By Rick VanSickle
The pandemic has kept the frequent flyer winemaking duo Ann Sperling and husband Peter Gamble grounded and unable to travel to take care of their passion wine project in Mendoza, Argentina.
Note: Also in this Vintages release report, Niagara icewines take centre stage.
So, they have gone to work just like everyone else it seems these days, remotely via Zoom, email and phone calls. It’s not the ideal choice for the hands-on winemakers, but the team on the ground at their estate, called Villa Viamonte (top photo), has continued to successfully guide the legacy project Sperling and Gamble have built there in their absence.
The CVs for these two gifted Canadian wine industry stalwarts, pictured above, run deep, but briefly: Sperling is the winemaker at Southbrook Vineyards in Niagara and at her family’s Sperling Vineyards in the Okanagan. Gamble is an accomplished wine consultant with deep roots and achievements in the Canadian wine industry (including founding Executive Director of VQA) and presently is the consulting winemaker at On Seven Estate Winery in Niagara and many other projects in Canada. Together they are co-proprietors of Versado, their Argentine venture in Mendoza wine country, making exciting and nuanced Malbecs from a vineyard and villa near the old town of Chacras de Coria that they purchased in 2007.
The dream was always to “make great wine from a smaller property,” in Mendoza, a region that was attractive to the couple.
After purchasing Villa Viamonte, the tougher job was locating the perfect vineyard for what Gamble and Sperling wanted to do — make world-class Malbecs from old vines on a property that could be (and has been) converted to organic farming.
In 2008, they purchased an ancient vineyard that fit their requirements on the legendary Cobos Road and named it Versado, a Spanish word that translates to ‘well-versed’ (expert or accomplished) and has the same poetic echo (relating to ‘verse’) that it does in English.
The three-hectare property, with Malbec plantings dating back to 1920, is located in a cool-air corridor with pristine water winding its way to the vineyard from the mountains. The first vintage of Versado was a limited release from the top vines in 2009.
The small-lot wines from Versado — made in three tiers from the regular Malbec to Reserva to the Old Vine bottlings — are extraordinary wines quite unlike most everyday Malbecs from Argentina you find at Vintages stores.
Two of the tiers — the top reserve and the estate bottling — are being offered in the Vintages release on Saturday, Feb. 5, while the Old Vines is being offered through Cru Wine Merchants. It’s the first, in my recollection, that three Versado wines have been available at once in Ontario.
It’s highly recommended that you seek these wines out on Saturday as they represent the best of the best from Argentine Malbec. Here’s what I have tasted and can highly recommend.
Versado Ancient Reserva Malbec 2014, Mendoza ($59, 93 points) — The 2014 version of the Ancient old-vine Malbec follows closely in line with the 2013 vintage. An enticing nose of rich and deep black currants, plums, anise with elegant spice notes, minerals and swirling earthy/savoury accents. It could still use a bit of time in the cellar to better integrate all those moving parts on the palate, but presently shows depth of fruit, concentration and loads of spicy/savoury goodness through a finessed finish. A fine example of Argentine Malbec of the highest order.
Versado Malbec 2017, Mendoza ($25, 91 points) — Following a very wet 2016 El Niño vintage, 2017 in Mendoza turned into a much more typically dry growing season. This junior partner in the tiny Versado lineup is wild fermented in concrete vats and made using little manipulation before aging in older French oak barrels. It has such an expressive nose of cassis, dark plums, some red berry and floral notes with subtle savoury spices. It’s plush and ripe on the palate with complex layers of dark fruits, licorice, loamy/earthy notes and length through a lifted finish. A lovely and smartly priced drop that can be aged for 5+ years.
Versado Old Vine Malbec 2017, Mendoza ($46 per bottle, sold in cases of 12 through CRU Wine Merchants, 92 points) — The estate vineyard where this Old Vine Malbec is located, in the old town of Chacras de Coria, has been certified organic since the 2015 vintage. It’s a “barrel expression” of Malbec with such a lovely nose of brambly red berries, forest berries, cassis, cocoa, subtle herbaceous notes, plums and elegant spices. It’s nicely integrated already with fine-grained tannins, an enticing range of crushed red berries, black currants, dried herbs and anise with leathery notes, a beautiful array of fine oak spices and a lifted and vibrant finish. It will provide excellent drinking for many years to come.
