Keep your eyes wide open because Mason Vineyard is going to appear on more than a few labels in the coming years. Winemaker for Honsberger, Kelly Mason, is also working her magic at The Farm Winery – and winning red wine of the year honours from the Ontario Wine Awards with this bottling – so she got it right, right out of the gate. This 75 case production Pinot Noir is made from 25 year old vines and spends 18 months in 25% new oak, all while going through wild fermentation: aromas are black cherry, white pepper and smoke, while the palate is wild cranberry, strawberry and dark cherry. It’s a muscular and ballsy wine with a long finish. Imagine a man, smoking a cigar, a bushy mustache and wearing work boots and you have Mason Vineyard Pinot personified ... think Sam Elliot (you youngers might have to look that one up).
Price: $55.00 – Rating: ****+