IconScores.ca: 92pts

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River Stone Estate Winery 2019 Corner Stone - 92pts

River Stone Estate Winery 2019 Corner Stone (Oliver) Okanagan Valley - BC

Availability: Direct from winery here

Cost: $46.90

Alcohol: 13.8%

Date Tasted: July 28th, 2023

Tasting Notes: At four years of age this Bordeaux-style blend is coming into its own with developing aromas of dark fruit, licorice, menthol and smooth spices creating a lovely, masculine bouquet worth the time spent on enjoying it. The palate offers a similar flavour profile but comes across as still youthful and untamed, needing more time in your cellar or, at minimum, a very long decant before serving. Best to wait, if you can. Drink 2025-2029.

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery 2019 Meritage - 92pts

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery 2019 Meritage (Black Sage Bench) Okanagan Valley - BC

Availability: Direct from the winery here
Cost: $53 + taxes
Alcohol: 14%
Date Tasted: May 28th, 2023
@BurrowingOwlBC

Tasting Notes: The assemblage of Burrowing Owl's hand-harvested and barrel-aged 2019 Meritage is consistent with the 2018 with just a little more Cab Franc and a little less Merlot and Petit Verdot. The final blend is made up of 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Cabernet Franc, 23% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 3% Malbec all sourced from the winery's Oliver and Osoyoos vineyards.

True to its lineage, this vintage of the winery's flagship wine is powerfully feminine with excellent intensity on the bold, black fruit and mint-scented nose and on the smooth, yet, mouth-watering, dark fruit and spice-infused palate. Approachable in its youth, enjoy with nicely salted, leaner cuts of beef or with your best dark chocolate for an after-dinner treat. Drink 2023-2027.

Gold Hill Winery 2018 Merlot - 92pts

Gold Hill Winery 2018 Merlot (Golden Mile Slope) Okanagan Valley - BC

Availability: Not yet released. Direct from winery here
Cost: $42.99
Alcohol: 15.3%
Date Tasted: August 12th, 2022

Tasting Notes: A big Merlot with a beautiful, intense nose of ripe, mixed-berries and rich, savoury notes offering impressive depth and opulence. The intensity continues on the plump, high-alcohol palate, though, the luscious layers of plum, black cherry, mocha, toasted oak and cigar box keep the balance in check and the finish tasting smooth where refined tannins and a touch of spice linger. Ready to go now as your high-tannin reds mellow in the cellar. Drink 2022-2028.

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery 2021 Rosé - 92pts

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery 2021 Rosé (Black Sage Bench) Okanagan Valley - BC

Availability: Direct from the winery here
Cost: $30
Alcohol: 13.5%
Date Tasted: July 26th, 2022
@BurrowingOwlBC

Tasting Notes: A sublime, deceptively simple blush carefully constructed by a combination of fruit sourced from multiple Southern Okanagan sites and with the use of multiple rosé techniques. A blend of 93% Cabernet France and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, the majority of the Franc is purpose picked for this wine and spends 6 hours on the skins before pressing leaving a delicate, gentle pink hue and a romantic, aromatic nose.

The palate offers everything you would hope to get out of a blush wine with excellent balance of delicious red fruit, vibrant citrus rind, light tannin and effortless acidity. Ready to go now. Drink 2022-2023.

Fairview Cellars 2016 Premier Series Cabernet Sauvignon - 92pts

Fairview Cellars 2016 Premier Series Cabernet Sauvignon (Golden Mile Bench) Okanagan Valley - BC

Availability: Contact winery directly here
Cost: $55 + taxes
Alcohol: 14.8%
Production: 200 cases
Date Tasted: March 10th, 2022

Tasting Notes: Uber-smooth and gaining femininity as it ages, the 2016 Premier Series Cabernet Sauvignon from Fairview is coming into its own at 6-years-old, showing both delicate and powerful aromas on the elegant nose and integrated flavours on the refined, long-lasting palate. Look for a profile of mellowed, ripe dark fruit infused with sagebrush, supportive oak and sensual notes of menthol and cola. Drink now-2025.

