Blend: 100% Merlot
Analysis:
Alcohol: 13.5 % | PH: 3.65 | Titratable acidity: 5.87 g/L
Bottling Date: May 2021
Cellaring: 3+ years
Tasting Notes:
An intense, vibrant and fresh nose of black plum, blueberry, blackberry and black cherry with some vanilla, dark chocolate, pie crust and a perfumed yet subtle violet note. Full-bodied and smooth textured with intense flavours of mixed summer berries, a fresh note of dried thyme and sage, mint chocolate, graphite minerality, clove, paprika and an orange zest note that lingers through the long finish. There is plenty of acidity and ripe tannin to allow at least a decade of cellaring. Pair this with a jambalaya with lots of chorizo, venison with wild blueberries and paprika or a nicely charred grass-fed striploin with a mushroom and red wine demi-glace.
– Rhys Pender, Master of Wine
Wine Making:
Spring arrived early in 2019, allowing for early and even bud break, flowering and fruit set. This was followed by a warm, yet more moderate summer. The summer heat was enough to produce nicely concentrated levels of ripeness in the grapes and the cool autumn provided conditions for acidity to be retained in the fruit as well, providing the wine with a lively freshness to balance the ripe fruit notes.
The grapes were harvested by hand from Burrowing Owl’s Vineyards in Oliver and Osoyoos at their optimal ripeness between October 7th and 31st. They were sorted by hand, then destemmed and gently crushed before being gravity fed into stainless tanks for cold soak (3 days) and alcoholic fermentation (14 days). Fermentation temperatures ranged from 16 to 29 °C. Both “free run” and “pressed” wine were then moved into barrels for malolactic fermentation followed by ageing for 16 months. The selection of barrels helped round out the tannins, and contributed to complex notes such as smoky, savory and spice. After the blending of the barrels, the wine was bottled unfiltered and left to mature in bottle until its release.
