You should have been there.

Talk about a purple-teeth challenge: 36 Merlots—big and bold, and coming in from all over the map. From 10 bucks to 50-plus, from lean and angular to soft and pillowy. It was the third Nearly Annual Mayne Island Wine Tasting fundraiser for the island’s community centre, where it was held, and it was a hit.

This column is meant merely to introduce you to some Merlots you may want to pursue for your own tasting pleasure. At the Mayne Island event, there were eight flights, plus a “palate setup” wine and a “sticky” for dessert.

Merlot, as you most likely know, is the primary grape in Saint-Emilion and Pomerol, and one of two primaries, generally, in Bordeaux, the other being Cabernet Sauvignon. Its proper name is Merlot Noir; there is a Blanc, but it isn’t related, ampelographically. It’s just called that because the leaves look alike.

It used to be mostly for blending—with one notable exception—but in recent years, it has been widely made varietally. Now there are hundreds worldwide; 133 in the BC Liquor Stores system alone, with the largest representation coming from Chile.

It does well in Eastern Europe—Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania—and in the U.S.: Washington state does some of the very best, and there’s quite a bit in California. There’s also plenty in B.C., and some in Italy.

The word itself means “young blackbird” in French, and it was the wine that was slagged in the movie Sideways, in irrational favour of Pinot Noir.

Oh yes, the one notable exception: the famous Château Pétrus. The vintage currently available at the LDB costs $1,300. Yes, the bottle! No, I didn’t even try to get three bottles donated for the tasting. I mean…

At 36 wines, it was probably the largest Merlot selection for public tasting in Canada. Everything was donated, thanks to the clutch of generous B.C. wine agents and suppliers Organizers, pourers, ticket takers, glass washers—they were all volunteers. We raised the most money ever this year, and this is my public thank-you to all who took part.

And this is a list of the wines. The palate setup was Jackson-Triggs Proprietors’ Selection White Merlot ($14.60 for 1.5 litres), the only such Merlot in our market, its purpose being to prepare the taste buds for the fact that there was a whole lotta wine coming.

Flight 1 Three levels of Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Estate: Proprietors’ Edition 2005 ($15.99), Proprietors’ Reserve 2005 ($16.99), and Proprietors’ Grand Reserve 2004 ($25.99). Not surprisingly, the Grand Reserve proved the favourite.

Flight 2 A clutch of Aussies: Little Penguin 2007 ($11.99), [yellow tail] 2006 ($12.87), Wolf Blass Yellow Label 2005 ($16.83), and Rosemount Estate Diamond Label 2005 ($17.99). The Rosemount captured most tasters’ fancy.

Flight 3 Mid-California: Cycles Gladiator 2005 ($16.99), J. Lohr Cypress Vineyards 2005 ($17.99), and Beringer Founders’ Estate 2004 ($19.99). Now it started to get tough. All three wines showed very well, the Gladiator being the most interesting, the Cypress soft and mellow, but the Beringer took it, if only by a nose. And such a fresh and fruity nose, too.

Flight 4 Chilean Challengers: Cono Sur 2006 ($10.49), Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo 2006 ($13.98), Concha y Toro Frontera 2007 ($15.97), and Marques de Casa Concha 2005 ($24.77). An impressive flight, and one that
underscored why Chilean Merlots are so successful—these were all fine. Cono Sur is the best buy, as all of that winery’s $10 varietals tend to be. The Casillero showed smoky coffee aromas and flavours; the Frontera was big and beefy; and the Marques de Casa Concha was, almost unanimously, the favourite here.

Flight 5 A quick world tour: KWV 2005 (South Africa, $13.49), Mezzacorona 2005 (Italy, $15.33), Galil Mountain 2006 (Israel, $17.83), Christian Moueix 2005 (Bordeaux, $17.99), and Saxenburg Private Collection 2000 (South Africa, $25). When the smoke cleared Mezzacorona and the recently listed Galil Mountain were solidly tied for favourite. (You can taste the latter at the Israeli Wine Festival in May.)

Flight 6 Good things from the Valley: Gehringer Brothers 2006 ($15.99), Tinhorn Creek 2004 ($16.83), Inniskillin Okanagan Reserve 2005 ($17.99), Peller Estates Private Reserve 2005 ($19.99), Sandhill 2005 ($19.99), Orofino Red Bridge Red 2006 ($22), and Gray Monk 25th Anniversary 2004 ($23.99). More tough-call stuff; here, it was really a matter of which style of Merlot you like best. Gehringer and Tinhorn were lean and elegant, Inniskillin showed an intriguing minty edge, Peller was big and brawly, Sandhill soft and subtle, Orofino mellow and massive, and Gray Monk rich and hearty. Orofino and Sandhill topped the pops by a sliver, with Gray Monk right behind.

Flight 7 Five levels of Mission Hill: Sonora Ranch n/v ($9.49), Painted Turtle n/v ($9.99), Wild Horse Canyon 2006 ($12.95), Mission Hill Reserve 2005 ($24.99), and Mission Hill S.L.C. 2004 ($39.99). No contest: everyone thought the Reserve was the best, with its fresh-cherry aromas and flavours. The S.L.C. is going to be amazing in five years; if you have patience and cash, it’s well worth cellaring. For the moment, it remains very closed-in, but the promise is huge.

Flight 8 Big bangs for big bucks: Burrowing Owl 2005 ($29.90), Herder 2006 ($34.90), and J. Bookwalter 2005 ($52.99). No one wanted to have to pick one over the others, so a three-way tie ensued: Burrowing Owl for its sweet richness, Herder for its aerobic elegance, and Bookwalter (the only Washington wine in the tasting) for its gorgeous silkiness and vintage-after-vintage excellence. Let me make it a little easier for you: the Burrowing Owl is already sold-out.

Dessert Paradise Ranch Late Harvest 2003 ($16.99 per 375-millilitre bottle). A perfect finish to a perfectly wonderful tasting. You may recall this being one of my BOYs (Best of the Year selections) back in January, and it holds up—luscious, sweet but not syrupy, an excellent, elegant after-dinner drink.

There you have it—a grand time was had by all. The surprise: there were really no duds in the lot. Impressive. Maybe Merlot does rule.