I try to sneak my way into Legends Estates a few times a summer to see what Derek Barnett is up to. He makes his Meldville wines here – and it’s always fun to taste through the wines with Derek. The portfolio is on solid footing with his Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc being found on many wine lists in the city of Toronto. Actually, come to think of it – my recent interest in Ontario Sauvignon Blanc can be traced to the Meldville First Edition Sauvignon Blanc. It’s hard for me to walk out of Legends without a bottle of that wine.
There are some very interesting things coming soon from Meldville. I know Derek’s Syrah can be quite divisive but those who love it – LOVE IT. I have never really understood his Syrah – but I know from talking to my podcasting co-host, Michael Pinkus, he has explained to me that Derek makes wines that are meant to be aged. I think that’s the case with the Syrah – and frankly, I am a little impatient with wines. That being said the 2017 Barrel Select Syrah coming out is something approachable, and delicious and ready to go – so that’s something to look forward to. We also tasted a barrel sample of Sauvignon Blanc – yeah – from a barrel – if this isn’t a style that we should be exploring more in Ontario – I don’t know what it. I can’t wait to taste this wine in bottle. Derek is still unsure whether or not to call it Fumé – but he expects to price it in line with the rest of his portfolio so don’t expect it to cost more than thirty dollars. But let me start my reviews with yet another new, and exciting bottle of wine – the Meldville 2018 Cabernet Franc Rosé.
2018 Meldville Cabernet Franc Rosé – $20.00 – ****+ – The concentration of confected red fruit is almost hypnotic when you put the glass to your face. This takes me right back to lunches in grade school when I was lucky enough to get a cherry fruit roll up in my lunch. In spite of the candied flavours and aromas there is nothing sweet about this wine – bone dry with no residual sugar. But I think the best part about this wine is the zippy acid on the finish the brings a slight citrus flourish to help keep that red fruit in check. This great acidity also keeps this wine very food friendly.
2017 Meldville Third Edition Chardonnay – $20.00 – **** – I would call this a hot streak for Derek – but frankly there is an anticipation of quality that I think we can safely expect with this Chardonnay. It’s perfectly balanced with fruit pushing into tropical with pineapple, but also nice peach notes. There is a nice presence of vanilla and baking spice – but it is very well integrated. 2017 was a cool summer – but that’s the good news here – this wine has held fantastic acidity which means food pairings are nearly endless.
2017 Meldville Barrel Select Syrah – $27.00 – **** – This is easily the most approachable Syrah created by Derek since the founding of the Meldville label. The aromas are meat and black pepper – but this moves to nice blueberry, blackberry, and plum. The flavours match the aromas – but this opens up on the palate with nice concentration and texture. There is great depth to this wine, and all the flavours are perfectly harmonious with the fruit and savoury elements to this wine working very well together. I’m not sure that this has the aging potential as other Syrah from Meldville (or Lailey – if you’re still holding) but that’s okay! You can crack this bottle while you’re waiting patiently for the other bottles to catch up.
