Jackson-Triggs 2004 Delaine Vineyard Syrah

Found November 2013

This past Saturday we had a friend over and I decided to pull out some older wines, well two.  One was a bottle of Hillebrand Wild Ferment Chardonnay from 2006, which turned out to be quite a beauty - the other was even older and even more amazing, because if you think of the vintage in Ontario that particular year (2004), and consider the grape variety of this wine, you'll think it pretty amazing indeed that this wine survived as long, and as well, as it did.  Upon opening there was an earthy nuance that came from the wine but it settled down quickly and things started to happen, both on the nose and the palate.  Blueberry and white pepper emerged, then some time later there were elements of smoky dried fruit then it turned into definitive aromas (and the occasion taste) of Montreal smoked meats with just a touch of thyme (there was an herbal quality that took us a while to put our collective fingers on - or should I say our noses around, but this is what we all agreed upon in the end).  An amazing find in the cellar and a wine filled with so much complexity.  If you have this in the cellar I think it's time to pull out this bottle of 9-year-old Syrah and enjoy.  Lost & Found Rating:  Treasure

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com,

while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Jackson-Triggs 2002 Proprietors' Grand Reserve Meritage

Found November 2012

Every so often I come across a bottle that I am sure I have tasted before, but as I go through my website and notes I find that I have never put pen to paper about a specific bottle and I wonder what I did with the original notes.  Most wines that end up in my wine cellar (especially if they are of Canadian origin) I have tasted before and thought they would be good candidates to lie down for a spell.  But some do slip between the cracks ... This must have been one of those.  But in truth I'm glad I "lost" this one because it made for an interesting tasting.  This Meritage is from the hot 2002 vintage, which was a good one for reds here in Ontario.  The blend, according to the back label is Merlot dominant at 42% - with the Cabernets: Sauvignon and Franc clocking in at 38 and 20 respectively.  I also admit to aiding this one a little by using my VinOair aerator ... the result was a wine that exhibited cedar and earthy tones from the get go, but as one dove deeper into the wine we found that underneath its cedary-earthy exterior lay dried cherry and blackberry.  Now, with some time in glass (about 45 minutes) the fruit that started off as dry had now proven to come alive with some cassis and black cherry notes.  I also found some smoky bits that played on both the nose and palate, and then as more time passed cedar began to reassert itself back into the picture - but there was a certain sweet spot to this wine that came at about the one-hour mark and lasted for about an hour where everything was just right in the world with it ... by the end of the evening the wine showed its slow steady decline to the realm from whence it came: earthy and cedary ... but in the interim it had that period where it really showed its beauty.  Now I can't wait to break int the 2005 version of the same wine, which seems to have reared it's head in the same place as the 2002 - which is why I figure this bottle got lost, it thought it was a 2005 (it can't be my fault after all.    Lost & Found Rating:  Treasure

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com,

while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Jackson Triggs 2004 Proprietors' Reserve Cabernet Franc / Cabernet Sauvignon

Found February 2011

Now I know 2004 was not a great year in Ontario, especially for reds, but I remember being a fan of this wine from J-T and thinking maybe in a few years time it'll show just as nicely if not better than on the day I first tried it.  Well now 6 years later I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, I was wrong ... the wine has aged piss-poorly to put it delicately.  Smells of rotting fruit, forest floor (read: rotten leaves / vegetation) and oxidation plague both the nose and palate ... the taste is bitter and nasty.  As I said before, I know 2004 was not a great year, but J-T could have given this wine a fighting chance by using a better closure, the plastic cork did this wine a real disservice.  If only producers would put that warning on the packaging ("sealed with synthetic cork") then I, and other wine lovers like me, who age their wines, wouldn't be so disappointed when we open a bottle sealed with this soul-sucking nastiness ... fact is, had I known I never would have laid it down in the first place.  Lost & Found Rating:  Trash

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Jackson Triggs 2004 Late Harvest Riesling

 

Click here to read the original review from February 2006 - OWR Newsletter #25

(Re-Tasted December 2010) ... Had some friends visit on the weekend, some non-wine-drinking American friends; obviously they were closer to my wife than they were to me.  The question is how do you get non-wine drinkers interested in wine.  I poured a few different wines on the Saturday night to very little affirmative reaction, until I poured this six year old sweetie from Jackson-Triggs, I turned my head to see if this one was being enjoyed and found an empty glass staring back at me, hurray.  I was not surprised to see the glass empty because this was a very tasty older Late Harvest Riesling with a wonderful blend of apricot, baked apple, along with honeyed peach and pear notes.  The colour was a pretty golden yellow and hints of petrol crept up the nose, but nothing could deter one from those other wonderful flavours taking over the tongue and winning you over.  Not sure how much time this bottle has left, I would say a year, maybe two - but it is a delicious mature sweetie right now, so if you have some it would be a perfect pour for the season we find ourselves in, especially when those non-wine drinking Americans come to visit.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Jackson Triggs Proprietors' Grand Reserve 2006 White Meritage

 

Click here to read the original review from March 2008

(Re-Tasted December 2010) ... The question here is:  when does a White Meritage get too old?  Now granted this is only 4 years from vintage date, but it's still a blend of Sauvignon Blanc (87%), which is considered a "drink now" kinda wine and Semillon (13%), a grape (at the time) still relatively new to the Ontario climate.  

