Canadian Wine Guy

I read about this one in the Toronto Star and they were raving about it so I thought I would give it a try. This wine took a bit of digging to find out the details of. It’s a new brand from Jackson Triggs. In fact I learned most from this article.

Pale in color with nice nose of apple/pear, spot on varietal chard. On the mid palate the wine matches the nose with lovely vibrant apple/pear, again spot on what one would expect. The wine is lovely and dry. There are some mild hints of vanilla due to the fact that this is a lightly oaked chard. It’s definitely a good chard with lovely fruit. We paired it with pan seared scallops and it went well. I would give it an 88 or so. You can grab this from Winerack.com for $29.95 a bottle.

From the wine rack web site:
Arterra Chardonnay 750 ML Bottle $29.95
Notes of juicy tropical fruit and white floral notes with hints of vanilla bean and butterscotch. Pair with a mild chicken curry, crab cakes with a lightly spiced aioli or chicken Caesar salad. Residual sugar: 3.0 g/L

From the winery:
A hot, dry summer provided ideal growing conditions for our Niagara grapevines, yielding very good quality in our fruit. An early harvest, starting at the beginning of September, with the daytime heat nicely complemented by cool evenings allowed the grapes the perfect environment to develop both flavour and aromatics. The resulting wines boast great fruit flavours with no
green notes, showcasing good balance and bright varietal expression. Selected from the best sites in Niagara, the fruit used to produce this wine was picked at optimum maturity, balance, and character. Carefully harvested and pressed immediately, the juice was clarified and started fermentation with yeast selected to promote the unique character of the grape and vineyard. The
wine then fermented in 100% French oak where it also underwent complete malolactic fermentation. The wine was aged on lees, occasionally being stirred to extract mouthfeel and texture until deemed ready for bottling. Layers of citrus fruits, honey, wet river stone, white flowers, and subtle undertones of guava and light smoke on the nose and the palate. This beautiful
and intricate Chardonnay is round and full with a very plush texture which is perfectly complemented by fresh, tense acidity. On the finish this wine boasts lasting notes of lemon candy and butterscotch. Try this complex and elegant Chardonnay with Fettuccini Alfredo with chicken, shrimp scampi, crab cakes with a lemon aioli, creamy risotto Prima Vera or your favourite soft cheese like Brie or Camembert.

PRODUCT INFORMATION
Winemaker: Marco Piccoli
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Alcohol/Vol: 13.5%
PH 3.45
Residual sugar 2 g/L
Total Acidity 5.8 g/L

30 % new oak, rest 1 year old aged~7 months

Pale to golden in color with a nice apple/pear nose. On the mid palate the wine displays some nice pear and apple to match the nose along with some slightly smokey and some mild flint coming. I have to say I had a hard time with this wine. Difficult to describe. It’s slightly oaked, but as someone who tries to be everything to everyone this wine doesn’t really hit the mark. If you like your chards oaked this is so lightly oaked as to wonder why they bothered. If you like your chard unoaked the smokey notes are off. I would give this an 87-88. I only bought one so none to return, cause I would. Especially at this price point. Meh … I’ve had better.

From the winery’s web site:
Winemaker Craig McDonald has crafted another gorgeous Chardonnay from our Niagara vineyards.

This Chardonnay has a smooth, round mouth-feel and the perfect balance of acidity to refresh on the finish. Flavours of baked apple, cream and toffee glide across the palate.

Pair with roasted lemon chicken; smoked salmon risotto; mushroom risotto; cedar planked salmon; creamy garlic pasta dishes; creamy scallop potatoes and chicken skewers; apple-wood smoked cheddar with crusty baguette; vodka cream sauce pasta; smoked paprika and yogurt marinated grilled chicken; barbecued pork chops with Dijon and tarragon; turkey pot pie; cream of mushroom soup.

Serve lightly chilled at 13 to 15°C. Enjoy now through 2021.

I was wandering out of Longos and went into the Wine shop … this wine was there, and was mislabelled as $24.20 a bottle instead of the usual $36 so I pounced. Garnet in color with mild nose. On the mid palate the wine displays some lovely rich varietal soft red berries, strawberries and raspberries. On the medium length finish the wine displays some nice smooth acidity and tannins. This is a smooth well made pinot. The wine builds nicely in the mouth. I would give it an 88+. Very nice, especially given the bargain price I paid!!

From the winery’s web site:
$36.95 per bottle

Ruby red colour with a bouquet of cherry, raspberry, red plum and smoke. Medium-bodied, elegant and fruit-forward. Juicy, fruit flavours of red berry and cherry fill the mouth. Red berry tea, pomegranate and red currant notes linger on the finish.

Pinot Noir grapes were hand-picked and hand-sorted from our own Thirty Bench vineyard and fermented in open top wood fermenters. Barrel aged in French oak for 12 months.

