Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate

The vineyard, a former apple orchard just under 100 acres on the picturesque Niagara Parkway, combines the Christian names of Don Triggs, former Chairman and CEO of Vincor, and his wife, Elaine. First planted in 1999 to a number of red and white varieties, its first wines were released in 2003 as the flagship brand of Jackson-Triggs. With the sale of Vincor to Constellation in 2006, the Triggs had to sell their cherished property, but the quality remains.

The 2005 Pinot Noir grapes were harvested on September 20 and 21 and were given a cold soak for four days and then cold fermented on the skins. After full malolactic fermentation, the wine spent 18 months in French oak barriques. Light ruby in colour with a minerally, cherry nose, the wine gives a nod to Burgundy with its lightness and harmonious balance. Flavours of ripe cherries and raspberries fill the mouth sustained by lively acidity. The tannic lift on the finish gives the wine a structural flourish.

Reviewed September 20, 2007 by Tony Aspler.