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wine review is from Joseph's Estate Wines, a family owned and operated winery whose history goes back even further than when it first opened its doors in Niagara-on-the-Lake in 1996.
Dr. Joseph Pohorly was born in Vineland, Ontario, to a farmer's son and learned how to grow grapes and other fruit crops. With time, he gained knowledge of the land, geography, and climate that makes Niagara's viticultural area special. In 1979, Joseph founded Newark Winery in Virgil, one of the three original wineries in Niagara and helped the lay the foundation for the growth of the Ontario wine industry.
When Dr. Pohorly sold a majority share of Newark Winery in 1982, the new German owners changed the name to Hillebrand and encouraged him to produce Icewine. If you visit the winery, you will get a close look attheir first ever Icewine press stationed outside the front door.
In 1992, Joseph purchased a 20-acre site in the heart of Niagara Wine Country and planted the site with vineyards to become Joseph's Estate Wines. The Niagara winery is known to produce award-winning wines, while also ageing their wines for many years prior to release, such as this current-release 2004 Cabernet Franc (available at winery only and online web store). In addition to table wines, they also produce port-style, sherry, and grape seed oil.
Tasting Note:
JOSEPH'S ESTATE PROPRIETOR'S GRAND RESERVE CABERNET FRANC 2004 - VQA Four Mile Creek, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada (XD) - $29.95
No review since this bottle seems flawed. However, since I also tasted this wine (and enjoyed it) when I visited the winery a couple of months ago, I am including my tasting note from that visit.
11 years in barrel and only 2 barrels produced. This has a medium+ intensity nose offering tobacco, cherry, and leather aromas in a sour-edged profile. It's medium-bodied on the crunchy palate with supple tannins that are quite smooth, vibrant acids, and an earthy-savoury mid-palate with sweet tobacco flavours. Very good finish length. Tasted May/2018. Score: 89 pts
The fun-filled began at Vineland Estates Winery where we were given a guided tour of the property and facilities by David Hulley. The tour began on the patio over looking the prized Bo-Teek Vineyard with a gorgeous view of the Bench, and in the distance Lake Ontario, followed by a visit to the St. Urban Vineyard where some of Niagara's oldest Riesling vines (late '70's / early 80's) can be found. The winery is housed in picturesque structures that date back to the 1840's, including a former farmhouse, century barn, and a charming Carriage House. The tour concluded with a visit to the production facility, where I had the opportunity to get a closer look at their state-of-the-art optical sorting machine. This game changing machine accurately sorts up to 2,000 berries per second, separating lower quality grapes from the higher quality grapes. Vineland Estates is the only Canadian winery to have such technology.
Following the tour, we headed downstairs to the tank room to enjoy their Discovery Pass Experience, which featured a Beer and Cheddar Bisque paired with their 2016 Vineland Estates Cabernet Franc (#594127, $14.95, 88 pts). The soup was made using Shawn & Ed's LagerShed Beer and Cow's Creamery 2-year-old Cheddar. It was creamy, if a touch sour, but offered nice balance when paired with the wine. A comfort pairing perfect for cooler months. After the food and wine pairing, we went to the tasting room to taste through some wines from their delicious portfolio. Wine reviews of some of these wines, plus others tasted on this day are provided below.
The second stop of the day was at Megalomaniac Winery. The wine pairing here was the 2016 Megalomaniac Selfie (#453506, $17.95, 86 pts), an easy-drinking, off-dry blend of Chardonnay Musqué, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling that paired very nicely with the small-proportioned Japanese-style buttermilk and panko-crusted chicken tenders, finished with a local freestone peach and ginger root glaze. The chicken tenders were very tasty, a little spicy, and when paired together with the off-dry white wine, the chicken tenders became even spicier and really enhanced the ginger flavours from the root glaze. A lively pairing that was really well done! Megalomaniac sits atop a hill, and relaxing on their outdoor patio while enjoying the view really enhanced the whole experience.
