2006 Cave Spring Cellars Indian
Summer Select Late Harvest Riesling Niagara Peninsula

BY IAN D’AGATA I JULY 17, 2017&nbsp;

Cave Spring Cellars is arguably one
of Canada’s top four or five Riesling producers. Wines like the 2006 Summer
Select Late Harvest Riesling drive that point home. Located in the
postcard-pretty town of Jordan, Ontario, Cave Spring Cellars is run by siblings
Len and Tom Pennacchetti along with winemaker Angelo Pavan. Len and Angelo are
childhood buddies. Their friendship eventually led them down the winemaking
path together.

Cave Spring Cellars fashions a slew
of different Rieslings. None is more interesting than the Indian Summer
bottling, made when the late fall season in Niagara allows. In 2006, there
were multiple picks between December 8 and January 16, 2007. Grapes averaged
30.0 Brix, so they were just about frozen. Importantly, the early winter of
2006 did not have much in the way of temperature fluctuations, so that the
bunches hung out well on the vines with only minor skin breakdown. As the semi-frozen grapes for the Indian Summer Riesling don’t quite
reach the Brix level required to make Icewines (made from wholly frozen grapes),
the Indian Summer Riesling, though sweet, is always less rich and unctuous than
an Icewine. 

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1500292671888-Indian+Summer+Riesling+copy.JPG"> 

The 2006 Cave Spring Cellars Indian Summer Select Late Harvest Riesling
Niagara Peninsula is still a knockout today, showcasing just how well
Ontario Riesling can age. It boasts gorgeous, deep aromas and flavors of honey,
dried apricot, raisins and cinnamon, plus laser-like acidity, all combining to
offer a rich but racy taste experience. Differently from recent
vintages that have all made with Lincoln Lakeshore fruit (Myers vineyard), in
2006 about 30% of the Riesling grapes were picked from Cave Spring’s Beamsville
Bench vineyard, which in my mind contributes to a slightly more vertical
mouthfeel than I find in more modern, but still outstanding, vintages of this
wine. 91/Drink: 2017-2020

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