Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
Concentrated and complex, this rare Cabernet Franc shows ripe raspberry, blackberry, and fragrant anise
notes. A savoury palate follows with rich blackberry flavours along with lightly toasted vanilla undertones. An
impressive and intriguing old vine wine with a harmonious natural balance of acidity, fruit, and tannins. A truly
memorable wine, pair with an herb crusted seared ahi tuna or try a fresh raspberry and goat cheese crostini.
Vineyard Notes
From a winemaking perspective 2020 was an exceptional vintage in the South Okanagan. Early spring started out colder than average but by mid-to-late June, temperatures were at or above average. Following a summer that began a little later than usual, September was very warm resulting in our vineyards seeing a smaller than average crop with smaller grape bunches. The vines benefited from a dry September, with a smaller berry size contributing to concentrated flavours. The warm weather in late September and early October enabled the grapes to reach ideal phenolic ripeness, with our white varietals all handpicked and fermenting in tank by the first week of October. Following a warm start to fall, the weather turned and we saw a rare snowfall and a freezing event in the valley on October 23rd. Fortunately, the majority of our red grapes were harvested by this time. From a temperature perspective, the 2020 vintage was the 5th warmest in growing degree days in the last 2 decades. Overall, the 2020 season delivered exceptional quality grapes of a smaller berry size with abundant ripe fruit and beautifully enhanced flavour profiles. It is a year where the quality will be talked about for years to come, producing wines that are cellar worthy.
Winemaker Notes
Crafted with handpicked grapes from Block 3 of our historic vineyard, these rare half century old vines have
low yields and produce beautifully concentrated fruit. After meticulous sorting, the destemmed berries were
cold soaked for 4 days. A gentle fermentation in our Italian Ganimede fermenters for 20 days provided an
ideal concentration of colour and flavours. Following malolactic fermentation, the wine was aged for 18
months on fine lees, primarily in French oak barrels. An ageworthy Cabernet Franc, that is a tribute to its
marvelous Golden Mile Bench terroir
Other Notes
92 Points ~ Daenna Van Mulligen, 90 points ~ Anthony Gismondi, 91 Points ~ Deborah Podurgiel, 90 Points ~ Decanter World Wine Awards, Silver Medal ~ Decanter World WIne Awards, 90 Points ~ Natalie MacLean