WineAlign - Awards - 2017 NWAC Merlot

Results of the 2017 WineAlign National Wine Awards of Canada (The Nationals)

Merlot

Intro by Michael Godel

There was a time and it’s in the most recent past where the joke “there are 10 kinds of people in the world, those who like Merlot, and those who don’t” was not only fashionable but also poignant. Please don’t hate me for doing so because I am about to join a thousand others in quoting Miles from Sideways, a fictional movie character that single-handedly destroyed one grape (merlot’s) career while simultaneously championing another (pinot noir). “I am not drinking any (insert four letter expletive) merlot!” That 2004 anti-varietal rally cry set off a (insert second expletive) storm against the Bordeaux grape variety and it has yet to rebound from the scarring.

Or has it? Merlot has in fact increased in world-wide plantings dramatically in the last 27 years. According to the well-respected wine-searcher.com (of findings released by the University of Adelaide) it was number seven worldwide in 1990 and number two in 2010! B.C. wines tells us that in British Columbia there are 1,564 acres under vine, 33 per cent more than pinot noir, more than double cabernet sauvignon and triple that of cabernet franc. According to Wine Country Ontario merlot actually sits in the top five when it comes to vinifera vines planted, behind chardonnay and riesling, while the Grape Growers of Ontario note that harvest amounts are also eclipsed by hybrids vidal and baco noir, along with vinifera cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon. In 2015, 1,989 tonnes of merlot was harvested in Ontario.

Merlot comes from the Médoc Merlau, as it was known in the local Occitan language, a black bird who liked eating the ripe grapes on the vine. It has also been referred to as lou seme doù flube, ”the seedling from the ro asiver,” with the grape thought to have originated on one of the islands found along the Garonne river. Its ascension has much to do with the French paradox, a theory that tells us that red wine consumption is good for our health, especially because of the chemical agent resveratrol found (in particular) in red grapes and especially merlot. In the right climate, it’s also very easy to grow. In winemaking terms, it’s a no-brainer to pump out rich, thick, viscous and milkshake-textured wines. Today merlot can go two ways. It can gently appease with a warm and blanketing hug or it can smother you with compressed layers of fruit, structure and often astringency. What’s your cup of merlot?

For the NWAC17 judges the competition doled out mixed results but one thing is clear. If you are going to grow merlot successfully in Canada, the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia is the place to be. All three Gold Medals were west coast based, along with 86 per cent of the Silver and 74 per cent of the Bronze Medals. Looking through the results and my tasting notes I can see that the winners were almost all situated in the deep, dark and handsome camp. Big hugs were few and far between. Welcome to the merlot paradox world of polyphenols, antioxidants and big flavours.

Blasted Church 2014 Merlot, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Burrowing Owl 2014 Merlot, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Mission Hill 2014 Reserve Merlot, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia