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The
wines of Norman Hardie, Prince Edward County
An incredible
vertical tasting of Pinot and Chardonnay from one of Canada's star
winegrowers
Website: www.normanhardie.com
Norman Hardie is making what many
consider to be Canada’s finest wines. He finished his studies at
Dijon, where he ended up training as a sommelier, learning all about
fine wine. In 1989 he returned to Canada and ended up washing dishes
at the Four Seasons in Toronto. But it wasn’t long before he found
his way to the sommelier job.
He decided he loved wine, and that he
wanted to learn how to make it. So off he headed to Oregon, where he
did a harvest. This was followed by four years at Bouchard Finlayson
in South Africa’s Hemel-en-Aarde (he was actually born in South
Africa, moving to Toronto in his teens), with three vintages in
Burgundy slotted into the South African winters.
Hardie was on a rapid learning curve, and
generating quite a CV. Next up was vintage with Dean Shaw in New
Zealand’s Central Otago, and then Jim Clendenen at Au Bon Climat
in California.
It was inevitable that Hardie was going
to set up his own operation, and he took a partner, bought almost 90
acres of vineyeard land in two sites in Prince Edward County, and
began, with a winery built in time for the 2004 vintage. It was the
soil that led him, after all these travels, to the County: the rare
mix of limestone and clay that is the holy grail for those who want
to make world-class Pinot Noir.
The wines come from both Prince Edward
County (referred to as just 'County') and also Niagara, where Norm
has found two red clay sites, from which he says he wanted to make
mineral-driven Chardonnay. For the Chardonnay, in the best years a
cuvee L is made, blending County and Niagara together.
There’s something magnetic about Norm:
he seems to draw people in. It’s a combination of a magnetic
personality, a generosity of spirit, a relentless drive towards a
goal (Norm used to run ultramarathons), and a pizza oven. There’s
a bunkhouse at the winery, and a group of volunteers often end up
here at weekends helping out. The team here seem focused and
tight-knit as a group, and there’s a sense here that something
special is being achieved.
THE
WINES
Norman
Hardie Riesling 2012 Ontario, Canada
9.1%
alcohol, 30% County, 70% Niagara, three quarters wild ferment.
Lovely, precise, citrussy Riesling that is pure and lively with good
acidity. Lovely precision, some pithy notes and a hint of sweetness.
89/100
Norman
Hardie Pinot Gris 2012 Prince Edward County, Canada
11.2%
alcohol. Textured and fresh with a fine, expressive nose. Fruity
with nice weight, but also has lovely non-fruit complexity.
Interesting texture here, restrained with some mineral notes. 90/100
Norman
Hardie Calcaire 2012 Ontario, Canada
This
is a tank built with a bit of everything over 8 weeks, with light to
medium lees. It was racked, the clear juice was taken, and the lees
were taken and filtered. Norm's goal was to make something with
freshness, texture and vibrancy. It's very fresh with some
minerality and lovely purity. Taut texture: real precision but also
lovely fruit: fresh, multidimensional and detailed. 94/100
Norman
Hardie Chardonnay 2007 Prince Edward County, Canada
The
vines were 4-5 years old at this stage. Profound and quite elegant,
with lovely pear and white peach fruit, as well as spice and
minerals, and a hint of matchstick. Lovele precision and detail with
elegance, texture and weight. 93/100
Norman
Hardie Chardonnay 2008 Prince Edward County, Canada
Reductive
and tight with some pithy notes, and lovely tension to the citrus,
peach and pear fruit. Good acidity and freshness; real focus of
flavour. Textured, complex, profound. 94/100
Norman
Hardie Chardonnay 2010 Prince Edward County, Canada
11.5%
alcohol. Deep colour. Lovely, lively, rich and spicy, with mineral
tension. Real complexity, freshness and finesse, but also some
generous richer flavours. Some nut and toasty notes. 94/100
Norman
Hardie Chardonnay 2011 Prince Edward County, Canada
Nutty,
mealy richness to the nose with some precise pear and white peach
fruit, as well as some spicy minerality and a flinty edge. The
palate is supple and pure with some precision and freshness. Lovely
weight. 95/100
Norman
Hardie Niagara Chardonnay 2006 Ontario, Canada
There’s
an almost salty, seawater, marine edge to the pithy pear and apple
fruit here, with some herby characters, too. Lovely with that’s
full of interest. 92/100
Norman
Hardie Niagara Chardonnay 2008 Ontario, Canada
Hint
of matchstick on the nose. Lovely finesse with some minerality. The
palate is ripe with pear and white peach fruit, as well as a
generous texture with some breadth. Nicely mineral, with ripe fruit
and fine texture. 94/100
Norman
Hardie Niagara Chardonnay 2009 Ontario, Canada
This
was showing a subtle earthy, musty character, so it’s not rated.