Our third stop of the day was at Pillitteri Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, where they were celebrating Canada's 150th birthday by offering potato skins topped with ingredients from every province and territory in our great nation. With 13 ingredients making up this potato skin, you can bet there were going to be many flavours vying for your attention. Some of the ingredients included potatoes from Prince Edward Island (obviously), cheese from the three other Atlantic provinces, honey from Ontario, juniper berries from British Columbia, and Ox tail from the Yukon. Unfortunately, due to the complexity of this food item, and the fact that Pillitteri was very busy on this day, they weren't able to customize my potato skin. This led to me trying only a couple of bites before discarding it. Two wines were offered with this pairing - a choice of either the Pillitteri Gewurztraminer Riesling Fusion (#349126, $13.95) or the Pillitteri Cabernet Merlot ($20). I opted for the heartier Cab Merlot, thinking that it should go well with the starchy and complex, loaded potato skin. The Discovery Pass Experience was a bit of downer here for me, but I did get to taste some really special Icewines afterwards, which made the visit to Pillitteri worthwhile.
The fourth and final stop of the day was a very interesting one at Coyote’s Run Estate Winery. The culinary creation here was a farm-raised chicken, slow-cooked in a Jamaican jerk glaze and topped with Your Farm Gate’s fresh Ontario peach chutney, while served on a bed of basmati rice salad. Once again, two wines were offered - the 2016 Coyote's Run Lambert Vineyard Riesling ($19.95, 87 pts) and the 2015 Coyote's Run Estate Cabernet Franc ($24.95, 88 pts). However, here at Coyote's Run we were encouraged to try both wines with the food pairing to see how they fare. The Jerk chicken was mildly flavoured and not spicy, while the Riesling was bordering on off-dry, bringing out peach flavours from the chutney and wine. With the Cab Franc, the pairing became earthier and comforting, along with some of the jerk spice flavours becoming more prominent. While this pairing was quite interesting, our visit went to a whole other level after we met Assistant Winemaker Chris Protonentis. He was able to give us a quick tour of the facility before heading to the cellar for some barrel sampling of a few wines coming down the pipeline.
This was another fine day spent touring Niagara Wine Country during the annual Grape and Wine Festival. And just like on the first day, I was able to bring home recipes of some of the food items so we could try them at home. Get in touch with me if you would like a copy of any of the recipes.
Tasting Notes:
VINELAND ESTATES ELEVATION CHARDONNAY 2014 - Bo-Teek Vineyard, VQA Niagara Escarpment, Ontario, Canada (#164459) (XD) - $25
The medium+ intensity aromas offer golden apple, pear, and butter notes with hints of hazelnut. It's medium-bodied on the somewhat creamy palate with balanced acids and nice aroma replays. The nutty finish has very good length. Score: 89 pts
VINELAND ESTATES ELEVATION ST. URBAN VINEYARD RIESLING 2008 - VQA Niagara Escarpment, Ontario, Canada (#038117) (MD) - $30
The highly aromatic nose is showing some maturity, offering lemon citrus with whiffs of petrol and hints of minerality. It's medium-bodied and nicely textured on the palate with acids that are still quite lively. Off-dry flavour profile with lovely lemon/lime citrus, honeyed peach and floral flavours. Excellent finish length. Will easily age another 10 years. Score: 91 pts
VINELAND ESTATES CABERNET FRANC RESERVE 2012 - VQA Niagara Escarpment, Ontario, Canada (XD) - $50
From a very good vintage, this has highly aromatic aromas of ripe blackberry, herbal, currant, cassis, mocha chocolate, and barnyard, all of which come through in appealing fashion on the medium+ bodied palate with smooth, refined tannins supported by very good, energetic acids. The smooth finish has excellent length. Score: 91+ pts
MEGALOMANIAC BESPOKE PINOT NOIR 2015 - VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (XD) - $49.95
Highly aromatic on the nose with elegant candied cherry, floral, raspberry, baking spice, and hints of minerality aromas. Fine tannins are light on the light-bodied palate with pretty aroma replays plus some oak spice elements that are lifted by fresh, bright acids. There's some structure to the palate and it's very well balanced. Great tension between fruit and oak. The long finish is a touch bitter. Score: 90+ pts
MEGALOMANIAC BESPOKE MERLOT 2015 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (XD) - $59.95
