Gold at Decanter: the Winery and Region Almost Nobody Saw Coming...

Canadian wine lovers, meet Trail Estate Winery! And join us for our next Tasting Thursday to discover the limestone-rich terroir of Prince Edward County, near Hillier, Ontario.

 

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In under 15 years, Trail went from being a brand new winery to a serious contender, not just in Canada, but internationally. I have now tasted seven vintages of their Chardonnay program and every single one has something special to say. 

 

That kind of consistency from a young Ontario estate deserves way more attention than it's getting.

 

Stay tuned for a Tasting Thursday with this winery's beloved winemaker Mackenzie Brisebois, as well as their brand new winemaker who will be taking over Mackenzie's role.

 

Keep scrolling for my notes and scores, and choose your bottles here. 

 

Cheers,

Carl

🔥Choose Your Bottles Here (click or tap)
Three Ultra Rare Pinots 🔥 94, 93+, 93+

Three Ultra Rare Pinots 🔥 94, 93+, 93+

$214.64

Buy all three of these highly rated, tiny batch Pinots together and you're tasting nearly a decade of proof that Prince Edward County belongs in the same conversation as the world's greatest Pinot Noir regions.

 

2017 Trail Estate Pinot Noir Traditional Method Sparkling 🔥 93+pts

Seven years on the lees, disgorged in late 2025. Bone dry with fine creamy bubbles, pomegranate, cranberry, peach, and lemon zest, plus a toastiness that puts it on a Champagne level. This is the third and final batch ever disgorged. Tax in price: $67.80

 

2023 Trail Estate Pinot Noir 115 Noir 🔥 94pts 🔥 Exclusive Release!

The same chalky North Block that gives Trail's Chardonnay its signature shows up here too, with sour cherry, red plum, wild raspberry, violet, and a long spicy finish. Only 8 cases made. Tax in price: $62.12

 

2023 Trail Estate Pinot Noir 667+115 🔥 93+pts 🔥 Exclusive Release

60% North Block, 40% South Block, barreled separately then brought together. Rounder and more approachable, with riper cherry and strawberry fruit over that same chalky backbone. Only 65 cases made. Tax in price: $84.72

 

ON, VQA Prince Edward County
100% Pinot Noir
2017 Trail Estate Foxcroft Chardonnay 🔥 95 pts 🔥 Only 36 Bottles Left!

2017 Trail Estate Foxcroft Chardonnay 🔥 95 pts 🔥 Only 36 Bottles Left!

$39.52
$45.17

This wine only re-enforced my fascination for Foxcroft Chardonnay. This vineyard is most likely my top Grand Cru site for Canadian Chardonnay, and it just sent another Top 10 Wine of the Year candidate in this wine.

 

Rich and balanced, this wine has arrived to it's prime window of drinkability with 35% new oak. A wonderful texture, pinpoint acidity, and all of the Foxcroft tipicity like salinity and precision.

 

The nose is a classic Twenty Mile Bench: lemon meringue, ripe orchard fruits, chamomile, and yellow apples. The palate has come together perfectly with apple pie, lemon meringue, peach, nectarine, baked bread, and a perfect complexity on the back end with incredible oak integration. This wine is unfined, unfiltered, and ready to drink at it's glorious peak, right now. (Carl Boucher, July 19, 2026). 

 

150 cases made.

 

95 points Carl’s Wine Club | Silver, WineAlign | 92 points Natalie MacLean

ON, Niagara Peninsula, VQA Twenty Mile Bench
100% Chardonnay | RS 3.1g/L | Dry | 12.1% ABV

 

Food pairings: crab cakes, pork chops with apple sauce
Drink between: 2026 to 2027
2017 Trail Estate County Chardonnay 🔥 92+pts 🔥 Less than 12 Bottles Left!

2017 Trail Estate County Chardonnay 🔥 92+pts 🔥 Less than 12 Bottles Left!

$56.47

This is the second vintage ever of the Trail Estate Chardonnay and was bottled unfiltered.

