On the last weekend of April, we took a brief trip to Niagara with friends. The weather wasn’t particularly good, but the experience was memorable. For once, I wasn’t my usual compulsive self, trying to fit in as many wineries as possible; instead, I was fortunate to set up two amazing tastings – one at Stratus in Niagara-On-The-Lake, and one at Bachelder on the Beamsville Bench.
Charles Baker has been with Stratus from its inception as a Director, and also is heavily involved with Cru Wine Merchants, the “Import Division” as it were. He is also passionate about Riesling and is responsible for the impressive Charles Baker Rieslings which are made at Stratus.
Charles set things in motion for our Stratus tasting. From the moment we entered the state-of-the-art winery, we were blown away. The ultra-modern facility is LEED-certified -*Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” and committed to sustainable practices in the growing of its grapes and the making of its wines.
In the 55-acre vineyard, Stratus grows 16 different varietals of wine. This is an important factor, in that the Signature Stratus Red and Stratus White wines are made in accordance with the “Assemblage” method. Each year, a number of sample blends are created, and then tasted blind by the wine-making team –not knowing the nature of the final blend until the decision has been made for that vintage.
At our tasting, we experienced both the 2006 and 2022 Stratus Whites. The 2006 consisted of 42% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Chardonnay, 16% Gewurztraminer, 4.5% Viognier, 4% Semillon, and 2.5% Riesling. At 19 years of age, it was amazing – deep gold in colour with a big mouth feel and a deep fruit core.
The 2022 Stratus White ($49) is a blend of 63% Chardonnay, 17 % Sauvignon Blanc, 155 Semillon, and 5% Viognier. With every wine, each varietal is vinified separately before the blends are created. This younger wine was pale in colour with a delicate entry. It has an herbal quality to it. Crisp on opening, it develops a creamy lushness given time. On the finish, there’s an interplay of honeyed sweetness and a slightly bitter grapefruit tinge.
There is a difference, too, in the aging process. The older wine had spent about a year and a half in French oak barrels, about one-third of which were new, one-third a year old, and the final third two years old. More recently, winemakers have been moving away from too much new oak, and so the 2022 spent just under a year in mostly “neutral” barrels as well as amphorae.
The use of large clay vessels, amphora, is an example of what is old becoming new again. More and more winemakers are incorporating the practices that have been followed in the country of Georgia for thousands of years, where the wine has been aged in large clay vessels called Kvevri.
Stratus spares no expense in making the wine-making process as environmentally friendly and as gentle as possible on the wine. In the vineyards, cover crops are used to fix nutrients in the soil, and no herbicides or pesticides are employed.
In addition, Stratus is now employing Biochar, which it creates by heating uprooted vines at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. The charcoal produced is spread in the vineyard where it increases the soils capacity to retain water, increases its carbon-storage potential, and regenerates life in the soil.
Stratus does not irrigate its vineyards, and so the biochar can be a real advantage.
In the winery, every effort is given to promote “sustainability” with thermal energy used for heating and cooling, and nothing going to waste. It is also a “gravity-flow” operation, minimizing the disturbance to the wine during vinification.
Generally, a gravity-flow winery sees the fruit introduced at the top level for crushing, and as the process continues, the wine is allowed to flow to a lower level for fermentation, and lower again for aging. Stratus, however, is built on flat ground. It achieves the “gravity flow, raising and lowering its huge wine-making vessels by purposely designed elevators. With Stratus, “state of the art” is no exaggeration.
One of the highlights was tasting the 2021 Stratus Chardonnay Unfiltered & Bottled With Lees. ($49) This wine got a rolling ferment off indigenous yeast. Cloudy in appearance, it has a wonderfully rich mouthfeel, with an ample impression of both orchard and tropical fruit and a long, long expressive finish.
The two reds tasted, the 2021 Stratus Red ($55) and the 2021 Stratus Cabernet Franc ($45) are excellent. The assemblage for the former included 7 different grapes – and only 1% is Cabernet Sauvignon. Here, too, the aging method reflects the current philosophy – nearly two years in 96% neutral barrels! The wine is poised and beautifully balanced with ripened dark fruit and gentle tannins. On the finish there’s the suggestion of tea and citrus.
When you follow the assemblage method, you are going to find a lot of wine left over that didn’t feature in the final blend. This leads us to the 2021 Stratus Cabernet Franc, $45. Cabernet Franc is arguably one of the benchmark grapes for Ontario. It grows really well here, and this is a prime example.
It needs to ripen however, or you can end up with too much green pepper/tomato character. There is none of that here in this plush and flavourful red carrying impressions of dark cherry with a dark chocolate accent. The yield was kept down to just 3 tons per acre, allowing for the development of very high quality fruit.
