Calamus Estate 2007 Meritage

Click here to read the original review from June 2010

(Re-Tasted December 2013) ...  It's time for another Taste it Again wine and this time I've got a bottle of Calamus 2007 Meritage to put through the rigors of re-tasting.  6 years from Vintage date and long ago sold out, this wine was incredibly popular and one of the best wines made at this young winery up to that time.  I came across this wine resting in my sideboard as one I had set aside to drink soon and see how it was showing, I have another bottle lying down in the cellar for a few more years to see the ageablility of the 2007 vintage.  So this is a wine we will revisit in years to come.  It's important to note this wine is sealed with a screwcap, does that play a part in what is to come?  We'll see.  The wine seemed to 'open' in a variety stages:  at first the nose was black licorice and cocoa with some earthy, black raspberry, mocha and black cherry - very appealing and enticing, definitely a good sign, now if only the flavours will be that complex.  The palate started out with coffee, cocoa, and hints of smoke ... but as the nose continued with those great aromas the palate seemed to grow thinner.  Sure there's a smooth spicy note to the finish but the middle seems kinda hollow, it's a donut of a wine at this point: nice beginning pleasant finish but nothing in the middle to hold it up.  After an hour the wine lost it's earthiness but still remains a little hollow down the middle and a woodiness is starting to come through.  Half-an-hour after that things are finally coming into balance, that wood finish is still dominating but the front palate says mocha and cassis ... As I mentioned, I still have another bottle and it should be interesting to open this wine up again in a few years.  At the moment you need to decant or give it time in glass.

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Henry of Pelham 2007 Reserve Cabernet/Merlot

Click here to read the original review from June 2011

(Re-Tasted November 2013) ... Please excuse me if I get a little more effusive than usual about a Taste it Again wine but I'm telling you this might be one of the best taste it again wines I have re-tasted in quite some time ... granted it is only (according to the review) 2 years from tasting date - but something tells me I have tasted this earlier than that and the dating of the original tasting might be a little off.  But let's go through this wine bit by bit so that you know why it is so awesome.  The nose screams of dark fruit: blackberry, black cherry and plum along with cinnamon and clove.  Palate still has wonderful tannin structure and comes off as really sexy in the mouth with a smoky quality, hints of cocoa, great spice balanced with vanilla, blackberry and cassis - there's also some lovely mocha-spice on the finish. If you have some of this wine in your cellar it is drinking beautifully right now, if you don't have any, find someone who does, this is a really beauty that seems to just keep on getting better and I don't think it has reached its plateau quite yet; it still has a few years but I'm telling you now is as good a time as any.

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Lailey 2007 Niagara Peninsula Riesling

Click here to read the original review from June 2008

(Re-Tasted August 2013) ... The '07 Niagara River was surprisingly vibrant and gave me hope for this bottle - but the Niagara Peninsula left me a little cold, and I'm not just talking about the temperature of the wine.  There were hints of lime throughout, and they kept reappearing on the nose, palate and finish - but the acidity was lackluster and because due to that fact, diminished the complete experience of the wine.  There were hints of lemon zest and Vaseline on the nose; in the mouth the best part was the sweet mid-palate that turned into a lime cordial-like finish; but alas there really was no acidity to speak of to prop the whole thing up - thus the wine eventually tasted flat and sweet by the middle of the first glass.  But it was much better than the next wine we opened ... comparatively this one was a treat (I guess it really is all about perspective).

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Tawse 2007 Sketches of Niagara Riesling

Click here to read the original review from August 2008

(Re-Tasted August 2013) ... There is a review in here somewhere, just bear with me ... It's been a long couple of days, my wife (a nurse) had some new software installed at her work place and they are going thru the growing pains of learning it correctly (this is not an easy process it seems, she has been on the phone more in the last two days then she has in the three years we've been married).  Anyway the call came to me downstairs at about 5:00pm - "I need a drink" ... she wanted something fruity, so I was about to pull out a Riesling (her favourite) when she said, "I need something stronger - can you make something with Vodka".  So that I didn't get yelled at (like the people on the other end of the phone) I dutifully went off and created something using frozen berries, coconut water and, yes, Vodka.  I then quietly opened this bottle of Sketches for myself.  Hints of petrol greeted the nose, but nothing that was overpowering, they were subtle and mixed with lemon peel.  The palate was also filled with lemony goodness along with sweet peach and some lemon drop candy on the finish - I found the wine to be incredibly quaffable and smooth.  The acidity seemed to be lacking, but it was still a highly drinkable wine.  If you have any in your cellar this is a perfect time to drink it.

