Mike Weir 2003 Cabernet Shiraz

Click here to read the original review from April 2006 - OWR Newsletter #29

(Re-Tasted September 2008) ... Frank Sinatra put it best, "Ain't that a Kick in the Head", or was that Dean Martin? Sounds more like Dean actually, I don't think you would have lived to see the day Frank got kicked in the head; but I digress from the real issue at hand.

I remember back in 2006 when I tried this wine for the first time, I was enthralled by it, so I bought a number of bottles and told you to do the same, telling you to lie it down for "a few years". Well now I am wearing the egg smack dab in the middle of my face - I opened a bottle last night and was very disappointed, it was all wood and cedary, green as hell with nothing but pea pod as the only distinguishable feature (other than wood). The palate was no better: pea pod greenness, wood smoke and a sour/bitter finish - it was like drinking, you guessed it, liquid wood ... nasty.

I could blame the year, 2003 was a wet vintage and not particularly good at that, the boys from Creekside (winemakers for Weir) made a silk purse from a sows ear with this one ... the problem is that it had no staying power, and you would hope (no pun intended) a wine at that price point ($25.00) could stand up a few more years than the measily two it has not. This was a drink now wine ... it is now a drink not wine. And that kick in the head I refer to ... I have 2 bottles left. ' I'm willing to give it another go tonight, but if you don't hear from me again this review stands. If you like wood, this is your wine, for the rest of us, not so much.

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Mike Weir 2002 Cabernet Merlot

Click here to read the original review from April 2006

(Re-Tasted March 2008) … With all the celebrities coming to Niagara (and other parts of Ontario) to get involved in the wine industry, you would expect quality and diversity to suffer for more consumer friendly (read: bland) wines. Luckily, Mike Weir has bucked that trend from day one and even now remains a consistently good label. Of course, that could be because of the winemaking team behind the brand (Creekside’s). This inaugural Cab-Merlot could have been a quick cash cow for Weir Wines, but instead quality was paramount. Not sure I approve of the plastic cork (as Konrad Edjbich once called this kind: “looks like sponge surrounded by mac-tac”), but it seems to service the wine well. The business end of the cork is black as pitch, while the wine in the glass still shows good dark colouring. The nose still holds quite a bit of dark fruit with a touch of vanilla. In the mouth, it’s even better: blackberries soaked in vanilla and nutmeg, with a smooth silky and luscious creamy dark chocolate finish – and there’s still a bit of tannin left. I would say drink this one now thru 2009 or 10.

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while there sign up for Michael's free bi-weekly newsletter.