In Niagara (13) Meldville, with Derek Barnett
Website: https://meldvillewines.com/about/
I first met Derek Barnett on my first trip to Niagara back in 2013, when he was making wine for Lailey, where he worked from 2001 to 2015 when it was sold. He had a slice of equity in that well-loved winery and it must have been hard to leave.
He’s originally a Brit. His home town is Swinford in Leicestershire, which is where the name Meldville comes from (it’s a colloquial name for the town). He moved to Canada in 1973 and worked for the father and uncle of Bill Redelmeier (the owner of Southbrook winery), beginning by milking cows for 4 years, and then working in cash crop management. He trained on the job. The Redelmeiers were farmers, and Bill had an entrepreneurial streak, developing a roadside farm stall into a thriving farmer’s market and event space, which he named Southbrook Farms. In 1991 he took advantage of the growing interest in Niagara wine, and buying in grapes he built a small winery on site and made his first 2000. Derek made the wine, and worked for Southbrook until 2001, when he moved to Lailey.
So, life after Lailey. He started Meldville as a virtual winery buying grapes from 5-6 growers and then making the wine at Legends Estate in Beamsville. This gives him the freedom to do what he wants, and he’s able to get his hands dirty. He began by focusing on Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, and then added Syrah and Viognier later. Before Covid production was 2000 cases, and now it is down to 1200, but is growing again. 80% of sales are to restaurants. These are good wines, and they are attractively priced.
THE WINES
Meldville Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc NV Ontario
This is 2022 fruit, 10 months in barrel, then Charmat. Fruity, bright and lively with some grassy hints. Has nice texture with freshness and purity. There’s a slight saltiness on the finish and a hint of sweetness. 90/100 (CA$27)
Meldville Barrel Select Sauvignon Blanc 2022 Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara
13% alcohol. 14 months in old French oak. Smoky grapefruit on the nose. Lively and intense with keen acidity on the palate. Light, juicy and lively with good citrus and a hint of elderflower. 92/100 (CA$24)
Meldville Chardonnay Unfiltered 2022 Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara
100% barrel fermented in older oak. Pure and finely textured with nice bright cherry and pear fruit. This shows fruit purity and nice texture. Very fine. 91/100 (CA$20)
Meldville Barrel Select Chardonnay 2021 Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara
13% alcohol. Whole-bunch pressed, 19 months in older French oak. Nice intensity here with lively citrus and pear fruit with a slight bitterness on the finish. Finely spiced with nice intensity and a touch of sour cherry at the end. Very stylish. 92/100
Meldville Second Edition Riesling 2022 Niagara Peninsula
10.5% alcohol. Very fine, fresh and limey on the nose with some pithy citrus peel hints. Very lemony and intense on the palate with high acidity. Such intensity: it tastes dry because of the high acidity even though it has 9 g/l acid. 92/100
Meldville Viognier 2022 Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara
Limey, bright, fresh and intense with high acidity. Very tight with keen acidity and lots of focus. Not very varietal in character but an appealing fresh white. 88/100
Meldville Pinot Noir 2021 Niagara Peninsula
This is grown in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and it’s a single vineyard on the edge of Lincoln Lakeshore planted in the late 1980s. 1.5 hectare plot. Pale cherry red in colour with a nice core of sweet spice-laden cherry fruit. Supple with a sweet core, showing nice ripeness and some sweetness. 90/100
Meldville Barrel Select Pinot Noir 2019 Niagara Peninsula
12.5% alcohol. Some Pinot Noir from the bench is blended into this. Pale in colour, this is supple and refined with a warm spicy undercurrent and nice maturity, with some warm spices. Nice cherry and plum fruit with fine herbs and nice greenness. Refined and expressive. 92/100 (CA$34)
Meldville Fourth Edition Cabernet Franc 2020 Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara
13% alcohol. Fresh, dense and structured with nice grip. This has lively spicy density with a bit of chalkiness and a nice gravelly, chalky foil to the ripe blackcurrant fruit. 92/100 (CA$24)
Meldville Barrel Select Syrah Unfiltered 2020 Niagara Peninsula
From a warm spot in the middle of Virgil. Juicy, lively and bright with some peppery hints as well as some iodine. It’s brisk with some sour cherry notes on the finish as well as some herbal notes. There’s some acid lift here. 88/100 (CA$27)