As for my wife, she finished off her drink in record time and heard my glass hit the counter while I was making dinner - she immediately wanted to know what I was drinking ... when I told her Riesling she wanted a glass of that too.  This software is tougher than I thought ... but my wife is tougher still, she will overcome ... and if not then we have enough booze to numb the pain.  More Riesling, STAT.

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Back to Back Vintages of Trius Dry Riesling: 2006 & 2007

Click here to read the original review of the 2006 Dry Riesling from June 2008

Click here to read the Lost & Found review of the 2007 Dry Riesling from July 2012

(Re-Tasted July 2013) ... People are going to start to believe I have stock in Hillebrand with the amount of wines I have reviewed lately in this column ... but as it turns our it is just their turn to get picked on as their wines have come up in the run.  I noticed that one of the wines had an original review published at the time of its release, the other has a note some 5 years later in the Lost and Found column, both are linked above.  Let's start with the 2007 wine, which is the one that failed to garner an original review and  languished until I tried it last year around this time. Turns out that last year it was merely tolerable, a year later it is almost undrinkable (unless you have nothing else about the house and are dying for a drink).  The 2007 is fat, flat and uninspiring ... the nose is much better than the palate as it delivers grapefruit, lemon and lanolin notes; also noted was that the citrus fruit is zest based and not fresh.  The acidity on the palate is practically non-existent and the wine comes off as thick and sweet but with a bitter and unpleasant finish.  In 2012 I said "the wine gained more of an apple juice character", now I would say it's apple juice that has gone sour.  The 2006 is a completely different story, one year older this wine still comes off as fresh and lively:  pear, peach and apple rule the nose, with pear being the most prominent ... the palate retains a healthy dose of acidity and it appears on the tip of the tongue as well as lingers on the finish.  Mid-palate comes off a tad sweet with all that great white fruit character, but the finish forgoes any notion of sweetness for a mix of green apple and peach with hints of limeade ... okay so maybe sweet and mouth pucker fight it out, but very pleasantly ... the big winner here is the 2006 ... by a landslide.

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Three Vintages of Hillebrand Trius Red: 2005, 2007, & 2010

Trius 2005 Trius Red - Click here to read the original review from June 2007

Trius 2007 Trius Red - Click here to read the original review from June 2009

Trius 2010 Trius Red - Click here to read the original review from March 2012

(Re-Tasted June 2013) ... What was suppose to be a weekend of Riesling turned into the weekend of interesting reds, starting with this flight of three Hillebrand wines from their flagship Trius line.  My brother invited us for a BBQ on Saturday night and because him and my sister-in-law aren't huge white wine fans I switched my wine-drinking tact for the weekend to be all red.  I thought it quite apropos to bring these bottles to my brother's as he was the first person to buy me a bottle of Trius wine, a 2001 Red, so I knew it was a name he recognized and would be interested in trying.  Finally, I picked these three vintages for a really simple reason:  they represent the last three great red vintages in Ontario.

The 2005 version of this wine is obviously the oldest, but it still had some interesting characteristics that made it very drinkable, and still able to age another few years.  The nose was vanilla-cinnamon dominated with dried black cherry being the fruit most noticeable.  The palate showed an element of wood, mainly cedar, with vanilla and spice/dried cassis and blackberry ... but as it sat in the glass the dried fruit became fuller in the mouth and started to give the wine some nice complexity and not just dried-fruit rubbed wood (which is where it started).  Within about three-quarters-of-an-hour the wine was overtaken by licorice and dried fruit, with the cedar, vanilla and cinnamon notes all taking a backseat.  By the end of an hour-and-a-half the wine had turned into a mocha-coffee treat.  An interesting roller coaster of a taste experience, and the one I elected to take the furthest (meaning I was the one to finish this bottle).

