2019 Équinoxe Merlot

2019 Équinoxe Merlot

EQUINOXE MERLOT IN 7 WORDS

Plums, Blackberry, Cedar, Chalky, Mineral, Grippy, Assertive

WINEMAKING NOTES

Équinoxe: equal day, equal night. Equal heat of the day, equal cool of the night. Equal new world, equal old world.

Équinoxe Merlot is a single vineyard wine sourced from a specific block of 20+-year-old vines on the mid slopes of the south end of the Golden Mile. Since 2008 (the first vintage of this wine) the wines resulting from this special vineyard show great flavour intensity and very firm tannins, regardless of the vintage. Morning sun and afternoon shade allow the grapes to retain acidity that is harmonious and keeps the wine from being flat or overbearing. The nose dances with a myriad of nuances and flavours and the palate highlights plum and blackberry with a long finish of cedar and mocha. This is a truly impressive wine. The sheer high quality of the fruit and style of winemaking creates a wine that will age gracefully for 10+ years.

Slideshow Items

  • 93 points

    The last time I tasted this wine was the 2016 vintage, and I remarked that we need more, and we still do. Equinoxe Merlot, a specific block of 25+ year old vines, mid slopes at the south end of the Golden Mile Bench, is a powerful expression of this much-maligned grape. There is 19 percent new oak for support, but it doesn’t need much help. Winemaker Severine Pinte’s has a quieter, drier French style that suits the site and grape. Plums and blackberries coat the palate with streaky cedar and minerals, with a dash of cocoa. This wine will only get better through 2030. Lamb is today’s ticket while we wait for it to reach total harmony.

    Anthony Gismondi Gismondi on Wine  |  Tasted: Dec 2022