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Tag Archives: Merlot

To the Moon Alice

Posted on February 6, 2023 by Roger Harmston Posted in Terroir Leave a comment

Named in honour of Felicette, the first cat in space,.

This is an easy drinking white from the Languedoc. Using Grenache Blanc and a little Viognier it’s fresh and fruity. 

The grapes are harvested, destemmed and then either hot macerated to extract colour a beautiful dark red colour, and some are cold fermented to get the best possible varietal fruit extraction. The fermentation is then conducted at controlled temperature with gentle pumping overs to extract only the better tannins. The different pressings are then blended before Christmas and are aged in stainless steel tank to preserve fruit and round tannins. 

Grenache Noir 90% Syrah 5% Merlot 5%

An elegant supple, succulent and aromatic Grenache Rouge, and a mineral, crisp, and fresh Grenache Blanc, both IGP Pays d’Oc and indigenous to the region. Both have been carefully crafted to be subtle, sassy and food friendly.

A typical modern southern French wine. Good level of acidity, soft tannins, not excessively alcoholic but lots of interest. 

 Medium-bodied on the palate, soft and juicy.

PAYS D’OC GRENACHE ROUGE – FELICETTE CATS IN SPACE 2019

$17.49 regularly $18.99

14% Alcohol

UPC: 05060110825073

Felicette Cats Grenache Noir Merlot mystery case syrah

Who and Why

Posted on February 2, 2023 by Roger Harmston Posted in Terroir Leave a comment

The Audacity of Thomas G. Bright’s Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay Sussreserve are made from grapes grown in the Niagara Peninsula and the Okanagan Valley with roots that stretch all the way back almost 150 years. 

Full-bodied with a bit of spice and toast, the Cabernet-Merlot blend is grown in Okanagan and finished in whisky barrels for an exceptionally smooth finish. Look for red fruits from the Merlot and black fruits from the Cabernet.

Who would drink this? … Why – rebels, rascals, ruffians, hoofers and woofers and probably woofing hoofers – of course!. 

It worked really well with Stew, which is also a hodgepodge of terroir.

THE AUDACITY OF THOMAS G. BRIGHT – CABERNET MERLOT 2019

$17.99

14.5% Alcohol

UPC: 00063657039915

Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Okanagan

Stew it is

Posted on December 24, 2022 by Roger Harmston Posted in Terroir Leave a comment

At the start of 2020, the Sichel Family took control of Château Daviaud, a neighbouring property it well knew as one of their longtime growers. With the Château up for sale, the family didn’t want to lose the connection to the vines and land through new owners.

Bordeaux has a cool marine coastal climate, with mild weather and no dry season. Bordeaux reds tend to be lower in alcohol and are slightly lighter in body.

Blend of 45% Merlot, 21% Cab Franc, 19% Cab Sauv, 15% Malbec This was still very young. Warm baking spices on the finish Smooth tannins for a good finish.  A sense of sophistication and elegance. Went very well with homemade stew the first night, and a meat pie the second.

BORDEAUX – CHATEAU DAVIAUD ROUGE 2019

$17.99 regularly $19.99

14% Alcohol

UPC: 03394150053724

Bordeaux cabe Cabernet Franc Malbec Merlot mystery c

Now or Later?

Posted on December 10, 2022 by Roger Harmston Posted in Terroir Leave a comment

A smoothly textured, blend of Merlot (60%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (40%), this wine has big tannins and rich potential. Solid structure, wood-aging flavours and broad fruitiness give it a good future. AB will probably want this one to lay down on the job for a couple of years.

It’s a truly elegant wine. This red has a full palate with refined, polished, and well-integrated tannins. 

This wine is the latest in a line of gold medal winning bottles. From the Château Belair-Coubet, comes wines made to perfection because they’re grown and vinified with passion. This red blend is aged 14 months in French oak barrels and then given to you to enjoy. 

If it hadn’t been so windy and cold outside I’d have flashed up the BBQ. Instead,  the whiner grilled spicy lamb kebabs.

COTES DE BOURG – CHATEAU BELAIR COUBET 2019

$17.99 regularly $19.99

14% alcohol

UPC: 03336580005218

Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot mystery case

Either Or

Posted on November 4, 2022 by Roger Harmston Posted in Terroir Leave a comment

Okanagan Fruit from lots of sun but cooler summer. A warm October produced this lovely Merlot. The palate has similar flavours of rich ripe fruit and spices with pleasant smoky vanilla notes. The tannins are soft and the finish is long with the flavours lingering long after the last sip. 

Thought about a roast, but decided on a meatloaf with scalloped potatoes.  It was the right decision.  A great pairing. We’ll do the pot roast on the weekend for the other half of the bottle.