All corks in excellent condition

The 2007 wine seemed to be the smoothest and most accessible of the three wines.  The nose was red fruit dominated, with cherry and raspberry leading the charge; they were followed up by some licorice notes that hid in the background.  Palate was almost juicy with the merest hint of tannins on the back palate, some might call them silky, but at times it was as if they weren't even there.  Strawberry came through on the mid-palate along with raspberry, anise and a nice touch of cinnamon.  As the wine opened in the glass more aromas and flavours emerged like vanilla, clove and nutmeg, but always with those red fruit taking center stage.  This is the one wine that is drinking beautifully right now, and there is nothing harsh to get in its way.  This was the wine my sister-in-law enjoyed the most.

Moving on to the 2010, this wine is still a relative baby, still holding onto some of that baby fat in the form of spice and fruit heft.  The nose is blackberry, cassis, strawberry, cinnamon and spice ... the palate shows some cedar notes along with cinnamon and spice.  There's plenty of dark fruit with hints of red starting to emerge, it also has quite the long finish that proves to be on the spicy/peppery side.  My brother likes his wines a little bigger, brasher and bolder and so this is the one he latched onto.

Three different wines from hot vintages that show different degrees of complexity, but in the end all were good, every bottle was finished and everyone had a favourite; and surprisingly it wasn't all the same bottle.

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Vineland Estates 2007 Riesling - Semi-Dry

Click here to read the original review from June 2008

(Re-Tasted June 2013) ... Another 2007 Riesling that proves that something was learned from the 2005 vintage when it comes to maintaining acidity and flavour in Riesling in a hot vintage - instead of having them develop pre-mature petrol in their second year.  This Vineland is a delicious wine that is full of apple and lemon notes with hints of mineral through the middle; in fact it's the balance of the sweetness and acidity that makes this such a delicious and well balanced Riesling, especially at 6 years of age - thought I picked up a hint of petrol but it was fleeting.  This wine has held up better than expected.  Drink now or try holding it for a few more years to see if indeed winemaker Brian Schmidt is getting a handle on hot vintage Riesling ... after sipping on this one I would say he most definitively is.

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Lailey 2007 Riesling - Niagara River

Click here to read the original review from June 2008

(Re-Tasted June 2013) ... I'm not sure about your thoughts on the issue, but I for one am leery about warm climate Riesling; so when the hot temps roll into Ontario for extended periods of time over the course of the summer I'm thrilled for the reds but wonder how it will affect the aromatic whites ... and no grape gets more affected that Riesling.  Hot vintage Rieslings are great first out of the gate ... but then in year two they start to develop a huge amount of petrol - almost to the point of being overwhelming.  That was the case with a 2005 Lailey Riesling I had retried in 2009 and plenty of other '05 offerings ... so I have to admit that I was expecting the same thing here.  It seems that somewhere in the interim there was some learning done and this 2007 (another hot Ontario vintage) did not come off as poorly as that 2005.  The nose still retained peach and mineral notes with just the merest hint of petrol, nothing that over-powered the aromas, it lingered lightly in the background.  The palate didn't show much in the way of gas, instead it rose to the table with wet stone and peach pit along with acidity that was still holding on, not a lot mind you, but enough to keep some semblance of balance in the wine ... the thing that really came through was that stoniness.  The 2007 Riesling is holding up surprisingly well, especially when compared, at the same age, to the 2005 version ... not sure how much longer I would keep this wine but it makes for a nice summer sipper this summer for sure.

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Featherstone 2007 Gewurztraminer

Click here to read the original review from June 2008

(Re-Tasted June 2013) ... The other day I opened one of my "wine for aging" boxes and discovered a plethora of white wine within: 6 Rieslings to be exact.  Over the course of the weekend I sip and sampled my way through three of them with a mixed bag of results - from decent to delicious.  Amongst all those Rieslings was a bottle of 2007 Gewurztraminer from Featherstone, which seemed to almost reach out and call my name.  Hot vintage Riesling (like 2007) are one thing (namely they develop pre-mature petrol notes), but hot vintage Gewurzt is quite another, and so is aged Gewurzt.  So a day after the Riesling Experience (report coming soon) I opened this bottle of 6 year old Gewurztraminer to find out how it has aged... and I'm happy to say, very well.  The Gewurztraminer showed well on every level: the nose had floral, apricot, lychee and white pepper all playing with your olfactories ... but what the nose gave the palate intensified.  A rich, viscous mouthfeel, the wine seeming to stick to your cheek.  A lovely spicyiness that came through from the very first sip; rich and flavourful with plenty of intensity and a linger of white pepper and apricot on the finish.  Not sure what I'll eat with this but I'm just happy to be drinking it on its own.