The first thing I noticed about this wine is the colour, more golden then yellow; as white wines get older they tend to darken, where as red wines lighten.  The nose was a mish-mash of aromas: Bartlett pear, over-ripe pineapple, a slight hint of grassiness, honey notes and some strange ash-like smells too, that weren't off-putting just funny to be found there.  Thankfully about 20-25 minutes later there was a really nice smell of white grapefruit that started to emerge.  The palate was hit and miss with some of that over-ripe pineapple coming out, grass and peach pit notes.  It also seemed that the acidity was playing possum, sometimes it was there and in subsequent sips it was not.  Strange wine after all this time, but I still managed to finish the glass, and enjoyed it.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Jackson Triggs 2001 Proprietors’ Reserve Pinot Noir

Found October 2010

Whoa Nelly, I wish I had something good to say about this wine upfront – the smell is absolutely horrible, no fruit with lots and lots of stink.  On the backend, we’ll call that the taste, it’s earthy and woody with no signs of fruit, so there is little in the way of a pleasant taste here … the good news is that what is here is smooth and it tastes much better than the smell indicates, though that is not saying much.  Interesting colour to the wine, it is a blood orange hue.  Sorry to say this one did not stand the test of time.  Lost & Found Rating:  Trash

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Two Wines (2005 Rieslings), Two Wineries - One Night

Click here to read the original review for the Hillebrand 2005 Dry Riesling from April 2007 

Click here to read the original review for the Jackson-Triggs 2005 Delaine Riesling from April 2007   

Both wines appeared in Newsletter #54

(Re-Tasted April 2010) ... A lazy Sunday afternoon just calls for white wine, and today I yanked out two Rieslings to taste again - both from the hot 2005 vintage, a year that has shown a propensity for premature petrol aromas and flavours on the wines.  But these two are from long time and top producers in Ontario, would they suffer the same fate?  As it turned out both these wines had just the right amount of gas, were delicious, and each in its own way.

The Trius Dry Riesling was first on the list of bottles to be opened, it showed a wealth of fruit with apples and limes taking centre stage, there was just a hint of petrol on the nose and palate, just the right amount for the age of the wine.  There was also good clean acidity and a medium length finish - this wine was still holding well and probably will for a few more years.

The Jackson-Triggs single vineyard Delaine was also very nice and showed classic signs of a Riesling of this age.  The smell was quite different from the Trius, the nose had apricots, lime and wildflower honey notes, while the palate showed apples, apricots and lime.  Good acidity helped this one through to its medium length finish with just the merest hint of petrol on the final swallow.  

Two delicious Riesling that are still very much alive and well and hopefully living in your cellar - I know I still have a bottle of each so we'll have to revisit them in a few years.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Jackson-Triggs 2004 Proprietors' Reserve Meritage

Click here to read the original review from January 2007

(Re-Tasted February 2010) ... I'm not one to mince words and when it comes to plastic corks I have a real problem holding my tongue.  The guy who invented plastic corks should be taken out back and shot.  He/she has done wine no favours at all, in fact I think he single-handedly ruined a few vintages of good wine.  The other thing that drives me crazy, is when I peel back the capsule of a bottle of wine and find a piece of plastic staring back at me - the immediate thought that runs through my head is "I have been waiting x-number of years to open this bottle and now I have to worry that it has oxidized because I had no idea it was sealed with a plastic cork" - it's infuriating.

 

So here I am tonight with a bottle of Jackson-Triggs 2004 Meritage and plastic is what I see ... I am already predisposed to be slightly pissed off, but I push on.  The smells emanating from the glass are those of raspberry, licorice and a slightly sherried note; and with the passage of time it does not seem to be getting any better.  Taste-wise, at first there was a vanilla-caramel note surrounded by dried red fruits; alas that does not last long and the wine seems to be wilting quickly in the glass, becoming more dried and lackluster.

