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Wine Details
Price:
$21.90 per bottle
Description:
Now available! This 2003 vintage is named mélange (blend), for its unique blend of 10 percent Gamay Noir and 30 percent each Marechal Foch, Merlot and Michurinetz. Michurinetz is an extremely winter hardy east-European variety which was sourced from a Westbank vineyard. Graham said that by itself, Michurinetz makes a Cabernet Sauvignon-style wine. The tank sample we tasted was very complex - it had lovely coffee, raspberry and cherry aromas, chocolate cherry/berry flavours and a long black tea finish.
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Varietal Definition
Michurinetz:
This vine, at home in Eastern Europe, is a Vitis vinifera and Vitis Amurensis hybrid. The grape is now being grown experimentally in the Finger Lakes region of New York State and British Columbia, but has already established resounding commercial status in Nova Scotia. In Nova Scotia during the 1980s, Michurinetz, marketed as Cuvee D'Amur, produced gold medals at the premier Bristol and New York competitions for Roger Dial's Grand Pré Winery. Grand Pré's 1983 Cuvée D'Amour shocked the Canadian Wine Press when, not only a wine from Nova Scotia, but a wine made from a little known Russian varietal was voted the 'best wine of Canada' in a blind competition to supply the Canadian Embassies around the world. More recently two other Nova Scotia wineries, Jost Vineyards and Sainte Famille, are making notable wines with Michurinetz. This extremely cold-hardy and vigorous vine typically produces red wines with tannic muscularity. The grapes also typically have extremely high natural acidity, and low sugar levels whic
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Merlot:
Merlot is known as a Noble Bordeaux varietal. Although it came to France in the first century, it was not named until the 1880s. Merlot was originally used only for blending, as it is soft and compliant, very useful in softening other Bordeaux wines like Cabernets. Recently in California and Chile it became popular as a 100% varietal wine. Merlot tends to be easier to grow in a variety of soil conditions and is harvested earlier in the year than Cabernet. Although most Merlots are made to be drunk earlier, there are many with complexities of a Cabernet. Flavors of plum, black cherry, violet, chocolate and orange pair well with rich, red pasta dishes, hearty chicken dishes, and any beef combination that you fancy. The perfect match of course is chocolate. Not only does the chocolate compliment the wine and vice-versa, but the essence of both flavors linger eternally.
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Marechal Foch:
A french-american hybrid grape, with french Alsace Gamay origins, noted for producing deeply colored and strongly varietal wines considered by some to have a "Burgundian" character. Also known under the name Foch.
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Gamay Noir:
The Gamay Noir grape is a clone of Pinot Noir. The version thought to be responsible for the Beaujolais wines of France is the Gamay Noir a Jus Blanc, as distinct from other Gamay teinturiers - (i.e: Gamay vine mutations of ancient origin noted for their deep red coloring capacity in blends).
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Cabernet Sauvignon:
Cabernet Sauvignon is the most widely planted and significant among the five dominant varieties in France’s Bordeaux region, as well as the most successful red wine produced in California. Though it was thought to be an ancient variety, recent genetic studies at U.C. Davis have determined that Cabernet Sauvignon is actually the hybrid offspring of Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc. Cabernet Sauvignon berries are small with black, thick and very tough skin. This toughness makes the grapes fairly resistant to disease and spoilage and able to withstand some autumn rains with little or no damage. It is a mid to late season ripener. These growth characteristics, along with its flavor appeal have made Cabernet Sauvignon one of the most popular red wine varieties worldwide.
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Gamay:
The red grape of Beaujolais. Vinified by a process known as 'macération carbonique'* if produces light, fruit driven wines for early consumption. At home in the granite hills of Beaujolais it is a vigorous producer but susceptible to rot. Sometimes blended with Pinot Noir under the appellation 'Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains'. Also grown quite extensively in the Loire Valley notably in Touraine.
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