Cosmic is a blend of 50% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 7% Pinot Noir ... yes, I did say Pinot Noir. That dash of the latter just gives a little lift and rounds out the experience. Cassis, dark cherries, spice, mocha and smoke all come to play. The tannins are soft, and the wine is already approachable.
This is the best Pinot Noir I’ve tasted from Rosewood. Tawny ruby in colour, it has an earthy cherry nose with oak spice. Very Burgundian in style; medium-bodied, dry and elegant with a firm structure and lively acidity.
Calamus’ Meritage is a blend of 42% each of Merlot and Sauvignon and the remainder Cabernet Franc. Still slightly restrained, this wine will show better in a year. Plum, cherry, raspberry, cassis, mocha, clove and herbs are built on a solid tannic backbone. Drink over the next 5 years.
A very different wine for Niagara with the Malbec and Shiraz (a 50/50 blend) co-fermented in demi-muid (600-litre) oak barrels. The nose is expressive with blackberry, blueberry, dark plums, roasted meats, mocha, liquorice and smoke built in an old-world style. Very earthy and structured on the palate with currants, anise and cracked black peppercorns, with good acid and firm tannins.
A rarely planted varietal in BC, this small-production bottling is aged in 50% American and 50% French oak barrels and delivers a nose of mulled blackberry, red plums and cherry-raspberry fruits to go with a baker’s rack of spices. It all comes together on the palate with nicely integrated fruit and spice, soft tannins and bright acidity. Think Malbec with a cool-climate twist.
Of all of Calamus’ top-end 2010 reds, this is the most open and accessible. Smoke, plums, dark cherries, earth and spice are all present on the plush frame. The dark fruits carry long on the finish and the supple tannins round everything out.
Smoky tobacco, cassis, black raspberry, clove, mocha and fresh herbs come together both on the nose and the palate. There is density but no heaviness, with fresh acidity and a soft yet lengthy finale.