Flat Rock Cellars, Nadja’s Vineyard Riesling, Twenty Mile Bench, Niagara Peninsula, Ontario 2019 (11%)

One measure of Ontario’s success is the fact that so many varieties thrive there – Chardonnay and Pinot can both be outstanding, while Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Gamay all show great promise. (And that’s before we start talking about Ontario’s dazzling panoply of icewines.) Riesling, though, may still be the most successful variety of all, as this assured dry wine shows. The scents trace out citrus and cologne in pithy, zesty style, while the wine is no less zesty and pithy to taste: crunchy apple and juicy clementine with a twist of lemon peel. Crisp natural acidity, balanced and fruitresonant, leaves the mouth tingling after every sip.

‘In a word? Place.’ So comes the concise answer from Ed Madronich, owner and president of Flat Rock Cellars, when asked what he wants this spectacular Riesling to communicate. ‘Our passion, indeed our mission,’ he furthers, ‘is to craft wines of uncompromising quality that convey the characteristics inherent to Flat Rock.’

Flat Rock Cellars was established in 1999 by Ed Madronich and his father, on the back of a family winemaking history stretching back to the 1950s which had given them valuable inside-track knowledge – they knew where the best vineyard sites were, and secured them.

‘The namesake of this particular vineyard is my mother Nadja,’ he explains. ‘As a 40th anniversary present, my father named the block after her for its ability to produce wines of elegance, grace and beauty – characteristics that match both the person and the wine.

‘From the first vintage, we knew this block was unique. Volume was low and we considered blending it with Rieslings from different blocks, but in each trial this wine stood out on its own.

‘Our winemaker (Allison Findlay) does as little as possible, allowing the vineyard to lead the way. The grapes are handpicked, hand-sorted, pressed and cold-fermented. When the balance is perfect, we stop fermentation and bottle early to capture the essence of our vineyard.’