As it turned out I had bacon and cheddar cheese burger patties (minus the bun) and it held up rather nicely to the smokiness of the both the bacon and the barbequed burger ... who knew?!?

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Calamus Estate 2007 Riesling

Click here to read the original review from June 2008

(Re-Tasted June 2013) ... Suddenly the day became all about Riesling.  We started with a bottle of Rockway 2006 Riesling and it just ballooned from there.  Next thing you knew we had opened 4 different Rieslings (3 from Ontario, 2 older vintages and one 2012).  This Calamus Riesling came at the beginning of the Riesling-glut.  It's from the 2007 vintage, a hot vintage here in Ontario, and one where I find Rieslings did not fair very well over the long haul.  Surprisingly, this aged one was not as bad as others I have tried from that vintage.  The nose started out with lanolin and beeswax notes, and those continued through the entire tasting, there were also some subtle petrol notes ... then came some fruit in the form of Fuji apple, lemonade and lime zest.  The palate dropped the lanolin for extra beeswax while adding apple skin, peach pit and pear puree mid-palate.  The acidity was fairly decent for both its age and vintage leading to a long finish of key lime ... this wine has held up pretty decently all considering, though if I were you, I don't think I'd hold it much longer if you're still holding any at all.

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Chateau des Charmes 2007 Gamay Noir ‘Droit’

Click here to read the original review from June 2008

(Re-Tasted May 2013) ... With the release of the 2010 version of the Gamay Noir Droit coming out (my review will appear in the next couple of weeks at ontariowinereview.com) I thought it would be interesting to check out an older version, like the last time a hot vintage version of this wine came out.  Back in June 2008 I proclaimed the 2007 Droit a "kick ass wine" ... today it's more of an interesting discovery.  I chilled the bottle in the fridge for about 45 minutes, because Gamay deserve one.  It had plenty of anise and smoky character with dried cherry and strawberry character.  As the wine warmed the dried became drier, darker and drier to be exact, with a kind of delicious port-like quality to it.  Is it as 'kick ass' as it was in 2008?  Nope.  But it's still a delicious and fun wine to drink ... if you're like me and picked up a few bottles back when it was released, and still have some in the cellar, it's time to drink up ... before that fruit gets too dried out.

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Maleta 2007 VIEW Chardonnay

Click here to read the original review from June 2011

(Re-Tasted May 2013) ... It's a lovely spring Saturday and a Chardonnay-loving friend is coming over for dinner - now we started with a half glass of Rose (Chateau des Charmes 2012) and moved quickly on to the main white (this Maleta Chardonnay).  Now granted, my first review is just shy of 2 years ago, and it was released less than 3 years ago, but this was a hot vintage Chardonnay - so it's interesting to see its quick evolution.  Truth is it is drinking perfectly now, as long as you like bigger flavours in your Chardonnay:  anise and butter do appear along with some rather pleasing toffee notes.  Those looking for fruit will find it in the form of baked peach and apple crumble along with its accompanying spiced nuances and characteristics.  For a 6 year old hot vintage Chardonnay this is rather tasty - but as our Chardonnay lover pointed out, "I wouldn't hold this much longer"; I happen to agree, so I'm glad to report that was my last bottle, and we drank it just in time.

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Thirty Bench 2007 Red

Click here to read the original review from June 2009

(Re-Tasted March 2013) ... Last night I went back to a 2005 vintage wine and was very impressed, tonight I step up two years to another great Ontario vintage, 2007, to re-taste a wine from 30 Bench.  This mainly Cabernets blend (Franc and Sauvignon make up a whopping 95%) has no intention, and shows no sign, of letting go of its dark fruit aromas and flavours any time soon.  From from first sniff to last sip it still has lots of it.  The nose is black raspberry, blackberry and spiced cherry, while the palate shows off a little more complexity: blueberry, blackberry and spice are the mainstays, followed up by hints of oak, anise and white pepper, there also seems to be a slight mocha note that appears on the finish.  But there is always that dark fruit just waiting in the wings to push all the others aside and assert its dominance.  This wine is still very, very good.

