Your September Wine Allocation

Thirty Bench Benchmark Red

APPELLATION: VQA Beamsville Bench

STYLE: Full-bodied and structured

SWEETNESS: Dry, 2.9 g/L

13.5% abv 750ml

86 00

FLAVOUR PROFILE: Deep purple garnet in colour with a lovely bouquet of smoky oak, leather, vanilla extract, spice box, sweet tobacco, blue plum preserves, and ripe black currant. This blend is full-bodied with firm well-integrated tannins, great structure, and dry. Ripe dark berries and black currant fruit flavours mingle beautifully with dark cocoa and baking spice.

WINEMAKER’S NOTES: A blend of 50% Cabernet Franc, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot was harvested from our own Thirty Bench vineyard, bringing together the uniqueness of each individual block. Traditional red wine making with three to four weeks of skin contact in open wooden fermenters; hand plunged to break surface cap three times daily. Barrel aged in 90% French and 10% American oak for 20 months (50% new barrels). Limited production of 191 cases.

BEST SERVED: Serve at a cool room temperature of 16 to 18˚C. Enjoy with grilled medium-rare red meats; rack of lamb; wild game meats; rich mushroom based dishes; black bean stews; 3-year-old Canadian cheddar. Enjoy now or cellar through 2030. Decanting is recommended if drinking now through 2024.

Thirty Bench Wild Cask Cabernet Franc

APPELLATION: VQA Beamsville Bench

STYLE: Medium to full-bodied and complex

SWEETNESS: Dry, 2.6 g/L

55 00 13.3% abv 750ml

FLAVOUR PROFILE: Purple garnet colour with an aromatic bouquet of smoky cedar, oak, spice box, humidor, and white pepper, with fruit notes of dark plum and currant. A medium to full-bodied, complex Cabernet Franc, with firm, but not aggressive, drying tannins.

WINEMAKER’S NOTES: From the phenomenal 2020 vintage, we hand-picked Cabernet Franc grapes from two organically grown, lowyielding vineyard blocks, Crabtree Vineyard (planted in 1999) and the on-site Thirty Bench Estate vineyard. The grapes received an 18-day maceration in open wooden fermenters with a ‘wild’ yeast fermentation. The wine was then barrel aged in premium 100% French oak for 12 months with extended bottle aging before release. Limited production of 422 cases.

BEST SERVED: Serve at a cool room temperature of 16 to 18˚C. Enjoy with grilled red meats with dried herb seasoning; grilled lamb chops with rosemary; steak and kidney pies; herbal winter stews; thyme scented lamb stew; 2 to 4-year-old Canadian cheddar; 70% dark chocolate. Enjoy now or cellar through 2030. Decanting is recommended if drinking now through 2024.

LOVED IT AND NEED MORE?

THIRTY BENCH SMALL LOT RIESLING ‘TRIANGLE VINEYARD’

We can deliver more of your favourites right to your door. Call the Wine Club team at 1.866.440.4383 to re-order, and remember, members always get FREE DELIVERY on any additional 6+ bottles.

APPELLATION: VQA Beamsville Bench

STYLE: Light-bodied and refreshing

SWEETNESS: Off-Dry, 17.2 g/L

9.6% abv 750ml

32 00

FLAVOUR PROFILE: Clear and bright with a pure aroma of citrus sorbet, tropical fruit, and mineral. This off-dry Riesling has wonderful flavours of fresh-picked Niagara apples and a medley of citrus. Citrus, white peach and site-specific minerality linger on the clean finish.

WINEMAKER’S NOTES: The grapes were hand-picked and handsorted from older vines within our own ‘Triangle Vineyard’. After careful selection of the finest grapes, the juice was cool fermented at about 12ºC and aged in stainless steel tanks to capture the unique terroir of the ‘Triangle Vineyard’.

BEST SERVED: Serve chilled at 10 to 12˚C. Serve with lightly spiced steamed mussels; moderately spiced Thai chicken dishes; spiced shrimp skewers; sushi; creamy Brie and Camembert with water crackers; grilled, poached, or baked fish fillets; tikka masala chicken. This wine will continue to develop through 2030.

NOTE FROM THE ESTATE MANAGER Fiona Muckle

As a busy Summer comes to a close, the winemaking team is out in the vineyards every day making sure to pick at the exact right time. We have been following sustainable vineyard management for a few years now, and you’ll notice that our 2021 and 2022 labels are the first releases with the Sustainable Winemaking Ontario (SWO) logo on them.

Small Lot Benchmark Red 2021

Small Lot Cabernet Franc 2021

Small Lot Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

Small Lot Merlot 2021

Small Lot Rose 2022

Small Lot Steel Post Riesling 2022

Small Lot Triangle Vineyard Riesling 2022

Small Lot Wild Cask Riesling 2022

Small Lot Wood Post Riesling 2022

We were thrilled to host Rock the Bench in June, what a fun-filled weekend! We also hosted a few yoga in the vineyard sessions in July, August, and September, which were nice and relaxing. We’re looking forward to getting cozy with some good books by the fireplace this fall, paired with the exact wines that you have in your shipment! The Benchmark Red is such a treat paired with grilled steak or lamb with earthy sauteed mushrooms and jus. I’d recommend cellaring that one for a few years – if you can resist!