While in beautiful Beamsville last week I managed to stop in at Cave Spring’s new tasting facility. Very bright with lots of light steaming in and a marvelous view of vineyards through a wall of glass. It was quiet so there were no distractions except of course the blazing gold on the vines.
Pinot Noir can have brilliant moments in Ontario but they are rare and few. I have suffered through many tasteless attempts. Yes there are a few winners in Niagara and Prince Edward County. So I wonder what Cave Spring can do with its 2020 Dolomite Pinot Noir. Dolomite is named after the layer of dolostone that forms the cap rock of the Niagara Escarpment.
The aromas clearly denote a Pinot Noir blood line but very tight if not austere. Tightly wound strawberry, raspberry, Vermont North Hero Tudhope black licorice, Obidos cherry liqueur and a whiff of Mocha. On the palate the tannins are lurking but not pouncing. The fruit is tight as a nervous psychiatrist holding his copy of Jungian analysis behind his back. You have to lay the bottle on the couch and tell it to breath deeply and relax i.e. decant! Once the subject is relaxed we detect some high toned and jittery cherry and repressed raspberry. Internalized rage of strawberry perhaps because mama clone ignored the grapes when they were tender buds? The diagnosis according to the DSM Psychiatric Manual indicates shyosis which in lay terms the wine is excessively shy afraid to admit its beauty relying on a further bit of ageing to bring out its full potential. Even more simply put two or three more years in the bottle to meditate into adolescence and perhaps until 2030 to show its brilliance. And in this time frame expect a momentous Pinot Noir that will make mommy and daddy clone very proud of these grapes! The wine is a baby and thank goodness a pediatric psychiatrist is involved.
This is a wine that deserves a case purchase and two bottles a year to observe its evolution.
This is not a disappointing Ontario Pinot Noir.
(Cave Spring 2020 Pinot Noir Dolomite, VQA Beamsville Bench (Estate Grown), Cave Spring Vineyard, Jordon, Ontario, $27.95, 750 mL, 13%, (available at the winery and online) RKS Wine Rating 92/100).
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