By Rick VanSickle
For such a tiny production, Prince Edward County’s Last House Vineyard, featuring Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, sure leaves an big impression.
Also in this Ontario Wine Report, we have two recommendations from the Niagara wines being released at Vintages stores on Saturday, including Wending Home and Featherstone.
I have followed the exciting wines from owners André Gagné and his wife Debra Mathews (above) from the very first wines that were made there. The couple, Mathews a former reporter and producer with the CBC, and Gagné, a former executive with Metro Inc. and a home winemaker, had a dream and are living it through all the ups and downs any start-up faces, especially in a marginal climate such as what The County endures.
They sold their home in Toronto’s west end and bought property in Prince Edward County in 2016. Mathews relocated to PEC in October of 2016 while Gagne followed suit after commuting from Toronto for the first couple of years.
Located at 23 County Road 20 in Wellington, the property consists of 11 acres, a stunning two-storey home with water frontage on Lake Ontario in the Hillier ward, plus a small but evolving winery. Only 5.25 acres of grapes — 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay — are under vine on the property, which was originally planted by the late Richard Karlo in 2009 in mineral-laden soil that is Ameliasburgh clay loam over a layer of limestone shale. There is also a golden russet apple orchard for a small production of cider.
The couple believe that if you begin with healthy fruit and then trust it, the winemaking will almost look after itself. They use minimal intervention with the appropriate élevage for the current year’s conditions. This far into the project, the fruit has allowed alcoholic fermentation to be achieved using only the wild yeasts on the grapes and naturally present bacteria has resulted in malo-lactic fermentation. “We have not had to use enzymes, nutrients, colour or tannin additions and hope to avoid all of these in the future,” said Gagné. “The fruit will decide.”
There is limited pumping, racking, and use of sulphur. The use of oak barrels is balanced to the wine style. All wine is bottled without fining or filtration and is hand corked for the still wines and hand riddled and disgorged for the sparkling wines.
As the vigneron, Gagné works with respected County wine veteran Geoff Heinricks (below), who shares many of the same beliefs in terms of both his approach to farming and winemaking in PEC. “We are grateful for both his invaluable contributions in establishing Last House and his continued support,” Gagné said.
The work at Last House is a family and friends affair. Their son, Christian, his life partner Zoe, and their youngest son Daniel have all toiled in the vineyards and the winery since the beginning of the journey, and both names can be found on some of the bottles produced there. There is also a dedicated core of “locals” who help with various chores in the vineyard and harvesting.
It all adds up to one the one of the most intriguing and promising projects in the County and beyond, with each new vintage adding to their evolving story.
I recently tasted three new wine releases and a cider from the 2023 vintage, along with retasting two wines from the 2021 vintage. Gagné described the vintage as starting out great “then disease pressure resulted in a half crop,” he said. “But, with an amazing September the remaining fruit achieved remarkable ripeness.”
The Hillier Blanc Christian Block Chardonnay is officially released today, May 22, which is Chardonnay day, while the rest of the wines are also available on the Last House website here. Here is what I liked:
Last House Hillier Blanc Christian Block Chardonnay 2023 ($46, released today on Chardonnay Day, May 22, 93 points) — The Christian Block is sourced from the estate’s 12 short of rows of Chardonnay planted by the late Richard Karlo in 2009. Only 42 cases were made. It shows a light gold colour in the glass with a nose of lemon curd, seashells/saline minerality, pear, quince, gentle reductive notes, and subtle savoury spice accents. It has a rich and creamy texture on the palate with more reduction, then baked pear, yellow apples, lemon zest, and chalky/stony notes on a chiselled, vibrant and long-lasting finish. So many layers of intrigue in this personable Chardonnay. For drinking in the next 5-6 years.
