Latitude, Lakes and Limestone
Wine tastes better made by friends with friends
Ontario wine is on my mind, especially the six ‘MicroLots’ of From The Heart collaborative blends up for bidding at the Grapes for Humanity Charity Auction, which closes on Monday, April 22nd. More on this below…
But Ontario has also been on my mind because on Monday Élise Lambert, Master Sommelier, was in town for the Taste Ontario trade show. She led a Master Class with Wine Country Ontario’s Magdalena Kaiser that powered through 16 wines from Niagara and Prince Edward County.
I’ve borrowed the title of this post from Kaiser’s introduction and refresher on the characterisitics of Ontario VQA wine because I love a good slogan: Latitude, Lakes and Limestone. The last two words are self-explanatory references to climate and soil, but the first reminds us that Niagara is on the same latitude as Tuscany.
Lambert consults for the Ritz Carlton hotels, including the Toronto location, where she’s set up an Ontario only wine program in their Club Lounge, and the masterclass was by pros for pros, aimed at the fellow sommeliers and restuarant wine buyers in the room. Lambert chose reprentative array that went from bubbles to reds, whites, an orange and a dessert wine*.
The stars of the show, from the point of view of designing a restaurant list, were the Pinot Noirs and Chardonnay, as they are the crowd pleasers. (I am very much part of this crowd.) “It’s hard to find value in Burgundy,” Lambert archly understated before asking rhetorically, “So, where do you find the good Pinot Noir?”
By the shores of Lake Ontario, I reckon.
*The Stratus Botrytis Affected Sémillon 2020, which at $39 for a 500ml bottle is a rare bargain from this pretigious house, and I would put up against any Sauternes or Barsac.
NEW WRITING AT THE HUB
This week, I wrote about Thomas Bachelder’s blending: of winemakers for the ‘MicroLot’ From the Heart Cuvées for the Grapes For Humanity charity auction:
https://thehub.ca/2024-04-19/malcolm-jolley-great-wines-an-even-better-cause/
The week before, my focus was on Oregon and two wineries, both begun in 1972 that couldn’t be more different or the same in spirit:
https://thehub.ca/2024-04-12/malcolm-jolley-oregon-wines/
WINE RECOMMENDATIONS
Please enjoy these recommendations. They are free for all subscribers for now. Soon just in time wine recommendations for LCBO Vintages releases, Ontario wine releases and wines on direct offer from importing agents will be reserved for paid subscribers to Malcolm Jolley Wino Journalist. That and more. Get ahead of the curve today and support my work by being a paid subscriber.
Malivoire Estate Grown Chardonnay 2022
Price: $21.95
Channel: LCBO Vintages or malivoire.com
Producer: Malvivoire Wine Company
Country: Canada
Region: Niagara
Appellation: Beamsville Bench VQA
Grapes: Chardonnay
Alcohol by Volume: 12.5%
Sugar Content: 1 gram per litre
I saw chief Malivoire winemaker Shiraz Mottier at the Taste Ontario show this week. I told him that the 2022 Estate Grown Chardonnay had lately taken a regular residency in my fridge. He laughed and said, in what I thought was conspiratorial voice, that it made from fruit from some pretty special vineyards and I was right to consider it one of the better deals out of Niagara.
I thought he was letting me in on a trade secret, but the Malivoire website publishes the vineyard names for all to see. Wines made individually from them do cost much more. Maybe the Estate Chardonnay is meant to lure unsuspecting winos like me deeply into the Malivoire universe? (Too late, I was already there.)
I don’t know how Shiraz, Elisa Mazzei and the rest of the Malivoire crew do it, but for $22 this is a magnificent bottle of Niagara Bench Chardonnay: crisp and mineral but still sunny and weighted with round fruit. It’s a Friday night wine at a Tuesday night price.
There are still a few bottles of the Estate Chardonnay lurking around the LCBO Vintages, but the most straightforward way to get some is to order it directly from the Malivoire website. That way they keep more of the profits, which will make us more of this value driven luxury wine.
Moulin de Gassac Guilhem 2022
Price: $15.95
Channel: LCBO Vintages
Producer: Mas de Daumas Gassac
Country: France
Region: Languedoc
Appellation: Pays d’Hérault IGP
Grapes: Grenache, Syrah, Carignan
Alcohol by Volume: 13%
Sugar Content: 3 grams per litre
Here is an everyday version of one the Languedoc’s most famous (and pricey) wines, Mas de Daumas Gassac for less than a fifth of what the what the famous wine costs. Put bluntly, this is a $16 wine from the Southwest of France that tastes more like a $20-25 one. It’s a really good deal for a solidly made Grenache-Syrah blend: balanced and fruity.
Stainless steel preserves dark red fruit from the Grenache hits black fruit from the Syrah and touch of Carignan: forest berries and a bit of peppery seasoning. An excellent burger wine, though it’s bright enough in acidity to work with whatever is put in front of it. That could includes snacks standing up, the Guilhem wants to be invited to the party.
