WTN: Henry of Pelham Meritage 2005

Niagara Peninsula.
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

Cherry red in the glass.

A soft, lush nose of chocolate and cherry.

Soft and full in the mouth, cherry, tobacco, cedar, medium weight, smoky, tangy, spicy, chocolate, good acidity.

Nothing much on the finish.

This wine was a real eye-opener for me. I usually don't drink Ontario reds since, I had believed, Ontario did better with whites. This is one impressive, classy, well-priced wine which has encouraged me to go out and try more reds from my own backyard.

Purchased at $15.25 (Canadian).

Thanks for the note, Bruce. I love their Baco and Riesling.

...This wine was a real eye-opener for me. I usually don't drink Ontario reds since, I had believed, Ontario did better with whites....

Ontario does do whites better than reds, but that doesn't mean the reds are bad. At last June's NiagaraCOOL tour to Cave Spring, Tom told us that their bread and butter is whites and 80% of what they make is white. Riesling and Chardonnay are good, consistent crops every year. PN is dependent of the weather, so is variable. CF and Merlot can usually ripen and are very good in good years. CS ripens in good years. 2005 and 2007 were good years. 2006 and 2008 have problems with reds.

[James Roscoe]

What Howie said, but with climate change we are going to see better reds from places like Ontario on a more consistent basis. This will especially be true of good producers like Pelham and Cave Springs. Whites should continue to be their bread and butter wines though. (See Robin, you have made a convert of me! )

You know, Bruce, my opinion on Ontario reds is this:

The Bordeaux varieties have challenges; namely, with cool years and especially during brutal winters. As you know, we can, and do, occasionally, have both. Now, as Howie said, in a good year, not just with adequate heat unit accumulation but also with adequate length of ripening season, Cabs Franc and Sauvignon, and Merlot, can and do ripen well, and they can produce some very nice wines.

On the average, though, I have found the local Cabs and Merlots more green than I like and with much more charred oak than I usually like. These wines tend to show better from areas with longer growing seasons as a rule.

Now, as you know, I am a die-hard hybrid supporter - however, I also believe that there are certain viniferas that do extremely well here in Ontario but that just don't have the name cachet and media support behind them. One such grape is the Austrian Zweigelt: every single one that I've tasted has impressed me. I think that Niagara should be planting more of it, but the Germanic name is seen as a drawback - a silly reason in my opinion if the wine is consistently good.

Syrah does well here, producing an intensely peppery, light bodied red that's much more interesting IMO than the Cabs, Merlots, Pinot Noirs or Gamays. But there's not much Syrah planted in Ontario, and it is winter-sensitive.

I have not been much impressed with our local Gamays (save the Gamay Noir "Droit" clone grown at Château des Charmes) and the Pinot Noir is generally just alright.