Pearl Morissette Niagara Vineyards Furie, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore, 2020

Ambient yeast, no new oak and extended lees contact make this quite unlike most Bordeaux blends you’ve encountered, so it is best to approach it as advertised – a red blend. Stylistic choices aside, it is still clearly a quality wine. It has a deep opaque ruby appearance, the nose offering medium-intensity aromas: a balsamic element, notes of tomato leaf/tomatillo, sour black plum, chokeberry, wood spice/clove, a touch of game, bell-pepper stew and pickling spices appear with some air. On the dry palate, it shows a medium-plus acidity and a medium-plus frame: extract, super-fine powdery tannins and body, a nice length and intensity with replays and echoes of the aromas – dark fruit, balsamic notes, graphite, earth/beet juice, game and tomato, and a long finish. An introvert for sure, it has a poise, a breed and a persistence. 2025-2028–IR