Blackstone Merlot

Blackstone Winemakers Select Merlot 2010 $15.95. I ordered this bottle at a restaurant for my wife’s birthday. It was $35, so not a ridiculous mark-up. I recommend letting this wine decant for at least 30 minutes to open it up. It had a subtle fruit-oak mixed scent and was a nice tasting, fairly smooth wine. JC88

Pelee Island Monarch 2011

Pelee Island Monarch Red 2011 $10.45. The 2008 vintage of the Monarch Red was the first wine that I bought multiple bottles of. It was the wine that introduced me to the Pelee Island winery and it was my go-to wine for a period of time. Then along came the 2009 vintage and it was noticeably sweeter, making it not nearly as good. There was a lot of anticipation for the 2010 vintage, hoping that it would be more like ’08 than like ’09. It turned out that there was no 2010 vintage. I was thinking that the Monarch Red was now a thing of the past, something I would only have in memories.

 

You could imagine my surprise and excitement when I was in the LCBO yesterday and spotted a Monarch Red 2011! I was cautiously optimistic and had to drink it that evening to see how it was. There was a fruity scent with subtle oak in the background. The taste was smooth, but still sweeter than I would have liked. I may buy another bottle, but unfortunately it won’t be my go-to wine. JC86

Beronia Tempranillo

Beronia Tempranillo 2009 $11.45. A friend brought this Spanish wine over before he left for Spain. Powerful scents of fruit and oak. This is a full-bodied wine that would go well with a steak or a hardy stew. JC87