Ottawa, ON

February 2018

 

Matt’s review: For over 20 years Burrowing Owl has been producing some of Canada’s finest wines, from the Wine Capital of Canada, Oliver, BC. Their 2014 Meritage is a blend of (31%) Merlot, (21.4%) Cabernet Franc, (21.4%) Cabernet Sauvignon, (10.7%) Malbec, and (10%) Petit Verdot that were hand picked and sorted, then vinified and barrel aged separately for 18 months in a blend of French, Hungarian, American, and Russian oak. By vinifying and barrel aging each variety separately they were able to showcase the full expression of the terroir and achieve the perfect integration of fruit, acid, tannin, and texture in each finished wine thereby contributing additional complexity to the final blend. International wine consultant Alain Sutre, who’s played key roles in producing other ultra premium Canadian wines, guided the development and final assemblage of this Meritage and as with the past several vintages it’s fantastic! Deeply coloured, the nose is full of sweet and savoury notes with dark fruit, plum, cassis, sage, charcoal grilled beef, and cedar. Full bodied, and richly flavoured with fresh and juicy dark fruits and spice persisting on the long finish. With great structure and texture, this wine has been assembled with care to seamlessly integrate the best characteristics from each of the five varietals in one harmonious blend. It’s wines like Burrowing Owl’s Meritage, and other premium BC wines with great acclaim, that shows why the Okanagan Valley is becoming increasingly recognized as and positioned to be a fine wine region of the world. Enjoy the 2014 Meritage with grilled beef tenderloin with a rosemary infused Port reduction or a scotch fillet steak with red wine jus – absolutely delicious! Drink 2018-2025+. Tasted February 2018. 93 points. Matt Steeves – http://www.quercusvino.ca

Available at LCBO or Winery Direct

BurrowingOwlMeritage