Moutain Road Wine Company 2002 Reserves: Cabernet and Cabernet Franc

Found October 2009

Tonight it was a two-fer finding, two Mountain Road Reserves from the great 2002 vintage. It didn't start out to be a two-fer evening, granted I found both bottles at the same time, but I figured I'd try one tonight and one tomorrow. I opened the 2002 Cabernet Franc Reserve first, and good thing I did. There was a funny smell emanating from the glass, then it hit me, volatile (nail polish) mingled with green pepper. I tried to decant the wine, and then I waited a bit, hoping it would blow off, but it never did - even 4 hours later it still hung on in the glass that I left on the counter. And just because I am "that kind of guy" I tasted it and received a mouthful of green pepper shellacked in nail polish. Not as nice as it sounds, trust me.

Therefore, it was with a little trepidation that I opened the next bottle, the 2002 Cabernet Reserve. I can only assume this is a blend of Cabs, Sauvignon and Franc, because there is nothing written on the label as to the make up of the wine or the percentages. This one showed a touch of volatility, but the red berries, sweet vanilla oak and chocolate liqueur over took that. Decanting helped to rid the wine of its minor fault. Tasting proved it to be sweet in the mouth with cranberry cocktail flavours on the mid-palate. The wine still tasted fresh, had lively acidity and a long pleasant finish, which had a bit of raisiny sweetness to it. The colour was good too: red with the barest hint of browning. Delightful, and it got better as the night wore on. Lost & Found Rating: Cabernet Reserve - Treasure; Cabernet Franc Reserve - Trash

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Pelee Island Winery 2003 Vinedressers Cabernet Sauvignon

Found August 2009

Pelee Island really doesn't get the credit they deserve. Yes they are one of the culprits in the Cellared in Canada fiasco gripping this province, but they also make plenty of VQA wines, and the ones that really should be getting a shout out are the Vinedressers (Reserve) series of wines that are only available at the winery. These are some pretty consistent wines year in and year out. Take this Cabernet Sauvignon as an example, from the mediocre 2003 vintage - the smells consist of white pepper and red fruit with hints of toasted licorice root. Palate-wise it took time to open, but when it did there was lots to appreciate: pepper, red fruit and dried blackberries, a bit of barrel toast and a pleasant thoroughly enjoyable mouth feel that slid smoothly across the tongue. This wine has definitely peaked - so I you have any, now's the time to drink up. Lost & Found Rating: Treasure

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Legends Estates Winery 2002 Baco Noir

Found August 2009

My bother and sister-in-law love Baco, so I thought this was a perfect opportunity to drag something out of the cellar that I might not have brought out at any other time. Truth is I had it on the taste list about six months ago, but it was for brunch and it just didn't seem right to subject folks to old Baco at 11 in the morning. The nose has become cassis-liqueur-like with smoky-black licorice notes. The palate pretty much follows what the nose is offering up with smoky, pruny, dried cassis like flavours ... hardly any tannins, so the wine is very smooth - but there is a sour-bitter-ish finish. My brother and sister-in-law polished off the bottle so I guess they liked it, I found the acid and bitter finish to much to handle over th course of an evening. Lost & Found Rating: Tolerable, for Baco fans.

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Cave Spring Cellars 1999 Indian Summer Riesling

Found August 2009

This bottle was given to Erica and I the night after our engagement, I think we were suppose to drink it with those that had come to celebrate this momentous occasion with us, but after 3 or four bottles (potentially more, I think I lost count here), food and much merriment the bottle was never opened, so we saved it for a rainy day, so to speak. Turns out on the day we drank it was a rainy day – and exactly three months to the day after our engagement. Tonight I was meeting members of her extended family (Uncle John and Aunt Diane) for dinner. This was the wine we served for dessert with a plum cake, turns out this was a highlight of the meal – except for my pulled pork, which was also a hit (and I can’t fail to mention Erica’s wonderful salads). The first thing everybody noticed was the golden colour of the wine, like apple juice-like but deeper. Those expecting fresh, fruity and lively would have been disappointed, though this wine still had quite a bit of spunk. The nose was rather simple with vanilla and cooked fruit notes, very similar to a compote of apples, pears and peaches. In the mouth is where you could really pick out the individual fruits like dried apple and pears; there were also notes of butterscotch-toffee and vanilla. The sweetness was still quite apparent, and it was balanced out by a nice seam of acidity. This wine has held up very well – not sure how much time it has left, or how much cooked/dried fruit you like in your wine but it is drinking very nicely now. Lost + Found Rating: Treasure.

