12
Nov
2020
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Category: Lost & Found / Taste it Again
(July 3, 2020) ... Well my rule-of-thumb on older Ontario Chardonnay is about 7 years tops, then they become a crap-shoot - I have shared this thought with a number of people familiar with Ontario wines and they too believe that to be an accurate assessment ... so here I sit in front of a bottle of 9 year old Ontario, Single Vineyard, Chardonnay and I wonder what side of the "shoot" this will sit on.
Poured out into the glass and I see a nice golden colour, not really a judgement of quality it just means it has oak and it is old. Nose to glass and there are notes of almond-praline to start, a quick sip enforces good acidity and some apple-butter notes on the tongue ... the good news is this wine keeps getting better: spiced-almonds, bruised green apple and as it opens further it turns into an apple juice type of note. Apple seems to be the most dominant part of this wine - the acidity keeps it in the game even though there's a creamy-smoothness mid-palate to the long finish - but again it's that acidity that keeps this wine in the game (I know I've already said that once, but it deserves to be said again).
See the original review
15
Oct
2020
- Details
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Category: Lost & Found / Taste it Again
(June 19, 2020) ... Time to trot out some old Lailey wines to discover if winemaker Derek Barnett truly made wines to age, or if he was just tricking us all into thinking that's what he was doing:
Kicking things off with a 2009 Old Vines Pinot Noir ... Leathery and earthy with some anise, cedar and smoke; there is a nice seam of acidity here (a hallmark of the vintage) and the wine comes across much fresher than one would expect. Rating: Drink Up - though it might have a few more years left - but why wait to find out I was wrong. 
Next on the list, 2010 Merlot Unfiltered ... Cedary nose right off the hop, but we did let it sit for a bit and found that the wine did open up quite nicely: the palate showed dark fruit, hints of vanilla and spice, some smoky notes along with blueberry, cassis and white pepper, A fresher wine than expect, especially for a Merlot. I have often said that Ontario Merlot needs years to shuck the baby fat and this one definitely proved that right. Rating: This one is at its peak, so drink up (2 to 3 more years of holding if you must).
We ended with the 2006 Syrah ... This one kicked off with notes of celery root, which then turned earthy, but then there was a freshness here with really good acidity; 2006 would have been that kind of high-acid year, it was a pretty average vintage for Ontario; this wine, with a little aeration and a little time swept itself into the not-so-bad-column of older wines when some wild raspberry, cedar and smoke showed up. It was the weakest of the three wines, but still pretty good. Rating: Drink Now, but lower your expectations.
2009 Old Vines Pinot Noir - no original review
2010 Melot Unfiltered - no original review
2006 Syrah - see original review here
As we tasted these wines Sohie the cat watched on ... did she want some wine or was she eyeing the food on the table? We will never know for sure. Maybe she knew she was missing out on a once in a lifetime tasting - or maybe, just maybe, she was hungry.
