Hidden Bench Vineyards and Winery 2006 Terroir Cache - 89pts

Hidden Bench Vineyards and Winery 2006 Terroir Cache (Beamsville Bench) Niagara Peninsula - Ontario

Availability: Sold Out. Visit winery for library release info here
Cost: $35-40 est
Alcohol: 13.1%
Date Tasted: August 28th, 2012

Tasting Notes: From the cellar. This Meritage blend from Hidden Bench has gained some international press being entered into the likes of the Decanter World Wine Awards and fairing well. An assemblage of 50% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc, 12% Malbec and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon with a gorgeous bouquet of cassis framed by light earth and cinnamon notes followed by a muted and slightly sharp-edged palate with mellowed tannins and flavours of dark fruits and oak.

Though the nose is still enchanting, sadly, this wine has peaked and already begun its inevitable decline losing some cohesion on the palate. Drink now.
 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2012 IconWines.ca

Hidden Bench Vineyards and Winery 2008 Felseck Vineyard Riesling - 88+pts

Hidden Bench Vineyards and Winery 2008 Felseck Vineyard Riesling (Beamsville Bench) Niagara Peninsula - Ontario

Availability: Direct from winery and LCBO stores
Cost: $32
Alcohol: 10.8%
Date Tasted: September 16th, 2011

Tasting Notes: A doppelganger for top-end German Riesling with a focus on citrus fruit, fresh acidity and masculine minerality. Concentration on the nose and palate comes by way of intense, tart, green apple, honeycomb and citrus fruit characters grounded by slate, steel and pumice, minerality.  Drink now-2016.
 -  Liam Carrier ©copyright 2011 IconWines.ca

Thirty Bench Wine Makers 2007 Triangle Vineyard Riesling - 91+pts

Thirty Bench Wine Makers 2007 Triangle Vineyard Riesling (Beamsville Bench) Niagara Peninsula - Ont

Availability: Sold out. Contact winery for library release
Cost: $30
Alcohol: 11.9%
Production: 528 cases
Date Tasted: May 28th, 2011

Tasting Notes: This single vineyard Riesling from Niagara Peninsula winery Thirty Bench Wine Makers offers good complexity balancing its delicate fruit aromas with austere, mineral and petrol notes effortlessly. Slight residual sugar pairs nicely with citrus acidity and flavours creating a tangy, sensual mouth feel and a long finish. Show no signs of peaking anytime soon and should age well for another 2-3 years with some development. Drink 2011-2015.
 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2011 IconWines.ca

For the ultimate terroir experience taste the winery's 3 single vineyard Riesling side-by-side and compare for yourself the difference land, aspect, soil and clonal variation makes to the finished product.

Fielding Estate Winery 2008 Un-Oaked Chardonnay - 87pts

Fielding Estate Winery 2008 Un-Oaked Chardonnay (Niagara Peninsula) Ontario

Availability: Direct from winery here
Cost: $15.95
Alcohol: 12.5%
Date Tasted: August 8th, 2010

Tasting Notes: For white wine lovers who prefer a crisp expression of fruit flavours rather than an oaked set-piece, the 2008 Un-Oaked Chardonnay from Beamsville Bench producer Fielding Estate Winery is the wine for you. Light, pale straw in colour with aromatic, candied-lemon, mineral and orchard fruit aromas. The palate is subtle with medium acidity (a bit low for a Chardonnay that hasn't been through malolactic fermentation) and medium body. Good continuity of aromas to flavours with the palate also showing a touch of tropical fruit. Enjoy this wine young.
 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2010

Tawse Winery 2007 Pinot Noir - 89pts

Tawse Winery 2007 Pinot Noir (Beamsville Bench) Niagara Peninsula - Ontario

Availability: LCBO vintages stores
Cost: $25-30
Alcohol: 13%
Production: 890 cases
Date Tasted: August 1st, 2010

Tasting Notes: Tawse Winery makes a number of excellent vineyard specific Pinot Noirs (and other varieties) each telling a story of where they come from. This offering is a more subdued blend using fruit from multiple locations. The result is a Pinot that may lack identify of place but has no shortage of character.

