Peller Icewine

It seems I'm getting more particular with icewine.  The last 3 bottles I opened, all bought during last January's icewine festival, didn't quite live up to my memories of them.  Since I'm pretty sure that 6 months isn't sufficient time for icewine to turn, I think my expectations, specifically about an icewine's complexity and structure, are increasing.  Since I was going to be at Peller Estates anyway for The Art of Wine & Food, and since I knew that its 2010 vintages were already winning awards, I tasted all 4 icewines in its current lineup to effectively reset my palate.

Two of these really stood out compared to their respective competition, primarily because, despite their high sugar content, they still resembled the grapes from which they were made.  This is typical for vidal icewines, as their regular harvest counterparts predominantly feature sweet, fruity flavours which intensify as the sugar concentrates while the grapes freeze.  However, there are lots of yummy flavours in a riesling or in a cabernet franc that somehow get lost in icewine production.  Riesling grapes turn into some sort of lemon syrup and cab franc grapes become strawberry sundae topping, and the more distinguishing features of the grapes get lost.

Not true for Peller's 2007 Riesling Icewine, now my standard for the category and earning a preliminary rating of 92-94 using my new wine rating rubric. Don't just trust me though; it also won gold medals in 7 different countries, plus a few silvers elsewhere.  My first impression of the scent was, "It smells like riesling!"  Yes, it has lots of aromas and flavours - lemon, apricot, nectarine and maybe pear - but it's all held together by a background of petrol and minerality that riesling lovers expect.  I'm looking forward to sharing this one sooner rather than later, and will watch out for future vintages. 

Similarly, Peller's 2010 Cabernet Franc Icewine has also started winning awards, despite a relatively recent release date.  Still enthralled with the riesling I'd just tasted, my first words about this one were "It smells like cab franc, [pause to drink] and it tastes like cab franc too!"  So in addition to the usual strawberry and rhubarb characteristics, and even the less-common spiciness, an elegant aroma and flavour of leather adds a complexity that offsets the strawberry, making the whole concoction altogether less like syrup and more like wine.  Like its riesling counterpart, this wine also had a long lingering finish, and will likely also score a 92 or higher.