Tasting Note:  This is one of three new single vineyard cabernet francs launched at the winery’s 50^th Anniversary Celebration last summer, where Arterra CEO John Boynton announced “the start of a new era for Inniskillin”.  I tasted all three at the time, picking this as my favourite, then re-visited in detail at the National Wine Awards.  The Lament Farms 2023 edition captured a Platinum Medal at the National Wine Awards, while this took Gold.  It has a full-on, fruity and floral nose with background oak. Love the raspberry-plummy fruit with heady red rose, fine tobacco, cedar and spice. It is medium-full bodied, open-knit and smooth. Slightly gritty and pasty tannin on the finish. The length is excellent. It is supple enough to enjoy now with aeration, and should please into the early-mid 2030’s.

Backgrounder – Inniskillin has long made Cabernet Franc and CF Reserve, but this is winemaker Nick Gizuk’s first commercial venture into higher level single vineyard editions. The Heron Pond vineyard is owned by Graham Rennie of Rennie Estate Winery, a classic, gently north sloping Beamsville Bench site on calcerous clay and loam over limestone bedrock. It was planted in 1999 to five varieties at the time, with 20% being cabernet franc. Gizuk gently crushed and pressed with a cold soaked for two days. Fermentation proceeded at 26C with co-inoculation with MLF yeast added on day four to soften the acid structure. It was racked into French oak barrels, 15% new, and aged for 14 months.

Accolades: Gold National Wine Awards 2026