Adamo Estates is a beautiful new winery located near Orangeville. It is the only winery located in the area – but I was excited to make the trip out there when I was invited to check out the winery. I’ll be honest – I was anticipating sitting down with talented winemaker Shauna White. Shauna’s wines have raised eyebrows at Cuvée the past couple years pouring stellar Riesling and Chardonnay. When you arrive at the new winery facility you can see some young vineyards out behind with some of the most scenic views of any vineyard in Ontario. The portfolio at Adamo is varied and made up of a lot of tiny lots of high quality wines. So, there is something for everyone when you visit the winery.
When I visited Adamo – I knew I was going to have something to say about the wines, but what I wasn’t expecting was how great it was to spend some time at Hockley Valley Resort. Full disclosure, I was invited to spend the night at the resort – it was a great excuse to get out of the city for a night. The wines themselves should be a good enough reason to visit Adamo – but the resort was relaxing and the restaurants on site offer amazing food. The restaurant on site is The Cabin. I took a seat close to the open kitchen, and had a great view of the chefs at work. The entire tasting menu was impressive – but a plate with Seared scallop and grilled king crab leg were the show stopper on the meal.
I know I have already said that the portfolio at Adamo is strong – but what may be unusual is a winery with such a large selection of wines are all close to the top of their class. I know that Michael Pinkus and I have spoken in the past about wineries with bloated portfolios, but it most definitely works for Adamo. When you’re the only winery in the area you need to make sure you have more than a few products for people to taste.
Here are a few highlights from the portfolio.
2017 Underdog Pinot Noir Rosé – $14.95 – ****+ – Rosé is always in style – so even though the cold weather is here for a few months. There is very nice cherry on the nose and palate. This is a dry rosé with a nice clean finish and makes this an outstanding bottle for your holiday entertaining.
2017 Viognier Roussanne – $21.00 – ****+ – This was my favourite of all the wines at Adamo. Rich and complex – there is honey on the nose, and a field of wild flowers. The texture on this wine is both huge and elegant at the same time. The finish is long with a bit of vanilla and spice. This is a unique wine that is worth getting your hands on.
2016 Viognier Bock Vineyard – $21.00 – **** – This is made in one and two year old barrels and offers a a flavour profile that is very much creamsicle from nose to finish. The nose offers great white flower. This walks a tightrope of being both intense and elegant – there appears to be a trend her.
2016 Chardonnay Estate – $34.95 – **** – Many of the wines from Adamo are made from outstanding sites in Niagara – so it’s exciting to see their estate vineyards starting to come online. Chardonnay is definitely something that Shauna does very well – but there was something about this estate Chardonnay that really raised an eyebrow. Apple, Vanilla, and baking spices are all working in perfect harmony to bring great balance. There’s a nice mineral note on the finish.
2015 Lowrey Pinot Noir – $34.75 – ****½ – This is exceptional value for Pinot Noir from the Lowrey vineyard in the St David’s Bench appellation. The nose is rich and spicy with plum, blackberry, and a nice earthiness. The tannin is already silk smooth and soft – this wine is just finesse.
2015 Wilmer Parke Pinot Noir – $28.65 – ****½ – This is elegant from start to finish. The aromas offer soft cherry and dried violet. On the palate the focused aromas open up to intense, concentrated flavours of cherry.
