Oliver, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaFrom Oliver's Blue Terrace vineyard, and Naramata Bench's Front Yard vineyard, this merlot was macerated over 3 weeks with thrice daily plunging to ensure ample fruit extraction. This was then aged in American and French barrels for 18 months, further amping up the intensity. Dark cassis, dark cocoa, roasted espresso floods the full-potent palate, housed by gritty tannins to a bitter finish. Pour this punchy red with an equally punchy red meat dish to best results.Tasted: 07 March 2020Tasted by: Prices:
Oliver, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThis wine surprised me last year with its size and structure, and it’s almost as rich this vintage. The nose is a mix of savoury and balsamic notes that spill onto the palate. The attack is full-bodied but in that softer, rounder merlot way, bringing black cherries, plums and sweet tobacco leaf into the mix. Young but not particularly awkward, this will be fun to drink in two years and through 2027. Most of the power comes from the gravelly North Oliver Bench (Blue Terrace Vineyard) with lesser amounts for finesse from the Front Yard Vineyard on the Naramata Bench. It gets 14-20 days of maceration with thrice daily hand punch downs before ageing in American and French barrels for 18 months. I would love to see this with no American oak to tighten the final picture.Tasted: 07 November 2019Tasted by: Prices:
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