Posts Tagged ‘Mo’ Wine Group’
MWG July 13th tasting: report (5/5)
Zero de Gris 2009, Frontenac Gris, Huff Estates ($34.95/375 ml)
The winery’s first ever late harvest wine (reportedly it would be an ice wine if VQA rules admitted the grape variety). 100% Frontenac Gris picked when the outside temperature is well below 0ºC (32ºF). Fermented and aged in stainless steel. 11.5% ABV. 300 cases made.
Rich amber in the glass. Spicy, slightly resinous nose reminiscent of goldenrod honey. Medium weight. Sweet but not sacharine or syrupy. Good acidity. Clean citrus and stone fruit linger long. While lacking the kaleidocopic flavours and acidic dazzle of the best Vidal ice wines, this is a pleasant after-dinner sipper.
MWG July 13th tasting: report (4/5)
Pinot Noir 2009, VQA Prince Edward County, Casa-Dea Estates Winery ($20)
Aged 15 months in oak barrels (not new ones, I’d wager). 12.2% ABV.
“Cherry slush” (in the words of one taster) and forest floor: doesn’t really pinote. Light- to medium-bodied. Reedy tannins and tart fruit, like red currants. Flat and lacking depth, though there are some tasty minerals on the finish. Not bad but far better Pinots can be had for about the same price. (Buy again? No.)
Pinot Noir 2008, VQA Prince Edward County, Exultet Estates ($35)
The first vintage of this wine. Can’t find any technical info on the 2008 but the 2009 was aged in new oak barrels for about one year. 12.8% ABV.
Earth, berries, beet and some oak on the nose. Initially a dichotomy of fruit and oak in the mouth. Improved with breathing, gaining depth, breadth and balance and eventually holding its own against the Old Third Vineyard and the Hardie. 2008 was a tough vintage in Ontario; this medium-bodied wine was good enough that I’d be interested in tasting the 2009. (Buy again? Maybe a bottle of the 2009.)
Pinot Noir 2009, Cuvée County, VQA Prince Edward County, Rosehall Run ($22)
Made from fruit sourced from various Hillier area vineyards, including the estate’s own. Aged about one year in French oak barrels (no info on their age but probably not a high percentage of new). 12.5% ABV.
Nose of red berries and shoe leather. Smooth and simple, tasting of red berries and beet. Light, tight tannins. Good acidity and minerality. A refreshing, somewhat earthy quaffer. (Buy again? Yes.)
Pinot Noir 2009, County, Unfiltered, VQA Prince Edward County, Norman Hardie ($39)
Aged 11 months in small oak barrels, 40% new. 11.5% ABV.
Rich, Burgundian nose of earth, red berries and oak. Smooth, round, delimited. Pure fruit, a silky texture, fresh acidity and fine tannins. Sits lightly on the palate yet has substance and presence as well as an underlying stoniness. A wine with nearly everything except éclat. Pricey. (Buy again? At $25 probably; at nearly $40 probably not.)
Pinot Noir 2010, The Old Third Vineyard ($42)
Specializing exclusively in Pinot Noir, the winery planted its first vines in 2005. Total production, including a semi-sweet botrytized Pinot Noir, is under 500 cases. High density planting and severe selection keep yields low. This cuvée is fermented in stainless steel tanks with indigenous yeasts, then racked into French oak barrels, a fraction of which are new, where it matures for about one year. Bottled unfiltered, unfined and minimally sulphured. 12.5% ABV.
Ça pinote like none of the others. A silky textured welterweight. The tart red fruit is rooted in stony bedrock, structured by fine tannins, buttressed by woody oak and present through the long finish. Has a depth and complexity that the other wines lack and a combination of elegance and earthiness evocative of Burgundy. (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG July 13th tasting: report (3/5)
Chardonnay 2010, Unoaked, VQA Prince Edward County, Rosehall Run ($20)
A blend of Chardonnay (65%) and Chardonnay Musqué (35%). Fermented with the light lees in tanks at 10-12ºC. Aged on the lees for about 8 months. Malolactic fermentation kept to a minimum. 12.7% ABV.
Oddly floral but fresh nose with lemon, minerals and a hint of wax. Light textured and dry. Faint fruit (apple, pear, lemon), lots of minerals and a hint of bitterness. Crisp acidity and good length. Clean and refreshing. (Buy again? Sure.)
