Township 7 Merlot

Township 7 is another of those BC wineries that I hear about all the time, but seem to know more about the winery than I've actually experienced their wines. I suppose I'm likely guilty of being a little lackadaisical about them. Their wines didn't immediately garner cult status in the province and they've largely stayed in the background of my wine experiences.

I ran across this older bottle while recently re-adjusting our "cellar" and, "cult status" or not, I'm going to have to give them a more thorough look.

897. 2004 Township 7 Merlot (VQA Okanagan Valley)

Township 7 is one of a handful of wineries that combines operations from two locations. In their case, it's the Naramata Bench in the Okanagan and Langley, in the Fraser Valley, outside Vancouver. I've often thought of making the short trip out to Langley for a visit but just haven't seemed to have pulled it off.

We have, however, dropped into the Naramata version and I believe that's when Boo and I picked up this bottle since the grapes going into the wine are Okanagan-grown.

Township 7 has seen a some significant change since we picked up this bottle of wine. Ownership changed hands in 2006 and the winemaker for this vintage, Michael Bartier, moved on in 2005. I've mentioned the Bartier name a bit in this blog as he moved from Township 7 to Golden Mile (come Road 13), but he has since even moved on from that winery.

The wine seemed to have the Bartier touch in that, even with the age, we found the bottle to have a decent punch. It might have resulted from the nearly two years spent in American oak but it just as likely came from the fact that it was an unfiltered wine. I often find that I'm drawn to unfiltered wines - finding them to be just a bit bolder.

In any event, I may need to make a visit to the township sooner than later.