 

This one is nervy and directional, moreso than the Foxcroft version, which would make sense since it's estate fruits from the cooler Prince Edward County. A fantastic side by side with the Foxcroft from the same vintage, showcasing two incredible sources of fruits.

 

The structure is the most impressive attribute of this PEC Chardonnay. The nose showcases lime, lemon, nuttiness and vanilla. The palate has a mix between concentration, energy, acid, and pure Chardonnay flavours like yellow apple, lemon, lime, and nectarine. The finish is also sensational, lingering for a long period, leaving behind a nice flintiness and saltiness. (Carl Boucher, July 19, 2026). 

 

225 cases made.

 

92+ points Carl’s Wine Club | Gold, WineAlign | 93 points John Szabo | 93 points Jamie Goode

ON, VQA Prince Edward County
100% Chardonnay | RS 3.0g/L | Dry | 11.7% ABV

 

Food pairings: creamy chicken alfredo, lemon butter shrimp
Drink between: 2026 to 2029
2021 Trail Estate Chardonnay du Nord | 92pts

2021 Trail Estate Chardonnay du Nord | 92pts

$62.12

2021 was a great growing season, but the rain in September threw a wrench in many producers' operations. Chardonnay is a grape that harvests earlier in the season, so it was not as affected, and the quality remained high.

 

The personality of the North block of Trail's estate vineyard has stayed consistent over the vintages I have tasted, focused on length, energy and minerality. 

 

On the nose, expect high floral notes, pear, and green apple, and a similar palate with great flintiness, chalkiness, energy and definition on the edges. A striking finish and finesse.

 

Please pair this with something creamy, for a little glimpse of heaven. (Carl Boucher, August 12, 2026). 

 

Only 22 cases made. 

 

92 points Carl's Wine Club | 94 points Rick VanSickle | 95 points David Lawrason

ON, Prince Edward County
100% Chardonnay | RS 2.0g/L | Dry | 11.2% ABV

 

Food pairings: seared ahi tuna, patates dauphinoises
Drink between: 2026 to 2029
2021 Trail Estate Chardonnay du Sud 🔥 93+pts

2021 Trail Estate Chardonnay du Sud 🔥 93+pts

$62.12

I swear, I geeked out on this wine for at least seven days. Every day was a new and enjoyable surprise. Great texture, tremendous complexity, acidity levels on par, and overall, a very seductive wine.

 

On the nose, sweet lemon, pear, tangerine, and a hint of savouriness. The palate showcases all of the attributes of Prince Edward County, including that long mineral finish, sustained in a great structure and a delicious crusty lemon pie meringue style. 

 

Having this wine side-by-side with the North block counterpart from the same vintage is absolutely fascinating! (Carl Boucher, August 12, 2026). 

 

Only 32 cases made. 

 

93+ points Carl's Wine Club | 93 points Rick VanSickle

 

ON, Prince Edward County
100% Chardonnay | RS 2.0g/L | Dry | 11.2% ABV

 

Food pairings: BBQ grilled salmon, Thai mussels
Drink between: 2026 to 2030
2023 Trail Estate County Chardonnay🔥 94 pts

2023 Trail Estate County Chardonnay🔥 94 pts

$47.83

By now, we can definitely confirm that 2023 is a spectacular vintage for Chardonnay across Ontario, and here is another incredible showing.

 

This is the seventh vintage ever of the Trail Estate County Chardonnay, which has shown us a consistent personality over the years. Stony minerality is at the forefront of this 2023, with great structure, perfect acidity, and well integrated 30% new French oak. 

 

A classic stony nose, with lime, lemon and meringue. The palate offers richness, structure, and a fantastic mineral frame. Apple pie, lemon zest, sweet lemon syrup, and a hint of toastiness. Some spice on the finish also emerges and mingles very well with the salty minerality. (Carl Boucher, August 12, 2026). 

