Similkameen Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThe Further Afield Series has emerged out of a desire for the Tanatalus winemaking team to explore British Columbia’s most revered varieties beyond the vineyard borders of Tanatalus. The new tier comes with a beloved piece by Tahltan-Tlingit artist and dear friend of Tantalus, Dempsey Bob, that is entitled “Wolf Bowl.” The goal is “for each wine to convey the unique characteristics of its growing site and be shaped by the climatic conditions of the vintage.” The syrah hails from the famed Blind Creek Vineyard in the Similkameen Valley. Grown over a gentle slope of broken granite and stony soils, it is considered one of the most magical sites for syrah in BC. Four batches of fruit were vinified, each fermented at slightly different temperatures with different yeasts (including some wild) before it was all pressed and settled to French oak barrels, of which only 15 percent were new. It was aged 11 months and bottled under screwcap in late summer of 2022. It was the heat dome year, so there was no lack of concentration, yet the wine is elegant, and at 14.2 percent alcohol, it sits well within its frame. The flavours are plummy and mineral based, lined with pepper, and concentrated through a long, wild Similkameen finish. The tannins are dense and need dispersion, but they are hardly gritty. Three to five years in the bottle will let everything come together, revealing little intervention and much harmony.Tasted: 05 May 2023Tasted by: Prices:
BC
$34.75
750ml
winery online/direct
Producer: Tantalus VineyardsDistributors: The Wine Syndicate Grape: Shiraz/SyrahCSPC: 460372UPC: 626990332121
Similkameen Valley, British Columbia, CanadaAn unforgiving series of very challenging weather events has led to Tantalus' new Further Afield Series and a new line of wines into the portfolio from sourced grapes. This syrah came from Similkameen Valley's Blind Creek Vineyard, a site on the opposite end of the spectrum from Tantalus' East Kelowna home. Rooted in stony, broken granite soils, this syrah was a partial native ferment and pressed off into French oak barrels (15% new) for an 11-month rest before bottling in late summer 2022. Dusky dark plums, thorns, and smoked stone flood a juicy, full palate, seasoned liberally with cracked pepper and downy violets. Tannins are soft and plumped, hugging this through a warming, furry finish. Certainly, by far the biggest wine I've seen from Tantalus, and very much Similkameen wild.Tasted: 27 June 2023Tasted by: Prices:
BC
$34.75
750ml
winery online/direct
Producer: Tantalus VineyardsDistributors: The Wine Syndicate Grape: Shiraz/SyrahCSPC: 460372UPC: 626990332121
quicksearch
