Emma Smalley, assistant winemaker at Niagara College Teaching Winery, and Allison Findlay, head winemaker
Monday, March 25th: Allison Findlay, winemaker at Niagara College Teaching Winery, came by with a selection of wines for me to taste to get the Dean’s List designation. (Wine scoring 90 or above make the list.)
Niagara College Dean’s List Pinot Gris Rosé 2023
(Allison, I was going to use this descriptor for the colour, until I googled it: ‘The name œil de perdrix means ” partridge ‘s eye” in French, a reference to the pale pink colour of the eye of a partridge in death throes.’)
Light coppery-pink in colour; minerally, yellow cherry nose with a light floral note; medium-bodied, crisply dry, Rainier cherry flavour; elegant, with a lovely mouth feel and long on the palate. (91)
Niagara College Dean’s List Cabernet Franc Rosé 2023
Deep pink colour; cranberry nose with a floral top note and a strain of minerality; medium-bodied, dry; cranberry, raspberry and red plum flavours with a note of rose petal fragrance, structured with a touch of tannin. (90)
Niagara College Dean’s List Pinot Noir 2022
Ruby in colour; lifted nose of violets and raspberries and a suggestion of toastiness from oak spice; medium-bodied, dry, elegant, raspberry flavour; very Burgundian in Volnay-style, well-integrated oak with a fine spine of balancing acidity. Dean’s List Cum Laude! (93)
Niagara College Vidal Icewine 2023
Old gold in colour; honeyed peach bouquet with a vanilla note; medium to full-bodied, unctuous, sweet peach and mango flavours kept in check and beautifully balanced by racy acidity. Will reward cellaring for 2–3 years. (92–93)
Wednesday, March 27th: Took the train into Toronto with Deborah to have lunch with Arlene Willis, my co-founder of Grapes for Humanity, so she could meet our new president, Helen Hatzis. Over lunch at the Ritz Carlton, we drank a bottle of Domaine Wachau Weissenkirchen Grüner Veltliner Federspeil 2022.
Friday, March 29th: Sue-Ann Staff’s annual Good Friday party. Deborah made an app of bacon with maple syrup and brown sugar baked on croissant dough which was the hit of the party. I brought two wines that I tasted before arriving there – Henry of Pelham Pinot Grigio 2023 and Speck Brothers Free Bird Riesling 2022 (see notes below).
Saturday, March 30th: Cuvée is back! This year at the Holiday Inn on Ontario Street. I presented the Cuvée Tony Aspler Award of Excellence to Phil Dowell. The citation was: “The award goes to a winemaker of exceptional talent who has helped raise the quality of Niagara’s sparkling wine – Philip Dowell.”
Philip Dowell receiving the traditional engraved decanter as winner of my annual Cuvée award
Sherry Karlo pours her Gewurztraminer at Cuvée
Amelie Boury of Château des Charmes pours her sparkling wine
Sunday, March 31st: Meg and Phil had invited us (long before Phil knew that he was the recipient of my annual award!) to their Easter paella party in their garden. I brought along a bottle of Castello di Volpaia Vermentino 2022.
Philip Dowell’s paella and his dog Kiwi
Other wines tasted this week:
Claymore Wines Dark Side of the Moon Shiraz 2021 (Clare Valley, $19.95, Vintages #72652, to be released on May 11th): Opaque, purple-black in colour; spicy, blackberry and black olive bouquet; full-bodied, dry, savoury, blackberry and plum flavours, well-balanced and seamless wine with a fine spine of acidity and a peppery, herbal note, finishing on a touch of salt. Intriguing. (92)
Henry of Pelham Cabernet Merlot Classic 2022 (Short Hills Bench, Niagara, $16.95, CSPC #504241)
Dense purple-ruby colour; cedary, smoky nose of blackcurrant with oak spice; medium-bodied, dry, savoury, red and blackcurrant flavours ending on a note of orange zest; ripe tannins on the finish. Well-balanced, great length. (90)
Henry of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Rosé Brut Brut (70–80% Pinot Noir, 20–30% Chardonnay)
Pale pink colour, active mousse of tiny bubbles; raspberry nose; medium-bodied, dry, crisp raspberry and cranberry flavours. Elegant. (90)
Speck Brothers Family Tree The Merry Widow Rosé 2023 (Niagara Peninsula; $16.95, Vintages #24972, to be released April 12th) (57% Gamay, 28% Merlot, 15% Pinot Noir)
Amber-pink in colour; floral, pomegranate nose; medium-bodied, just off-dry, cherry and pomegranate flavours with a floral lift on the finish. (90)
Henry of Pelham Pinot Grigio 2023 (Niagara Peninsula, $15.95, CSPC #250217)
Pale straw in colour; peach pit nose; light to medium-bodied, crisply dry, green apple and lemon flavours. (88)
Speck Brothers Free Bird Riesling 2022 (Niagara Peninsula, $12.85, CSPC #28672)
Pale straw colour; minerally, lime and grapefruit bouquet; light-bodied, dry, green apple and lemon flavour. Good length. (89)
Yalumba Y Series Viognier 2022 (South Australia, $15.95, CSPC #470062)
Bright straw in colour; minerally, struck flint, peachy nose with a struck flint note; medium-bodied, dry, smoky, peach flavour with great length. Good value. (90)
Speck Brothers Family Tree The Boxer’s Ghost Pinot Noir 2022 (Niagara Peninsula, $19.95, CSPC #30622; Vintage change)
Medium ruby colour; vanilla and raspberry nose; medium-bodied, firmly structured, raspberry and strawberry flavours. A well-balanced wine. (89)
Luigi Bosca La Linda Malbec 2023 (Mendoza, $13.95, CPSC #11927)
Deep purple in colour; spicy, cedary, mulberry nose with a vanilla oak note; medium to full-bodied, dry, well-balanced black fruit flavours carried on fresh acidity. (89)
Gérard Bertrand An 1618 Terroir Picpoul de Pinet 2022 (Narbonne, $18.95, Vintages #13000, to be released May 25th)
Bright straw in colour; minerally, earthy, white peach nose; medium-bodied, crisply dry, peach and lemon-lime flavours with a lovely mouth feel. Great length with a saline note on the finish. (90)
Sacred Hill Sauvignon Blanc 2023 (Marlborough, NZ, $22.95, Vintages #489112, to be released May 11th)
Classic Marlborough Sauvignon! Gooseberry and green pepper bouquet; medium-bodied, dry, fresh and lively on the palate; green passionfruit flavour with lovely mouth-freshening tartness on the finish. (92)
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