 

130 cases made. 

 

94 points Carl's Wine Club | Gold, Decanter | 94 points John Szabo

ON, VQA Prince Edward County
100% Chardonnay | Dry | 11.5% ABV

 

Food pairings: sushi, seafood risotto
Drink between: 2026 to 2035
2023 Trail Estate Chardonnay du Nord 🔥 92pts

2023 Trail Estate Chardonnay du Nord 🔥 92pts

$62.12

Made the exact same way as the Chardonnay du Sud, but from the North block fruits, and the result is absolutely fascinating. While the South is more soft, fruity and mid-palate focused, the North is more about acidity, energy, and the back-palate, with a level of chalkiness that I rarely see in Canada.

 

While I prefer a blend of both, the exercise of tasting each one side by side helps tremendously with my understanding of this terroir at Trail Estate's own vineyard. The nost is about green apple, lime, and a tonne of floral components. The palate is citrus, green apple, and grapefruit zest.

 

Pay attention to the finish. Wow. This part alone is worth popping the cork on this rare and world class bottle. (Carl Boucher, August 12, 2026). 

 

Only 10 cases made. 

 

92 points Carl's Wine Club | 95 points David Lawrason

ON, Prince Edward County
100% Chardonnay | Dry | 11.5% ABV

 

Food pairings: coquilles St Jacques, chicken Cordon Bleu
Drink between: 2026 to 2032
2023 Trail Estate Chardonnay du Sud 🔥 92+pts

2023 Trail Estate Chardonnay du Sud 🔥 92+pts

$62.12

We feel priviledged to taste a wine with such small production. No, that's not a zero missing from the number of cases produced: there were literally only 10 cases made! 

 

Fruits for this wine were sourced exclusively from the South of the estate vineyard. This block shows richness, texture and riper fruits. It was fermented and aged entirely in neutral barrels to highlight the purity of the fruits. 

 

On the nose, sweet lemon, pear, peach, and wet stone. The palate definitely shines with ripe fruits, a hint of caramel, and a very long lasting stony finish. (Carl Boucher, August 12, 2026). 

 

Only 10 cases made. 

 

92+ points Carl's Wine Club | 93 points David Lawrason

ON, Prince Edward County
100% Chardonnay | Dry | 11.5% ABV

 

Food pairings: loaded baked potatoes, lobster
Drink between: 2026 to 2030
2024 Trail Estate County Chardonnay 🔥 Exclusive Pre-Release | 92pts

2024 Trail Estate County Chardonnay 🔥 Exclusive Pre-Release | 92pts

$50.82

This vintage has more North block grapes (60%) than the 2023 vintage (30%), which makes sense since it was a hotter year. The North block offers more structure, needed to keep that perfect balance in a hot year. Mackenzie Brisebois achieved that balance here, with another epic PEC Chard. 

 

The nose is citrus, orchard fruits and floral. The palate offers great concentration, wonderful precision, and defining legth and minerality. The mid-palate is filled with lime, lemon and yellow apple, while some baked brioche and nuttiness provide more highlights to the profile. 

 

Let's not forget that the additional North block fruit also gives this wine an unmistakable chalkiness from that part of the vineyard. You can sit on this one for half a decade or more until it will hit it's prime window of drinkability. (Carl Boucher, August 12, 2026). 

 

Only 80 cases made. 

 

92 points Carl's Wine Club

ON, VQA Prince Edward County
100% Chardonnay | RS 1.77g/L | Dry | 12.5% ABV

 

Food pairings: goat cheese croquette, mild Thai curry
Drink between: 2026 to 2032
2017 Trail Estate Pinot Noir Traditional Method Sparkling 🔥 93+pts

2017 Trail Estate Pinot Noir Traditional Method Sparkling 🔥 93+pts

$67.80
$47.66

This spectacular traditional method sparkling is bone dry, crisp and energetic, with fine creamy bubbles, outsanding texture and world class complexity. It spent over seven years on it's lees after being bottled in 2018, and disgorged at the end of 2025. Knowing that, the level of complexity and texture makes so much sense. 

