All the following Flat Rock Cellars wines can be ordered online for home, office or restaurant delivery or visit the winery, their tasting room is open Sunday to Friday 10am to 5pm. Here are driving directions.
• A portion of the proceeds from the following 2018 Flat Rock Cellars ‘Good Kharma’ Chardonnay goes to ‘Feed Ontario’ (formerly, Ontario Association of Food Banks). You can feel good about drinking this wine knowing it supports a worthy and needy cause. It also tastes very good.
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Flat Rock Cellars ‘Good Kharma’ Chardonnay 2018
VQA Niagara Peninsula $16.95 (356873) 12.5% alcohol
Floral notes, ripe pear and apple aromas waft from this balanced and bountiful chardonnay. A racy surge of lemon-lime and white grapefruit blankets the palate joined by notions of Key lime pie and wisps of toast on the finish and aftertaste. This is medium bodied with good mouthfeel and plenty of pizazz. Lovely sipped on its own, it also pours well with salted nuts, Manchego cheese on crackers or grilled prawn kebabs under a squeeze of fresh lemon. (Vic Harradine)
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Flat Rock Cellars Riesling 2018
VQA Twenty Mile Bench $17.95 (43281) 11.0% alcohol
Aromas of yellow peach and green apple drizzled with lime mingle with piquant spice and mineral notes on the nose of this lovely off-dry riesling. It envelops the palate with a tang-laden surge of lime cordial and lemon curd persisting through the finish and aftertaste decorated with wisps of saline minerality. It’s quite food friendly; pour alongside spicy Asian fare like tandoori chicken or moo shu pork or Moroccan-style lamb tagine. (Vic Harradine)
• The following 2019 Flat Rock Cellars ‘Unplugged’ Chardonnay has not seen a splinter of oak. This is a great example of ‘naked’ cool-climate chardonnay without the adornment, or interference, depending upon your point of view, of an oak barrel.
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Flat Rock Cellars ‘Unplugged’ Chardonnay 2019
VQA Niagara Peninsula $17.95 12.0% alcohol
Don’t worry about the residual fermentation bubbles sticking to the side of the glass, they will dissipate with swirling and won’t interfere with the fresh aromas—orchard fruit, citrus peel and flint. Nose and palate are totally aligned here with peach flavours leading the way, quickly joined with freshly squeezed lemon juice and mineral notes trailing in this medium-bodied, young white finish. Enjoy as a patio sipper with sea salt dusted almonds or with fish and chips. (Louise Boutin)
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Flat Rock Cellars Chardonnay 2018
VQA Niagara Peninsula $19.95 (286278) 13.5% alcohol
Alluring aromas of buttered toast, peach jam with subtle caramel and nutmeg notes introduce a medium-bodied wash of juicy orchard fruit flavours mingling with lemon curd, roasted almond skin and mineral notes. The mouthfeel is slightly creamy, without heaviness providing excellent length in the beautiful dry and balanced finish. This will shine alongside chicken cordon-bleu or quiche Lorraine. (Louise Boutin)
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Flat Rock Cellars ‘Twisted’ Sparkling 2018
VQA Ontario $24.95 11.5% alcohol
Aromas of citrus and caramelised sugar precede a frothy mousse when poured in the glass and a seemingly endless winding stream of fine-bead bubbles making their way to the top of your glass. On the palate, a river of tang expressed as lemon zest and Key lime captures the palate persisting through the crisp, clean and refreshing aftertaste where wisps of nectarine, leesy and mineral notes lurk in the background. Pour on its own or alongside smoked duck or potato chips or trout almondine, it’s that food-friendly. (Vic Harradine)
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Flat Rock Cellars ‘Pink - Twisted’ Sparkling Rosé 2019
VQA Ontario $17.95 (39974) 11.0% alcohol
Aromas of floral notes and red berry fruit need coaxing from this pinot noir, gamay, riesling, with a spoonful of gewürztraminer, blend. A rush of sweet strawberry and cherry capture the front palate’s attention while the back palate’s treated to a tang-filled line of racy red grapefruit with hints of red currant as it finishes crisp, clean and refreshing. This is a perfect starter wine sipped on its own or paired with appetizers, especially seafood. (Vic Harradine)
• The following Marynissen Estates Wines are available for purchase and delivery to your home, office or restaurant online only with free shipping in Ontario with a minimum order of six bottles or for curbside pick up at the winery order ahead online, here’s a map.
