Posted by Greg Clow in beverages, event reviews, events, wine on October 27, 2007 at 12:27 pm
It's not often that a restaurant throws a swank reception to mark the launch of a new wine list. But when a restaurant is located in a hotel that purchases more wine than any other hotel in Canada, and more Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA) Canadian wines than any other hotel in North America, it's only logical that they would want to do something special to celebrate a changeover in the cellar.
Hence, the elaborate unveiling this past Thursday evening at EPIC Restaurant in the Royal York for this year's version of "The Great Canadian List", a group of Canadian VQA vintages selected from 250 candidates by a tasting panel of professional sommeliers, restaurant managers, culinary experts, and wine writers. Led by EPIC sommelier Courtney Henderson, the panel spent 3 days earlier this month selecting 60 wines that they felt best represent the depth and breadth of Canada's wine industry, and 16 of the selected wines were showcased at Thursday's tasting event.
With tasting stations set up throughout the restaurant, attendees were welcome to wander and sample as they pleased, although most chose to start with a bit of bubbly in the form of Cave Spring 2004 Brut, which was conveniently being served from a table just inside the entrance. Moving on from there, we were able to enjoy everything from the light and refreshing 2006 Sauvignon Blanc from Henry of Pelham and Tawse Winery's 2004 Beamsville Bench Chardonnay with notes of limestone, citrus and oak, to rich, full and meaty reds such as Jackson-Triggs 2005 Proprietors' Reserve Merlot and Château des Charmes 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon. Even to relatively novice wine drinkers like the wife and myself, it was obvious that these vintages are some of the best that Canada has to offer.
Of course, great wine deserves to be matched with great food, and chef Jean-Charles Dupoire and his crew certainly came through on that account. We lost count of the number of oysters we scarfed down from the seafood bar that was stocked by the folks from Rodney's, and the table featuring a quartet of cheeses from Cheese Boutique - including a sublime Thunder Oak gouda aged for an extra two years in the Boutique's own cellar - had an eager line-up for the entire evening.
On the hot table, an array of bite-sized morsels were constantly being replenished, many of them being mini-versions of items from EPIC's dinner menu. Our favourites included the ultra-rare beef tenderloin with a red wine reduction, tender tandoori scallops, and cute and crispy mini crab cakes with blood orange compote. And once we got to the ice wines, it was time to hit the dessert table, which included single bite pumpkin brûlées with homemade nutmeg marshmellows that Sheryl declared to be "the best thing I've ever put in my mouth", and hot chocolate and espresso shooters served with tiny macadamia biscotti and lemon madelines.
Here are the full details as provided by EPIC about 14 of the 16 wines served at Thursday's reception:
HILLEBRAND ESTATES WINERY
FOUNDED 1979
Winemaker: Darryl Brooker
Location: Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
2006 Trius White: Medium bodied white with perfumed elegance and finesse. Well balanced and integrated wine with great acidity. Characteristics include ripe lemon citrus rind, lychee fruits with a perfumed undertone.
HENRY OF PELHAM
FOUNDED 1988
Winemaker: Ron Giesbrecht
Location: St. Catherines, ON
2004 Speck Family Reserve Riesling: Classic notes of mineral, petrol, with notes of citrus and quince. A complex and well balanced Riesling that is a fantastic example of what Ontario can do with this grape.
2006 Sauvignon Blanc: A refreshing uncomplicated wine. Exudes gentle notes of grass, herbs, lime zest with a hint of grapefruit.
JACKSON-TRIGGS
FOUNDED 2001
Location: Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
2005 Delaine VY Syrah: Ripe dense blackberry fruit with undertones of pepper and spice. Well balance with a long elegant finish.
2004 Okanagan Proprietor’s Reserve Merlot: Soft and luscious – exudes riper notes on the palate of blackberry and cassis. Soft tannins and a rich mouth - feel make this wine very approachable and drinkable.
SUMAC RIDGE
FOUNDED: 1979
Location: Okanagan Valley, BC
2003 Steller’s Jay Brut: Fresh strawberry and citrus notes with a gentle toasty undertone. Great crisp acidity and elegant mousse.
TAWSE WINERY
FOUNDED: 2001
Winemaker: Pascal Marchand
Location: Vineland, ON
2004 Beamsville Bench Chardonnay: Well balanced and integrated wine with great complexity. Notes of citrus, honey ripe peach with nicely integrated oak.
CAVE SPRING
FOUNDED: 1986
Winemaker: Angelo Pavan
Location: Niagara Peninsula, ON
2004 Brut: Champanois style of a Canadian sparkler. Gently toasty notes with nice integration of ripe lemon polish. Soft elegant mousse, lively acidity, and long finish.
LE CLOS JORDANNE
FOUNDED: 2000
Winemaker: Thomas Bachelder
Location: Jordan Station, ON
2005 Chardonnay: Soft elegant and well integrated oak and toast. Notes of citrus and ripe peach. Great acidity with long finish.
2005 Pinot Noir: Ripe strawberry and raspberry with undertones of earth and spice. A wine with great complexity and character.
CHATEAU DES CHARMES
FOUNDED: 1978
Winemaker: Paul Bosc and Pierre-Jean Bosc
Location: Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
2005 St David’s Bench Cabernet Sauvignon: Deeply coloured well concentrated wine. Notes of dense fruit, dark chocolate, bell pepper, and toastiness. Very approachable but will still age for a few years.
COLIO ESTATES
FOUNDED: 1980
Winemaker: Carol Negri
Location: Harrow, Ontario
2002 CEV Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon: Strawberry, blackberry with hints of raspberry. Toasty notes with hints of dark chocolate. Big and powerful wine that shows great potential for aging.
INNISKILLIN
FOUNDED: 1975
Winemaker: Sandor Mayer
Location: Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON and Okanagan Valley, BC
2005 Discovery Series Zinfandel: Raspberry, Blackberry, plum and cherry. Velvety smooth with a long elegant finish.
LAILEY VINEYARDS
FOUNDED: 2000
Winemaker: Derek Barnett
Location: Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
2005 Cabernet Franc: Dark cherry and raspberry dominate the nose. Lively acidity with hints of green plum and dark chocolate tease the palate. A great food wine.
Hi Greg
Thanks for the excellent coverage of this event and for the very tidy and accurate (in my opinion) notes on the wines. Well done.
I'm glad you liked the 2004 Speck Family Reserve Riesling. The harvest just finished, 2007, will mark the first year where we are going to be able to make all 4 'SFR's' in the same year: Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet-Merlot. To which we are adding a delicious regionally blended red and white. You heard it here first.
We're also using oak fermenters for the first time on the reds in this tier of wine -- look for some very special wines from 2007!
Daniel Speck
Co-owner
Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery
Thanks for the feedback, Daniel, as well as the info about your upcoming vintages.
I should clarify, however, that the tasting notes at the end of the article were those provided by EPIC, presumably written by someone with a better wine palate than myself. I'm still a novice at this wine thing, although my years of tasting and writing about beer helps a bit.
Even though those aren't my words about your Riesling, I'm in agreement that it was very good. And that's coming from someone who tends to prefer big, meaty reds.