Made at Stratus, but bearing his own name is Charles Baker’s 2020 Vinemount Riesling, ($44.95). It is a beauty, perfectly poised between dry and off-dry with 18.5 grams of residual sugar. There is the classic and very acceptable impression of petrol and generous flavours of apple and honey, everything brought into focus with perfect and essential acidity on the finish. It is a wine already excellent, but can keep for a decade.
Stratus offers free shipping on purchases of 6 bottles or more. Visit the website, stratuswines.com, and discover just how many tempting and distinctive wines they feature.
Next column, we will visit Thomas Bachelder and Mary Delaney at the “Bat Cave”!
Wine Suggestions
New vintages are on the shelves for some general list wines that are not only impressive in themselves, but are amazing bargains.
Australia’s One Pound Per Acre 2024 Chardonnay, S10.95, is a treat. Pale gold in colour, it has true Chardonnay character with Golden Delicious apple and the slightest butterscotch undertone. There is a gentle impression of oak and on the finish there is a kiss of citrus. The wine is a perfect sipper all year long and will accompany poultry dishes nicely.
South Africa’s Tall Horse 2024 Chenin Blanc, $9.60, is balanced and rich in flavour. It is a top seller in its native country and extremely well received in markets around the world. Tropical fruit flavours stand out and are accompanied by spice notes on the zesty finish.
The companion Tall Horse Shiraz 2023, $10, is balanced and full of flavour. Malolactic fermentation changes the sharper malic acid impression to a creamier “lacitic” version, The impression is smooth, with ample dark fruit. . The flavours hold easily through the finish. This is a versatile wine, great for everyday drinking, and great for serving at a party.
In Vintages, the number of rosés is ramping up. Oyster Bay Rosé 2024, $24.95, from New Zealand is featured as a Wine of the Month. It is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and is noted for its vivid red berry flavours and citrus finish.
Carte Noire Héritage Rosé 2024, $19.95, hails from St. Tropez in Provence. It carries bright red berry fruit, along with impressions of “garrigue”, the essence of the wild herbs such as rosemary for which the region is famous.
Featherstone Rosé 2024, $16.95, is a well-constructed example from Niagara, consisting of Cabernet, Pinot Noir, and Gamay. Writer Treve Ring explains that flavours of “candy apple, strawberry/rhubarb coulis and orange fill a juicy, off-dry palate, with a snappy orange twist on the finish.”
In whites, look for the Anselmann Gewurztraminer Kabinett 2022, $18.95, from Germany’s Pfalz region. It took the gold Berliner Wein Trophy in 2023. This is a sweet wine with 47 grams of sugar per litre, and Vintages remarks on its “generous, fresh and ripe” character featuring “tropical mango, passion fruit, lychee, rose petal and spice tones.”
For a perfect accompaniment with fish, seek out the Manoir Des Herbauges Vieilles Vignes Cotes de Grandlieu Muscadet 2022, $16.95. “Layers of stone fruit and citrus with a lively zing of menthol; beautifully fresh and mineral with a lemony texture and a sumptuous salty finish. Exceptional. Score - 95.” (Decanter World Wine Awards, 2023)
Zonte's Footstep Shades of Grigio Pinot Grigio 2024, $19.95, is an exceptional Australian example of this popular white. The wine features “vibrant notes of pears and apples and hints of citrus. There is even a vague whiff of strawberries and cream. A refreshing style with a herbal touch, good energy and medium length.” – 91. winepilot.com.
Among the reds you’ll find this gem. Nero Carbone Basilicata Rosso 2019, $16.95. Eric Guido of vinous.com has this to say: “The 2019 Nero Carbone is intense, displaying a wild blend of medicinal cherries and minty herbs complemented by hints of clove and rubbed sage. This sweeps across the palate with textures of pure silk, as ripe red and black fruits coast across a refreshing stream of lively acidity. Drinking window: 2026-2034. Score - 93. “
Gérard Bertrand Le Chouchou Light Red 2023, $17.95 from the south of France is distinct. “So pale it could almost be sold as a rosé, this is a perfect end-of-summer red from Gérard Bertrand, something to serve straight from the fridge. Made with an unoaked combination of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault from the Languedoc, but sold as more lowly Vin de France, this is juicy, floral and lipsmackingly fresh, with flavours of pomegranate, raspberry and red cherry, subtle tannins, plenty of acidity and a twist of clove spice. Lots of fun.”. – 91 timaktin.com
Durigutti Mendoza Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, $17.95, is from Argentina. “Notes of ripe black and blue fruit with walnuts, chocolate and hints of graphite. Full-bodied, intense and layered with smooth, well-integrated tannins. Beautiful fruit that melts in the mouth, leaving you with notes of blue flowers and earth at the end. Vegan.” – 92 jamessuckling.com.