Lailey 2013 CuriosiTHREE Chardonnay blend (Ontario)
23 Sep 2014- Details
- Category: Uncorked Tonight
(September 8, 2014) … This is the second time I have been at a winery during a winemaking decision and my suggestion become reality. I suppose now I have to stop counting, but it would not be so exciting, or as memorable, if it hadn’t happened twice in the same week – do I see a consulting business in my future? This was the wine that was featured in the third installment of the Curiosity series that Lailey has every year (hence the name CuriosiTHREE: a wine they consider to be so interesting and unique they offer it up at a sit down event as a one day-one off. Those in attendance get a chance to try it and if they like it they can buy bottles, but only on that day; usually there is only one barrel made of the wine. This time winemaker Derek Barnett, offered up his first whites in the series, two Chardonnays he allowed to wild ferment in the cellar – one barrel from the Old Vines and one from the Brickyard vineyard. At the tasting I attended (private because I was heading out of town before the official tasting) I liked the minerality and acidity of the Old Vines and the fruitiness of the Brickyard … then I mixed the two together and WOW … Derek admitted he had not thought of doing that. The resulting wine was a beautiful mix of apple, peach, pear, mineral and acidity with a great long finish that has some tropical notes of pineapple and mango … to me it was a more complete wine and one of the best Chardonnays I have ever had in Niagara. And if it were still available I’d tell you to run (not walk) to the winery to get some before it’s all gone … but alas, it is limited and now gone, I can only give it the score I would have had it been more widely available … and offer up a big thanks to Derek Barnett for taking my suggestion. I hear they sold more of the blend than of the individual wines – and that comes as no surprise. Price: $20.00 – Rating: *****
In addition: I used this wine as a test for something called Vin Edge – Inflatable VinSerts – it’s a bag that inflates in the wine as you pour, basically sealing out the air and supposedly making the wine last longer and keeping it fresher, longer. This was my first time trying it (I have another 11 inserts to try). On day two the fruit was still quite lovely, a little more tropical with the addition of vanilla which seems to have taken hold of the wine on the palate. The apple remains and the fresh pear has turned more in Bosc pear skin, which the fresh peach has moved more into the peach pit range. I thought I tasted a little plastic but my wife said she did not, so maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me. As for the rest of the wine, the acidity was still vibrant and so very tasty. This wine is such a delight; I can’t wait to open another over the holidays.
