Best of Niagara: Pinot Noir

The Niagara Peninsula may offer the terroir that resembles Pinot Noir's famous home in Burgundy the closest in Canada. It may be to no one's surprise then that the best Pinots produced here are Burgundian in character: earthy, austere and age worthy. The following Pinot Noirs, sorted by price point, tick all the boxes:

$30 and below:

Tawse Winery 2007 Pinot Noir - $25
The nose offers ripe fruit aromas of cherry, raspberry and plum with vanilla and earthy notes. An echo of sweetness on the otherwise dry palate from the concentrated fruit flavours of dark cheery, raspberry and oak spice. Where to buy: Direct from winery and LCBO Vintages.
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$40 and below:

Chateau des Charmes 2007 Paul Bosc Vineyard Pinot Noir - $35
This is an extremely mineral and earthy Pinot that needs time in your cellar. Buy, hold and wait to enjoy this excellent Pinot Noir. Where to buy: Direct from winery.

Rosewood Estates Winery and Meadery 2007 Beamsville Bench Pinot Noir - $36
Winner of a gold medal at the 2009 Wine Access Awards. More residual sugar than most of the other top Pinots, but the balance works. 11 months in French oak. Where to buy: Direct from winery.

Coyote's Run Estate Winery 2008 Black Paw Vineyard Pinot Noir - $36
The St. David's Bench winery makes two single vineyard Pinot Noirs and they are fun to taste side-by-side in the tasting room. Chances are this is the Pinot you'll leave with. Very well made and tasty. Where to buy: Direct from winery.

Norman Hardie 2008 Niagara Pinot Noir - $39

Produced from fruit grown on the Beamsville Bench on the Niagara Peninsula. Technically, Norman Hardie is a Prince Edward County producer, but this wine is so good we thought we'd sneak it in. Where to buy: Direct from winery.

Le Clos Jordanne Estate Wines 2007 Talon Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir - $40

The Talon Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir offers elegant, developing aromas of dark cherry, raspberry seed, oak spice and steely minerality on the nose. The palate recalls the limestone terroir with earthy flavours, austere acidity and smooth, integrated tannins. Very Burgundian in character. Where to buy: LCBO Vintages and Jackson-Triggs Niagara.

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- Liam Carrier ©copyright 2010

Best of Niagara: Chardonnay

The terroir of the Niagara Peninsula offers many amazing plots for growing Chardonnay which empart unique characteristics to the wine. This supports the trend to release single-vineyard Chardonnays by many of the region's top producers. Blends are also popular, but many wineries prefer to showcase the multiple single vineyard Chardonnays they produce which allow for side-by-side comparison. A fun and tasty experience.

The use of oak varries from producer to producer. Style, terroir and budget affect each wine's selected oak treatment, including many fine un-oaked Chardonnays on the market. Below is a selection of the Chardonnays, both oaked and otherwise, sorted by price point, that we feel are the best of Niagara:

$20 and below:

Fielding Estate Winery 2009 Un-Oaked Chardonnay - $15.95
Aromas of lemon drops are followed by orchard and citrus fruit flavours. easy going, summer sipper at a great price. Where to buy: Direct from winery or online.
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Chateau des Charmes 2007 St. David's Bench Vineyard Chardonnay - $20

Château des Charmes produces two single-vineyard Chardonnays. The St. David's Bench Vineyard Chardonnay, from the home vineyard (and further from the lake than the Paul Bosc Vineyard), is the warmer, more feminine of the two. Where to buy: Direct from winery or online.

$30 and below:

Chateau des Charmes 2006 Paul Bosc Vineyard Chardonnay - $22
Barrel fermented, the wine spends one year in French Oak "sur lie" and as a result has some of the leesy and autolytic notes one would expect. However, it is the stonefruit and mineral qualities that characterize this wine. Where to buy: Direct from winery or online.
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Le Clos Jordanne 2007 Village Reserve Chardonnay - $25
The entry-level Chardonnay from Le Clos Jordanne is far from a bottom feeder. Good concentration of aromas and flavours of classic orchard fruits with good minerality. A blend of fruit grown on the winery's 3 main vineyards. Where to buy: LCBO stores and Jackson-Triggs Niagara.

