It seems that I am regularly asked, "what do you think of Malivoire?", "have you tried Malivoire?", and "haven't you been to Malivoire yet?"; It's not that we've been avoiding it; its various festival offerings just haven't fit in with any of our touring themes yet. Actually, our visit was no exception to that, as during the icewine festival it featured its 2010 M2 Small Lot Chardonnay, but we were determined to go there anyway. On approach, the winery is not much to look at, but the slope of those vineyards promised some good bench-flavoured minerality so I remained optimistic. As we approached the boutique, though, I started to understand the decor theme. Instead of dressing up the corrugated metal dome that houses the entire operation, Malivoire has embraced industrial or heavy-metal decor with various bold accessories.
The retail area / tasting bar is small but efficient, albeit a little too dark. We headed past it to the events room which is elaborately decorated with a brightly coloured, vibrant mural. The air was filled with the inviting smell of the thyme in the butternut squash soup we were about to taste. The chef explained the science behind his pairing choices; using a strategy of complimentary flavours, he matched the sweetness of the wine to the butternut squash, and the wine's acidity to the soup's secret ingredient - apple.
Interestingly, we didn't agree at all with the tasting notes for this wine from Malivoire's website. Although it describes "an opulent nose of pear, citrus and floral aromas," we struggled to find the nose, eventually noting yeast and / or mildew, and, when aggressively swirled, bubblegum and / or passion fruit. The site goes on to describe that "the palate is full flavoured yet fresh with acidity," and we agree. I think the full flavour comes from the 12% of the grapes that were oaked, resulting in a buttered popcorn background flavour. At the time we were unable to identify the other flavours but now agree with the winery's description of orchard fruit. Although quite easy-to-drink, this is a wine drinker's wine. Chris actually insisted, for once, that we buy 2 bottles. (It's usually me sneaking things into our basket!). Our rating: 87.5.
It seems that I am regularly asked, "what do you think of Malivoire?", "have you tried Malivoire?", and "haven't you been to Malivoire yet?"; It's not that we've been avoiding it; its various festival offerings just haven't fit in with any of our touring themes yet. Actually, our visit was no exception to that, as during the icewine festival it featured its 2010 M2 Small Lot Chardonnay, but we were determined to go there anyway. On approach, the winery is not much to look at, but the slope of those vineyards promised some good bench-flavoured minerality so I remained optimistic. As we approached the boutique, though, I started to understand the decor theme. Instead of dressing up the corrugated metal dome that houses the entire operation, Malivoire has embraced industrial or heavy-metal decor with various bold accessories.
The retail area / tasting bar is small but efficient, albeit a little too dark. We headed past it to the events room which is elaborately decorated with a brightly coloured, vibrant mural. The air was filled with the inviting smell of the thyme in the butternut squash soup we were about to taste. The chef explained the science behind his pairing choices; using a strategy of complimentary flavours, he matched the sweetness of the wine to the butternut squash, and the wine's acidity to the soup's secret ingredient - apple. 
Interestingly, we didn't agree at all with the tasting notes for this wine from Malivoire's website. Although it describes "an opulent nose of pear, citrus and floral aromas," we struggled to find the nose, eventually noting yeast and / or mildew, and, when aggressively swirled, bubblegum and / or passion fruit. The site goes on to describe that "the palate is full flavoured yet fresh with acidity," and we agree. I think the full flavour comes from the 12% of the grapes that were oaked, resulting in a buttered popcorn background flavour. At the time we were unable to identify the other flavours but now agree with the winery's description of orchard fruit. Although quite easy-to-drink, this is a wine drinker's wine. Chris actually insisted, for once, that we buy 2 bottles. (It's usually me sneaking things into our basket!). Our rating: 87.5. 
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