Canadian Wine Guy

I had the pleasure of trying this at Corks that I have blogged about in the past. The wine is golden in color with a lovely varietal nose of vanilla. On the mid pallet this wine has vanilla, oak, and is slightly creamy. It has a medium finish that is best appreciated on it’s own. There’s a bit of acidity on the finish right out of the bottle but that soon passes. The flavors build nicely in the mouth as they coat the pallet. I paired it with sushi and it went quite well. I would give it a solid 90. Yumm. It’s available at the LCBO in half bottles for $16.95 or at the winery for $34.95. It’s not cheap by any means. This is another fabulous Niagara chard! I’m on a roll of great Niagara chards!

From the LCBO web site:
TAWSE ESTATE CHARDONNAY 2009 VINTAGES 253518 | 375 mL bottle Price: $ 16.95
Wine, White Wine 13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD

Made in: Ontario, Canada By: Tawse Winery
Release Date: Nov 12, 2011

Tasting Note
This is a blend of grapes from estate vineyards, the first time Tawse has released this wine. It’s aged in 100% French Oak barriques for a year followed by six months aging in stainless steel before bottling. The nose shows notes of fresh-baked apple pie, toast, vanilla, citrus and spice. Love the verve and energy on the palate to go with elegant oak stylings, apples and spice integration. A well-balanced and fresh Chardonnay through the long finish. Score – 91. (Rick VanSickle, winesinniagara.com, July 27, 2011)

Winey’s web site.

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This is another Okanogon wine we tasted while at Big White ski resort. This is a traditional Bordeaux blend.  Dark in color,  deep rich red berries on the nose.  On the, mid pallet there are deep rich red berries to match the nose. On the finish the wine has some firm tannins and some nice pepper and spice. A nicely complicated wine with lots going on in the mouth. I would give it an 89-90.

From the LCBO web site:
MOON CURSER BORDER VINES RED 2009 VINTAGES 281030 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 44.95

Made in: British Columbia, Canada By: Moon Curser Vineyards Inc.
Release Date: Aug 18, 2012

Wine, Red Wine 14.3% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content: 5 g/L Sweetness Descriptor: XD – Extra Dry

Description
TASTING NOTE: This is the new name for what the winery used to call Six Vines – because it includes all six Bordeaux varietals. The blend is Cabernet Sauvignon (29%), Malbec (23%), Carmenère (23%), Cabernet Franc (4%) and Petit Verdot (1%). Production was 1,325 cases. It is a bold red, beginning with aromas of blueberries and cassis and with generous fruity flavours. The finish has a hint of spice and pepper, probably the contribution of the Carmenère. Score: 92 (John Schreiner, johnschreiner.blogspot.ca, April 26, 2011.

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My frequent readers know I’m a big fan of California style chards. I enjoy the Inniskillin Three Vineyard chard as well as the J Lohr Riverstone chard.

I was walking out of the grocery store and they have a wine store. They were sampling this wine so after I tried it I bought one for a more in depth tasting. Slightly golden in color with a lovely nose of oak and vanilla. On the mid pallet this is a lovely smooth California style chard. Lots of vanilla, some butterscotch and just a hint of acidity. The finish is medium in length. This wine builds slightly in the mouth when drank without food. When enjoyed with a meal (we paired it with pan fried scallops) it takes more of a back seat to allow the meal to come through. This is a smooth elegant, gentle wine. I would give it an 89 or so. Only available at the winery or in their branded store. $18.95 so not a bad deal. It’s tough finding cheap, but good chards.

From the winery for their 2009 vintage:
Trius Chardonnay ‘Barrel Fermented’ has a beautiful bouquet of toasty oak, grilled pineapple, lemon and clove. Medium to full-bodied, this wine has a slightly rich mouth feel, and a wonderful splash of acidity that refreshes the palate. Flavors of lemon, hints of tart tropical fruit, toasty oak and spice gently caress the palate. The long lingering finish of spicy oak is perfectly balanced by refreshing lemon acidity.

Serve with roasted chicken; creamy pasta tossed with grilled chicken or shrimp; smoked gouda with water crackers. $18.95

The winery’s web site.

