Yeah, I know, it’s only November and far too early to start thinking about Chris
tmas.
But it’s hard not to when every store you walk into is blasting out Bing Crosby’s White Christmas and we’re inundated with festive signs urging us to buy, buy, buy, all in the spirit of the season, of course.
There was a time when retailers at least waited until the day after Remembrance Day to get us to part with our hard-earned cash, but not anymore. The advertising begins the moment the Halloween pumpkins get tossed into the recycling bins.
You can resist, but it is futile. And that is especially true if you are planning on Christmas wine shopping. The LCBO begins its Christmas rush extra early and it all starts this Saturday with a huge pre-holiday release of gift-giving vinous treasures that are sure to add a little joy to the wine lover in your life.
At the top of the Vintages release Saturday from Niagara are the first 2010 wines from the venerable Le Clos Jordanne winery. Le Clos only makes two kinds of wine: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The two wines released Saturday are the Village Reserve Pinot and the Village Reserve Chardonnay. The single-vineyard wines will be released at a later date.
In the world of Le Clos, these are the entry-level wines, but, make no mistake, this top producer makes some of the finest terroir-driven Pinots and Chards in the country so “entry level” is a bit of a misnomer.
Here are the Niagara wines being released Saturday at Vintages. Note: Wines In Niagara will post a full report on the 2010 Le Clos wines soon.
Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Chardonnay 2010 ($30, 90 points) — Winemaker Sébastien Jacquey worked hard on this warm vintage to preserve the freshness that he desires in both his Chardonnays and Pinots. That meant earlier picking of the grapes (for acidity) and less oak treatment in the finished wine. The wine on the nose is appealing for its range of apple and citrus fruits that are integrated with soft vanilla and spice. It’s a broad, generous, almost voluptuous style of Chard with ripe, forward fruits that caress the palate without being fat or weighty. It is packed with extracted fruit through the finish but balanced out by fresh acidity and a deft touch with the oak and wood tannins.
Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Pinot Noir 2010 ($30, 89 points) — The Village Reserve Pinot from 2010 is more about the generosity of fruit than the fine intricacies and nuances this grape can deliver. It has a big, obvious nose of bright cherry-raspberry fruit with a subtle savoury-spicy note. It is expressive and bold on the palate with flavours of warm raspberry jam, earth, savoury spice with a smooth texture, drying tannins and moderate acidity. Le Clos is usually built to improve in the cellar for a few years but this Village Reserve is drinking very nice right now.
13th Street Sandstone Vineyard Old Vines Gamay Noir 2010 ($30, 92 points) — This is the winery’s signature red, made from old block (1983) vines in the Sandstone Vineyard and aged in 100% French oak. It shows a bold nose of smoky-savoury red fruits, tree resin, cedar plank, oak-spice stylings, and a lovely earthiness knitted in. It is bold, savoury and lush on the palate with ripe tannins, very good acidity and exciting fruits that speak loud on the palate. It shows youthful exuberance that will round out with time in the cellar. Top drawer Gamay.
Coyote’s Run Black Paw Vineyard Pinot Noir 2009 ($36, 92 points) — The Black Paw vineyard only yields three tonnes per vintage of Pinot, the berries are smaller, they ripen before the other Pinot fruit on the estate and they usually have higher brix at harvest. It’s a gorgeously made wine with savoury cherry and strawberry fruit aromas to go with lovely spice and oak styling. It has wonderful texture in the mouth with raspberry, currants, plums, cassis and complex spice and oak. There’s a firmness to this wine and defined tannins that suggest improvement with time in the cellar.
Henry of Pelham Family Tree White 2010 ($18, 88 points) — Wow, a lot going on in this wild blend of Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Viognier and Chardonnay-Musque that sees some oak aging. The nose is expressive with peach-pear, vanilla cream, lychee, grapefruit and nutmeg aromas. The palate shows ripe and exotic flavours ranging from white peach to tropical fruits with integrated butterscotch-vanilla and cream notes. A white blend that stands out from the crowd.
Henry of Pelham Family Tree Red 2010 ($19, 89 points) — Family Tree is a standalone label from H of P introduced a couple of vintages ago. The red and the white are both multi-grape blends that offer something a little different from the more traditional wines made at the Short Hills Bench winery. The red adds Syrah to Cab Sauv, Cab Franc and Merlot and it shows its savoury personality right from the get-go. The nose reveals smoky-spicy notes along with blackberry, roasted meats, currants, black pepper and plums. It’s quite savoury in the mouth with meaty red fruits, cassis, exciting spice and pepper notes with pretty good structure and acidity. It can be cellared for a while or enjoy now with grilled lamb chops.
Also being released, but not reviewed:
• Rosewood Mead Royale Honey Wine 2008 ($15 for 500 ml)
• 13th Street Sandstone Reserve Chardonnay 2010 ($35)
• G Marquis The Silver Line Chardonnay 2011 ($17)
• 13th Street Red Palette 2011 ($15)
• Coyote’s Run Red Paw Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010 ($25)
• Jackson-Triggs Delaine Cabernet-Merlot 2010 ($30)
• Megalomaniac Proprietor’s Reserve Collection 2008 ($150 for three bottles)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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Yeah, I know, it’s only November and far too early to start thinking about Christmas.
