2021 Property Grown Marquette
Our Marquette was the first of the new hybrid wines to be approved for VQA since the inception of VQA about 30 years ago. There have been other vinifera additions, but not hybrids.
Marquette is a new world grape bred to withstand temperatures below -30C. As a result, it thinks the County is a warm climate, so it acts like a big, full-bodied, warm climate wine. It’s higher in alcohol, so warmer on the palate, fruity and opaque. This is one of our most popular wines, we think because it scratches that Canadian itch for big, full-bodied reds.
Winemakers’ Notes
This hybrid grape variety fits well into the vineyard program at Karlo Estates. It is dark in colour with very intense flavours of rich, ripe fruit. The grapes were hand-harvested in late October during warm, sunny conditions, de-stemmed and crushed before it was fermented in small bins using selected yeast. The cap was punched down manually, 2-3 times daily until fermentation was complete. At this point, the wine was pressed off the skins and aged for 16 months in neutral French oak barrels to showcase the intense fruit and natural structure of the wine. After aging, our Marquette was filtered and hand-bottled.
Tasting Notes
This rich, rustic beauty has fruit, structure and is perfect for every day. It features nose of raspberry jam, ripe wild strawberry, blueberry with hints of orange peel and menthol on the finish. The tannins are soft and there is a fresh citrus note giving a lovely balance to this wine. On the palate is lots of red fruit intensity, red liquorice & coffee grounds.
Pairing Notes
Pair with lentils, walnuts & mushroom shepherd’s pie, spaghetti, risotto or a moussaka portobello mushroom stack. Its structure will stand up to tomato sauce so cashew cannelloni with marinara, mushrooms on toast, black bean burritos, chickpea chilli, roasted garlic, grilled eggplant or a bonfire.