Norman Hardie’s wines are ‘ alive’
If I could just blot some wine and somehow you could smell it and taste it in print like the scratch and sniffs you used to find in magazines, I would do that with Norman Hardie’s 2016 Pinot Noir.
While Hardie is located in Prince Edward County and I had previously described a trip out there, like many others, he takes advantage of the grapes that the Niagara region and growers are producing.
A tweet of the launch of the 2016 Unfiltered Niagara Pinot Noir piqued my interest having sampled ( and bought) previous vintages.
Hardie says Niagara and PEC are two amazing appellations in Ontario, just like Sonoma and Napa in California.
“Given the chance to make wine from them, would I turn them down? says Hardie.
His path to winemaker began by receiving his sommelier certification from University of Dijon in Burgundy, which led to seven years at Four Seasons Hotels.
“As a “somm”, tasting is very important,” says Hardie. “I know where to throw my darts.
“I wish kids ( in winemaking programs) would spend more time tasting,” he adds. “Learning the benchmarks.”
When he decided to foray into winemaking, Hardie travelled several of the world’s wine regions learning the craft, before settling back in Ontario where he says “there is something very special here.”
“Clay and limestone and relatively cool climate.”
Asking about how far we have to go to match the Burgundian- style wines, Hardie feels we’re there.
“Sometimes we’re just too Canadian,” he explains about the confidence in our own product.
“I’m very proud. We have some of the best soil in the world.”
What makes the Ontario wines is the struggle that the vines have to face.
“With everything in life, being on the edge, suffering, sharpens your pencil, and makes you work harder in the vineyard.
“This is where you achieve greatness.”
Even before I opened the wine, that I purchased locally, I ask what I should expect or to look for.
“We’ve achieved great flavour with low alcohol,” says Hardie.
“And it’s alive. It changes in the glass. You’re not drinking something that is dead. It will be changing.”
Twisting off the screw top, the young pinot flows into the glass revealing a very pale red colour, translucent.
But the lightness of the colour does not belie the quality of this wine. Perfumed, it reaches out to you tantalising your senses with its fruit and freshness.
The low alcohol impedes any notes of harshness, and while there is some zip to the wine, it has a seductive silkiness for wine this age.
As you sip it, the taste hangs, showing the complexity and a good future if you let it rest for a few years.
Its youth is tantalising with bright cherry perhaps cranberry and a touch of mineral on the finish.
A glass of wine I could drink today, tomorrow and years from now.
Forget the scratch- and- sniff. It would never do it justice.
Priced at $ 45, the wine is available in limited release at the LCBO.