13th Street Premier Cuvée Sparkling 2014 (Niagara) - Wine Review

Tonight's wine review is this lovely sparkling wine from Niagara that arrives in LCBO VINTAGES on November 14th. It is featured in this Release as part of the theme called "Holiday Cheer" and would make fine gift for the holidays.

13th Street Winery has become somewhat of a powerhouse in the world of Niagara sparkling wine, with a full lineup of high-quality, traditional method sparkling wines crafted from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. To push the envelope of innovation, they also have a vintage sparkling wine made with Gamay - a varietal that 13th Street has much success with.

This particular vintage sparkling wine is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the 2014 vintage, with both varieties primarily sourced from their estate vineyards in the Creek Shores sub-appellation, along with some fruit coming from some of their favourite growers in both Creek Shores and Niagara-on-the-Lake. After harvest, both varieties went into the press with the free run juice being kept separate from the press wine. Each varietal went through primary fermentation separately, and then blended and bottled for secondary fermentation. The wine was aged on lees for a minimum of 48 months - during this period the bubbles become smaller and more compact, along with the development of slight autolytic, toast and bread characters. After disgorging, Winemaker Jean-Pierre Colas decided that the wine was in perfect balance and opted to not add any sugar to the dosage, resulting in a classically dry sparkling wine in the zero-dosage style.

Along with enjoying other fine sparkling wines from 13th Street Winery, I've had the pleasure of tasting the past two vintages of this lovely bubbly. It has been on my recommended list each of the last two times that it appeared in VINTAGES. Let's see how the 2014 is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

13TH STREET PREMIER CUVÉE SPARKLING 2014 - Traditional method, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#142679) (XD) - $39.95
A blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay that was aged on the lees for a minimum of 48 months and has zero-dosage. Maturing, toasty brioche, autolytic, yeast, and baked apple aromatics with touches of lemon citrus and honey adding complexity. It's medium+ bodied on the crisp, dry palate with fine mousse and lively acidity. The dry flavour profile offers toasty, brioche, leesy, lemon citrus, and mineral characters. The mineral notes linger on the finish, with excellent length. Enjoy over the next 3-5 years. Score: 91 pts