Press
VineRoutes
A Cool Climate Masterpiece: The Renaissance of Ontario Chardonnay
Carmelo Giardina, October 10th, 2024
Cloudsley Cellars 2020 Foxcroft Vineyard Chardonnay
"A wine of finesse, it captures the limestone-driven freshness of the ‘Benchlands’ with great precision."
Michael Pinkus Wine Review
Video Review: Cloudsley Cellars 2015 Pinot Noir, Homestead Vineyard
Michael Pinkus, 2024
"It's the acidity that makes this wine so charming, so approachable, and heck, so worth it. 4+/5 stars".
Quercus Vino
Matt Steeves, August 2024
"94+ points. Cloudsely’s 2020 Foxcroft Vineyard Chardonnay shows great intensity and purity of fruit on the nose with expressive apple, pear, citrus fruit and minerality."
Wines In Niagara
Cloudsley's Stunning "Happy Accident" Pinot Noir, Plus New Wines Reviewed
Rick VanSickle, August 14th, 2024
"96 Points. From the opening notes of this exquisite wine, you know something special is happening here."
Godello: A Wine Processor
Chardonnay is Never Too Cool for School
Michael Godel, July 31st, 2024
2022 Twenty Mile Bench, Chardonnay
"Balance of the old and new, the buttery and the grippy, the soft and the profound."
WineAlign
Results of the 2024 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (The Nationals)
Cloudsley Cellars 2021 Twenty Mile Bench, Chardonnay VQA
92 Points. Gold Medal Winner
Wineanorak Global Wine Journal
In Niagara (4) More Judging - Days 4 and 5
Jamie Goode, June 28th, 2024
"One of the up and coming boutique Niagara wineries."
Wines In Niagara
One more time, From the Heart … Grapes for Humanity Charity wine auction preview
Rick VanSickle, April 8th, 2024
"Matt Smith of Cloudsley Cellars, Thomas Bachelder of Bachelder, and Ilya Senchuk of Leaning Post Wines have come together to craft a Chardonnay from three of Niagara’s best vineyards."
Wines In Niagara
Niagara Wines Coming to Vintages March 16th
Rick VanSickle, March 6th, 2024
"This Pinot is from a blend of vineyards on the Bench and shows a lighter shade of red in the glass with a subtle reductive note before the perfumy floral notes kick in followed by red cherries, undergrowth, black raspberries, touch of anise, herbs, and integrated oak spices. It’s mouth-coating and shows more precision on the palate with tart cherries, brambly raspberries, violets, chalky tannins, sizzling acidity, and a spicy bump on the lifted finish."
Cision PR Web
Taste Canada NYC: Explore the Wines of Canada in New York March 2024
Wines of Canada, March 4th, 2024
"On March 25th and 26th, industry professionals are invited to explore a diverse range of Canadian wines from three cool-climate regions by way of a mixer, flash tastings and grand walkaround tasting featuring 29 producers and 150 wines."
Wines In Niagara
First look and barrel tasting inside new Domaine du Clos Jordanne in Beamsville
Rick VanSickle, February 21st, 2024
"Such a racy, saline nose with perfumed pear, bergamot, ripe pear, grapefruit, toasty spice notes and flinty minerality. It has a rich and creamy texture on the palate with notes of yellow apple, pear, stony minerality, elegant/toasty spices, and a clean, fresh, lifted, and vibrant finish."
Toronto Star
Here are eight excellent Chardonnays to help you explore the wide world of the beloved white wine
Carolyn Evans Hammond, February 1st, 2024
"The wine is smooth and glossy with suggestions of cool flint, seashell, baked apple, oven-fresh bread, sweet butter and raw nut"
Wines In Niagara
The Most Thrilling Niagara White and Red Wines of 2023
Rick VanSickle, December 26th, 2023
2020 Parke Vineyard Pinot Noir (95 points)
“Wow, everything I love about Pinot Noir is in this glass. It’s pretty and untamed at the same time with complexity and layers of red berries, cassis, and anise. It’s an incredibly detailed wine with a silky texture, elegant spice notes and nuanced through a lifted, extremely long, and finessed finish. Can cellar 7+ years, maybe more!"
