13th Street Cuvée Rosé Brut NV (Niagara) - Wine Review (Dec. 2022)

For tonight's sparkling wine review, I opened this excellent sparkling rose wine from Niagara that is a VINTAGES Essentials product at the LCBO and is readily available throughout the year. You will want to get your hands on it today as it is currently on promotion at $3 off until January 1st.

Like the lovely 2020 13th Street Blanc de Blanc that I enjoyed last month, this bubbly is crafted by 13th Street Winery - Niagara's sparkling wine specialists. Established in 1998 in St. Catharines, Ontario, 13th Street was acquired in 2008 by the Mann and Whitty families - John & June Mann and Doug & Karen Whitty. Both families have deep roots in the Niagara community and started out as four amateur winemaker friends. As owner, partners, and friends, Doug and Karen Whitty and John and June Mann share a common love of wine, food, art, and a genuine heart for hospitality, and had a strong desire to create exceptional wines that reflect the unique terroir of Niagara.

In 2009, talented winemaker Jean-Pierre Colas, originally from Chablis, France, joined 13th Street and success soon followed. Jean-Pierre's winemaking philosophy is that great wines come from the best grapes grown in the best vineyards, with winemaking techniques only utilized to supplement and capture the very essence of the grapes' terroir and character. 13th Street's success has culminated with them being awarded the #1 Winery in Ontario and #2 in Canada at the 2022 National Wine Awards of Canada.

I most recently enjoyed the 13th Street Cuvée Rosé Brut in December 2020, and while that bottling was predominantly Pinot Noir, this particular edition is composed of 54% Chardonnay and 46% Pinot Noir. Since the wine is a majority of Chardonnay, the white grape provides structure and backbone, while the Pinot Noir provides fruit, power, and richness. Crafted in a dry style, this sparkling wine was fermented and aged in the traditional method, undergoing second fermentation in the final bottle, and was aged sur lattes (en tirage) for a minimum of 18 months during which the bubbles became smaller and more compact, while also developing a slight autolytic, or toast and bread character. After dosage mixed with reserve Pinot Noir was added, the wine was aged a further 3 months prior to release. Let's see how this delicious, locally-crafted pink bubbly is tasting tonight...

Tasting Note:

13TH STREET CUVÉE ROSÉ BRUT NV - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (#147504) (XD) - $29.95 $26.95 until Jan. 1.
Pretty pink-orange colour, this blend of 54% Chardonnay and 46% Pinot Noir has a fragrant, medium-high intensity nose with attractive aromas of strawberry, red cherry, autolytic, watermelon, and peach with touches of toast and pastry. On the medium+ bodied palate it is clean and crisp, with fine mousse that delivers lightly honeyed, yet dry, flavours of strawberry, red cherry, raspberry, lemon, and peach. Fresh acidity is clean and crisp, with a succulent, slightly chalky mouthfeel on the mid-palate. Lovely red berry and strawberry flavours are joined by mineral notes on the long-lasting, dry finish. Always a delight and my favourite bottling so far. Highly recommended buy! Score: 91 pts

Other lovely wines by 13th Street are available at the LCBO and direct through the winery in Niagara.