Give me the choice of Merlot or another red wine from the same producer, and I will usually choose the other one, especially if it’s a Cabernet or Syrah. But Mission Hill S.L.C. Merlot from the Okanagan Valley in western Canada fooled me. It is the best varietal red from this very serious winery, and it deserves to be a front-line choice.
Canada’s Okanagan Valley is a long, thin viticultural area in the western part of the country. Although it has less acreage under vine for all wine grapes than there is acreage just for Petite Sirah in California, the district is long and thin enough (about 100 miles in length) that it varies widely in climate and soil from north to south. The southern part, where the grapes for this Merlot grow, is not only the warmest area but also desert-dry; in fact, this area is the northern limit of the Sonora desert that stretches down to Mexico. As in Washington State’s vineyards just to the south, this area benefits from many hours of extra daylight in the summer. And yet the weather cools by mid-August, so that grapes often stay on the vine into September and October. Nighttime temperatures are cool, even in summer. These factors combine to produce wines that show good ripeness of fruit and yet fresh, rather than jammy or baked, fruit flavors, along with refreshing acidity levels.
This wine, from the warmer-than-usual 2003 vintage, has a rich, fairly intense aroma of ripe dark plum with an undercurrent of blackberry, chocolate and oak spiciness. In the mouth, it is dry and full-bodied, silky in texture on the fore palate with firm oak tannin emerging in the back of the mouth. The fruitiness exceeds the tannin but is nonetheless rather restrained. A slight raciness and a certain subtlety in the wine put me in mind of a Merlot-dominant Bordeaux, but the ripeness and purity of fruit expression suggest a good Merlot from Washington.
This wine is completely enjoyable now, without further aging, and therefore would be a great choice in restaurants, but I would have no concern about aging it in my cellar for five years or perhaps longer. Because of the wine’s vibrancy of flavor, I would pair it with dishes that have fresh, clean flavors, such as a stir-fried beef or chicken dish, a pasta with fresh vegetables, or a veal paillard topped with arugula and tomatoes. A juicy steak will also work, but a long-cooked braised meat dish or stew will probably be less ideal.
Mission Hill S.L.C. (Select Lot Collection) Merlot is entirely Merlot and comes only from grapes grown in the winery’s own vineyards. The S.L.C. tier, which also includes Syrah, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon, represents only about five percent of the winery’s production. Until recently, none of these wines were available in the U.S. beyond the Pacific Northwest states. If you don’t yet know Mission Hill, this is a great wine to make the introductions.
Imported by Mark Anthony Wine Merchants
90 Points