By Rick VanSickle
It was a stunning display of some of the finest, perfectly aged wines ever made in Ontario all on one table, and all opened for tasting.
Also in this Niagara Wine Report: New wines from Divergence, 2027 Cellars and Chateau des Charmes tasted and reviewed.
Michael and Anna Olson (above) — chefs, bon vivants, ardent supporters of Ontario VQA wines — raided their cellar recently to show guests just how well these cool climate wines from Niagara age. It was a dizzying array of standard-bearer wines along with quirky offerings, split between red and white and spread across two tables.
It was a walkaround tasting for the 30-40 lucky invitees by the generous hosts to taste for themselves and evaluate, discuss, and learn about how Ontario wines evolve over time for better or worse. In all, there were some 60-plus wines opened, ranging from the late 1980s to the 2000s. You must be a very patient collector of wines to have such a well-curated array of aged wines from a single region.
I was struck by the condition of most wines presented. If cellared correctly, older wines such as these can stand the test of time and evolve in ways most consumers would never imagine. In the early days of Ontario wine, the region was notorious for using less than ideal corks (usually stubby corks) — for good reason! No one knew how long these wines would improve in the bottle, or if anyone would even put them away in their cellars.
As Thomas Pennachetti (co-owner of Cave Spring Vineyard), Shiraz Mottiar (GM at Malivoire) and I (along with others) shared in opening the precious bottles we noted most of the corks showed age but were generally liberated without issue. A few of the corks were cracked, a couple showed leakage around the edges and only one or two showed any signs of cork taint. Only a few of the oldest wines showed any concerning ullage at all. This was fascinating to me; I would expect more corked wine considering the inferior closures and attribute the success rate at the Olson tasting to perfect cellaring conditions.
As for the wines, I did not take notes, but in general terms, there were some genuine gems that aged gracefully over the years and decades, and even some that can continue to age and improve. As one would expect, the more substantive red wines showed more success than the white wines, and many of the best examples show better now than they did 20 years ago, benefitting from softer tannins and lasting acidity. The white wines, mainly the Rieslings, showed more developed tertiary attributes, a deeper golden colour in the glass and were least likely to follow in step with the red wines for development. The softer white wines — Chardonnays and white blends — showed that the window for drinking is shorter and trickier to get it right. A few standouts:
A vertical of Stratus Reds: The flagship assemblage wines from the iconic Stratus Vineyards really strutted their stuff. The five-bottle vertical, from 2005 to 2009, was named by more than a few as the wines of the tasting, with the 2007 getting the most praise. For my palate, it was the 2005 vintage, presented in magnum, that was the bomb, with softer tannins, loaded with fruit and finesse and still with room to evolve.
Riesling forever: So much wonderful Riesling was presented at this tasting but two verticals stood out: A five-bottle set of Charles Baker Picone Vineyard from 2005-2010 (no 2008), and a Cave Spring CSV Riesling vertical. The 2005 vintage CB Riesling touched all the right notes for me with a honied and luxurious feel on the palate and ripe/compoted fruits and tertiary notes. Ironic, considering the vintage, which was disastrous with an extremely cold winter that killed any hope for a healthy vintage, with more than half of the vintage wiped out. Many producers didn’t have enough wine to sell and suffered hefty financial losses. The irony of the vintage was that, even with a tiny crop, what was grown ended up being pretty good. On the Cave Spring side, the cooler vintage 2011 and 2013 Rieslings stood out for their purity, finesse, complexity and still developing tertiary notes. Another Riesling from 2005, the Hidden Bench Estate, also impressed.
Born to run: In my experience, the older-vintage Bordeaux variety red wines from Chateau des Charmes have always performed at an elite level. Paul Bosc Sr. obviously built his reds to age, and we still see that today with some of the first VQA wines he made. Two CdC wines stood out at the tasting — the 1989 Chateau des Charmes Cabernet (a blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon), that was certainly fading but remarkable in that it still had some interest at 35 years of age. The 2005 Chateau des Charmes Cabernet Sauvignon also showed beautifully.
One more (well, not quite) to call out: This one surprised me a bit. The Cave Spring Vineyard La Penna vertical from 2008-2010, a partially appassimento style wine, was such a treat to taste. Cave Spring was among the first to tackle this style of wine in Niagara and increased the percentage of dried grapes over the years as well as decreased the Bordeaux varieties used in the blend. I believe it’s 100% Cabernet Franc now. The 2008, with all three Bdx varieties and the least amount of dried grapes, even though it was a cooler vintage, spoke to me of how great this style of wine can be in Niagara when attention is paid to detail. It was fabulous and still going strong.
Not done yet: While there weren’t a lot of Pinot Noirs in the tasting, their window of opportunity is a bit shorter, I believe, and they need to maintain their finesse and softer tannins to be of interest in the long term, the Le Clos Jordanne La Petit Vineyard Pinot Noir 2006 was a beauty of a wine. La Petit is now in the hands of the Neudorf family and bottled under The Farm label as a single vineyard Neudorf Vineyard wine. Three others stood out, the Vineland Estates Reserve Cabernet Franc (2010, maybe, didn’t note the vintage), the 13th Street Gamay from the famed Sandstone Vineyard (again, no vintage, sorry!) and the Lenko Meritage 2002.
A big thank-you to the Olsons for opening these incredible bottles of Niagara history, and the delicious spread of treats following the tasting that only two of the finest chefs in Ontario can pull off.
