A varied selection of Niagara wines is being released at Vintages this Saturday, Oct. 29, including a coupl
e of lovely Rieslings, John Howard’s latest “Big Mouth” Merlot and a bistro red blend from 13th Street called Red Palette.
Here’s what’s available (check for availability at your local LCBO/Vintages).
Flat Rock Cellars Nadja’s Vineyard Riesling 2010 ($20, 92 points) — Sourced from the most southern block of riesling (named after Madronich’s mother), this is a defining Riesling for Niagara. It shows classic Nadja aromas on the nose — grapefruit, lime, citrus and melon fruits with a gorgeous mineral note through the core. It’s more opulent than previous vintages but maintains firm acidity in the mouth and juicy citrus flavours through the finish.
Tawse Sketches of Niagara Riesling 2010 ($18, 88 points) — Notes of limes, white peaches and a touch of honey and mineral notes on the nose. Wonderful intense citrus fruit on the palate with lemon-lime leading the attack and acid-driven grapefruit supplying the backbone. Fresh and lip-smacking good.
Cave Spring Cellars Estate Chenin Blanc 2008 ($18, 87 points) — Such as expressive nose of fresh orchard apples, lemon, minerality, peach and honey. In the mouth, a core of bright acidity keeps this wine taut and vibrant as the apple-lemon-mineral notes wash over the palate. Very nice white wine
Stoney Ridge Kasper Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2009 ($17, 86 points) — I love the nose on this refreshing, sharp Kiwi style Sauvignon Blanc with its lime, fresh-squeezed grapefruit, cut-grass clippings and herbaceous notes. It’s bone dry and laced with acidity on the palate with pure citrus notes. It’s a severe style of SB, built for oysters on the half shell.
Megalomaniac Big Mouth Merlot 2008 ($25, 88 points) — Megalomaniac owner, John Howard, believes that by judicious leaf thinning to maximize radiation from the sun on the grapes, even in a cooler vintage such as 2008, he can ripen Bordeaux varieties where many others can’t in Niagara. His 08 Big Mouth shouts loud with plum, cassis, currants, earth, cigar-box cedar and spice on the nose. The wine spent 22 months in oak and the toasty-creamy spice flavours are evident in the mouth. This is a wine with an acidic backbone, firm tannins, interesting fruit and tobacco notes that will age well and be a fine complement with grilled meats. Needs decanting on release.
13th Street Red Palette 2010 ($15, 86 points) — A blend of Merlot, Pinot Noir and Gamay with a nose of plums, cassis and black currant jam with just a hint of baking spices. It’s soft and fruit forward on the palate, not complicated at all, and drinkable now.
And some other wines being released but not reviewed or tasted:
• Wildass Red 2008 ($20)
• G. Marquis The Silver Line Pinot Noir 2010 ($20)
• Trius Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2009 ($19)Rich Text AreaToolbarBold (Ctrl / Alt+Shift + B)Italic (Ctrl / Alt+Shift + I)Strikethrough (Alt+Shift+D)Unordered list (Alt+Shift+U)Ordered list (Alt+Shift+O)Blockquote (Alt+Shift+Q)Align Left (Alt+Shift+L)Align Center (Alt+Shift+C)Align Right (Alt+Shift+R)Insert/edit link (Alt+Shift+A)Unlink (Alt+Shift+S)Insert More Tag (Alt+Shift+T)Toggle spellchecker (Alt+Shift+N)▼
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A varied selection of Niagara wines is being released at Vintages this Saturday, Oct. 29, including a couple of lovely Rieslings, John Howard’s latest “Big Mouth” Merlot and a bistro red blend from 13th Street called Red Palette.
Here’s what’s available (check for availability at your local LCBO/Vintages).
Flat Rock Cellars Nadja’s Vineyard Riesling 2010 ($20, 92 points) — Sourced from the most southern block of riesling (named after Madronich’s mother), this is a defining Riesling for Niagara. It shows classic Nadja aromas on the nose — grapefruit, lime, citrus and melon fruits with a gorgeous mineral note through the core. It’s more opulent than previous vintages but maintains firm acidity in the mouth and juicy citrus flavours through the finish.
Tawse Sketches of Niagara Riesling 2010 ($18, 88 points) — Notes of limes, white peaches and a touch of honey and mineral notes on the nose. Wonderful intense citrus fruit on the palate with lemon-lime leading the attack and acid-driven grapefruit supplying the backbone. Fresh and lip-smacking good.
Cave Spring Cellars Estate Chenin Blanc 2008 ($18, 87 points) — Such as expressive nose of fresh orchard apples, lemon, minerality, peach and honey. In the mouth, a core of bright acidity keeps this wine taut and vibrant as the apple-lemon-mineral notes wash over the palate. Very nice white wine
Stoney Ridge Kasper Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2009 ($17, 86 points) — I love the nose on this refreshing, sharp Kiwi style Sauvignon Blanc with its lime, fresh-squeezed grapefruit, cut-grass clippings and herbaceous notes. It’s bone dry and laced with acidity on the palate with pure citrus notes. It’s a severe style of SB, built for oysters on the half shell.
Megalomaniac Big Mouth Merlot 2008 ($25, 88 points) — Megalomaniac owner, John Howard, believes that by judicious leaf thinning to maximize radiation from the sun on the grapes, even in a cooler vintage such as 2008, he can ripen Bordeaux varieties where many others can’t in Niagara. His 08 Big Mouth shouts loud with plum, cassis, currants, earth, cigar-box cedar and spice on the nose. The wine spent 22 months in oak and the toasty-creamy spice flavours are evident in the mouth. This is a wine with an acidic backbone, firm tannins, interesting fruit and tobacco notes that will age well and be a fine complement with grilled meats. Needs decanting on release.
13th Street Red Palette 2010 ($15, 86 points) — A blend of Merlot, Pinot Noir and Gamay with a nose of plums, cassis and black currant jam with just a hint of baking spices. It’s soft and fruit forward on the palate, not complicated at all, and drinkable now.
And some other wines being released but not reviewed or tasted:
• Wildass Red 2008 ($20)
• G. Marquis The Silver Line Pinot Noir 2010 ($20)
• Trius Barrel Fermented Chardonnay 2009 ($19)
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