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Our Top 10 Wine Plus Ties Summerhill Pyramid Winery Cipes Ariel Premier Cuvée Pinot Noir - Chardonnay - Pinot Meunier 1998, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada Price $85.00 UPC Score 92/100 Remarks Summerhill has had its ups and downs over the years but lately there are more ups than down and the new ups are higher.
Our Top 10 Wine Plus Ties
Summerhill Pyramid Winery Cipes Ariel Premier Cuvée Pinot Noir - Chardonnay - Pinot Meunier 1998, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $85.00
UPC
Score 92/100
Remarks Summerhill has had its ups and downs over the years but lately there are more ups than down and the new ups are higher. Case in point is the stunningly fine Cipes Ariel bubble. Mysteriously lost in the depths of the cellar the 1998 has emerged as one of the finest sparkling wines ever made in British Columbia. The fruit is estate grown at Summerhill's Kelowna vineyard and is now a delicious, old, 59/40/1 blend of pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot meunier. Expect a rich, powerful yet delicate nose of complex aromas including citrus, brioche, apricot skin and hazelnuts. The texture is equally impressive and creamy with a fine lees character that adds to its complexity. The flavours are more gout Anglais than fresh but it remains in fine shape with bright lemon, toasted ginger and bits of red apple fruit. Very food-friendly and ready to drink.
Mission Hill Compendium Cabernet Sauvignon - Merlot - Cabernet Franc - Petit Verdot 2009, Osoyoos, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $50.00
UPC 776545555717
Score 91/100
Remarks The latest Compendium blend is 40/35/20/5 mix of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc and petit verdot. The grapes come off specific blocks in Oliver and Osoyoos and end up in 100 percent French oak for 14 months. Nose is remarkably floral with a strong sense of minerality and a hint of seashore. The attack is sleek and sophisticated. The tannins are small firm and chalky; the flavor profile is very Bordelais with tobacco, black olive savoury notes throughout. An impressive young red wine.
Laughing Stock Vineyards Syrah+7/10 Syrah - Viognier 2010, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $34.00
UPC 850451001312
Score 91/100
Remarks The fruit is grown in Osoyoos and the wine is made by co-fermenting a small amount of viognier with the syrah in large casks and tanks. The viognier adds some floral mineral notes and tends to open up the syrah allowing it to fully express its potential in the bottle. Look for a rich, smooth, fresh palate with blackberry jam, menthol, ginger, pepper, sausage meat, vanilla, coffee, clove, curry flavours. The style is big and bold and will need a piece of lamb or two to five more years in bottle.
Van Westen Vineyards Voluptuous Merlot - Cabernet Franc 2009, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $30.00
UPC 00626990042341
Score 91/100
Remarks A very inviting open peppery, smoky, coffee nose with vanilla, waxy, cherry jam, light barnyard and tobacco aromas. Dry and full with youthful tannins but with fine concentration. Delicious, smoky, peppery, earthy, vanilla, dried cranberry, curry and cherry jam flavours that do not quit. Fine fruit and intensity but with a tannin structure that should allow this to age for 3-5 years and soften. A super effort.
Mission Hill Perpetua Chardonnay Osoyoos Vineyard Estate 2010, Osoyoos, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $40.00
UPC 776545555700
Score 91/100
Remarks Perpetua opens with an appealing honey and oats nose flecked with red apple, light lees and spice. The attack is creamy and smooth with some primary apple notes mixed with spice and caramel/baked apple. The finish is long, persistent and warm. Three clones make up the mix of fruit in Perpetua a single vineyard, one hundred percent chardonnay farmed on the Osoyoos Lake Bench. Delicate and creamy the 2011 is showing early promise with better concentration and length. About a quarter is barrel fermented in new French oak for 10 months and stirred by hand every two weeks. Halibut is a fine match.
CedarCreek Platinum Chardonnay 2010, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $30.00
UPC 778913068041
Score 91/100
Remarks CedarCreek best is labelled 'Platinum'. In this case Block Five clone 76 is the ingredient and it's all hand harvested and whole berry pressed before it is barrel fermented and aged for 10 months in a mix of older French coopered oak puncheons. Winemaker Darryl Brooker is playing with wild ferments and 25 percent of this juice was fermented with wild vineyard yeast selected and started in the vineyard. The result is a stunning departure from the ordinary. Look for lean tropical fruit aromas with an intense acidity (mineral) grapefruit flavour with a nutty spicy finish. An exciting edition to the local chardonnay scene and it really just beginning to get its feet under it. Dungeness crab anyone?
Mission Hill Quatrain Merlot - Syrah - Cabernet Franc - Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Osoyoos, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $50.00
UPC 776545555724
Score 90/100
Remarks The 09 Quatrain is a 30/30/20/20/ blend of merlot, syrah, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc fermented in large French oak vats. Expect a fragrant nose cherry with sweet liquorice and spicy warm mocha, meaty notes. All the fruit comes off the best blocks farmed in the south Okanagan and spends 15 months in French oak. The finish is warm and long with chalky but firm tannins and will need some time to come around in the bottle.
