The Ontario Wine Society, taking its queue from the famous 1976 Paris Tasting where two California wines shocked the vinous world after beating out wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux, put up six Canadian wines against three from Bordeaux and one "ringer" wine that ended up on top.
It was a Newton Forrest Estate Cornerstone 2002 from Hawkes Bay in New Zealand, not exactly a red power region, that caught the attention of a majority of the 140 tasters. It was a blind tasting (we were only told that some of the wines were from Bordeaux, some from Canada and one ringer wine) of 10 red wines. We were asked to pick out the wines from Bordeaux and rank the wines from one to 10.
Not only was it a shock the New Zealand wine - a cabernet sauvignon/merlot/malbec blend - was the favourite it was also alarming the the Bordeaux wines fared so poorly.
The Chateau l'Hospital Veyret Latour 2002 ($28 Vintages), Chateau Segonzac 2000 ($33 Vintages) and Chateau Puyfromage 2003 ($14 LCBO) were picked 7th, 8th and 10th. That's how the group ranked them. I was able to identify two of the Bordeaux wines, the Chateau Segonzac and Veyret Latour, and ranked them 5th and 2nd respectively.
The Chateau Puyfromage 2003 was unfairly matched in this tasting and I put it in the 10th position as did the group. I also named this the ringer wine because it was so out-classed.
The Newton ($43 but not available in Ontario) was very Bordeaux in character with ripe blackberry fruit, cedar spices and a nice earthiness. I placed it in the 4th position behind my No. 1 pick Southbrook Winery Triomphe 1999 ($40 from the winery), the Chateau L'Hospital and Stoney Ridge Cellars Signature Collection Meritage 2002 ($35 from the winery).
The Southbrook wine, for me, had gorgeous, well-rounded fruits with lush, ripe tannins and was drinking beautifully.
Rounding out my list was Chateau Segonzac (5th), Colio Estates CEV Merlot Reserve 2002 (6th, $25 Vintages from Ontario), Sumac Ridge Pinnacle 2001 (7th, $50 from the Okanagan Valley), Mission Hill Family Estate Oculus (8th, $50 from the Okanagan Valley), Lakeview Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 (9th, $25 library wine from Niagara) and the Puyfromage in the 10th spot.
The group picked them in this order: Newton, Stoney Ridge, Sumac Ridge, Colio, Southbrook, Mission Hill, l'Hospital, Chateau Segonzac, Lakeview and the Puyfromage.
So what does all this mean? Well, if you're event organizer Sadie Darby, the "outcome shows that wines from the relatively young wine producing regions of Ontario can challenge the centuries old wine-making traditions of the Old World."
Well, perhaps. But I think if you put a different 140 tasters in a room you'll get a different result. Replace the three Bordeaux wines with older vintages, after these wines really start showing themselves, and you'll get a different result.
The really wonderful thing is that we can compare our best Canadian wines with the finest region in the world and they aren't out of place. A decade ago, we wouldn't even dare try.