Chardonnay 2010, County, VQA Prince Edward County, Norman Hardie ($35)
Fermented in temp-controlled stainless steel tanks with gentle stirring of lees. Aged in French oak barrels from various coopers and with various levels of toast. 12.2% ABV.
Muted nose: lemon, apple, minerals and a hint of camphor. Richer than the Rosehall but not heavy. Attractive from the get-go with a minerally attack. Tropical fruit and oak emerge on the mid-palate, then segue into an ashy, lemon-pith finish. (Buy again? The wine has appeal but the QPR is whacky when you can get an excellent premier cru Chabis for less.)
Chardonnay 2009, Unoaked, VQA Prince Edward County, Casa-Dea Estates Winery ($16)
Fermented in stainless steel tanks. Five months’ aging on the lees. 12.9% ABV.
Canned Niblets corn, gaining some tropical fruit. Very dry. Rich, bordering on flabby texture. Little acid backbone and not much follow-through. (Buy again? No.)
Chardonnay 2010, The Blessed, VQA Prince Edward County, Exultet Estates ($35)
No technical info to be found other than a mention that the grapes are “ultra-ripe” and a reference to new oak barrels. Chances are good that it undergoes malolactic fermentation too. 13% ABV.
The nose? “Aunt Jemima’s butt – a happy, fun thing,” to quote one taster. Tropical fruit, butter, ashy oak, vanilla and a hint of caramel. Winey texture. Less than bone dry, though the sweetness and extract are balanced by firm acidity. Good length. In terms of New World style, goes right up to – but not over – the edge. (Buy again? Not my cup of tea – and that’s setting aside the in-your-face religiosity.)
MWG July 13th tasting: report (2/5)
Rosé 2009, Method Traditional, VQA Prince Edward County, Hinterland Wine Co. ($37)
75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay. Aged two-plus years on the lees. Disgorged and dosed in batches as stocks run low. 12% ABV.
Medium salmon pink with a faint bronze cast. Fine, lazy bead. Muted nose: bathpowder and a hint of nectarine and yeast. Dry and minerally. Good balance between extract and acidity. Only lightly fruity until the finish, when raspberry swells. As the wine breathes and warms, it turns sweeter and less integrated and gains a faint metallic edge. (Buy again? Maybe, though a QPR winner it’s not.)
3630 Bubble 2008, VQA Prince Edward County, Barnyard Wine Co. ($39)
A tiny winery. The wines are made at Hinterland’s facilities. The 3630 refers to the number of vines per acre. For the 2008 vintage, the estate’s entire crop was used for this bubbly, a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 11.6% ABV.
Red berries, nectarine and a whiff of brett. Sourish and odd at first but coming around. Quite dry and never very fruity. Racy acidity it has in spades and lots of minerals on the finish. (Buy again? Maybe if it weren’t so expensive.)
Dea’s Cuvée 2008, Méthode cuvée close, VQA Ontario, Casa-Dea Estates Winery ($16)
A blend of Chard and Pinot Noir, with at least some of the fruit coming from elsewhere in the province. Made by the less labour-intensive cuvée close method (aka Charmat process). 12.5% ABV.
Yeasty, sour apple and silage with a metallic edge. Facile, fruity and sweet. Compared with the other wines in the flight, it tasted artificial and cheap. (Buy again? Nope.)
Cuvée Peter F. Huff 2008, VQA Prince Edward County, Huff Estates ($45)
A blend of Chardonnay (65%) and Pinot Noir (35%), the winery’s “all-county Blanc de noirs” claim notwithstanding. Traditional method vinification. Spent 30 months on its lees. 600 cases made. 12% ABV.
Delicate on the nose and palate. Rich effervescence. Light lemon and red berries. Quite dry and long with a toasty/yeasty note surfacing on the finish. Very elegant and the standout in this flight. (Buy again? Maybe, though excellent Champagnes can be had for less.)
Les Étoiles 2008, VQA Prince Edward County, Hinterland Wine Co. ($39)
A 50-50 blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir made using the traditional method. Aged on the lees for more than two years. The name likely refers to Dom Perignon’s apocryphal cry when he had his first sip of sparkling Champagne: “Venez vite, je bois des étoiles !” (Come quick, I am drinking stars!). If so, the winery is throwing down the gauntlet 12% ABV.
