Tasting Note: I continue to watch the evolution of Hidden Bench gamay with interest, ever since owner Harald Thiel began to focus on Ontario’s ‘fifth core variety’ in the late 2010s.  This is a rigid, tightly coiled young gamay that captures the character of the ripe but firm 2024 vintage. It shows a fairly lifted nose of darker mulberry fruit (whereas most gamays tend to strawberry/cherry). It also shows lifted herbal notes, some charcuterie meatiness and peppery spice. So not all fruits and flowers here. It is light to medium-bodied, with firm acidity and slightly green but mild tannin and some alcohol warmth. The length is very good to excellent. I would age this a year or two. Has pinot-like bones and I expect it to age well, and actually encourage cellaring about two years. 

Backgrounder:  Hidden Bench is a leading, Euro-inspired Beamsville Bench winery founded by Harald Thiel, first vintage 2005. It is based on organic viticulture and focused on core Niagara varieties like riesling, chardonnay, pinot noir and sparkling. Some of the vineyards (Felseck and Rosomel) are among the oldest on the Niagara Escarpment.  Gamay is a newer venture, so from newer plantings in Beamsville and Lincoln Lakeshore using the new VQA sub-appellation of West Niagara, which includes all vineyards west of St. Catharines. The grapes were handpicked, sorted and cold-soaked for three days in concrete. With 15% whole cluster fruit, fermentation was carried out with natural yeast. The free run was drained and settled in a tank before barreling. The remaining skins were gently pressed in a traditional basket press. Following 9 months of ageing in barrel, the wine was racked and blended into a tank, then bottled unfined and unfiltered.