Analysis:
Alcohol: 14.7% | PH: 3.69 | Titratable acidity: 6.39 g/L
Bottling Date: September 2016
Tasting Notes:
An intense and driven wine with structured tannins and acidity for long ageing. The nose shows cassis, tobacco, mulberry, blueberry, sage and mixed baking spices. The palate has lots of toasty oak, espresso, vanilla and caramel and is balanced with intense blackberry, black cherry and baked plum fruit that will integrate together nicely in the next two years. Savoury charred meat and dried rosemary add complexity and the finish is long and given freshness by the crisp acidity. Try this with roast duck or herb wrapped, grilled tenderloin. – Rhys Pender, Master of Wine
Wine Making:
The 2014 season presented the ideal profile for the production of intensely aromatic and concentrated wines for both whites and reds: the dry and warm Spring favored blossoming, exceptional levels of heat during summer time provided for sufficient energy for an even ripening and the beautiful late season gave us time to pick the grapes at will, when they had reached our optimum standards of maturity.
The grapes were harvested by hand from Burrowing Owl’s Vineyards in Osoyoos and Oliver on November 7th and 11th 2016. They were sorted by hand, then destemmed and gently crushed before being fed by gravity flow into stainless tanks for skin maceration and alcoholic fermentation to occur with temperatures ranging from 17 to 27 Celsius.
Both free run wine and pressed wine were then moved into barrels for the malolactic fermentation followed by ageing for 18 months. The selection of barrels helped round out the tannins, and contributed complex savoury, toasted and spicy notes. After the blending of the barrels, the wine was bottled unfiltered and left to mature in bottle until its release.
Ageing: 83% French oak, 11% American, 6% Hungarian with 29% new oak and 29% one-year old
