Chateau des Charmes 2006 Gewurztraminer

Click here to read the original review from June 2008

(Re-Tasted February 2014) ... After a wacky experiment with a Fielding Musque that turned out to be a pleasant surprise, I approached this Chateau des Charmes '06 Gewurzt with a little more respect and hopefulness.  Gewurztraminer, although un-oaked, has the ability to surprise when aged ... but which side of the surprise line would this particular wine fall is the real question.  The nose had touches of toffee along with subtle lavender ... interesting perfumed notes and a fruity / floral combination that lured one into the glass.  The palate also had interesting nuances, like the coriander-pineapple mid-palate and the intense spice on the finish that seemed to play off the hint of sweetness leading to a drier than expected finish ... any sweetness the nose led you to believe was there dissipated in the end on the tongue.  This wine proved to be mainly dry and its only drawback was the short (there-and-its-gone) finish.  Another nice bottle of un-oaked white that makes one question their belief system about what can and can't mature when oak is not present.

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

Fielding Estate 2006 Chardonnay Musque

Found February 2014

thanks to K. Selezen for taking the pic

I put little to no faith in un-oaked wines being age-able (except Riesling) - and I've done plenty of tests to come to that conclusion (knowingly and unknowingly).  This year alone I've opened a 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, a 2008 Un-oaked Chardonnay and a 2007 Gamay each with no oak and each had its problems.  So when I found a bottle of Fielding 2006 Chardonnay Musque in a box of "to hold" wines in my cellar I had to question myself: "What was I thinking?"  Now Chardonnay Musque is traditionally an un-oaked, flowery, fruity version of Chardonnay made from a clone of the Chardonnay grape that has musky aromas to it - which is where the "musque" name comes from.  I popped the cork, poured the wine into a glass, and took a deep sniff, totally prepared to be disappointed and walk away ... but wait, it's non-offensive:  honey, melon and floral aromas greet the nose ... it's actually downright pleasant and most importantly it continues to be thus over the next hour.  Surely the palate is where this wine will fall apart (I think to myself) - but no: tropically tinged fruit, mainly pineapple, greet the buds, followed by over-ripe peach backed by wildflower honey aspects ... sweet fruit with an interesting medium length finish that keeps you coming back for more.  Surprisingly drinkable and pleasantly so, if you have some in your cellar I suspect now is the time to drink up and truly enjoy this find.  [I also served this during one of my wine classes and of the 7 wines poured this received top marks and raves from everyone].   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.

Lailey 2009 Chardonnay - Niagara Peninsula

Click here to read the original review from August 2011

(Re-Tasted February 2014) ... When I first reviewed this wine less than 3 years ago I gave it four-and-a-half stars, and today I think I might just give it a little bit higher because it has turned into one spectacular wine.  The nose is so alluring with aromas of rich buttery-toffee along with peach and vanilla; on the palate there's a vanilla butter sensation that mixes so well with the fruit of citrus, peach and mac apple, almost to the point of being a puree it's so creamy; but then comes the finish:  there's a hint of spice that lingers lovingly on the tongue bringing everything all together and there's that great acidity, the 2009 vintage was known for, that keeps everything from being cloying or too sweet ... sure there's a sweet fruit entry, but that is backed up by that spicy dry finish and that's what makes this wine such a beauty.  Oh, and did I mention the peach pit essence that appears on both the nose and palate as it sits in glass.  If you have one of these in your cellar it'll hold for another few years, and if you have a few bottles I would recommend grabbing one out now and giving it a shot - it's a little piece of heaven.

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

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

Hillebrand 2004 Late Harvest Vidal

Click here to read the original review from August 8, 2006 Weekly Wine Note

(Re-Tasted February 2014) ... I have two of these bottles in my cellar and reading my original review again I have to admit I have no idea what I was waiting for to drink them because they sound like they were amazing back in 2008 ... the funny thing is, as good as they were back then they might be even better today, and that is really unexpected.  This is now a 10 year old bottle of Late Harvest Vidal, and those who question whether icewine can reach this maturity would be even more impressed at this wine.  I poured this as kind of a lark for my "niece" and her boyfriend after a dinner at Hillebrand, and I was enthralled by what I found in the glass: toffeed apricot, honeyed pear, nice acidity on the finish while the mid-palate proved to be creamy and luxurious, this wine has held up extremely well, in fact I would go so far as to say it is a stellar bottle; and aside from the color it would be hard to tell its age.  I am not going to wait any longer for the second bottle, it will be a dessert sometime this summer.

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

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.

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

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

Marynissen Estates 2002 Cabernet Franc

Found December 2013

This is a dichotomy of a wine, and right from the get go I was not sure whether I liked it or not.  The aromas were not pleasant, nor did they really come around, a cross between Buckley's cough syrup, rotting leaves and dried tobacco, by the two hour mark some black licorice materialized and that added a little pleasantness to the smells (a very little pleasantness) - otherwise it was not a wine I liked dipping my nose into.  And what's worse, if you just let it sit in the glass it filled the room with those oddball smells (aerating it created the better aromas of what I mentioned earlier).  But that is only have the story.  The palate more than made up for the nose, and what's even more exciting are the changes that occurred, over the two hours in was in my glass, were in direct opposition of the aromas.  The tastes started out with lots of tobacco; what made it easy to drink was the smooth nature of the wine, but it still had good acidity backing it up and all with a pleasant mouthfeel.  Over the course of the first hour it developed some dried-raspberry, along with hints of cinnamon, a delicate white-smokiness and some anise notes.  By hour two there were a definite pleasant smokiness, dried red berries, tobacco, clove, and burnt cedar.  Considering the age and the aromas eminating from the glass this is some pretty awesome stuff - I found some real pleasure in drinking it ... The wine is definitely past its peak but still mighty drinkable, if you can just get passed the smell.  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.

Lailey 2008 Old Vines Chardonnay

Click here to read the original review from June 2010

(Re-Tasted December 2013) ... Tonight I felt like a Chardonnay, it does not happen often, but for some reason a Chardonnay was calling my name; oh yes, now I remember why, salmon was on the menu.  But I did not feel like just any old Chardonnay, I wanted to try something older and from one of my go-to producers, that is a short-list indeed (as I suspect it is with most people).  Hence I hold in my hand a bottle of Lailey 2008 Old Vines Chardonnay.  In my original review I gave it 4 stars, and if I were to try it and rate it again today I think I would raise that score just a bit.  Everything just seems to have melded so well together and there are flavours and smells that just weren't even thought of back in 2010, in fact the fruit was a little shy back then, today, let's just say, it's not as shy.  The nose kicks things off with vanilla and butterscotch and then as more air gets into this wine the fruit begins to emerge in the form of apricot and grilled pineapple.  Taste is just as exciting, maybe more, but what really floored me was the great acidity that hit the tongue first, then the flavours start to develop, butter and spice are out of the gate first followed by vanilla, coconut and caramel ... as with the aromas fruit is the last thing that starts to show, this time in the form of mac apple, grilled peach and grilled pear. Very tasty and very appealing ... I have a couple more bottles kicking about and look forward to trying another ... soon; if you have any, now's a good time to give it another go.

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

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