Naramata Wine Associations Presents there twice? Annual Event. These are Okanagan Wines trying to Distinguish themselves from the rest of BC, Which I find cool and I think they are doing it. You could call this the "Napa" of BC wines, but being a cooler climate... Really good wines coming out of the area
The quality on all these wines were pretty high. Definitely the best of the Area as a group.
Showing posts with label Poplar Grove Winery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Poplar Grove Winery. Show all posts
Slow to Post - BC vs WA? Wines
Have not posted in a while finding it hard to write, I am just not a writer, heck in high school I was a C average student in English, and A/B student in Math. Started this blog to practice my writing skillz, yeah with a Zed, not a Zee.
That being said Had a mini wine tasting at my place with two people from Seattle, one m
oving up here we had 8 wines. 4BC wines and 4Washington state. Made a Interesting Night made some oxtail 'Roulade' [Pulled Oxtail with a little star anise, Butter, onion/garlic, Banyuls Vinegar, Wrapped in Cured Sherry Aged Beef]The best part of having 8 wines between 3 people. Left over wine they both took home two bottles, and left me with 4. Must say Washington Wines have lots of acidity, needs time in bottle plus decanting. and have that Northern Rhone Quality of being less over the top.
The Two BC Reds I bought were excellent drinking now, and last for a couple years. But hands down fantastic drinking now
Poplar Grove Merlot 2004
95% Merlot, 5% Malbec
My last bottle of this Really Showing Well now, If only I could buy some more of these. The Wild Sage/Eucalyptus nose has mellowed A LOT which is good.
A: Big sweet Rich fruit little Rubber, and something we couldn't put on nose on
T: Drinking now beautifully, good fruit, not your normal Merlot, acidity is good all in all thumbs up
Blue Mountain Stripe Label Pinot Noir 06
What can you really say about this wine in that its awesome, its on the bigger side, very earthy, the fruit is toned down nicely balanced creamy/round smooth. A must try
Tantalus 07 Riesling
Petrol going on
Day 2
A: Little Tropical, Rubber
T: Lemon Juice, Round Quick Finish
Paradise Ranch Late Harvest 2005
Chardonnay 70% Riesling 30%
I haven't had this Paradise Ranch before I've had there ice wine the all Riesling one. The Chardonnay does give it that roundness a nose I couldn't pin down, I was going with Flinty but it wasn't really. Riesling gives it a little acidity balance. Good if you want a nice round mouth feeling Late Harvest
DAY 2
A: Campbells Cream of Mushroom Soup. No Doubt about it, and my friend picked it up too
T: same as Aroma but lighter
DeLille Cellars, Chaleur Estate Blanc 2007
68% Sauv Blanc, 32% Semillon
I loved this wine, round smooth, melon and tropical fruits. I could drink this all the time. Better then Chardonnay. It is a big wine, held it own to Oxtail Roulade I made
Doyenne 2005 Aix
50% Cabernet Sauvignon 48% Syrah 2% Mourvèdre
A: Sweet perfume, then I found later in the evening Potato Chip nose really interesting.
T: Warm Feeling, Good acidity wish I could of tried this the next day
Trust 07 Syrah Day 2 notes
A: Pepper, Cherry Cola, Big Warm Nose
T: Red fruit good "sweetness", lots of acidity
St Michelle Ethos Late Harvest Riesling 2005
This is why I like Dessert Wines the Acidity just rips through this like no tomorrow so good and balanced
Day 2
A: Celery, Petrol
T: Tropical, Grape Bubble Gum [those cubed one from 10years ago] Good Acidity, Petrolly
Naramata Spring Release Tasting 2008 - Whites - Part 1
Naramata Bench Spring Tasting Part 1 – Whites
What type of Grapes make the Okanagan Standout from the world? What are their signature grape(s)? Some will say Chardonnay (everyone grows chardonnay so nah), some may say Riesling (and it might very well be). But I think the two biggest White Varietals that work in the Okanagan and Naramata Bench are the Pinot Gris / Gewurztraminer. Very Alsatian Grapes, cool climate, nice acidity, as long as they are not over oaked or made to have no acidity.
A couple of these wines were the 2008 and just bottled, so some might not be ready, tho some were reading to go after only a couple of weeks of bottling.
2007 Chard.
Only 15% New Oak Used the rest being Stainless Steel, very fresh, nice acidity, A Chardonnay I would drink, and Generally Speaking Im not a Chardonnay fan especially if it has a lot of Oak, or Malo Fermentation to take away the fresh acidity.
Gewurztraminer 2007
The Nose good , like your floral notes and everything promising but the taste doesn’t even come close to the nose not a good sign
Riesling 2007
A really nice Riesling tropical fruit but not over done, sweetness on this yes but has a nice balance of acidity to make this a very nice Riesling
Pinot Gris, to much oak in the sense it lost all its acidity didn’t like it
Rose 2008: Very Barnyardie, tho it has been in the bottle 3 weeks, not my type of Rose which is Loire Valley Stlye with the grapefruit Zest.
Pinot Gris 2008
Blind Trust 2008(White)
4 Grape Varieties, if I remember Pinot Gris 60%? Viognier 18%, then two others Pinot Blanc and… a non-aromatic Variety tho.
Nice big nose, has that buttery’ness of a Viognier, lots of acidity interesting to say the least.
Chardonnay 2008
40% New Oak, and not showing any of that oak which is great, lots of acidity, freshing, lots of fruit peach and apples really nice
Nichol Vineyard and Estate Winery
Pinot Gris 2008
Aroma of Fuzzy Peach Candy, with a bit more on the real peaches side, good nose
All their whites had a higher level of residual sugar on them, which for the average drinker would most likely like, I found them tasty but to sweet for my palate.
