I had a chance to taste the big bluff wines that you can now find in the regular list of your local LCBO. There are a few other offerings that you can find in the vintages section as well. What I do know is that between the new offerings from Colio, Cooper’s Hawk, Pelee Island, and now Viewpointe I am long overdue to make a visit to the Lake Erie North Shore. I am planning on visiting in the spring to do some more in depth tastings. If you’re a fan of Ontario wine this wine region may be the best way to learn that not all Ontario wine is created equal.
I know I have explained this before but you only need to look at a map to really visualize this. We think of Canada as a cold place in general… but the seasons are different from coast to coast. Pelee Island is the southernmost point of the country. It is approximately 200 km’s south of Toronto. While the southernmost wine growing region still gets typically Canadian cold in the winter, it benefits from a slightly longer growing season. The trade off for the higher risk of vine damage from the cold winter are that the red wines end up a little more ripe and fruity than the wines from Niagara or Prince Edward County. Cabernet Franc and Syrah are fantastic from this region. However due to a second brutal cold winter in a row some wineries are predicting they will not be producing any wine in 2015. That being said there are still some fantastic wines available from the wineries.
2013 Auxerrois – Vintages 327239 – $14.95 – **** – Auxerrois is an Alsatian varietal that you don’t see very often in Ontario. This wine is off-dry and fruity. Flavours and aromas of ripe pear or peach are what you will find in your glass and in your mouth with white flower notes tossed into the mix. There is nice acidity on this wine but because the flavour profile is orchard fruit you will notice the sugar and fruit flavours lingering a little longer than you might expect in a Riesling with the same sugar. This will make a great patio sipper on its own or a great match to grilled chicken.
All three of these wines show why Cabernet Franc may be the signature grape for Ontario and how great it is at expressing the terroir of where it is grown. It is obvious that this isn’t Bordeaux, Loire or even Niagara… it’s distinctly something else.
2008 Cabernet Franc (Blue Label) – $12.95 – Winery Only – **** – Out of two Cabernet Franc offerings from 2008 this one is a little smoother and easier drinking of the two. It is fruit driven with ripe blackberry, raspberry jam and blueberry with nice smoke and mocha on the finish. The wine is dry with a nice finish. There is some nice structure to this wine and it is meant to be drank young but you don’t need to be in a hurry to enjoy this wine it will still hold onto it’s youth for another couple years.
2008 Cabernet Franc (Red Label) – $18.95 – Winery Only (Vintages TBD) – **** – You will want to put this in a decanter as it is still quite young. Compared to the blue label you get a wine that is meatier and smokier on the nose. Buried underneath the heavy smokiness you will get raspberry and blueberry and the same is in the glass. When I tasted this, I did not decant it so it did take quite a while to open up in the glass. It did eventually reward me with loads of very ripe jammy fruit – Plum, Raspberry, Blueberry, Blackberry, Currant. The firm tannin in the bottle will make this something you will want to add to your cellar for another 3-5 years before opening.
2005 Focal Pointe Cabernet Franc – $24.95 – Winery Only – ****+ – This wine was very good … eventually. I will need to pick up a second bottle to see if some time in a decanter will help it out. When I opened the bottle I had an aroma of burnt plastic … and for the evening I was tasting this wine it wouldn’t go away. I thought there was something wrong with the wine, but I put the cork back in and set it aside. When I opened the wine the next day the plastic was completely gone! This was amazing, well aged Cabernet Franc! The very ripe fruit signature from the LENS wines are still hanging on, and alive and well in this bottle. What I will suggest is that if you pick up a bottle make sure you decant this for at least an hour (probably two) before approaching.
2008 High Pointe Syrah – $19.95 – Winery Only – ****+ – Simply put, this wine is exceptional value! A nice subtle pepper note that lifts off the finish of this wine. There is beautiful structure to this! I had the bottle open while I was preparing potato pancakes … this isn’t exactly what I could consider an ideal match to that sort of food but it went surprisingly well. Plum and Blackberry are what you will find in this bottle. This is drinking great right now, but as with the blue label cab franc, you don’t need to be in any hurry to drink every bottle you can get your hands on. This should age gracefully for another 3-5 years in your cellar.
