Canadian Wine Guy

Pale to golden in color with a mild nose. On the mid palate the displays some lovely apple/pear fruit. On the medium length finish the wine displays some nice butterscotch and vanilla along with some mild spicy notes. The texture has a touch of creamyness to it. I would give it an 88-89 which for the price is not a bad deal at all. We bought it at the winery.

From the winery’s web site:
AGED IN OAK CHARDONNAY 2014
Details: Harvest started in the early morning hours of October 9th, 2014. As the sun climbed into the day the newly picked fruit started its journey to become the Aged in Oak Chardonnay. First undergoing a gentle destemming then being allowed to rest on its skin for 12 hours before a whole berry pressing. Next the juice was cold settled for 3 days before being racked and inoculated to start the fermentation. After the primary fermentation the wine was racked for it lees and transferred to a combination of eight new and second fill French oak barrels were the wine underwent a full malolactic fermentation, creating underlying butteriness to complement the fruits lively acid. The wine rested in these barrels with for 6 months before being racked, cold stabilized and finally bottled mid September 2015. Per bottle: $24.95

Tasting Notes: Enticing aromas of butterscotch, vanilla bean and Asian pear. The palate delivers with rich and creamy notes of Crème brûlée baked aplle and peach.

Food Pairing: With much freshness, this wine matches superb with seafood, both cooked and crudo. Try sweet rich crabmeat with butter, scallops (seared or ceviche!), and oysters on the half shell, raw or grilled. All things buttery or lemony will match heavenly.

I love travelling down to Niagara, touring the wineries, meeting the enthusiastic people that make up the wine industry. I have to say, Thirty Bench is one of my least favorite. So much so I have skipped them many times. I’ve found the staff to be pretentious, the wines to be average and the price to be high. A poor combination indeed. But I decided it was time to give them another try. This time around we got an amazing, well informed, and personable server! What a great start to changing my view of Thirty Bench. Recently I reviewed the 2013 Small Lot Chard and loved it. It was shockingly good. I would put it up there with Hidden Bench chards of years past. So much so I coughed up the $30 for the bottle. So next up we have this wine.

12 months in French Oak, only 212 cases made. They do mean small lot. This time around Thirty Bench was sampling almost exclusively small lot wines. The wine is garnet in color with a nice rustic nose. On the mid palate the wine displays beautiful varietal pinot fruit notes including soft red berries and lots of rustic flavors dancing in the mouth. On the medium length finish the wine displays some nice smooth tannins and acidity. I would give this wine an 88+ Very nice indeed and a great example of how well Niagara can do pinots. I have to say my visit to Thirty bench is starting to change my opinion of them. The wine was $35 a bottle and I actually coughed it up for the collection!

From the winery’s web site:
2013 Small Lot Pinot Noir
$35.00 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.

Pale in color with a nice crisp nose. On the mid palate the wine is a nice crisp dry bubbly. Lovely citrus notes. The bubbles are nice and fine. The medium length finish has some nice acidity. This is a very food friendly wine. I would give it an 88-89.

From the winery’s web site:
Varieties: Pinot Meunier (49%), Chardonnay (42%), Riesling (9%) Region: VQA Ontario Country: Canada Vintage: 2013 Alcohol: 12.0% Acidity: 9.15 Bottle size: 750 mL
The fine, “creamy” bubbles lightly dance on your tongue delivering a distinct, enlivening
and bright citrus chorale. Clear notes of fresh apple, peach and pear whisper almost undetectably from the wings in this effervescent presentation of subtlety and nuance. A mouth-watering acidity ensures this sparkler is enjoyable as a solo or as the perfect pair for oysters on-the-half-shell and other fresh seafood. Celebrate life as you drink in this liquid Ode to Joy!

Winemaker: Brian Schmidt
Winemaking notes: Service Temp.: 8 – 10˚C Enjoy now.
Retail: $28.00

Pale in color with a lovely varietal nose. On the mid palate the wine matches the nose with some lovely varietal apple/pear coming through. Beautiful fruit! On the medium length finish the wine displays some nice butter and vanilla. The wine is a bit on the creamy side in texture. The alcohol and acidity are well under control. This really is a nice well made California style chard. 12 months on the lees. I would give it an 89. Yumm

From the Winery’s web site:
2013 Small Lot Chardonnay
$30.00 per bottle
Hand-picked and hand-sorted from our own Thirty Bench vineyard. This Chardonnay has a bouquet of ripe apple, grilled lemon, toasty oak, vanilla, spice, almond and a hint of floral. This medium-bodied wine has a rich mouthfeel with flavours of lemon, pineapple and apple are balanced beautifully by toasty oak and biscuit notes. Lemon and spicy oak notes linger on the finish. Barrel fermented and aged ‘sur lie’ in French oak for 12 months. This wine will age gracefully through 2018.
Pair with cream sauces on pasta and seafood, turkey with mushroom stuffing and creamy mashed potatoes, salmon wrapped in puff pastry, chicken pot pies, mushroom risotto, smoked Gouda and truffled Brie cheeses with artisanal breads.

Dark in color with a nice red/black berry nose along with some dried fruits. On the mid palate the wine displays some firm black cherry notes backed almost immediately by some some firm acidity, tannins and dryness. The cab franc in the blend is definitely noticeable. This wine is a bit on the young side and is displaying some green notes. I would give it an 88 or so. Be sure and pair this with something hearty because it’s definitely a bigger wine. We bought this one at the winery $28.95 per bottle. The blend is 40% Cab Franc 20% cab sauv and 40% Merlot.

From the winery’s web site:
2011 CABERNET MERLOT
Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, carefully sourced from select vineyards. Aged 18 months in French oak, this rich wine displays layered notes of cranberry, strawberry and a hint of lavender.

Pale in color with a nice citrus nose. On the mid palate the wine matches the nose with some lovely citrus notes, and pink grapefruit coming through. On the medium length finish the wine displays some lovely fresh acidity. A very nice sauv blanc. Especially for the price $14.95 at the winery. A very food friendly wine. We paired it with a chicken stir fry and it went well. I would give it an 88+.

Dark color with a mild nose of dark berries. On the mid palate the wine displays some nice dark berries to match the nose. On the medium length finish the wine displays some nice firm tannins some noticeable acidity and dryness. There’s a hint of pepper and the firm dryness builds and lingers in the mouth especially without food. There’s a hint of mocha coming through subtly. I would give it an 88 or so. We paired it with chicken schnitzel and it went well. And particularly well with the chocolate brownies which were dessert. Yumm ….

From the LCBO web site (for a different year):
13th Street Cabernet/Merlot 2012 — VINTAGES#: 56598
Style – Medium-bodied & Fruity  ›
Drawn from two vineyards in the Creek Shores sub-appellation, this rich blend shows the exceptional growing conditions of 2012 for Ontario reds. The fruit is ripe and concentrated, and here it makes for a layered, quite plush mouthfeel that’s consistent right through the palate and through the very good finish. The acidity is well calibrated, cutting through the density of the fruit effectively, and the tannins are supple and moderate. It’s well integrated now, so drink it through to 2017 to appreciate it while the fruit is primary-fresh. Score – 4 Stars out of 5. (Rod Phillips, winealign.com, Nov. 13, 2014) $19.95

Release Date:
June 27, 2015 Alcohol/Vol 12.0% Made in: Ontario, Canada By:
Thirteenth Street Wine Corp. Sugar Content: 6 g/L Sweetness Descriptor: XD – Extra Dry Style:
Medium-bodied & Fruity. This is a VQA wine.