Painted Rock Syrah 2009, Skaha Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $40.00
UPC 00626990105855
Score 90/100
Remarks This big spicy, brooding black fruit scented syrah with a dollop of Okanagan sage has really come together in the bottle over the last six months and will likely improve through 2015. Both ripe and rich it exudes a New World syrah stance mixing liquorice, smoky, black tea and roasted meat characters flecked with plums and spicy oak. Tasted several times now and it gets better each time out. You can drink it now with a big piece of grilled lamb or put in the cellar for another five years.
CedarCreek Riesling 2011, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $18.00
UPC 778913021022
Score 90/100
Remarks Winemaker Darryl Brooker continues his quest to lower the alcohol at CedarCreek, especially among the aromatic varieties such as this delicious, electric, riesling at 10.5 percent alcohol. The fruit is a blend of two sites: the home block in Kelowna and Greata Ranch across the lake. The nose is expressive and fresh with tightly wound citrus and lime scented fruit that is the theme on the nose and palate. Light juicy fun yet serious it will pair with variety of West Coast foods. Delicious.
Terravista Figaro Roussanne Viognier Marsanne Roussanne - Viognier - Marsanne 2010, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $24.00
UPC 00627843135258
Score 90/100
Remarks Senka and Bob Tennant (formerly Black Hills) are back in business; this time on Naramata Bench. Terravista Figaro is a blend of roussanne, viognier and marsanne and one of only two wines made at the property. Sanka Tennat has a flare for making refreshing, exciting white wines and Figaro is another example. The nose is an attractive mix of white flowers, pepper and citrus with bits peach and honeysuckle. The midpalate is fresh if a touch watery but we will take the easy-drinking style over the thick and alcoholic. Turkey any one?
Pentâge Winery Pentâge Merlot - Cabernet Sauvignon - Cabernet Franc - Syrah - Gamay 2007, Skaha Bench, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $28.00
UPC
Score 90/100
Remarks Ash, earthy, tobacco leaf, menthol, black cherry, saddle leather, peppery, cassis aromas with a bit of meat and prune. Dry, full, somewhat tannic palate with tobacco, compost, earthy, prune, black berry, cedar, rooty, licorice, peppery flavours with some coffee oak on the finish. Good concentration with some young tannins and oak to diminish the note of rusticity. Try this with your favourite meat dish.
Tantalus Riesling 2011, East Kelowna, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $23.00
UPC 626990067412
Score 90/100
Remarks Typically at the extreme end of freshness and acidity. Pure, electric mineral floral citrus green apple fruit without any overpowering sulphur yeah. The attack is textbook crisp and clean with vibrant delicious flavours that combine lemon, honey, lime and green apple and tangerine notes. A juicy mouth-watering style made for food. Super effort. Hard to believe it has 19g/l residual sugar.
Black Hills Alibi Sauvignon Blanc - Sémillon 2011, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $25.00
UPC 626990061564
Score 90/100
Remarks Open clean fresh nose with pink grapefruit, citrus and floral aromas. Crisp and inviting. The attack is juicy, cool and elegant with sweet, smoky herbal notes. Look for more pink grapefruit, lemon thyme, mineral and ginger flavours with a trace of chalk underneath. Steamed buttered clams with a squeeze of Alibi in the pot works for me.
CedarCreek Platinum Home Block Pinot Noir 2010, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $40.00
UPC 778913064524
Score 90/100
Remarks Winemaker Darryl Brooker's first red wines to be released include the "Home Block" 2010 Platinum Pinot Noir (blocks 2 and 4) replete with its floral/fragrant cool pinot nose flecked with spice, black cherry and worsteshire sauce. The attack is similarly cool and restrained with light tannins and firm black and sour cherry fruit mixed with dried herbs. A new, cooler direction for his variety that better expresses its northern terroir. Try this with grilled salmon or roast turkey. Tasted several times since the fall it is improving each time.
Poplar Grove Syrah 2009, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $25.00
UPC 00626990113676
Score 90/100
Remarks Spicy, savoury, tobacco, liquorice root, poultry spice, cherry jam, plum and barnyard aromas with a touch of ginger. Rich, ripe, concentrated and a bit tannic with peppery, liquorice, black cherry jam, plum, savoury meat, tobacco, sage, floral flavours. Good fruit and intensity but with some heat. Needs a few years to fully round out. An excellent effort. Bring on the lamb.
CedarCreek Platinum Viognier 2011, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $25.00
UPC 778913060151
Score 90/100
Remarks The goal here is a rich style and the fruit comes off a warm site in Osoyoos. It was fermented for 47 days in stainless steel for fruit, a third in older barrels for texture and a third in concrete eggs which both retained the fruit and added texture. This is a gorgeous rendition of the variety and possibly the best I have tasted in Canada. I love the freshness and the minerality and the rich dollop of apricot/orange fruit throughout. Both fresh and exotic, it is home run. Most anything Asian would be an excellent match or turkey.
CedarCreek Platinum Meritage Merlot - Cabernet Sauvignon - Cabernet Franc - P.Verdot - Malbec 2009, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
Price $40.00
UPC 778913067563
Score 90/100
Remarks The '09 Meritage is a 46/41/13/mix of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and malbec all of which is essentially the best fruit aged in French oak for 20 months. The fruit is ripe and sweet on the attack with bits of coffee, tea, oak and spice throughout. Still very young but with plenty of potential to expand its persona over the next five years. If you decide to drink it now choose a grilled piece of meat to temper the fruit and tannins.