The intense aromas reveal lovely forest red berry, dark cherry, mocha, forest floor aromas with hints of bay leaf and evergreen. On the medium-full bodied palate, this offers layers red and black forest fruits, chocolate, blackberry, cedar oak and some floral nuances. Medium-level tannins offer some structure and is balanced with fresh acids. Textured, classy, and long finishing. Age 3-4 years and drink to 2027. 91 pts
MEGALOMANIAC BESPOKE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2015 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (XD) - $59.95
The medium-high intensity nose offers lush cassis, blackcurrant, and hints of olive, game and earthiness. The palate is full-bodied with smooth, silky, and structured tannins. It has very nice aroma replays, followed by an earthy mid-palate. Bright acids provide lift, and the finish is long and smooth. Drink or hold until 2027. Score: 91+ pts
PILLITTERI VIDAL RESERVE ICEWINE 2013 - VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada (S) (375 mL) - $65
Fragrant and open with peach, apricot, lychee, orange citrus, honey and marmalade aromas. The palate is medium+ bodied and lush with delicate acids providing balanced freshness to complement the sweet aroma replays. The long finish is accented with some oak spice. Score: 91 pts
PILLITTERI GEWURZTRAMINER ICEWINE 2000 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (S) (200 mL) - $35
The medium-high intensity nose has a mature character, showing notes of molasses, burnt brown sugar, earth, and orange peel, in a slightly reductive style. It's medium-full bodied on the palate with smooth, silky, voluptuous and velvety mouthfeel with sweet, honeyed aroma replays. Palate still has some freshness. Excellent finish length. Such a treat to taste an Icewine at this age. Score: 90 pts
PILLITTERI CABERNET SAUVIGNON ICEWINE 2004 - VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada (S) (375 mL) - $70
This has a medium-high intensity nose of dried cassis, dried red fruit and blackberry aromas. The palate is full bodied and sweet with raisiny, dried fig flavours lifted with very good acids, Long finishing with nice aroma replays. Score: 89 pts
COYOTE'S RUN ESTATE SYRAH 2015 - VQA Four Mile Creek, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada (XD) - $34.95
From the red soil vineyard and matured for 18 months in an even split between Hungarian and French oak. The medium intensity nose seens closed, but offers complex glimpses of white pepper, meat, gamey, dark berry, earth, and savoury aromas. On the medium+ bodied palate, this offers crunchy tannins and very good acidity with balanced aroma replays that lean more towards fruit forward, with some savoury elements. The finish is long and clean. Very drinkable now, but I would age this for 2 years. Score: 89 pts
COYOTE'S RUN ESTATE SYRAH 2016 - VQA Four Mile Creek, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada (XD) - $34.95
Barrel
sample. A mix of sweet and savoury bouquet with ripe dark berry, white
pepper, sweet oak spice, and gamey notes. It's full-bodied on the palate
with nice aroma replays. fresh acids, touch grippy tannins, and long
finishing. Score: 89+ pts
COYOTE'S RUN RED PAW VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 2016 - VQA Four Mile Creek, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada (#079228) (XD) - $35
Barrel sample. Aged on the lees. This has floral, cherry, and earth aromas and flavours. It's light-weighted on the palate with structured tannins that are a touch grippy. Clean acids and a balanced, long finish. Score: 89 pts
COYOTE'S RUN BLACK PAW VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 2016 - VQA Four Mile Creek, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada (#116442) (XD) - $35
Barrel sample. This has a medium-high intensity nose featuring dark fruit, dark berry, tea leaf, and mineral aromas. It's light-to-medium bodied with more dark berry and dark fruit flavours lifted by fresh acids. It has grippy tannins and a long finish. Needs at least a couple of years to come together. Score: 90 pts
On , I attended a very special tasting of fine wines produced by world-renowned Château Palmer. This tasting was hosted by Eurovintage Wines & Spirits at the The National Club and featured 6 wines from this famous producer. The timing of this tasting coincided with the Château Palmer dinner that was organized by VINTAGES and taking place later that evening.
The first wine available for tasting was from their Alter Ego label. Given the expansive history of this house that began with the English General Charles Palmer in the early 1800s, the first vintage of Alter Ego wines is practically a baby - beginning only in 1998. This wine shows much of the same finesse, elegance, aromatic richness, harmony and length that is found in their main label, but with a much more approachable price tag.
