Wine Reviews

Wine Review: 2016 Two Sisters Merlot

In the Fall of 2020, my fiance and I went for a tasting at Two Sisters Vineyards in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. Of the six wineries we visited on that trip, it was definitely in our top three.

Although it is considered a small production winery, the winery itself is anything but small. In fact, the building is stunning as you drive up, and the expansive patio overlooking the vineyards where we did our tasting is one of the most beautiful spot we sat for our entire trip.

I was also very impressed to see that every wine on their tasting menu had either won an award or was ranked 90+ points, or both! We were absolutely blown away by the quality, so I knew I had to order a case once we got back home.

Now I have 12 of their wines (everything except wine club exclusives and their ice wines), which I am eager to share with you guys. This post in not sponsored, I bought it all with my own money (but if you’re reading this, Two Sisters, hit me up!).

Today, I am going to be sharing with you the first bottle that we cracked open – the 2016 Merlot.

THE LOOK

This wine was much deeper in intensity than I would normally expect for a Merlot, and it was just edging into the area of garnet red with a hint of orange around the rim.

THE AROMAS

I absolutely loved the nose on this wine.

Truth be told, Merlot is not one of my favourite varietals because I find that the eucalyptus and cherry notes can combine to become almost medicinal (think kids cherry medicine).

But this wine had only the tiniest hint of eucalyptus hiding underneath rich layers of cherry, plum, and blackberry.

The oak showed itself with a lovely vanilla aroma, and a touch of chocolate as well.

THE PALATE

This was a full bodied wine with pronounced flavours similar to the ones listed above, with a bit more emphasis on the fruit and chocolate notes, and just a dash of white pepper.

I was expecting it to be high tannin but it was surprisingly smooth, with the acidity slightly eeking out the tannins. This made it taste delightfully fresh and rich at the same time. It paired amazingly well with my blackened chicken fettuccine alfredo.

CONCLUSION

This wine was well balanced and certainly has enough structure to lay down another couple of years if you so desired, but I quite enjoyed it now.

The intensity was definitely the highlight of this wine, with rich and tantalizing flavours and aromas. If you tend to prefer cabs over merlots, give this one a try, as it can definitely hold it’s own.

The finish was on the longer end of medium, lasting about 20 seconds. I sort of expected it to last a bit longer given the intensity on the palate, but I’m not mad about it.

Overall, I was a big fan of this Merlot, which is definitely saying something considering I’m not a big Merlot fan to begin with. I like to keep track of which wines were stand-outs from each shipment so I know what I want to order again, and this will definitely be on the list.

Want to learn more about Merlot? Check out my Wine Baby’s Guide to Merlot, here.

Have you tried the wines from Two Sisters Vineyards yet? Let me know in the comments!