My scallop dish

Saturday, June 17^th: Our friend Carole Stimmell visited from Toronto, and we took her to lunch at a restaurant we’ve been meaning to try for a long time: Spirit in Niagara, a distillery with an outdoor patio for dining. I ordered scallops to start with pork hock vol-au-vent followed by carrot cake. The wine I ordered was called Saintly the good Rosé 2021 (an Arterra wine from the Niagara Peninsula but when I googled it, I found they have the same wine in BC made from Okanagan grapes).

Each course was accompanied by a small shot glass of one of Spirit in Niagara’s distillates. (I came out with a purchased bottle of Pear eau de vie.)

Other wines tasted this week:

Henry of Pelham Estate Gamay 2020 (Short Hills Bench, Niagara Peninsula, $21.95, Vintages #19903, to be released July 22^nd)
Ruby colour; lightly toasty, spicy, cherry nose; medium-bodied, dry, firmly structured; well-balanced, cherry and cranberry flavours with racy acidity. (90)

Henry of Pelham Speck Family Reserve Baco Noir 2021 (Short Hills Bench, $27.95, winery only)
Dense purple in colour; cedary, vanilla, blackberry bouquet; full-bodied, dry, succulent blackcurrant and black plum flavour with well-integrated oak and supple tannins. Lively acidity gives the wine great balance. (91)

Bodegas Urbina Crianza 2012 (Rioja, $24.95, Vintages #30206)
Dense purple colour; floral, strawberry, cedary, cherry bouquet; medium to full bodied, dry, well-balanced, juicy, cherry flavour. Great mouthfeel. (90)

Bodegas Urbina Gran Reserva Especial 2004 (Rioja, $55.95, Vintages #355743)
Deep ruby in colour with a tawny rim; floral, spicy, strawberry with a coconut note; full-bodied, dry, savoury, strawberry, cherry and green herb flavours with lively acidity; well-integrated oak; very elegant, finishing firmly with ripe tannins and a note of tobacco. (92)

Gérard Bertrand An 990 Fitou 2020 (South of France, $17.95, Vintages #403683, to be released July 22^nd)
Grenache/Carignan blend. Deep purple in colour; vanilla, tobacco and blackberry bouquet with oak spice; full-bodied, dry, juicy, richly extracted blackberry and plum flavours; well-balanced with ripe tannins. Great value. (90)

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