Review: Mike Weir Estate Winery
2007 Sauvignon Blanc
2005 Cabernet Shiraz
by Jeffrey Reed, Editor, LondonOntarioGolf.com

It’s hard to believe the Mike Weir Estate Winery was just launched in April 2005. Already, the young winery, nestled in the heart of wine country at Niagara-on-the-Lake, is an award winner – and a favourite here at London Ontario Golf. We quite often entertain with a chilled bottle or two of wine from Canada’s greatest golfer.

This month, we review two winners: 2007 Sauvignon Blanc; and 2005 Cabernet Shiraz, recent Gold winner at the annual Cuvée Wine Awards, Ontario’s “Wine Oscars.”

2007 Sauvignon Blanc

Sharp and tangy, yet pleasant – not overwhelming – Mike Weir Estate Winery’s 2007 Sauvignon Blanc is an instant favourite. It’s a crisp, lively and refreshing addition to Weir’s stable of white wines. An intense nose highlighting gooseberry, grassy character and underlying tropical fruits defines this delightful wine. The palate is brisk and structured with vibrant acidity with a crisp, clean finish.

Recommended with goat cheese salads, fresh shucked oysters and smoked salmon, we served the 2007 Sauvignon Blanc with a seafood platter appetizer, and it was a big hit. Accompanying grilled rainbow trout, it equally impressed.

The Sauvignon Blanc grapes were harvested over the last week of September, and early October 2008. The grapes arrived at the winery at an average 20.4˚ Brix. The wine was fermented over 23 days at cool temperatures averaging 12˚ C to preserve fruit character in a combination of 77% stainless steel tank and 23% 1 – 4 year old French Oak barrels creating a good balance of fruit and oak. The wine was bottled May 2008. This wine is drinking beautifully now but will continue to develop over the next 1 ½ years. We highly recommend this wine for a variety of appetizers and entrées.

2007 Sauvignon Blanc
$15.95
Size: 750 mL
Description: 100% Sauvignon Blanc VQA Niagara Peninsula VQA
Release Date: July 2008
Sugar: Dry (0)
% Alcohol: 12.5%
pH: 3.02
TA: 8.55g/L

2005 Cabernet Shiraz

Winner, Best Assemblage at Cuvée 2008, Mike Weir Estate Winery’s 2005 Carbernet Shiraz is a robust blend bursting with fruity flavour. It’s a terrific red – a fabulous effort from Weir and Creekside Estate Wines. Aromatics of savoury French oak spice, plum, black currant and ripe red berry fruit combine to present an award-winning wine from the estate duo.

The palate is smooth and creamy, with flavours of plum, black currant and spicy notes of cloves, cinnamon and a hint of black pepper. After tasting this wine on its own, we paired it with our summertime staple, steaks from the grill. This wine, however, stands on its own – no wonder it has won accolades from the wine industry. 

The majority of the fruit for this wine was sourced from Weir vineyard in the St. David’s appellation with the remainder coming two other vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake, the average Bix was 22.3°. Fruit lots were vinified separately in small 800 kg batches, utilizing the traditional method of punch-down of the cap and a variety of yeast strains. After a short post-ferment maceration, wines were pressed off into a mixture of 50% American and 50% French oak barrels, 60% of the total barrels being new wood the remainder 1 to 2 years old. Malolactic fermentation in barrel. The wine was barrel aged for 25 months. Bottled in August 2007, this wine can be enjoyed now with time in a decanter but will be at its best 2009-2013.

What more can we say about this 2005 Cabernet Shiraz? It’s most likely Weir Wines’ best effort to-date.

2005 Cabernet Shiraz
Size: 750 mL
Description: 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Shiraz VQA
Release Date: March 1, 2008
Sugar: Dry (0)
% Alcohol: 13%
pH: 3.51
TA: 7.00g/L

In 2004, the Mike Weir Foundation was created to support children in need. To encourage this effort, 100% of the net proceeds from the sale of Mike Weir Estate Winery wines are donated to the Foundation.

Visit the Mike Weir Foundation online at www.themikeweirfoundation.com. Check out all of the offerings from the Mike Weir Estate Winery at www.weirwines.com.