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March 19, 2013
Vineland Estates 2005 Elevation Cabernet-Merlot
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March 13, 2013
Hillebrand 2009 Trius Sauvignon Blanc
(Re-Tasted March 2013) ... I have to admit that I can't believe I still have bottles of Sauvignon Blanc in my wine cellar - truth be told the Hillebrand Trius 2009 are the only bottles of older Sauv Blanc I have, but I seem to have quite a few. I know that when it came out it quite possibly could have been one of the best Savvy B's to come out of Ontario - it had great flavour and the acidity was just a powerhouse. So it is no surprise I bought a bunch to serve, but it does come as a surprise that I have some left. So the other day I was teaching a class on Sauvignon Blanc and thought it an opportunity to educate on the ageability (or lack thereof) of the grape ... the common held view is the Sauvignon Blanc does not age and should be drunk young and fresh - those were my thoughts too. Four years from vintage date and 3 years from release is not the time most people think about opening a bottle of Savvy B ... but in this case I was pleasantly surprised. The nose has changed from fresh and lively to more complex notes of grapefruit zest and pith, peach pit with hints of grassy, a touch of beeswax and some floral notes. The palate is still rather zippy still retaining that lively acidity while still adding in a light touch of peach, some lemon and grapefruit - but always sitting in the back is that zip and zing of acidity which has managed to keep the electricity in this wine. I am totally amazed by how well it has stood up, and also thrilled because, as I mentioned early on, I still have quite a few left. Congratulations to winemaker Darryl Brooker for this lovely last and (so far) lasting contribution to Ontario wines.
February 26, 2013
Cave Spring 2006 Riesling “Dolomite”
(Re-Tasted February 2013) ... It's almost as if I had planned to re-taste this wine every year and a half, but honestly it was a wine that I bought a lot of at the time of its release and just seem to gravitate towards (I guess every year and a half). 2006 was the first year of the Dolomite Riesling and it was the first time that a mention of the soil (not the vineyard) had appeared on a Cave Spring label. They attributed the mineral notes on the wine to the soils and the older vines that went into this wine. Since then they are growing in the same soils but using younger vines for the Dolomite wines ... so this was a real rarity. Dolomite was made to be a restaurant exclusive along with a drop-into-the-winery-only wine, meaning that the winery was the only place you could buy some to take home. Here we are some 7 years from vintage date and it is still showing some great aromas and flavours - this Riesling was built with longevity in mind and the milder 2006 vintage helped in that regard too. I noticed in a previous note I mentioned a hint of petrol, well this bottle showed none of that: nose of lime, wet stone and apricot, almost sweet in nature. The palate also hinted at sweetness: apple, lanolin, lime cordial and mineral all mingling on the tongue with some nice acid replay on the finish. There is an element of a sweet beginning but the wine actually seems to turn it around mid-palate to end dry - like licking a smooth wet rock that was rubbed with lime juice and pith. This is still a wonderfully delicious, easy to drink wine and as it ages it seems to be developing some interesting characteristics while keeping most of it originals intact. See you all again in a year in a half when we'll look in on this one again.
February 25, 2013
Chateau des Charmes 2004 Paul Bosc Chardonnay
(Re-Tasted February 2013) ... We were over at a friend's house for dinner the night I opened this bottle - our friend's a big Chardonnay fan and I thought it would be interesting to open this, my last bottle of 2004 Chardonnay (from any winery). It's a bottle of the Paul Bosc Vineyard Chardonnay - for those who don't know this is the vineyard directly across the road from the winery itself. Looking at this wine bottle is like staring at the past, especially if you've bought any bottles from the Chateau in the last little while - the label is completely different ... those of you who have never seen the Chateau's old label will be amazed at it's simplicity and basic design. But don't let the outside fool you, what's in this bottle is far from basic and simple. Now, because I was away from home I could not put the wine into a proper glass (my glass-snob comes out again) so I had to try this wine is a few glasses so as to get the nose and taste properly. The good news is the wine tasted wonderful in whatever I put it in - and it seemed to disappear quickly in everyone's glass. The nose was very shy at first but did give notes of buttered toffee and baked apple ... on the palate it showed more complexity: butter, caramel, peach cobbler, cinnamon, spice all with a creamy texture until some acidity popped in right at the finish-line to keep it from being too blowsy in the mouth. The oak also proved to be spot on as it carried the wine without being over-bearing. A nice job with this Chardonnay ... I liked it back in 2008 and I'm liking it now, though I'm not sure how much longer I would have held it given the opportunity, nine years seems to be a good time. If you've got some in your cellar might I suggest inviting some Chardonnay loving friends and popping the cork ... you will not be disappointed.