Electrum with a fine but plentiful bead. Toast and lemon on the nose. Minerals, lees and faint yellow stone fruit on the palate. A little funky and disjointed on both, improving only slightly as it breathed. Good balance between stuffing and acidity. Showing some depth, breadth and length. Still, it was hard to shake the feeling that the wine was “unsettled,” as one taster put it. An off bottle? Unfortunate because you could see the Champagne-like potential. (Buy again? To give it another chance, yes.)
MWG July 13th tasting: report (1/5)
The Mo’ Wine Group met on Friday the 13th to taste its way through an assortment of wines from Ontario’s up-and-comingest wine region, Prince Edward County, located on a peninsula jutting into Lake Ontario, about five hours by car from Montreal. Parallels having been drawn between the county’s cool climate and limestone soils and those of Champagne, we were especially interested in checking out the sparkling wines. Many thanks to members M and L for selecting and transporting the bottles.
Ancestral 2011, VQA Prince Edward County, Hinterland Wine Co. ($23)
A wine inspired by the sparkling Gamays (sometimes with a little Poulsard thown in) from Bugey Cerdon in France’s Savoie region. The name refers to the rarely used (outside of Savoie and Gaillac) méthode ancestrale of sparkling wine production, whereby the wine is bottled before fermentation is complete. Fermentation is then allowed to continue in the bottle and the carbon dioxide that is a byproduct creates the effervescence. (Like those of far too many Ontario wineries, Hinterland’s website is stingy with production details. One sentence found there – “Using the Ancestral method, the bubbles of this wine was [sic] achieved by capturing the carbon dioxide produced during the primary fermentation” – and the lack of a deposit in the bottle suggest that they may also be using some form of the transfer method.) In any case, this is 100% Gamay Noir and 8% ABV.
Pale strawberry pink with cotton candy glints. Foam disappears quickly; occasional small bubbles remain. Come-hither nose of yeast, strawberry and rose. Light on the palate with a fine effervescence. Fruity and off-dry, though the sweetness is tarted by bright acidity. Turns drier on the finish as minerals and a hint of earthiness emerge. Not quite up to Bugey Cerdon standards – this is simpler, more superficial, a bit more soda poppy – but not terribly far off and certainly enjoyable in its own right. Serve chilled as an outdoor sipper, an aperitif, with not very sweet stawberry- or rhubarb-based desserts or, possibly, as an accompaniment to Indian food (Bugey Cerdon works, so why not this?). (Buy again? Yes, a bottle or two for an all-Canadian dinner or picnic.)
MWG June 21st tasting: report (4/4)
Coteaux du Languedoc 2007, Prieuré Saint-Jean de Bébian ($38.00, 11661074)
Syrah (45%), Grenache (30%), Mourvèdre (25%) from 30-year-old vines except the Grenache, which was planted in 1925. Each grape variety is vinified and aged separately. Six to nine weeks’ maceration in concrete and old stone vats with little pumping over. The Syrah is transferred to barrels for malolactic fermentation. Aged in second, third and fourth vintage barrels and demi-muids for nine to 18 months according to the variety, then in stainless steel vats. Unfiltered. 14.5% ABV.
Dark fruit, Asian spice, earth, “pine coney.” Full-bodied. Weighty without being heavy. Heady, packed with ripe fruit, suave tannins and just enough acidity. Long leathery/charry finish. Intense but fine. Needs time. (Buy again? Tempted but will likely wait for the reportedly fleeter 2008.)
Coteaux du Languedoc 2009, L’Orée, Clos des Nines ($24.25, 11661091)
A ten-year-old estate. The name refers to the owner’s three daughters (nines in Langue d’oc). Grenache (50%), Syrah (25%), Cinsault (25%). Fermented and aged in vats. 14.5% ABV.
Winey, sawed wood, eventually resin. Mouth-filling but not galumphing. The ripe fruit, soft tannins and pulpy texture are kept sprightly by the fresh flavours and acidity. The fruit slow-fades to spice and earthy minerals on the finish. The supplest, least serious wine in the flight, this has backyard BBQ written all over it. (Buy again? If looking for a Languedoc vin plaisir, sure.)
