(Re-Tasted August 2013) ... The boys at Muscedere have a lot to be proud of ... over the past decade they have successfully built one of the premier go-to wineries in the Lake Erie North Shore, complete with some of the best reds and a great little back deck with pizza oven. Yup, the Muscedere boys have a lot to be proud of ... but this wine is not one of them. I was really looking forward to opening and (re)trying this wine: a Canadian oaked Chardonnay from a hot vintage at only 8 years of age should still have some interesting things going for it. I would like to be sitting here telling you about the lovely baked fruit, the tropical notes, the mild oak flavouring (from only 4 months in oak) and how it has all come together in its maturity; but 2005 was the year of the fake cork (some call them synthetic) and Muscedere was swept into the vortex. While synthetics may be fine on drink-now style wines (2-3 years) aging is not their forte. This wine started off badly and just kept getting worse - after only 5 minutes it was completely undrinkable: oxidative and cabbagey notes started it off followed by apple cider vinegar and rancid coconut - an absolutely horrible wine to smell or taste, it was literally undrinkable. Sorry boys this might not have been fully your fault but you did pick the closure.
