Vineland Estates, 2017 Bo-Teek Vineyard Clone 327, VQA Twenty Mile Bench, Ontario, Canada
Cab Franc du Jour #10
Vineland Estates Winery was established in the early 1980s, and Brian Schmidt has been their winemaker since 1991, making him the third generation of his family to make wine in Canada, which is quite a distinction. When it comes to Cabernet Franc in Ontario, there is no greater champion for the grape than Brian. I listened to a wonderful podcast featuring him recently in which he spoke at length about the variety’s ability to adapt to the Ontario climate and perform beautifully here, and he genuinely believes it has the potential to produce world-class wines on Ontario soils.
Today we are looking at one of Brian’s clonal expressions of the grape, the Clone 327 from the Bo-Teek Vineyard. Brian began making these wines in 2014 to express the difference between Clone 327 and Clone 214, both of which are planted in the Bo-Teek Vineyard. We do not often talk about clones in the context of Cabernet Franc, but it is something I hope to explore more throughout this project. Clone 327 originates from Bordeaux, while Clone 214 is from the Loire Valley. Today we are looking at the Bordeaux clone specifically.
The Bo-Teek Vineyard is located in the Twenty Mile Bench sub-appellation on the Niagara Escarpment, where heavier clay soils with a bit of limestone running through, at a moderate elevation. This particular block of Clone 327 was planted in 1996 and covers about 8 acres, or roughly 3.2 hectares.
Brian tells me that 2017 was quite similar in character to 2009, which was a defining vintage for him in terms of his approach to Cabernet Franc: a little on the cooler, wetter side, but with a fall that delivered enough sunshine for beautiful phenolic ripeness, resulting in wines with significant structure and great aging potential.
The nose opens with savoury red fruits, forest berries and wild berries on the red end of the spectrum, with the pyrazines coming through as a beautiful underlying cedar note and a touch of tobacco. The acidity is mouth-watering and lively, and the tannins are very fine, almost velvety, while still carrying some nice structure. Brian describes Clone 327 in the Bo-Teek Vineyard as expressing itself in a more masculine style, and I would tend to agree: there are some nice broad shoulders here, and I think that comes in part from the clay, which tends to give wines a bit more body and weight. All in all, this is a delicious expression of Niagara Cabernet Franc, and wines like this are one of the reasons I started this project in the first place.
Wine Details
Producer: Vineland Estates Winery
Region: Niagara Peninsula, Ontario, Canada
Appellation: Twenty Mile Bench VQA
Vineyard: Bo-Teek Vineyard
Soils: Clay-loam, over dolomite bedrock
Alcohol: 13.5%