One of the Red wine varietals Niagara does VERY well (in my opinion) is Cab Franc. They make some wonderful big bruising wines. Ready to stand up to steak or lamb! And this one is no exception (if you like them that way). Approach this too early, or without breathing and you will have a mouth where you won’t be tasting much of anything other than the wine! This ain’t no wine you sit on the patio sipping in the summer heat …

Inky dark in color with spot on varietal nose for a cab frank. Lots of dark berries and some oak. On the mid pallet is where this one comes alive. It is deep and rich with dark berries and cherries coming through in spades. The finish is dominated by firm tannins and a dry pucker power that leaves your mouth going yum (or yuk if you don’t like big wines). I would say this wine should age well and will likely be even better in another year or so as the tannins ease a bit. I would give this a solid 89-90. I tasted this one at Corks. $38 at the LCBO. I’m thrilled Stratus did not find it necessary to blend this wine in anyway. It can be appreciated 100% on it’s own, in all it’s grandeur!

Stratus winery’s web site

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A while back I visited and wrote up a number of Hidden Bench wines. I was impressed. I’ve since run into them at a few Ontario events and been suitably impressed. So I needed to do a wine run to Niagara for gifts and Hidden Bench was on the list, specifically for this wine. I was interested to see if I was impressed enough to plop down cash this time. I’m a real value kinda guy. There’s always more wine to buy than money to buy it with. I have been heard to utter the phrase I don’t know what enough is … but I sure know what not enough is 🙂 Very appropriate for money, horsepower and well, one or two other items that come to mind. Deposit a dime into my account any time you choose to use that phrase. I’ve copyrighted it 🙂 I do digress … Hidden Bench wines while delicious are pricey. So I didn’t buy any last time. But this time … it’s for gifts. Nothing says great gift quite like something you wouldn’t buy for yourself. A treat! Yes believe it or not this is a wine review. If your still reading … bonus points for you!

Pale to golden in color with a lovely varietal nose of candied fruits with some sugar. On the mid pallet this wine is not as “thick” in texture as some chards can be. The wine shows some lovely vanilla and some butterscotch coming through beautifully in the mouth. The wine is medium in length on the finish with the vanilla lingering nicely. Oak and alcohol are well under control. It’s slightly buttery, slightly creamy. This is one big glass of yum. Pair it with scallops, or cod. I would give this wine a 90-91. For me this is the best chard coming out of Niagara (with price removed). You will have to go to the winery to get this one. A different chard from Hidden Bench has been in the LCBO but it was no where near as good. I was thoroughly disappointed in that one, not because it was bad, but because it was not as good as this one. $38 a bottle. Did I mention yum, and pricey? 🙂 Enjoy.

The winery.

I’m not a big lover of Rose wines. This one is rose in color with a lovely nose of strawberries. On the mid pallet this wine is dominated by strawberry flavors, not quite to strawberry jam but close. It’s sweet but not too over the top. On the finish the wine has some lovely tannins. The red they use for this Rose is pinot noir and it does a nice job of adding some nice complexity to this rose. We paired it with pizza and it went well with it. I would give it an 88-89. Very easy drinking. Perfect for the patio season. Hidden bench have made an exclusive deal with restaurants and thus can’t sell the wine as one offs. So you need to buy 6 to get them. Only available at the winery. I seem to recall it was around $16.

Winery’s web site

This wine is pale in color with grassy notes coming through on the nose. On the mid pallet this wine is dominated by green flavors. Some grassyness to go with the nose, some green tartness, and some acidity. This is a very dry wine. The wine is medium in length on the finish with the acidity living on nicely and building in the mouth. For me the sharpness is right on the edge. Any more and it would be unpleasant. I would give this wine an 88 or so. Not a bad Sauv Blanc and a good showing for a Niagara Sauv Blanc. For me, given the price, this is not a bad deal, but not a steal either.

From the LCBO web site:
STONEY RIDGE KASPER VINEYARD SAUVIGNON BLANC 2009 VINTAGES 513705 | 750 mL bottle Price: $ 16.95
Wine, White Wine 11.6% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : XD

Made in: Ontario, Canada By: Stoney Ridge Cellars Ltd.
Release Date: Oct 29, 2011

Tasting Note
Gold Medal winner at the All Canadian Wine Championships 2010. Shows aromas of apple, pear, sweetgrass, mineral and hay. Dry, crisp and very lively. Good tart-apple replays play across the palate. Mouth-watering, long-finishing wine. A great match for grilled rainbow trout with lemon, roasted mini potatoes and butter. (VINTAGES panel, Sept. 2011)

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