Canadian Wine Guy

Inky dark in color with a nice nose of black berries consistent with a Malbec along with some oak. On the mid pallet the wine is a fruit forward Malbec displaying some lovely rich black berries to match the nose. The wine is smooth on the finish with tannins and alcohol well under control. This is a well made wine. I would give it a solid 90. And then I saw the price … $48 at the winery or the 2009 is in the LCBO for $48.20. Wow.

From the LCBO:
STRATUS MALBEC 2009 VINTAGES 307637 | 750 mL bottle Price $ 48.20
Made in: Ontario, Canada By: Stratus Vineyards
Release Date: Feb 11, 2013
13.5% Alcohol/Vol. Sugar Content: 4 g/L Sweetness Descriptor: D – Dry

Tasting Note
Deep ruby. Floral nose hints at aromatic herbs, blackberry, violet, quinine and pink peppercorn. Sweet and perfumed on the palate, with smooth cassis, coffee and bay leaf flavors that linger nicely at the back. Score – 90. (Ian D’Agata, International Wine Cellar, Feb. 2012)

From the Winery’s web site:
The 2010 Stratus Malbec bears the hallmark of Stratus’ collaboration with Viticulturist/Winemaker Paul Hobbs. This Malbec exhibits a perfumed bouquet of blueberries, violets and Saskatoon berries. The palate possesses an exuberant juiciness, softer riper tannins and a velvety textured finish. Almost 19 months in second-vintage French cooperage brings a pleasing oak spice to this multi-layered wine.

Bias up front I like my rieslings dry. So when I saw this one as Semi dry (it was a gift) I was not anxious to try it. Pale in color with a nose of honeysuckle. On the mid pallet this wine definitely lives up to it’s name as semi-dry. Apricots come screaming out along with some dominant sugar. The wine is medium in length on the finish with the sweetness living on. I have to admit this is so not to my tastes. From a German scale this would get an auslese. I would give it an 87 or so but only because it’s not to my tastes. For me this is the kind of sweet sugar water that gives Rieslings a bad name.

I’ve expounded on a number of occasions about Niagara Cab Francs. I love them. Well this one is no exception. Reserve is a term which generally means the wine was kept in barrels aging longer. Inniskillin is in Niagara on the Lake which tends to make softer reds when compared to wines from the Jordan area. Dark in color with a lovely varietal nose of cab franc, red berries along with some noticeable alcohol. On first note the wine was in need of some breathing in spite of it’s age. After a bit of time the fruit comes out quite nicely some nice red berries along with some noticeable oak and alcohol. The wine is medium in length in finish with some soft tannins coming through. This is a nice wine for sure, I would give it an 89 or so. We paired it with a BBQ salmon and it went very nicely. The softer nature of the Niagara on the lake wines goes well with red fish. Yumm. It sells now for $21.95 which for a reserve is not a bad price!

I enjoy Kacaba wines. They have consistently been one of my favorites. There wines are reasonably priced and well made. I submit this one as a perfect example. Dark in color with a nose of dark berries. On the mid pallet the wine displays a hint of plum and lots of black cherries. On the finish the wine displays some fine tannins and some lovely complex dryness. This is best experienced at least a little on it’s own (without food). We paired it with cornish hen along with some spicy sweet potato fries and you really missed a lot of the lovely complexity with this particular food. It wasn’t a good choice. I would give the wine an 89-90. It was $18 at the winery, looks like it’s all gone. Yumm!

When we were up in Quebec to do some skiing we checked out this winery. I was unfamiliar with what they were doing in the area so was curious. I picked this one up. Pale in color with minerality coming through on the nose. On the mid pallet the wine displays some nice crisp minerality along with some nice lime coming through. You can taste some of the vidal for sure. This wine is 60% Vidal and 40% Seyval a grape I first encountered at Waupous in Prince Edward County. On the medium length finish the wine displays some nice acidity in the mouth. We paired it first with pan fried lake perch and second with lobster and it went well with both. I would give it a solid 88. It’s a simple well made food friendly wine. $15.80 at the SAQ in Quebec (or at the winery).