George Vona

Westcott Reserve Pinot Noir 2016, VQA Vinemount Ridge

This is textbook pinot noir. The wine is dark ruby in colour (a sign of the warm vintage?) with expressive aromas and flavours of ripe black cherry, cherry pit and baking spice. It’s full bodied and round (one might even say plush) despite the low alcohol, and there’s great depth and concentration of flavour. The finish is impressively long finish with a strong and surprising tannic grip given the ripeness. Barely evolved and obviously drunk too young. Tasted July 18, 2020

Hidden Bench Locust Lane Rosé 2019, VQA Niagara Peninsula

Year after year, Hidden Bench produces one of the best pink wines on the planet and 2019 was no exception. As usual, the wine pours a lovely bright pale salmon colour. Wonderful concentration of tart red berry flavours and savoury notes is apparent but it’s the electric core of limestone minerality that grabs my attention, more prominent than I can remember from previous years. There’s great tension between the creamy texture and bracing acidity and the wine tapers off to a long savoury finish. That’s some kind of alchemy going on here.

Hidden Bench Nuit Blanche Rosomel Vineyard 2012, Beamsville Bench, Niagara Peninsula

Nuit Blanche is one of Ontario greatest whites. It doesn’t seek to dazzle like HB’s Fumé Blanc. Nuit Blanche has an aristocratic bearing – it’s so beautifully proportioned and structured with a creamy mouthfeel and the flavours that really blossom on the palate. At eight years of age, it has let down its hair – more expressive on the nose, less grassy and flinty and more candied pineapple (especially on the long, long finish) and passion fruit.

Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Brut

A bottle of liquid sunshine. Made primarily with chardonnay with a bit of pinot nero and pinot bianco, this sparkler is light, crisp and lemony. Tradition method vinification with 24 months spent on lees gives just a whiff of autolytic aromas and flavours, some roundness to the texture, and a fine mousse. A very good finish tapers off with flavours of lemon drops. A very classy summer sipper that would be ideal with light fare.

Hidden Bench Riesling Roman's Block 2015, Beamsville Bench

For me, Roman’s Block continues to be one of Ontario’s great rieslings. Now 5 years old, it’s maturing now so that classic “diesel” aroma becomes more prominent on the nose along with generous aromas of diesel, lime blossom, grapefruit and Bench minerality. On the palate I found good intensity of lime-inflected orchard fruit flavours, especially nectarine and Granny Smith apples, which surprised me as I don’t regard those as typical Bench Riesling flavours. It has maintained its bracing grippy acidity but the real pay off is that super long, limestone/mineral/”peacock tail” of a finish with hard candy appearing at the very end. Tasted June 28, 2020

Stanners Vineyard Pinot Gris Cuivré, Prince Edward County 2018, Prince Edward County

This is the first wine I tried from my Winealign PEC sampler. I opened this first because my spouse needed white wine for cooking that night. Imagine my surprise when out came this pale copper-coloured wine. So that’s why cuivré was in the name. This wine turned out to be a delight and like no other pinot gris I have ever had. There were lovely aromas of strawberries, spring flowers and even rhubarb, which were apparent on the palate as well. The palate featured refreshing PEC acidity and my only reservation was the concentration of flavours could have been a little more dense. All in all, though, it was a lovely discovery for me.

Ayre Verdejo 2019, D.O. Rueda

Grassy and grapefruity on the nose with a touch of herbs. Grapefruit and citrus on the palate. Tangy, grassy and lively but balanced acidity. Medium bodied and a touch of lees adding texture and complexity. Decent length and concentration but not world beating.
A great summer sipper if there ever was one. Tasted May 2021.

Diez Siglos Nékora Verdejo 2019, D.O. Rueda