Palmer was very much interested in the vineyards and wines of this estate, and by 1836 had owned 82 hectares of vines on this prized Margaux site in Bordeaux. The elegantly towered château that currently sits on the site was constructed in 1855 and I'm sure has many stories to tell. I hope to visit the site one of these days. In 1938, when fortunes turned for the worse, the heirs of Palmer had to sell the estate and it has since been turned over to families in England, Holland and France. In the years since, there has been a large focus on producing red wines that show character and terroir at Château Palmer.
We then proceeded to tasted 4 Château Palmer wines from vintages spanning 21 years, ranging from 2004 to 1983. This was an excellent vertical tasting which showed that their wines are approachable now, built-to-last and can gracefully age over the years. All were fantastic quality and very enjoyable to drink right now. As you will see from the wine reviews below, my favourite of the bunch was the 1999 vintage, which appeared to be approaching its prime drinking window, yet still had plenty of stuffing to be cellared for another two decades.
My second favourite wine was the 1983 Château Palmer. I refrained from tasting the first bottle as other wine folks before me had commented that it was off. The second bottle, which I tasted from, was outstanding! This was easily the oldest wine I had ever tasted. Very mature nose and palate, with balanced acids, alcohol, fruit and tannin. From all the excitement of tasting a wine that was nearly as old as me, I missed taking a picture of the bottle! Oh well... c'est la vie!
The last wine I tasted was the Historical XIXth Century Wine which, as described by Jean-Louis, is an experimental wine and an ode to the winery's past. It was discovered that more than 150 years ago, blending fine Bordeaux wines, including Château Palmer, with grapes from the Northern Rhône was a relatively common practice. This practice came to a halt when AOC regulations were put into place. Given that this wine does not meet the AOC regulations, you will notice that there is no vintage on the label, and it is designated "Vin de France".
Upon departing the tasting and taking some time to reflect, one word comes to mind when describing the wines of Château Palmer - elegant. These red wines have firm tannins, but are elegantly styled with excellent balance between fruit, oak, acids, and alcohol. For the most part, these wines can be enjoyed right now, but can be aged for a period ranging in the decades.
All of these wines are available for order, some in very limited quantities, until through the vintagesshoponline.com website.
Tasting Notes: ALTER EGO 2008 - AC Margaux, Bordeaux, France (#403311) (XD) - $139.00
Blend of 52% Merlot and 48% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aromas of medium-high intensity showing elegant woodsmoke, earthy notes, and touches of sweet ripe black cherry and blackberry. Medium-bodied palate is elegant and juicy with pleasing aroma replays. Acids are nicely balanced, while tannins are refined and silky smooth. Long, smooth, bitter-tasting finish. Lovely! Score: 91 pts
CHÂTEAU PALMER 2004 - AC Margaux, Bordeaux, France (#403303) (XD) - $415
This blend of 47% Merlot, 46% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Petit Verdot has aromas of medium+ intensity and an elegant, seductive nose consisting of red berries, currants, wet tilled earth, blackberry, plum and barnyard. Medium-to-full bodied with good structure and finesse, along with very nice aroma replays on the palate. Nicely balanced acids, as well as balance between fruit and oak. Taut tannins are otherwise smooth and crunchy. Hints of black pepper and minty herbal notes on the very long finish. Enjoyable now, but I would cellar this another 3-4 years and drink up to a decade from now. Score: 92 pts
CHÂTEAU PALMER 1999 - AC Margaux, Bordeaux, France (#188664) (XD) (1500 mL) - $889
Tasted from the 750 mL bottle. Final blend consisting of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, and 6% Petit Verdot. Highly aromatic nose featuring lovely mulberry, blackberry, currant, earthy, leather, along with hints of cassis and licorice. It's medium-to-full bodied with flavours of crushed black fruits, black pepper, sweet spice, plum and oak. Still feels very fresh and youthful with vibrant, mouth-watering acids. Excellent length on the finish. At 15 years old, this is enjoyable now, but big tannins seem a bit young and should develop nicely over the next 15-20 years. My favourite wine of the tasting. Score: 93 pts
CHÂTEAU PALMER 1995 - AC Margaux, Bordeaux, France (#403287) (XD) - $529
