By Rick VanSickle
We can safely go ahead and give JP Colas, the colourful winemaker at 13th Street winery, his full citizenship into the Niagara wine fraternity.
He leaves behind a distinguished career as a decorated winemaker behind the likes of Domaine Laroche in Chablis, where he produced Wine Spectator Magazine’s 1998 White Wine of the Year for his Domaine Laroche Grand Cru Les Clos 1996 and followed that up with 99 points in the Wine Enthusiast for his Grand Cru Chablis Blanchots “Reserve de l’obedience” 1996.
Beyond the minerally laden vineyards of Chablis, Colas, above, has hung his hat at Carmen Vineyards in Chile, Bodegas Chandon in Argentina, and Oyster Bay Winery in New Zealand. He has studied and worked under several exceptional winemakers including Michel Givors in Morgon, Beaujolais and Gilbert Picq, and Michel Laroche in Burgundy.
But since 2009, after a stint at Peninsula Ridge, Colas has been rigorously trying to figure out the terroir of Niagara, and more specifically the Creek Shores sub-appellation where 13th Street is located, to sort out what matches the soil and personality of both winemaker and grape. With over a dozen years under his belt in Niagara, we can safely say that Colas has found his true calling, his home away from home, and where his worldly winemaking skills have had the most profound impact.
Colas explains his raison d’être in this heartfelt YouTube video here. But essentially, he has created a portfolio of wines through trial and error that exploits the strength of the appellation and accentuates the style of wines Colas prefers to make — dry, austere, finessed, elegant and without the over-abundance of oak influence or intervention. The sweet spot for Colas in the his portfolio is three-fold — first, the sparkling wines, one of the deepest bubble collections in Niagara and written about here last month. Second, an unlikely collection of Pinot Noirs that has found a comfortable cadence in Creek Shores. And third, Gamay Noir, another variety that is championed at 13th Street from the popular entry level bottling to single-vineyard and low intervention examples.
Now, bubbles, Pinot and Gamay are not all that 13th Street does. If you haven’t been lately, it’s more a village of deliciousness and exploration complete with bakery, art gallery, outdoor art installations (photo above), myriad year-round patios, food, tasting and retail facility. And don’t neglect the other wines Colas makes, the Rieslings, Cabernet Francs, Chardonnays, Pinot Gris, and others too numerous to recount here.
For this report, we focus on Pinot Noir and Gamay.
The Pinot Noirs
I remember tasting the first Pinot Noir Colas made in Niagara. He had once famously said that you can’t make Pinot Noir in Niagara, a comment he felt was taken out of context and over-blown when published in a Toronto newspaper. It was the 13th Street Essence Pinot Noir 2009 and it was getting rave reviews across the board, including on Wines in Niagara. It was expensive ($45) but it showed the potential Pinot Noir had at 13th Street. He has been tinkering with it ever since and the current lineup is a fair representation of what Pinot can be in the Creek Shores sub-appellation, a different expression than the more celebrated bottlings from the Beamsville Bench, Twenty Mile Bench and St. David’s Bench. “I just want it to be good for the price,” Colas tells me. Gone are the $45 Pinots and prices have come down to the $30 range while the quality has gone up and reflect the terroir of the estate vineyards. Here’s what I liked:
13th Street Pinot Noir 2021 ($30, just released, 92 points) — The three estate Pinots here and below are sourced from estate’s Whitty Vineyard in Creek Shores. After harvest, the grapes are crushed and destemmed before being transferred to open-top fermenters for approximately 30 days of fermentation on the skins with regular pigéage (punch downs) to gently extract tannin and colour. Following fermentation, the wine is pressed off the skins and transferred to older French barriques for eight months of ageing. It is lightly fined and filtered before bottling. There is an enticing floral note on the nose followed by brambly red berries, a touch of reduction, earth, forest floor and integrated spice notes. It’s silky on the palate with ripe black cherries, black raspberries, earthy/savoury notes, light toasted spices, and good oomph throught the bright, lifted finish. Colas calls this Pinot “young but vital.”
13th Street Pinot Noir 2020 ($30, 93 points) — A bit more extracted than the 2021 Pinot with ripe cherries, raspberries, and cassis with light spice and subtle mushroom/umami notes. The more structured tannins add complexity on the palate with highly extracted red berries, anise, savoury notes and finessed through a long finish. Colas recommends time in the cellar for it all to come together, say 3+ years.
