Stratus Vineyards, 2020 ‘White Label’ Cabernet Franc (Amphora), VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada
Cab Franc du Jour #148
Stratus Vineyards was established in 2000 and ushered in a new era of grape growing and winemaking in the Niagara Peninsula, with a strong focus on innovation and sustainability. Their 55 acres (22 hectares) of vineyards are planted with a diverse range of varieties, 10 red and 6 white, that serve as the palette from which they craft their iconic Stratus Red and Stratus White blends, both inspired by the European tradition of assemblage. The estate’s 100% gravity-flow winery was the first facility in the world to receive LEED certification for environmental sustainability. Founding winemaker and Loire native J-L Groux guides the Stratus vision in the cellar, supported by winemaker Dean Stoyka, who has been with the estate since 2010.
Like many Niagara wineries, Cabernet Franc is an important part of Stratus’s focus in both the vineyard and the cellar. They farm around 18 acres (7.64 hectares) of the variety, from which they produce a single-varietal red and a rosé, the latter consistently among the finest Cab Franc rosés in the region. The grape also plays a supporting role in the flagship Stratus Red. Today we’re looking at the newest addition to the Stratus family, the White Label Cabernet Franc, a wine that was, in a sense, 20 years in the making.
Niagara-on-the-Lake VQA Regional Appellation
Stratus and its vineyards are located in the Niagara-on-the-Lake regional appellation, and more precisely within the Niagara Lakeshore sub-appellation, one of four sub-appellations that make up Niagara-on-the-Lake alongside Four Mile Creek, the Niagara River, and St. Davids Bench.
The Niagara-on-the-Lake region occupies a roughly 12km-wide stretch of relatively flat land east of St. Catharines, bordered to the north by Lake Ontario, to the south by the Niagara Escarpment, and to the east by the Niagara River. As across the Niagara Peninsula broadly, it is Lake Ontario’s moderating influence that makes viticulture possible here, and growing conditions generally become warmer with a shorter season as you move south away from the lake.
Niagara Lakeshore VQA Sub-Appellation
The Niagara Lakeshore sub-appellation sits at the northernmost end of the region, closest to the lake, stretching about 3km from east to west. It is bordered by water on three sides: the Welland Canal to the west, Lake Ontario to the north, and the Niagara River to the east. Most vineyards here sit within 2km of the lake, which moderates temperatures in both summer and winter.
The sub-appellation’s relatively flat, low-lying topography, ranging from about 75 to 95 meters above sea level, slopes gently toward the lake, which ensures it receives the strongest lacustrine influence of any sub-region in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Daytime temperatures tend to run slightly cooler than in other parts of the region, while evenings are warmer, creating a gentler overall climate that extends ripening well into the evening hours and lengthens the growing season as a whole. The Niagara Lakeshore records the fewest growing degree days of the four Niagara-on-the-Lake sub-appellations, but it also has the longest growing season and the most frost-free days, making it one of the best sites in the peninsula for ripening long-season varieties like Cabernet Franc.
The soils are deeply glacially derived, with topsoil textures that vary from sandy loams to silty clays and heavier clay-loam till, with varying amounts of eroded escarpment material, including limestone, sandstone, and shale sediments and pebbles, distributed throughout. The bedrock is Queenston Formation Red Shale, a combination of red and grey calcareous and argillaceous shales with a high iron oxide content.
The Vineyard
The Stratus White Label range was launched with the 2020 vintage, born out of a deep and patient study of the estate’s individual vineyard parcels. The range was designed to express specific microsites in exceptional vintages, a level of understanding that only becomes possible after years of close observation. The block selected for the White Label in any given vintage can change, with fruit chosen for quality at the time of harvest.
For the 2020 Cabernet Franc, Block 1 was selected from among the estate’s 15 individual Cabernet Franc blocks. It is a 0.5 hectare parcel planted in 2001 with Clone 214, situated roughly 2km south of the lake and 2km west of the Niagara River, in something of a microclimate sweet spot within the Lakeshore sub-appellation. The soils in this block are deep lacustrine silty clay mixed with a generous distribution of limestone and shale pebbles and rocks, giving the block a fairly coarse texture and excellent drainage.
The vineyard is farmed sustainably without herbicides, with cover crops maintained throughout the blocks. Selective leaf removal and green harvesting are practiced, and the target yield for Cabernet Franc is around 2.5 tons per acre.
In the Cellar
With the intention of producing the purest possible expression of place, Stratus chose amphora for both the fermentation and aging of the White Label Cabernet Franc. The fruit is hand-harvested and sorted both by hand and optically before being fully destemmed. For the 2020 vintage, fermentation took place in two clay amphorae: one inoculated with a selected yeast, the other fermented with indigenous yeast. Fermentation temperatures hovered between 26 and 28C, and the wine spent approximately 28 days on skins in total. Rather than punchdowns, the team employed a modified rack-and-return method throughout, favouring gentle extraction and keeping the cap moist without aggressive intervention. After the post-fermentation maceration, only the free-run wine was retained, which then aged in amphora on fine lees for a further 18 months before bottling.
Wine Details
Producer: Stratus Vineyards
Region: Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada
Appellation: Niagara-on-the-Lake VQA
Sub-Appellation: Niagara Lakeshore
Soil: Stony, lacustrine silty-clay
Alcohol: 14.8%