Queenston Mile is a new producer in Canada’s Niagara region. It’s a side project of the Creekside winery, who have been making wines from this 50 acre vineyard in St Davids Bench for 20 years. Creekside’s focus has been on Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah, but the focus at Queenston Mile is Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. With its fancy tasting room this is aiming to be a more upscale project, and it is in a great location for direct sales.
This is the warmest site in Niagara in the summer, but the flipside is that it has very cold winters. Winemaking is in the hands of Rob Power, who is the Creekside winemaker.
Sparkling is a focus here, and first vintage was 2015 with the Blanc de Noirs. The sparkling wines here are brilliant, and the Chardonnay is also very strong.
Queentson Mile Blanc de Noirs 2015 Niagara, Canada
Disgorged after 26 months on lees. Nicely complex with citrus, some apple and a bit of spice, as well as red cherry notes. Lovely complexity and volume here with a distinct savoury twist. Very fine. 93/100
Queentson Mile Blanc de Noirs 2015 Niagara, Canada
This is the same wine 38 months on lees. Fine, fresh and focused with lovely pithy hints with tight citrus notes as well as a bit of redcurrant. Very fine, too, but needs a bit of time. 92/100
Queentson Mile Q Traditional 2016 Niagara, Canada
26 months on lees. Fresh and tight with appealing citrus fruit and subtle herby hints. This is compact and taut with nice precision and focus. 92/100
Queentson Mile Pét-Nat Pinot Noir Rosé 2017 St Davids Bench, Niagara, Canada
Undisgorged, and so cloudy pink/red colour. There’s a hint of sweetness here and nicely textured strawberry fruit, with nice freshness. Lovely weight. 91/100
Queentson Mile Pinot Noir Rosé 2017 Niagara, Canada
Very attractive dry style with citrus and pear, a touch of mandarin, some fine herbs and a twist of Campari on the finish. Dry. 90/100
Queentson Mile Chardonnay 2017 St Davids Bench, Niagara, Canada
Debut vintage, and it was a hot one. This is bold and quite rich with pear and peach notes, a soft mid palate and some oak spice. Has a rich, bold character with good depth. 92/100
Queentson Mile Chardonnay 2017 St Davids Bench, Niagara, Canada
Supple and rounded with white peach and some melon notes. Rich and broad with a lovely mouthfeel, and some spicy oak playing a supporting role. Full bodied and tending to fatness, but really well made. 93/100
Queentson Mile Pinot Noir 2017 Niagara, Canada
This has supple, bright cherry and berry fruits with nice grip and some juicy freshness. Has some silkiness on the palate, but also a savoury, spicy note on the finish. Has nice character. 92/100
Queentson Mile Pinot Noir 2016 Niagara, Canada
Vibrant and quite structured with some tannic grip. Has focused cherry and plum fruit, and a pleasant sour cherry note on the finish. Very tannic, because of the hot vintage. 90/100
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See also: a tasting of Ontario wines from 2017
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