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.”
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.
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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