Blend of 51% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 9% Cabernet Franc. Medium+ intensity aromas with mature dried fruits, exotic spice, sweet vanillan, tomato leaf, dried currant, and hints of nut and raisin. It's full-bodied with aroma replays following through on the flavour profile. Has balanced acids, while fine-grained tannins are sinewy and smooth. Very long, dry finish is slightly chalky and has some mature nutty and vanillan flavours. Enjoy over the next 3-4 years. Score: 91 pts
CHÂTEAU PALMER 1983 - AC Margaux, Bordeaux, France (#403279) (XD) - $1,479
Back in 1983, some Cabernet Franc (4%) was added to the blend that consisted of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot. Medium-high intensity aromas immediately come off as mature - dried currants, red fruits, floral, cedar oak, mocha and some earthy notes. It's medium-to-full bodied with lovely aroma replays and also notes of sweet spice, tobacco and hints of mushroom. Acids are very good, balanced. Hints of sweet vanillan on the excellent, lengthy finish. Drying tannins could hold up to 5 more years, or drink now. Expect some sediment. Score: 95 pts
HISTORICAL XIXth CENTURY L20.07 - Vin de France (#403329) (XD) - $499
This blend contains equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Syrah which was added after ageing. It has medium-high intensity, lifted nose consisting of red & black fruits, black peppercorn, and cedar aromas. On the palate, it's medium+ bodied with flavours of blackberry, currant, cassis, peppercorn and leather. Has mouth-watering acids and big, drying tannins. Complex with good structure, it has elegant oak spice notes and an excellent, lengthy finish. Score: 90 pts
Purchased this organic white wine earlier this year from the April 27 release. At 9 years old, you would think this is well passed its prime, but it definitely is not! Hopefully you picked this up when I recommended it back in April, because it's no longer available.
LOAN WINES UNWOODED SPECIAL RESERVE SEMILLON 2004 - Barossa Valley, South Australia (#301127) (D) - $15.95
Tasting Note:
Screw cap. Complex aromas of orange, tropical fruits, tea leaf, and beeswax. Medium-full bodied with an oily and very creamy texture. Palate is ever-so-slightly off-dry (slightly sweet) and has tropical fruits, tea and beeswax flavours. Smooth, lengthy finish that is slightly tart, bitter and extra dry. For a 2004, this is drinking very well, but drink this yummy white now. It's different. I enjoyed it!
Purchased this red wine last month from the Vintages release that featured Spanish Wines. One of the good things about this wine is that all the ageing was done at the winery before being released, and it's drinking great right now! It's made using 90% Tempranillo and 10% Garnacha / Mazuelo (Carignan) and bottled in 2008.
Tasting Note:
Interesting aromas of freshly cut wood, rubber and menthol from the cork. Lots of little hints of cranberry, sour cherry, pomegranate and violets. Medium-full bodied with finely-grained and dusty tannins on the palate with nice aroma replays plus hints of cocoa. Very good acidity and balanced throughout, while finishing long with integrated oak flavours. Even though it's already 9 years old and drinking well now, it could be aged another 2-3 years. Will be enjoying this with Piri-Piri Chicken Fajitas. It's a good one and definitely recommended if you like Tempranillo.
Tasting Note:
Aromas of candied oranges, honey and peach from cork. Soft toasted honey notes, slight citrusy aromas in the glass.Honey, peach, nutmeg and orange flavours on the palate. Light texture. Very sweet for a late harvest. Delicious, but doesn't quite match up to the sweetness of this Cadbury Creme Egg that I'm enjoying.
This wine is no longer available from the LCBO. However, you can purchase a similar, newer vintage wine directly from the winery.
FERNANDEZ ESCUDO DE PLATA GRAN RESERVA 2004 - DO Jumilla, Spain (#246751) (XD) - $19.95
Tasting Note:
Corks smell reminds me of prune and raisin - not a fan of such aromas. Having said that, the aromas and flavours from the glass are MUCH better. Red fruits, spice, herbs and vanilla and earth aromas from the glass. Lavender, raspberry, cherry and floral notes on the palate. Medium-bodied. Smooth, well integrated tannins. Could have been cellared for another 1-2 years, but definitely enjoyable now. This one deserved better than serving with leftovers of chicken lasagna, wings, spring rolls, but otherwise did pair nicely with the menu.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
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