There is no question the 2012 vintage will go down in history as producing some of the most stunning wines ever in Niagara.
What is most remarkable is the quality across the board, from the big reds to the Pinots, from the Chardonnays to the Rieslings, virtually all varietals and blends show outstanding quality, and, in many instances, longevity. I can’t remember another vintage in Niagara displaying such even quality across the board.
We talk about 2010 and 2007 as being great vintages in Niagara, and for the most part they were, but the whites haven’t proven themselves in the long term. And the Pinot Noirs, Rieslings and Chardonnays proved to a little unbalanced.
In 2012, the dry, warm, long season seemed to favour all varieties (growers could pick at their leisure, one variety after the other with no pressure) and that is becoming more and more evident as the last (well, there are still a few notable reds to come) of the 2012 reds have been released since the beginning of the year.
No matter the variety or style of wine, all of the 2012 wines can be helped along with a little time in the cellar. I’ve compiled a list of the top 16 wines from this remarkable vintage that you should consider buying and holding.
Stratus Red 2012
$44, late summer release
94 points
Varietals: 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc, 13% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec, and 3% Tannat
Why: No red wine at Stratus can top this in any vintage, it is the culmination of all the hard work that has gone into the top-down program at the slick and stylish Niagara-on-the-Lake winery.
Notes: The nose, even in its youth, shows dense and highly aromatic black currants, blackberries, plums, cassis and then oak spices, clove-cinnamon notes and charred vanilla toast. It is so lush, so persistent on the palate, yet it is defined by the richness and purity of the dark layered fruit that is bolstered by lavish spice, grippy tannins and a finessed feel through a long, velvety finish. It is big, no doubt about it, at this stage, but has the power, complexity and grace to reward with 10-20 years in the cellar.
Chateau des Charmes Equuleus 2012
$40, spring release
93 points
Varietals: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% of both Cabernet Franc and Merlot
Why? Made only in the warmest vintages in Niagara, this is the best Equuleus yet, a more modern style that’s approachable now yet will age for 10-20 years.
Notes: The nose shows rich cherry, a touch of raspberry and then lavish cassis, concentrated black currants and fine oak spices. It is smooth on the palate with generous fruit flavours, fine tannins and integrated spices that echo on the long finish.
Southbrook Vineyards Poetica Red 2012
$55, spring release
93 points
Varietals: 46% Cab Sauv, 26.5% Cab Franc, 26.5% Petit Verdot and a touch of Merlot.
Why? Flagship red from Southbrook with a track record of aging beautifully.
Notes: Such a wonderful and expressive nose of rich, meaty blackberry, cherry and a complex array of oak spices. This has structure and grip with lovely red and dark fruits that build on the palate and meld with an array of spices and firm tannins. Needs time to integrate but the rewards will be worth waiting for.
Rennie Estate “G” 2012
$55, available at Malivoire
93 points)
Varietals: 50% Merlot, 25% Cab Sauv, 25% Cab Franc
Why? Part of the new wave of appassimento-style reds in Niagara, for lovers of big, bold reds.
Notes: The grapes are “slow dried” in a specially designed drying chamber made in consultation with the Vineland Research Centre. The chamber features humidity, temperature and airflow controls and results in no mould whatsoever in the process. The grapes for “G” were dried for 103 days resulting in 50% loss of yield. Average Brix at time of picking was 21.7 and 27.9 after drying. This is as lavish and showy a red wine as you’ll find in Niagara with big, concentrated layers of black currants, cherries, raspberries, earth and spices that come at you in waves. It is a mouthful at the moment, huge tannins, bountiful red and dark fruits and barrel spices that are complex and tight and need time to all integrate properly. If you have the patience, wait for it, this will be a nice addition to your cellar.
Foreign Affair Petit Verdot 2012
$50, winery
92 points
Why? With Merlot suffering deeply from Ontario’s deep freeze the past two winters, many wineries are now looking at Petit Verdot as a possible single variety that could fill the gap. Foreign Affair applies its signature dried grape method to take this up a level.