Icewines coming to Vintages on Saturday
Curiously, at least in my view, the Vintages release Saturday also includes a fairly robust selection of Niagara icewines. I say curiously because traditionally Niagara celebrates all things icewine over three weekends in Niagara. A quick look at the calendar, and you will notice that we have turned the page on January and entered February territory. I can’t help but think there might be some useful cross-promotion opportunities for the LCBO to co-ordinate its icewine-heavy release with the festivals in January, no?
Note: I was informed after I published this post that the icewine Vintages release was timed to coincide with Lunar New Year celebration. Many Ontarians enjoy Ontario icewine during this 15-day celebration. I stand corrected and wish everyone celebrating a happy Lunar New Year!
It is no secret that Canadian icewine is suffering from an identity crisis with world-wide sales plummeting and a domestic market slow to pick up the slack. The dramatic downturn began in 2020, just before COVID hit, when sales plummeted to $10.5 million from a high of nearly $25 million in 2017. And the trend continued with only 137,000 litres of icewine produced 2020, the lowest amount ever, from a high of 336,000 L in 2016. And it only got slightly better in 2021, with $10.7 million (up to October) exported and 119,000 litres produced (up to October).
For more on icewine woes in Canada, see this post on Wines In Niagara here.
Local wineries and the association representing them, Ontario Craft Wineries, are doing what they can to try an entice the domestic market to at least embrace icewine as the national sweet treat it is and lift sales. I sat in on an Icewine Cocktail Zoom session last Friday put on by the OCW and hosted by popular Instagramer Rebecca Felgate. It was part of a push to show consumers that icewine can be a versatile sip and attractive to younger drinkers by using it as a mixer for creative cocktails. I found the session interesting, informative and fun as I followed along with two of the three cocktails that were presented. You can try them, too. Here’s what I prepared with instructions by Felgate and ingredients we used.
VQA Icewine 76
• 1 oz of Rockway Select Late Harvest Vidal 2017
• 1 oz Dillon’s Small Batch Vodka
• ½ oz Village Juicery lemon juice
• 3 oz Cave Spring Blanc de Blancs
• Citrus peel for garnish
Pour Icewine, vodka and lemon juice over ice in a cocktail mixer or shaker. Stir gently, strain into a chilled coupe glass and top with VQA Sparkling wine. Garnish with a lemon twist.
VQA Red Icicle
• 1½ oz Rockway Select Late Harvest Vidal 2017
• 2 oz of Black River Pure Pomegranate Juice
• 2 oz Canal Side ginger Ale
• Pomegranate seeds for garnish
To a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add bourbon, maple syrup, and VQA Icewine. Stir and strain into a rocks glass with ice. Garnish with a maraschino cherry
Niagara icewines released Saturday at Vintages:
Chateau des Charmes Vidal Icewine 2019 — ($48 for 375 mL, 91 points) — This has a deep and layered nose of sweet mango, papaya and sliced pineapple with pear nectar, apricot and peach for good measure. It’s dripping in wild honey on the palate with compoted tropical fruits, peach tart and jammy apricot with a velvety texture through the juicy finish. Can cellar 5+ years.
Lakeview Cellars Cabernet Franc Icewine 2017 ($30 for 200 mL, 91 points) —This has more of a restrained nose of brambly red berries, sweet herbs and crunchy, sweet cranberries. On the palate, it’s loaded with sweet black cherries, grandma’s raspberry jam, some earthy/herbaceous notes and a long finish.
Stratus Riesling Icewine 2020 ($45 for 375 mL, 92 points) — Such a unique and exciting style of Riesling icewine with a nose of lemon tart, chamomile, candied lime, mature apples, apricot compote and freshness. It’s layered and textured on the palate and brimming with spiced apples, lemon meringue pie, compoted quince notes, honeycomb and enough acidity on the finish to keep this dancing a joyful jig.
Also released at Vintages stores, but not reviewed by Wines In Niagara:
• Inniskillin Montague Vineyard Chardonnay 2019 ($25)
• Glass Tiger Sparkling Riesling 2019 ($23)
• Queenston Mile White 2018 ($25)
• Jackson-Triggs Grand Reserve Meritage 2017 ($26)
• Kew Vineyards Pinot Noir 2018 ($24)
• Lakeview Reserve Baco Noir 2017 ($20)
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