Cuvee "L" Pinot Noir

  • 2020
  • 2014
  • 2012
  • 2009
We have not released a Cuvée L Pinot Noir since 2015, and it is only made in the best years. Our 2020 vintage is simply spectacular. This year’s blend is 66% Prince Edward County fruit and 33% Niagara fruit.
A wonderful combination of the freshness and vibrancy from the limestone-laden soils of the County, and the richness of the heavy clay soil in Niagara. A few of our very respected Burgundian lovers have remarked) that this wine tastes as close to being in Chambolle-Musigny without actually being there.
A blend of 60% Niagara Pinot Noir and 40% County Pinot Noir. Each component was fermented separately, in small batches using indigenous yeasts. Aged separately for 8 months in French Oak barriques. After initial aging period the Niagara and County Components were blended together then put back into neutral oak for an additional 8 months. 2014 began as a cooler vintage, but we received hot, dry weather through September which developed fruit with exceptional phenolic ripeness and complexity, while still retaining lively acids. This is a special bottling, only done in the finest vintages.
The hallmarks of the "L" series are complexity and balance. The palate begins with subtle red fruit flavours, but gives way to an array of flavours including earthy notes, hints of spice, darker fruit and a long, lingering finish. The palate has exceptional balance between The County's lively acidity and weight from the Niagara component.
This is a 70% blend of Niagara Pinot Noir and 30% County Pinot Noir. Each of the components were fermented separately. Aged separately until November 2013 and then blended and put back to old Fench oak barrels for an additional 6 months.This is the 3rd bottling of "Cuvee L" Pinot Noir since our first vintage in 2004. The richness in this wine comes from the grapes grown on the heavier clay soils of Niagara; this is balanced by the vibrant and delicate fruit from the lighter calcareous soils of Prince Edward County.
The delicate colour of this wine is deciving: the palate gives way to rich and complex notes of dark fruit, earth and mineral. The hallmark quality of the "Cuvee L", is not the initial weight, but the layers of flavour and the tremendous length on the palate.
Our "L" series wines are only made in the finest of years. Typically a blend decided for the specific year, the Cuvee "L" combines the lighter, more aromatic County wines with the more full bodied Niagara wines. The sum of the parts (two different terroirs) allow us to make a very complex wine. This is a blend of 60% Niagara fruit and 40% County fruit. The wine was initially aged for 12 months in French oak barrels. It was then blended and put back to oak for 6 months.
This wine is a quintessential benchmark Pinot Noir, starting out light and feminine and blossoming into a beautifully rich, full bodied Pinot Noir. Suggested Drinkability Window: Now through 2015.