Sometimes when a wine is heavily blended, as this wine is, you loose the individuality of the varietals. Not in this case … Dark in color with a mild nose of red berries not giving a lot away to what’s to come. On the mid palet this wine is dominated by some lovely varietal Niagara style cab franc. Some nice red berries. There’s also some traditional Niagara cab sauv earthy notes. On the finish the wine displays some lovely spicy notes consistent with a Shiraz. There’s also some nice dryness and some velvety tannins. This wine really shows off the blend. According to the bottle it is 58% Shiraz, 17% Cab Sauv, 15% Cab Franc (it’s amazing how little cab franc it takes to dominate the flavor) and 10% Merlot. Of all these I didn’t get much off the Merlot. This is a lovely wine. Very approachable now and will likely keep for a while too. I would give this wine a 89-90. Very nice. And quite food friendly. Yumm.
From the LCBO web site:
HENRY OF PELHAM FAMILY TREE RED 2010 VINTAGES 247882 | 750 mL bottle Price $ 18.95
Made in: Ontario, Canada By: Henry Of Pelham Family Est. Winery
Release Date: Aug 17, 2013
13.5% Alcohol/Vol. Style: Medium-bodied & Fruity Sugar Content: 7 g/L Sweetness Descriptor: D – Dry
Tasting Note
This fresh, juicy blend – primarily Shiraz with Cab Sauv, Cab Franc and Merlot – sports a lifted nose of dark berry fruit, rich cherry and roasted herbs. It rolls over the palate in endless, delicious waves with black plum and currant interlaced with boysenberry and spice. It’s mid weight with good mouth feel and a balanced, fruit-laden finish. What’s not to like? Score – 4 Stars (out of 5). (Vic Harradine, winecurrent.com, Oct. 24, 2012)
From the Winery’s web site:
Winemaker’s Notes
• Harvest Dates: September 27th – October 23rd, 2010
• Crop yield <4 tonnes an acre
• 100% barrel aged with 65% French oak and 35% American oak for 17 months
Family Tree celebrates the idea of family. These wines are made from fruit sourced off of our own vineyards but also those of our friends, neighbours and distant cousins across the Niagara Peninsula. There is no one grape variety in each wine. Instead they reflect the best fruit from each site married with other complimentary grape varieties from neighbouring vineyards. In this way we have created easy going wines of sophistication that are a reflection of the people and place that they come from.
According to the bottle 958 cases were made!