Coteaux du Languedoc 2009, Grès de Montpellier, Château Saint-Martin de la Garrigue ($23.95, 10268828)
Old-vine Mourvèdre (52%), Syrah (27%) and Grenache Noir (21%). Whole-grape maceration. The Mourvèdre and Grenache are destemmed. Batches are selected and blended as soon as fermentation is completed. Aged in second or third vintage demi-muids for 16 months. Repeated racking but no fining or filtration. 13.5% ABV.
On the nose as well as in the mouth, leather, coffee, toasted nut, game and other tertiary-like aromas and flavours dominate, pushing the fruit (prune and fig) into the background. Little sweetness and rigid tannins make for a relatively austere experience. Not as dense as the Bébian or Jullien but just about as long. (Buy again? Maybe.)
Coteaux du Languedoc 2008, Terrasses du Larzac, Mas Jullien ($37.25, 10874861)
Organically farmed Syrah, Carignan, Mourvèdre and, depending on who you believe, Grenache. Vinified by parcel and aged for around 18 months in demi–muids. 13.5% ABV.
Reticent yet beautiful: dark fruit with cassis notes and hints of dried herbs, cocoa and spice, including a whiff of licorice. Closer to medium than full-bodied, to silky than velvety. The rich fruit is shaped by soft acidity and round tannins. Long, full finish. Vigorous aeration reveals hidden layers and depth: this wine, an epitome of the Languedoc, needs another three or four years to come into its own and will drink beautifully for several years beyond that. (Buy again? Yep.)
MWG June 21st tasting: report (3/4)
Zweigelt 2010, Burgenland, Meinklang ($24.50, La QV)
100% biodynamically farmed Zweigelt. 13% ABV. The winemaker recommends serving this lightly chilled (17ºC/63ºF).
Raspberry and turned earth. Suave with smooth tannins, some muted oak and a Burgundian weight (very similar to the Givry in fact). Round but with good acid; sweet-tasting (ripe fruit) but dry; initially spicy but gaining earthiness as it breathes. Long, clean finish, a common thread in all the Meinklang wines. The best Zweigelt I’ve ever tasted. (Buy again? For sure.)
Fleurie 2010, Les Moriers, Domaine Chignard ($23.50, 11305686)
100% Gamay. Whole cluster fermentation (in stainless steel and cement vats) with vatting for six to eight days before pressing. Aged in neutral foudres for 13 months. For some markets, the wine is bottled unfiltered and unfined with no added sulphur, though the SAQ may require otherwise (as they do with Lapierre’s Morgon). 12.5% ABV.
Raspberry, slate and a whiff of kirsch. Sappy, smooth and dry on the palate, a mouthful of tangy, ripe strawberry. Lighter and less structured than expected – the vines are 40 years old, after all, and the vineyard overlooks Moulin-à-Vent – but wonderfully pure and fresh. (Buy again? When in the mood for a vin plaisir, yes.)
Chinon 2009, Domaine Bernard Baudry ($20.20, 10257571)
100% Cabernet Franc from 30- to 35-year-old vines grown without herbicides or synthetic chemicals. Slow fermentation in cement vats. Aged 12 months in neutral oak vats and barrels. 12.5% ABV.
As usual, a reductive nose that slowly gained red plum, animale and a hint of tobacco leaf. Supple, dark and ripe, with fine tannins, a gravelly substrate and no herbaceousness. Balanced in its brooding manner. (Buy again? Maybe, though the superior Grézeaux bottling is only a few dollars more.)
Givry premier cru 2010, Clos Salomon, Domaine du Clos Salomon (Gardin-Perrotto) ($31.75, 00918086)
100% Pinot Noir from the 40-year-old vines of the fabled 7-ha Côte Chalonnaise vineyard (a monopole because the estate owns the entire clos). Farmed without herbicides or insecticides. Vatted at low temperatures for five days, then fermented with wild yeasts in open vats. Aged 12 months in 25% new French oak barrels. Unracked, unfiltered and unfined. 13% ABV.
Red berries, forest floor, background oak. Medium-bodied and relatively supple with bright, almost biting acidity and sleek tannins. The fruit is ripe and, for now, primary though embellished with a floral overtone. Long. A tasty wine that will only be better in a few years. Excellent QPR. (Buy again? Sure.)
