Friday, June 24, 2011

2009 Pelee Island Monarch Vidal (Ontario VQA)

$9.95 in the VQA section, regular list; screwcap closure.

Pelee Island's Vidal wines are my favourites, and have been for years. I love what this winery does with its Vidal: it makes a dry table wine, and a late-harvest version, also suitable for table consumption, but a couple of notches higher on the sweetness scale. Both are exceptional examples of what varietal Vidal can do in Ontario in table-wine (i.e. non-icewine) iterations.

12.5% alc./vol. Bright, pale clear light green with lots of C02 bubbles clinging to the inside of the glass. Big Granny Smith apple and tart pineapple aromas on the nose with every swirl. Grapefruit and lemon rind follow shortly thereafter. Brisk, crisp entry; pineapple right on the fore-palate; tart but balanced; cleansing texture; lovely definition. Some alcoholic warmth on the mid-palate and into the finish. Very appetizing and palate-wakening impression. Green mango flavours and aromas make fleeting appearances across the palate, but only long enough to be noticed - and then they disappear. Served chilled on a hot day, this wine could go pretty quickly.

As always, I highly recommend this wine. It's easily recognized by the monarch butterfly sticker and, nowadays, the orange screwcap closure.

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