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Just as Tinhorn Creek Vineyards has begun to release its 2000 vintage red wines, word has arrived that this Okanagan winery has its first reserve-level Merlot from the 2001 vintage maturing in barrels.
About 1,000 cases of it will be released next year, 10 years after Tinhorn's first vintage. Tinhorn delayed the creation of an upper tier wine until the vines in its Black Sage Road vineyard - where planting started in 1993 - had the maturity to produce the depth of flavour expected in reserve wines.
"All our vineyards are planted now and we are pretty well at full production," says Sandra Oldfield, who has made all the vintages here, starting with 1994. "We are starting to see what the true fruit characters are. For me, this is where it gets exciting."
The upper tier wine will not be called a reserve. The winemaker has no patience with what she calls "the R word" because of the promiscuous way the wine industry sticks the term even on plonk. The Tinhorn wine, which is scheduled to be bottled this July after 16 months in oak, likely will&be called Oldfield Collection.
The winery was established by Albertans Kenn Oldfield and oilman Robert Shaunessy (and their families). As the vineyard was being developed, Kenn went to the University of California at Davis to learn how to grow grapes. That was where he met Sandra, who was completing a winemaking degree. An effective professional team as well as husband and wife, the Oldfields have made Tinhorn into one of Okanagan's leading wineries. In the 2002 vintage, the winery produced about 41,000 cases of wine.
One hallmark of Tinhorn is the winery's discipline. Excluding the small amount of Kerner icewine, Tinhorn makes only six varietal wines. The whites are Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer; the latter is the quickest-selling wine in Tinhorn's hilltop tasting room south of Oliver.
The reds are Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The latter variety accounts for about a quarter of Tinhorn's production each year.
The other hallmark of Tinhorn is its philosophy of value pricing. Most of the wines are priced between $13 and $18 a bottle and the prices have remained steady for several years. "There is something to be said for value," Sandra Oldfield says, who rarely buys more expensive wines for her personal cellar. Savvy Tinhorn customers get even better value by buying Merlot by the case under the winery's futures program. They get a big discount by paying for the wine a year or so before it is released. Tinhorn sells 10% of its Merlot through this program.
The 2000 Merlot has just arrived on wine store shelves at a retail price of $17.95. The same wine was offered under the futures program in the summer of 2001 for $13.66 (on case-lot purchases). "It's huge value," Oldfield suggests.
It also is a huge wine that should be cellared a few more years. Deep in colour and with 14.9% alcohol, it has a concentrated, firm heft on the palate with spicy blackberry flavours. My score: 87 points.
While I gave 85 points to the 2000 Cabernet Franc, this varietal is Sandra Oldfield's favourite from that vintage and one that she thinks will age longer than her previous Cabernet Francs. She describes the wine as "rich with deep raspberry and boysenberry fruit flavours." The 14.3% alcohol indicates that the grapes were succulently ripe when picked.
Big wines like that, loaded with flavour, indicate that Tinhorn's vineyards have hit their stride. It was time indeed to bring out a reserve wine.