 

This is the third batch disgorged, and the last chance to get this rare bubbly into your cellar.

 

Pomegranite, cranberry, peach, lemon zest, as well as a nice toastiness bring this PEC sparkling to a Champagne-level. This is an anniversary type of sparkling wine, to open for a special occassion. Cheers! (Carl Boucher, July 19, 2026). 

 

93+ pts Carl’s Wine Club | 94pts David Lawrason, WineAlign | 93pts Rick VanSickle

ON, Prince Edward County, Estate
100% Pinot Noir | Dry | 9.5% ABV

 

Food pairings: seared scallops in cream sauce & pancetta, fresh shucked oysters
Drink between: 2026 to 2032
2023 Trail Estate Pinot Noir 115 Noir 🔥 94pts 🔥 Exclusive Release!

2023 Trail Estate Pinot Noir 115 Noir 🔥 94pts 🔥 Exclusive Release!

$62.12

From Trail estate's North block, this is clone 115 Pinot Noir. Yes, a single clone, single vineyard, single block wine! Incredibly elegant, with lots of details and precision, this might just be the Prince Edward County version of Thomas Bachelder's Lowrey Vineyard Pinot.

 

A great mix of fruitiness and earthiness, where the balance between power and elegance is seamless. On the nose, sour cherry, red plum, wild raspberry, violet, and a hint of potpourri. Flavours reflect the nose and you can add a wonderful line of minerality and a long spicy finish.  (Carl Boucher, August 12, 2026). 

 

Only 8 cases made.

 

94 points Carl's Wine Club

ON, VQA Prince Edward County
100% Pinot Noir | RS 3.2g/L | Dry | 12.0% ABV

 

Food pairings: duck confit, truffle and cheese tart
Drink between: 2026 to 2030
2023 Trail Estate Pinot Noir 667+115 🔥 93+pts 🔥 Exclusive Release

2023 Trail Estate Pinot Noir 667+115 🔥 93+pts 🔥 Exclusive Release

$84.72

The two main clones of Pinot Noir, Dijon 667 and 115 (originally from Burgundy), were barrelled separately. 60% of the fruits come from the cooler North block, and 40% from the South block. 25% aged in second-fill French barrels and 75% in neutral barrels. 

 

The result? A clean, fruity Pinot with outstanding definition and remarkable balance. It is geeky, but more approachable than the single clone 115, making this 65 case batch likely to sell out even faster.

 

On the nose, red cherry, sour cherry, fresh wild strawberries, and a hint of herbaciousness. The palate is round, soft, and also very well defined. The mid-palate is medium-bodied with a perfect level of acidity, offering flavours of ripe cranberry, freshly picked raspberries, a hint of sweet lemon, and a remarkable finish with a light toasted barrel spice.

 

A similar chalkiness on the finish happens as with the Chardonnays from the same blocks. A true terroir signature for this vineyard. (Carl Boucher, August 12, 2026). 

 

Only 65 cases made.

 

93+ points Carl's Wine Club | 93 points David Lawrason | 94 points Rick VanSickle

ON, VQA Prince Edward County
100% Pinot Noir | RS 3.2g/L | Dry | 12.0% ABV

 

Food pairings: tourtiere, baked camembert w maple toasted hazelnuts
Drink between: 2026 to 2033
2024 Trail Estate County Pinot Noir 🔥 Exclusive Pre-Release | 91pts

2024 Trail Estate County Pinot Noir 🔥 Exclusive Pre-Release | 91pts

$56.47

The fruits for this exclusive pre-release come from the North and South blocks of the Trail estate vineyard. A lighter style for colour and body, but very typical Prince Edward County structure with a great frame of acidity and lengthy mineral finish.

