2007 Calamus Estate Winery Meritage

Community Tasting Notes (4) Avg Score: 88 points

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  1/5/2017 - owr Likes this wine: 88 Points

  Kicking things off there's a nice dark and red fruit nose that shows barely any sign of its 9 years of age. Palate is not so lucky (at first), it started off a little thin, but as time passed it seemed to develop some weight and rounded itself off ... A little earthy but it has a real spicy quality and then the fruit finally comes online. Now that they have established themselves the fruit comes across dark and smoky, and the tannins are smooth and silky, it's a wine you'll wanna drink within the next year, maybe two, because I don't think it's getting any better.

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  12/20/2013 - owr Likes this wine: 88 Points

  It's time for another Taste it Again wine and this time I've got a bottle of Calamus 2007 Meritage to put through the rigors of re-tasting. 6 years from Vintage date and long ago sold out, this wine was incredibly popular and one of the best wines made at this young winery up to that time. I came across this wine resting in my sideboard as one I had set aside to drink soon and see how it was showing, I have another bottle lying down in the cellar for a few more years to see the ageablility of the 2007 vintage. So this is a wine we will revisit in years to come. It's important to note this wine is sealed with a screwcap, does that play a part in what is to come? We'll see. The wine seemed to 'open' in a variety stages: at first the nose was black licorice and cocoa with some earthy, black raspberry, mocha and black cherry - very appealing and enticing, definitely a good sign, now if only the flavours will be that complex. The palate started out with coffee, cocoa, and hints of smoke ... but as the nose continued with those great aromas the palate seemed to grow thinner. Sure there's a smooth spicy note to the finish but the middle seems kinda hollow, it's a donut of a wine at this point: nice beginning pleasant finish but nothing in the middle to hold it up. After an hour the wine lost it's earthiness but still remains a little hollow down the middle and a woodiness is starting to come through. Half-an-hour after that things are finally coming into balance, that wood finish is still dominating but the front palate says mocha and cassis ... As I mentioned, I still have another bottle and it should be interesting to open this wine up again in a few years. At the moment you need to decant or give it time in glass.

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  10/13/2012 - clcoop28 wrote: 89 Points

  Great flavors with a nice long finish

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  8/15/2012 - bdg55 wrote: 88 Points

  Having subconsciously slipped into a 2007 Niagara Meritage drinking spree I thought there was no time like the present to continue this whirlwind tour of that fantastic vintage of Bordeaux style blends. Calamus Estate Winery has been covered a few times before but it bears repeating that this husband and wife team are a Niagara hidden gem. Tough to find and with little to no fan fare they are proving that the love of wine can produce some excellent product. This is one of those.
  
  The 2007 vintage has a chance to go down as the best single year ever for Niagara wine making, with the reds especially being blessed. This one is no different then the past few Meritage reviews with it’s deep dark red colour and red tree fruit nose. The wine yields red berries and vanilla on the first few sips with young firm tannins gripping your tongue easily. As you settle into the drinking experience you will start to get an abundance of cassis with a smattering of pepper on your palate. All the while this wine will stay with you as the finish is long and smooth. No doubt this can continue to rest for 2 to 5 years and improve. Drinking now or laying down this is a tremendous value at $27.
  
  The CWG Subjective Rating is 88 out of 100.

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