Thirty Bench: Savouring a milestone
We all have some days that are better than others.
Not that the days are bad, but some are just more fun. For me, it was a recent afternoon where I was invited to a vertical tasting at Thirty Bench Winery.
The winery opened its cellar doors in 1994 after Dr. Thomas Muckle and partners purchased an orchard on the Beamsville Bench in 1980.
Muckle replanted with some of the first Riesling vines in Niagara in the early ’80s.
The vineyard was then expanded to include Bordeaux red varietals in the early ’90s, such as our beloved Cabernet Franc.
Since then, Thirty Bench has been crafting mouthwatering Rieslings and bold reds from the small estate vineyard, to critical acclaim around the world.
In past columns, I have said I felt that Thirty Bench — under the hand of winemaker Emma Garner — has produced some of the best balanced Rieslings in Niagara — if not Canada. I also singled out their 2015 Cabernet Franc, which won best in show at the prestigious Decanter World Wine Awards.
So no wonder there was a smile on my face, as I looked out from the tasting room at vines green and lush (lot’s of rain this year). It was just a wonderful place to be.
I was joined by several wine enthusiasts and we sipped our way through tastings of back vintages of both their Wood Post Riesling and the Cabernet Franc.
Fiona Muckle explained the choices her father had made when buying the property and then planting the varietals, which were unique to the region at the time.
It’s not often we can indulge in such a lengthy tasting, going back to 2005.
And it is impressive for me is to see how these wines have developed. Especially with the Rieslings, which many do not realize have great age-ability.
Not all Rieslings, however, just those that are well crafted with good structure and balanced acidity.
It was particularly interesting to find the 2006, which held on to the brightness and acidity you might expect of a younger wine. Mouthwatering and juicy, it was a pleasure to try.
That this wine is still so good is fantastic, from a year that saw “The Da Vinci Code” come out on film when Tom Cruise was only into the third instalment of the “Mission Impossible” series, and Meryl Streep headlined “The Devil Wears Prada.” Italy won soccer’s Men’s World Cup that year, and Pluto was demoted to the status of a dwarf planet more than 70 years after its discovery.
We move on to the reds, specifically Cabernet Franc, a varietal that does oh so well in our climate and terroir.
Once again the wines are all exceptional, and when Emma asks if there is a favourite, I proclaim that the 2010, 2011 and 2012 are all choices of mine. (I disinclude the 2015 because it’s a nobrainer, it’s fantastic and I still own a bottle.)
The wines are quite different, but there is a characteristic in each that makes it stand out.
So this column is not about a particular wine, but about the differences between them and what the winemaker can coax out of the varietal and the terroir.
When you buy a blend, more often than not the winemaker has worked to make it tastes the same as every other year. But here they allow the vintages to shine, showing off what Mother Nature brings us.
It’s worth noting there were one or two vintages missing from the tasting, because the winemaker felt that the grapes did not live up to expectations, so the varietals were not made but the grapes were used in blends.
The best thing about a tasting such as this is that you can compare vintage to vintage, and the differences are there.
I recommend holding back a bottle from each of several vintages for a tasting a couple of years down the road. It will make a fun night with friends.