Inniskillin 2004 Klose Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Found January 2011

I will be nothing if I am not totally honest with you here ... this is a wine I was completely scared of.  First, it was from the so-so 2004 vintage, a vintage not known for its great wines (negative), though the wine is produced by one of the older wineries in the Niagara region (positive).  The wine was delicious when I bought it a few years back (positive), but now, six years on (negative?), did I make a mistake to lie this one down?  I really didn't want to find out, so I let the bottle languish about in the box I was suppose to open and taste.  There were twelve bottles in the box and this was the last one to come out ... here goes nothing.  This was part of the single vineyard series, the wine was sourced from the Klose Vineyard, a 15 acre vineyard located on the Niagara Parkway and named for its owner Gerald Klose.  It seems that Mr. Klose knows how to grow Cab in a difficult vintage, because my worries about this wine turned out to be unfounded, in fact I was completely taken aback at how good this wine turned out to be.  The nose is blackberry and cassis with some herbal-mint notes as the wine started to open up.  The taste was just as impressive, sour raspberry and sour cherry take the lead, then turn it over to sweet cranberry, all balanced by some nice acidity and leading to a long spiced-raspberry finish.  With each sip the palate continued to shine and proved to be truly delicious ... I do believe this wine is peaking right now and not sure how long it has left, if you have a bottle or two in your cellar it might behoove you pull it out and drink it - you won't be disappointed.  Lost & Found Rating:  Treasure

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Hillebrand 1997 Trius Red

Found December 2010

It's a little bit of a misnomer to call this wine a "lost and found" wine, because a friend brought it over on New Year's Eve, hence it was never lost in my cellar - but on the other hand it was lost to me (I did not have it) so it is not too far a stretch ... in any case I hope you will indulge me.  For a wine that is 13 years old it was surprisingly youthful on the nose mixing in a blend of dried and fresh sour cherries, quite surprising indeed.  The palate showed a lot more complexity, the dried cherries were there along with dried leaves which turned into pipe tobacco on the finish.  One of those in attendance said they tasted bitter cocoa (powder-like) in the mouth ... and who can argue with something like that - I sure didn't, especially since I had already finished my ration.  Lost & Found Rating:  Treasure

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Cave Spring Cellars 2004 Estate Bottled Riesling

Found January 2011

It was a great New Year's weekend for wine.  First I tasted a 1997 Trius Red on New Year's Eve; then on New Year's Day I found myself face-to-face with a bottle of Cave Spring 2004 Estate Bottled Riesling.  Since the calendar had switched over we could "technically" call it a bottle of 7 year old wine.  The nose was petrol, green apple and peach pit with a touch of mineral stoniness.  On the palate mineral and limeade went hand-in-hand with some nice biting acidity on the finish and over ripe green apple notes. The acidity softened the longer it remained open and in the glass - good thing it was not in the glass too long.  Lost & Found Rating:  Treasure

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