Serve at a cool room temperature of 15 to 17˚C. Pair with venison and a red wine cherry reduction; veal steaks; beef tenderloin; mushroom based dishes; pheasant; quail; duck breast. Enjoy with a selection of cheeses which may include Peau Rouge, La Sauvagine and Reblochon.
This wine will age gracefully through 2020.

Limited production of 402 cases.

I love Pinots, so food friendly. A perfect compliment to poultry like turkey we so often end up eating at holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving! And Ontario make some excellent ones! This wine is garnet in color with a lovely varietal nose of soft red berries. On the mid palate the wine matches the nose with lovely soft red berries, strawberry and raspberries. There a hint of oak/smokiness as well. On the medium length finish the wine displays some nice vibrant acidity, nice dryness and smooth tannins. This is an elegant well made pinot. I would give it an 88+. Very nice indeed!!!

From the LCBO web site Check stock:
13th Street Essence Pinot Noir 2011 — VINTAGES#: 237222
Essence wines, this is where you find the personality of Colas, this is his playground, a place where he can make the wines that best express the best of the vintage, his take on the vintage. The Pinot shows black cherry, meaty-loamy notes, truffles and swirling spices on the nose. It is built with structure, designed to age, with ripe, assertive tannins, savoury cherry flavours, currants, earthy and spicy but doesn’t seem over the top on the palate. My temptation would be to lay this down for a while to bring it all into harmony. Score – 92. (Rick VanSickle, winesinniagara.com, Nov. 27, 2014) $44.95

PRODUCT DETAILS
Release Date:October 5, 2017
Alcohol/Vol 14.0% Made in:Ontario, Canada By:Thirteenth Street Wine Corp. Sugar Content: 2 g/L Sweetness Descriptor: XD – Extra Dry

From the winery’s web site:
TECHNICAL NOTES
APPELLATION: VQA Niagara Peninsula
VINEYARD(S): Various
GRAPE VARIETY(IES): 100% Pinot Noir
BRIX AT HARVEST: 23.5 average
ALCOHOL CONTENT: 13%
RESIDUAL SUGAR: 3 grams – dry

TASTING NOTES
Attractive medium ruby core. Medium plus intensity with dried cherry, cranberry, currant, plum and warm baking spice. Tea leaves, damp earth and cherry pit round out this complex nose. Dry with medium body and medium plus acidity. High toned red fruits are surrounded by youthful fruit tannin and the medium finish brings flavours of cacao powder and stone fruit.
This wine will certainly benefit from 12 to 18 months ageing before it has mellowed enough to show its best. When ready, serve cool at 18oC in fine Pinot Noir designed stemware alongside all manner of poultry, semi-soft alpine cheeses and flavourful beef or veal dishes.

WINEMAKING NOTES
The fruit for this wine was sourced primarily from our own old estate vines as well as the best barrels from our younger vines and purchased fruit from select growers. All fruit was hand-picked between mid-October and mid-November and each batch was handled separately. After early morning picking into small bins the grapes were transported to the winery where further manual sorting took place. After de-stemming and crushing, the grapes and must were moved into open-top stainless steel tanks where fermentation took place at an average of 24oC. Punching down was utilized during primary fermentation and post fermentation maceration on the skins lasted for 20 days. 80% of the wine, along with the fine lees, was moved to 10% new and 90% seasoned French oak barrels where malo ensued. The remaining 20% remained in tank. The wines were aged for 12 months in wood and after final blending were fined and lightly filtered before bottling in August 2013.

I last reviewed the 2014 vintage of this wine and was impressed. I was curious to see if they could consistently continue at this quality level. Pale to slightly golden in color with a lovely mild nose of apple and pear. On the mid palate the wine matches the nose with lovely apple and pear coming through. This is another chard that is sensitive to temperature, don’t serve it too cold or you will miss it’s complexity. On the medium length finish the wine displays some lovely butterscotch nose, and some acidity. This is a lightly oaked chard. We paired it with pan seared scallops and cod and it went perfectly. They have done a good job on this one again. I would give it an 88 or so. Very nice.

From the LCBO web site:
G. Marquis The Silver Line Chardonnay 2016 — VINTAGES#: 258681
STYLE – Full-bodied & Rich
Aromas of buttered toast, applesauce, fresh pineapple and white peach. Quite mouthfilling, with lots of toast and oak, plus grilled fruit tones. This will drink well through 2020 and will pair nicely with grilled pork or chicken. (Vintages panel, August 2017) $17.95
PRODUCT DETAILS
Release Date: September 16, 2017
Alcohol/Vol 12.3% Made in: Ontario, Canada By: Magnotta Winery Sugar Content:4 g/L Sweetness Descriptor:D – Dry Style:Full-bodied & Rich Varietal: Chardonnay