(November 4, 2016) … I judged at the first Kingston event and took s few bottles with me, I sat with my good friend, and fellow wine scribe, Konrad Ejbich, to taste a few, though probably not all of these wines, as they were tasted over a few days:
Jamie Kennedy 2007 Chardonnay (Rosehall Run) – this wine was still creamy and held on to a good amount of acidity, but the flavours seem dull and ultimately unappealing.
Thomas & Vaughan 1999 Meritage … it’s a Cabernet Sauvignon dominant blend that has seemed to have held on: tobacco, dries cranberry, though a touch weedy with some tomato stem nuances – but there’s also a sweet cassis note that makes this wine an interesting treasure … but an ultimately a dud.
Sanson 2002 Cabernet Franc … a wine that proved to be very acidic, loaded with layers, but none good enough to keep it interesting: smoky sausage and meaty with toasty character of burnt coffee bean and a bitter note to the finish. As it opened roasted red & green pepper begin to appear and a short finish emerges – in the end we determine it’s light with a lean middle, it’s okay but far from great.
Southbrook 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon, Lailey Vineyard … the wine opens with lots of volatile acidity and never really loses it; there are hints of interest, with cassis poking around plus some cranberry and sour raspberry, but in the end its thin, lean and simple. It’s had a good life, but now its time to go, there are better old Southbrook wines out there, this is not one.
Lailey 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon … same grape from the same vineyard as the above wine, but this time it’s a little younger, and made by the same winemaker – freeze dried raspberry and strawberry with green pepper, cedar, roasted green pepper and black pepper spice – this is old school Ontario Franc that still holds your interest in the glass.