Vineland Estates 2005 Cabernet Franc Reserve

Click here to read the original review from June 2008

(Re-Tasted January 2014) ... Hot-diggity, one of my favourite Ontario grape varietals from a winery that knows how to handle the grape and does it well; and now with 9 years of aging it's time to see just how this wine is doing.  Back in 2008 I gushed over this wine and thought decanting would help smooth it out.  I put the wine into a box and forgot about it for awhile, seems I forgot about it for a good long while ... 6 years to be exact ... now I'm excited to give it a try.  

Upon opening there were aromas of white and black peppercorns, in fact they seem to take over the wine; palate was full of  tobacco, dried black raspberry, and spice - but what really stood out were some fairly aggressive tannins that came on mid-palate right to the finish; but as I like to say, if you were locked in a bottle for 9 years you'd come out pretty grumpy too - and this wine was just that.  After about 20 minutes the aggression started to subside; I then tried using my VinoAir to see what that did, but is striped all the character out of the wine ... so I went back to a free pour into the glass straight from the bottle.  Within 40 minutes it had become a bottle you'd like to take to dinner with touches of licorice and white pepper en-robing that dried fruit and the tannins too on a more subservient role, smoothing out beautifully.  This wine is ready to drink right now and it's very enjoyable.  In a word, it was delicious and well worth the wait.  Now I wish I had more of it ... ain't that always the way.

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Vineland Estates 2005 Cabernet Franc

Click here to read the original review from May 2007

Re-tasted in August 2010

(Re-Tasted November 2013) ... It's been over three years since last I re-visited this wine and tonight while combing through the cellar for something to drink I found it and thought it an interesting wine to try.  I think what I am most astonished about here is the palate, smoky with a touch of woodsiness, good acidity with something herbal creeping in but nothing unpleasant.  Taste-wise it doesn't seem to have a lot of fruit, as the smokiness seems to have taken over, but there's plenty to get excited about as it is smooth and ends with hints of anise and a touch of leather.  On the nose we have some smoked-vanilla-raspberry, not fresh, but smoked so that the fruit aromas act as an enhancer to the smokiness.  The palate seems to continue to smooth and become somewhat of a quaffer that shows some vanilla in the mix and there's a cedary-aspect that continues to resolve itself.  It's quite complex and interesting and altogether fun to taste and smell. The thing I keep coming back to is that this 8 year old wine cost a measly $12.95 back when I bought it, and it has withstood more than a wine of that price point should - as someone once told me about a 10-year old microwave I was throwing out - "it doesn't owe you anything".  I still have a few bottles in my cellar , I may not write them all up because I am certain this holiday season the rest of them will be coming out of the cellar - it's drinking very well right now ... okay, I might hold one back just to see.

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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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Vineland Estates 2005 Elevation Cabernet-Merlot

Click here to read the original review from the January 1, 2008 - Weekly Wine Note

(Re-Tasted March 2013) ... This was a beauty of a wine when it was released and now that is it 8 years old its even better.  First let me say how nice it is to open a bottle of 2005 wine and find a real cork stopping up the bottle, I have found so many plastic POS corks in 2005 wines that I was starting to expect those nasty pieces of plastic every time I open a 2005.  Now onto the wine.  I would like to say that the nose was overwhelmingly wonderful, but in truth it was pretty simplistic: spice, dark fruit, cinnamon and oak ... there was also something smoky to it, but that didn't show up till a little later.  Those who focus on the aromas too much are going to miss the best part of this wine though - and that's the palate - which just keeps on giving and giving and getting better and better with each passing 10 minute-block.  It started off slowly: spiced-cassis and blackberry along with vanilla-cinnamon-oak.  Then came a hint of blueberry skin. Wait a little longer in glass, the wine smooths out and you can find some licorice notes ... wait again and smokiness appears, then some chocolate ... but it wasn't just one note at a time, they all seem to meld one into another to a point where the wine was absolutely delicious combining all those flavours into each mouthful.  I do believe this wine has hit its sweet-spot, the question remains, how long will it stay there.

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Vineland 2006 Cabernet Franc

 

Click here to read the original review from June 17, 2008 Weekly Wine Note

(Re-Tasted January 2011) ... Reading my notes from my previous review I told you to "Drink your ’06 now while waiting for the ‘05’s to come around" - in other words "Drink Now`.  I, on the other hand, because of this column, decided to hold on to the bottle and see where it goes.  Truth is it is not a bad wine, and if you like that hint of Ontario green pepper, then this is starting to turn your way.  The nose is dried raspberries with just a touch of the green pepper.  The palate shows a little bit more depth with tobacco, touches of smoky, dried fruit and a herbaceous note coming through, (read: that green pepper again).  The wine is smooth, dry and relatively pleasant to drink.  If you have any left now is really the time to drink up, not sure if you have two or three years left but it`d make for a great BBQ this summer.

