Tasting Note From a site atop the Niagara Escarpment, this is the most structured and age-worthy of the three Tawse single-vineyard pinots. It is a solid and firm pinot with an initially reserved but ripe nose of red cherry/raspberry, red rose, forest floor, and shrubby herbal/spruce notes. Oak/resin and spice are fairly obvious at this stage. It is medium boded, with balanced alcohol, firm acidity, and considerable tannin — quite grippy, starchy and dry with an almost ferrous minerality on the finish. The length is excellent. With considerable aeration it did relax and provide a very engaging complement to a full flavoured roast. So, age this until at least 2030. The 2017 vintage showed a similar sense of heft and tannin. Some leather had joined jammy cherry fruit and oak. It was not as evolved as expected.

Backgrounder The Tintern Vineyard is the youngest estate planting of Pinot Noir (four acres) planted in 2010 on uncultivated land with limestone-based soils. Planting of pinot noir was recommended by French geologist Yves Herody. Most of the fruit is designated for this small-production pinot. The fruit was fermented on skins for three weeks with gentle extraction before pressing. The wine was aged in French oak barrels for 12 months.