• The following 2016 Marynissen Estates ‘Platinum Series’ Sauvignon Blanc is presently available in Vintages as well as from the winery.
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Marynissen Estates ‘Platinum Series’ Sauvignon Blanc 2016
VQA Niagara Peninsula $19.95 (472506) 12.5% alcohol
The price-quality balance swings well in your favour here. An attractive light-gold hue in the glass, aromas of ripe pear and peach adorned with herbal/grassy notes waft easily from the glass. A silky-smooth, well-textured river of flavour envelops the palate with tang-infused Granny Smith apple and Key lime pie taking centre stage. This is balanced on a pin, clean, crisp and refreshing from cork pop to last drop. Pour on its own or pair with olive-oiled arugula decorated with crumbled chèvre and smoked salmon. (Vic Harradine)
• The following 2019 Marynissen Estates ‘Heritage Collection’ Gewürztraminer fermented in stainless steel, aged in French and Hungarian large oak—from 320 to 540 L—puncheons for 6 months.
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Marynissen Estates ‘Heritage Collection’ Gewürztraminer 2019
VQA Twenty Mile Bench $25.95 13.0% alcohol
Alluring aromas of rosewater, exotic incense and hints of ginger root leap from the glass. This is creamy smooth, fully textured and a delight to sip. Delicate flavours of mandarin orange, lychee fruit, piquant spice and wisps of lime bathe the palate and move easily to persist through the finish and aftertaste. It’s light on its feet with good balance, persistent purity of fruit and provides plenty of charm. Pour alongside baked crust-less quiche dotted with cubes of baked ham and a few fine-diced sweet onion. (Vic Harradine)
• The following 2019 Marynissen Estates ‘Heritage Collection – Charmed’ Sparkling Wine is Marynissen’s first release of a Sparkling Wine and it’s a dandy! It’s an inspired blend of 60% riesling/ 30% gewürztraminer/10% muscat fashioned in the Charmat method and vintage dated. There’s a lot to like here.
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Marynissen Estates ‘Heritage Collection – Charmed’ Sparkling Wine 2019
VQA Ontario $22.95 11.5% alcohol
Pear, peach and citrus aromas make way for a gorgeous mouthful of flavour-packed, small-bead bubbles that race over the palate with off-dry flavours of—ripe pear and lemon curd interwoven with yellow plum and ripe white peach persisting through the lengthy, lip-smacking finish. This showcases excellent value, deft balance, persistent purity of fruit and plenty of charm and pizzazz throughout. Bravo! (Vic Harradine)
• The following 2019 Marynissen Estates Rosé is an eclectic blend of 50% riesling/17.5% merlot/17.5% pinot noir/10% chardonnay/5% muscat.
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Marynissen Estates Rosé 2019
VQA Niagara Peninsula $16.95 11.5% alcohol
This highly aromatic Rosé dishes up a smorgasbord of aromas with watermelon, strawberry and red raspberry to the fore. It delights the senses with a surge of flavours swirling over the palate and persisting through the lingering finish and aftertaste—red grapefruit, blood orange, ripe strawberry and red cherry among them. This is slightly off-dry on the palate while cleaning up crisp and dry on the aftertaste. A delight to sip, it pairs with myriad dishes—charcuterie, deli platter, roast chicken, grilled seafood, chèvre. (Vic Harradine)
• The following 2018 Marynissen Estates ‘Bottoms Up’ Red is a blend of 50% merlot/35% cabernet franc/15% cabernet sauvignon matured in 100% stainless steel, no oak treatment.
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Marynissen Estates ‘Bottoms Up’ Red 2018
VQA Niagara Peninsula $13.95 13.0% alcohol
Lively, fresh aromas of dark juicy fruit—cherry, plum and currants—waft easily from the glass. It envelops the palate with a fruit-forward wash of black currant and black Bing cherry infused with excellent tang and still-evolving tannin. It’s medium-plus bodied with good mouthfeel and a generous lick of tannin on the lingering finish. To ameliorate the tannin, aerate/decant for three hours and pour with grilled burgers or your favourite steak smeared with blue-veined cheese. (Vic Harradine)