Huff Estates 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon / Cabernet Franc

Click here to read the original review from August 17, 2006 - OWR Newsletter #37

(Re-Tasted April 2009) ... On this Tuesday night I opened two bottles of Prince Edward County wine - this Huff Cab Sauv/Franc and a 2004 Grange blend. These were two different, yet difficult vintages for Ontario winemakers, and the grapes, and both these wines are from an up-and-coming wine region ... so how did the Huff wine fare:

This wine offered up more than the Grange wine and it was a year older - but, did what it offer up appeal? That is the big question. The nose was big on green pepper and quite stemmy (smelled like plant stem). The colour had definitely gone from red to brick and there was lots of wine diamonds on the cork and plenty of sediment in the bottle (and in my initial glass). So I decided to decant and wait.

The initial tasting, before decanting, was not as bad as maybe the nose would have indicated. The tannins had soften over the years, the taste was soft green pepper mixed with smoky-woody flavours - think green pepper cooked over an overly smoky wood fire. The decanting did its job, and an hour later the wood had soften to a palatable level, and there were even hints of fruit, of summer's past mind you, but there was an indication of dried by-gone fruit. I thought this wine showed a lot of character - but the question still remains: do you like that kind of character?

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The Grange of Prince Edward County 2004 Cabernet-Merlot

Click here to read the original review from August 17, 2006 - OWR Newsletter #37

(Re-Tasted April 2009) ... On this Tuesday night I opened two bottles of Prince Edward County wine - this Grange Cabernet-Merlot and a 2003 Huff blend. These were two different, yet difficult vintages for Ontario winemakers, and the grapes, and both these wines are from an up-and-coming wine region ... so how did the Grange wine fare:

The nose from start to finish was a little funky. When I say start to finish I mean I like to give these old wines some time to breathe, get accustomed to being outside the bottle after all these years. But the nose never did come around to anything - no fruit, no wood, nothing.

The taste was something altogether different. It started off smooth and sweet, almost port-like, no tannins were present at all, for it's first hour is was a straight forward nondescript grapey wine; meaning it tasted like grapes or juice juice - then it slowly started to develop a burnt sugar and caramel note in the sweet finish. If I were a betting man I would have to say that in this tough vintage, where proper ripening was hard to get and the alcohol making sugars were not naturally present in the grapes, they must have chaptalized the wine (added sugar) to bring the alcohol up to a respectable level (13%). But now a few years down the road the added sugar is really coming through as the only characteristic of this wine. If you like boozy grape juice then this is your wine but as far as agein any further ... how old do you like your boozy grape juice?

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Rosehall Run 2004 St. Cindy Pinot Noir

Click here to read the original review from September 2006 - OWR Newsletter #39

(Re-Tasted April 2009) ... Before I start telling you about this wine let me say this: I really wish Dan Sullivan would ditch the plastic corks and put the real stuff (or even a screwcap) into his bottles. These plastic things are impossible to remove and yet through all the struggle they give such a piss poor seal. There I have said it and I am happy to get it off my chest ... Dan, you're making too good a wine to be messing with this plastic crap ... okay enough, on to the wine. Tonight I was of two minds, a Primitivo from Italy or a Pinot Noir from Dan Sullivan's Rosehall Run - the Pinot won out and I would have to say it was a pretty good choice. The nose was very muted, even hours after opening ... yes I nursed this one from 6:30 to about 9:30 in the hopes it would open up ... it never did. I got a touch of earthiness right from the beginning and strawberry emerged at the end (at about 9pm). - but nothing much else showed up to the nose party. The taste showed signs of cranberry and sour cherry but it too was a little on the muted side. The finish was the best part, it actually showed some character and flavour with black licorice, leather and sour cherry. They say that Pinot matures in waves ... I was certainly not at the crest of this wine, but I certainly wasn't at the bottom either - I think I caught this one on it's way up, or down.

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Vineland 2004 Semi-Dry Riesling

Click here to read the original review from July 2006

(Re-Tasted March 2009) ... Sometimes it's the coincidences of life that are the most interesting. One week ago today I opened a bottle of 2005 Dry Riesling from Vineland. Today I was at mom's house and she had just open (the previous night) a bottle of 2004 Semi-Dry Riesling and could not stop talking about how wonderful it was. With a recommendation like that I just had to give it a sip. Lo and behold mom was right. The nose was a mixture of peaches and apples with hints of lime - a fruit cocktail for the olfactory lobes ... there was a hint of petrol, but it was ever so slight that you had to be looking for it to find it. In the mouth the acidity was huge - at least a triple swallow before it completely cleared the palate. Crisp with peach, lime zest and an elongated finish ... lovely; I'm not going to say it, but it sure goes a long way to prove my premature petrol point.

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Vineland 2005 Dry Riesling

Click here to read the original review from July 2006 - OWR Newsletter #35

(Re-Tasted March 2009) ... Now this was a wonderful surprise. I have had a few people tell me to get off of my 2005 premature petrol kick, and that I have made my point. Well I am glad that some see it that way, but I am still going to try these bottles and see/taste what has happened.

I opened this one with the thought that it was going to do the exact same as all the rest: big gasoline nose and taste; but surprisingly it was still very fruity. Sure it had some of those petrol notes but it also had plenty of fruit. The nose was rusty apple, citrus, petrol and sweet tart (you know those sour candies we all loved as kids). The acidity on the tongue was biting, the citrus sour, lots of tart lemon with peel still attached - but there was also this lovely pineapple finish. This one certainly bucked the trend of most 2005 Rieslings I have tried.

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Hillebrand 2005 Trius Red

Click here to read the original review from July 2007 - OWR Newsletter #60

(Re-Tasted March 2009) ... While out on the wine trail during Cuvee Weekend 2009 I popped into Hillebrand where they were doing a Trius vertical tasting with the 05, 06 and 07 vintages. It's not really very fair to the 06, being the lighter of the vintages, sandwiched between the big years, I think a better comparison would've been to try the 2002 (another big year), but I digress. I know we're not that far along in the 05’s lifespan, but it's interesting to see how it's coming along. Really, what is there to say here, three years from vintage it shows no sign of age whatsoever, if anything it’s gotten better as it starts to come into its own. Blackberry, tobacco, smoke; still with great tannins and a taste of that parallels the nose. Through the mid-plate there's excellent dark fruit which carries through to the finish and leaves behind drying wood tannins. If you have any misgivings as to how long this wine will age, I think you best waylay those fears, this one is easily a 10 year wine, if not more … from today.

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Stoney Ridge 2005 Cabernet Franc Reserve Wismer Vineyard

Click here to read the original review from January 2008 - OWR Newsletter #74

(Re-Tasted March 2009) ...It hasn't been a long time since last I tried this wine, so I suspect the notes from January last year are going to be pretty much the same as the notes taken this year. This wine has such a smooth mouthfeel, and as air gets into it it seems to just glide down the throat - but I think I am getting ahead of myself here. First let's give it a sniff. There's black raspberry, ranberry and sour cherry with subtle nuances of sweet vanilla oak. In the mouth it is even better than the nose suggests, and juicier fruit. The taste is ripe cherries, raspberry, vanilla and silky tannins ... smooth and delicious - gulpable even - it was all I could do not to chug-a-lug this wine. And now, on-sale for a paltry $14.95 at the winery.

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