This was a tasting I wanted to do for awhile even though the original idea had nothing to do with the Similkameen Valley. It started with the 2 single vineyard Intersection Merlot's from Oliver, but made more sense going with 2 separate regions. The Similkameen Valley is drier with colder winters than the Okanagan with varying soil types. The Okanagan soils tend to be heavier in the north with clay and limestone, while the south is dominated by deep sand and some well drained gravel along the Golden Mile. Overall on the night the group preferred the Okanagan wines in each pairing.
Tantalus - Riesling - Okanagan Valley - 2016 - $22.99 - Swirl Wine Store
This is Tantalus's entry level Riesling but is still a Gold medal winner at this years national Wine Awards and a great benchmark. It is slightly off-dry but so well balanced you hardly notice during it's long finish. Very pale in colour, with citrus, pear, apple, and a bit of stone. On the palate, lime skin, tangerine, minerality, with mouth watering high acidity, delicious all around.
Fav = ***
Orofino - Hendsbee Vineyard Riesling - Simlkameen 2015 - $20.99 - Swirl Wine Store
Similkameen valley gives a nice minerality to wines, especially Riesling, and Orovino makes 3 of them in their great lineup. This single vineyard version is the driest of the bunch and has the structure to hold up for aging. It was more subtle, not as fruit forward as the Tantalus, more of a restraint old world style. It had nice lime nice notes with lot's of wet stone minerality, and just a hint of little residual sugar and crisp high acidity.
Deep Roots - Gamay 2016 - Okanagan Valley - $26.99 - Swirl Wine Store
BC makes great Gamay and with this wine I could Gamay All Day! Deep Roots on the Naramata bench makes some delicious wines and this is always a go to. On the nose strawberry, black cherry, vanilla, some earthiness, and a bit of spice. The palate brings red fruits, hint of smokiness, a lingering spice. Dry with soft tannin, good acidity, a bit juicy with a lingering finish.
Fav = ****
Mt. Boucherie - Gamay 2016 - Similkameen Valley - $19.99 - Swirl Wine StoreMt Boucherie is located in West Kelowna and own/manage some of the oldest vines in BC This Gamay comes from their vineyards in the Similkameen and had smoked black cherry, cranberry, cedar, a bit spicy with red fruits on the palate, good acidity with very little tannin.
Corcelettes - Pinot Noir 2016 - Similkameen Valley - $23.99 - Swirl Wine Store
Corcelettes is a small Old World meets new World winery with Swiss roots in Kermeos. This is their 2016 fresh 'nouveau' style Pinot , and they also have a 2015 Reserve Pinot from the best part of the vineyard. This one had subtle dusty cherry, plum, vanilla; on the palate red fruits, just hint of smoke, some earthiness, high acidity, and a nice little spice.
Stoneboat - Pinot Noir 2104 - Okanagan Valley - $24.99 - Swirl Wine Store
Stoneboat gets their name from the wooden sled called a "Stoneboat" used to clear the river rocks from their rocky calcareous soils in the Pinot vineyards. This wine was a double gold medal winner in this years All Canadian Wine Awards. It has sour cherry, over ripe strawberry, green tea and a hint of floral. Nice red fruits on the palate with soft velvety tannin, a hint of minerality, really well balanced and could age for a few more years. Fav = *****
Clos du Soleil - Syrah 2014 - Similkameen Valley - $26.99 - Swirl Wine Store
Clos du Soleil is a minimal intervention terrior driven winery and neighbors of Colcelettes above. This 2014 Syrah was a first for the winery. It spent a month in an open fermenter before a further 16 months in french oak (12% new). The wine is a rich dark purple with jammy bumble berry, a pepper spiciness, a hint of cola and underlying herbaciousness , The palate brought plum, blackberry, and vanilla coke with a hint of a medicinal quality.
Fav = ******
Bench 1775 - Syrah - Okanagan Valley - $27.99 - Swirl Wine Store
Bench 1775 is a beautiful winery up on the Naramata Bench, but the grapes for this Syrah were sourced from their vineyards in Osoyoos. On the nose it showed smokey new oak, black cherry, blackberry, rosemary, and some barnyard with white pepper spiciness. It is a bit more smooth fruity and than the Clos du Soleil. On the palate it is well balanced with soft smooth tannins; black fruits, old leather, and a hint of cedar but no smoke or barnyard showing through. Fav = **
The last pair of wines was a trick as both were from the Okanagan and both were Merlot even though my wine club hates Merlot. These 2 wines are identical in almost every aspect except for the soil they are grown in. For the first 3 years Intersection just made one Merlot than in 2012 they discovered a fine line down the middle of the vineyard where the soils changed. This prompted them to make 2 single vineyard Melots highlighting the soil and handling them identically. Both wines were treated to 28 days of fermentation followed by ageing in tight-grained French oak, 30% new.
Intersection - Unfiltered Merlot Silica - $29.99 - Swirl Wine Store
The Silica comes from a plot of dry silicate sand and turned out to be the favorite wine of the night. It showed cherry, raspberry, cedar, and a hint of leather. On the palate it was smooth while dancing on your tongue, really well balanced with red/black fruit, some spice, and a bit better balanced than the Alluvia
Top group pick of the night!
Intersection - Unfiltered Merlot Alluvia - $29.99 - Swirl Wine Store
The Alluvia comes from the remnants of an ancient creek with alluvial gravel which will retain water better than the Silica sands. This wine was subtle on fruit, with herbaceousness, some blackberry, under-ripe plum, and a bit of cocoa. Higher tannin, same acidity on the palate with peppery rich blackberries and some earthiness with nice textured mouth-feel.
Thanks for reading, happy sipping!