But it’s hard not to when every store you walk into is blasting out Bing Crosby’s White Christmas and we’re inundated with festive signs urging us to buy, buy, buy, all in the spirit of the season, of course.
There was a time when retailers at least waited until the day after Remembrance Day to get us to part with our hard-earned cash, but not anymore. The advertising begins the moment the Halloween pumpkins get tossed into the recycling bins.
You can resist, but it is futile. And that is especially true if you are planning on Christmas wine shopping. The LCBO begins its Christmas rush extra early and it all starts this Saturday with a huge pre-holiday release of gift-giving vinous treasures that are sure to add a little joy to the wine lover in your life.
At the top of the Vintages release Saturday from Niagara are the first 2010 wines from the venerable Le Clos Jordanne winery. Le Clos only makes two kinds of wine: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The two wines released Saturday are the Village Reserve Pinot and the Village Reserve Chardonnay. The single-vineyard wines will be released at a later date.
In the world of Le Clos, these are the entry-level wines, but, make no mistake, this top producer makes some of the finest terroir-driven Pinots and Chards in the country so “entry level” is a bit of a misnomer.
Here are the Niagara wines being released Saturday at Vintages. Note: Wines In Niagara will post a full report on the 2010 Le Clos wines soon.
Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Chardonnay 2010 ($30, 90 points) — Winemaker Sébastien Jacquey worked hard on this warm vintage to preserve the freshness that he desires in both his Chardonnays and Pinots. That meant earlier picking of the grapes (for acidity) and less oak treatment in the finished wine. The wine on the nose is appealing for its range of apple and citrus fruits that are integrated with soft vanilla and spice. It’s a broad, generous, almost voluptuous style of Chard with ripe, forward fruits that caress the palate without being fat or weighty. It is packed with extracted fruit through the finish but balanced out by fresh acidity and a deft touch with the oak and wood tannins.
Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Pinot Noir 2010 ($30, 89 points) — The Village Reserve Pinot from 2010 is more about the generosity of fruit than the fine intricacies and nuances this grape can deliver. It has a big, obvious nose of bright cherry-raspberry fruit with a subtle savoury-spicy note. It is expressive and bold on the palate with flavours of warm raspberry jam, earth, savoury spice with a smooth texture, drying tannins and moderate acidity. Le Clos is usually built to improve in the cellar for a few years but this Village Reserve is drinking very nice right now.
13th Street Sandstone Vineyard Old Vines Gamay Noir 2010 ($30, 92 points) — This is the winery’s signature red, made from old block (1983) vines in the Sandstone Vineyard and aged in 100% French oak. It shows a bold nose of smoky-savoury red fruits, tree resin, cedar plank, oak-spice stylings, and a lovely earthiness knitted in. It is bold, savoury and lush on the palate with ripe tannins, very good acidity and exciting fruits that speak loud on the palate. It shows youthful exuberance that will round out with time in the cellar. Top drawer Gamay.
Coyote’s Run Black Paw Vineyard Pinot Noir 2009 ($36, 92 points) — The Black Paw vineyard only yields three tonnes per vintage of Pinot, the berries are smaller, they ripen before the other Pinot fruit on the estate and they usually have higher brix at harvest. It’s a gorgeously made wine with savoury cherry and strawberry fruit aromas to go with lovely spice and oak styling. It has wonderful texture in the mouth with raspberry, currants, plums, cassis and complex spice and oak. There’s a firmness to this wine and defined tannins that suggest improvement with time in the cellar.
Henry of Pelham Family Tree White 2010 ($18, 88 points) — Wow, a lot going on in this wild blend of Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Viognier and Chardonnay-Musque that sees some oak aging. The nose is expressive with peach-pear, vanilla cream, lychee, grapefruit and nutmeg aromas. The palate shows ripe and exotic flavours ranging from white peach to tropical fruits with integrated butterscotch-vanilla and cream notes. A white blend that stands out from the crowd.
Henry of Pelham Family Tree Red 2010
($19, 89 points) — Family Tree is a standalone label from H of P introduced a couple of vintages ago. The red and the white are both multi-grape blends that offer something a little different from the more traditional wines made at the Short Hills Bench winery. The red adds Syrah to Cab Sauv, Cab Franc and Merlot and it shows its savoury personality right from the get-go. The nose reveals smoky-spicy notes along with blackberry, roasted meats, currants, black pepper and plums. It’s quite savoury in the mouth with meaty red fruits, cassis, exciting spice and pepper notes with pretty good structure and acidity. It can be cellared for a while or enjoy now with grilled lamb chops.
Also being released, but not reviewed:
• Rosewood Mead Royale Honey Wine 2008 ($15 for 500 ml)
• 13th Street Sandstone Reserve Chardonnay 2010 ($35)
• G Marquis The Silver Line Chardonnay 2011 ($17)
• 13th Street Red Palette 2011 ($15)
• Coyote’s Run Red Paw Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010 ($25)
• Jackson-Triggs Delaine Cabernet-Merlot 2010 ($30)
• Megalomaniac Proprietor’s Reserve Collection 2008 ($150 for three bottles)
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