Mission Hill Winery
2003 S.L.C. Syrah(Okanagan Valley)
Vineyards in the hot south Okanagan have experienced surprising success with Syrah, to the point where the variety is being planted in less appropriate sites further north in the valley. Mission Hill, however, has professional viticulturists on staff, ensuring that their Syrah is growing in premium southern vineyards.
Dark and full-bodied, this wine begins with gamey aromas of meat, leather, earth and spiced plums. On the palate, it offers layered fruit flavours of spiced blackberries, plums and liquorice, even a touch of chocolate. The texture is bold and generous, with a long, satisfying finish. This wine would flatter any number of good Rhone producers. 90 points.
Reviewed July 2, 2006 by John Schreiner.
Other reviewed wines from Mission Hill Winery
Mission Hill Winery 2006 Reserve Riesling Fritz Hasselbach Collection (Okanagan Valley)John Schreiner 10/4/2007 |
Mission Hill Winery 2006 Reserve Pinot Blanc, Lakeshore Vineyard (Okanagan Valley)John Schreiner 10/4/2007 |
The Wine
Winery: Mission Hill Winery |
The ReviewerJohn 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. |