13th Street Pinot Noir 2019 (sold out) — Colas poured the 2009 Pinot to show how these estate wines evolve. I’m a fan of controlled reduction, and this Pinot utilizes it perfectly. Ripe red berries emerge under the earthy/savoury notes with light toasted spices. It’s lovely on the palate with less of those reductive notes and a melange of red berries doing the heavy lifting through a long, bright finish. Can still cellar for a few years.
13th Street Pinot Noir Reserve 2021 (price not available, released next spring, no photo available, 93 points) — The “reserve” version of the estate’s Pinot Noir is a barrel selection of what Colas feels will best represent the terroir of the vineyard. It has a lovely floral nose with brambly red and dark berries, cassis, fine oak spices and subtle earthy/savoury notes. It’s more fruit focused on the palate with vivid red berries, forest berries, integrated oak spices and more structured tannins through the fresh and lively finish. It’s still young and will improve with time in the cellar after release.
13th Street Wine Club Pinot Noir 2020 (wine club only, 93 points) — If you are a member of the 13th wine club, you are in for a treat when this arrives at your door. Colas wanted to produce an estate Pinot that was 50% whole cluster pressed and fermented in older French oak casks from the stunning 2020 vintage. “This is pretty exciting,” Colas tells me. “I think it’s the best Pinot Noir I have made.” It has an enticing nose of earthy/savoury black raspberries, macerated cherries, anise, a touch of reduction and elegant spice notes. It’s polished on the palate and showcases ripe red and dark berries, smooth tannins, subtle earthiness, and fine, integrated spice notes that all finish with a bright, lifted finish. Really nice Pinot Noir that will cellar nicely for 5+ years.
The Gamay Noirs
13th Street has always been a leader in the world of Gamay in Niagara. Along with Malivoire and now Thomas Bachelder, 13th Street has a beefy portfolio of Gamays from the popular entry level bottling, a hit at LCBO stores, to a Vin Gris, sparkling Gamay, and single-vineyard, oaked styles. Here’s what I liked from my tasting recently with Colas:
13th Street Gamay Vin Gris 2021 ($25, 91 points) —This delightful, pale pink rosé style Vin Gris is a result of an early pick of the estate’s Whitty Vineyard in Creek Shores, using classic white winemaking techniques on red grapes. Full bunches of grapes are put into the press with the free run juice collected and a very soft pressing. As with most of Colas’s wines, it’s made in a bone-dry (3 g/l) style and lower alcohol (12%). The nose shows pretty red berries, red currants, a touch of earthy-brambly notes, tangerine and citrus zest. It’s expressive and fresh on the palate with bright raspberries, cherries, plums, subtle savoury notes, and mouth-watering acidity on the vibrant finish.
13th Street Gamay 2020 ($20, LCBO, 91 points) — This is one of the most awarded Gamays in Ontario and certainly the most popular at the LCBO. It’s made from 85% estate fruit with the rest sourced from other Niagara vineyards. It has a bright, inviting, and fruity nose of ripe plums, dark cherries, and wild raspberries. It’s bright and cheerful on the palate with juicy red berries, light tannins, freshness, subtle peppery notes, touch of plums and mouth-watering acidity keeping it lively through the finish. Quintessential Niagara Gamay here, great value and a beacon for the future of this exciting grape in Niagara. Serve slightly chilled and enjoy!
13th Street Whitty Vineyard Gamay 2021 ($25, 92 points) — The single-vineyard estate Gamay takes this grape up a notch or two to a more serious take on the grape. It begins with a savoury floral note followed by wild raspberries, black cherries, cassis, plums and subtle pepper and spice. It’s bright and lifted on the palate with ripe red berries, red currants, floral notes, pepper, and subtle earthy/savoury notes that is smooth and lifted through the long finish.
13th Street Sandstone Gamay 2020 ($35, 93 points) — Sourced from the estate’s Whitty Vineyard in Creek Shores, the Sandstone is the top Gamay from 13th Street. The wine is aged in seasoned French oak barrels for 12 months. The wine is lightly fined and filtered prior to bottling. What a beautiful expression of Gamay and shows exactly how engaged winemakers are taking this grape to greater heights. It has a penetrating nose of ripe and bold red berries, purple plums, floral notes, earthy/mineral notes, and fine oak spices. It’s rich and expressive on the palate with reductive notes, saturated cherries, raspberries, plums and anise with broad shoulders and structure, firm tannins and a fresh lifted finish. As Colas says: “It’s Gamay, but more than Gamay.” Can cellar 5+ years and would be fascinating to see its development. Serious Gamay here.
Comment here