I woke up early on July 25th to fit in a visit to Intersection winery. I got a chance to walk through the vineyards and go through the wines with Assistant Winemaker and Vineyard Manager Melissa Smits. What is interesting at the winery is the attention being given to their Merlot. There are three different offerings in the portfolio and all are very solid. The portfolio at Intersection is small and focused, it’s clear that they are making what they feel works best for their site. I have made no secret of my apathy towards Merlot in the past, but that just means the good stuff stands out even more. I already can’t wait to get my hands on my next bottle of Milepost.
2014 Riesling – ****+ – $19.00 – The clear story in this bottle is mineral from start to finish. The nose offers up bright lime and golden delicious apple. In the mouth this wine matches the nose with a nice clean finish thanks to a great acid backbone.
2014 Miles Edge – **** – $19.00 – This blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier brings a whole lot of fruit into your glass. Orange, Tangerine, Grapefruit all dance on your palate. But there is a little depth to this wine as well, a slightly creamy mouthfeel has this tasting a little like a creamsicle as it starts to finish off the back of your palate. This wine is dry with nice acidity on the finish. This is the perfect wine for a fish fry, or roasted chicken.
2013 Sauvignon Blanc – ****+ – $24.90 – There is something a little funky, and a little smoky on the nose of this wine. This has spend some time in oak barrels and these flavours give this wine fantastic complexity. Under the smokiness from the nose there is grapefruit, passion fruit, bruised peach and pear. Everything about this wine just screams balance… you can try to focus on an individual note in this wine but it will escape you and move on to the next before you can zero in on it.
2011 Milepost Merlot – ****+ – $19.00 – This is the “entry level” to the portfolio for Intersection, that being said this wine is anything but entry level. Vanilla, Cherry and Strawberry on the nose with some Pencil Shaving sprinkled into the mix. The fruit is perfectly ripe and goes right to the edge of almost being jammy, but it’s not. This wine has one foot firmly planted in an old world style and one in new world. This wine drinks dangerously easy and to keep this in a cellar (even though you could for 3-5 years) would be a crime.
2013 Silica Merlot – **** – $29.00 – This is made from a single vineyard. This wine does need a bit of time to relax. It’s tight and closed off with grippy tannin, but in a couple of years in a cellar (or a good hour or more in a decanter) this should reveal some very nice ripe red fruit. As with the 2011 Milepost, the fruit is ripe but not jammy.
2013 Alluvia Merlot – ****+ – $29.00 – This is made from a single vineyard. This is approachable soft and balanced right now. The nose is raspberry, strawberry, cherry with whispers of coffee and cocoa. The concentration of flavour in this wine is seriously impressive and even in it’s youth is putting all the fruit front and centre. That being said there is some nice aging potential in this wine and you could leave it in a cellar to develop for 5-7 years easily.
2013 Cabernet Franc – ****+ – $25.00 – There is spearmint on the nose of this wine, it’s subtle, but it’s definitely there. This is a very good Franc with raspberry, dark cherry, blackberry and there are hints of blueberry as well. The finish on this wine is long and rich and leaves you with a nice cocoa and tobacco note on the palate.