MWG June 21st tasting: report (2/4)
Located on the east shore of the Neusiedler See in eastern Austria (Burgenland), not far from the Hungarian border, the 55-hectare Meinklang estate is run by Werner and Angela Michlits. (The estate’s name is the German word Einklang – unison, harmony – prefixed with the first letter of the owners’ family name.) Not only is the operation organic and biodynamic, it is largely self-sufficient, growing its own grain for its beer and bread, hops for its beer, apples and other fruit for its ciders and juices, beef for weed control, fertilizer, sausages and the horns so important in biodynamic farming, and so on. This is another estate where the wines – all of which are vegan-compatible – are made in the vineyard, not the cellar.
Having tasted several Meinklang wines in earlier vintages, I was sure their purity and personality, their droiture and drinkability would be right up the MWG’s alley. However, I wasn’t expecting the unprecedented reaction that the four wines in the tasting elicited from the members in attendance – discussion during and after the event, tweets and a small flurry of emails and phone calls raving about them. If nothing else, it confirmed my impression that these are exceptionally enjoyable wines very much geared to the natural wine lover’s palate.
Grüner Veltliner 2011, Burgenland, Meinklang ($21.00, 12 bottles/case, La QV)
100% Grüner Veltliner. 11.5% ABV. Screwcapped. The 2010 vintage is currently available at the LCBO for $15.95.
Green pear and apple, grass, white pepper and eventually rosemary. Soft and minerally with underlying lime and acidity galore. Pure fruit. Clean and long. (Buy again? Definitely.)
Hárslevelü 2010, H9, Meinklang ($33.00, 6 bottles/case, La QV, available in September)
100% Hárslevelü from the estate’s Hungarian vineyards. 12.5% ABV if I recall correctly.
Fresh nose with hints of peach, honey and hay. Yellow apple on the palate. The rich texture and touch of residual sugar are cut by brightening acidity. Dancing mineral finish. Less tense and Riesling-like than the 2009 but every bit as delicious. (Buy again? Definitely.)
Grauburgunder 2010, Trocken, “Graupert”, Burgenland, Meinklang ($42.00, 6 bottles/case, La QV, available in September)
100% Grauburgunder (aka Pinot Gris) from vines that, as an experiment, have been left unpruned for several years (in the local dialect, graupert means wild and unkempt), drastically reducing yields. 13% ABV.
Intriguing and complex nose whose aromas included lychee, sweat and “dill pickle chips.” Rich and honeyed but also very dry and bracingly acidic. Turns savoury on the finish. Impressive breadth and depth, not to mention great length. After finishing the tail end he took home with him, one member (a Burgundy native at that) reported, “I’m sold!” (Buy again? Yes.)
MWG June 21st tasting: report (1/4)
IGT Terre di Chieti 2010, Pecorino “Unico”, Tenute Ulisse ($18.80, 11660418)
100% Pecorino from 5- to 10-year old vines. Chilled, destemmed and softly crushed before ferminting and three-months aging in stainless steel. 13% ABV. Vino-lok closure.
Apple and lemon on the nose. Medium-bodied but full of extract. Kept bright by acidity. Savoury lemon intertwines with chalk and quartz. Good, clean finish with a faint bitter note (hazelnut skin?). Fine as a apertif or with simply prepared seafood. (Buy again? Sure.)
Verdicchio di Matelica 2010, Bisci ($20.20, 11660979)
100% Verdicchio. Lightly crushed then pressed to separate the must from the skins. Fermented at a cool 20ºC or less. Aged seven months before bottling. 13% ABV.
Floral bouquet with chalk, grapefruit, melon and eventually jalapeno notes. Rounder and weightier than the Pecorino but also blander (perhaps due to its being served too chilled; the estate recommends 14ºC or higher), which isn’t to say lacking dimension. Clean and bracing with lifting acidity. At this point, not as exciting as the 2009. (Buy again? Yes, especially to lay down for a year or two.)
Rias Baixas 2010, Albariño, Fillaboa ($22.05, 11668129)
100% Albariño from one of the appellation’s top producers. Sees extended lees contact. 13% ABV.
