An inviting nose of raspberry, cherry, vanilla and cedar emerge from this blend of Merlot, Gamay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The palate greets you with flavours of plum, black currant, dark chocolate and a long finish. Malivoire is one of the Niagara Region's most respected boutique wineries, renowned for its creativity and wine-growing practices. This carefully crafted VQA Red Blend comes from grapes grown locally on the Niagara Peninsula.
purchase at the LCBO
2009 Gamay
2009 Ladybug Rosé
2008 Malivoire Chardonnay
2008 Malivoire Red
2008 Malivoire White
Winemaker's Notes
This unique VQA blend of 45% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Gamay was hand harvested and de-stemmed to small, open top, batch tanks for traditional red wine fermentation. Oak aged for 7 months, the final blend was determined after careful deliberation and many blending trials. Bottled in June of 2009, the final blend contains 13% alcohol, 6.8 g/l acidity and a pH of 3.7.
Food Pairings
Enjoyable on its own or as an accompaniment to meats, pastas and hearty vegetarian dishes.
Wine Reviews
Michael Pinkus – Ontario Wine Review
The red, a mix a Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon and Gamay, come together wonderfully with the simplicity of black fruit on the nose, while the palate shows more complexity: red fruit, spice, cinnamon, herbs, black cherry and more spice. Lovely. Rating: ****1/2
Beppi Crosariol – Globe and Mail
Safe to say Niagara is not the first region most oenophiles look to for bargain merlot (Chile, more likely). But here you go. Actually, it's a blend, made with merlot (45 per cent), cabernet sauvignon and gamay. Winemaker Shiraz (yes, that's his first name) Mottiar should get the Order of Canada for this ingenious blend. Who mixes corpulent, mambo merlot with light-bodied, tap-dancing gamay? Opposites apparently do attract. Great concentration here for a cool-climate red, along with the right balance of vanilla creaminess coming from seven months in oak. Smooth and berry-like, with herbal overtones and a juicy finish.