Thirty Bench Estate Winery 2007 Small Lot Chardonnay - $30
A superb example of a restrained, complex and very tasty Beamsville Bench Chardonnay. This wine is a master-class on the balance of sugar to acid and the balance of fruit to mineral flsvours and aromas. Both are done beautifully. Where to buy: Direct from winery.
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$40 and below:

Hidden Bench Estate Winery 2008 Estate Chardonnay - $32
Brilliant in every way. Concentration, crispness and character. Simply devine Chardonnay with present but not overdone oak treatment. Where to buy: Direct from winery or online.
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Flat Rock Cellars 2007 Reserve Chardonnay - $35
This focused and concentrated Chardonnay is a blend of two clones, 76 and 95, grown in the vineyard surrounding our the estate. Where to buy: Direct from winery or online.

Tawse Wines 2008 Quarry Road Chardonnay - $35

Organic and Biodynamic farming practice combined with an excellent terroir to create an extremely intense and refined Chardonnay. Big fruit and big mineral aromas and flavours. Exquisite. Where to buy: Direct from winery and LCBO.

Le Clos Jordanne 2007 Claystone Terrace Chardonnay - $40

Won the "Judgement in Montreal" tasting and beat-out top Burgundy and California Chardonnays. More concentrated and focused than the Village Reserve release. Where to buy: LCBO stores and Jackson-Triggs Niagara.

- Liam Carrier ©copyright 2010

Best of Niagara

Our Best of Niagara section is an evolving resource rather than a one-time or yearly list. Use it to look-up the top performing single varietals and blends being produced in the Niagara Peninsula wine region of Ontario. Grouped by varietal or blend and sorted by price-point for quick reference. New wines will be continually added as we discover them. Links to full reviews are posted when available.

Cabernet

Chardonnay

Pinot Noir
Red Blends
Coming Soon:
Riesling

Best of the Rest

Best of Niagara: Red Blends

The blending of Bordeaux varietals and beyond to produce a wine that is greater than the sum of its parts is a popular practice in every New World wine region and Niagara is no different. Sometimes the blending is done to plug a small hole in the facade of the prominent varietal on display or to simply boost the flavour profile and add complexity. However, now and then the art of blending (and it is an art) is the end goal. To carefully construct a wine using the building blocks of different varietals resulting in a wine that is greater than the sum of its parts. Below are our favourites from the Niagara region organized by price.

$20 and below:

Generation Seven Wines 2009 Red - $14
This blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Gamay finds its voice by focusing on the fruit characters of each varietal creating a smorgasbord of berry and dark fruit flavours. No lengthy oak program needed for this fun and easy-drinking wine that offers a spectrum of aromas and flavours framed nicely by soft, smooth tannins and a strong acidic kick. Where to buy: Direct from winery and online.
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Fielding Estate Winery 2008 Fireside Red - $16
A red blend from Beamsville bench producer Fielding Estate Winery that offers incredible value for price. A blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon and 16% Cabernet Franc the Fireside Red is a little rough around the edges with green tannins. But for the price, this wine delivers great food pairing options for grilled steaks. Where to buy: Direct from winery and online.

Fielding Estate Winery 2008 Red Conception - $19
A blend of 47% Merlot, 15% Syrah, 14% Pinot Noir, 12% Cabernet Franc and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, the Red Conception brings with it more complexity and refinement to the table than its baby brother Fireside. The 2008 is a bit harder edged than the sublime 2007 version, but still delivers solid value. Where to buy: Direct from winery and online.

$30 and below:


Thirty Bench Estate Winery 2008 Red - $24
Dry, but with the sense of sweetness coming from the concentrated blackberry and dark fruits. The nose offers youthful aromas of cassis, dark berries, dark cherry, leather, pencil shavings and oak spice. Treated with a year of aging in French and American oak and full malolactic fermentation. The end result is a lovely wine with silky-smooth tannins and a moderate-plus finish with lingering oak spice. Where to buy: Direct from winery, online and LCBO stores.
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$40 and below:

Lailey Vineyard 2007 Meritage Canadian Oak - $40
A rarity to be sure. This blend of 50% Cabernet Franc and equal parts Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon is aged in Canadian Oak barriques rather than French or American oak. The Niagara specialty of Cabernet Franc is on show here with round and smooth tannins. If you can't get a hold of this unique wine, pick up the firm's regular Meritage as an excellent consolation price. Where to buy: Direct from winery and online.


