Looking at this list, it's amazing to me how many Canadian wines I drink now. Five years ago, I had about one case in the cellar: that has changed. The Covid years stopped international travel, so I ended up going to the Okanagan and Niagara regions regularly, and there are some really nice wines being made in both regions now, especially whites wines and pinots. In both regions, riesling, chardonnay and pinot noir seem to excel, although that is probably mainly a function of my preferences too. There are 3-5 producers in each region who seem to excel and who I focus on: there is still a lot of mediocrity, but that is true in most wine regions I suppose.
- 2005 Chéreau-Carré Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie Cuvée des Ceps Centenaires Comte Leloup de Château de Chasseloir - France, Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine sur lie (2024-08-29)
A nice golden colour, and with a good nose with rotten fruits, slight butterscotch and minerality. Similar on the fairly intense, medium bodied palate, drinking somewhat like a aged chablis now at 19 years old. I like aging top muscadets to see them get to this point of evolution; they can age quite a long time and often seem to evolve into this style. (A-) - 2014 Château des Charmes Vidal Icewine - Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Niagara-on-the-Lake VQA (2024-08-29)
This was a sleek icewine, not too sweet, with nice acidity to give it a lift, and thus not as rich as many other Vidal based icewines. I enjoyed the relative lightness of this icewine. (B+) - 2018 Greystone Pinot Noir - New Zealand, South Island, Canterbury, Waipara (2024-08-27)
Another nice bottle. Fairly light ruby in colour, with a nice nose of cherries, strawberries, pomegranate and a slight herbal note. Medium bodied, silky smooth texture, but there are slight, ripe tannins and good acidity; well balanced with nice intensity. Good mixture of fruit and savory notes. (A-) - 2017 Tantalus Vineyards Riesling Old Vines - Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley, Okanagan Valley VQA (2024-08-24)
Had this last night. My main memory is of a kickass dry riesling that had huge levels of minerality and some mainly citrus fruit notes. Great intensity, mountain stream like clarity and refreshment, and most importantly, extremely tasty. Glad to have a couple more. This will last a long time, but really excellent now. (A-/A) - 2017 Little Farm Chardonnay Pied de Cuve Mulberry Tree Vineyard - Canada, British Columbia, Similkameen Valley (2024-08-18)
My last bottle of this wine, and I wasn't sure if i had left it too long in the cellar, as this is a natural wine. But this was an impressive bottle, much nicer than the previous bottle 3 years ago. It was still a slightly cloudy golden colour, with butterscotch and pear notes on the nose. Medium bodied palate, with no heat and rich flavours of stonefruit, nuts and oak spices (although only neutral oak is used). A slightly 'natty' note is there in the background, but not enough to be a deterrent. An interesting chardonnay. (B+/A-) - 2017 Alois Lageder Pinot Noir Krafuss - Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Alto Adige, Alto Adige - Südtirol (2024-08-16)
Brought to a wine lunch. This was medium ruby in colour, with a lovely nose of cherries, roses and slight herbal notes. Medium bodied with healthy but not overwhelming acidity. Quite elegant in style, definitely cool climate, with cherries, raspberries and slight spicy and savory notes. Interesting wine that would go well with light food. Got better as it opened up - better on the second day (A-) - NV Barbier-Louvet Champagne Premier Cru L'Héritage de Serge" - France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru (2024-08-16)
Brought this to a wine lunch as the starter, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Moderate intensity and richness in the mouth, with notes of cherries, toast and a hint of blackfruit as well. It had enough acidity to cut through the rich flavours and dosage. Nice QPR in our market. Disgorged Jan 2021, L19-12-21 (A-). - 2018 Le Clos Jordanne Pinot Noir Le Grand Clos - Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Twenty Mile Bench VQA (2024-08-13)
My last bottle started out a little grumpy/closed. It slowly unfurled into a masculine style of pinot. Medium bodied, nicely concentrated, it had cherries, beets and iodine and iron notes; like the previous bottle, an interesting mix of fruit and savory notes. Some tannins too which added to the structure. A very interesting, impressive wine - I'm sorry it's my last bottle as I think this will age very well. (A-) - 2019 Meyer Family Vineyards Chardonnay McLean Creek Road Vineyard - Canada, British Columbia, Okanagan Valley, Okanagan Valley VQA (2024-08-11)
There were some nice flavours on show in this medium bodied wine, with citrus, nutty and minerally tastes, but there was also a coarseness and slight bitterness on the finish, mainly I think from the oak/oak spice. Not as balanced or elegant as it could be. (B+)
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