WTN: Hernder Baco Noir reserve 2001

Niagara VQA. CDN $ 10.95, winery only

C: dark, almost no bricking
N: big earthy beetroot, some sour cherries
P: big mouth feel mouth watering acidity, flavour profile: cherry, with added layers of cedar, leather, and of course that beetroot again. also some tar on the long finish as well as as a faint vegetal note.

general impression - i've been drinking this since i came to ontario. it hasn't moved an inch in a year and a half which makes me think it will hold a few more years. i'm buying a case of this before moving back to BC. great with food, including stronger flavoured (but not spicy!) vegetarian fare.

Aaagh, wonderful note! Great wine for a Thirsty Thursday. Not a wine I am familiar with but can relate to your TN description.
Where in BC are you headed?

Thanks for the great note David.

Beetroot and cherries - now that's archetypal Ontario Baco right there!

I really enjoyed reading it.

Here's a TN I posted on the '99 a few years ago:
http://www.wineloverspage.com/user_submitted/wine_notes/tn_516035.html

bob - we need to have a good university nearby so that half of us can work there. so, vancouver.
paul - i will miss ontario baco. it's my single biggest wine discovery here, hands down.
howie - that's the foch you linked there... i has the 2001 foch recently, and found it lacking in tannins and acidity, but strangely, not lacking in mouthfeel or watery, with a soft, dried fruit profile, very attractive. but wouldn't buy it again. the regular baco can be nice, but the reserves are excellent.

Heck, are we currently drinking our BN too young!? These TNs seem to illustrate cellar for quite a while. I mean, the `05 H of P, maybe 2 years then drink up?

You know, Bob, quality hybrid reds in general are constantly underestimated for their ageability. Foch in particular, in my experience, is marvelously ageable - and often it is the light and crisp ones that hold up surprisingly well.

As you may recall from my notes, back in 2005 at the inaugural NiagaraCOOL picnic in North Tonawanda, we had a vertical of Johnson Estate Chancellors from western NY State; the oldest was a 1978 and it had evolved beautifully! It was very mature but fully sound. The 1983 was my favourite of the flight.

So, yes, you can certainly hold on to those H of P BN Reserves!

I've had Nova Scotia Foch with more than a decade on it that is fabulous...

We have reserve Baco coming out of NS now too

the 03 Reserve Baco from Jost is tasting great! It reminds me of a good old fashioned Italian wine - I bet it will improve further over the next few years

gotta love that cool climate acid preservative!

Craig,

You are so right in comparing Baco to Italian wine - I think of a rustic Barbera as being the most apt comparison. As with Barbera, Baco presents an acid-defined structure; in other words, the acids carry the structure primarily, and the tannins, while present, are relatively diminutive. The traditional French hybrids like Baco, Foch, Dechaunac, Chancellor, Chambourcin, etc. are all like this: that is to say, they are acid-centered in structure, with fine but essentially diminutive tannins.

Some of the newer hybrids such as Noiret, Marquette and the rare Blattner varieties (hybrids with Cabernet) have much more pronounced, grippy mid-palate tannins.

I wouldn't touch the HofP reserves until they're at least five or six. I shouldn't be drinking the Hernder either but many times I just can't think of a wine I'd rather drink with my food.

I will say very frankly that I prefer Hernder's Baco to the iconic Henry of Pelham: I find more complexity in Hernder's versions. This is true in my experience of both the regular and reserve bottlings. Also, there's something about the oak that Hernder has traditionally used that has really worked well with the Baco aromas; Henry of Pelham's is kind of "plain Jane" by comparison.

Paul B wants to get me going....>Henry of Pelham's is kind of "plain Jane" by comparison.

There goes another perception!

You know, Bob, I love complex/stinky reds (i.e. lots of torrefazione and gamey aromas), and although Hernder's Baco isn't stinky, it is certainly more complex.

Henry of Pelham's example is unquestionably well crafted - but in my experience, it's also a bit non-controversial; a bit "PC" you might say.

the 03 jost baco reserve was put on sale here in NB - i'm gonna buy the rest and stick it away (in my cellar I mean)