|
|
Wine Recommendation
Peller Estates (BC)
2004 Cabernet Franc Private Reserve, Rocky Ridge(Similkameen Valley)
In 1960, Andrew Peller, the founder of Andrés Wines (now Andrew Peller Ltd.), was unsuccessful in developing a vineyard in the Similkameen Valley. Although the winery developed a brand called Similkameen Superior (still available), most of its British Columbia fruit was sourced in the Okanagan.
The winery returned to the Similkameen in 1997, investing with growers Roger and Annette Hol in a 70-acre property, formerly an alfalfa field, that is now the Rocky Ridge Vineyard. Nine varieties have been planted here, notably Merlot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay and Cabernet Franc. Bordered on either side by steep mountains, the Similkameen Valley has hot, dry summers that deliver ripeness. The grapes for this wine were hand-picked between October 20 and 22, 2005, at 24.6 Brix.
The wine shows an attractive garnet hue with a complex aroma of red currants, pepper and spice. The flavours pick up on the pepper and red currants, with notes of chocolate. There is a gamy, brambly, charmingly rustic character created by the mingling of the berry flavours with the tannins. This is the wine to drink with gourmet hamburgers. 87 points.
Reviewed February 6, 2007 by John Schreiner.
Other reviewed wines from Peller Estates (BC)
The Wine
Winery: Peller Estates (BC) |
The Reviewer
John Schreiner
John Schreiner has been covering the wines of British Columbia for the past 30 years and has written 10 books on the wines of Canada and BC. He has judged at major competitions and is currently a panel member for the Lieutenant Governor’s Awards of Excellence in Wine. Both as a judge and as a wine critic, he approaches each wine not to find fault, but to find excellence. That he now finds the latter more often than the former testifies to the dramatic improvement shown by BC winemaking in the past decade. |