2017 Premium Merlot
In Stock
Merlot, the dominant grape of the right bank area of Bordeaux, France, is one of the three Bordeaux-varietals we use for our red wines. It is a lower tannin grape and the wine has gentle or supple tannins which create a silky texture and smooth mouthfeel. The 2017 Premium Merlot was made entirely with grapes from our stellar Home Farm vineyard and is medium to full bodied with ripe fruit flavours and notes of chocolate often associated with the variety and oak aging. Enjoy now and for the next two to three years.
Wine Specs
Vintage
2017
Varietal
Merlot
Appellation
VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake
Vineyard Designation
Strewn Vineyard "Home Farm"
Alcohol %
14.2
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
Medium to full bodied wine with an abundance of ripe fruit, very fine tannins and a juicy mouthfeel. It shows ripe cherry fruit character, well-integrated notes of toasted oak spices, dark chocolate, coffee and tobacco. Soft tannins and silky texture at the end.
Best Serving Temperatures: 16 to 19 C
Vineyard Notes
Year in and year out, Strewn's Home Farm vineyard produces outstanding fruit. In hot, dry, sunny years, the fruit goes into our top-tier red wines. In the 2017 vintage, it was used to produce outstanding wines for the Premium designation level.
Production Notes
A total of 260 cases were produced.
Winemaker Notes
An 11-barrel blend of Merlot from the Home Farm vineyard, harvested over 2 pick dates of 15th and 21st November, 2017 at amazing ripe levels of 25.1 and 25.8 Bx respectively.
The must was fermented in small batch 1 ton bins with daily pigéage and malo-lactic fermentation. Pressed to oak barrels for maturation over a 18 month period, a series of blending trials were conducted to establish the best assemblage, with barriques ranging from new to 10 year old barrels of both French and American origin selected. Bottled with filtration for clarity, the wine was laid down for integration for 17 months.
Food Pairing Notes
Pick up on the fruit flavours of the wine by serving pan seared duck breast with blueberry or black current sauce. Or serve with Grilled Flat Iron (top blade) Steak with blue cheese butter where its acidity will cut the richness of the topping.