I’m not sure if you had a chance to meet winemaker Ramsey Khairallah – but he has his hands in making a lot of wines in Niagara. He’s soft spoken and quick to help out (he has helped out the 80x Wine Company with our bottlings from time to time). He recently asked me to drop by 180 Estate Winery to check out some of the wines he has been working on. I had the pleasure of meeting Marzia Murdoch the co-owner of the winery that she purchased with her husband Bob. She explained to me the name came from the fact that they pulled a complete 180 in their life to settle into the wine business. Leaving the corporate world to purchase a winery is definitely something I would consider to be a pretty major change to life. I have to admit that I connected with the story – the COVID-19 pandemic was a shock to all of our systems so it was easy to relate with people who also decided to reinvent themselves. (I also left a 20 year career in radio during the pandemic to join the exciting world of marketing – and continue to try to grow the 80x Wine Company).
I knew the wines were going to be good. Being familiar with Ramsey’s work at both Ridgepoint and his own brand The Old Tun. What I wasn’t expecting was winemaking that somehow manages to be wildly creative without being esoteric. What you can expect to find from 180 wines are a lineup of interesting – off the beaten path styles – that remain true to what Niagara does best. Here’s a quick look at what I was tasting…
2022 Sparkling Rosé – $30 – **** – This charmat sparking rosé is made with Gamay – on the day of my visit it was late spring, so still a bit chilly outside – but it had me yearning for warmer weather. This wine has delicious notes of cotton candy, and maraschino cherry with slight whispers of white pepper. This is a fantastic sparkling from a grape that we don’t often see get the bubbly treatment.
2021 Gamay Rosé – $30 – **** – This rosé spent some time in barrel – not something that many winemakers tout when it comes to cheerful spring rosé. I don’t know if many people are looking for a rosé to spend some time in their cellar – but this is the bottle that may be worth adding to your collection if you’re looking for an outlier. Bursting with wild strawberry and cherry notes and just enough tannin mated with great acidity lending to the cellerability of this wine. Definitely drink now – but hold until 2028 with curiosity
2020 Viognier – $36 – ****+ – This viognier is unlike anything I have ever tasted in Niagara – I don’t know if Ramsey would tell you he was inspired by the white wines of the Rhone in making this – but – whether he meant to or not this had me thinking of the French. This is broad and textured with nice notes of spice and smoke from the influence of the barrel. The texture is rich and oily every sip feels like it never ends. I tasted this way too young and this will be drinking much better in 2024 and beyond.
2021 Sauvignon Blanc – $36 – **** – This has been aged in a bourbon barrel … wait – don’t stop reading. While I have been critical of the use of these vessels – largely due to large wineries throwing glorious cool climate grapes into the barrels in an attempt to Californianize them for the boomer market. I am seeing winemakers in Niagara starting to harness these barrels and deliver wines with balance that I didn’t think would be possible. This is one of those wines – and when I talk about Ramsey making wines that are creative – but accessible – this is what I’m talking about! Only 4-6 months in Bourbon Barrel have added some much needed sunshine to what was otherwise a very challenging and rainy harvest. Fumé influenced definitely – as the flavour profile moves right into pineapple and tangerine – but with a kiss of mexican vanilla that ties the wine together. Enjoy now or cellar for 4-7 years.
2021 Gamay – $26 – **** – Gamay from Niagara is something we definitely do well – It’s also exciting because I don’t think we have firmly established a style for the grape in the region. What we have here is a medium bodied, dense, rich cherry bomb that needs some time and patience. Dark cherry, blackberry, and whispers of baking spice are what you will find here. The tannin is round and broad – but with 2 or 3 years in the cellar should begin to relax. I don’t think this needs to be in your cellar for a long time but come 2025 it should be drinking gloriously
2019 Gamay Reserve – $46 – **** – This wine spend 24 months in 3rd and 4th fill barrels. Plush cherry notes mated with spice – but the extra time in barrel has given this wine time to mellow. While there is definitely room in your cellar for this one it is drinking great right now.
2018 Cabernet Merlot – $30 – **** – A blend of 58.1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18.6% Cabernet Franc, and 23.3% Merlot. The warm summer was perfectly captured in this bottle even if the fall harvest was long and challenging. Plush red fruit with notes of raspberry, wild strawberry and dark cherry. Hints of smoke – but nothing can compete with the depth of the fruit notes. The tannin is broad but beginning to soften so you can enjoy this now – but this bottle will evolve nicely in a cellar until 2026.
2019 Bourbon Red – $60 – **** – A blend of 61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 14% Merlot. I’ll admit it – this is the second wine that has me rethinking about more creative ways to use barrels in Niagara. Between this, and some of the offerings from Sue-Ann Staff it would seem that Bourbon barrels offer a nice complement to appassimento fruit. With 25% of appassimento Cabernet Sauvignon we have nice harmony of flavour and texture in this bottle. Both ripe and sour cherry notes mingle with hints of spice and a nice vanilla note (that is much more hamonious than you would expect from a bourbon barrel). Short tannin and nice acid leaves time for you to leave this in a cellar until 2033 with ease – but soft finish gives you the option to enjoy this now.
2020 Cabernet Sauvignon – $60 – ****1/2 – This was bottled earlier this year – I was fortunate enough to get a taste of it off the bottling line. In a strong lineup of wines – this is a reason to make sure you go out of your way to visit 180 winery this year. Beautiful ripe cassis, and plum with hints of smoke and cocoa. Juicy ripe fruit is focused on the mid palate with balanced acidity and a long finish of cocoa and blue fruit. Best enjoyed from 2025-2035
