign of fruit, especially on the nose, though the petrol did also continue its dominance in the mouth as well. After about 20 minutes some fruit did emerge as an apple juice sweetness became apparent, then there was a bosc pear flavour on the tongue 10 minutes after that … all still soaked in gas. The finish proved exceedingly long with apricot and petrol residue kicking around for an extended stay. To my delight the acidity remained fairly intact and caused me to swallow many times before it cleared the palate. This wine has aged nicely so far, but once again those that do not like their Rieslings with either gas smells or flavours will find themselves disappointed.

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Fielding Estate 2004 Semi-Dry Riesling

Click here to read the original review from July 2005
also see OWR Newsletter #9

(Re-Tasted August 2008) ... This was the wine that put Fielding on the map as a must visit winery. In 2004 they came out of the gate with guns blazing, a real contender. Made by now twice replaced winemaker Andrezj Lipinski (currently with Organized Crime, Foreign Affairs, John Howard and possibly others). This wine showed flair and fun in the same bottle. I remember it sold out quickly, a month after I bought a few bottles I was looking for more, and it was gone. Good thing I lay this one down to see if it was just a flash in the pan wine or something of substance. Good news, this screw-capper was delicious 4 years later, with a great golden colour in the glass. The smell and taste was very Welch’s grape juice on the first few sniffs and sips and as it warmed it developed some complexity: a grassiness soon emerged, along with some very delicate notes of paraffin and crayon wax. But it’s in the mouth is where it really showed its mettle, with a crispness that defied its age and a granny smith tartness that still existed with just a tiny bit of sweetness on the finish. This wine really shows some pluck for such a young wineries first outing. This was the wine that signaled the arrival of a new winery in Niagara, one conscience of it’s quality to price ratio, and they have managed to maintain that reputation … original price of this wine, $12.95. (Also see Taste it Again from February 2008)

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Fielding Estate 2004 Semi-Dry Riesling

Click here to read the original review from July 2005

(Re-Tasted February 2008) … It’s hard to believe that this is from Fielding’s inaugural vintage and one of the first (of what has turned out to be many) Fielding wines I have fallen for. As Fielding embarks on a new winemaking chapter, with new winemaker Richie Roberts, it’s nice to look back to where they have been. Made by Andrzej Lipinski, now two winemakers removed from the project … we really see his ability to make solid whites – especially when given good grapes. The nose has developed into over-ripe peaches and rusty Delicious apples; there’s also a whisper of petrol (the sign of aged Riesling) in the background, along with a creamed honey note. Palate-wise there is still some great acidity powering this wine along; the fruit persists in the mouth with apples, pears and peaches soaked in a light cocktail sauce – the petrol is delicate and playful on the tongue … and the finish lingers like a houseguest at 1am – except this one is more than welcome to hang out. I just know we’ll come back to this one in a few years and still love it.

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