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93POINTS
17¼/20
CheckMate Artisanal Winery Opening Gambit Merlot 2015
Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaI have to admit the confluence of one of hottest vintages ever (2015), meeting one of the warmest vineyards in Canada, had me wondering how Opening Gambit's 85.1% merlot, 10.4% petit verdot and 4.5% cabernet franc would work out. The site is steep, 1083 to 1437 feet above sea level, and undulating, pitching its vines in several directions. This wine is hedonistic, but it's been that way from the start. What it's not is baked or overripe with dead fruit. Instead, the entry is fragrant with savoury, dried-herb garrigue that permeates the wine. Black fruits rule the day, but they pale against the creamy soft tannins that welcome you to the back end of the wine. Dense and supple, it may not be a long-term cellar candidate, but there is no rush to drink this merlot before 2022. This wine continues to take me to Bolgheri with its savoury mocha, and that's an excellent place to be. It is a showy south Okanagan red that delivers. In terms of winemaking, it is inspected cluster-by-cluster upon arrival at the winery, hand-sorted and gently destemmed before another sorting of individual berries to retain only the most pristine fruit as it heads to the fermenters for a native ferment. Post ferment, the juice is gravity drained into barrels for ageing 21 months. Here, a full malolactic fermentation takes place, gradually softening the final profile of this merlot. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered, suggesting decanting will be necessary some time down the road.Tasted: 18 October 2019Tasted by: Prices:| BC | $85.00 | 750ml | winery direct, wine club members |
| BC | $196.00 | 1500ml | winery direct, wine club members |
| BC | $480.00 | 3000ml | winery direct, wine club members |
| BC | $989.00 | 6000ml | winery direct, wine club members |
Grape: MerlotCSPC: 408161UPC: 776545801302
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