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Peller Estates 2007 Private Reserve Cabernet Franc

Click here to read the original review from April 2010

(Re-Tasted September 2012) ... About two and a half years ago is when I put the first review of this wine up (and gave it a 5-star rating), and in truth I was not suppose to have a bottle for another 2 years because I have that much faith in it ... but tonight I suddenly wanted to see how it was doing - and that is my prerogative, as it is my wine cellar.  I am happy to report this wine is doing just fine, thank you very much.  The nose is loaded with raspberry, blackberry with a pleasant smokiness - the palate still has those firm tannins along with black currant fruit dominating, then come those smoky notes from the barrel and some tobacco leaf (a usual tell-tale sign of Cabernet Franc).  If you have some in your cellar don't worry you've got lots of time.

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Huff Estates 2007 South Bay Chardonnay

Click here to read the original review from January 12, 2010 Weekly Wine Note

(Re-Tasted June 2012) ... I think the original review this is linked up to (the audio portion anyway) has been lost in the ether of the internet; but the score, 4 stars (out of 5) has not; and on this Saturday afternoon with plenty of friends in attendance I thought it might be time to re-try this bottle.  Now granted I'm not far from the original review (two and a half years), but this really shows it has what it takes to stand the test of time.  The nose is pungently vanilla with loads of butter and some lovely baked apricot, while the palate is nicely spiced, especially on the finish with pretty baked apple notes - complete with cinnamon ... and it's that spicy note that just keeps on giving and giving ... plus there's some real good acidity to round it off nicely.  I still have one bottle left and I'm looking forward to giving it another couple of years to see where it ends up.  Something tells me I'm going to enjoy it.

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Hillebrand 2007 Trius Red

Click here to read the original review from March 2009

(Re-Tasted October 2011) ... I really delved into old Ontario wines this night, and was rewarded handsomely on both occasions.  The first was this Hillebrand flagship Trius Red that I was enthralled with upon its release and had visions in my head of it lasting a decade or more, which is why I ended up with 12 in my cellar.  Earlier in the day I ended up going to the Hillebrand futures tasting where I got a chance to try the next in the great line of Trius Red (2010) and an older version (2007).  The folks I was with were unimpressed with the '07 and once I got a chance to taste it began to worry myself - could this wine really be over the hill so soon?  The wine was lean and uninteresting and dare I say a little weedy.  This tasting prompted me to open one of my own bottles and give it a try.  The good news is that the wine is fine, and what we tasted in the afternoon was a funky bottle that was not caught by winery staff as being off - bottle variation does occur.  The nose is still loaded with all kinds of goodness: anise, blackberry, vanilla, cinnamon, pencil shavings and a touch of oak for enhancement of aromas.  The taste is pleasant doling out cassis and blackberry along with anise and vanilla-oak.  For those of you still with bottles in your cellar have no fear, but I think you should open a couple just to get a feel for this wine and how it is ageing ... very nicely I might add.  As for bottle number two on this evening, read on.

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Reif Estate 2007 Kerner

Click here to listen to the original review from January 27, 2009 Weekly Wine Note

(Re-Tasted September 2011) ... I just finished listening to my Weekly Wine Notes podcast about this wine and I have to admit I was in some kind of mood that day (download it to see what I mean), seems I was "giving the finger to old man winter" drinking a fruity summertime white in the dead of the cold season.  This time I drank this wine when it was suppose to be drunk, in summer, with different, but still very pleasurable results.  The nose piled on the grapefruit skin with acacia and lavender honey ... at first the palate was full of grapefruit rind / pith with a touch of sweetness through the mid-palate and a bitterish finish, there was also some slightly floral nuances on the tongue.  But give it about 15-20 minutes and it became tropical with hints of papaya.  What started out a little funky ended beautifully.

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Lailey Vineyard 2007 Gamay-Zweigelt

Click here to read the original review from March 2009

(Re-Tasted April 2010) ... While I sang the praises of this wine in my previous review I have to be honest, I never once pulled this wine out last year for BBQ season.  Instead, a little over a year from my initial review, I have pulled a bottle out to give it another taste.  I wanted something simple yet enjoyable this evening and I got exactly what I bargained for.  The fruit is red, the spice has become herbal and both mingle in the mouth to give a nice medium length finish.  This is one easy drinking red that you could easily chill and enjoy on the patio this summer - and this time I might even take my own advice.  No BBQ tonight, instead I had a simple beef stew and all went well, before, during and after dinner.

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