2015 Cave Spring Estate Chardonnay – Vintages 256552 – $18.95 – **** – I would love to see this bottle as a vintages essential so I can get it year round. While founder Len Pennachetti will refer to Cave Spring as the house that Riesling built, this winery rounds out the portfolio with strong offerings across all varietals including Chardonnay. The main story with this wine is a nice creamy mouthfeel balanced with great acidity to keep it from being cloying and overbearing. The fruit in the bottle is peaches, and apple with a nice vanilla and spice note. This is textbook for what a great bottle of Ontario Chardonnay should be.
2014 Kew Barrel Aged Gamay Noir – Vintages 515270 – $17.95 – **** – It’s nice to see another great bottle of Gamay make it’s way onto the Vintages shelves. There is a richness and complexity to this bottle that really shows off what this grape can do in Ontario. The nose is very rich black cherry with a nice earthy note and a bit of freshly cracked black pepper. The flavours match the nose, but open up with beautiful concentration of fruit. The problem with Gamay is that many people will write it off as something to be enjoyed young and not something that you can cellar. I disagree with this assessment. Gamay offers a lot in it’s youth but it holds onto it’s fruit even with a few years in a cellar. If you’re starting a cellar or looking for something interesting to add to an already stocked collection this Gamay from Kew is a great place to start. I expect this to age for 3-7 years gracefully.
