Liebling Wines is not a winery. It is what we call a virtual winery where those who craft wines use the premises and sometimes the expertise of an established winery permitting lower costs and perhaps more experimentation with small batch production.
Liebling Wines finds its roots in 1984 when Matthias Oppenlaender arrived in Niagara, Ontario from his native Germany planting a 40-acre vineyard in Queenston. Matthias and his children Jessica, Alison, Aaron, Michael and Danny carry on his mission of grape growing expanding it to purchasing grapes from select single vineyards the family manages across Niagara, Ontario and using those grapes and those grown in their vineyard to vint this Cabernet Franc.
The Cabernet Franc is made at Marynissen Estate in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Given Cabernet Franc is arguably Ontario’s premier red grape and given the expertise and experience of the Oppenlaender’s with grape cultivation this wine should not disappoint. Right?
Aroma: Think raspberry and Niagara cherry. Think gentle. Think discrete oak. Think sort of elegant Pinot Noir. Think a rather unique Cabernet Franc.
Palate: The gentleness continues. And my thoughts about this Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir continue. Soft raspberry and Bing cherry. A touch of tartness. Purposely a bit thin? Aged in French oak for 20 months with a gentle but long-lasting finish.
Personality: Consider me a unique Ontario Cabernet Franc with some elegance.
Cellarbility: Might knit to structured elegance through 2026 and 2027.
Food Match: Grilled Arctic Char.
Price: $32 CDN.
RKS 2025 CANADIAN Wine Rating: 91/100. David Lawrason 90. (Liebling Wines Oppenlaender Vineyard 2022 Cabernet Franc, VQA Four Mile Creek, Marynissen Estate, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, 750 mL, 12.5%).
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 