2007 Poetica Cabernet Merlot VQA

$54.95 / 750ml (Ontario Price Shown)
$25.95 / 375ml (Ontario Price Shown)

2007 Poetica Cabernet Merlot Food Recipes

*First place winner at the 2009 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair — Meritage blends over $20.

Wine Lovers' Notes:

On the Bottle

featuring an excerpt from
Radiant Inventory
by Christopher Dewdney

The world has become

a spectacle of absence,

a radiant inventory.

The sunlight that falls
on the margin of the lake
nurtures a deficit
in its clarity, its violence.
These waves are items are

a description of themselves
in discourse with their changes
thought time. The sand

is a finite texture of

self corruption. Everything
interpenetrating, extensile,
at once continuous and discrete.

This sunlight both sustains and erodes
the luminous surface of matter
the precise miracle of life.

Now that I have been opened
I can never be closed again.

The reflection of the sun on the waves
is a shining path to the horizon
a dazzling lucent shuttle
of unknowable complexity.
A cloud over the sun

momentary camera obscura.

And as I move towards resolution
the world abandons its detail
in a theatre at once dark & light
where life is a kind of joyous shade

a shadow over the sun
a dark radiance.

In Print

91 points - "Ann Sperling's 2007 Cab Merlot, farmed organically and in transition to biodynamics, has a wonderfully perfumed nose full of ripe blackberry and cassis fruit bolstered by beguiling floral aromas like fresh violets, as well as masterfully integrated wood spice notes of licorice, vanilla and clove. The palate is fullish and juicy, with ripe but fresh fruit flavours, moderate alcohol (12.7%) and light, velvety tannins. This is a model of elegance and finesse, to be enjoyed now or held mid-term (3-6 years) in the cellar".
- John Szabo, The Niagara Grapevine

4 stars - "Winemaker Ann Sperling has conjured up a lovely, integrated and multi-layered red blend from Niagara's highly-touted 2007 vintage. Produced with 100 percent estate grown fruit, the fuller-bodied palate reveals remarkable complexity, polished minerality and admirable finesse. Decant for best enjoyment now or enjoy after 2012".
- Vines Magazine, Wine Buyer's Guide

91 points – “This displays a lovely, complex and interwoven nose of cassis, cream, herbs, vanilla and spice with echoes of leather and dried beef jerky. It’s medium-full bodied, taut and a bit sinewy, with dry tannin, with a streak of minerality on the finish. Should be awesome with roast leg of lamb.”
–David Lawrason, winerytohome.com

In your Life

Structure suggests a wine to enjoy young with grilled meats or to cellar 10–15 years.

Community Cookbook:
Submit your own recipes here!

Christopher Dewdney

Christopher Dewdney is the author of four books of non-fiction and eleven books of poetry. This year HarperCollins published his most recent book of non-fiction, Soul of the World: Unlocking the Secrets of Time. A four-time nominee for the Governor General’s Award and a teacher of writing at the Glendon Campus of York University, Dewdney, who lives in Toronto, is also an avid wine collector. A passion for wine runs in his family; daughter Calla studies viticulture at Niagara College in Niagara-on-the-Lake. In 2007, Dewdney won the prestigious Harbourfront Festival Prize, given annually to an individual who makes a significant contribution to the world of books and writing.

Winemaker's Notes:

In the Vineyard

In the Winery

In the Cellar

Grapes were hand harvested from our estate vineyard and carefully hand sorted. Fermented in oak vats with delestage cap management techniques employed three times per day during fermentation. Barrel aged in 75% new oak–73% French and 17% American. Aged in barriques for 20 months and the blend profile was decided over several months. The wine received a gentle egg white fining and was bottled unfiltered.