Quench Magazine
2020 Niagara Peninsula Pinot Noir
"This bottling is from a range of sites across the Twenty Mile Bench sub-appellation. Not yet fully realized but already giving complex aromas of red berried fruits, ripe cherry, cedar chest, anise, and a hint of violet. The palate is a harmonious balance of freshness, young tannins, moderate alcohol, and concentrated flavours. This will go somewhere special in 2-3 years and can drink well up to 2030." - Brie Dema
VineRoutes
Year in Review: 50 standout Canadian Wines of '23
December 20th, 2023
"Crisp orchard fruit – bosc pear and baked apple aromas. A complex, but light texture of linear acidity and encompassing minerality. More depth discovered still with a slight savoury aspect attributed with button mushroom and earthy notes. Golden apple and sweet spice ring through on a persistent finish." - Leah Spooner
Decanter Magazine
Americas Pinot Noir: Panel Tasting Results
Anne Krebiehl, MW, November 8th, 2023
2020 Twenty Mile Bench Pinot Noir
"93 points. Elegantly scented, with notes of cherries and raspberries, hints of olive tapenade and cream on the nose. The palate has charm, red fruit and a measured generosity. Well defined and pure with a lovely crunch. Drink 2023-2029."
Decanter Magazine
Ontario Chardonnay: 20 Cool-Climate Buys from Canada
Tina Gellie, November 22nd, 2023
"95 points. Flinty elegance yet sinewy muscle – much more on the citrus spectrum than Wingfield, with smoky charred grapefruit pith notes, perky acidity, seaspray and well-judged oak. Drink 2023-2030."
Quercus Vino & CFRA News Talk Radio
Top Sommelier Recommended Wines for Thanksgiving
Matt Steeves & Patricia Boal, October 6th, 2023
"Their Chardonnay wines from the Twenty Mile Bench exhibit a harmonious balance of ripe fruit, vibrant acidity, and subtle oak integration. These wines display the classic characteristics of cool-climate Chardonnay, with elegant flavors and a refreshing, crisp finish."
VineRoutes
Ontario Chardonnay: 10 Top Bottles Worth Seeking Out
Leah Spooner, October 5th, 2023
"A high-quality, small-lot producer that excels in creating terroir-driven chardonnay. Foxcroft is a highly sought-after single vineyard on the Twenty Mile Bench sub-appellation that is famed for brilliant chardonnay."
Quercus Vino
Wine Review: Cloudsley Twenty Mile Bench Chardonnay 2020
Matt Steeves, October 2023
"Medium-full bodied with refreshing yellow apple, almond croissant, tropical fruit, and sweet banana chip flavours…oak influence adding some further aromatic, flavour, and textural complexity. 93 points."
Wines In Niagara
As Harvest begins in Niagara, a bumper crop of wine coming to Vintages
Rick VanSickle, September 5th, 2023
"Cloudsley has established itself among the “terroir-centric” wineries on the Twenty Mile Bench specializing in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay."
Quench Magazine
Brie Dema, July 12th, 2023
"The texture is that of high quality, well-made, barrel aged Chardonnay; lingering oak phenolics grip slightly and the body is exceptionally well balanced with acidity. It has the complexity to show beautifully at 5-7 years of bottle age.
Wines In Niagara
Cloudsley Cellars: Carving up Terroir on the Twenty Mile Bench one Vineyard at a time
Rick VanSickle, June 20th, 2023
"The 2020 wines from Cloudsley are Lowy’s best across-the-board release to date, and his six single-vineyard Pinot Noir expressions from one Niagara sub-appellation are the most from any one winery in Niagara that I am aware of."