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Tawse Grower's Blend Cabernet Franc 2019

Canada, Ontario
92 WA 92 Points (WineAlign)
91 WA 91 Points (WineAlign)
91 WA 91 Points (WineAlign)

The Grower’s Blend series showcases the exceptional fruit coming from various vineyards throughout the Niagara Peninsula.

Country Canada
Province Ontario
Region Niagara Peninsula
Producer Tawse Winery
Vintage 2019
Color Red Wine
Varietal(s) Cabernet Franc
¥4,840  (incl. tax)

The Grower’s Blend series showcases the exceptional fruit coming from various vineyards throughout the Niagara Peninsula.

Country Canada
Province Ontario
Region Niagara Peninsula
Producer Tawse Winery
Vintage 2019
Color Red Wine
Varietal(s) Cabernet Franc
Data
Closure Cork
Volume 750ml
Alcohol 13.5%
Product Code A001R00519
UPC 670459010662
Inventory In Stock (113)
Owning & Enjoying

Tasting notes

Made from select Cab Franc vineyards in Niagara.  The Grower’s Blend Cab Franc from the 2019 vintage is displays robust aromas and flavours of blackberry, cocoa and cedar. The tannins are firm but well integrated and the finish is long and smooth.

Pairing

This ripe and structured red will pair perfectly with grilled burgers, steaks or sausages. It would also go well with young, hard cheeses and a charcuterie platter.

Cellaring

Enjoy through 2030

Press
92WineAlign
Michael Godel - Each Niagara vintage lends predication and predisposed possibility to any number of grape varieties and for Tawse it is 2019 that really speaks to cabernet franc. Not exactly in a top, top fruit quality, get ambitious and be generous with wood kind of year. More like a transparent, solid fruit substance and let the varietal ability speak in clear vernacular, is what it is, honest and pure. That’s the case with Grower’s Blend 2019, a franc of great clarity and modesty. From growth through upbringing and towards a long, transparent and highly cognizant life. Those who know will appreciate the herbaceous, crisp and crunchy flavours of this handsome wine. Tasted November 2021.
91WineAlign
John Szabo, MS - A lovely, perfumed, resinous and properly herbal, cool climate expression of cabernet franc from this cool Niagara vintage, one that lent itself well to perfumed and finessed varieties like cabernet franc and pinot noir. The palate is juicy, with saliva-inducing acids and very fine-grained tannins; a touch of caramel-wood flavour is still on display, but should integrate over the next year or so when it will approach prime drinking. Really lovely and composed all in all. Tasted October 2021
91WineAlign
David Lawrason - This is close to the ideal treatment for Niagara cab franc in my books - striking a light to mid-weight pose with fragrant florals and berry fruit, and not too much oak. Expect red roses, raspberry, white pepper, vague fresh herbs and light wood spice. It is medium weight, quite supple and fresh with moderate tannin. But another year or two will soften even more. The length is very good to excellent. Tasted October 2021.
Reviews & Ratings

Bronze - National Wine Awards of Canada 2022

Production

Appellation

VQA Niagara Peninsula

Vintage Notes

The 2019 summer was quite normal for Ontario; it was sunny, hot, and humid. September was cool and wet, and it got cold quickly in October. This vintage produced cabernet francs with elegance and freshness. Our Grower’s Blend Cab Franc is produced from carefully selected parcels from the Niagara Peninsula and was aged for 16 months in French oak barrels. It possesses expressive aromas of blackberry, cocoa, and cedar. On the palate, it is rich and robust, with great aroma replay, and the finish is balanced and firm.

Vinification

Sourced from select sustainably farmed Niagara Peninsula vineyards. Viticultural practices included vertical shoot positioning, shoot thinning, cluster thinning, hand leaf removal and hand harvest.

Production Amount

4500
Producer

Producer Description

Situated on the lower slopes of the Niagara Escarpment, Tawse is a family-owned organic winery. A life-long lover of wine, Burgundy in particular, founder Moray Tawse purchased the Cherry Avenue property in 2001 after realizing the great potential of the Niagara Escarpment as a word-class cool-climate wine region. In 2005, he opened his state-of-the-art winery in Vineland, complete with a six-level, gravity-flow design, geo-thermal system and a wetland bio-filter.

