I was lucky enough to get my hands on both of these bottles. I had to re-taste the Sémillon because when I tasted it on an Italian/Ontario panel this wine basically overpowered everything (read the full post here: https://andrewinereview.ca/?p=625). I wanted a chance to see how the wine holds up on its own. For the Gamay, I just wanted to taste it because… well let’s face it… it’s Gamay. The grape growing and wine making at Stratus really make for interesting wines. The fruit tends to stay in the vineyards well after harvest is underway (or completed) at other wineries. This allows the fruit to get very ripe and makes for some very intense wines.
Wines can be ordered from www.stratuswines.com or you can find them at various Farmer’s Markets in Toronto.
2012 Stratus Gamay – $29.00 – (Winery Only) – ****+ – What would happen if Beaujolais and California had a child? I would bet that it would taste something like this wine. This very much has distinct characteristics of great Beaujolais with black cherry notes and nice pepper on the finish. The concentration of flavours are just fantastic in this wine. You have very rich flavours of blueberry, raspberry and black cherry. Now where California makes an appearance is that the alcohol is up near 14.5%. The concentrated ripe fruit flavours, and nice acidity in this wine would make this a beautiful long-term addition to your cellar if you have the patience, it should age for 10-15 years.
2011 Stratus Sémillon – $32.00 – (Winery Only) – ****+ – On the Italian/Ontario wine tasting panel this wine was so massive it overpowered everything on the flight. When serving this wine be mindful of serving temperature. There is a lot of oak in this wine so if you serve it at fridge temperature it will be completely flat and closed, serve this wine just a couple degrees cooler than room temperature. The nose is Honey, Vanilla and Orange. Flavours are Orange and Peach with a nice creaminess to the finish. The finish on this wine lasts a long time and trust me, you will want your mouth to taste like this wine all the time. Enjoy this wine now, and don’t pair it with anything. This wine is definitely best enjoyed on it’s own.
