By Rick VanSickle
I had resisted the temptation to open that Pinot Noir that stared back at me in our cellar for months; it was all too much. Resistance was futile.
Note, also in this Ontario Wine Report: new wines from the Lake Erie North Shore winery Sprucewood Shores, a trio of wines from Henry of Pelham and something Twisted from Flat Rock Cellars.
It was the most I’ve ever paid for a Niagara Pinot, so, of course, I was super curious (and super nervous). At $100, it is far from the most expensive wine ever made locally; proprietary reds of the Bordeaux blend kind have that distinction. Which is odd, considering Pinot Noir is far better suited to the Niagara climate than the Bordeaux varieties — especially Cabernet Sauvignon — that require heat and lot of hang time in the vineyard, which mostly happens in Niagara in the ever-numbered vintages.
All that aside, Pinot Noir vies for the most expensive wines in the world. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grand Cru 1945 fetched $558,000 at auction recently and is noted as the costliest wine ever sold. Eight of the other nine wines on the most expensive wines ever sold list are all from Bordeaux. So, go figure.
All that really doesn’t matter, Niagara is neither Burgundy nor Bordeaux and the sooner we stop comparing us to them the better off we will all be. What I will say, however, is that a $100 bottle of Niagara Pinot Noir flirts with some pretty lofty price comparatives across the wider spectrum of top Pinot producers in the vinous world. Does the Niagara Pinot I was about to open measure up? I was about to find out.
Adam Lowy (above), owner of Cloudsley Cellars in Vineland, is a dedicated Pinot-phile. Before staking his claim in Niagara in 2014, he spent 17 years working for Lifford Wine and Spirits, one of Toronto’s premier purveyors of the world’s finest wines. Lowy established Cloudsley with the singular goal of making terroir-driven Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from single vineyards exclusively on the Twenty Mile Bench, using a minimalist approach to winemaking that best shines a light on where the grapes are grown.
Lowy isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty in the winemaking process with his winemaker Matt Smith as he continues to carve up the Twenty Mile Bench is pursuit of the terroirs that appeal to his Burgundian background and precisely the kind of wines he himself likes to drink. With such an obsessive proclivity for single-vineyard expressive Pinots, this caught my eye on October 2023, on Cloudsley’s social media feeds: “Is this the best Pinot we’ve ever made?”
The Pinot Noir Cloudsley he was referencing wasn’t a single-vineyard expression at all, it was a blend, a “happy accident” of circumstances that got the full attention of Lowy and Smith. There is irony here — the most expensive Pinot Noir ever made at Cloudsley is a vineyard blend, usually reserved for the estate Pinots and Chards.
“Our practice at Cloudsley Cellars is to keep wine from different vineyards separate throughout the barrel-aging process,” Lowy wrote about the Pinot Noir. “Of course, the amounts never exactly add up, so we often end up with one or two mixed barrels. This was the case in 2020 with Barrel Thirty-Six. Surprisingly, as the wine aged, we discovered it was the best barrel in the cellar! Clearly too good to blend away, we decided to release this single barrel on its own. Please enjoy this happy accident.”
The wine, a single-barrel expression rather than the single-vineyard bottlings that Cloudsley has championed, is a blend of some of its prized vineyards sourced for Pinot Noir consisting of 39% Cuesta, 31% Hanck, 17% Homestead, and 13% Parke with 18 months of French oak (0% new).
Smith wrote on his own Instagram account at the time: “One of, if not the best wine we have released to date. It is simply amazing. I hope everyone who buys this loves it as much as I do.”
With such endorsements from both Lowy and Smith how could one resist immediately driving to Cloudsley to pick up a couple of bottles of this unicorn wine? My plan was to wait and taste them with Lowy, but time marched on, and the bottles sat there, so lonely, so enticingly. Pass the corkscrew!
Cloudsley Cellars Barrel Thirty-Six Pinot Noir 2020 ($100, only a few cases left, 96 points) — From the opening notes of this exquisite wine, you know something special is happening here. So much perfume wafts from the glass with violets and roses, morello cherries, wild raspberries, blueberries, red currants and fine oak spices in an opulent, pure and ethereal (yes, I said ethereal) style. Reminiscent of Volnay, with its velvety, satin-laced entry on the palate, it turns more concentrated on the palate with the full melange of red berries, subtle earthy/savoury notes, and just a touch reductive with perfumed spice notes and then the grand finale, a pristine, lifted finish that echoes for minutes. I wanted to make sure I was doing this wine justice, so I came back to it 24 hours later. My notes the day after focused on the melt-in-your-mouth chewiness of this beautiful wine. I revelled in sloshing it around in my mouth for minutes before swallowing, appreciating the pure red berries, silky tannins, seductive purity and that trademark Niagara finesse and finish that lasts and lasts. My final notes: Pretty meets chiselled, meets pure, meets ethereal (there, I said again, dammit!).