February 20, 2013
Coyote's Run 2008 Black Paw Chardonnay
(Re-Tasted February 2013) ... I have had more Chardonnay (willingly) in the last few days than I had in all of 2012 … if I am looking to blame someone for this transgression of my ABC philosophy I would probably start with Howard Soon and Sandhill winery out in British Columbia. But since I don’t live out west it gets hard for me to go knocking on their door and demand I get my hate-on for Chardonnay back, so I must look for something a little closer to home … Which is why I would then have to lay blame firmly at the feet of Coyote’s Run and winemaker Dave Sheppard. The other day the wife and I consumed two bottles of Chardonnay, one from the aforementioned Sandhill and the other from the Coyote… both were excellent, both from 2010 and both were so different - BC had a very cool vintage while the one in Ontario was quite hot (a reversal of fortune so to speak). So it was time to look back a little further and see if an even older Coyote Chardonnay could shine, but this time from a cooler vintage … and it did. The nose on this wine was lemon, vanilla and, as it sat and warmed in the glass a little, butter-pecan. The palate showed itself right away with vanilla, butter and toffee; from that description one might consider that the wine would come off as sweet, but the wine itself was not overtly so, in fact it had a suppleness in the mouth with nice acidity and a buttered-almond finish. Fruit also lingered quietly in the background with slight citrus notes, not sour and puckering, more along the lines of soft and subtle.
February 19, 2013
13th Street 2006 Wismer Vineyard Syrah
(Re-Tasted February 2013) ... For a 6 year old Syrah from a fairly unimpressive
vintage here in Ontario the wine seems to have held up pretty well - if
you let it get out of its funk. The first smell might turn you off -
but bear with it for a minute or two and it will start to reveal itself:
smoky, leathery, licorice, cigar box, sour cherry and raw bacon all
made an appearance during my hour and a half long tasting of this wine.
The palate also needed a little time to come around and when it did it
also rewarded patience: smoky, meaty, anise seed, freeze-dried raspberry
and white pepper ... currently there's a smoothness with the right
amount of acidity. Not sure how long this bottle will last, I would not
give it anymore than two years if you have a bottle or two in your
cellar, as it is already cresting the hill of age; but for the time
being, given it's age and the vintage this find truly is a treasure.
February 13, 2013
Thirteenth Street Winery 2002 G. H. Funk Vineyard Cabernet-Merlot
(Re-Tasted February 2013) ... Now here's something that rarely happens, I'm doing a Taste it Again review of a wine that originally appeared in the Lost and Found - usually if I have a few bottles of something I have reviewed it before on the main site (ontariowinereview) - but for some odd reason this wine never made it there and first appeared 6 years after vintage date in another forum. Almost 5 years to the date (I'm shy by 6 days) I decided to open this wine one last time (it is after-all my last bottle) and see how this wine is doing. For you fans of 13th Street wine you will be pleasantly surprised, because it is awesome. The nose hints at dark berries with a touch of cedar along with some anise seed, cinnamon and currants. The palate is robust with tannins, but they don't over-power, the cedar is present so is black currant and an interesting finish reminiscent of black ball candy or Black Bart chewing gum (you know, licorice, but with something more interesting behind it) ... there are some great secondary and tertiary flavours coming through. You'll also find some fine sediment coating the glass. I would recommend a drink now approach to this wine cause after a decade I can't see this one getting much better than it is right now. And it is very good.
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