The inspiration for Moray’s eponymous Niagara property came from his love of Burgundian Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Uniting traditional winemaking techniques with state-of-the-art technology, Tawse and the award-winning winemaking team of Paul Pender and Rene Van Ede, is dedicated to producing terroir-driven wines of exceptional elegance, depth and character.

At Tawse, winemaking begins in the vineyards. We proudly apply rigorous organic methods to every aspect of our production from grape-growing to winemaking and Ecocert seals appear on all wines made from our estate fruit.

Today, having acquired over 200 acres (5 vineyards) and being named Canadian Winery of the year in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2016, Tawse Winery now produces 30,000 cases of wine and has one of the largest portfolios of organic wines in the Niagara region.

Viticulture

ViticultureAt Tawse, winemaking begins in the vineyards. Healthy vines yield quality fruit which allows us to craft terroir-driven wines of great elegance, depth and character. Promoting the health of our vines and vineyards requires a labour-intensive and hands-on approach. We tuck and thin the shoots by hand to increase sun exposure and air flow. We keep the yields low by cluster-thinning to ensure that all the energy of the vine is focused to ripen fewer higher-quality grape clusters. Our grapes are harvested at optimal ripeness and sorted to select the very best fruit. We also proudly practice organic farming.

Organic Farming

Organic farming feeds the vines and controls diseases without the use of synthetic insecticides, fungicides and fertilizers. We strive to create a diversified balanced ecosystem that generates health and fertility from the vineyard itself. Healthy vines mean less need for outside substances to control diseases and promote growth. By being present in the vineyard, we are able to anticipate and prevent issues. We also get help from our friends from the animal realm, chickens feed on bugs, our sheep eat the lower vine leaves to expose the grapes to the ripening sun.

Winemaking

Our grapes are harvested at optimal ripeness and sorted. Our reds are de-stemmed before pressing and our whites are gently whole cluster pressed to avoid the bitter characteristics from the stems, skins and seeds. Aromatic whites are fermented in stainless steel.  We barrel-ferment our Chardonnay in French oak using wild yeast. All our reds are fermented in oak fermenters and then aged in French oak from 12 to 18 months depending on the varietal

Environmental Responsibility

The architecture of our winery was carefully conceived to be environmentally-friendly. Our 6-level design allows us to use gravity as much as possible to gently move the wine as is processed, from pressing to cellaring. Our Chardonnay and our reds are aged in underground barrel cellars covered by 6 to 8 feet of earth, which keeps the ambient temperature between 10 and 16 degrees Celsius, with a natural humidity of approximately 85%. This relatively stable temperature and high humidity allows our wines to age gracefully with a minimum amount of evaporation. Our modern geo-thermal energy system has reduced our use of traditional forms of energy by 80%. We also have a wetland bio-filter which allows us to re-use of all our sanitary and winery process water.

The Team

Paul Pender - Director of Viticulture and Winemaking

Paul Pender joined the Tawse team in 2005 and became head winemaker in 2006. Under his leadership, Tawse achieved Ecocert organic and Demeter biodynamic certification and was named Canadian Winery of the year in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2016. He earned the title of Winemaker of the Year at the Ontario Wine Awards in 2011.

Former carpenter and graduate of Niagara College’s Winery and Viticulture program, Paul adopts a “non-interventionist as far as possible” philosophy. He is a firm believer that the start of every great wine begins in the vineyard and he is passionate about crafting wines that express a sense of place.

 

 


Jessica Otting - Winemaker

Jess has been enthralled by the world of wine since a very young age; at seventeen she completed her first vintage for her high school placement. After graduating from Niagara College’s Winery & VIticulture program in 2011, Jess took her skills abroad where she took part in a harvest in South Australia and in Tasmania the following year, with a Canadian vintage in between for good measure. Her passion for cool climate wines brought her back to Niagara, and it was not long before she joined the Tawse team to perform all of the laboratory analysis required to make delicious Bench wines.

After working closely with the winemakers for over four years, Jess took on the Assistant Winemaker role in 2018, and shortly after became Distiller as part of the team that pioneered the new spirits program at Tawse. 2020 brought about more big changes, as she earned the role of Winemaker for Tawse Winery.

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