HILLIER, Prince Edward County — I am in the modest barrel cellar with Bruno Francois and Jens Korberg (both above), partners and owners of The Old Third. It feels good to be back.
A return trip to this small Pinot Noir producer is long overdue. I love it here, the pastoral country feel, the honesty of the winemaking and most of the all the passion of Francois and Korberg who gave up their life in the big city lights for a much different experience.
Their tiny allotment of Pinot, around 350 cases per year depending on the vintage, is made about as natural as one can imagine. They farm using a reasoned approach to organic viticulture with the goal to reduce as much as possible the chemicals applied to our land to improve and maximize its health.
The Pinot is made with no filtering or fining and wild fermentation is employed. It tastes as if Francois and Korberg hand-picked the grapes and squeezed them into a fermenter and just simply bottled it. You can taste the vineyard, the soil, the County terroir in every sip.
The Old Third Vineyard is located on a steep south-south-east slope. The soil, Hillier clay loam, overlays a friable Ordovician limestone bed about 450 million years old. Heavy and thin, it is mixed with an abundance of limestone gravel and fossils. The vineyard contains an unusually large amount of glacial till in the form of granite, sandstone, quartz and marble dragged down by the last ice age from Northern Ontario.
The vineyard is planted with 11,000 high-quality Pinot Noir clones, a field blend of clones 114, 115 459, 667, 777, 828 all grafted on Riparia Gloire in 4-foot 4-inch rows and 3-foot inter-vine spacing. 4,000 more vines were planted in 2010. The first commercial harvest was autumn 2008.
Pinot Noir has always been central to the Old World philosophy at the Old Third with just two wines in the portfolio, the core Pinot and the 2009 Pinot Noir Pourriture Noble, a fascinating botrytis affected medium-sweet white wine.
But they are adding a blanc de noirs (white Pinot) for the 2011 vintage with a limited 50 cases, and a Cabernet Franc 2011 (one barrel, from vines planted in 2006-2007). And then there’s the first sparkling wine that will sit on the lees until disgorging in 2015, a 100% Pinot Noir bubbly made in the traditional method.
While the focus has been only on reds, Francois said he’s considering a small planting of Chardonnay to be used only in his sparkling program.
I am smitten by the barrel sample of the white Pinot with its complex nose, weighty feel on the palate and bold flavours that are just now gaining spice and fat from the oak barrels.
“Not many are making this style of wine,” says Francois. “We still don’t know what to call it.”
For the 2011 version of the Pinot Noir, which saw yields cut to 1.5 tonnes an acre, Francois and Korberg have another hit on their hands if the barrel sample is an indication. It has a gorgeous nose of bright red cherry, soft, ripe tannins and a deft touch with the oak that highlights the wonderful soil and minerality of the County terroir.
The barrel sample of the Cabernet Franc 2011 is definitely made in a Chinon style with a lovely nose of currants, red plums, peppers, barnyard and light spice.
We moved upstairs in the gorgeous 19th century barn that Francois and Korberg restored during the winter of 2006. The main floor houses the airy and elegantly decorated tasting room (open in the fall as long as there is wine to sell).
We tasted the 2010 current release of the Pinot and retried the Pinot Noir Pourriture. Here are the reviews.
The Old Third Pinot Noir 2010 ($42, running out quickly at the winery, 92 points) — Such a wonderful and wild nose of crushed red berries, red plum, cassis, light mocha spice and a vein of earth-loam-minerality running through the core. Such a unique and special Pinot with purity of fruit on the palate, rich and layered red fruits, touches of currants and cassis, integrated and smooth tannins and an alluring layer of soft spice that adds interest to the experience. So good.
The Old Third Pinot Noir Pourriture Noble 2009 ($35 for 375 Ml, 91 points) — The botrytis affected Pinot Noir grapes were painstakingly separated and slowly pressed over a few days. The wine was wild fermented and re-fermented in the bottle and, as a result, has lost some of its original residual sugars and is maturing quickly. This is thrilling stuff and so different from anything else I’ve tried. It’s hard to believe this is Pinot Noir with a nose of tropical fruit, lanolin, peach fuzz, yeast and minerals. It’s both lavish and outlandish on the palate with dry wild honey, tropical fruit spritz, pineapple and bathed in minerals. You have to ask for this wine when you visit as there is very little left.
