Canadian Wine Guy

I tasted this one at the Vintages Ontario wine event held at the Ritz Carlton. Garnet in color with a spot on varietal nose of strawberries. Lovely … On the mid pallet the wine matches the nose with some lovely strawberries and red berries coming through. There’s a touch of acidity on the finish along with some mild tannins and some nice dryness. A very nice Niagara Pinot Noir. I think Niagara does Pinot well! This is a good example. I would give it an 89. $24.94 at the LCBO. Check LCBO stock 268391.

I first encountered this wine at the LCBO Ontario wine event. One of the items I liked about this event is that most of the wines at the event are in the LCBO. This particular wine comes from a winery near Owen Sound. It is considered an emerging area with no AVA designation. Dark in color with an unusual nose. Hard to place it. Kind of foosty, almost barnyard like. Maybe even some flint. Unusual. The varietal is a Marechal Foch which typically is kind of a rustic varietal. On the mid palette the wine displays the typical rustic flavors. Not for everyone but I like it. I last had a different Marechal Foch in Prince Edward County from Sandbanks. There’s even some similarities to a pinot noir. It’s smooth and round in the mouth. On the finish the wine displays some fine tannins and some nice dryness. I would give it an 89. I quite enjoyed it. I love the name of the winery, the wine and the label too! Checkout out the winery’s web site.

From the LCBO web site:
COFFIN RIDGE BACK FROM THE DEAD RED 2010 VINTAGES 260463 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 17.00

Made in: Ontario, Canada By: Coffin Ridge Winery

Release Date: Oct 13, 2012

Wine, Red Wine 11.2% Alcohol/Vol. Varietal: Marechal Foch
Sweetness Descriptor: XD – Extra Dry

Description
Coffin Ridge is a pioneering winery in the exciting frontier of Grey County. This wine is made from Maréchal Foch, which is something of an Ontario specialty.

Tasting Note
Woodsy, savoury aromas of wild blueberry, sour cherry, plum, tilled earth, coffee grounds and campfire smoke. Vivacious acidity brings lift and verve. Medium body with chewy tannins. Calls for fatty cuts of beef or game, gourmet sausages or a beef stew. (VINTAGES panel, Aug. 2012).

Kacaba are doing some great innovative stuff. I’ve enjoyed a number of their wines. Checkout my reviews of their wines. This one is inky dark in color with a nice mild nose of dark berries. On the mid pallet the wine displays lovely rich dark berries. Very shiraz like. Not quite to the point of blue berries. On the finish the wine has some lovely smooth tannins and lovely dryness that builds nicely in the mouth. I would give this a solid 89-90. Yumm. Another fine Niagara Cab/Shiraz.

Holly from Kacaba pass along that it will be a January 19th Vintages Release LCBO #317925, Price: $18.95. Thanks Holly! Great news!

Another one from the Vintages Taste Ontario event. I’ve been impressed with a number of Cab/Syrah blends from Niagara. The Gretzky one, and the Kacaba one for example. This one is 65% Cab Sauv, 29% Syrah and 6% Cab Franc. Dark in color with a nice dark berry nose. On the mid pallet the wine matches the nose with lovely black berries dominant. This is a big bold wine in the mouth! On the finish the wine has some nice pepper and some tannins. I would give it a solid 89-90. It’s $24.95 a bottle.

On behalf of Brett Mr CWG and myself I want to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving. May your glass be filled with great wine, your plates with great food and your home with lots of family and friends!We have lots to be thankful for!

The 2008 is in the LCBO:
FIELDING CABERNET/SYRAH 2008 VINTAGES 258657 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 24.95
Made in: Ontario, Canada By: Fielding Estate Winery
Release Date: Dec 10, 2011
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sweetness Descriptor: XD – Extra Dry

Description
TASTING NOTE: This blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Syrah and 19% Cabernet Franc introduces itself with a delicious suggestion of coffee, followed by cherry, blueberry, cassis, spice and oak aromas. The palate is dry, medium bodied with good weight and mouthfeel. Well-integrated, balanced tannins and acidity work very well with the satisfying fruit core. Spice-edged finish shows good complexity. (Vintages panel, Feb. 2011)

I tasted this one at the LCBO Vintages Taste Ontario event. The vines are some of the oldest in Niagara. They are 50 years old! Pale in color with a lovely chard nose. On the mid pallet the wine is a classic California style chard with vanilla and butterscotch coming through. It’s got some lovely mouth texture to it. There’s some mild acidity on the medium length finish. A very nice chard. I’d give it an 89-90.

From the LCBO web site:
ANGELS GATE OLD VINES CHARDONNAY 2010 VINTAGES 116350 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 23.95

Made in: Ontario, Canada By: Angels Gate Winery
Release Date: Sep 28, 2012
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content: 2 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD – Extra Dry

Tasting Note
An incredibly skilful and delicious Chardonnay that’s a testament both to Ontario’s suitability for the grape, and to winemaker Philip Dowell’s considerable talents. The wine bursts from the glass with a beautifully rich nose of fresh peach, pear, baked apple, coconut, buttermilk and toast all backed by stony minerality. Ripe, creamy-textured and elegant with brilliant acidity and impeccable balance. A joy to drink, this will pair nicely with grilled lobster tail or roast chicken. (VINTAGES panel, July 2012) .

