This year at the Ontario Wine Awards Exultet regained their crown for the best Chardonnay and also the best White Wine at the competition. This means this small winery in Prince Edward County now holds the best Chardonnay award from the OWA’s five out of the last six years. Now here is the fun part of the awards this year is that Exultet took both Gold and Bronze for different vintages of “The Blessed”. So, I had to stop by the winery to see what’s going on.
The current future of this epic Chardonnay may be in flux thanks to the late frost in the spring of 2015 that wreaked havoc on the vines in the County. But, that doesn’t mean there aren’t a bunch of very tasty wines to be had at this winery.
2014 “The Blessed” Chardonnay – Release Date TBD – ****1/2 – This wine is proudly made with Prince Edward County fruit. The nose on this wine is serious — Apples, Oranges, Lemons and Vanilla with hints of baking spice. The flavours on this wine are concentrated and strike a perfect balance between allowing the natural fruit flavours of the wine to shine and picking up a perfect amount of vanilla, butterscotch and spice from the barrel. The finish is long with vanilla, peaches, baking spice and buttered popcorn that linger for a long time. I wish my mouth could taste like that forever. I know that often I talk about wines that I enjoy so much I won’t pair them with food, the thing about the Blessed is that it’s in such short supply that opening a bottle truly becomes and event to itself. This is the sort of wine to plan a meal around — invite close friends or family to enjoy this wine with you. Serve this a few degrees below room temperature to make sure you keep that balance between oak flavours and fruit in focus.
As with my visit to Lighthall I was surprised to see how Vidal has made its way into the table wines. The wines are very well put together and delicious.
2014 Cru X Rosé – $25.00 – **** – There is some nice depth to the nose with Strawberry moving to Lime. When you taste this wine it’s all about the texture because there is a creaminess that takes over the mid palate. The flavours are delicate strawberry and watermelon. This wine is dry with nice acidity which makes it very food friendly. This will pair with anything you can serve off the grill except maybe steak.
2014 Royal Road Recipe – $25.00 – This is an apple wine. When you end up with your fruit decimated by a late frost you need to get creative. But circumstances sometimes breeds the best results. Last summer when I visited Saskatchewan I had the chance to taste the fruit wines from Living Sky winery and it changed my perception on what fruit wine is supposed to taste like. This wine from Exultet is reminiscent of well put together riesling. The nose smells like granny smith apple and citrus and the flavours match. This is essentially liquid apple pie, but it’s dry. I know this is going to seem like the easy answer, but this will be a patch for pork whether it’s a roast pork, chops or pulled pork. Why mess with a good thing? We all know that pork and apple is a good match.
2013 Dolce Ghiacciato Vidal Icewine – $30.00 – **** – The wineries in Prince Edward County bury their vines in the winter so they can survive the harsh winter. I don’t think there are any other wineries in the County that are bold enough to risk their vines to make Icewine. There are strict rules to follow when making Icewine to get it certified by the VQA. I tip my hat to Gerry for risking the vines to bring us this wine. The nose is honeyed with hints of white flower, also tangerine and preserved peaches. The flavours match the nose but this wine has held onto great acidity making it well balanced. Enjoy this with Foie Gras, Paté, or Blue Cheese.