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My trip to PEC also included stops at both Stanners Vineyard and Lacey Estates, my first visit to either these fine wineries.
Stanners Vineyard is a small family winery and boutique dedicated to producing premium Pinot Noir. Cliff and Dorothy Stanners work side by side with their son Colin and daughter-in-law Mary Macdonald.
Cliff and Colin were both research scientists. Colin has a PhD in physical chemistry and Cliff a PhD in cell and molecular biology. Cliff began his career in cancer research at the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto and was Director of the McGill Cancer Centre in Montreal for 12 years. Colin obtained his degree at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Nobel prize winner John Polanyi, went on to do post-doctoral work at the University of California in Berkeley then settled in California where he played a major role as a director of research and technology in two successive high-tech companies in Silicon Valley.
Both had considerable experience with winemaking before they purchased the vineyard property. Cliff was prominent in an amateur winemaking club in Montreal for about 20 years. While in California, Colin took an oenology course at UC Davis and then turned his basement into a mini-winery, complete with small stainless steel fermenting tanks and oak barrels, where he processed local California grapes into highly regarded wine (mostly Pinot Noir).
When the potential for making high quality wine from Pinot Noir grapes in Prince Edward County became apparent, Colin and Cliff decided on a change in careers. Cliff was nearing retirement and they were both ready for a new adventure. They decided to indulge in the two passions they both shared, a love of nature and of premium wine. The present vineyard and winery represent the expression of this vision.
Stanners is a relatively small vineyard (7.5 acres planted to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris) and winery and the family takes an artisanal approach in all aspects of farming and making wine. The vines are planted at high density and cultivated using organic (but not yet certified organic) practices, in accordance with our conviction that these measures give the highest quality fruit.
Here’s what I liked from my tasting there:
Stanners Vineyard Chardonnay 2010 ($25, winery only, 89 points) — Frost prevented the winery from harvesting any County Chardonnay so the fruit for this wine was sourced in Niagara’s Lincoln-Lakeshore appellation. The nose displays peach, pear, and spicy vanilla oak notes. It’s fruity on the palate with a creamy feel and lifted by pretty good acidity.
Stanners Vineyard Pinot Noir 2009 ($35, winery only, 90 points) — This is only the fifth leaf for this Pinot and already starting show its County roots. The nose shows wild raspberry, black cherry and cranberry fruit. Minerality emerges on the palate with sour cherry, beet root, dusty tannins and a smooth, long delivery through the finish. On the lighter-brighter side for near-term drinking.
Stanners Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2010 ($25, winery only, 89 points) — This wine was made from 100% Prince Edward County grapes obtained from two different vineyards. The nose shows expressive cherry, currants, tobacco leaf and funky spice notes. The fruit is fleshy on the palate but focused on ripe red fruits, light spice and a firm ridge of acidity. Very nice Cab Franc.
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Lacey Estates Vineyard and Winery first planted vines in the County in 2003 with the first vintage bottled in 2007.
The winery only uses estate fruit and grows Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Baco Noir and Chardonnay on eight acres surrounding the tasting room.
Lacey Estates Pinot Noir 2010 ($32, winery only, 88 points) — A different style of Pinot with cherry-caramel notes on the nose followed by raspberry and vanilla. It’s bright and vibrant on the palate with raspberry, cran-cherry, cedar, spice and firm tannins.
Lacey Estates Chardonnay 2010 ($27, winery only, 89 points) — A rich and satisfying Chard with an interesting nose of baked apple, tropical fruit, subtle lime-citrus and butterscotch notes. The fruit is ripe on the palate with toasted almonds, creamy butter and caramel and a surprising vein of acidity giving it a clean, fresh finish.
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