Canada's wine industry making great strides
Progress in developing wine regions is demarcated by indicators such as quality, total production and attention from the wine media. The combination of these factors often draws interest from major players in the industry, and a perfect example is the Osoyoos Larose winery in the Okanagan Valley.
Back in 1998, a partnership was announced between Vincor (which has since been sold to Constellation Brands) and the Groupe Taillan from Bordeaux. The goal was to produce a wine that would rival the great growths of Bordeaux and the first effort -- the 2001 Osoyoos Larose -- proved the potential was there to deliver a high quality wine in the Bordeaux style, especially when you consider the vines were only two years old at the time.
Last week, Osoyoos Larose's winemaker Pascal Madevon was in town to lead a group through a vertical tasting dating from the 2003 vintage through to the yet-to-be-released 2006.
The wine has continued to improve from one year to the next and it has indeed taken on Bordeaux-like flavours, displaying excellent structure and depth of fruit. I found the tannins in the 2005 vintage to be a little hard and green but those should soften over time to allow the fruit to shine through.
The vines are now reaching a level of maturity conducive to quality wine and it shows; it now stands as one of the top wines produced in the Okanagan and my guess is that the Bordelaise are happy with their investment in the valley.
Osoyoos Larose produces a second, somewhat more affordable wine called Petales that is only available at a few restaurants around town, but it will eventually be available at a retail level as well. It displays a similar fruit profile to the flagship wine but with softer tannins, making it ideal for early drinking.
Another sought-after wine from the Okanagan is Mission Hill's flagship effort Occulus ($75). The 2005 vintage is about to be released at the end of the month and, as is customary, you can expect it to sell out quickly, even at $75 a bottle.
Those of you that have been enjoying the wines from Golden Mile Cellars should keep your eyes and palates open for a new look and name from this respected Okanagan winery. The new winery name is Road 13 and the packaging suggests a more modern approach. The owners and winemaking team have not changed and I was really impressed with the samples I tasted under the Road 13 label from the 2007 vintage. The Road 13 wines should be available in about a month. This winery has risen to become one of the bright lights, and there is a lot to choose from these days.
In short, Canada's wine industry is on a roll.
On a separate note, one of the world's greatest producers of white wine, Didier Dagueneau, has died in a microlite plane crash in France at the age of 52. He was considered by many to produce the finest examples of Sauvignon Blanc in the world from his home in the Loire Valley. His Silex, Pur Sang and Buisson-Renard are legendary wines of uncommon power and structure, capable of aging for many years and bracingly refreshing in their youth. He was a vibrant, outspoken man who set his own course and he will be missed in the international wine community. We raise a glass to him.
Cheers!
Geoff Last is a longtime Calgary wine merchant and writer and a regular contributor to Orange Life and City Palate magazine. He instructs on food and wine at the Cookbook Company Cooks.
Best Cellars
Wine: Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Pinot Noir 2004
Country: Canada, from the Niagara Peninsula
Suggested retail price: $39, GST included
Tasting notes: Living in Alberta close to the Okanagan Valley, we tend to forget that there is another vibrant wine region in Eastern Canada. Lately, I've been really impressed with some of the examples I've tasted out of Ontario. This wine is among the best Pinot Noirs produced in Canada, a Burgundian-styled effort showing bright lifted red fruits with hints of spice and earth and soft fleshy tannins. It would go well with duck, roast chicken and pork tenderloin.