NK’MIP | Mer’r’iym | Red Meritage | 2017
merlot | cabernet sauvignon | cabernet franc | malbec

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Today we are going to review a very intriguing and in a way even unique wine blend from Canada – Mer’r’iym Red Meritage 2017 by Nk’Mip {Inkameep Cellars}. This wine is a Red Meritage – a blend of four grape varieties: 45% merlot, 35% cabernet sauvignon, 15% cabernet franc and 5% malbec, where merlot form the wine’s main body, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc adds structure, while malbec enhances the final blend with those rustic-savory flavours that are highly appreciated by the wine connoisseurs. Red Meritage wines historically have been among the world’s most highly rated red wines, prized for their silky texture and robust structure. While they age beautifully, often for decades, most of them are fine to be enjoyed in their youth. A Red Meritage wine is a blend of two or more of the “noble” Bordeaux varieties: cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, malbec, merlot, petit verdot and the rarer st. macaire, gros verdot and carmenère. If the blend includes any other grape variety, it is, by definition not a Meritage. Also, to qualify as a Meritage, no single grape variety can make up more than 90% of the blend. This particular wine (Mer’r’iym meaning “marriage” in the local Okanagan language) is made of grapes that are sourced from the vineyards planted in the south of Okanagan Valley (British Columbia, Canada) and has been aged for 18 months in the finest french oak barrels. But enough theory, that said and without further ado, let’s take a look at the wine tasting results.
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Take a look at the tasting notes below and our detailed assessment of the wine:

//Visual
colour: deep & noble ruby color
clarity: velvety ruby shades on the rim

//Olfactory
intensity: powerful & earthy
fruit profile: black fruits
__black fruits: dried black cherry | dried black plum | blackcurrant | black cherry | black plum | aronia
fruit character: overripe & dried

//Flavor
non fruit: spice | oak | earth
__spice: black pepper | cloves | anise
__oak: black tea | oaktree bark | sun-dried oakwood | dark chocolate | mocha
__earth: black soil dust | granite | quartz | compost
primary layer: fruit & earth

//Palate
sweetness: dry
acidity: high
alcohol: high
tannin: high
__grip: ripe
balance: good
__dominant: tannin
body: round & firm | full body

//Taste
fruit profile: black fruits
fruit character: overripe & dried
non fruit: spice & earth
finish: long
aftertaste: bitter-seedy

//Scoring
NK’MIP | Mer’r’iym | Red Meritage | 2017
variety: merlot | cabernet sauvignon | cabernet franc | malbec
country: Canada | British Columbia
region: Okanagan Valley
rating: 94.8

//Conclusion
maturity: in its prime | can age for another 4-5 years
verdict: great | a must try wine

//Prediction
RP rating: 92

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This is definitely a great wine of Canada and, with a total of 94.8 points scored, this wine is right there, among the best wines we’ve rated so far. Check our complete database on the wine rating page, where you can find all the wines that we have tasted and reviewed or go to the about us page and find out more about our exquisite rating system.

Verdict: this is a quite impressive Red Meritage wine: firm, grippy and structured – a wine that is almost there, at the summit of its prime form, still one that has the potential to withstand another 4 to 5 years of bottle ageing. It feels tannic, ripe and complex, with mouth-watering acidity, ripe and grippy tannins and just a touch of alcoholic warmth on the mouthfeel. On the nose the wine delivers overripe and dried black fruits, mixed with some very nuanced earthy notes in the foreground, supported by an intense, spicy and slightly oaky background. All in all, this is a very potent, muscular and extracted wine blend, with an appealing, bitter-seedy aftertaste and a some very nuanced, terroir-driven earthiness on the palate. What can we add more – this is an outstanding wine indeed: a wine that has both, a distinctive personality and the footprint of the Okanagan Valley terroir.

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© The WineStatistics ratings are based solely on our own knowledge of the world of wine and on our personal wine tastes, which may, or may not, differ from yours – the reader. Just remember that there are no absolutes of right and wrong in wine appreciation.