(February 1, 2020) … Ontario Merlot is a fickle kinda wine, it can be harsh in its early stages and then it mellows after about 3-5 years (with the caveat that it has to be a good year, or else it gets hidden and overshadowed by wood) … People say Pinot is tough, but for Ontario Merlot just seems to cause fits … and once again here we are tasting an old Ontario Merlot 8 years from vintage date and aftre consulting my own notes (before writing this) I see it was given a whopping 45% new oak treatment, what could go wrong?
The wine kicks off with spicy dark fruit and subtle herbal notes; then it moves into the realm of spice and dusty cocoa as the fruit begins to retreat (rather quickly I might add) and it becomes mainly blackberry, cedar and spice.
In about an hour the verdict is in: the nose turned out to be better than the palate … as flavours became very wood dust, cedar with biting tannins on the mid-palate to the finish … sad because there did seem to be such potential when opened, but air and time took its toll. Just “a tad” over the hill.