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91POINTS
16¾/20
CheckMate Artisanal Winery Black Rook Merlot 2015
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaBlack Rook fruit comes off the Black Sage Bench from a warm, sandy site with low vigour soils, pushed against the Okanagan Highlands. The naturally low fertility leads to small clusters and intense black fruit, further amplified by a hot year. Big and luxurious, it was an easy decision to age all of the wine in new French oak. At this stage, it shows youthful primary black fruit and licorice with some grippy tannins, toasted notes, and a wisp of smoke. As I've mentioned before, it is more Washington State than Bolgheri or Bordeaux in style and not quite as polished as the rest of the group. Nevertheless, I appreciate the individuality of this wine, the site, and the care and attention given to it to allow its personality to shine. Give this one three to five years to pull it all together, or drink now with back ribs slathered in barbecue sauce. The Black Rook mix in 2015 is 85.2 percent merlot, 9 percent petit verdot, 4.4 percent cabernet franc and 1.4 percent syrah.Tasted: 18 October 2019Tasted by: Anthony GismondiPrices:| BC | $85.00 | 750ml | winery direct, restaurants, select private wine shops |
| BC | $196.00 | 1500ml | winery direct, restaurants, select private wine shops |
| BC | $480.00 | 3000ml | winery direct, restaurants, select private wine shops |
| BC | $989.00 | 6000ml | winery direct, restaurants, select private wine shops |
Grape: MerlotCSPC: 655431UPC: 776545801340