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Vineland 2006 Dry Rieslng

Click here to read the original review dated October 2007

(Re-Tasted January 2011) ... When you think of certain wines from certain wineries you expect good things ... and when it comes to Vineland and Riesling they fall into that category.  This was a Riesling that kept on giving
as the night wore on.  The nose started out with peach and paraffin and there was even a hint of bug-repellent in there, but it was a background smell that did not overpower the wine, it was just sorta there and it disappeared with time to leave just the peach and paraffin.  The taste was much more involving on the tongue.  Big acidity kicked off the show, lemon and lime notes with a slight paraffin backing.  Then time and air took over and it mellowed the wine.  It started off acidic and harsh but mellowed to crisp and refreshing.  The finish also delivered the goods, cutting through the lemon and acid to bring mac and green apple crispness to a long lingering finish.  Don't let the initial smell and taste fool you this one just needs about 15 minutes in the glass to really show you where it's going.

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Vineland Estates 2005 Cabernet Franc

Click here to read the original review from May 2007 - OWR Newsletter #56

(Re-Tasted August 2010) ... I have a confession to make and I feel bad that I have to admit this to you, but I feel we are friends and that I can share this with you:  I stole this wine from Vineland Estates, I hope winemaker Brian Schmidt can forgive me.  

Okay, I didn't really steal this bottle of wine, but drinking it tonight I sure feel like I did ... I paid a piddly $12.95 for this bottle, but it tastes like a wine twice its price and it will seem even better in years to come.  This was one of those "wine bargains" you hear talk about, a wine that delivers beyond its price point.  This is a beauty of a Cabernet Franc with smoky black fruit, spiced dried cherry tobacco and much more, and what's more this one is far from being past its prime - there's lots of life left in the bottle.  5 years for a $12.95 wine, do you really expect that kind of longevity?  Not really.  10 years?  That would be amazing, and I think it's very doable here, another 5 years wouldn't put too much of a ding n the taste.  It will be nice to test this theory in a few years, and looking in my cellar I see I will be able to do just that.  

Now I realize that I didn't just steal this bottle, I committed an act of grand theft larceny; I hope the folks at Vineland don't send the cops to my door after reading this - but if they do I hope the constables that shows up like wine, we can share a bottle before they haul me away.

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Vineland Estate Winery 2005 Semi-Dry Rielsing

Click here to read the original review from July 20, 2006 - OWR Newsletter #35

(Re-Tasted November 2009) ... Pop went the cork! And with that another '05 Riesling was opened, I expected to be hit over the head with petrol smells, but this one didn't do that. Sure the aroma of petrol was present, but it was not heavy-handed as it has been in many of the '05 I have tried in the past couple of years; in fact, the most dominant smell was lemon, a very welcome smell in 2005 Rieslings. But this wine really shone in the mouth, here I found a lot of complexity and believe there is still more to come. There was lemon and lemon rind with hints of sweetness across the tongue. There was also some tangerine notes along with petrol hanging out on the finish ... the longer the wine sat open I found some mac apple emerge into mix with the lemon, tangerine and petrol. This wine is still has time to develop and is drinking very nicely right now.

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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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Vineland 2004 Select Late Harvest Vidal

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

(Re-Tasted September 2008) ... If memory serves correctly this wine is still on the shelves at Vineland Estates, and for good reason, it's still as delicious and tasty as it was the day it was released ... although it has changed in very subtle ways. The nose has turned from tropical to more regional: apples, peaches and pears (lots of pears here) while still maintaining that beautiful smell of lavender honey. The taste is peachy and bosc pear oriented with a little nutmeg-like spice and a bit of honey and floral flavours. It also lingers in the mouth with that floral-honey-peach and pears (in light syrup) without being cloying or thick. Finally, it has lost a little of that vibrancy I remember it having, but it's still very good; though what it has lost in vibrancy it has gained it complexity. Still drinking well and a big hit after dinner.

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Vineland 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon

Click here to read the original review from September 2006 - Weekly Wine Note

(Re-Tasted August 2008) ... I distinctly remember buying this wine for under $20 - the reason: Vineland had run out of the current vintages and needed to have something on the shelf until the next vintage was ready. This was a classic case of right place-right time because the overlap only lasted about 2 weeks and they only allotted the re-released of a scant number of cases - I bought 4 bottles ... and am I ever glad I did.

This wine is still very much alive, and will be for a few more years at least. Initially it had lots of nice dark fruit smells along with cedar and black fruit tastes. Tannins were ripe and firm and the wine was vibrant in the glass, darkly coloured without any signs of bricking along the rim; there was even a great dark chocolate flavour on the finish, with just a thin coat of dustiness on the tongue. As it opened over the next few hours it developed touches of pepper, spice and a very appealing basket of red fruits on the palate. And boy did it ever smooth out. I have another 2 bottles, one of which won't see the light of day for another 2+ years. For those who are impatient, drink now.

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