Notes: Foreign Affair dries 15% of the grapes and ages the wine for 18 months in French oak. This is only the second time PV has been made as a single variety at Foreign Affair, the first being the 2010 vintage. It’s a pretty wine with a complex and floral nose of currants, cassis, raspberry bush and baking spices. It shows a voluptuous array of currants, cherry and cassis fruit on the palate with touches of licorice and rich spice notes. A good beam of acidity carries this wine nicely through a long finish. Consider this for long-term cellaring, 5-10 years.
Bachelder Lowrey Vineyard Niagara Pinot Noir 2012
$45, April or May at Vintages
93 points
Why? One of the finest vineyards in Niagara for Pinot Noir, especially if you can acquire even a bit of the coveted original five rows on the property, which Bachelder does.
Notes: The Lowrey Pinot is extroverted, with a ballsy nose of mulled red fruits, cassis and lavishly spiced notes. It has far-reaching depth and power on the palate with integrated cherry-cassis-raspberry fruit mated to gritty tannins and length through the finish. Showing some balance with room to integrate further. Buy, hold and wait.
13th Street Essence Syrah 2012
$45, winery
93 points
Why? Wismer Vineyard + winemaker J.P. Colas
Notes: A funky, rock ‘n’ roll mass of roasted meats, black currants, boysenberry, earth, loam, saddle leather, campfire smoke and spice on the nose. It’s wild and untethered on the palate with dark fruits that mingle with earth, spice and tar that’s all lifted by racy cool-climate acidity. A big wine that needs a bit of taming in the cellar. Say five years to reap its rewards?
Stratus White 2012
$38, winery
92 points
Varietals: 43% Chardonnay, 42% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Semillon.
Why? Top assemblage from Stratus.
Notes: The Chardonnay was picked early, a departure for Stratus, and the wine was aged for 624 days in French oak, 28% of it new oak. The nose reveals a nice melange of pear, subtle citrus and apple, with creamy-spicy notes that speak to the fine oak aging. The elegance of this blend shows on the palate, a taut and gracious white that reveals its layers slowly; the poached pear, the lanolin, the lemon meringue pie, the minerality and spice. Lovely texture and verve keeps it galloping effortlessly through the finish. Wait for it, cellar a few years.
Hidden Bench Nuit Blanche Rosomel Vineyard 2012
$40, winery
92 points
Varietals: 95.5% Sauvignon Blanc, .5% Semillon
Why? Rosomel Vineyard; it shines brightly on the Beamsville Bench, the vineyard built and nurtured by Roman Prydatkewycz and now in the hands of owner Harald Thiel who tends to it with loving care. I can’t help but think of Prydatkewycz, now with the Vineland Estate team, every time I sip one his former vineyard’s wines now owned and made by Hidden Bench. Such a gentleman, such a brilliant viticulturalist.
Notes: The 2012 Nuit Blanche is gorgeous. There is grapefruit, melon, hay, baked apple, gunflint and layers of fine oak spice on the nose. On the palate, there is an integrated concentration of fruit with a lovely kiss of cream and spice, yet it is young and needs time to impart its greatest pleasures. It will come, oh, it will come.
Bachelder Wismer Vineyard Chardonnay 2012
$45, Vintages at some point
94 points
Why? Bachelder + Wismer
Notes: Such a gorgeous nose of elegant poached pear, flinty minerality, gorgeous oak spice, vanilla toast, apple and citrus. While very young and tightly wound the fruit still shows persistence as it unfolds on the palate revealing its pear, baked apple and citrus flavours with wonderful understated spice notes through a long, glorious finish. This is a Chardonnay you can enjoy for years to come.
Southbrook Vineyards Poetica Chardonnay 2012
$50, spring release
93 points
Why? The poetry for the 2012 Poetica labels is from Canadian author, poet, and Academy Award-nominated actor Chief Dan George. “I’m looking for elegant wines that get bigger (with age),” says winemaker Ann Sperling.
Notes: The 2012 version of the Poetica Chardonnay is as beautiful a wine as I can remember. It has a nose of ripe pear, toasted cashew, baking spices, citrus and a subtle reductive note. It is seductive and textured on the palate with creamy, rich fruit and toasted vanilla and spice that’s lifted by vibrant acidity through the finish. The wine is whole cluster pressed with the clear juice sent directly to French oak barrels, 15% new, for 14 months.
