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Inniskillin Sparkling Ice Wine 02 375 ml

 

$71.10 - Case price
(any 12 or more bottles)

Price: $79.00

Quantity

Oh my oh my. Just amazing. All the richness of ice wine, plus a wonderful sparkling spritz that seems to accentuate the flavors. Pure delight. Very very limited.

Wine Spectator rating 89 points: "Sweet and fizzy, this will combine the best of both worlds for some. Aromas and flavors of honey and golden raisins, with an apricot accent, are balanced by a medium-bodied frame and lively acidity. Drink now." (BS)


Detailed Info, Previous Vintage Notes, Reviews:

From the winery: "Fine elegant bubbles with pure focused northern fruit aromas, of fresh apricot, nectarine and peach. These wonderfully enlightened flavours both enchant and delight your palate offering incredible length, finesse and balance."

Inniskillin took the 'high road' by waiting a long time during the late winter for the proper temperatures to produce its exquisite Icewines. Although volume was less than what we aimed for, quality is superb from the 2001 Icewine vintage. In the past, we have experienced our share of challenges with each Icewine harvest, but nothing compares to the difficulty of the 2001 vintage. Depending on the location and the site in the Niagara Peninsula, temperatures of -9.0?C or -10.0?C were so infrequent and forecasts so wrong that many times the harvest had to be called off during the middle of the night and the people had to be sent home. There was not a single daytime cold enough, only nighttime's to pick Icewine. Even in these cases only a few nights provided a few hours of cold, which extended our harvest period from December 27th, 2001 to March 5th, 2002. Truly an exhausting vintage for all our production team. Luckily during all this time we had seven presses available to press the grapes swiftly in the few hours available.

VINIFICATION

The harvest occurs at the pinnacle of Canada's crisp winter. Exceptional grapes, naturally frozen on the vine, are delicately handpicked and carefully pressed throughout the night. Grapes, picked frozen solid from the vines, were manually loaded into the presses without de-stemming or crushing, and were pressed at an ambient temperature of -10?C or colder. This technique yields only a fraction of the normal yield (approximately 10 - 20%) as most of the natural water portion of the juice remains in the press in the form of ice crystals. During the pressing the water in the grapes remains frozen as ice crystals, and is easily extracted from the juice. What remains are a few precious drops of silky sweet unadulterated liquid. Once guided through our arduous fermentation, the resulting wine can only be hailed as 'Nectar of the Gods'. This very unique sparkling wine has been crafted by using Icewine as a cuv?e, and produced in the Charmat Method. During fermentation, the naturally occurring carbon dioxide is trapped in the stainless steel tank, and dissolves into the wine. Aromas of nectarines and apricots dominate the nose, with a hint of lychee nut in the background. On the palate, this wine shows a very delicate but lively effervescence, which is balanced beautifully by the generous natural acidity.

TASTING NOTES

Fine elegant bubbles with pure focused northern fruit aromas, of fresh apricot, nectarine and peach. These wonderfully enlightened flavours both enchant and delight your palate offering incredible length, finesse and balance.

Food Pairing Suggestions: Fruit based desserts, foie gras - pan seared or terrine, and spiced asian cuisine and a wide variety of cheeses. Longevity: Enjoy now through 2010. Serving Temperature: 5 - 9?C.

- Maria Moessner, Inniskillin Estate Sommelier


YOUR REVIEWS

Inniskillin Sparkling Ice W... reviews

Global Rating: 5.00 from 1 reviews

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Inniskillin Sparkling Ice Wine Aug 25, 2006 Denise J. Wilds-Cox Patchogue Ne US
  This wine was wonderful. My husband and I went on a wine tour at Inniskillin Winery where we had the pleasure of sampling this unique sparkling wine. I... more...