It’s a pain to be proved wrong. Last year, I wrote a screed about how much I disliked the Cabernet Franc grape. I condemned it as nasty and vegetal, and I said it was over-planted in Ontario. Oh ignorant reader, how blameworthy we both are in our way — me for writing such a defamation against this innocent grape, and you for reading it. Well, we must soldier on.
My change of heart vis-à-vis Cab Franc came a few weeks ago. I was summoned to lunch at the fantastic restaurant Loire with Bruce Nicholson, the winemaker from the Niagara winery Inniskillin. As you can imagine, being filled with good French food puts me in a foul temper. When I was told we’d be drinking Inniskillin’s new Cabernet Franc, I didn’t even pause to sip before rifling through my pocket thesaurus for adjectives to describe this grape: beastly, brutal, louche and lousy [informal].
Lunch was puzzling. When I finally deigned to taste the wine, I had an experience that has only occurred once or twice before in my life: I realized I was wrong. Inniskillin’s Legacy Series 2007 Cabernet Franc was fantastic.
The Legacy Series is Inniskillin’s premier brand: a wine made in small quantities to show off what the winemaker can do when money is no object. Every vintage, Inniskillin will release two Legacy wines — one red and one white. However, the exact grapes will change, depending on which vines had the best year.
In this way, the Legacy Series bucks the trend of many other first-rate Ontario bottles. The current vogue is for “purity” — isolating the pure taste of one select grape in one select vineyard. Inniskillin, on the other hand, makes Legacy with less purity and more flexibility. They’re happy to blend grapes from various vineyards in order to create a harmonious flavour. It’s a very down-to-earth approach.
Here are my tasting notes:
Inniskillin 2007 Legacy Series Cabernet Franc ($39.95 from the winery’s boutique)
This must be Cab Franc at its best — fine tannins, a polished texture and fully developed fruit flavours that segue from tart cherries to sweet plum. I was especially impressed by the nose: it’s sultry, ripe and complex, with strong notes of sour leather and berry pie. Drink it now or cellar for two to three years, at which point it will mellow like a sunset. 90/100
Inniskillin 2008 Legacy Series Riesling ($29.95 from the winery’s boutique)
A fine balance between fruit, residual sugar and acidity make this Riesling approachable and somewhat addictive. It has just a touch of spritz, making it especially refreshing in hot weather. But I’m going to keep my bottle for three to five years in order to draw out the ripe and juicy flavour of apple and peach. Excellent. 90/100
Matthew Sullivan is a civil litigator in Toronto. He blogs weekly here on lawandstyle.ca. The Short Cellar column also appears in the print edition of Precedent. Matthew can be reached at matthew@lawandstyle.beta-site.ca. Follow along on Twitter: @shortcellar.
Photo by Seth Lemmons