Last House Hillier Rouge Daniel Block Pinot Noir 2023 ($48, the tiny production of 16 cases was sold out via pre-orders, 93 points) — The Daniel Block is sourced from the estate’s 12 short rows of Pinot Noir planted at the Last House Vineyard by Richard Karlo in 2009. It shows a vibrant red colour in the glass with earthy Morello cherries, that vein of reduction you see in most County Chards and Pinots, rose petals, ripe strawberries, pomegranate, and hinting at charred spice notes. The cherry notes are ripe and dense on the palate and joined by a mashup of strawberry-raspberry puree, savoury/earthy notes, mushrooms and subtle spices with mouth-watering acidity on a long and lifted finish. Another beautifully done Pinot Noir from Last House. Can cellar through 2032.
Last House Hillier Rouge Block 140 Pinot Noir 2023 ($42, 94 points) — This wine is the descendant of the 2021 Petit Hillier Rouge with fruit from Pinot Noir vines planted in 2018. Six different Pinot clones are used to make this wine, and Gagné calls it “atypical of County Pinot having been harvested at 23.6 brix and presenting a dark colour and a stewed plum leathery richness.” The abv clocks in at 13.5% abv. The aromas jump from the glass in a riot of fresh turned soil, black cherries and raspberries, red currants, floral notes and a soupçon of spice. The texture is silky smooth and so vibrant with a melange of strawberry-forward red berries, umami, savoury/earthy notes, chalky minerality and a lifted, highly finessed finish. So Burgundian with signature County roots. Can cellar through 2032.
Last House Cidre Pétillant, Golden Russet 2023 ($21 for 750 mL bottle, 93 points) – This the first Last House “cidre” made with 100% estate grown golden russet apples. It was harvested at 19 brix and weighs in at 11.5% abv. This cider is bottle conditioned and you will notice a modest amount of sediment. The must was naturally fermented in steel and then aged for 10 months. No malolactic fermentation. At the time of hand bottling, a mixture of yeast and sugar was added to “bottle condition” the cider. It was finished with no fining or filtering. The nose shows mineral charged fresh apples with a pure saline quality, verbena and a touch of umami. It shows gentle effervesce on the palate with notes of bin apples, vanilla wafer, subtle lemon and herbs in a crisp, highly unique style that closely resembles the ciders from the holy grail of cider making — Normandy, France.
Note: I also retasted two wines from the Last House vault for this report. Here’s what I liked:
Last House Petit Hiller Rouge 2021 ($32, still available on the website store, 93 points) — The 2021 Petit Hillier Rouge was the first red table wine made from the Pinot Noir vines planted in 2018. This did make the minimum brix to allow for the VQA Prince Edward County designation. The fruit was hand harvested into 15 kg bins before it was crushed and destemmed. The wine was fermented in two, one-tonne insulated bins with punch downs three times a day. Total time in the bins was 21 days, with seven days maceration post cap fall. Due to lack of barrels, the wine was moved to a 1,200-litre steel tank until March of 2022 where it was moved to neutral oak barrels to complete malo and continue elevage. It was lightly sulphured and hand-bottled in May of 2023 with no filtering or fining and finished at 10.9% abv. Expectations were not high for this wine and the paler shade of red in the glass didn’t help matters. But, as I said in my original review, I’ve been down this road with Pinot before and colour and expectations are sometimes only there to completely befuddle you. You know that wine you come across from time to time and you taste it and some sort of bell goes off and you can’t quite believe what you are tasting? It’s those rare moments that make wine so much fun, so interesting and fuels our desire explore the crazy world of wine, in this case Pinot Noir. This is THAT wine, not the first for a Pinot Noir, but rather another one in a line of many. It’s a rather simply made, non-interventionist wine that shows the essence of County Pinot Noir in its rawest form. The nose, oh my goodness, the nose. Smelling this wine is like breathing in the air on a hike through a boreal forest after a summer rain. The truffles, wet decaying leaves, and lovely saline perfume from a fresh, babbling brook surrounded by forest berries and wild herbs, leaves you mesmerized. On retasting this wine, I even more convinced of the joy I felt when first tasting it. There is magic on the nose of this ethereal Pinot Noir; fresh, wild, and untethered, delivering notes of wild raspberries squeezed directly into your glass, some tart cherries, a touch of anise and dirt, like fresh turned soil and crushed granite, and only a touch of spice. It’s fully integrated as is and caresses the palate with its silky texture and it runs fresh and long all the way down the hatch. I just could not stop drinking this wine, not once but twice tasting it. It’s a pure, simple, delicious, and unpretentious County Pinot unlike any other. I know I’ve said a lot here, maybe a bit of hyperbole added for impact, but make no mistake, this is not a 100-point DRC or even the equal of some of the finest PEC or Niagara Pinot Noirs being turned out on a regular basis, but, damn, from a suspect vintage, from a low level of expectation, it certainly makes a bold statement. That it has not lost a step since first experiencing this wine in October 2023. It just leaves me happily flabbergasted.