2012 Château Pontet-Canet - 92pts

2012 Château Pontet-Canet (Pauillac) Bordeaux - France

Availability: Limited. Private wine stores
Cost: Average $149 CDN as per Wine-Searcher.com
Alcohol: 13.5%
Date Tasted: February 20th, 2022

Tasting Notes: From the cellar. Still youthful at 10 with a robust, earthy nose and more perceptible extraction producing bigger, dark fruit notes and acidity to compliment the savoury characters. If there was a conscious change of style post-2009's uber-vintage, then this is the result when matched with a cooler growing season like 2012. Big, yet lean, robust, yet astringent. Ready to go now or hold for further integration. Drink 2022-2028+.

2007 Château Pontet-Canet - 92pts

2007 Château Pontet-Canet (Pauillac) Bordeaux - France

Availability: Limited. Private wine stores
Cost: Average $133 CDN as per Wine-Searcher.com
Alcohol: 13%

Production: 20,000 cases
Date Tasted: February 20th, 2022

Tasting Notes: From the cellar. At 15 years of age, this Pontet-Canet has peaked and is showcasing its fully developed and integrated splendor. From the over-lamented 2007 vintage, the blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot offers charming, red and blue fruits with pretty notes of crushed flowers, subtle potpourri and a hint of aged leather and graphite. The palate that follows is best described as effortless with good continuity from the nose with a more pronounced mineral edge through to a long, elegant finish. Drink 2022-2024.

Cassini Cellars 2018 Maximus - 92pts

Cassini Cellars 2018 Maximus (Golden Mile Bench) Okanagan Valley - BC

Availability: Direct from winery here
Cost: $40 + taxes (est.)
Alcohol: 15.5%
Production: 500 cases
Date Tasted: October 26th, 2021

Tasting Notes: The 2018 Maximus is a blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Cabernet Franc, 11% Merlot, 4% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot. It opens with a feminine, refined nose of both dense, dark fruit and cheerful, sun-drenched red fruit aromas and supporting notes of sweet tar, cherry nibs, anise and vanilla spice.

The palate needs another year or two in the bottle or a massive decant to unlock the elegance within. Look for a similar flavour profile as the nose with additional complexity thanks to the very present and balanced influence of oak. Best to be patient to maximus your investment and wait another year or two. Drink 2023-2028.

Rust Wine Co. 2017 Syrah - 92pts

Rust Wine Co. 2017 Syrah (Black Sage Bench) Okanagan Valley - BC

Availability: Direct from the winery here
Cost: $37 + taxes
Alcohol: 13.9%
Date Tasted: November 20th, 2020

Tasting Notes: This Syrah, sourced from the Black Sage Bench, is the most well-rounded and impressive of the three Rust Wine Co. produce. A little more intense than its Golden Mile Bench cousin and more refined than its Similkameen Valley kin. It all seems to come together in this beautiful Syrah with excellent concentration on the ripe berry and potpourri scented nose and the long-lived, elegant, yet, bold palate. Classic Syrah characters are on offer here: dark and red fruits, white pepper and hints of mint and cola. Ready to go now. Drink 2020-2024.
- Liam Carrier ©copyright 2020 IconWines.ca

Cassini Cellars 2016 The Aristocrat - 92pts

Cassini Cellars 2016 The Aristocrat (Golden Mile Bench) Okanagan Valley - BC

Availability: Direct from the winery here
Cost: $40 (including taxes)
Alcohol: 15.2%
Production: 300 cases
Date Tasted: December 4th, 2018

Re-Tasted: November 4th, 2020

Tasting Notes: Another stellar vintage of the complex, long-lasting, single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon known as The Aristocrat. Balanced and ripe, the 2016 shows excellent typicity for the label with telltale notes of mint and Fig Newton nicely integrated into the dark fruit and oak influence layers on the masculine, invigorating nose and the full-bodied, beautifully structured palate.

Would benefit from another 1-2 years in bottle to mature further. With more prominent tannins than its Collector's Series cousin, this Cab is ready to take on more marbled cuts of beef like a fine, charred, rib eye steak. Drink 2020-2026.
- Liam Carrier ©copyright 2018 IconWines.ca

Re-Tasting Notes: Coming into its own just as its drinking window opens. Tannins have mellowed and integrated beautifully. Mint notes are still deliciously prominent with a touch of licorice and charcoal now showing on the finish.