BLACK SAGE VINEYARD – MERLOT 2019

$27.99 regularly $30.99

13.5% Alcohol

UPC: 00063657031506

Black Sage Merlot mystery case

Let’s go for a little hoof

Posted on August 24, 2022 by Roger Harmston Posted in Terroir Leave a comment

Monte Antico, which means “ancient mountain,” is Neil and Maria Empson’s wholehearted tribute to Tuscany. Their forty years of passion and experience led them to create their own label along with their good friend Franco Bernabei, a master in Italian winemaking. Together, they have styled the quintessential Tuscan grape Sangiovese, highlighting all it has to offer and complementing it with just enough Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon to bring it all together.

This wine is 85% Sangiovese with 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot. Grown in a balanced combination of geological diversity. Aged for a year in oak (80% Slavonian barrels, 20% barriques). All of the barriques are made of French Oak. 10-20% of the barriques are new and the remaining percent are 2nd year barriques.  Finally, the wine is aged in the bottle for 6.”

Dark ruby in colour, with a herby bouquet.and a medium- to full-bodied palate. Round, spicy, elegant, attractively fruity and extremely versatile – in other words food-friendly and pocketbook friendly!

The food friendly part was delivered by lamb shanks.

TOSCANA – MONTE ANTICO

12.5% Alcohol

$16.99 regularly $17.99

UPC: 00726452000152

Cabernet Savignon Merlot mystery case Sangiovese Tuscany

if the label doesn’t grab you, the first sip certainly will

Posted on August 6, 2022 by Roger Harmston Posted in Terroir Leave a comment

Made from organic grapes harvested at the coolest time of day and immediately vinified. Fresco di Masi Rosso has fragrant aromas of pomegranates, blackcurrants and hints of cherries that make the wine so identifiably Veronese in origin.  Fruity and tangy.

Fresco di Masi is a new line of handcrafted organic wines, with a low alcohol content and authentic flavour profile. These are wines made “with the simplicity of former times, but to today’s high quality standards.”  Made from grapes harvested at the coolest time of day and immediately vinified.  A Corvina and Merlot blend.

excellent as an aperitif and with the simple foods of mediterranean cuisine.  We grilled pork chops with red onion and added a cob of corn.

ROSSO – FRESCO DI MASI

$19.99

12% Alcohol

UPC: 08002062020165

Corvina Fresco di Masi Merlot mystery case

Laughing at their Spelling

Posted on July 30, 2022 by Roger Harmston Posted in Terroir Leave a comment

But loving their attitude.  Laughing Stock Vineyards is back with another 100% Okangan grown wine.  

A play on imbibe & embezzle, IMBZZL. Big. Bold. Full and quite unique..Lots of Citrus (peachy). Heaven forbid I say it, but pristine.

Syrah dominant, Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes go into the tank and a juice stabulation technique from Gascony (and now much in vogue in Provence) leaves the juice on lees for 17 days prior to cool fermentation.Nice and full (13.9%). 1st night was with mussels.  Second night an omelette

IMBZZL – RUSE ROSE

$17.99 regularly $19.99

13.9% Alcohol

UPC: 00063657043189

Cabernet Franc Imbzzl Merlot mystery case syrah

One solved mystery

Posted on July 2, 2022 by Roger Harmston Posted in Terroir Leave a comment

A simple, unobtrusive label doesn’t prepare you for what’s inside.  I probably would have passed it by, but our Goddess of Wine made sure it was in the mystery case so we wouldn’t miss out on a real treat.

Wood aging brings out the beautifully structured blend of Malbec and Merlot.  Rich tannins, almost dark chocolate texture.

It’s Bold and Structured.  

We teamed it with cranberry, basil, fresh chicken sausages and it was a great pairing.


Château Eugénie 2018 Réserve de l’Aïeul (Cahors)

$21.47 regularly $23.99

13% Alcohol

Merlot mystery case

Storied Chapters of life

Posted on May 28, 2022 by Roger Harmston Posted in Terroir Leave a comment

Second Chapter Wine Co. on Tinhorn Creek Road in Oliver is owned by John Pullen, previous co-proprietor of Church & State Winery in Oliver for 15 years. Church & State was sold and Second Chapter is literally Pullen’s second chapter in the Okanagan wine industry.

Cabernet sauvignon is a robust, full-bodied wine that is pretty up front.. Merlot tends to be a little more delicate and sweeter. 

We like them both and even better when a nice balance is achieved with a blend that has spent some time in French Oak (22 months). Let it cellar for a bit and try again!

Second Chapter Merlot Cabernet 2018

Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Second Chapter
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