Brock Experts Tasting: Where ‘experts’ learn all about humility in wine tasting

Damn you, Malbec. And damn you, J-L Groux and your Malbec (I’m only half kidding, of course, but damn it).

Yes, our panel at the annual Brock Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) Experts Tasting got the first question right during the blind tasting. That was simple. The wine we were tasting was from Niagara.

But, for us, Toronto wine writers Tim Appelt, Michael Godel, The Wine Sisters (Erin and Courtney Henderson), Niagara wine writer Michael Pinkus and me, we just couldn’t nail Malbec in the second question of the first blind taste-off. And then we blew the third question in the same flight, leaving us in the dust with 10 points out of a potential 25. As they say, it was over before it even began.

Godel later tweeted: @mgdello 1st wine set the tone for humility & doom. Malbec! D#%@$! you JL!

And Appelt chimed in: @wine_discovery Suggest we had it nailed until the FIRST wine

But what a fun journey it was. The Brock Experts Tasting brings together the Ontario wine trade — from winemakers, to growers, to wine writers and bloggers — for an extensive exploration built around a different theme after year. This year it was designed to better understand the Bordeaux varietals in Ontario, either as a blend or all by their lonesome.

A panel of judges assesses over 120 submitted wines to be shown at the Experts Tasting through a series of blind tastings. Seven in each of five flights makes it to the tasting.

All the wines are tasted blind (we did not know what we were drinking until it was unveiled after each flight), and ran the gamut from Merlot, to Cabernet Franc, to Malbec, to Petit Verdot, to Cab Sauvignon, to blends, and, finally, the skill-testing final round that included the humbling test.

I have been attending the Brock tasting for many years. It is a highlight in my tasting schedule, even if it is a little humiliating when you are so far off the mark.

I have only been on a winning panel once (and I still have the great Brock pen to prove it!). It always seems that it’s a Stratus wine, made by Groux, which throws the biggest wrench into the works.

A couple of years ago I made a point of sitting with Groux to counter any chance of missing the Groux-made wine. And what happened? Even he failed to nail his own wine. That’s right. Not kidding. And I won’t let him forget it.

So, I don’t care what anyone says, if you aced Flight A, which was the Stratus Malbec 2010, you guessed at it. Pure and simple.

Our panel was relatively successful otherwise. We nailed the 2002 Cabernet Franc from Southbrook Vineyards, picked out the ringer from Bordeaux (2001 Château Branaire-Ducru from Saint-Julien), easily identified the Henry of Pelham Merlot Unfiltered Reserve 2002, but had a little trouble with The Foreign Affair Temptress 2010 (who puts appassimento into a Bordeaux variety tasting? That’s just cruel).

So, all I can say to all of that is what I’ve already said: Damn you, J-L Groux.

The Brock event, once again, was a pleasurable day of tasting led expertly by a panel that included Rob Power (Creekside winemaker), Emma Garner (30 Bench winemaker), Ron Giesbrecht (Henry of Pelham winemaker), Ilya Senchuk (Foreign Affair winemaker) and Peter Bodnar Rod (13^th Street winery marketing and sales).

Each flight was introduced by one of the panelists and the flights were tasted blind and finally revealed.

Tasting blind is always a treat. When you take away preconceived notions about producer, vintage and grape varieties you are bound to learn something (or be humbled by the results).

So, with that in mind, here is what I learned (or relearned) from this year’s Experts Tasting.

Stouck Vineyard? Who knew?

I had never heard of this vineyard and all of a sudden, three of the wines poured at the Brock tasting, and three of the wines that blew me away, were from this mysterious Stouck plot of land. The new vineyard-designated wines from Malivoire are from the Lincoln Lakeshore appellation. Cellar master Dan Stouck’s family has farmed the same Beamsville-area property for well over a century. Three wines from Malivoire, the 2010 Stouck Merlot, the 2010 Stouck Cab Merlot and 2010 Stouck Cabernet Sauvignon are to be released soon at Malivoire. The Stouck vineyard’s red clay soil naturally controls vigor resulting in concentrated small berries and very sweet, dense juice. My notes on all three of these wines placed them near the top of three flights. I will be there when they are released.

Giesbrecht is from Wainfleet (true story)

Ron Giesbrecht is a very funny man. I sort of knew this, but he was on a real roll at the Experts Tasting. He had tasters rolling in the aisles with his prelude to the Bordeaux blend flight called “We Are Family.” Though he won’t be getting the Wainfleet Man of the Year Award any time soon, after suggesting there are only two last names in Wainfleet while wearing a Wainfleet toque, his historical analysis of how the “Great White Father” Sauvignon Blanc “rolled in the hay” with Cabernet Franc and thus was born Cabernet Sauvignon was certainly colourful.

This flight only confirmed what I already know. The Cab Merlot blends from Niagara, in the hot vintages like 2010, 2007 and 2002 (and certainly 2012 when they start arriving), are outstanding as they age. The sweet spot is five years in the cellar with longevity that follows 10 or even 15 years down the road.

The 2002 Cabernet Merlot, Speck Family Reserve, from Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery, was drinking beautifully in its prime. I have tried this wine a few times and each time it gets better and better.

The 2010s from Fielding, Malivoire (Stouck Vineyard), Hidden Bench (Terroir Cache), Henry of Pelham (Speck Family Reserve) and Stratus were still tight but had the fruit and tannin balance to mature gracefully. These are wines to stuff in the cellar and forget for a decade.

