Experts’ Tasting ~ 2011 March 5, 2011 – CCOVI, Brock University Keynote Speaker: Peter Gamble Your Host: Lawrence Buhler, Winemaker, Andrew Peller Ltd. FLIGHT #1 – THE MANY FACES OF CHARDONNAY Speaker: Shiraz Mottiar, Winemaker, Malivoire Wine Co. Honours BSc in Oenology & Viticulture, Brock University # Vintage Name Proprietor Price Availability 1 2004 Blanc de Blancs, CSV, Beamsville Bench Cave Spring Cellars $29.95 Winery/LCBO 2 2008 Oaked, Reserve. Niagara Peninsula Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery $14.95 Winery/LCBO 3 2008 Rosehall Vyd, Prince Edward County Rosehall Run $29.95 Winery 4 2008 Oaked, Beamsville Bench Hidden Bench Vineyards $32.00 Winery 5 2009 Musqué, Estate Bottled Chateau des Charmes $16.95 Winery/LCBO 6 2009 Unoaked, Niagara Peninsula Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery $12.95 Winery/LCBO 7 2009 Unoaked, Charlotte’s, Twenty Mile Bench Stoney Ridge Estate Winery $15.00 Winery/LCBO 8 2007 Icewine, Niagara Peninsula, Canadian Oak Inniskillin Wines (200 ml) $44.95 Winery FLIGHT #2 – AGED CHARDONNAY Speaker: Ann Sperling, Winemaker, Southbrook Vineyards # Vintage Name Proprietor Price Availability 1 2005 Oaked, Niagara Peninsula Flat Rock Cellars Not available 2 2005 Barrel Fermented, Niagara Peninsula Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery Not Available 3 2004 Barrel Fermented, Niagara Peninsula Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery Not Available 4 2003 Reserve, Estate Bottled, Beamsville Bench Cave Spring Cellars $30.15 Winery 5 2000 Oaked, CSV, Beamsville Bench Cave Spring Cellars $35.15 Winery 6 1999 Oaked, CSV, Beamsville Bench Cave Spring Cellars Not Available 7 1998 Strewn Vineyard Strewn Winery CWL FLIGHT #3 – CLASS OF 2009 Speaker: Dan Sullivan, Winemaker, Rosehall Run Winery, Prince Edward County # Vintage Name Proprietor Price Availability 1 2009 Oaked, Twenty Mile Bench Flat Rock Cellars $16.95 Available 07/12 2 2009 Oaked, The Rusty Shed, Twenty Mile B Flat Rock Cellars $24.95 Available 05/11 3 2009 Oaked, Speck Family Reserve Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery $35.00 Winery 4 2009 Oaked, Dean’s List, St. David’s Bench Niagara College Teaching Winery $27.95 Winery 5 2009 Bella Terra, Niagara Peninsula Pondview Estate Winery $24.00 Winery FLIGHT #4 – CLASS OF 2008 Speaker: Thomas Bachelder, DelaneyBachelder, Pinot Noir · Chardonnay · Etc. # Vintage Name Proprietor Price Availability 1 2008 Le Clos Jordanne Vyd, Twenty Mile B Le Clos Jordanne $40.00 J-T Winery/ LCBO 2 2008 Oaked, CSV, Beamsville Bench Cave Spring Cellars $18.95 Winery/LCBO 3 2008 Old Vines, Niagara River Lailey Vineyard $40.20 Winery 4 2008 Mottiar Vyd, Beamsville Bench Malivoire Wine Co. $29.95 Winery 5 2008 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Contrôlée Dom. Alain Chavy, Puligny- $64.95 LCBO Montrachet 6 2008 Robyn’s Block Vyd, Twenty Mile Bench Tawse Winery $46.95 Winery 7 2008 Felseck Vyd, Beamsville Bench Hidden Bench Vineyards $38.00 Winery 09/11 FLIGHT #5 – “OPTIONS” Speaker: Dr. Gary Pickering, Research Scientist, Cool Climate Oenology & Viticulture Institute, Brock University # Vintage Name Proprietor Price Availability 1 2008 Russian River Valley LaCrema Winery, California $39.95 LCBO 2 2007 Twenty Mile Bench Flat Rock Cellars $16.95 Winery/LCBO 3 2007 Reserve, Twenty Mile Bench Flat Rock Cellars $35.00 Winery/LCBO 4 2007 Meursault-Blagny 1er Cru Contrôlée Dom. Meursault de Cherisey, $74.95 LCBO Meursault-Blagny 5 2005 Poetica, St. David’s Bench Southbrook Vineyards $56.00 Winery/LCBO Experts’ Tasting 2011 – WINE SUMMARIES 2 We would like to thank the many VQA wineries for their wine submissions and ongoing support. FLIGHT #1 – The Many Faces of Chardonnay 2004 Blanc de Blancs, ‘CSV’ Estate Bottled, Beamsville Bench, Cave Spring Cellars Inc. 3836 Main Street, Jordan, ON L0R 1S0 905-562-3581 Web: www.cavespring.ca Produced from a single five acre block of Chardonnay vines planed in 1984 at Cave Spring Vineyard. The soil is stony clay till over sandstone-shale bedrock, laced with dolomite, limestone, shale and sandstone eroded from an Escarpment cliff above the vineyard. The yield was 3.5 tonnes per acre. The base wine was fermented in stainless steel. After bottle fermentation, the wine remained on the lees for more than five years, being disgorged in July 2010. 