Tuesday, April 1st: Andrzej Lipinski invited me to Big Head to taste his 2023 wines. With Andrzej this is always something of a marathon and he proudly likes to show you everything he makes. He is an instinctive winemaker with a poet’s touch. His signature wine is Chenin Blanc. He usually makes six or seven different Chenins. And I believe that his Syrah will also be his trademark red.
Big Head Chenin Blanc 2024 (to be bottled May 6, 2026)
Bright, pale straw in colour; peachy, floral bouquet; full-bodied, dry, elegant; full on the palate, beautifully balanced peach and apricot flavours; great length with a touch of honey on the finish. An exceptional wine! (93)
Big Head R AW Riesling 2023 (Lenko Vineyard, Beamsville Bench – free-run juice, carbonic maceration, unfiltered, $45)
Bright straw colour; floral, grapefruit nose; medium to full-bodied, luscious mouthfeel; round and full on the palate with grapefruit and apple flavours with just a hint of sweetness. (90)
Big Head RAW Viognier 2023 (fermented and aged in concrete and terracotta)
Light gold colour; rich, spicy, peach and honeysuckle bouquet; full-bodied, dry, fruity, peach flavour with a floral note; lovely mouth feel with a touch of bitterness on the finish which gives the wine an intriguing dimension on the finish. (92)
Big Head Family Label Chenin Blanc (an unfiltered blend of 50% 2022 vintage and 50% 2023 vintage. This wine will be a solera blend in future years. $38)
Straw colour; peach pit nose with a light floral note; full-bodied, dry with a rich core of peach and apple flavours. Carries its 15.1% alcohol very well. (91)
Big Head Select Chenin Blanc 2023 (aged in older 1500-litre barrels, 14.7% alcohol; 7 grams residual sugar, $38)
Bright straw in colour; lightly floral, white peach nose; full-bodied, dry, rich and intense peach flavour with a honeyed mid-palate; beautifully balanced for such high alcohol. Great length. (93)
Big Head RAW Chenin Blanc 2023 (Four Mile Creek, first vintage of this wine from 4-year-old vines, 14.4% alc., $50)
Floral, peach and apricot nose; full-bodied, dry, rich and full peach flavour on the palate; lovely mouth-feel, great length. (92)
Big Head Select Chardonnay 2023 (50% 500-litre French oak/50% 1000-litre Slovenian, fourth-fill barrels, 14.6% alcohol, $40)
Bright straw in colour; full-bodied, dry, apple and Meyer lemon flavours; lovely mouth-feel, beautifully balanced, great length. (92)
Big Head Gris Orange Wine 2023 (three months on the skins; carbonic maceration, skins back for 2.5 months, 14.8% alcohol.)
Coppery bronze in colour; dried peach bouquet with a light floral note; full-bodied, dry, earthy, firmly structured with evident tannins and a saline note on the finish. Needs time. (I am not an orange wine fan, but this one was a pleasant surprise.) (90)
Big Head Red #11 (a blend of eight varieties: Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Merlot (appassimento), Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Dornfelder (appassimento), $25)
Deep purple in colour; blackberry and beetroot on the nose with oak spice and a floral top note; rich, full-bodied, dry, intense black fruit flavours, firmly structured with ripe tannins. A bruiser of a wine. (90)
Big Head Family Pinot Noir 2024 (first fruit from three-year-old vines; carbonic maceration, whole cluster, aged in 500-litre barrels, 13.7% alcohol, $150)
Tank sample. Light ruby in colour; a nose of violets and black raspberries with vanilla oak notes; full-bodied, dry, intense raspberry flavour; firmly structured. (93)
Big Head RAW Syrah 2023 (with 10% Viognier; 14.9% alcohol; $75)
Deep purple-black in colour; spicy, black pepper, blackberry bouquet; full-bodied, richly extracted, savoury black fruit flavours; firmly structured, muscular but beautifully balanced with evident but mellow tannins. (95)
Big Head Family Label Syrah 2023 (10% Viognier, vinified in terracotta; 15.8% alcohol)
Deep purple colour; lively blackberry bouquet with herbal, peppery notes; full-bodied, dry, juicy, richly extracted, beautifully balanced, lovely mouth-feel. The best Syrah I have tasted from Ontario. (98)
Big Head Family Syrah 2023 (aged in new oak; 15.8% alcohol)
Deep ruby-purple; spicy, vanilla, blackberry bouquet; full-bodied, dry, juicy, powerful; prominent new oak flavours currently masking the rich black fruit flavours. (97 – could be 100 when finally bottled for release at Christmas 2026.)
Big Head RAW Malbec 2023 (made in concrete and terra cotta; 15.5% alcohol)
Dense purple-black in colour; spicy, vanilla, cedary, black plum nose; full-bodied, dry, richly extracted plum and blackberry flavours; juicy and mouth-filling, A buxom wine with evident but ripe tannins. (93)
Big Head Petit Verdot 2023 (free-run juice; first harvest from this vineyard, 14.9% alcohol, $75)
Deep purple in colour; spicy, floral black fruit nose; full-bodied, dry, richly extracted black fruit flavours. Needs 1–2 years cellaring. (92)
Big Head RAW Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 (made in concrete and terracotta tanks, 14.9% alcohol. $80)
Deep ruby-purple in colour; spicy, blackcurrant nose; full-bodied, dry, richly extracted blackcurrant and black plum flavours; firmly structured; great mouth feel. (91)
Big Head RAW Cabernet Franc 2023 (fermented in concrete and terra cotta tanks, 14.9% alcohol)
Deep purple-ruby colour; floral, spicy, plum nose; full-bodied, dry, richly extracted, intense, muscular, black plum and black cherry flavours with a sweetness at the core. Needs time. (90)
Big Head Family Label Genia 2023 (59% Merlot, 24% Malbec, 17% Petit Verdot; new French oak, 15.5% alcohol, $250)
Deep ruby in colour; spicy, vanilla, blackcurrant and plum bouquet; full-bodied, dry, firmly structured, ripe tannins. Good length. (To be released Jan. 27, 2026 – Andrzej’s birthday.) (91)
Big Head Family Label Lonia 2023 (a blend of 48% Syrah, 30% Malbec with Cabernet Sauvignon and Alicante Bouchet; $175)
Deep purple colour; cedary, spicy, vanilla blackberry nose; full-bodied, dry, firmly structured, blackcurrant and black plum flavours with well-integrated oak. Needs a couple of years in the cellar. (To be released Jan. 27, 2026) (92–94)
Big Head Botrytis-Affected Chenin Blanc 2023 (13.5% alcohol, $45)
Light gold in colour; honeyed peach nose; medium-bodied, sweet, honeyed peach flavour; beautifully balanced, lovely mouth feel; elegant for such a big wine. (93)
Big Head RAW Pinot Noir 2023 (14.2% alcohol, $55)
Ruby colour; spicy, cherry bouquet; full-bodied, dry, cherry and red plum flavours with a firm tannic structure. Hold 2–3 years. (89–91)
