Website: https://meldvillewines.com/about/
My encounter with Derek Barnett was in 2013 during my initial visit to Niagara. At that time, he was a wine maker at Lailey, a winery he joined in 2001 and departed from in 2015 after its sale. His involvement there included a part ownership, which likely made his departure difficult.
Derek hails from Swinford in Leicestershire, UK, which inspired the name Meldville, a local designation of his hometown. He relocated to Canada in 1973 and initially worked for the father and uncle of Bill Redelmeier, who owns Southbrook winery. Derek’s early years involved four years of milking cows followed by managing cash crops. His education in winemaking was hands-on. The Redelmeiers were agriculturalists with Bill having an entrepreneurial spirit that led him to transform a roadside farm stall into a lucrative farmer’s market and event hub named Southbrook Farms. By 1991, with the burgeoning interest in Niagara wines, Bill established a modest winery on the premises, procuring grapes and producing his maiden vintages. Derek crafted these wines until he left for Lailey in 2001.
Post-Lailey, Derek established Meldville as a virtual winery, where he purchases grapes from 5 to 6 growers and oversees wine production at Legends Estate in Beamsville. This venture grants him the autonomy to shape his winemaking. Initially, he concentrated on developing wines like Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and Sauvignon Blanc, later incorporating Syrah and Viognier. Pre-Covid, Meldville produced 2,000 cases annually, a number that dropped to 1,200 but is now on an upward trajectory. Approximately 80% of his sales are made to restaurants. Derek offers quality wines at appealing prices.
Meldville Sparkling Sauvignon Blanc NV Ontario
This wine, made from the 2022 harvest and aged for 10 months in barrel using the Charmat method, features a fruity, bright, and vivacious flavor profile with notes of grass. It possesses a delightful texture, marked by its freshness and purity, alongside a subtle saltiness and a whisper of sweetness on the finish. 90/100 (CA$27)
Meldville Barrel Select Sauvignon Blanc 2022 Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara
This variant has an alcohol content of 13% and was aged for 14 months in old French oak. It offers aromas of smoky grapefruit. On the palate, it is both lively and intense, backed by sharp acidity, with characteristics of light, juicy liveliness and hints of citrus and elderflower. 92/100 (CA$24)
Meldville Chardonnay Unfiltered 2022 Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara
Fermented entirely in older oak barrels, this wine offers a pure, finely textured experience with notable flavors of bright cherry and pear. It highlights the purity of the fruit along with a fine texture. 91/100 (CA$20)
Meldville Barrel Select Chardonnay 2021 Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara
With an alcohol percentage of 13, this wine was whole-bunch pressed and aged for 19 months in older French oak. It exhibits a nice intensity with vivid citrus and pear flavors, a touch of bitterness at the finish, finely integrated spices, and an element of sour cherry at the close. Very stylish. 92/100
Meldville Second Edition Riesling 2022 Niagara Peninsula
10.5% alcohol. Very fine, fresh and limey on the nose with some pithy citrus peel hints. Very lemony and intense on the palate with high acidity. Such intensity: it tastes dry because of the high acidity even though it has 9 g/l acid. 92/100
Meldville Viognier 2022 Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara
Limey, bright, fresh and intense with high acidity. Very tight with keen acidity and lots of focus. Not very varietal in character but an appealing fresh white. 88/100
Meldville Pinot Noir 2021 Niagara Peninsula
This is grown in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and it’s a single vineyard on the edge of Lincoln Lakeshore planted in the late 1980s. 1.5 hectare plot. Pale cherry red in colour with a nice core of sweet spice-laden cherry fruit. Supple with a sweet core, showing nice ripeness and some sweetness. 90/100
Meldville Barrel Select Pinot Noir 2019 Niagara Peninsula
12.5% alcohol. Some Pinot Noir from the bench is blended into this. Pale in colour, this is supple and refined with a warm spicy undercurrent and nice maturity, with some warm spices. Nice cherry and plum fruit with fine herbs and nice greenness. Refined and expressive. 92/100 (CA$34)
Meldville Fourth Edition Cabernet Franc 2020 Lincoln Lakeshore, Niagara
With an alcohol content of 13%, this wine showcases a fresh, dense, and well-structured body with a noticeable grip. It presents a lively and spicy density accompanied by a subtle chalkiness, adding a gravelly texture that complements the ripe blackcurrant fruit flavors effectively. Rating: 92/100 (CA$24)
Meldville Barrel Select Syrah Unfiltered 2020 Niagara Peninsula
Originating from a notably warm area in the heart of Virgil, this wine exudes a juicy, lively, and bright character. Flavor notes include peppery hints and a touch of iodine, enhanced by a brisk and acidic lift. The finish brings forward sour cherry and herbal notes. Rating: 88/100 (CA$27)