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery 2016 Meritage - 92pts

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery 2016 Meritage (Black Sage Bench) Okanagan Valley - BC

Availability: Direct from the winery here
Cost: $50 + taxes
Alcohol: 14.5%
Date Tasted: June 24th, 2020
@BurrowingOwlBC

Tasting Notes: Burrowing Owl's Meritage is a blend of 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec sourced from the winery's Oliver and Osoyoos vineyards. Once each component is hand-harvested they ferment in barrel and spend 14 months ageing in oak separately prior to the assemblage whereupon the wine is then aged a further 4 months in oak before bottling. Its a patient, ever-adapting process to deliver the best expression of the vintage whilst keeping with the house style of big, yet, supremely approachable, rounded red wines bursting with New World, bold fruit characters, supporting, savoury notes and feminine, sweet spices.

A pretty and elegant wine to open now or to put away for a rainy day within the next 3-4 years. Enjoy with nicely salted, leaner cuts of beef. Drink 2020-2024.

Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery 2017 Summit - 92pts

Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery 2017 Summit - BC VQA

Availability: Direct from winery here
Cost: $59.99 + taxes
Alcohol: 14.6%
Date Tasted: June 21st, 2020

Tasting Notes: The Summit is a proprietary blend of 43% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Syrah and 2% Malbec sourced from what the winery considers its best blocks in its Okanagan and Similkameen Valley vineyards. Both generous and layered on the developing bouquet with a sensual, feminine profile of ripe berries, violets, baking spices and sweet, pipe tobacco. The approachable palate that follows showcases a lot of the same flavours as the nose, framing them with seamless, taste-bud activating, berry acidity and refined tannins. Finishes long and well-balanced. Ready to go now or hold for another 3-4 years. Drink 2020-2023.

Averill Creek Vineyard 2015 Somenos Series Pinot Noir - 92pts

Averill Creek Vineyard 2015 Somenos Series Pinot Noir (Cowichan Valley) Vancouver Island - BC

Availability: Sold out. Other vintages available here
Cost: $50 + tax
Alcohol: 13.5%
Date Tasted: March 12th, 2020

Tasting Notes: A beautiful Pinot Noir, both sultry and vibrant with a smoky profile of lightly charred spices, warm earth and racy, bright cherry and blood orange fruit. Refined and long on the palate with an overall elegance that places it on par with the best Pinots in the Province. Drink now-2023.
- Liam Carrier ©copyright 2020 IconWines.ca

Poggio al Tesoro 2014 Il Seggio - 92pts

Poggio al Tesoro 2014 Il Seggio (Bolgheri DDOC) Tuscany - Italy

Availability: Limited
Cost: $40-50 + taxes
Alcohol: 14%
Date Tasted: December 31st, 2019

Tasting Notes: A blend of 40% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc and 10% Petit Verdot, the Il Seggio sits effortlessly on the palate with no more than medium weight, yet, endless layers of beautifully balanced, savoury and fruit flavours. There is an overall elegance on display with silky tannins and a fragrant femininity. Ready to go now. Drink 2020-2024+.
- Liam Carrier ©copyright 2020 IconWines.ca

Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery 2016 Summit - 92pts

Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery 2016 Summit - BC VQA

Availability: Direct from winery here
Cost: $54.99 + taxes
Alcohol: 14.7%
Date Tasted: September 24th, 2019

Tasting Notes: Mt. Boucherie owns 200 acres of vineyards distributed amongst the sub-regions in the central and south Okanagan Valley and near Cawston of the Similkameen Valley. The Summit is a proprietary blend of 51% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Franc, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Malbec and 3% Syrah sourced from all of the winery's vineyards. What it may be lacking in its expression of specific terroir, it makes up in its quality and tuned construction. This is an impressive wine to open for visiting family or friends who are suspicious of the potential ripeness of the fruit in British Columbia, a relatively northerly situated wine region, especially for 'big reds'.

Bold, ripe and concentrated with both fine texture and weight to pair with lean, grilled meats, but not too much body, staying fairly fluid and graceful. 'Big', yes, but 'balanced', mostly. Look for classic New World Meritage flavours of dark fruits, pipe tobacco and spices supported by toasted oak, a touch of graphite and other mineraly notes. Ready to go now or hold for another 3-4 years. Drink 2019-2022.
- Liam Carrier ©copyright 2019 IconWines.ca

Viña Los Vascos - Le Dix - 92pts

Viña Los Vascos 2012 Le Dix (Colchagua Valley) Chile

Availability: Limited. BC Liquor Stores (newer vintages)
Cost: $63.99 + taxes
Alcohol: 14.5%
Date Tasted: April 20th, 2019

Tasting Notes: From the cellar. Primarily a Cabernet Sauvignon, with a splattering of Carmenere and Syrah added (about 10 and 5%, respectively), Le Dix is the 'icon wine' of Viña Los Vascos, the Barons De Rothschild owned Chilean firm which aims to deliver exceptional, Bordeaux-inspired Cabernet with a touch of local charm. This wine fulfills the criteria with its rabbit-hole like depth on the sensual nose and uber-refined palate.

