Trail Estate Winery in PEC is a fairly new winery (first wines were 2013 vintage) in Prince Edward County. They are making wines out of Ontario fruit while their 6+ acres of vines mature.
Alex Sproll, in charge of Sales & Marketing, has previously sent me samples of their first vintages (reviewed here) and was nice enough to send me more samples this year. I was terribly busy in the spring with my day job and never posted those reviews, so I was surprised to see a couple of new bottles arrive late this summer. I’ve found the old reviews I wrote (but never posted), so here are all of them:
Trail Estate Wines
2014 Trail Estate Riesling: Nose of nectarine, peaches and honeyed citrus. There is some flinty minerality, and a light floral scent. On the pallet the wine is sweet stonefruit, white flower honey, with a lemon/ tangerine backing. There is a good balance of residual sugar and acidity that keeps it quite fresh, and then finishes slightly pithy. VQA Lincoln Lakeshore. $23.95
2014 Trail Estate Baco Noir (Unfiltered): There’s definitely a little reductive funk on the nose at first but it blows off with a few swirls. Black cherry and plum dominate the nose. It is a little closed at first, then opens up with some air time and the vanilla and sweet spice emerged. On the palate, theres tart Damson plums, tart cherry, and a good balance of vanilla and sweet spice. The finish is solid cherry with some moderate astringency from the slightly grippy tannins. This one could use a rare steak or a couple years of age to mellow. VQA Ontario. $25.95
2013 Trail Pinot Noir: Unfortunately this one sold out before my (very late) review was posted. It was a very nice Pinot, with zesty baking spice in the nose, red currants, some cedar, light jalepeno/spice, and a bit of alcohol. The palate was light and refreshing, with a fairly accurate repeat of the nose, albeit with a little added smokieness. Slight pepper on the finish. VQA Lincoln Lakeshore. $25.95 (Sold Out)
2013 Trail Gewurztraminer Reserve: With a pale gold colour, the nose expresses with aromas of gooseberry, citrus, light melon, lilac/white flower, and baking spice. The palate is surprisingly bone dry (the nose gives the impression of a sweeter wine). On the palate, there’s more gooseberry and fruit, then there’s a fairly crisp, acidic lemon zing. The finish is slightly viscous/oily with a lingering lemon zest freshness.VQA Twenty Mile Bench. $28
Trail Food & Wine Event September 19th, 2015
I see that Trail is also hosting their first major food event – “3 Little Pigs, 3 Chefs, 3 Wines Fall Fest” on September 19th. Tickets are $30 before the 12th, $35 after.
Trail Estate Winery
416 Benway Road, Hillier (PEC)
647-233-8599
info@trailestate.com
As noted, these wines were provided free of charge for review. You can see my sample policy here for more details.