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Colio Estate 2006 Riesling

Found July 2009

Sometime it's not about what you find in your cellar, it's what you find in someone else's. Last night I discovered this '06 Colio Riesling in my fiancee's wine rack. Now truth is before she met me she did not have a "wine rack", she had a couple of bottle stashed away in her basement (one's a Chianti and one's a Merlot), which someone had given her and she put away to 'drink later' and never got around to it ... probably because red is not her thing (one day I'll brave the Chianti). Then when she met me, well her vineous life changed, which means she drank more wine (and that's a big change for a beer girl. She liked whites more than reds, Riesling was a favourite along with some Pinot Gris and Vidal - but nothing too sweet, and for sure she likes it dry; and that's what is now in her cellar, a lot of whites and a smattering of reds that I have collected here (in Michigan) for my consumption. She'll try the occasional red, but she really is a white-girl. Now enough about her, what have we discovered here in her cellar. This Colio Riesling is only 3 years old, so still a baby, the nose is very fruity with melon and green apple being the prominent smells, there's is also a lovely honeysuckle note that really ties the aromas together and keeps you sniffing with every sip. The palate proved just as inviting: mac apple, honeydew, lemonade with just the right amount of sweetness through the mid palate before finishing dry and lovely. The aftertaste linger for just the right amount of time, not too long, not too short, just enough time before your craving another sip. Lost & Found Rating: Treasure

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Southbrook Winery 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon - Lailey Vineyard

Found July 1, 2009

Happy Canada Day! To celebrate I looked at a lot of different wines to pour into my glass - I even looked at a couple of wine from Washington State, but that seemed sacrilegious; so I went deep into my cellar, back 10 years, and discovered a bottle of Southbrook 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon - Lailey Vineyard. This is wine from back in the day when Lailey was still just growing grapes and Southbrook was still making wine in a barn in Richmond Hill.

You should have seen the thick paint like substance on the cork, surprising because I had this bottle standing up for at least three weeks before pulling the cork. I open it slowly but still manage to spray a few glasses and the counter with thick red (almost black) ooze. In the glass the colour is still very red, more blood red than crimson. Sediment is very fine and wispy in the glass, leaving patterns on the glass and when swirled they look like schools of fish swimming around near the bottom.

The nose still has hints of fruit and spice (black fruits and peppery spice) but there is other underlying smells: coffee grounds, black licorice, a touch of forest floor, dried tea leaves, and dried red fruit; there's also a spicy wood smell starting to develop (some 30 minutes in).

The palate also shows real signs of life here. Tannins have mellowed to a dull roar, though they are still there. The fruit is fading with flavours on the peppered and dried side. A touch of wood spice and dried leaves ... bit of tea leaf on the tongue, but there's a good replay of acidity and long finish that hints of vanilla-cinnamon wood with a bit of white pepper.

I could probably sit, sip and analyze this wine right up to the last drop. Suffice it to say that I am impressed with this wine; for a 10 year-old Cab it is very impressive and still has a few more years ahead of it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to go enjoy what's left of Canada Day with this fantastic wine. Happy 142 Canada. Lost & Found Rating: Treasure ++

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Mastronardi 2005 Brianje Riesling

Found May 2009

Considering that many of the 2005 Rieslings I have tried have been loaded with an over abundance of petrol (more than they should for a 4-5 year old wine) I approached this wine with a little trepidation as to how it had stood up. Before going on allow me to tell you how this bottle ends up lost, and found. My fiancee is a buyer of wine (not much, but enough) and less of a consumer - she refuses to open a bottle when she is by herself; which usually means I have wine to drink when I am visiting her place in Michigan. Until recently though, most of her wine has been stored in boxes, when she moved into her new place I made sure she had some wine racks and I organized her cellar (about 40 bottles). Much to my surprise I found lots of Ontario whites and a few oddball reds (a 2001 Chianti, a 2003 Cab and an 2004 Zinfandel) amongst them. I also got her a glass rack that holds four bottles for her kitchen - to remind her that 1) It's okay to drink alone; 2) You have wine at your disposal; and 3) I'm going to make it easy on you to fulfill 1 and 2 ... alas she still doesn't drink alone - so it must be me who's the alcoholic (wink). Anyway, I pulled this Riesling off the rack (and chilled it in the fridge) on a day where the Michigan sun was high in the sky and the temp had topped at a quite balmy (and breezy) 17 degrees (Celsius). The aromas on this wine were muted melon, mac apple, some orange rind and just a hint of petrol kicking around in the background. The tastes were perfect for the breezy-balmy day we found ourselves part of, more pronounce melon and apple, subtle notes of rindy-petrol and a sweet tangerine finish. Lovely, and so was the hour we found ourselves sipping it over. Lost & Found Rating: Treasure

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