Chateau Des Charmes 2007 Equuleus - $40
From the Niagara-On-The-Lake producer perhaps best known for value wines comes this fantastic Old World-style red blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and equal parts Cabernet Franc and Merlot. Refined, smooth and very unique. Delivers complex layers of flavours and aromas. Will age nicely over the next 3-4 years. Pair with roasted meats and prime rib. Where to buy: Direct from winery and online.
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Above $40:

Stratus Vineyards 2007 Red - $44
The bone-dry palate with its vibrant, juicy texture offers intense flavours of dark fruits, blueberry, leather, oak and gravel with just a hint of citrus. Bright, ripe tannins are a just tad tight at the moment. We recommend decanting for a few hours if drunk young. This is a fantastic wine that will last a decade or more. Where to buy: Direct from winery, online and LCBO stores. Also available in BC private shops.
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Tawse Wines 2007 Meritage - $58
One of the best red blends in Canada. Supremely smooth and refined. Blend of 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot and 27% Cabernet Franc. A wine to place in your cellar and bring out for special occasions - or make the opening of this amazing wine the special occasion. Where to buy: Direct from winery and online.

Best of Niagara: Cabernet

The Niagara Peninsula is slowly developing an international reputation as one of the world's premier locations to grow Cabernet Franc, even getting a mention in a recent edition of Britain's Decanter Magazine. An August 2010 trip to the region confirmed for us that the hype is for real. below is a list of our favourite Cabernet Franc from the region along with a few top notch Cabernet Sauvignon wines for good measure. Arranged by price point.

$20 and below:

Chateau Des Charmes 2007 Cabernet Franc - $14
This Cab Franc offers medium-intense aromas of dark berries, wet stone, forest floor with subtle pungent cheese notes. The aromas continue on to the medium-plus bodied palate, adding a touch of cooking spice to the flavours. Where to buy: LCBO stores, BCLDB stores and direct from winery.
Full Review

Angels Gate Winery 2006 Cabernet Franc - $17
A blend from three vineyards: Marcus, Crispino and St. John. 12 month in French oak. Well balanced with an excellent track record of quality. Fruit forward with lower tannins. Excellent value. Where to buy: Direct from winery and online.

$30 and below:

Coyote's Run Estate Winery 2008 Black Paw Vineyard Cabernet Franc - $22
Possibly, the best value for quality on the Peninsula in regards to Cabernet Franc. The Coyote's Run Cabernet Franc offers impressive concentration of aromas and flavours for the tough 2008 vintage. Intense aromas of red fruit, baking spice and black tea with earthy and green vegetal notes on the nose. The dry palate has integrated tannins with good acidity and concentrated flavours of plum, blueberry and anise. Where to buy: Select LCBO stores and direct from winery or online.
Full Review

Tawse Winery 2008 Laundry Vineyard Cabernet Franc - $30
An excellent wine that combines all of the qualities a Niagara Cabernet Franc can posses: complexity, elegance, intensity and funkiness. Coffee grounds, caramel, plum aromas with flavours of juicy blueberry, minerality and round tannins. Sophisticated. Where to buy: Direct from winery or online.
Full Review

$40 and below:

Marynissen Estates 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Lot 31 - $36
Good concentration of fruit on the nose and palate. The 2007 vintage was strong for Cabernet Sauvignon with good phenolic ripeness. Where to buy: Direct from winery.

Stratus Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Franc - $38
Aromas of smoke, caramel, oak, vanilla, dark fruits and cured meet. Flavours of blueberry, oak and leather with elegant, super smooth tannins. Built to last. Where to buy: Direct from winery or online.
Full Review

Thirty Bench Estate Winery 2007 Cabernet Franc - $40
Happily, this Thirty Bench offering takes a different road to many of the other top Cabernet Franc of Niagara. Ultimately, the destination is the same but when they zig, the Thirty Bench zags. More elegant and subtle in approach with layers of complexity waiting to be discovered. Needs time. Where to buy: Direct from winery or online.
Full Review - Coming soon