Available in June at Case-Wine
15 Jun 2022- Details
- Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy
It’s the newest way to get Ontario wines at home, one bottle at a time, from a variety of your favourite, and soon to be favourite wineries. Case-Wine asked me to look at six of the bottles they currently have on offer; I was impressed with five of them – here are those reviews:
Cloudsley Cellars 2018 Chardonnay
This is one of those Chardonnays I deem as "funky", but that funk is found mostly on the nose; the palate fully redeems this wine. First, there's a good hit of acidity, found on the first sip and sticks around to the final swallow; apple, white peach, pear and vanilla-spice also show up. The middle proves to be a little creamy with a pineapple core finish. Very tasty.
Highly Recommended
Rating: ****+ (4-plus stars)
Price: $35.00
Hinterbrook 2017 Cadenza
Not sure who is clamouring for the appassimento white style of wine, but I feel I should commend Hinterbrook for giving it to us. At 13% alcohol this was obviously not fermented dry, and instead the wine comes across as an interesting dessert-style wine: sweet, honeyed and luscious across the tongue; it's a unique wine for sure and one that should interest the curious. Sweet canned-pineapple, canned-peaches and even a hint of mineral- petrol.
Recommended, but mainly for the curious.
Rating: *** 1/2 (3 1/2 stars)
Price: $120.00
iCellars 2018 Reserve Red 
I tasted this wine almost two years ago to the date, and I'm happy to report it has improved. It has become smoother across the palate with black cherry and elements of cedar; there are even hints of vanilla, mocha, blackberry and blueberry skins. It is drinking well now and should reward a few more years in the cellar. The self proclaimed "House of Reds" proves once again to be on-point. I've raised my score a bit on this one - especially now that it has mocha-cherry on the finish.
Highly Recommended
Rating: ****+ (4-plus stars)
Price: $30.00
Konzelmann 2016 Cabernet–Merlot, Family Reserve Series
Already 6 years from vintage date and this wine is drinking in accordance with how a 6-year-old red blends from a hot vintage should. Smokey-black cherry, vanilla oak, cassis, blackberry and even a cedarish finish that adds black fruit tannins into the mix. It's a straight-forward bottle of deliciousness with another four years, easily, ahead of it, maybe more.
Highly Recommended
Rating: ****+ (4-plus stars)
Price: $44.95
Leaning Post 2019 Syrah, Keczan Vineyard 
This is cool climate Syrah from a cool vintage and it wears that pedigree from head to toe: earthy, smoky–raspberry, pencil shavings and white pepper ... Those looking for Shiraz, look away or look elsewhere, but for those purists of the cool climate version of this grape might want to latch on.
Highly Recommended
Rating: **** (4 stars)
Price: $55.00
All these wines and more can be found on Case-Wine website
During the Anteprime Toscana, Capezzana invited me to lunch to talk about and taste their wines - and of the five wines poured, four hit the mark beautifully.
2018 Villa di Capezzana Carmignano DOCG
