Stratus Petit Verdot 2005
VQA Niagara Peninsula $42.00
Smoky bacon and earthy notes contribute to the aromatic profile on this medium-weight, generously textured red. There’s a mélange of deep and rich flavours including espresso roast, mocha and spiced black currant. For now, they’re wound up in a grippy tannin structure requiring two to three additional years in the bottle. There’s good depth and concentration, a lingering finish and a fair dollop of moderating acidity, all portending a glorious wine to be enjoyed 2011 to 2015. (VH)


Stratus Red 2005
VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake $44.00 (66072)
This is delicious and very approachable; it sports a plush texture, well-integrated oak and ripe supple tannin. Earthy, spicy and expressive on the nose, it provides a luscious wave of fruit on the mid palate—black currant, spicy black plum and ripe Bing cherry—and welcomed moderating tang and zest on the well-balanced and lingering finish. It’s medium bodied, well structured and with enough oomph to provide enjoyable drinking now to 2014. Pair this with a dry-rubbed rack of lamb, grilled medium rare. (VH)


Stratus White 2005
VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake $44.00 (660704)
A cornucopia of aromas—spice box and herbal notes, citrus and tree fruit—segue intense flavours of ripe yellow peach, tropical fruit and citrus that arrive in wave after delicious wave in this proprietary-blend white. It’s full of flavour, nicely textured and provides a well-balanced, crisp, refreshing and lingering finish. Gorgeous when sipped on its own, it’s also a natural pairing with mussels or pan-seared white fish under a drizzle of freshly squeezed lemon. (VH)