By the second glass fruit is gone and the smell is fishy and funky with the merest hint of dried black fruit and cedary notes.  Another 15 minutes past and I could have sworn I was drinking bilge water and that's too bad because this was a beauty in its prime.  Has it's day past?  That is a tough question, find one that wasn't sealed with plastic, or a plastic cork which has held it's seal and I think this one is ripe for the drinking - but the closure has helped age the wine faster, blast you plastic cork I still have two bottles in my collection.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com, 

while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Jackson-Triggs 2004 Proprietors' Reserve Shiraz

Click here to read the original review from July 2007 - OWR Newsletter #47

(Re-Tasted January 2010) ... There are two kinds of wine in this world: 1) the right wine at the right time, and 2) the right wine at the wrong time; and we've probably all experienced both. The right wine/right time is when you are drinking a wine and the mood, place and taste is perfect - everything just seems to come together in the right way. Then there is the right wine/wrong time bottle - the one you thought you were going to enjoy but something happened on the way to the glass and in the end that wine just didn't "do it for you". I think this was one of those wrong time wines. The colour was good, the smell was okay and the flavour was there, but I am not sure it is what I wanted to be drinking this Sunday evening. So I looked at it with my reviewer's eye, instead of my drinker's palate. There was pepper and cassis all the way through the wine, though about 15 minutes in there was a strong smell of wood alcohol and a woody aftertaste; but then given another 20 minutes that disappeared. Now almost an hour after opening and pouring, there seems to be an intermingling of white and black pepper with a long cassis, black pepper finish. Drinkable but nothing that'll knock your socks off. I seem to have a couple more bottles left, I think I should give one a little more time and see where it ends up. For now it drinks well but won't leaving you screaming for more.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com,
while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Jackson-Triggs 2002 Proprietors' Grand Reserve Merlot

Found November 2009

It seems like it's been awhile since anybody had something nice to say about Jackson-Triggs, what with that Cellared in Canada issue blowing up in their face (not saying it was just them, but they did take the brunt of the blame). So I'm here to tell you is that when J-T puts their mind to it they can make some awesome VQA wines, like this Proprietors' Grand Reserve Merlot from 2002 ... after finding and tasting it Saturday night there's was little doubt in my mind as to why this bottle had a gold label adorning the outside.

Back when it was released this wine was a real beauty, one ripe for laying down and re-discovering in years to come; and why? The combination of a good growing season and plenty of barrel age (18 months in new French oak). So here we are, some 7 years from vintage date, and this wine is still going strong. Upon opening, I noticed the cork was in perfect condition, no seepage up the sides and the tip was as black as pitch. The initial smell was one of smokey green peppers and spice, while the taste was plenty spicy with black pepper on the palate and a hint of dried black currants lurking on the mid-palate ... but for the most part this wine was all smoky, spicy and peppery in the mouth.

Being the impatient sort that I am, I decided it was time to decant, so I pulled out my Vinturi (a great little by-the-glass decanting device perfect for when you're on the road and require the use of a decanter but have none available) and passed the wine through it. The sharp spice was toned down to a more manageable level on the tongue and the smoky aspect came through as extremely pleasant. The green pepper, that once lived on the nose, dissipated quietly into the background, while the acid and black pepper were pleasantly intensified ... now, with the wine more in tune with my palate's needs, it was time to sit and sip away the evening. As I did so, and about an hour later, there seemed to be some blackened fruit that showed up, more as an after thought than a main player - but it was welcomed to the party with open arms (or lips as the case may be).

This wine proves to me that when Jackson-Triggs focuses on 100% Ontario VQA wine there is no controversy, they make fantastic stuff. Lost & Found Rating: Treasure

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com,
while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Jackson-Triggs 2002 Proprietors’ Grand Reserve Meritage

(Found – January 2008)

Sure it’s fun to pick on J-T, and here are just a few of the reasons why … they’re big, they sold-out, they make cellared in Ontario wine by the boat-load and their Olympic wine is the biggest marketing gaf ever in the history of Ontario wine – and that’s saying something (the official wine of the 2010 Olympic games in Vancouver is non-VQA). Makes you wonder who is steering the ship. But even with all these snafus you have to admit that when they do get it right they really get it right – and when "they VQA" they do it right. Take this Grand Reserve Meritage from 2002 (gold label) … 6 years from vintage date and it’s still a beauty. Colour and nose are still big and black … and that assessment goes right through to the palate. Tons of black fruit: cassis, blackberries, black raspberries with a touch of cedar and a lovely finish that completes the deal. They may not get it right all the time, they may mess it all up in the marketing department, and you might feel let down that they caved to the mighty American conglomerate (Constellation) … but when the marketing machine lets the wineamakers speak – they can make something spectacular from what they grow right here at home. Lost and Found rating: REAL TREASURE.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com,
while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.

Jackson-Triggs 2001 Cabernet/Shiraz - non-VQA

(Found - October 2007)

I lost track of this white-labeled Jackson-Triggs offering: a non-VQA, cellared in Canada blended affair. I opened it with some trepidation, but to my surprise the wine inside the bottle was still good. Dark fruit, easy drinking, smooth on the palate, there was even some chocolate notes blended in with those black cherries - tasty. Lost + Found rating: TREASURE.

For more wine reviews and related articles go to www.ontariowinereview.com,
while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.