Lunessence Merlot 2015 Wine Review

Lunessence Merlot 2015

Okanagan Valley, British Columbia BC V.Q.A., Canada

Community Score:92/100

Community Reviews: 6

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Price: $30.00

Drink: 2017-2025

Bottle size: 750 ml

Alcohol: 15%

Sweetness: Dry

Wine Type: Red Wine

Winery: Lunessence

Agent: Crush Wine Merchants & Co.

Natalie's Score: 94/100

A superb BC Merlot: among the best I've tasted ... ever. Full-bodied, rich, complex and layered. Aromas of fleshy dark plums and cassis. Pair with grilled lamb. Soooo good!

This Lunessence Merlot 2015 was reviewed on May 27, 2017 by Natalie MacLean

More Vintages: 2016 2013 2014 2021 2018

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Pricing & Stock Information

LCBO
880856
$30.00
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BCLDB
880856
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Reviews and Ratings

Julian Park rated this wine as 93/100 with the following review:

A big bold Merlot, almost jammy, with ripe blackberry aroma and on the palate black plum, savoury dried herbs and a hint of mint all wrapped up in soft tannins. Decanting recommended.

Matt Steeves - Certified Sommelier rated this wine as 93/100 with the following review:

Lunessence's 2015 Merlot is an exceptional expression of a premium Okanagan Merlot, a varietal that the Okanagan excels in, and for which this would be a terrific benchmark for both quality and complexity.

The 2015 Merlot is very expressive, with a bouquet full of spicy plum, fig, mocha, scorched earth, leather, and cedar. The palate is creamy smooth and succulent with plum, spicy dried dark fruit, and cedar persisting on the finish. Impeccable structure with a powerful yet harmonious blend of fruit and rustic characteristics, the sweet and savory characteristics make this wine ideally suited for enjoying with Mediterranean lamb burgers, Beef Wellington, or grilled flat iron steak with blue cheese butter. Enjoy now and over the next 5 years. Only 300 cases produced. Tasted July 2017. 93 points. Matt Steeves - www.quercusvino.ca

Greg Hughes rated this wine as 90/100 with the following review:

Big, broad, and juicy Merlot from British Columbia. This winery is very small production and it looks as though all of their wines are geared to the premium wine category. There are only 200 cases of this particular wine. That's extremely small production.
Glass-coating purple, with some redness at the rim.
Aromatics are classic new world Merlot: damson, macerated cherry, cranberry, chocolate, pipe tobacco, pot pourri, violets, and vanilla.
The alcohol is quite high in this wine at at least 14.5%. That being said, it is still easy to drink and shows a lpt of replays of red and black fruit. There is muuch more berry and cherry on the palate. The plumminess that is so pleasant on the nose takes a backseat. The oak also takes the back seat.
It was aged in a variety of European oaks: French, Hungarian, and Slovakian (not Slovenian). They carefully managed the time it had in oak to ensure the fruit notes weren't crowded out by secondary oak flavours - that's commendable.
This would be a great wine for ginger beef, or grilled vegetables on the barbecue.

Jon Steeves - Sommelier rated this wine as 90/100 with the following review:

Rich, complex, deep garnet with a brick hue. 14.8% ABV. Tasted 2013 vintage in June 2017. Ripening blackberry, tart cherry, black currant. Dusty red fruit, medium tannins, moderate acidity. Pair with beef fajitas. Tasted June 2017. 90 points.

Monique Sosa - Accredited Sommelier reviewed this wine as follows:

A gorgeous full-bodied BC Merlot with flavours of fleshy black plum, cassis, leather and vanilla. Tannins are satiny smooth and well integrated with a balanced mouthwatering acidity and a long vanilla bean finish. Enjoy this bold BC Merlot with Sriracha-BBQ short ribs. Tasted June 2017 by @sommsosa of bespoketastings.ca

Grapes for this wine were hand picked on 06.10.2015 at 28.6 brix. The wine went through full malolactic fermentation. Ageing took six months in variety of Hungarian and French oak, then in stainless steel tanks for six months, and finally three months in a bottle. The main focus was to achieve a good balance of oak and ripe merlot flavours. This Merlot reflects an excellent vintage in the Okanagan. Bold, ripe fruit with well-integrated oak and tannins result in a rich and flavourful tasting experience. Decanting recommended. Unfined and unfiltered.

Source: Winery (Lunessence Winery & Vineyard)

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Lunessence Merlot 2015 Wine Review

Natalie's Score: 94/100

Pricing & Stock Information