2022 Cabernet Merlot
This elegant yet playful Cabernet Merlot is beautifully balanced with depth of flavours. It displays sour cherries, cranberries, and raspberries on the nose with some herbaceous notes such as sage and thyme. The palate opens with complex flavours of cherries, blackberries, pomegranate, and dark chocolate with a touch of black olive. Medium body with silky, smooth tannins and a long alluring finish with have you coming back for more. Drink this wine now or allow to age for up to 5 years.
Silver Medal & 90 Points, National Wine Awards of Canada 2024
90 Points, John Schreiner
- Alcohol 13.7%
- Acidity 6.63
- Harvest Date Oct 14th & 21st
- Residual sugar 0.49 g/L
- Sulfites Added yes
- Type Cabernet Merlot
- Varietal Cabernet Merlot
- Vineyard Anarchist Mountain Vineyard & Ryegrass Road Vineyard
- Vintage 2022
- Winemaker Ajay Chavan
Food Pairing
Charred steak topped with Dragon’s Breath Blue Cheese and roasted rosemary fingerling potatoes. For a sweeter option indulge in a piece 70% dark chocolate.
Vineyard Notes
The 2022 vintage started off very slow with cool temperatures. Summer delivered our usual glorious Okanagan weather without the extreme heat we had in the previous year. The latter half of the season presented great weather for slow and gradual flavour and phenolic development in the fruit keeping sugar levels in control. The fall weather produced above average temperatures right through to the end of October, which were ideal conditions for retaining natural acidity and slow gradual accumulation of flavours to optimal ripeness. The overall 2022 growing season has provided us with outstanding fruit for our 2022 Cabernet Merlot.
Winemaker Notes
The fruit was hand-picked from two unique vineyard sites in the South Okanagan. Picked on October 21st from Anarchist Mountain Vineyard in Osoyoos, originally planted in 1994, and on October 14th from Ryegrass Road Vineyard in Oliver, planted in 2009. The fruit was whole berry destemmed into stainless steel fermenters and co-fermented. It remained on the skins for 14 days with a 5-day cold soak before being pressed off and put to barrel. Aged for 11 months in seasoned French oak barrels, a natural malolactic fermentation occurred in the Spring. The wine was bottled at the end of August, unfined and coarsely filtered. It is a blend of 92% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc. Enjoy now or within the next 3 to 5 years.