Check LCBO Stock.

This write up is from our trip summer 2010 to the Prince Edward County area. See the entire article at my Prince Edward County trip blog

None of these are in the LCBO (for now).

Closson Chase

We encountered a very enthusiastic wine lover behind the counter and he imparted a lot of knowledge of their design points with which they use to make their wines. They use minimum fining, filtering, yiests etc and try and go for as natural a process as the area will allow. The tasting is the most expensive one we encountered. $10 for a flight of three and the price is not waved even if you buy a bottle.

2008 ccv sans Chene $25 Unoaked
Right on the bouquet you could get the tart minerality. Slightly Chard in flavor.

2007 CCV South Clos Chard $39.95 Oaked
This wine on the bouqet is spot on Chard. A lovely Chard fruit flavor on the mid pallet and then the typical tartness on the finish. This is one of the better Chards I had in the county and in spite of the high price, I bought it for it’s uniqueness. I personally wonder if given a year or two of aging if the two flavors will start to meld together. The fellow behind the counter thought it might age 5-7 years.

2006 Closson Chase Chard (VQA Beamsville)
A very light chard with nothing particularly distinctive to it.

Tasted this one at the winery. Pale in color with a nose of flint. I noticed this was common on a number of the chards from Niagara on the Lake on this trip. Sometimes (not this time) it’s so strong I almost thought I smelled sulfur, like a match. The nose was not all that appealing. On the mid pallet this wine has a bit of a fight going on in the mouth between the inherent Niagara on the Lake minerality (read acidity) and some of the sweet from the fruit. The juxtaposition was not intense but for me it just didn’t go nicely in the mouth. Medium in length on the finish. I would give this an 87 or so. Just not to my tastes. $19.95 at the LCBO, $20.20 at the winery.

From the Lailey web site:
2009 Chardonnay VQA: Flavours of pineapple, melon & peach with a rich mouthfeel and balanced by a good core of acidity that carries the wine to a long citrus finish. Gentle oak ageing has left this wine with the perfect balance of vanilla spice and fruit.

Hard to say for sure but I think this is the one in the LCBO Check LCBO stock.

Picked up this one on our trip to Niagara on the lake at the winery. Inky dark in color with a nice nose of black berries. On the mid pallet this wine has some lovely dark berries, almost to the point of blue berries, almost jammy, almost sweet. On the medium finish the wine has some dry, fine tannins and some spicyness. This is a nice wine. I would give it an 89 or so. It’s 24.95 at the winery, not in the LCBO.

I was walking out of the grocery store and they were tasting this one. Dark in color with mild nose. On the mid pallet this wine is dominated by BIG acidity and firm tannins and a very long finish. The fruit is totally overwhelmed. There are some black berries there but hard to tell. They had an aerator on the bottle and that should have been a dead give away. This wine needs either to breath significantly or age for a bit. Then maybe you might be able to taste some of the fruit. Wow …

From the Inniskillin web site:
2009 Core Series Meritage VQA Niagara Peninsula

Viticulture/Vinification
Each component of this blend was fermented at warm temperatures in contact with the skins for 14 days to extract colour and tannin followed by full malolactic fermentation to soften the wine’s acidity. The wines were then aged separately in new and older French and American oak barrels for 12 months to enhance its structure and aromatic complexity. The final blend was assembled after ageing.

Vintage Conditions
The 2009 Vintage was characterized by a cool, wet growing season which created a compressed harvest period beginning at the end of September and finishing in early November. The challenge of minimal sunshine reduced warmth but was managed by successfully reducing the fruit load to keep the quality high and achieve ripeness. The cool, wet summer allowed for cool climate grape varieties, including Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Grigio, to do well. September brought a welcomed Indian Summer with consistently sunny, warm days and cool evenings during the ripening period. This minimized disease pressure and helped to bring on the fruit and keep the quality high in all varieties. Look for wines from 2009 to reveal terroir, express pure fruit character and display great depth of colour in the reds.

Tasting Notes
Red berry, spice and vanilla are present on the nose of this blend. The palate is medium-full and approachable with red fruit and spice being the dominate flavours. The finish is clean and balanced showing the delicate spice and floral components of the wine.

From the LCBO web site for the 2008:
INNISKILLIN MERITAGE 2008 VINTAGES 91132 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 15.95

Made in: Ontario, Canada By: Vincor International Inc.
Release Date: Feb 4, 2012

Wine, Red Wine 13.5% Alcohol/Vol.

Sweetness Descriptor: XD – Extra Dry

Tasting Note
Merlot-centred blend with aromas of currants, sour cherry, saddle leather, vanilla bean, spice and a touch of smoke. Dry with plenty of ripe fruit surrounded by gentle tannins and fresh acidity. Medium-full bodied with a lingering, fruity, soft-tannin finish. Can age 2-3 years, but is ready to drink tonight with gourmet sausages, steaks or grilled chicken. (VINTAGES panel, July 2011).

Check LCBO stock for the 2008 vintage.