Black Bank Hill wines
Black Bank Hill Runway Rosé 2023 (Lincoln Lakeshore, $25)
94% Cabernet Franc/6% Cabernet Sauvignon. Neon Bright pink in colour; minerally, cherry bouquet; medium-bodied, dry, fresh, raspberry, pomegranate and cherry flavours. Elegant, good length. (88)
Black Bank Hill Runway Chardonnay 2023 ($30)
Straw colour; apple and lemon nose with a thread of minerality; medium-bodied, crisply dry with lively acidity; green apple and lemon flavours with a saline note on the finish. Very Chablis-esque in style. (91)
Black Bank Hill Runway White 2021 ($25)
46% Viognier/26% Gewurztraminer/17% Chardonnay/11% Chenin Blanc. Toasty, spicy, aromatic nose of apple and peach; medium-bodied, dry, well-balanced apple, peach and lychee flavours. Good length. (90)
Black Bank Hill Pinot Noir 2021 ($35)
Light ruby colour; floral, black raspberry, tealeaf nose with oak spice; medium-bodied, dry, firmly structured, red berry flavour with well-integrated oak and evident but supple tannins. The touch of volatile acidity gives a lift to the nose. (90)
Black Bank Hill Cabernet Franc 2019 (Foxcroft Vineyard, 20 Mile Bench, $35)
Deep purple; toasty, blackcurrant and plum nose with vanilla and oak spice notes; medium-bodied, dry, lean and sinewy; firmly structured with ripe tannins. Hold 1–2 years. (89)
Black Bank Hill Merlot 2021 ($40)
Deep purple in colour; toasty, spicy nose of plum with a light floral note; medium-bodied, dry with plum and toasty oak flavours. Lovely mouth feel. Firmly structured. Need cellar time. (89–90)
Black Bank Hill Egalité 2021 ($45)
Deep purple colour; cedary, black and redcurrant bouquet with oak spice and vanilla notes; medium-bodied, dry, mouth-filling flavours of blackcurrant and plum with supple tannins on the finish, Needs time. (89–91)
Township 7 wines
Township 7 Provenance Series Merlot 2022 (Okanagan)
Deep purple-ruby in colour; cedary plum bouquet with oak spice; medium to full-bodied, dry, savoury black fruit flavours with balancing acidity; well-integrated oak. Needs a couple of years of cellaring. (90–92)
Township 7 Syrah Fool’s Gold Vineyard 2020
Deep purple in colour; cedary, black pepper and ripe plum bouquet; medium to full-bodied, dry; elegant, savoury blackberry and mulberry flavours carried on fresh acidity. (91)
Township 7 Seven Stars Rigel Sparkling Wine Fool’s Gold Vineyard 2022 (Riesling)
Palest straw in colour; active mousse of tiny bubbles; green apple and lemon bouquet wit grapefruit zest; crisply dry, light-bodied; fresh and lively on the palate with lemon-lime flavours. Long finish. (91)
Township 7 Benchmark Series Riesling Fool’s Gold Vineyard 2021
Straw colour with a hint of green; minerally nose of grapefruit and lime with a suggestion of petrol; light to medium-bodied, crisply dry, lemony green apple flavours. Great length. (90)
Friday, December 6th: Performed with A Cappella Niagara at Niagara-on-the-Lake for the town’s annual candlelight stroll. All Christmas songs. Freezing cold standing at the corner of King and Prideaux Street, outside an art gallery. The crowd loved it. We took time off to run into the gallery to get warm and drink hot cider. I bought two carved wood-handled wine stoppers there.
A Cappella Niagara performing in Niagara-on-the-Lake
Saturday, December 7th: A repeat performance of last night’s outdoor concert, this time for the Port Dalhousie candlelight stroll. Much warmer, thank goodness.
Stephen Lamont and me in full flight
Other wines tasted this week: Reif Estate Semillon 2020, Tinhorn Creek The Creek 2014.
