Here are a few gems that are currently available in the Tawse portfolio. I do go on about it a little more in my note on the Redfoot Cabernet Franc, but there is something very Niagara about these wines. Tawse is most definitely a leader for Ontario as we try to carve our own identity out in the world without comparing ourselves to someone else.
2015 Tawse Grower’s Blend Cabernet Franc – LCBO 284570 – $28.30 – **** – I feel like it’s been awhile since I’ve tasted the Grower’s Blend, and this felt like visiting an old friend. The aromas are blackberry, and raspberry. There is a hint of savory but it’s well integrated and buried under fruit. The tannin is soft and approachable and this wine is dangerously easy to drink. As I’ve come to expect from the Grower’s Blend this offers fantastic value and it’s a bottle that could easily spend some time in a cellar if you wanted to hold a bottle for 3-5 years. But there is no need to stow this away, open it up with your summer barbeque.
2013 Redfoot Vineyard Cabernet Franc – $39.95 – ****+ – I know I’ve talked about Ontario and identity before – most recently I was moved to my core by the latest batch of Malivoire Gamay – The bottle of Redfood Cabernet Franc from Tawse shows that Ontario can embrace it’s own identity without trying to be Bordeaux, or Loire. The aromas offer raspberry, cranberry, and blackberry with nice ripeness. The 2013 growing year was cooler than the crazy hot and dry 2012 vintage the preceded it so everything about this wine is more polite and restrained. The fruit is ripe, but mated with nice acidity keeping this wine food friendly and a perfect match to grilled red meats. I hesitate to call this wine full bodied, but it’s not medium bodied – let’s call it medium rare. An exciting bottle that is approachable right now, but will develop nicely in a cellar for the next 3-5 years with ease.
2016 Tawse Quarry Road Riesling – There is a good chance that there is a photo of this wine next to the word balance in the dictionary. The aromas offer a little bit of everything we have come to know and love about great Niagara riesling. There is some mineral, peach, and lime notes all climbing out of the glass with intensity. On the palate this reveals perfectly ripe orchard fruit, met with lime and grapefruit. There is a hint of sweetness that helps the fruit just pop in your mouth and gives this a juiciness – but before this wine becomes cloying it’s met with perfect crisp acidity. The finish is clean and refreshing, but mineral and peach notes linger on the finish. In my world Riesling is an essential to pair with food, and this would make an exceptional bottle next to Chicken from the grill or fryer, but I don’t anticipate enjoying this wine with anything but a second glass.
2014 Tawse Quarry Road Pinot Noir – I made the mistake of opening this bottle and trying to drink it immediately. This bottle is going to require a bit of patience – either a decanter and an hour and a half, or a couple years in a cellar to settle down. The deeper I got into this bottle the more complex and elegant it got. With aromas of dark cherry and damp, fall forest floor it feels as though this wine is deep and brooding. On the palate the earthy note settles in deep under violet, cherry and plum notes. The tannin is silky smooth and the finish is long and elegant with forest floor reminding you of its presence on the finish. This is just outstanding, and certainly one of the best bottles of Pinot from Ontario I have ever tasted.
