Exultet Estates - The Reviews Are In! (Part 1)
Over the years, our wines have been featured in numerous publications and reviews. Check out what the critics have to say!
Exultet Estates Royal Road Recipe 2016, Ontario
By: Beppi Crosariol Wine & Spirit Columnist Published: July 31st, 2018
Year: 2016 Region: Prince Edward County Varietal: Pinot Noir Price: $39.95 RATING 91 / 100
Catchy name. “Recipe” doesn’t crop up much on wine labels. Of course not. Winemakers, particularly those striving for Burgundian-style purity and delicacy, like to play up terroir and suggest that there’s been virtually no manipulation of fruit on its way from vineyard to bottle. But the Prince Edward County vintner here, Gerry Spinosa, clearly knows how to gently coax fruit along on that wondrous journey. Fans of red Burgundy would be impressed. This is elegant pinot, with an almost sticky texture that seems surprising given the wine’s light hue. The 2016 season was dry, which no doubt helped with concentration as well as the sweet, brambly fruit and tiny tug from tannins. Subtle notes of caramel, baking spices and toast hold their proper place in the background of this smartly oaked red. Available at select Ontario LCBO stores and direct from the winery, exultet.ca.
Exultet Estates The Blessed Chardonnay 2016, Ontario
By: Beppi Crosariol Wine & Spirit Columnist Published: October 11th, 2018
Year: 2016 Region: Prince Edward County Varietal: Chardonnay Price: $65 RATING 92 / 100
Another marvellous chardonnay from Prince Edward County’s Exultet, this one from the warm, ripe 2016 season. Full-bodied and impressively balanced, it’s generously flavoured, with grilled pineapple, vanilla, toasted hazelnut and peach notes, finishing with tight-bright acidity. Judiciously oaked, this should improve with up to four more years in the cellar. Available direct, exultet.ca.
Grape Guy’s Picks of the Bunch: New and Noteworthy Wines- Exultet 2012 Chardonnay,
The Blessed - $40.00
By: Michael Pinkus Published May 15th, 2014
Really, what can you say about this wine that beats this: 4 time winner of the Gold Medal for Best Oaked Chardonnay over $20 at the Ontario Wine Awards ... 4 years, simply amazing, unprecedented and incredibly consistent. Gerry Spinosa seems to have a handle on making great Chardonnay ... And once again this is no exception. The 2012 is extracted and rich as the hot vintage would dictate but along with it there is plenty of fruit like apple and peach, a lovely seam of caramel and great spice finish; outstanding effort and a real coup for the County. Price: $40.00 – Rating: **** ½+
Casing Prince Edward County: Five Fabulous, Under-The-Radar Wines
By David Lawrason Published August 3rd, 2012
Exultet Estates 2010 The Blessed Chardonnay
$35 | Prince Edward County | 90 points
Gerry Spinosa and his family planted their first vines behind an old cheese factory in 2004. Their ethereal chardonnay has already won two gold medals at the Ontario Wine Awards. The texture is delicate and silky; spicy oak, nutmeg and resin need a year of aging to integrate with the ripe peach and honey flavours. 1106–1112 Royal Rd., Milford, 613-476-1052.
Exultet Estates Cru X Pinot Noir 2011 Wine Review
Exultet Estates Cru X Pinot Noir 2011 Prince Edward County, Ontario V.Q.A., Canada
Price: $45.00 Drink: 2015-2022 Bottle size: 750 ml Alcohol: 13% Sweetness: Dry Wine Type: Red Wine
Natalie's Score: 92/100
A lovely light ruby hue in the glass. Aromas of ripe red berries (raspberry, cherry, cranberry) with a dash of earth and smoke. Lots of minerality. Very balanced, supple, smooth and long on the finish. Racy acidity for planked salmon or roast chicken. You will have to buy it directly from the winery.
This Exultet Estates Cru X Pinot Noir 2011 was reviewed on June 6, 2020 by Natalie MacLean
Wine Secret- Exultet Beloved Pinot Noir 2009
By: JC (John) Mackin, Certified Sommelier Nichols, NY. Published July 2,2018
So I've been keeping this "wine secret" for several years, and I've finally decided to share it: There's a craaazy good Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producer just a few hours' drive from Central New York (3h 15m from Syracuse), but in a region that almost everyone around here overlooks
The region I'm talking about is Canada's Prince Edward County, a peninsula that juts southward into Lake Ontario, about 1 hour west of the Thousand Islands. Seems too far north for viticulture, right? But it's on a peninsula, so that extends the growing season and reduces winter kills. And they have southern exposure to the water, so that might have a bit of a warming effect too. Besides a warm microclimate, though, they also boast huge swaths of limestone soils, which many consider to be a secret ingredient for great Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
And the producer I'm talking about is Exultet Estates. The owner, grower, and winemaker is all the same guy: Gerry Spinoza. When I visited, the dude looked *really* tired. Tired, like he had been donating his blood to his vineyards every day for 15 years. And he might as well have been. "If you only knew how much I was out there, cutting and pruning to get sun exposure on every single cluster of grapes," I remember him confiding with a wince, as if he were confessing a terrible secret about his life.
Fortunately, in this case you can taste the effort in the wine. Over the years Exultet Chardonnays have won more awards in Canada, but during our visit I was even more impressed by the Pinots, which were possibly the most truly Burgundian in style I've tasted outside of Burgundy.
And then something really cool happened. Sensing our appreciation for his Pinots, he took us to his barrel room and gave us samples of what had not yet been bottled. And *then* he took us to the front and opened a bottle of his crowning achievement, his 2009 Pinot Noir. There were only a few bottles left, he said. Few people appreciated it, but HE loved it. It was a near-ideal exemplar of the kind of wine HE wanted to make.
That 2009 stunned me with its layered floral aromas, its concentration of fruit, earth, and color, all perfectly integrated with the oak, and finesse! --that thing one always hopes to find in a Pinot and so rarely does.
I said to him, "This is premier cru quality wine." No, I didn't go overboard and say it was *grand cru* quality because I was trying to act sane and relatively level-headed. But premier cru? Yes, that seemed like a legitimate compliment. And boy, did he love hearing that. In fact, after that he let us buy two of his last bottles.
And those bottles have been sitting downstairs for years. Every once in a while I see them and start to doubt myself. Was I just drunk? Was my palate dead because it was our last stop that day? And recently, I realized it was time to try one of them. It's going on 8 and a half years, and how long can you really hold on to a Pinot from Prince Edward County?
We opened one tonight. I was NOT disappointed. In fact, it might have been better than I remembered. It is absolutely a dead ringer for a premier cru Burg. And not even a premier cru in name only. I mean a decent premier cru for 70-80 dollars that you taste and think, "Whew, this is one of the good ones. I'm glad I didn't waste my money."
So that's my secret. I'm not saying every Pinot this guy produces is going to have the magic of the 2009, and in fact, maybe he's never reached that height again. But his wines were all good, and if you live in Central New York it's worth taking a weekend trip up there to check him out. http://exultet.ca #PrinceEdwardCounty #CanadianWine #Burgundy #ExultetEstates