Last House 2021 Electrum Chardonnay 2021 ($29, a bit left on the website, 90 points) — This is skin fermented Chardonnay (a white wine made like a red wine) from all estate fruit. The grapes were de-stemmed and partially crushed with 20% whole clusters included in the fermentation vat. It was finished with limited sulphur additions. Gagné says this is his best-selling wine of all time, and sends kudos to Laura Carr, the owner of the all-Ontario wine bar Chez Nous in Toronto, for “believing in it.” It shows a “deep and hazy, yellow-gold colour in the glass,” my wife Maureen noted, “with light tropical aromas on the nose. I noted the reductive, earthy, funkiness punctuated by saline, orange peel and lemon tart. Maureen, a bigger fan of orange/natural wines than I am, points to the “slight effervescence on the tongue, making it tart but vibrant on the palate with an earthy (not floral) and dry impression. I like it.” I found subtle tannins on the palate, and like Maureen, quite earthy, reductive and less fruit forward than the other estate Chardonnays. The finish is bright and lively, with moderate acidity.
Niagara wines coming to Vintages May 24
We have a couple of recommendations for the Niagara wines being released this Saturday at Vintages stores.
Wending Home Estate Vineyard Chardonnay 2020 ($35, 92 points) — Aged in a combination of 228 L French oak barrique and 500 L puncheons, 20% of which is new oak, for 8-9 months. It has a rich and creamy nose of ripe pear, yellow apple, lemon tart, a floral note, flint, and elegant spices. It has a lovely creamy texture on the palate with ripe stone fruits, flinty minerality, spice and a long, lifted finish.
Featherstone Fizzics Rosé Sparkling 2023 ($20, 88 points) — This is a new wine for Featherstone, a charmat style bubbly that’s a blend of Cabernet Franc (60%) and Merlot (40%). The name is an ode to Engel’s dad, who taught physics. It shows a light pink colour in the glass with a persistent bubble and notes of fresh strawberries, cherries, watermelon, floral accents and a smidge of citrus. There is a touch of sweetness on the palate with a lively bead and ripe red berries, a bit of peach and a juicy, vibrant finish. Fun bubbles at an attractive price.
Also released but not reviewed by Wines in Niagara:
• Creekside Red Tractor Cabernet Franc 2020 ($20)
• Drea’s Small Batch Cabernet Franc 2022 ($40)
• EastDell Gamay Noir 2019 ($19)
• Ferox Vantage Red NV ($17)
• Hidden Bench Gamay 2022 ($30)
• Tawse Quarry Road Pinot Noir 2021 ($36)
• Trius Showcase Pinot Noir 2022 ($45)
• Flat Rock Twisted Sparkling 2023 ($20,
• 13th Street June’s Vineyard Chardonnay 2023 ($22)
• Featherstone Pinot Grigio 2024 ($18)
• Jackson-Triggs Grand Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2022 ($25)
• Marynissen Heritage Collection Picone Vineyard Riesling 2023 ($23
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