British Columbia Vintners Release 2004 Vintage

liquor stores worked together last November to release a number of top-rated, hard-to-find, local wines in what turned out to be a wildly successful retail promotion.

The process repeats April 16 in select government stores, albeit featuring a much smaller list of highly regarded local labels. I support the release, which adds some authenticity to the largest retail front for B.C. wine that is frankly drab in comparison to what can be had at competing VQA stores, private wine shops and at the wineries themselves.

 This time around, 10 hard-to-find labels (some 330 cases in all) will on sale at six key government store locations: 39th and Cambie in Vancouver, Thurlow and Alberni in Vancouver, Park Royal in West Vancouver, Westwood Centre in Port Coquitlam, Fort Street in Victoria and Orchard Park in Kelowna.

Given the hefty prices of the Best of B.C. releases, I have decided to split today's picks between the Best of B.C and three newly released 2004 labels that kick off B.C.'s latest harvest.

Rod King of King Family Farms near Penticton says: "The '04 vintage will probably be one of B.C.'s best. It started with an early bud break, there was a long growing season and it was very warm until mid-August. Then the weather cooled down for a month; people didn't like it, but the plants kept maturing and found it to be almost ideal. The extra hang time in October, when the warm weather returned, has produced some fine flavours in the whites and especially the reds."

There's only one catch.

We need '04s in stores now -- not next fall or winter, but all spring and summer. They need to be here for the tourist season. They should be served in cafes, out of doors, on picnics, at the cabin -- wherever the situation calls for a clean, fresh, un-oaked glass of white wine. It's what we do best, but we need to do it now.

Here is but the leading edge of what should be a flood of 2004 pinot gris, pinot blanc, ehrenfelser, dry riesling, chasselas and gewurztraminer heading our way soon.

Don't miss the fresh-as-a-fruit- pie CedarCreek Ehrenfelser 2004 with its orange blossom, mineral, red apple nose and mineral, grapefruit, green apple, nectarine and rose petal flavours. Both off-dry and warm, it has the acidity and balance to make it a terrific pre-dinner sipper or to accompany duck or Indian cuisine.

After the horrific firestorm levelled the property, the St. Hubertus Pinot Blanc 2004 has clearly benefited from rebuilt, clean premises, better equipment and, without doubt, a screw cap machine. Light butter and mineral/peach pit aromas mix with citrus and green apple in this lively fresh pinot blanc. Look for clean peach, floral, mineral, pear flavours with a touch of bitter grapefruit rind on the finish. Good value.

Spicy, floral, orange blossom aromas with bits of almond and peach mark the nose of the very engaging Quails' Gate Gewurztraminer Limited Release 2004. It's an off-dry style in '04 with mineral, citrus peel, spicy sausage, and baked apple flavours -- more patio sipper than mainstream dinner wine, but worth exploring with spicy Asian cuisine.

The first of three special releases is a sensational bottle of CedarCreek Cabernet Sauvignon Platinum Reserve 2002. From its dark cherry colour to its spicy, peppery, cedar, tobacco leaf nose, this smoky vanilla cassis-scented red is aging well. I just love the ripe, supple textures and fine-grained tannins that melt into its cassis, coriander and pepper fruit flavours and spicy, cherry, smoky oak and vanilla finish.

This will undoubtedly improve over the next three to five years and should be used as a benchmark to illustrate green beans and olives can be eliminated from the cabernet flavour spectrum if you are fully committed to impeccable winemaking and viticulture. Bravo B.C.

The Burrowing Owl Syrah 2003 is another impressive red and perhaps even more collectible given the departure of winemaker Bill Dyer, whose influence on Burrowing Owl's quality and wine style will be missed by this writer.

Look for big, smoky, dried lychee fruit and sausage meat aromas with peppery, licorice root and blackberry jam undertones. This is rich, wild, fat and ripe syrah with smoky, peppery meaty tones. Definitely big and alcoholic, but still a fine effort with a northern focus. A young brute that will need two to four years to really settle into itself.

Special thanks to the folks at Quails' Gate for making a Canadian Wine Awards Best Merlot and Red Wine of the Year award winner available in government stores. The Quails' Gate Merlot Family Reserve 2002 is a delicious bottle of spicy, vanilla dark fruit red with strong smoky oak, coffee, licorice and cedar flavours. A warm year has left it a bit overripe, but it's well worth cellaring to see how it develops over the next three to five years.

For consumers who would prefer to taste before they buy, there will be a preview of the Best of B.C. release on April 14 at the Four Seasons Hotel from 7 to 9 p.m.; seven of the 10 wines in the April 16 release will be poured, plus a dessert wine. Tickets are $25 each, with a total of 100 available from the Park Royal and 39th and Cambie specialty stores only. Guest speakers that night include winemakers Randy Picton (Nk'Mip), John Simes (Mission Hill) and Howard Soon (Sandhill).

WEEKEND WINE TASTING: BRITISH COLUMBIA SPRING RELEASES

Wine: CedarCreek Ehrenfelser 2004
Price: $14.99
UPC: 778913023064
Score: 88/100
Comments: Grapefruit, green apple, nectarine flavours. Think Indian cuisine.

Wine: St. Hubertus Pinot Blanc 2004
Price: $11.90
UPC: 625259102048
Score: 86/100
Comments: Peach, floral, mineral, pear flavours with a touch of citrus rind.

Wine: Quails' Gate Gewurztraminer Limited Release 2004
Price: $14.99
UPC: 77856104066
Score: 87/100
Comments: An off-dry summer sipper for the patio or spicy food.

Wine: CedarCreek Cabernet Sauvignon Platinum Reserve 2002, Okanagan Valley, B.C.
Price: $39.99
UPC: 778913062513
Score: 91/100
Comments: Fine, well-crafted cabernet sauvignon. Bravo B.C.

Wine: Burrowing Owl Syrah 2003
Price: $24.90
UPC: 626990004493
Score: 91/100
Comments: Fat ripe blackberry jam and smoky, peppery dried lychee fruit.

Wine: Quails' Gate Merlot Family Reserve 2002
Price: $40.00
UPC: 778856202236
Score: 91/100
Comments: Spicy, vanilla, clove with smoky, coffee, licorice and cedar.