The one 2007 blend, Hidden Bench Terroir Cache, a blend 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Cabernet Franc, 22% Merlot and 1% Malbec, was gorgeous and just starting to hit prime time.

Creekside marches to a different drummer

Any more proof that you need to realize that the Creekside Winery is, well, different, was proudly displayed at the Experts Tasting. While tasters were given a belly full of superstars from the glamour Ontario vintages of 2010, 2007 and 2002, three wines stood out not only because they held their own in their respective flights but because they were from vintages not considered the cream of the crop.

You have to understand that all wines poured at the Experts Tasting were tasted blind and determined by a panel of judges. You just don’t expect wines from 2006 or, heaven forbid!, 2008, to make the cut.

But Creekside’s 2006 Merlot Reserve, from the Queenston Road Vineyard, and 2008 Merlot from the same vineyard, along with 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve from the winery’s Creekside’s Queenston Road Vineyard on the St. David’s Bench, all figured into the tasting.

Quite the feat considering only one other non-2010, 2007, 2002 red made it into the tasting and that was from Stratus.

I asked Matt Loney, marketing manager of the estate, a few days after the Brock event, what it is that enables Creekside to consistently buck the trend of vintage sensitive reds in Niagara, and he attributed it purely and simply to the vineyard. It just delivers fabulous fruit no matter what weather Mother Nature throws at it.

All three of the wines threw me for a loop. I did not guess the vintage at all and, in fact, all three fit nicely into the flights they were in.

Is there a message here? Don’t judge a wine by its vintage … especially if it’s Creekside.

Harald Thiel is a local hero

I did not learn that at the Brock event, but it was reaffirmed as he was named one of the Ontario wine industry’s top promoters.

The VQA Promoters Awards acknowledge individuals who celebrate the Ontario VQA wine industry with unselfish enthusiasm, constructive input and unsolicited promotion.

Thiel was named promoter-at-large, partially for his dedication and success with the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration (I4C), which, he said while accepting his award, “speaks to the power of co-operation in our industry. If we work together we can do things that are exceptional.

“If we (Canada) want to have a place in the wine world, we have to carve our own place.”

The Hidden Bench owner is one of those individuals that uses the royal “we” whenever he talks about Niagara. He is an advocate for wines with personality, wines that speak about where they come from and how “we” can do better if “we” work together.

He has devoted a great deal of time showing Ontario wines to the world and has brought the world to Niagara to learn about the wines made here. His work has gone a long way to elevating the status of Ontario wines and has, to some degree, put Ontario wines on the radar of those who matter in the wine world.

A well deserved honour for Thiel.

One other thing about Thiel. Aside from his terroir-driven portfolio of wines, he makes one of the best raclette IN THE WORLD. Truth. See photo.

Other winners:

• Hospitality: James Muir, beverage manager and sommelier at CN Tower’s 360 the Restaurant. His restaurant lists a VQA wine in every varietal category, side-by-side with international labels.

• LCBO: Charles Ronzio, the LCBO’s product consultant in Waterloo. He not only promotes VQA Ontario wines, he truly believes in the product. Going beyond his normal duties, he brings Ontario wineries into the store for customer tastings and has received accolades for his high VQA sales volume in what is considered a non-traditional VQA market. 

Five wines (one from each flight) that got my full attention

• From the “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.” flight of Merlots, the Trius Merlot RHS Clark Farm Vineyard 2010 had all the qualities I love in this varietal from a warm vintage — rich, kirsch-like cherry fruit, licorice, oak spice, grippy tannins and just enough acidity to give the ripe fruits vibrancy.

• From “The Mothers of Invention” flight, or Cabernet Franc, the 2010 Cabernet Franc Reserve ‘Salvatore’ from Riverview Cellars got my top score. It was the integration of fruit, spice, tannins and acid, and it’s accessibility right now that garnered the high score. The Pillitteri Exclamation Cab Franc 2010 was a close second.

• From the “We Are Family” flight of red blends, wow, just wow. This is where Niagara shines with red blends, when we bring all those lovely Bordeaux grapes together with each helping the other shine just a little brighter. Both the 2002 Speck Family Reserve Cab Merlot, drinking beautifully right now, and the 2010 version, which is headed the way of the 2002 with perhaps just a little more balance, were brilliant examples of why we should consider Cab-Merlot blends a viable style of wine for Ontario. I also loved the 2007 Hidden Bench Terroir Cache 2007. These are serious wines that need serious time in the cellar. Just like Bordeaux.

• From the “Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy” flight, which was mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with a Petit Verdot and a Cab Franc making an appearance, was highlighted by both the Malivoire Stouck Vineyard Cab 2010 and the Creekside 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Queenston Road Vineyard. I’m not the biggest fan of Cab Sauv in Niagara but both of these got it right. The Creekside is drinking fine right now while the Malivoire will need time once it’s released.

• From the “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” flight, this was the skill-testing questions flight for the bragging rights of best tasting table (which we were not). I’m going with the 2002 Henry of Pelham Unfiltered Merlot simply because it was our only perfect score (25) as we correctly determined vintage, grape(s) and producer. And, I have to say, what a treat to taste such a gorgeous wine in the prime of its life. Extraordinary.