Black Bank Hill - Merlot, Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara, Canada (2021)

TASTING NOTES

Wild bramble, dark cherry and strawberry lead to a medium-bodied palate of ripe plum, dark red fruit, graphite, anise, clove and tobacco with medium tannins, balanced acidity, and a long finish. Sapid, succulent and a little dusty minerality.

Hand-sorted, destemmed and lightly crushed prior to being vinified by natural fermentation. Barrel-aged 17-months in largely neutral French oak and blended for bottling. Estate-bottled unfiltered and unfined on 3 May 2023.

Black Bank Hill is a vineyard and craft winery in the Lincoln Lakeshore sub-appellation of the Niagara Escarpment wine region. Based on heavy, clay-dominant soils which retain water and nutrients; the warmer than average meso-climate at the foot of the escarpment is open to sunlight and air circulation, enables heat accumulation and the ripening of grapes such as Syrah.

Taylor Emerson and Jonathan McLean launched Black Bank Hill in 2018, initially collaborating with Cloudsley Cellars for production. In 2023, Taylor was able to open their own facility in Beamsville and continues to produce a range of delicious wines.