 

This is a fine and delicate Pinot. Aromas include wild strawberry, red cherry, violet and rose petals. On the palate, flavours of red plum, cranberry, earthiness and savouriness. All in all, a very clean and ageable wine, and I look forward to the progression in the next 5-8 years. (Carl Boucher, August 12, 2026). 

 

91 points Carl's Wine Club

ON, VQA Prince Edward County
100% Pinot Noir | Dry | 12.0% ABV

 

Food pairings: roasted turkey, wild mushroom risotto
Drink between: 2026 to 2030
2022 Trail Estate Grimsby Hillside Vineyard Cab Franc 🔥 Exclusive Pre-Release 🔥 92+pts

2022 Trail Estate Grimsby Hillside Vineyard Cab Franc 🔥 Exclusive Pre-Release 🔥 92+pts

$50.82

I spent multiple days digging into that wine, finding from the start that there was a 'je ne sais quoi.' As the days went by, the wine got better and better, and that's when I found out the secret sauce: there's 14% Viognier in the blend!

 

Cab Franc Viognier co-fermented? Unusual, but wow, it goes together really well! Add in the 50% new French oak, and it gives you a rich and expressive wine. 100% of the fruits come from the iconic Grimsby Hillside Vineyard in Niagara, but made in Prince Edward County. That's another twist to the story of this delicious wine.

 

Aromas of strawberry and cream, maraschino cherry, mocha, and slight herbal notes. Truly appealing on the nose. On the palate, I was thrilled to discover some classic black forest cake, beautifully integrated oak, a nice spike of acidity from the 2022 vintage, and a nice spice on the finish adding layers. Fantastic all around!  (Carl Boucher, August 12, 2026). 

 

Only 60 cases made.

 

92+ points Carl's Wine Club | 93 points Rick VanSickle

ON, Niagara Peninsula, VQA Lincoln Lakeshore
86% Cabernet Franc, 14% Viognier | RS 3.2g/L | Dry | 13.2% ABV

 

Food pairings: grilled sausages, spaghetti & meatballs
Drink between: 2026 to 2030
2022 Trail Estate Jus Rouge | 91pts 🔥 Member pricing!

2022 Trail Estate Jus Rouge | 91pts 🔥 Member pricing!

$33.87
$38.29

This is a very interesting wine, in a very good way! A co-ferment of red and white grapes provides a very expressive and enjoyable type of "serve me chilled" red. This is the non-white-wine drinker's white wine ;) 

 

Aged for 10 months in neutral oak with 35% Cab Sauv, 25% Cab Franc, and 40% aromatic whites (Muscat & Riesling) this wine has the potential to totally blow you away and confound your next blind tasting victims.

 

The nose and palate give you a mix of red crushed berries, cherry pie, orchard fruits like peaches, and a nice line of citrus as a backbone and frame. Yum! (Carl Boucher, August 12, 2026). 

 

Only 150 cases made.

 

91 points Carl's Wine Club

Ontario
35% Cab Sauv, 25% Cab Franc, 20% Muscat, 20% Riesling | RS 3.0g/L | Dry | 11.5% ABV

 

Food pairings: tuna tataki, steak sandwiches
Drink between: 2026 to 2028

Select your wines here

Frequently Asked Questions

How does this work?

Carl's Wine Club is Canada's first pan-Canadian, direct-to-consumer wine club.

 

Being a member of the wine club is FREE and you have access to our informative emails and our live virtual events with Carl to learn more about Canadian wineries.

 

We feature a different Canadian winery every 1-2 weeks with a specially curated mix of wines. You choose if and how much wine to purchase, with winery direct pricing and shipping deals. 

 

On Wednesdays (yes Wine Wednesdays!) we also go LIVE on our social media platforms to chat about Canadian wine and often interview winemakers. Cheers!

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Your wines will ship within 1-2 weeks of your order date, as wineries ship out our club orders all together in a few batches. You'll receive a tracking number from our system and sometimes also from the winery's system.

 

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What if there's a problem with my order or wines?

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