Exultet Estates---Our Second Visit This Year

We went to visit our favorite winery on Prince Edward Country (PEC) on our way home from seeing the EuroSelect in action. Our first visit to Exultet was in April where Gerry treated us to barrel tastings. Even though it was only our second time at Exultet, when we stepped into their tasting room, Gerry immediately recognized us. Joseph went to call his mother, Lia and we spent time catching up on what has been happening. The 2012 harvest at Exultet was already safely in barrels fermenting away.

The Chardonnay at Exultet has been winning GOLD for two years in a row. When we came in April, their 2009 Chardonnay "The Blessed" took Gold at the Ontario Wine Awards and was sold out and during this visit, we learned that their 2010 Chardonnay also took Gold. We know how delicious it was because we purchased a bottle during our April visit. Lucky for us that we did so because we learned that it too was now sold out. I'm sure the accolade is because Gerry makes his wine from fruit grown in their vineyard and because if the label says "Chardonnay" what is in the bottle is 100% Chardonnay.
We got a chance to try Gerry's Pinot Noir from the barrel. It was interesting to taste the differences in the samples, one had cherry characters while another had spicy characters. Barrel tasting is certainly an education for the palate!
In an earlier blogpost, I wrote about Our Wall of Fame and Our Rarest Wine. This wine is called Knucklehead Red and comes from Exultet. When we were there, Mario excused himself to check on the sugar content of the Pinot Noir grapes that were still hanging on the vines. Gerry is imparting a lot of good knowledge to his sons. We're looking forward to seeing a second vintage of Knucklehead Red!
If you find yourself on PEC, don't forget to go to Exultet and see for yourself what a gem of a place this is!