A trio of new wines from Divergence
Note: You can purchase Divergence wines online here. This is what I liked:
Divergence Hughes Vineyard Rosé Brut 2021 ($40, 93 points) — This single vineyard 100% Pinot Noir Rosé, sourced from the Hughes Vineyard in the Lincoln Lakeshore sub-appellation, is made both with and without skin contact to extract colour and strike balance of flavour and texture. It’s aged for two years in bottle and was disgorged in March with just 1 g/L dosage (so essentially, “extra brut”) using barrel aged reserve wine from the same harvest. It shows an inviting salmon colour in the glass with a vigorous bead and lovely strawberries, wild raspberries, cherries, cranberries, and lime zest. It’s wonderfully dry and vibrant with a firm, persistent bubble as it takes on a more earthy tone on the palate adding complexity to the pure red berries, subtle note of anise, toasty almonds, and mouth-watering acidity, giving this delicious sparkler lift and finesses through the finish.
Divergence Creek Road Vineyard Gamay Rosé 2023 ($26, 91 points) — Made with Gamay and 9% Sauvignon Blanc sourced from the Creek Road Vineyard in the Four Mile Creek sub-appellation, this rosé was hand harvested, whole cluster pressed. And made in the saignée style. It shows a lovely blush colour in the glass with an enticing nose of brambly red berries, plums, a touch of earth and citrus zest. It’s dry and vibrant on the plate with savoury raspberries, cherries, anise, subtle herbs, and juicy, mouth-watering acidity. My kind of rosé!
Divergence Wismer Wingfield Vineyard Gamay Noir 2022 ($28, 92 points) — This is the second vintage of the Wingfield Vineyard on the Twenty Mile Bench. It was 25% whole cluster pressed and spent 12 months in neutral oak barrels. It shows a vibrant ruby colour in the glass, with purity of fruit in the dark cherries, anise, purple plums and earthy, savoury, spice notes on the nose. The spices are integrated on the palate and harmonize with the red berries, licorice/anise, plums, soft tannins, mulled herbs all leading to a vibrant, juicy finish.
A duet from 2027 Cellars
2027 Cellars Wismer Vineyard Foxcroft Block Gamay Rosé 2023 ($22, at retail store at Calamus, 92 points) — The Fox Croft Block of the Wismer Vineyard is located on the corner of Victoria Avenue and Moyer Road in Vineland, within the Twenty Mile Bench sub-appellation. It shows a bright magenta colour in the glass with brambly raspberries, plums, cherry Twizzlers, earthy/savoury notes, and herbs. It’s juicy and has a meaty edge on the palate with earthy red berries, a touch of anise, integrated herbs, and mouth-watering acidity on the finish.
2027 Cellars Wismer Vineyard Foxcroft Block Riesling 2023 ($25, at retail store soon, 93 points) — Wismer Fox Croft tends to be slightly warmer than other sites on the Twenty Mile Bench, due to the lower elevation, and yields a riper style of Riesling. This is bright and overt on the nose with green apples, lime-citrus, wet-stone minerality, and grapefruit zest. It has lovely texture and energy on the palate with saline/chalky notes, lanolin, grapefruit, fresh apple, a touch of ginger and a vibrant, freshening finish.
Five new wines from Chateau des Charmes
Chateau des Charmes Cuvée Michèle Aligoté 2021 ($16, 91 points) — The Bosc family has been growing this rare Burgundian variety, Aligoté, since 1978 in its Paul Bosc Vineyard. It expresses saline/oyster shell minerality on the nose with white peach, green apples, pear, and a subtle note of camomile. It’s more expressive on the palate with fresh pear, quince, stony minerality, peach with racy acidity keeping it fresh and lively through the finish.
Chateau des Charmes Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2022 ($16, 89 points) — Made in a fresh style with no oak whatsoever. It’s bright on the nose with grapefruit, gooseberries, garden herbs and pear. Those herbaceous notes are amplified on the palate with tangy citrus, gooseberries, pear and a zippy, lifted finish.
Chateau des Charmes Paul Bosc Vineyard Fumé Blanc 2022 ($35, 91 points) — Made from the only Sauvignon Blanc block on the estate in the Paul Bosc vineyard, this small-batch Fumé Blanc is aged in oak barrels on the lees. It’s elegantly rich on the nose with baked pear, grapefruit, honeysuckle, tropical fruits, and spice notes. It has a lovely creamy texture with poached pear, star fruits, grapefruit, guava, herbs, toasted spice notes and fairly lifted finish.
Chateau des Charmes Cuvée Michèle Pinot Noir 2017 ($17, 91 points) — The is a remarkably suave and silky Pinot Noir at this price point. It has a seductive nose of fresh violets, rich, dark cherries, black raspberries, summer strawberries and elegant spice notes. It’s smooth on the palate with a bit more earthiness to go with that ripe basket of red berries, and anise a lifted, long finish.
Note: In memory of Michèle Bosc, $1 from the sale of each bottle of Cuvée Michèle Pinot Noir at the winery or online will be donated to the Camp Kerry Society which specializes in providing bereavement programs and support to individuals and families impacted by serious illness, grief and loss.
Chateau des Charmes Gamay Noir 2021 ($16, 90 points) — It shows a light shade of red in the glass and starts with a touch of reduction (in a good way) on the nose, then brambly red berries, plums, and a touch of herbs. It shows purity of fruit on the palate and a melange of red berries, a touch of anise, light tannins, and a tangy finish.
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