The richness of extract and concentration of flavour in the white and red wines of Ontario’s 2007 vintage is unprecedented. Most professionals regard this vintage as the best to date.
Temperatures were much warmer than normal from June through October, and the fruit easily achieved perfect ripeness in all grape-growing regions of the province.
Most Ontario wine consumers know that because Ontario’s cool climate, vintage variations are felt intensely in red wines. 2007 was a red wine vintage that created bold cabernet sauvignons, mouth-filling merlots, peppery syrahs, fragrant cabernet francs, that match expertly cooked Ontario lamb perfectly, merlots can be sipped on their own, or with local aged cheddar or pizza, gamays with roasted loin of pork, chardonnays with pork cutlets in cream sauce, pinot noir with roasted turkey or planked salmon, and rieslings with pen-fried or sautéed trout from Ontario’s trout farms fed by pristine creels west of Toronto.
2007 was dry and hot; the vines on the Niagara Escarpment had to dig deep into the limestone and clay soils in search of moisture. The resulting red wines were well structured and well extracted providing deeply flavoured wines that can age easily for five to six years and improve their smoothness and shed their tannins.
The hot and dry growing season ripened small thick-skinned berries, yielding more concentrated must which winemakers could ferment to produce full-bodied, deeply flavoured wines
Ontario’s cool climate is generally more suitable for white wines and this vintage yielded less acid-driven libations, but more fruit-driven wines that can be enjoyed now of cellared for one or two more years.
Growers and winemakers now know more about viticulture and seem to be willing to put their knowledge into practice.
Recently, a large scale of Ontario QA wine tasting was staged to provide an opportunity to professionals and the public at large to taste the 2007 Ontario vintage.
Below are my recommendations, which are available through the winry, and occasioannally offered in Vintages releases:

Chardonnay Partial Amarone Style. The Foreign Affair Winery
Full bodied smooth, powerful, aromatic with a lingering aftertaste.
91/100

Chardonnay, Rosehall Run Superbly balanced, medium-bodied, aromatic and balanced chardonnay from Prince Edward County.
93é100

Chardonnay Old Vines, 13th Street Winery A small quality oriented winery produces excellent and powerful wines. This chardonnay offers aromatic excellence, smooth mid-mouth, and a long satisfying aftertaste.
92é100

Cabernet Franc Wismer Vineyard, Tawse Winery Cheery aromas and berry waft out of the glass. Medium bodied with and excellent smooth mid palate. Superbly balanced
92é100

Pinot Noir, Hidden Bench “Juicy“, aromatic redolent with berries and elegant.
92é100

Pinot Noir, Rosehall Run aromatic, light and appealing with a fine aftertaste.
92é100

Pinot Noir Talon Ridge Vineyard, Le Clos Jordanne An elegant, well-crafted fruity, full-bodied and `juicy` pinot noir.
91é100

Cabernet Sauvignon, 13th Street Winery An excellent effort to coax out of cabernet sauvignon the best aromas and finesse. Elegant and powerful
93é100

Pinot Noir, Lailey Balanced, powerful, aromatic, and smooth with a lingering and pleasant aftertaste.
92é100

Gravity Pinot Noir, Flat Rock Meticulously crafted by a young and knowledgeable winemaker. Elegant and very appealing.
92é100

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Tags: 2007, Ontario, Vintage

This entry was posted on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 06:00 and is filed under Food & Wine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.