Coyote’s Run 2005 Cabernet Franc

Click here to read the original review from May 22, 2007 Weekly Wine Note

(Re-Tasted March 2014) ... I make no bones about it, I am a fan of Cabernet Franc, and some of these older ones from Ontario are really beginning to impress.  Coyote's Run is known for making Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, but they also grow some Cabernet Franc on the property - and henceforth they make it into a single varietal wine.  2005 was a hot year in Ontario and so I had high hopes for this one when I opened the bottle.  Nose had definite sour cherry, raspberry and white pepper notes while the palate had hints of anise and white smoke from the get go.  Left open in the glass and aerated it began to develop those typical Cab Franc characteristics of tobacco (on the light side) along with some dried cherry.  The pepper from the nose came in on the finish and managed to wrangled it's way in between the dried fruit and the good acidity.  Turns out that those high hopes I had for this wine were not misplaced.  For those of you with a few bottles left, now would be the time start thinking of drinking, though there's no real rush, this should keep another few years.

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Coyote's Run 2009 Pinot Blanc

Click here to read the original review from June 2010

(Re-Tasted July 2013) ... Now most people wouldn't waste their time with a four year old Pinot Blanc, but knowing that the year in Ontario was known for big acidity this wine was intriguing to me.  To show my confidence in it I brought it along to an afternoon shindig (but I'm not totally off my nut, I did bring a backup).  I'll tip my hat here when I tell you I have to say I was rightfully impressed with this wine, it started off with a nose of grapefruit pith but then turned into some real pleasant pear and melon notes - both are aromas I am used to in Pinot Blanc.  The grapefruit was also present on the palate, more so than the nose, and it seemed to stick around.  Bosc pear and green apple showed up mid-palate and fought it out all the way to the finish.  I think the most impressive part was the acidity, it still managed to hold this wine together.  Now I know some will argue the closure played a part in keeping this wine fresh (screwcap) - but I would say the weather from that season played an even bigger part giving it all that acidity to keep it fresh and lively, even at the improbable age of 4 ... if you are still holding onto a bottle or two of this wine and are wondering whether to put it in a sauce or drink it my advice is to drink and enjoy, it's a delight.

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Coyote's Run 2008 Black Paw Chardonnay

Click here to read the original review from June 2009

(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.

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Coyote's Run 2005 Cabernet Franc

Click here to read the original review from May 22, 2007 Weekly Wine Note

(Re-Tasted November 2009) ... There are those who swear by screw cap wines and other who swear at them - I am one who is all for the screw cap as long as the results are good after some aging occurs, because I like to age and re-taste my wines.  So if you give me a moment I am going to check out what I said back in May 2007 about this wine.

Seems that back then I was talking about a lot of black fruit coming thru on this one, but some 5 years from vintage date it looks like a lot of that fruit has dropped out and instead is giving off aromas of green pepper, red current and graphite.  The palate also has plenty of green pepper, regular black pepper and a lot of non-descript flavours, yet is soft and smooth with a good long finish.  The wine isn't great, nor is it unpleasant, it's perfectly suitable to drink and enjoy, just not something you would stand up and take notice of.  In the end I give this wine a pass because it is drinkable, and after all isn't that what we look for in our wines.

 

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Coyote's Run 2005 Cabernet

Click here to read the original review from June 2007 - OWR Newsletter #58

(Re-Tasted July 2009) ... After the debacle that was the La Frenz Gewurztraminer I managed to locate a bottle or Coyote's Run 2005 Cabernet, a blend of the Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon. 2005 was a good year here in Ontario (if you don't mind a short crop) and the red wines turned out very well, and ageable. This wine is still in its infancy, at only 4 years from vintage date, and it still has some grip as well as lovely flavours.

At first I was concerned, the opening salvo to the nose was lots and lots of green pepper ... but that dissipated quickly leaving many more interesting aromas to develop over the next 2 hours: spiced-blueberry, cinnamon-raspberries, a touch of black licorice and at the tail end of the 2 hours some lovely black raspberry. The palate also showed plenty of complexity: dark fruit with lots of vanilla flavours kicked us off, then it moved into cinnamon, graphite and oak character while the dark fruit remained. There was a nice pleasant smoothness through the mouth right up to the point where pepper and gritty tannins left behind a long lasting impression. This one has a few years left in it for sure, so you can safely open now and enjoy, or let it sit for a bit and enjoy it later - either way you're on solid ground.

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Coyote’s Run 2004 Cabernet Franc

Click here to read the original review from March 2006

also see OWR Newsletter #26

(Re-Tasted August 2008) ... For the past hour and a half I have been sipping on this Coyote’s Run Cabernet Franc from 2004 and with each sip and each half glass it is getting better.

It started out with a heavy green pepper smell that overwhelmed everything in it’s path, if you tried really hard you could find a little bit of cherry, but the green pepper was just so overpowering. The mouth proved to be a little better with a softer version of that green pepper, some toasted oak and tobacco leaf mixed in. But over the course of the past hour and a half (coming on to two hours now), the green pepper has dissipated from the nose and taste – sure it is still there, but it has lost its over powering nature. Now I am left with a pleasant sipper full of toasty-cherry tobacco smells and flavours, with a dash of green pepper; and it’s wonderfully smooth. Surprise, surprise a little bit of pepperyness showed up at about the 2-hour mark. If I needed any more confirmation about Cabernet Franc being Ontario’s grape – I think I just got it. For those of you with bottle(s) left, I would say this one’s good for the next few years anyway.

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