Leaning Post 2019 Merlot - Vin Nature

Nose: Lovely aromas of wild blueberries, leather, and moss.

Palate: The palate takes you on a journey down a forest path by a lake in the Canadian Shield on a cool autumn evening, stopping to pick wild blueberries and noticing a light background of freshly-caught wild turkey being roasted over an open fire.

Finish: A long, lingering finish with bright acidity makes this a truly enjoyable wine.

Pairs well with roast lamb and turkey sausages over a charcoal grill.

Drinking beautifully now; being a natural wine with no additions, we recommend enjoying it within the next 2-3 years.

Niagara Lakeshore, Niagara Peninsula.

A small-lot 2019 Merlot made entirely without additions, showcasing the pure, unadorned character of Niagara fruit.

Farmed for the estate's Vin Nature program, this Merlot is made with minimal intervention from harvest through bottling — no additions of any kind, including no added sulfites.

Harvested in October 2019, the grapes were destemmed and placed in a small tank for fermentation. After two days of stirring, primary fermentation began spontaneously, with natural malolactic fermentation occurring at the same time. The wine was punched down by hand twice a day during the peak of fermentation and remained on skins for 27 days before being pressed into stainless steel tank. After settling for 4 days, it was racked into 2 neutral barrels. It was taken out of barrel after 12 months, left to settle in stainless steel tanks, then racked the day before bottling — with no additions of any kind.

Founded by Ilya and Nadia Senchuk in 2011 on 11 acres in Winona, at the far western edge of the Niagara Peninsula, Leaning Post Wines built its reputation on single-vineyard, sub-appellation-driven Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Winemaker Ilya Senchuk sources fruit from a small circle of sites he knows intimately — the estate's own Senchuk Vineyard along with Grimsby Hillside, Keczan, Hemeris and Bock — farmed and vinified with minimal intervention so each site's character comes through clearly in the glass. Leaning Post was an early champion of the Lincoln Lakeshore sub-appellation designation and is Certified Sustainable by Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario. The wines have consistently ranked among Ontario's top producers and are poured in leading restaurants in Toronto, Montreal, London and Copenhagen.