NV Vineland “Legacy” Cabernet Franc
Infinity Vintage
1.5L Magnum
Canada, Ontario, Niagara
100% Cabernet Franc Clone 214
93pts Carl’s Wine Club
One of the most unique projects in Canada’s wine history is the Infinity Vintage “Legacy” by Brian Schmidt at Vineland Estates. Brian often got asked this question and set out to answer it with this wine: how do you describe a very specific parcel of land without talking about the vintage variation?
The Legacy Cabernet Franc 1.0 bottling is a blend of 10 consecutive years (from 2010 to 2020) telling the story of the Bo-teek vineyard, the story of its growth, the story and the purity of this very unique Cabernet Franc clone 214. On the nose, this wine displays some very classic Cab Franc aromas like violet, licorice, raspberry jam, roasted red pepper and clove. On the palate, this is an absolute Niagara Masterpiece: creamy, velvety, rich, dense, pure, suave and concentrated with multiple layers of flavours. To start, the front palate offers red and blue fruits like ripe raspberry, strawberry, blueberry and plum, while the mid palate is packed with licorice, cappuccino, roasted pepper jelly, mint, dark chocolate and chewy tobacco leaves. The finish is as impressive and complex as the rest of the wine with white pepper, chilli pepper, Christmas spice and long and tenacious but soft tannins.
Tasting this wine feels like being part of a special piece of history which will fill your senses with emotion.
(CWC, 16/11/22).
Food pairing: beef stew, grilled lamb
Drink now until 2032
Winery price: $300 including tax/dep
From the winery:
This complex, soulful and perpetual wine was initiated ten years ago to celebrate our historical passion for Cabernet Franc and its exquisite taste of place at Vineland Estates Winery. As with all great pursuits, original ideas grow, adapt and evolve with time. Our choice to continually and fractionally blend all vintages for the yearly, portioned bottlings is an expression of that meaningful evolution, anthology and our belief in the future.