2012 Flat Rock Chardonnay – Vintages 286278 – $18.95 – **** – Great value and high quality from this wine that recently won a Gold Medal at the Ontario Wine Awards. The nose is Vanilla, Pineapple and Apple. Flavours match the nose with just hints of baking spice that linger...
2013 Lailey Unoaked Chardonnay – Vintages 299776 – $14.95 – ****+ – Who said unoaked Chardonnay is boring? This offering from Lailey is excellent with a nice creamy texture on the palate. There are flavours of apple, peach, and melon with beautiful acidity on the finish. Nice light and crisp!...
Let’s consider these two reviews as bonus content for the week. While both of these wines aren’t available in Vintages they are too good to not write about. 2013 Rosewood Locked and Loaded – $19.95 – (August Release) – ****+ – I got a chance to taste this wine right...
16 Mile is a winery you probably haven’t heard of but I assure you that in the very near future you will. The wines bear names like Rebel and Incivility as a nod to owner Joseph Groia’s battle against Incivility charges from the Law Society of Upper Canada. The winery started...
2013 13th Street Merlot – Vintages 270504 – $17.95 – ***1/2+ – I have made no secret for my disdain for Ontario merlot. I know Ontario can make great Merlot in hot vintages like 2010 or 2012 but often in the cool vintages you end up with wine that just...
The trick to serving all three of these wines it to makes sure you don’t over chill them. If you serve these wines at fridge temperature they will all taste like you are drinking a popsicle stick. When you want to serve these wines toss them in the fridge for...
Westcott Violette Brut – $24.95 – Winery Only – ***1/2+ – Bright, fresh, and young. This easy drinking sparkling has loads of citrus and lemon with crisp acidity on the finish. This is a welcome addition to the growing landscape of great Ontario sparkling wines. This is very well priced,...
2011 Big Bluff Red – LCBO 404046 – $12.95 – ***1/2 – Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Petit Verdot and Merlot make for an interesting blend. The back of the bottle says the mission is “to Showcase the character and quality of Essex Region wines.” Priced very well you have a...
I recently had the chance to taste through some upcoming releases from Southbrook with winemaker Ann Sperling. You can consider this blog post to be your shopping list for the summer. The great news is that Southbrook frequently makes appearances at local farmers markets in Toronto (to keep tabs you...
2012 Vineland Elevation St. Urban Vineyard Riesling – Vintages 38117 – $19.95 – ****1/2 – This wine is as close to perfect as you might find in the vintages section whether you’re a wine noob or a hardened snob. First off – this wine is under twenty dollars a bottle....
I traveled to France in November to check out the Beaujolais Nouveau release. After spending a few days hunting for Cabernet Franc in St Émillion I knew that I had to go to Beaujolais. Beaujolais, like Ontario, is currently take the long way up recovering from a bruised reputation stemming...
2012 Pondview Reserve Cabernet/Merlot – Vintages 307561 – $18.95 – ***1/2 – As the weather outside warms it’s time to start thinking about wines to eat with grilled meats. This is one that will do the trick. Fruit flavours in your glass will be Plum, Blackberry, and Blueberry with a nice...
