In the past few years I have given up on Ontario Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon as a single varietal wine. Could it be that Ontario doesn’t have the terroir and climate for these two grapes? However earlier this year I spent a few days at Niagara-on-the-Lake and discovered a Two Sisters Merlot that impressed at a neurologist/cardiologist/corporate senior executive price, close to $60 for a bottle. So a great Ontario Merlot is indeed possible! Yes travel educates the wine palate and you don’t have to be in Calabria sipping wine at the foot of Vesuvius to make such a conclusion. Niagara-on-the-Lake doesn’t have a volcano but that doesn’t mean it can’t supply wine drinkers with valuable insight and experiences!
Giving that memory fresh meat I try a Stratus Vineyards 2019 Merlot a Niagara-on-the-Lake VQA wine. On the nose some smoky black cherry, blackberry and raspberry all a bit weak and strained. On the plate some tannins linger with some sour cherry influences with a minute smidge of milk chocolate. A lean Merlot far from a Californian or Washington Merlot and of course trailing far behind a Two Sisters Merlot!
Can I interpret this as a refection of Niagara terroir therefore giving an excuse for a flinty lacklustre Merlot? Given that superb Two Sisters Merlot from Niagara-on-the-Lake I can’t hide behind terroir.
(Wildass Merlot 2019, VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake, Stratus Vineyards Niagara-on-the-Lake, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 376822, 750 mL, 12%, RKS Wine Rating 86/100).
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