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Wine Recommendation
Inniskillin Wines
2007 Winemaker’s Series Merlot, Montague Vineyard(Niagara River)
(barrel sample)
The Montague Vineyard has long been one of Inniskillin’s trump cards. Abutting the original Brae Burn Estate, this site has consistently produced top class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. But it took the miraculous 2007 vintage to show what it can produce in the way of Bordeaux varieties when the fruit gets ripe enough and the tannins are mature.
Winemaker Bruce Nicholson, formerly with Jackson-Triggs in British Columbia, has had to adjust to Ontario’s cooler summers; but in 2007 he must have felt as if he was back in the desert-like conditions of the southern Okanagan. The grapes came in at an unprecedented 24° Brix. I tasted a barrel sample of this wine after 8 months in wood (Nicholson plans to leave it there for another four months or so). The wine was given a warm ferment with 10 – 12 days of skin contact and allowed a full malolactic fermentation. The colour is dense purple-black that stains the glass. On the nose it smells like warm blueberry pie; on the palate it’s juicy, fruity and fresh not showing the effect of oak as yet. The tannins are soft and the acidity lively. A delicious Merlot that could make Miles a believer.
Reviewed September 12, 2008 by Tony Aspler.
Other reviewed wines from Inniskillin Wines
The Wine
Winery: Inniskillin Wines |
The Reviewer
Tony Aspler
Tony Aspler has been reviewing wines since 1975 and will continue doing so until he gets it right. Although his license plate is CLARET, he enjoys all wines except sparkling Retsina. He says he’s not a wine critic but a wine evangelist because he wants to turn readers onto wine rather than turn them off. His style is telegraphic rather than poetic because there are only so many ways to say ‘mellow tannins’. |