2008 Reserve Chardonnay, Niagara Peninsula, Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery 1460 Pelham Road, St. Catharines, ON L2R 6P7 905-684-8423 Web: www.henryofpelham.com The Reserve has been made here since 1990. Traditional in the sense that it is over 40% barrel fermented and most does see barrel aging for 5 to 6 months, it is also a wine that uses a portion of non-oaked wine, is only 25% malo-lactic fermentation, and the oak is only 5 to 10 % new. That lighter touch facilitates a style suiting the vibrancy and the elegance of our cool climate Chardonnay fruit. Over 50% of this wine is from our estate with most of the balance coming from the Beamsville Bench. Added Notes; 50% Estate (24% 105, 16.5% 302, 9.5% 108), 44% Beamsv. B., 6% NOTL; 42% BF Chard; Harvest 21.0 Bx, 7.4 TA, 3.43 pH; Bottling 12.9% Alc., 6.0 TA, 3.57 pH, 2.3 RS 2008 Rosehall Vineyard Chardonnay, Prince Edward County, Rosehall Run 1243 Greer Road, Wellington, ON K0K 3L0 613-399-1183 Web: www.rosehallrun.com The 2008 Chardonnay Rosehall Vineyard is winemaker Dan Sullivan’s pinnacle chardonnay, hand-picked from Rosehall Run’s Estate North Block. The entire cuvee was barrel fermented and aged sur lie for eleven months with malolactic fermentation. A coarse filtration preceded bottling in October, 2009. A ripe tropical fruit and toast bouquet jumps from the glass and flows seamlessly across the palate in a rich yet delicate balance. The signature county minerality shines through on the crisp full finish. 2008 Estate Chardonnay, Beamsville Bench, Hidden Bench Vineyards 4152 Locust Lane, Beamsville, ON L0R 1B0 905-563-8700 Web: www.hiddenbench.com 100% Estate Grown Chardonnay from Locust Lane, Felseck and Rosomel Vineyards. Fruit from individual vineyards was hand-picked, sorted and gently whole bunch pressed, followed by cold settling. The clear juice was then racked, warmed up and gravity transferred to barrel for fermentation. Wild yeast fermentation, accompanied by weekly lees stirring and aging for 10 months in French Oak barrels (15% new), created an elegant wine, showing a flinty minerality so characteristic to the Beamsville Bench. Individual vineyard batches were kept separate until blending in July 2009. 2009 Chardonnay Musqué, Estate Bottled Niagara-on-the-Lake, Château des Charmes Wines Ltd. 1025 York Road, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S 1P0 905-262-4219 Web: www.chateaudescharmes.com Chardonnay Musqué is a unique clone of Chardonnay that was pioneered in the Niagara Peninsula by Château des Charmes’ founder Paul Bosc. 2009 Chardonnay Musqué is pale gold in colour with a wonderful aromatic bouquet of spiced fruit and honeysuckle. This full bodied Chardonnay is non-oaked in order to allow the wine to fully express its unique musqué characteristic. 2009 Unoaked Chardonnay, Niagara Peninsula, Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery 1460 Pelham Road, St. Catharines, ON L2R 6P7 905-684-8423 Web: www.henryofpelham.com Non-oaked Chardonnay has been an integral part of our winemaking philosophy for over a decade. The pure expression of minerality and fruit is a welcome departure from certain very rich Chardonnay styles. Our cool climate adds extra vibrancy and style underlined by the choice to maintain most of this wine without malo-lactic fermentation. The grapes are sourced from local sites within sub- appellations all West of the Welland canal; Creek Shores, our own estate on Short Hills Bench and Lincoln Lakeshore. Added notes: Sub-Appellation composition: 55% Creek Shores (Nokara); 35% Short Hills Bench; 10% Lincoln Lakeshore. Varietal: 94.5% Chardonnay; 5.5% Pinot Blanc. Harvest at 20.7 Bx, 10.1 TA, 3.21 pH. Bottle at 12.6 Alc., 6.3 TA, 3.52 pH, 3.2 RS, 0.049 VA 2009 Unoaked Charlotte’s Chardonnay, Twenty Mile Bench, Stoney Ridge Estate Winery 3201 King Street, Vineland, ON L0R 2C0 905-562-1324 Web: www.stoneyridge.com The creation of this wine dates to the 1990’s when Charlotte, the winemaker’s wife, requested an un-oaked Chardonnay. Originally the wine was a blend with Gewurztraminer, replaced now by Chardonnay Musque to provide the appealing aromatics and delicious fruit. This wine has won gold at the Canadian Wine Awards, Silver and Best Value at Intervin and received a 90 point score in Wine Tidings. This wine is available at the LCBO. Alcohol: 12.5%; T.A.: 8g/L; Res. Sugar: 8g/L 2007 Chardonnay Icewine, Canadian Oak Aged, Niagara Peninsula, Inniskillin Wines Inc. 1499 Line 3, Niagara on the Lake, ON L0S 1J0 905-468-2187 Web: www.inniskillin.com Winemaker Bruce Nicholson found this a unique experiment based on his own personal love of Chardonnay. After experimenting with Canadian Oak with his 2006 Riesling Icewine, Bruce decided to age his Chardonnay Icewine in Canadian Oak. Notes: Alcohol-9%; pH-3.13; Residual sugar-238 g/l. Fermented and aged in Canadian Oak for 8 months. Cases produced: 216 (4.5 l/case) 3 FLIGHT #2 – Aged Chardonnays 2005 Chardonnay, Niagara Peninsula, Flat Rock Cellars 2727 Seventh Street, Jordan Station, ON L0R 1S0 905-562-8994 Web: www.flatrockcellars.com Harvested in late September of 2005, this wine was 56% fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks, with the remainder fermented in second fill or older French Oak barrels. Fermentation was carried out by a combination of wild and selected yeast. The wine remained in barrel and tank for 10 months prior to blending and bottling. Lees stirring and partial malolactic fermentation during this time has added great weight and complexity to the wine.