Following on with my wine bar tour in Toronto, Union 72 was next on the hitlist, with 9 local Canadian wines available by the glass.
Organic greens, potato rosti, chevre, Union smoked bacon
I was given a seat at the bar by the front window and ordered the Organic greens, potato rosti, chevre and Union smoked bacon to start. The bacon gave the dish a delicious punch to compliment the creamy goats cheese and salad vinaigrette. The warm, crisp potato rosti was very pleasant as well.
With the greens, I had the following wines;
2010 Fielding Estate Winery Pinot Gris Estate Bottled (Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Niagara Peninsula VQA) – 12% alc, 10 g/l residual sugar
I loved the richness with this wine. Fig, pear and nuts on the nose. The palate is delicious, there is fruit richness with corresponding acid to play off as well as a tantalising lick of residual sugar and textural interest. I found this to be quite Alsatian in style and extremely impressive overall. 92/100
2009 Hidden Bench Nuit Blanche Estate Bottled Rosomel Vineyard (Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Beamsville Bench VQA) – 89.7% Sauvignon Blanc 10.3% Semillon
Golden coloured. The nose opens with wax and citrus, then a line of smoke in the background. The trail of smoke continues on the palate but I found it added interest to the wine rather than overwhelming the other elements. Good acidity and carry to the finish. 91/100
Steak hachette – freshly ground Scotch Mountain beef seared on the outside, rare on the inside, topped with a fried egg, served with frites
For the main course, I had the Steak hachette. This was a simple dish in some ways, there are 4-5 components and nothing overly flashy technique wise, but it tasted great, the beef was seared nicely and rare on the inside then the pinch of habanero salsa on the side had an excellent kick to it.
The following wines were tasted with the steak;
2008 Lailey Vineyard Meritage (Canada, Ontario, Niagara Peninsula, Niagara River VQA) – 12.5% alc, close split between Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc
Stalks and iron with a bit of cherry and white pepper on the nose. The palate is dominated and unbalanced by stalk character, with not enough fruit. The tannin and oak structure in the background actually seems quite good, but I can’t get over the stalks. 85/100
2010 Karlo Estates Cabernet Franc (Canada, Ontario, Prince Edward County VQA) – 12% alc
Aromas of nutmeg, red cherry and ground coffee. The palate is quite gamey, with savoury red cherry flavour coming through strongly. Decent tannins and balance, quite a good wine overall. 89/100
Overall the experience at Union 72 was very good, the food was well executed and the flavours were allowed to shine through. The wines that I tried were, for the most part, very good and the Fielding Estate Pinot Gris was one of the wine highlights on the trip.