For a vintage nobody was expecting great things from mid-way through the summer of 2017, Ontario pulled it out with a hot dry autumn that saved the vintage – and saved grapes like Merlot from being turned into rosé. This 505 case production is a limited run of Featherstone’s popular Merlot and this year it seems to be even better with notes of tobacco (more associated with Cabernet Franc) but with great dark fruit character like black cherry, black raspberry and black pepper … finishing with notes of mocha and coffee bean; it really is a great BBQ sipper.  Price: $19.95 – Rating: ****+