SIP THE BEST OF REDS, WHITES ON CANADA DAY
I recently judged the Ontario Wine Awards with a room full of other wine professionals and the standard of our local wines was outstanding. From shimmering whites to riveting reds, many of the wines just shone. With results just out, I’m sharing some of the best wines of the competition along with a bottle not submitted to the competition but that absolutely deserves a Happy Canada Day shout-out. Snap these bottles up though because they’ll sell out fast.
2016 Thirty Bench Winemaker’s Blend Chardonnay, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Vintages 547877 $19.95 in stores and at the winery)
Awarded gold in the oaked Chardonnay under $20 category, this white slides across the palate with a weight and richness seldom found in coolclimate Chardonnays. It floods in with robust flavours of lemon curd, baked apple, buttery brioche, fresh caramel and a sprinkle of salt somewhere, then it tapers to a long finish that suggests hazelnuts, lemon zest and wet stones. Dry and beautifully balanced, this white offers much complexity and finesse for the money. Beautiful bottle to pour with broiled, buttered lobster tails in the setting sun.
Score: 90+
2013 Tawse Quarry Road Chardonnay, VQA Vinemount Ridge, Ontario (LCBO 111989 $35.80 in stores and at the winery)
Winning gold in the oaked Chardonnay over $20 category comes this bright, clean, elegant expression from Ontario. It’s a classic cool-climate Chardonnay offering that telltale beam of mouth-watering acidity charging the delicate fruit. The flavours are a tapestry of lemon zest, freshly churned butter, marzipan, flint and toasted hazelnut. This bone-dry Chardonnay offers all that great tension you want in a gently wooded Chardonnay as well as a long, lemon-zest finish that resonates for ages. Pour it with brined and roasted organic chicken and steamed, buttered haricots verts for simple elegance.
Score: 92
2015 Foreign Affair Dream, VQA Niagara Peninsula (Vintages 364380 $29.95 in stores and at the winery)
Earning gold in the Meritage and Cabernet/Merlot blends category, this deep red starts with aromas of cassis and leather, dried figs and warm oak before cloaking the palate with smooth saturation. The attack is firm and robust, with blackberry and cassis flavours imbued with Brazil nut, black olive, espresso, leather and black earth. Then, plum pudding and dried tobacco leaf linger on the finish. This big, dry blend of 60 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon, 27 per cent Cabernet Franc, 11 per cent Merlot and 2 per cent Petit Verdot is a serious-tasting wine to sip and ponder. Pour it with simply prepared red meats or roasted portobello mushrooms.
Score: 91
2016 Closson Chase Churchside Pinot Noir, VQA Prince Edward County ($39.95 at the winery)
Although not submitted to the Ontario Wine Awards, this wine is well worth knowing about because it’s sheer liquid elegance, demonstrating instantly why Prince Edward County is known for its Pinot Noir. From the gentle perfume of sunwarmed violets and raspberries to the silky entry that quickly unravels with supple and transparent flavours of sweet red cherry, cool cranberry, orange zest, raspberry, violet and a quick dash each of salt, crushed rose and cocoa. Love the long, graceful, gently chalky finish that follows. Such a beautiful wine. Total must-taste for Pinot Noir lovers. Pour it with grilled salmon.
Score: 96
2016 Two Sisters Vineyards Unoaked Chardonnay, VQA Niagara Peninsula, ON ($38.80 at the winery)
This gold-medal winner in the unoaked Chardonnay division exudes gentle aromas of warm nougat and honeydew melon before erupting with a brisk wash of exuberant fruit that tastes shimmeringly bright but full-bodied, too. Tightly coiled flavours of apple butter, lemon curd and a touch of orange zest rush in, followed by a whisper of salinity and crushed stones. A very pretty wine that works beautifully with buttered fettuccine with a sprinkle of Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Score: 90