Jost Vineyards in Nova Scotia is masterful when it comes to wines made from hybrid grapes. Hybrids are man-made vines designed by enterprising biologists to improve on nature. Although popular for a time, strict wine laws favouring native grapes led to their worldwide decline – but in wine-frontiers like Nova Scotia, hybrids remain attractive because they thrive in the chilly maritime weather.
Jost offers a staggering selection of over 20 wines made from hybrid grapes. This broad portfolio is eccentric, experimental and terribly interesting. Although sometimes hybrids are just used to create cheap swill, Jost takes their hybrids seriously, giving them the right time to age and access to expensive French oak barrels.
Here are my notes for Jost’s best:
- Jost 2006 L’Acadie Blanc ($12.99 from winery). This white wine is made from a hybrid designed and nearly forgotten in Ontario. Like many hybrids, it doesn’t boast much complexity. Instead, it has a laid-back fruitiness complemented with hints of honey from the barrel-aging. Very mellow. 87/100
- Jost 2006 Beaver Creek Geisenheim ($10.99 from winery). The Geisenheim hybrid is the bastard child of the great grape Riesling. You can taste the family resemblance in the acidity and minerality. In this case, it makes Jost’s best white wine. Spice and orange peel waft up from the floral nose. The palate has a simple and spritzy bite like a grapefruit. The tangy finish reminds me of the lingering taste of a 9-volt battery. 88/100.
- Jost 2003 Baco Noir ($19.99 from winery). Making a rich and textured red wine, Baco Noir is the one hybrid variety that is still commonly available in Ontario. Jost’s version avoids the roughness that sometimes mars this grape. This is very much a “food wine” because it has strong acidity to cut through steaks or burgers. Dark with impressive nuances. 87/100.
- Jost 2006 Reserve Marechal Foch ($19.99 from winery). Designed in France, Marechal Foch creates a plush, fruit-driven wine. Jost has a half-dozen different Marechal Fochs, but the 2006 Reserve is the pick of the litter. The nose reminds me of velvety chocolate swirled with honey. Although it has the density and ripeness of a heavy hitting wine, it maintains a pleasant lightness (after all, it’s only 11.8 percent alcohol). Delicious! 88/100.
- Jost 2007 Leon Millot ($13.99 from winery). Leon Millot is a bright, acidic red hybrid. I would call it a “poor man’s Pinot Noir” except that it outshines Jost’s own 2006 Pinot Noir ($23.99)… which perhaps proves how well suited Nova Scotia is to hybrids. I found the black cherry and sweet grape jelly flavours charming and smooth. Best slightly chilled. 87/100.
Matthew Sullivan is a civil litigator in Toronto. He writes a weekly blog entry here on lawandstyle.ca. The Short Cellar column appears in the print edition of Precedent. Matthew can be reached at matthew@lawandstyle.beta-site.ca NEW! Follow along on Twitter: @shortcellar.