2021 Merlot
Red WineAh, Merlot… while Miles in Sideways may not have appreciated Merlot, our hot but northerly climate makes some excellent Merlots – Okanagan Merlot can be graceful, balanced, juicy and even powerful. Our Maverick 2020 Merlot is an excellent example of how the Okanagan gets Merlot right!
TASTING NOTES:
This is a classic Merlot from the Oliver/Osoyoos area. The wine has aromas that include ripe dark cherries, hints of mocha and toasty barrel. The palate is round and lush mixed with fresh cherry flavours. There are hints of mocha or chocolate covered cherries with a touch of oak spice. This wine is smooth with lots of fruit character.
WINEMAKING NOTES:
Merlot grapes were harvested on 4 days, September 30-October 8, 2021. The fruit is hand harvested into small bins and delivered to the winery on the same day. Once the grapes are delivered, we process the fruit by gently destemming but not crushing the fruit. The processed fruit is put into small Stainless Steel tanks for fermentation. Fermentation happens naturally and slowly, and the wine is pumped over for several weeks before being pressed off. The wine is transferred to new and older French & Hungarian oak barrels and aged for 18 months. The wine required no filtration and was only lightly sulphured at bottling.
WINEMAKER’S COMMENTS:
2021 was a vintage of extremes. The spring started off cool with intermittent rain, with average bud burst and bloom. Mid-June brought the “heat dome”, with more than two weeks of temperatures over 35C, topping out at 47C. This caused the vineyard to shut down to protect from the heat. 30+C days continued through July and August, exceeding the historical average for the South Okanagan. August brought smoke cover with wildfires raging for the latter half of the month. Maverick started harvest on September 1st with ripe Sauvignon Blanc and rushed to the final line with the last of the Bordeaux reds harvested in mid-October. The 2021 vintage is showing to make powerful wines with great acidity.
NOTES:
Production – 444 cases produced
Alcohol – 14.0%
Varietals – 86% Merlot and 14% Cabernet Franc
Vinification – hand-picked, destemmed and naturally fermented in stainless steel tanks, aged for 18 months in new and neutral French and Hungarian oak barriques, bottled unfiltered
Cellaring – can be cellared for 10-15 years