Odd nose that had us wondering whether the bottle wasn’t slightly off: curdled cream against a background of lemon, flowers and coral. Lighter and simpler than its reputation suggests it should be: a savoury, minerally, lemony mouthful with crisp acidity and a saline, slightly alcoholic finish. Not bad but I couldn’t buck the impression that something was missing, that the parts weren’t coalescing into a whole. (Buy again? Maybe to give it another chance.)
Bierzo 2010, Godello, Dominio de Tares ($26.25, 11631852)
100% Godello from 20-year-old vines. Fermented 20 days at 19ºC. No malolactic fermentation. Aged three months in new French oak barrels with daily battonage. Cassein-fined before bottling. 13% ABV.
Complex and evolving nose of yellow fruit, spice and a hint of oak. Ripe-fruity and rich in extract, so conveying an impression of sweetness, yet briskly acidic and actually quite dry. Subtle peach and vanilla give way to a long, spicy finish. Intriguing. (Buy again? Yes!)
Brett happens 
MWG July 13th tasting: final thoughts
with 3 comments
Our snapshot of wines made from Prince Edward County’s leading grape varieties leaves me with several thoughts.
Although our sample size was small, it’s apparent that, compared with the wines in the MWG’s last PEC survey (about four years ago) and the occasional bottles tasted since, the overall quality is improving and some world-class wines are now being made in PEC.
That said, the wines’ quality/price ratio is out of whack. For every wine we tasted, you can find more interesting non-PEC wines in the same style for the same price and often for less. While the wineries’ small scale, start-up costs and higher operating expenses (for example, PEC vinifera vines have to be buried to survive the winter, an expense Niagara winegrowers don’t bear) are partly to blame, it’s also clear a premium is being charged, in all likelihood due to the product’s rarity (small production) and the high demand (fueled by Ontario media and local pride). The bottom line: if you want to experience what Prince Edward County has to offer, you’ll pay for the privilege.
Prince Edward County is the nearest fine wine region to Montreal and Quebec. In terms of dry table wines, only one or two Quebec wineries even begin to approach the overall level. Odd then that it’s off the radar of so many Montreal wine geeks, wine bars, restaurants, agents and the SAQ. Of course, Canada’s antiquated liquor distribution laws have something to do with this.
I can’t shake the impression that the area is still feeling its way toward a style. What’s interesting, distinctive, about the region is that it appears to be one of the few in North America with the potential to make the lighter, brighter, mineral-driven wines that wine lovers allergic to the fruit-driven New World style crave. The most successful wines in our tasting fit that mould; the least successful, the tropical fruit Chards, didn’t. My advice: Look to Chablis, not Carneros. Think Loire, not Lodi. Forget the Merlot and consider planting grape varieties from cool-climate regions like the Jura, Savoie, Austria, Hungary and Alto Adige. It’s a niche that needs filling in North America and you guys are uniquely positioned to fill it.
Trying to find technical information on PEC wines is an exercise in frustration. Want to know if a wine was aged in barrels, what the barrels were made from, who they were made by, what percentage was new? Curious about what grapes in what proportion went into the wine? Wondering what kind of agricultural practices are used? Whether a wine is filtered, fined or sulphured? You probably won’t find many if any answers to those and other technical questions on the winery’s website. Yes, some of these are tiny operations. But others aren’t (looking at you, Norman Hardie). And anyway, winemakers, you have this information. It can be typed up in five minutes. It doesn’t have to be nicely presented; the people interested in it don’t give a damn about formatting. What’s important is that it be available. As things stand now, we’re forced to scour the Web for reviews and reports on winery visits, and even when we find information on blogs or in articles, it’s incomplete and often contradictory.
And while we’re in lecture mode, winemakers, how about getting your French act together? “Method Traditional” doesn’t cut it. Neither does calling a Chardonnay-dominated blend a “blanc de noir.” Claiming your wine is inspired by those of “Bougey-Cerdon” doesn’t inspire confidence. And those are only three of several glaring examples of fractured French. You’re located a few hours from the second largest French-speaking city in the world, from the heartland of franco-North American culture, from a hotbed of European and natural wine appreciation and from a potentially big market for PEC wine sales and tourism. You really don’t want to come across looking like des amateurs.
Written by carswell
August 28, 2012 at 10:36
Posted in Commentary
Tagged with Mo' Wine Group, Ontario