Tasting Note Droite, of course, translates as “right” in French, so this signals a Bordeaux blend emulating right bank wines based on merlot and cabernet franc. It pours with deep, ruby-garnet colour. I love the fragrant, complex and inviting nose of raspberry, cranberry, red rose, fresh herbs and evergreen with background barrel spice. It is medium bodied, piquant and fresh with juicy acidity. Slightly starchy but well integrated tannins dry the finish. The length is excellent. I would cellar this about three years; it could live a decade. Ontario is finding its groove with wines of the style. Tasted April 2026. On publication this was available at LCBO Vintages stores.

Backgrounder Domaine Queylus has always seemed to me to be a bit out of the mainstream in Niagara, the winery situated off the beaten track atop the Escarpment in St. Anns; and the name being obtuse. But, from the get-go, the Quebec-based ownership has hired the best winemakers. Thomas Bachelder got it going, then brought in the superb Kelly Mason (now with her own Mason Vineyard property), who in turn has introduced Brooke Husband, recently named a “Rising Star” at the Ontario Wine Awards. And, indeed, all their wines have a sense of textural elegance and Euro integration. This blend of merlot and cabernet franc is from estate-owned vineyards on clay soils in Lincoln Lakeshore. It was wild fermented and aged in French oak for 16 to 18 months.