Tuesday, April 29^th: Thomas Bachelder invited me down to the Bat Cave to taste his 2023 single vineyard Gamays – 11 of them. Plus a couple of Villages wines.

Bachelder Kirby Gamay Noir 2023 (Four Mile Creek, $29)
Ruby colour; floral, cherry nose with a toasty note: medium-bodied, dry, lean and sinewy; sour cherry flavour; fresh and bright with lively acidity. (90)

Bachelder L’il Kirby Gamay Noir 2023 (Four Mile Creek, $29)
Ruby colour; floral, cherry nose with a toasty note; medium-bodied, dry, cherry flavour, a little richer in extract than Kirby. (92)

Bachelder Bator Gamay Noir 2023 (Vieilles Vignes; 30% whole cluster; Four Mile Creek, $27)
Ruby colour; minerally, toasty, floral, cherry bouquet; medium-bodied, dry, elegant, firmly structured, with sweet cherry fruit and brisk, balancing acidity. (93)

Bachelder Willms Gamay Noir 2023 (Vieilles Vignes; 55% whole cluster; Four Mile Creek, $27)
Ruby colour; rose petal and cherry and red plum on the nose; medium-bodied, dry, strawberry and sour cherry flavours; lovely mouth-feel, finishing firmly. (92)

Bachelder Bai Xu Gamay Noir 2023 (Vieilles Vignes; 30% whole cluster; Four Mile Creek, $32)
Ruby colour; floral, cherry nose; medium-bodied, dry; richly extracted, firmly structured; beautifully balanced. Lovely mouth feel. A seamless wine. (94)

Bachelder Werner York Gamay Noir 2023 (25% whole cluster; St. David’s Bench, $27)
Ruby colour; minerally, raspberry nose; medium-bodied, dry, elegant, minerally, sour cherry flavour with a firm, saline finish. (92)

Bachelder G & H Wiley Gamay Noir 2023 (100% destemmed; Short Hills Bench, $28)
Deep ruby in colour; floral cherry nose with a trace of minerality; medium-bodied, dry; elegant, sour cherry flavour with a great mouth-feel. (92)

Bachelder Wismer Foxcroft Gamay Noir 2023 (32% whole cluster; Twenty Mile Bench, $33)
Deep ruby in colour; floral, minerally nose of cherries; medium-bodied, dry, firmly structured and beautifully balanced with lively acidity. (92)

Bachelder Wismer Foxcroft Gamay Noir 2023 (100% destemmed; Twenty Mile Bench, $33)
Deep ruby in colour; floral, cherry bouquet; medium-bodied, dry, firmly structured and beautifully balanced with lively acidity. (91)

Bachelder Mio Gamay Noir 2023 (31% whole cluster; Lincoln Lakeshore, $29)
Ruby colour; vanilla, cherry nose with floral top notes; medium-bodied, dry, firmly structured, sour cherry flavour carried on lively acidity. (90)

Bachelder Les Villages Gamay Noir 2023 (Niagara Peninsula, $26)
Ruby colour; spicy, toasty, black raspberry nose; medium-bodied, dry, elegant, well-structured, with great length. (91)

Bachelder Les Villages Bench Chardonnay 2023 (Niagara Peninsula, $35)
Bright straw colour; toasty, chalky, apple nose with a light floral note; medium-bodied, dry, richly extracted apple and lemon flavours. A beautifully balanced wine. (92)

Bachelder Les Villages Pinot Noir 2023 (Niagara Peninsula, $35)
Ruby colour; toasty, raspberry nose; medium-bodied, dry, elegant raspberry flavour; lean and sinewy, well-structured with a fine mouth-feel. (90)

Saturday, May 3^rd: Dinner party at Meg and Phil’s. Deborah brought along her tapenade and I, a bottle of Southbrook whimsy! Field Blend Red 2021. Lots of wines on the table: Phil’s Kew Vineyards Tradition Sparking Wine 2012 (a blend of the three Champagne grapes – Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir); Kew Vineyards Marsanne 2020, Cataldi Madonna Giulia Pecorino 2023, Black Bank Hill Runway Red 2020.

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Also tasted this week: Black Hills Estate Winery Bona Fide 2022, Wolf Blass Shiraz Yellow Label 2023, D’Antiche Terre Taurasi Riserva Il Vicario, Frescobaldi Nipozzano Riserva Chianti Rufina 2021.

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