Chardonnay 2005
Was definitely a standout with being 18month barrel fermented, Aroma of Sweet Raison Molasses, heavy concentration on the grapes, the taste almost comparing to the nose, (close to the Poplar Grove Chard) these vines being low crop and 20 years old almost shows what a Chardonnay Terroir is going to be on the Naramata Bench.
Pinot Gris 2008 Un-oaked
Hillside makes two Pinot Gris one Oak (30%) and unoaked this one, we carry the oaked version on the restaurant wine menu was a bigger seller last summer. This unoaked version I think is far superior to the oaked tho this is a different vintage, but the acidity is just bringing some much more for this wine.
Pinot Gris 2008
Acidity is not as Zippy as the 2007 vintage a little bit more rounded I think it is 100% Stainless steel, I prefer the 07, to this.
Chardonnay 2007
Now this is the complete opposite for the 2006 Chardonnay. This I prefer more to the 06. 50% Old Oak Barrels. Nose has close to the 06 (which I will talk about in part 2 on poplar grove). Has that Raison Molasses like the kettle valley does but more on the subtle nature. These vines are old as well, and all of Poplar Groves vines are cropped 2 to 4 tons per acres if im not mistaken.
Poplar Grove 2005 Merlot
The Stats:
Poplar Grove Winery 2005 Merlot [Okanagan / Naramata Bench]
95% Merlot
5% Malbec
14.2% Alc
18 Month French Oak
12 Month Bottle Aging
1100 Cases Produced
The Look:
Dark Ruby Colour Just a beautiful wine to look at bright, with the tinge of cherry on the edge leaning towards the brown side very pretty.
The Nose:
Fresh Cherry Juice, Smoke, Picking up some of the oak nose which I had picked up in the 04 but a lot less which I really like
The Taste:
Red Fruit on the Tart side (not pucker your lips tart) Sour Cherry, Kirsch Flavored. Has a hint of "Tonic Water minus the sugar" it made me want to grab some gin and limes, If you like Gin and Tonic then I guess its a good thing hah. Soft tannins, Medium body (it is a Merlot) Lots of acid in this wine I would definitely wait to drink this wine needs a year minimum.
This wine would definitely benefit from letting it rest in your cellar I have one bottle left Maybe next year Ill try it again to see how it is doing.
Food and Air Defiantly the way to go!
First of all I would decant this wine for an hour to two hours in decanter (I have a large base decanter) or at least a couple hours if just opening the bottle.
That being said the colour when first poured comes out light (Im thinking it is young vines) had defintily has the colour of it being sitting in oak (21months says the label)
The Stats:
Poplar Grove Winery
Syrah 2005
100% Syrah
21 Months in French Oak
8 month bottle ageing
475 Cases Produced
13.8% Alc
The nose on first smell is off Dried Sour Cherries, syrupy fruit hint of strawberry leather for sure and a touch of oak. Now when First smelled it had some game notes that I would say you would find in a burgundy red but when I tried it after an hour was no longer there. The oak at about 1.5hr to 2hr came through from the decanter just big wiffs the same smell from the Poplar Grove 04 Merlot, must be the oak they use because it has a smell that is uncanny. Syrupy Eucalyptus notes. Also Notes of leather definitely.
The taste feels like it has a cool climate character like Rhone Valley but really far north not deep south. Notes of tart cherry mixed with cranberries, nice tannins easy drinking now with nice acid which is great for food the finish is medium length.
Now the beauty of this wine is the way it goes with food, I had a tangy Salad and a Rich Creamy Polenta and both went together which is why this is a must have for dinner. If you going to drink this have it with food not by itself it shrines through with food.
Side note: About 3 hours later when I poured another glass the wine was darker no longer as light as I would say
Poplar Grove 2004 Merlot
Wow talk about big nose, has that Turpentine / Pine nose just big that I pick up from the Malbec maybe its just big smell it from a mile away.
The Stats:
Poplar Grove Winery
Merlot 2004
95% Merlot 5% Malbec
18 months in French Oak barrels, 12 motnhs bottle ageing
686 cases produced
14.5% alc.
Sight:
Tawny Brown, Bing Colour Juices.
Aroma:
Turpentine/pine, Cherries, Clove (spice), caramel (later on at the end).
The Aroma is big just bang hits you right in the face very "new world" style I would say.
Taste:
Silky Smooth, round with being 14.5% you couldn't tell it was so high in alc. the flavour I couldn't pick up Maybe need more time it has a nice acid balance but the tannins were just nice a smooth.
Paired well with the 48Hour 60Degree Sous-Vide beef Tongue which I cooked the fatty gaminess went really nice with the wine
Poplar Grove 2007 Chardonnay
The Stats:
Poplar Grove Winery
Okanagan Valley
2007
14.5% Alc.
50% Barrel Fermented New Oak 6 month Sur lee
50% Stainless Steel
405 Cases produced
22$ (From Winery) 24-28$ Liquor store
Sight:
Pale Golden, with a tinge of green, light colour.
Aroma:
It was definitely opened picked up passion fruit mixed with apricot hints of vanilla and lime. Their was a hint of Rubber Cement Petrol'ness to it.
(My mom said she picked up some mineral notes too it)
Taste:
Dry wine with fruit more on the tropical side and a little bit of "bitterness" from the Oak the Pheonal
Went well with vegetarian egg rolls and with Sea Salt Caramel.
Overall Score I rated 14-15. It was a nice white had the oak'iness which I like in Chardonnays.
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