I have watched Rosewood Estate Winery, the family winery and meadery on the Beamsville Bench, grow from its very beginnings and have always been impressed with how it has evolved and improved its portfolio with each passing vintage.
The Roman Family, Eugene and Renata and their energetic children Krystina (marketing side) and William (production side), purchased their property in 2000 with the first vintage released in 2006. The winery opened its doors to the public in 2008.
The winery and its estate Reneceau Vineyard are located on Mountainview Road in Beamsville with 40 acres, 15 acres of which are under vine. Rosewood also owns a vineyard and honey processing facility on the Twenty Mile Bench with 30 acres under vine and 25 hives for honey.
The Romans have kept their boutique production to 5,000 cases of wine and 1,500 cases of mead (honey-based wine) all made at the highest standards of quality spread across the main varieties of Riesling, Semillon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Franc at the main property with Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Pinot Noir and Merlot grown on at the 21st Vineyard on the Twenty Mile Bench.
With the latest vintage comes a redesign and clearly identified tiers in the portfolio.
The Select Series: This new label will represent the bulk of Rosewood’s production with wines in the $15 to $25 range and includes the popular Sussreserve Riesling, Semillon, Mima’s Block Riesling as well as regular cuvee Pinot Noir and Semillon.
The Origin Series: This is the reserve series, priced between $25 and $40, and includes the wild ferment wines, single vineyard wines and the new La Fumee, a Bordeaux-style white blend.
Lock, Stock & Barrel: This Bordeaux-style red blend ($34), a collaboration between winemaker Luke Orwinski and William Roman, is in its second vintage and is made of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. The 2012 vintage will add Malbec.
Mead: The Romans are a third generation beekeeping family and operate a meadery and apiary, the first of its kind in Niagara, for a selection of honey-based wines. Styles range from dry to extra sweet.
What I like about Rosewood: This is a winery that is committed to making top-quality wines that are clean, crafted with care and fairly represent the vintage from which they are made and the terroir where they are grown. I love the boundless energy of both Krystina (photo at left) and William Roman, who work tirelessly to move the brand forward.
We are just starting to see the results from new winemaker Luke Orwinski, but he shares the same work ethic and attention to detail as the Roman family so I think he’s an excellent fit for the winery. He has worked as both vineyard manager and assistant winemaker for five years. Ross Wise is the winery’s consulting winemaker.
I recently tried a variety of wines from Rosewood. Here’s what I liked:
Rosewood Sussreserve Riesling 2012, Niagara ($15, Vintages, winery 88 points) — An expressive off-dry Riesling with a nose of lemon-lime and wet-stone minerality. I love the sweet-tart tension on the palate with vivid lime and grapefruit flavours.
Rosewood Merlot 2011 ($22, Vintages, winery 88 points) — Sourced from three Niagara Escarpment vineyards, this Merlot shows bramble, black cherry, savoury herbs, pepper and plums all nicely integrated on the nose. Wonderful acidity lifts the red fruits and savoury spices on the palate. Quite ripe for a 2011 red.
Rosewood Pinot Noir 2011 ($22, Vintages, winery, 88 points) — The fruit for this Pinot was sourced mostly from the Wismer Vineyard on the Twenty Mile Bench. It has a punchy nose of earth, cherry fruit, spice and some darker black fruits in the background. The mouth reveals a nice mélange of red and black fruits, warm baking spices and good acidity.
Rosewood Pinot Noir Reserve 2010 ($40, Vintages this spring, winery now, 91 points) — Rosewood only makes a reserve Pinot in what it feels are the best vintages. The wine is aged in seasoned premium French oak barrels for 10 months. It has an inviting nose of black currants, dark mature cherries, nutmeg spices, toasted vanilla and earthy-funky notes. On the palate, look for savoury cherry fruit, cassis and spices. This is a nicely aged Pinot that shows off the rich fruits and savoury spices and delivered along a long, silky finish.
Rosewood Select Semillon 2012 ($18, winery, 89 points) — Essentially a single-vineyard wine from the estate’s Renaceau Vineyard. A beautifully ripe nose of tropical fruits, grapefruit, apple and subtle peach notes wafting in the background. It’s a fleshy, voluptuous Semillon with ripe tropical fruit notes and a kiss of honey. Easy to drink.
Rosewood Origin La Fumee 2012 ($26, winery, 90 points) — A blend of 85% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Semillon and aged for six months in 500L puncheons. This is the first attempt at a Bordeaux-style white from Rosewood. It has lovely aromas of quince, grapefruit, herbs, smoke and vanilla bean. With attractive mouthfeel, the grapefruit, citrus and kiwi fruits build on the palate and are joined by smoky herbs and barrel-spice notes. Rich, yes, but balanced out by decent acidity.
Lock, Stock & Barrel 2011 ($34, winery, 91 points) — A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cab Franc and Petit Verdot that’s all treated and aged separately in new and seasoned French and American oak barrels for three months, then blended together for eight more months. 94% of the blend is free run juice and 6% of the press run is added back after aging. The nose is gorgeous with cassis, currants, oak spice, mocha, licorice and meaty-earthy notes. It has verve and energy on the palate with dark fruits mingling with some juicy cherry notes, fine oak spice, tar, licorice and bramble all leading to a long finish. Can age this for five-plus years.
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Niagara wines being released at Vintages Feb. 1
Flat Rock Cellars Nadja’s Vineyard Riesling 2012 ($20, 91 points) — Nadja’s Vineyard is situated at the most southern and highest point of the Flat Rock holdings on top of a solid bed of limestone. The nose shows zesty lime, green apple and peach with honeysuckle and flinty minerality. Nadja always has a lovely subtle note of jasmine to go with stone fruits and citrus. It shows wonderful fresh acidity, considering the heat of the vintage.
Featherstone Black Sheep Riesling 2012 ($17, 89 points) — Always a favourite Riesling of mine, the Black Sheep shows bright apple, lemon-lime, peach and mineral notes on the nose. It’s made in an off-dry style (22 g/l) but the bright core of acidity still gives a nice sweet-tart ying and yang on the palate. It’s light and refreshing in the mouth with persistent fruits and a subtle vein of minerality that should build in intensity as it ages.
Jackson-Triggs Grand Reserve Riesling 2012 ($19, 88 points) — A lime-grapefruit-lemon bomb on the nose with intense citrus fruit and some riverbed minerality. The grapefruit-lime notes on the palate are joined by a note of ginger and Mandarin orange. Juicy and ripe, but still some lively acidity.
Also released, but not reviewed:
• Kew Vineyards Soldier’s Grant 2011 ($19)
• Henry of Pelham Cabernet Icewine 2012 ($40 for 200 ml)
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