The nose offers ripe fruit aromas of cherry, raspberry and plum with vanilla and earthy notes. An echo of sweetness on the otherwise dry palate from the concentrated fruit flavours of dark cheery, raspberry and oak spice. Supportive but never overbearing tannins add structure while the dusty texture lingers with a very well balanced, moderate-plus finish. Drink now through 2014.
 - Liam Carrier

Thirty Bench Estate Winery 2007 Small Lot Chardonnay - 91pts

Thirty Bench Estate Winery 2007 Small Lot Chardonnay (Beamsville Bench) Niagara Peninsula - Ont

Availability: Direct from winery. LCBO vintages
Cost: $30
Alcohol: 13.6%
Production: 547 cases
Date Tasted: August 1st, 2010

Tasting Notes: A superb example of a restrained, complex and very tasty Beamsville Bench Chardonnay. This wine is a master-class on the balance of sugar to acid and the balance of fruit to mineral flsvours and aromas. Both are done beautifully.

The nose offers subtle aromas of apples, lemon rind, ripe pears, steel and malalactic notes. The ever-so-slightly off-dry palate dazzles with flavours of mellons, butter, vanilla, lemon, oak spice and tart citrus acidity. The wine is tasting great now but has the structure to age. Drink now through 2015. www.thirtybench.com
 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2010

Thirty Bench Estate Winery 2008 Red - 88pts

Thirty Bench Estate Winery 2008 Red (Beamsville Bench) Niagara Peninsula - Ont

Availability: Direct from winery. LCBO stores.
Cost: $24
Alcohol: 13.2%
Production: 2300 cases
Date Tatsed: August 3rd, 2010

Tasting Notes: The Thirty Bench "Red", a blend of Merlot (38%), Cabernet Sauvignon (31%) and Cabernet Franc (31%), may not be the powerhouse Meritage blend that fellow Niagara Peninsula producers like Tawse and Hidden Bench produce but at half the price, you get a solid sipper that over-delivers.

Dry, but with the sense of sweetness coming from the concentrated blackberry and dark fruits. The nose offers youthful aromas of cassis, dark berries, dark cherry, leather, pencil shavings and oak spice. Treated with a year of aging in French and American oak and full malolactic fermentation. The end result is a lovely wine with silky-smooth tannins and a moderate-plus finish with lingering oak spice. Well done. Drink now through 2013.
 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2010

Thirty Bench 2007 Red - 88pts

Thirty Bench 2007 Red (Beamsville Bench) Ontario

Decanted: 1/2 hr (plus Vinturi)

Cost: $24.00 (Direct from winery)

Tasting Notes: Thirty Bench has become one of my favourite wineries from the Niagara Peninsula. The winery was rated 3rd overall in the 2008 Canadian Wine Awards based on the wineries that submitted wines and it does not disappoint. Their Reislings are something to behold.

The Red is a blend with tremendous value. The wine is concentrated and opaque with notes of raspberry, pencil shavings, and leather on the nose (I could smell this forever). The palate is dry with tight tannins with the persistence of raspberry through the medium length finish. This wine could age to mellow out the tannins. Overall the Red is great value for a premium Ontario blend. HC

Hidden Bench 2008 Gewurztraminer - 86 pts

Hidden Bench 2008 Felseck Gewurztraminer (Beamsville Bench) Ontario

Availability: Direct from winery

Cost: $35.00

Tasting Notes: Hidden Bench is a winery to watch. All wines are from small lots including the Gewurz. The nose was lychee and honey, which continued onto the palate with thick concentration. The finish was sustained. At $35 this wine is a little on the pricey side, however the price is in the reasonable considering the production costs. This wine paired excellently with peacan butter tarts.

Hidden Bench concentrates on ultra-premium wines with a sustainable and terrior driven approach to winemaking. Some of their red blends were exceptional. I had the pleasure of trying the latest vintage (yet unreleased) of La Brunante and it was a jaw dropper. Meg at the winery was extremely knowledgable and very informative. I will most definfitely buy more of Hidden Bench's wines and look forward to the release of La Brunante. I would expect that these wines could be a hot commodity in the vinatges to come. HC

Fielding Estate 2006 Red Conception - 86pts

Fielding Estate Winery 2006 Red Conception (Beamsville Bench – Ontario)

Decanted: 0 hr

Cost: $19.00

Tasting notes: A very nice blended red. The nose is cherry, and caramel. The palate is smooth and tastes of cherry and vanilla with a full mouth feel. The finish was long and enjoyable.

Fielding is a great winery in the Beamsville Bench with exquisite views of vineyards, lake Ontario, and the Toronto skyline on the horizon. The whites were exceptional at this winery and reasonably priced. This red was one of their standouts and at $19 could be on the regular rotation. While there was not really an Icon Investment Grade wine in the flight, Fielding had a great list of quality wines and the staff at the winery were extremely nice. Definitely worth visiting. This wine was tasted twice at the Ahmic Lake cottage, both times with family and good friends. Once on the beach by itself while looking over the lake and the second time paired with apple pie and ice cream. Both pairings were great. - HC