Tasting Note This is a delicious and poised 100% varietal cabernet franc. A deep ruby red, the nose shows pure, well‑defined red fruit character — think dried cranberries and fresh cherries coupled with subtle savoury notes of leather, pencil lead and light woodsmoke. The palate is dry, medium bodied and well-structured, driven by bright acidity and fine, silky tannins. The fruit is generous and precise rather than plush, supported by a graphite‑like stoney profile. Wild fermentation, with 17 months in French oak, only 10 per cent new, with the remainder second and third fill and older. The balance and clarity of the wine reflects both restrained, low-intervention winemaking and a site where cabernet franc thrives. Very long finish. The structure and clarity suggest ageing potential though it is drinking beautifully now for those who cannot wait.13.5% ABV. Tasted January 2026.
Backgrounder I have been impressed with Mason’s wines for many years but became even more since learning about her passion and purpose during a vineyard walkabout and tasting in the summer of 2024. Kelly traded an early corporate job for a winery internship at Saintsbury in Carneros, California, cementing her interest in cool-climate pinot noir and chardonnay. She graduated from Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute in 2010, going to work at Tawse Winery and Le Clos Jordanne. In 2012, while still early in her career, she purchased a neglected property at the eastern boundary of Beamsville Bench with four hectares of high-yielding plantings from the 1990s. Mason spent years re-educating the vines, grafting select blocks and planting an additional eight hectares all on her own. The grapes were sold until 2018 when she began making her own wine, all the while making wine at Niagara wineries Domaine Queylus, Honsberger and The Farm. Her years of hard work — she has never had investors — and personal sacrifice have paid off. Mason formally launched her label in 2021 and now farms 25 acres, 12 of which are under vine and planted to pinot noir, chardonnay and cabernet franc, with a small parcel of cabernet sauvignon.
Accolades: Silver Medal, Canadian Culinary Championship Canadian Wine of the Year 2026.
Kelly’s wines are so full of contained energy. Just lovely!
The wines resemble the maker, yet again.