Garnet in color with a mild red berry nose. On the mid palate the wine displays some soft red berries, think raspberry, along with some nice rustic notes, spot on varietal. On the medium length finish the wine displays some soft tannins and acidity. This is a softer, gentler, food friendly Pinot Noir. I would give it an 88 or so, quite nice. Sadly not in the LCBO and they do not seem to have an Ontario rep, so you will have to take a trip to the winery in BC. Shame that is 🙂
From the Winery’s web site:
Pinot Noir 100%
Trout Creek Vineyard, Summerland (clone 777)
This is It Vineyard, Naramata (clones 115, 667, 777)
Albrecht Family Vineyard, Naramata (clones 667, 777, 828)
Plein de Vie Vineyard, Penticton (clones 667, 115)
Residual Sugar – 1.7g/L, Alcohol – 13% Price – $25.90 BC & Winery Direct Production – 507 cases
We work with Pinot Noir because we feel that it naturally excels in the cool climate desert of south-central British
Columbia. The superiority of the Burgundian varietals to our terroir is undeniable, but of equal importance is their
compatibility with the cuisine of the Pacific Northwest. This pinot noir is a blend of two vineyards made in a fruit forward
style for early drinking. Pleasant acidity is balanced with bright cherry fruit.
2014 VINTAGE REPORT
2014 was a quality vintage. April was warm and pleasant, encouraging budbreak in the first week of May. A typical, rainy
June created rapid growth by early July, and veraison was even and complete by mid-August. Above average temperatures
continuing from July through September meant quick and even ripening until a temperature dip at the beginning of harvest
slowed the vines and ended the sugar spike, but al lowed three weeks of further flavour development. A warm, dry October
allowed for extended hang times producing flavourful grapes with full phenolic ripeness and complex flavour. Overall, we
saw higher than normal brix levels – achieved early due to the summer heat – but fresh acidity and ripe flavours that came
with our typical long harvest period. 2014 was a stunning vintage.
VINIFICATION
The fruit was hand picked and a sorting table was utilized to select only the best fruit. A portion of the fruit was selected
to be crushed and de-stemmed and then fermented in small open top 500L fermenters and the balance was
fermented in a large 25hl open top wooden cask. Our red fermentation technique revolves around small lots, which
allows for complexity with yeast strain selection, temperature control, gentle handling of fruit, and ease of punch
downs. This style of red fermentation allows us to preserve fresh fruit character. After fermentation, the wines were
gently pressed off the skins, settled for 24 hours, racked to barrel for malolactic fermentation and then aged for
10 months in a mix of large 25hl wooden casks, puncheons and barriques on fine lees. This mix is intentionally larger
format to provide a larger wine to wood ratio as not to overwhelm the delicate fruit profile of this pinot noir. Our
barrel program combines Allier and Vosges oak from two Burgundian coopers, Billon and Damy. We chose a medium
toast for the barrels which allows the wine to express a savoury component of coffee and bacon as a nice
counterpoint to the sweet fruit. 20% new wood is refreshed into this program each year in the form of puncheon.
After a winter and spring of barrel age, the wine was then cross-flow filtered pre-bottling, in order to gently
focus the layers of the wine. We chose a stelvin closure to best preserve the wine’s lively characteristics. The 2014
Pinot Nair was aged for a year in bottle before release.
TASTING NOTES
The deep, black cherry colour is suggestive of the intense core of juicy cherry fruit found in the glass. Sweet spice on
the nose carries through to the palate and is balanced by savoury coffee and tar notes. This a pretty, yet powerful pinot
noir. An excellent pairing for charcuterie, duck, salmon and coastal mushroom dishes.