A trio from Sprucewood Shores
in Lake Erie North Shore
Sprucewood Shores Estate Winery is a family-owned and operated estate nestled in the Lake Erie North Shore wine region of Ontario. It was initially established as a vineyard in 1991 by Gord and Hannah Mitchell. After over three decades of grape growing, the family opened the winery and tasting facility in 2006. The winery is now owned by Stephen, Tanya and Jake Mitchell.
Tanya Mitchell (above) is marking her 20th year as the winery’s winemaker. She crafts a versatile selection of wines under four different labels, including:
• Classic Series — Wines made from recognizable varieties and meant to be enjoyed by a wide variety of consumers;
• Beach Glass — Wines focused on “delivering beauty both inside the bottle and out”;
• Hawks Flight Reserve — Select wines are produced under this label only when the vintage warrants it;
• Life’ a Beach — Fun and fruity wines for “the sweet tooth or new wine consumer.”
Wines in Niagara tasted two new releases. Here’s what we liked, both available here and as noted in the review:
Sprucewood Shores Hawk’s Flight Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Ripasso 2020 ($45, winery and Vintages Direct Delivery, 92 points) — This Cabernet Sauvignon is made in the ripasso method – refermenting on the pomace of appassimento (dried) grapes. It shows a dark shade of red in the glass with a smoky nose of ripe dark berries, brambly raspberries, meaty/savoury notes, maraschino cherries with spicy, toasted vanilla accents. It’s quite smooth on the palate with fine-grained tannins, super-saturated black currants, anise, dark cherries, chocolate, savoury notes and rich oak spices with length and power through a long, finessed finish. Can cellar this enticing wine until 2034.
Sprucewood Shores Hawk’s Flight Reserve Pinot Grigio ($20, 89 points) — The Pinot Grigio has a lifted, floral nose of melon, peach, apple and crisp citrus notes. It has lovely texture to go with ripe orchard fruits, a touch of saline minerality, melon and a bright, zesty finish.
A trio of Henry of Pelham wines
Henry of Pelham Family Tree The Soldier’s Wife Sauvignon Blanc 2023 ($17, 88 points) — Bright and fresh on the nose with grapefruit, lemon zest, garden herbs, pear, subtle kiwi and a touch of wet grass. It’s juicy on the palate with bright citrus, herbaceous notes, pear and guava with a zesty fresh finish.
Henry of Pelham Family Tree The Boxer’s Ghost Pinot Noir 2023 ($20, winery, 89 points) — While you can get this at the winery now, it was supposed to be released at Vintages stores on July 26, but because of the strike earlier this summer the Vintages releases are still in a state of flux. The nose displays dark cherries, cloves/nutmeg spices, black raspberries, earthy accents, and cassis. It’s juicy, ripe and smooth on the palate with red berries, anise, black currants, cedar, spice and a lifted finish. Good value Pinot Noir here.
Henry of Pelham Bin 106 Lost Boys Baco Noir 2022 ($40, 91 points) — Henry of Pelham, in case you haven’t heard, is Ontario’s No. 1 champion for this grape that was almost rendered extinct in Niagara during the great pullout of hybrid grapes beginning in the late 1970s. Henry of Pelham had no intention of ripping out their beloved Baco and now boast some of the oldest vines in Ontario. Fans of Henry of Pelham have made Baco its most popular wine at both the LCBO and the winery. This is the top expression of Baco at the estate, named after the three Speck brothers who spent a great deal their youth at the farm planting the vines that are still yielding grapes today. The grapes for the Bin 106 were planted in 1984 and the wine is aged in new and used American oak for 12 months. It has a rich and savoury nose with ripe dark cherries, juicy plums, currants, mocha, stewed herbs, anise and toasted vanilla spice notes. It’s concentrated and dense on the palate with anise, black licorice, red berry compote, fennel seed, herbs, earthy/savoury notes, dried tobacco, rich spice notes and plenty of juicy acidity on the lifted finish. Can cellar to 2031.
Getting Twisted at Flat Rock Cellars
Flat Rock Cellars Twisted Special Anniversary Edition 2023 ($20, winery now, Vintages on Sept. 7, 89 points) — The quirky “Twisted” series of wines from Niagara’s Flat Rock Cellars was launched with the Twisted White two decades ago. To celebrate “20 Twisted Years,” Flat Rock is releasing a new take of the Twisted theme with this blend of 74% Riesling, 15.54% Gewurztraminer and 9.86% Chardonnay. It has an interesting nose of grapefruit, peach, apricots, saline freshness and a touch of ginger and lychee. It comes together nicely on the palate with a fruity profile that combines peach, grapefruit, apricots, ginger and honey with a vibrant finish. A fun wine with just a kiss of sweetness.
Show your love for Ontario wines
Let’s show the great 100% Ontario grown wines a little love this November, shall we? After a three-year hiatus, #openlocalwine, an international celebration of local wine (wherever local is for you), will return on Nov. 9, 2024. And you are all invited to the party.
For the full story and how you can help celebrate and how to get your deals, specials and events listed (at no charge), go here.
The post Cloudsley’s stunning ‘happy accident’ Pinot Noir, plus new wines reviewed appeared first on Wines In Niagara.