Norman
Hardie Niagara Chardonnay 2010 Ontario, Canada
‘This
is one of the wines I am most proud of,’ says Norm. ‘It’s not
the best wine, but we did everything in a hot year to make this
work.’ It’s the only wine he has ever made over 13% alcohol, at
13.1%. Ripe white peach and pear fruit. Generous and rich with some
spicy structure and nice freshness. Lovely texture: broad but not
blowsy. Stylish. 93/100
Norman Hardie Niagara
Chardonnay 2011 Ontario, Canada
12.5% alcohol. Lovely hint of mineral matchstick character on the
nose. There’s lovely apple, pear and white peach fruitiness here
with some citrus freshness, as well as a hint of almond. Beautiful
focus and balance here: it’s very fresh, but has some richer
notes, yet avoids being austere. Much more presence and focus than
many Niagara Chardonnays. 94/100
Norman Hardie Chardonnay Cuvée
L 2008 Ontario, Canada
A blend of County and Niagara only made in the best
years. Mineral, taut, matchstick nose. Lovely precision with some
pith, spice and nice pear and citrus fruit. The palate is so fresh
with great acidity and lovely structure. Very bright with a bit of
pith and grapefruit, and lovely precision. 95/100
Norman Hardie Chardonnay Cuvée
des Amis 2010 Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada
This spends 19 months in 500 litre oak. Concentrated
and precise, showing a little oak, but it’s the fruit that
dominates: fresh pear and peach, with some toastiness in the
background. Very pure with lovely texture. 94/100
Norman Hardie County Pinot
Noir 2007 Prince Edward County, Canada
Beautiful floral nose. Very fine and expressive with
red cherry fruit. Supple, fresh and bright with lively fruit and
nice texture. The acidity provides the train tracks keeping all the
flavours on line. Precision and purity. 94/100
Norman Hardie County Pinot
Noir 2009 Prince Edward County, Canada
Supple and bright with nice sweetness and some
spiciness. Ripe and textured with some grip and a bit of structure.
Lovely tension. 94/100
Norman Hardie County Pinot
Noir 2010 Prince Edward County, Canada
Very interesting nose with floral, fruity raspberry
and cherry fruit. Sweet and smooth on the palate with black cherries
and plums. Very long, pure fruit here: so drinkable, but also has
complexity. 93/100
Norman Hardie County Pinot
Noir 2011 Prince Edward County, Canada
12.5% alcohol. Pale cherry red colour. So expressive, pure and
supple with red cherry and herb fruit and complex, fine, spicy
notes. Real precision and elegance with a subtle meatiness under the
silky cherry fruit. So supple and pure, with haunting perfume and
real finesse. 95/100
Norman
Hardie Niagara Pinot Noir 2008 Ontario, Canada
12.2%
alcohol. Fresh, lively and herby with some sappy notes, spice and
minerals. Nice fresh cherry fruits too. Lovely wine. Light and
supple with some spice. 92/100
Norman
Hardie Niagara Pinot Noir 2009 Ontario, Canada
This
spent 42 days on skins. Lovely sweet broad cherry and berry fruits
on the nose. Sweet, silky and boldly structured on the palate with
nice grip and supple, pure fruit. Fresh black cherries, plums. Quite
structured with real precision and depth. 94/100
Norman
Hardie Niagara Pinot Noir 2010 Ontario, Canada
Floral,
fresh, sappy cherry fruit nose. The palate is sweet and fruity with
lively cherries and berries, and a bit of spice. Nice grippy
structure here. Sweetness and precision combined, with good
structure and density. 94/100
VISITING
ONTARIO WINE COUNTRY, CANADA
NIAGARA
 Southbrook
Malivoire
Tawse
Pearl Morissette
Bachelder
Hidden Bench
Ravine
PRINCE
EDWARD COUNTY, CANADA
Hinterland
Closson
Chase
Huff
Estates
Rosehall
Run
Norman
Hardie
Wines
tasted 07/13
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