Purchase the following wine in person at their Niagara-on-the-Lake winery or in their Ottawa or Toronto retail store, or online by the two-bottle minimum for daily home, restaurant or office delivery from Château des Charmes.
Château des Charmes Vidal Icewine 2014 (200ml)
VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake $25.95 (565861) 9.0% alcohol
The luscious aromas fairly leapt from the bottle as the cork was pulled—fresh-cut nectarine and apricot, poached pear, candied citrus zest and creamed honey. Underlying the ripe, rich flavours of stone fruit, tangerine, and crème caramel is the finely honed, understated backbone of clean acidity that shows the deft hand of the winemaker balancing the yin and yang, the sweet and the fresh. There’s lovely weight and roundness on the palate, extended length and a tangy lift on the finish. Simply delicious. Savour a sip on its own, or serve with an apricot tart, or with grilled peaches and soft artisan cheese. (Susan Desjardins)
Discovery in the County - Susan Desjardins recently uncovered this hidden-gem winery in Prince Edward County and lets you in on what to expect during a visit and how to lay your hands on their exceptional wine… learn more here.
Hubbs Creek Pinot Gris 2014
VQA Prince Edward County $21.95 12.5% alcohol
Made in the Alsatian style, this dry, light-medium bodied wine offers enticing aromas of pear, citrus, melon and mineral. Produced from the fruit of 15-year-old densely planted vines, it’s crisp and bright, showing roundness and purity in the ripe fruit flavours as well as the classic mineral character of County wine. Well structured, vibrant in texture, the clean finish seems never-ending. (Susan Desjardins)
Hubbs Creek Pinot Noir 2012
VQA Prince Edward County $31.95 12.0% alcohol
From the wonderfully warm 2012 vintage, this Burgundian-style wine is a great find for Pinot-philes. Its sister wine—the now sold-out ‘Reserve’—won a silver medal in the All-Canada Wine Championships. The nose offers subtle, complex aromas of red berries, Morello cherry, earth, mineral and a whiff of spice. Dry, medium bodied and beautifully silky in texture, the notion of cinnamon toast on the palate is witness to twelve months aging in seasoned French oak. This tightly wrought red displays intensity in the ripe red berry, cherry and currant flavours, and in the well-defined structure of subtle tannin and bright acidity. Finely crafted and elegant, finishing long and dry, you’ll enjoy sipping this Pinot with a mushroom and Brie tart or with grilled steelhead trout. (Susan Desjardins)
Hubbs Creek Chardonnay 2014
VQA Prince Edward County $27.95 12.0% alcohol
Fresh from being bottled, this needs a bit of time to settle, try in a month or two. Produced from fruit of seven-year-old vines—20% fermented in seasoned French oak—it offers notes of apple and citrus, hints of pear and toasted nut. It’s dry, medium bodied with tangy and pithy flavours of grapefruit, lemon-lime and green apple to the fore. The texture is zesty, the finish long and dry. Enjoy with halibut and lemon-caper cream sauce or seafood pasta. (Susan Desjardins).