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Wine Recommendation
Sumac Ridge Estate Winery
2004 Pinnacle White(Okanagan Valley)
This is the inaugural release of the companion to Pinnacle Red ($50), first made in the 1997 vintage.
Pinnacle White appears to be Sumac Ridge's answer to Conundrum. It is a blend of seven grapes: Gewürztraminer 22%, Chardonnay 21%, Ehrenfelser 20%, Muscat 15%, Pinot Blanc 10%, Sauvignon Blanc 10%, and Sémillon 2%. Each variety was individually barrel-fermented before blending and then aged for eight months in French and American oak.
A richly textured wine with complex fruity aromas, it is layered with tropical flavours (ripe pineapple, mango, peach) lifted by the spiciness of the oak. The finish is harmonious and persistent. Only 250 cases were made. The wine is under-priced for the quality. Score: 92 points
Reviewed November 13, 2005 by John Schreiner.
The Wine
Winery: Sumac Ridge Estate Winery |
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. |