Brett happens

Prince Edward County 2010, Pinot Noir, Diana Block, Grange of Prince Edward ($35.00 at the winery)
100% Pinot Noir, the best lots from the Diana Block vineyard (the other lots go into the Estate and Select bottlings). The vines were planted in 2001 and 2002. Manually harvested and sorted. Alcoholic fermentation lasted 28 days. Matured 30 months in neutral French oak barrels. 13% ABV.
Showed some reductive funk at first, eliciting descriptors like “cherry-eucalyptus cough drops,” “putrescables after a couple of days” and “butterscotch” but soon comeing around. In the mouth, it’s medium-bodied and charming from the get-go. The cherry fruit is silky, the acidity bright, the tannins just firm enough. Minerals provide some depth. The barrels may be neutral but the oak seems a little laid-on, though not to the point of interfering with enjoyment. Could be longer. (Buy again? Maybe.)

Canada 2014, Pinot Noir, The Old Third ($43.00 at the winery)
100% Pinot Noir from the estate’s organically farmed Closson Road vineyard in Prince Edward County. The vines were planted in the mid-2000s. Fermented in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts, then racked into French oak barrels, a fraction of which were new, where it matured for about one year. Bottled unfiltered, unfined and minimally sulphured. 12.5% ABV.
Engaging nose of red berries, spice and clay. Unmistakably Pinot from the first sip but with a striking umami side. The fruit is ripe and rich, tethered by tartness, supported by lithe tannins, shot through with wood and limestone. The long finish brings a red peppery note one taster characterized as “paprika.” Simultaneously earthy and elegant, like a good Burgundy. Hasn’t quite coalesced though the in-glass evolution indicates it will. (Buy again? Yes.)

Prince Edward County 2014, Pinot Noir, County, Unfiltered, Norman Hardie ($45.00 at the winery)
100% Pinot Noir. Given a six- to eight-day cold soak, then fermented seven days with indigenous yeasts and no more than two punch-downs a day. Macerated another week, more or less, with daily turning of the cap. Basket-pressed and transferred to French oak barrels for 10 months’ maturation. Bottled unfined and unfiltered, with a tiny shot of sulphur. 10.9% (!) ABV.
Red berries (strawberry above all), spice, cola, mowed field, hints of tar and cedar – classic, wot? Fresh sweet fruit, glowing acidity, soft tannins, some mineral earthiness, a subtle infusion of oak and the body of a welterweight about sum it up. The most obviously Pinot Noir of the quartet. Lovely if a bit facile, at least at this stage, and the price does give one pause. (Buy again? Maybe.)

Prince Edward County 2014, Pinot Noir, Quatres Anges, Lighthall ($35.00 at the winery)
100% Pinot Noir from estate vineyards. Fermented in temperature-controlled concrete tanks and some French oak barrels. Matured on the lees in French oak barrels. And that is all the winery thinks you need to know… 12.5% ABV.
“Wet dog” and sap aromas give way to cherry with hints of smoke and spice. A delight in the mouth: medium-bodied and silky, fresh-fruited and brightly acidic with fine, structuring tannins and a surprising complexity involving discreet layers of minerals and oak and a faint green streak, more herbal than vegetal and most noticeable on the long, clean finish. Integrated, harmonious and ready to go. For drinking here and now, the winner of the quartet. (Buy again? Def.)

None of the wines was carafed beforehand and all showed better after 40 minutes in the glass. As usual, the tasting was double-blind to everyone except me and the “importer” (blind to us). Those in the dark quickly pegged the wines as Pinot Noir but were perplexed as to their origin, finally settling on “some fictional region between Loire and Jura and like, Jamaica.” Oddly, while there was some initial speculation about Oregon, no one suggested Prince Edward County and most were dumbfounded when the bottles were unveiled. All in all, a well-received flight and coming as quite the relief three weeks after the PEC Cab Franc and Zweigelt debacle.

MWG September 8, 2016, tasting: flight 5 of 6