Over the last couple of years I had noticed a G. Marquis sign on a vineyard right on Stone Road in the heart of Niagara’s wineries, and often wondered who owned it. And this summer I found out that G. Marquis is a new wine line from Ontario’s Magnotta Winery. Many people have heard of Magnotta because (from their website) “Magnotta is Ontario’s third largest winery and the only company of its kind in Canada licensed to produce and sell wine, beer and distilled products. With over 3,500 awards to date for product excellence, Magnotta is Canada’s most award winning winery.” With multiple locations (including a winery in Beamsville), they are indeed large in scale.
G. Marquis Silver Line Wines Tasted
So when I was contacted to see if I would like to taste some of their top-tier “Silver Line” wines, I was indeed interested. The Silver Line wines are made using hand-harvested grapes from that Stone Road location and both the Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir are barrel aged. Additionally G. Marquis offers a “Red Line” (Cab Sauv, Merlot, Reisling and Pinot Grigio) that they describe as “soft, fruit-forward” wines that are ready to drink.
Here’s what we tasted:
2008 G. Marquis The Silver Line Chardonnay
2008 The Silver Line Chardonnay: The bright, slightly pale straw colour gives hints to a moderate oak treatment, and the nose remains truthful. With green apple, lemon, and pear dominating the buttery secondary aroma, and the even lighter smoke and butterscotch. On the palate, light butterscotch notes permeate lemon-lime, tangerine, and red apple. There’s decent minerality here and enough acidity to keep the palate fresh and mouth-watering on the medium citrus finish. 12.3% ABV, $16.95 (Great Value).
2011 G. Marquis The Silver Line Pinot Noir
2011 The Silver Line Pinot Noir: Quite a deep cherry colour on the Pinot Noir gives some hint to the weight behind this Pinot. The nose is a delicious blend of dark cherry, pipe tobacco, sweet cranberry, strawberry (unexpected jammieness!), and sweet spices. On the palate, the cherry dominates with nuances of sweet spice, earthiness, and cranberry. Another super food friendly wine, the acidity is quite high and keeps the palate fresh. 12.5%, $19.95. Again, a very good value wine.
2009 G. Marquis The Silver Line Vidal Icewine
2009 The Silver Line Vidal Icewine: I have to admit I have not found too may icewines that I didn’t love (darn you sweeth tooth!), and this one was delicious. With an uncanny apricot-orange colour, the nose of honeyed peaches, pineapple, and sweet tangerine beckoned a sip. The palate was true to the nose and I really enjoyed the acidic backbone that kept this one from being cloying. A long peach finish kept our guests asking for more. We found it paired beautifully with Chocolate Pots de Crème. 9.9% ABV, 27.95 (200mL).
From their website, they state:
“G. Marquis is never doubting your failures, believing in your convictions and always carving your own path by remembering where you came from. It’s about taking a stand and making sure you’re heard, challenging the establishment and never allowing to be restrained. G. Marquis is honest and complex. Raw yet civilized. Edgy but with natural elegance and good taste.”
I would have to agree that these wines met the description.
*As noted in the post, these wines were provided for review.
