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Wine Recommendation
Tinhorn Creek Vineyards
2004 Cabernet Merlot(Okanagan Valley)
One of Tinhorn Creek’s stalwart reds, this is a blend where the way is carried by the bright, lean characters of Cabernet Franc, with lively brambly aromas and flavours. The two varieties are fermented and aged separately for 10 to 11 months in American oak barrels ranging from new to four years old. The blend was assembled in the winter of 2005 and given a prolonged aging in stainless steel before being bottled early in July 2006. The wine is scheduled for release this month. All 1,578 cases are bottled under screw cap closures.
It is a tasty wine. The prolonged aging in barrel and in tank have mellowed the ripe tannins. The berry flavours – cherry and raspberry – are lifted by a light spiciness and the acidity of the Cabernet Franc.
In a vintage or two, Tinhorn Creek will also have some Cabernet Sauvignon to add to this blend, should they choose to do so. It would add an interesting extra dimension. 85 points.
Reviewed October 20, 2006 by John Schreiner.
Other reviewed wines from Tinhorn Creek Vineyards
The Wine
Winery: Tinhorn Creek Vineyards |
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. |