Lailey Old Vines Chardonnay 2012
$40, winery
92 points
Why? From vines planted on the property in 1978, this Chardonnay is aged in 100% French barrels, 30% of which is new oak.
Notes: It has a gorgeous nose of pear, citrus and apple fruit with lovely marzipan, vanilla and elegant spice notes. The texture is amazing on the palate, with everything in perfect harmony from the pear and apple fruit to the creamy vanilla notes. It’s like silk through the finish and still very, very young. Buy, hold and enjoy for five+ years.
Cave Spring Cellars CSV Riesling 2012
$30, winery
94 points
Why? I’ll just say it right here; this is up there with the greatest Rieslings ever produced in Canada, maybe THE best. The wine is grown in the limestone-rich rich Cave Spring Vineyard on a terrace of the Niagara Escarpment on the Beamsville Bench. It is sourced from the oldest (35- to 39-years-old) and lowest-yielding parcels at the estate. Because the vintage was warm the acids are slightly lower and the pH slightly higher and made with less residual sugar than in cooler vintages. It was my White Wine of the Year for 2014.
Notes: It is an enthralling wine from start to finish with a nose of Asian pear, apple blossom, orange rind, lemon, lifted white flowers, stony minerality and bees wax. It is so beautiful on the palate with substance and electricity that transcends Riesling. I am not knocking Riesling with that statement, I love Riesling of all stripes, but this is just in a class all its own. The flavours range from pear and ginger notes to apple, apricot, anise and honeycomb. This beauty grabs you from the first sip with its range of flavours, subtle spices and mouth-watering acidity to the complex array of flinty minerals and nuances that build in intensity. It is lithe, yet assertive. It is succulent, yet focused. It is, in a word, seductive.
Vineland Estates Elevation St. Urban Vineyard Riesling 2012
$20, Vintages, winery
93 points
Why? With this release of the Elevation St. Urban Riesling, Vineland has merged two classic bottlings at the estate into one. It is a beauty and, in my mind, the best St. Urban at this level I have tasted and a bargain at this price.
Notes: Classic limestone minerality is the first note on the nose followed by grapefruit, citrus, and a touch of peach skin. It is simply gorgeous on the palate with fresh, pristine citrus-grapefruit, river rock minerality and light peach notes that are delivered on a taut and electric backbone of searing acidity. Power and complexity will serve this Riesling well for many years to come.
Ravine Vineyard Riesling 2012
$28, winery
93 points
Why? This is always a distinct expression of Riesling because of a quirky low spot in the estate’s St. Davids Bench vineyard that promotes a small amount of botrytis (noble rot) that is blended into this wine. This may be the best Riesling yet from Ravine.
Notes: Consulting winemaker Peter Gamble says about 17% of the fruit was botrytis-affected allowing a gorgeous note of wild alfalfa honey on the nose to go with citrus zest, apricot and quince notes. It is a textured Riesling on the palate and the wild honey notes play an important role in combination with lime, melon, quince and a subtle ginger note. It is off-dry but still has vibrancy from excellent acidity and such a clean and lush feel through the finish. Wow wine.
Thirty Bench Small Lot Steel Post Vineyard Riesling 2012
$30, winery
93 points
Why? It is always the Triangle Vineyard Riesling that gets the most attention from consumers but, for me, I gravitate toward the Steel Post. It has the aging potential that I desire in Riesling and is always tight and austere in the beginning before it begins to reveal its true beauty. It is situated in the middle of the 22-acre Riesling, planted in 1983.
Notes: It is pretty yet restrained on the nose with lime-apple fruits emerging and subtle pineapple, minerals and a funky-earthy note in the background. It appears drier on the palate than the other two Small Lot wines, even though the RS is similar (in the 14-15 g/l range). It has depth and firm structure on the palate and slowly reveals peach, apricot and lemon-drop notes that linger on the palate. The minerals will come with time when the layers begin to unfold. “Steel always has that precision,” says winemaker Emma Garner. “It’s like an arrow, tightly wound.”
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