VQA Lake Erie North Shore Appellation ("CEV-Ultra Premium VQA" category); 2 tonnes/acre yield; 18 months oak ageing (French, Hungarian & American); closed with a full-length, high-quality solid natural cork; $19.75 at the Colio retail outlet.12.7% alc./vol. Very nice, and dark, garnet saturation; certainly much, much better than I had expected from a 2006 Ontario red (remember: 2006 featured a cool August and a drab and rainy September - making it, overall, a year when whites showed better than reds; still, I have been finding pleasing exceptions to the rule rather often). A loud streak of volatility immediately upon opening was cause for considerable concern; with about an hour's aeration, however, it had all but disappeared - indicating a clear need for decanting. Nice, complex, Northern-Italian-type nose of herbs, olives and just a faint touch of volatility; all framed by very nice spicy/chocolatey oak. Swirling brings out well composed cool-climate Cabernet aromas. Very balanced on the entry; nice, chalky tannins and good structure; very decent astringency. Flavours follow onto the palate; oak dominates on the aft-palate and in the finish.
A pretty good Ontario Cab Sauvignon if I do say so myself; and not a bad buy at the price point.