Built to age, seven years in this beauty is just starting to think about peaking with ripe, fine tannins holding strong and no sign of the dark fruit fading. Sweet and sensual at first sniff, the developed bouquet deserves time in your glass to seduce you before you sip it down between bites of a medium-rare tenderloin steak. Drink now-2022.
- Liam Carrier ©copyright 2019 IconWines.ca

Painted Rock Estate Winery 2016 Red Icon - 92+pts

Painted Rock Estate Winery 2016 Red Icon (Skaha Bench) Okanagan Valley - BC

Availability: Direct from winery here
Cost: $54.99 + taxes
Alcohol: 14.9%
Production: 1487 cases
Date Tasted: April 19th, 2019

@PaintedRockWine

Tasting Notes: There has yet to be a disappointing Red Icon produced and the 2016 does not balk that trend with its quality and depth. But that isn't to say that this label presents as thought it were made from a mould each year, it isn't. Its crafted using whatever the vintage has delivered and from what the vineyard team could influence.

This year, a blend of 44% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Franc, 16% Petit Verdot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 7% Malbec combine to showcase the lively, fruitier elements of each varietal with fewer brooding characters than is previous years. Still refined and elegant, as always, with layers of savoury goodness (oak, spice, herbs and a touch of leather) but also cheerful and aromatic, very feminine.

Though its ready to be enjoyed today, there is usually further development ahead for the Red Icon, especiallay in the mid-term. Look to enjoy this beauty over the next 3-4 years. Drink 2019-2023.

Also see:

Painted Rock Estate Winery 2015 Red Icon

Painted Rock Estate Winery 2014 Red Icon

Painted Rock Estate Winery 2012 Red Icon

Painted Rock Estate Winery 2011 Red Icon

Painted Rock Estate Winery 2010 Red Icon
Painted Rock Estate Winery 2009 Red Icon

Achaval Ferrer Winery 2017 Malbec - 92pts

Achaval Ferrer Winery 2017 Malbec (Mendoza) Argentina

Availability: Private wine stores like Everything Wine
Cost: $34.99 + taxes
Alcohol: 14%
Date Tasted: March 23rd, 2019

Tasting Notes: This is an uber extracted, smokey, seductress of a Malbec with an intense, aromatic, black fruit'n'incense scented nose and an equally intense, chewy palate with rounded tannins, dense, dark fruit, smokey spices and bright, fresh blackberry acidity. A fantastic wine for BBQ meats or dark chocolate. Drink 2019-2025.
- Liam Carrier ©copyright 2019 IconWines.ca

Tinhorn Creek Vineyards 2015 The Creek - 92-93pts

Tinhorn Creek Vineyards 2015 The Creek (Okanagan Valley) BC

Availability: Direct from winery here
Cost: $55 +taxes
Alcohol: 14%
Production: 1474 cases
Date Tasted: March 7th, 2019
@TinhornCreek

Tasting Notes: Tinhorn's entry into the Icon Wine market, The Creek, will see its 2nd vintage of this Left Bank inspired, New World Meritage released this year. The 2015 edition is a gorgeous and beautifully layered blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, 7% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot.

Opening with a perfumed nose of sun-warmed cherries, potpourri, sweet and savoury spices, blueberry compote, hazelnuts and vanilla, this charming, age-worthy wine offers good continuity of flavours with fine, lightly-smoked tannins and tangy, blackberry acidity framing the full-bodied, long-lasting palate. Simply delicious.

This wine will develop further over the next 2-3 years, however, if you can't wait that long, enjoy a bottle now, but not too quickly as this beauty changes in the glass throughout the night. Drink 2019-2023.
- Liam Carrier ©copyright 2019 IconWines.ca

Domaines Ott 2016 Chateau De Salle - 92pts

Domaines Ott 2016 Chateau De Salle (Côtes De Provence) Rhone Valley - France

Availability: Private wine shops
Cost: $50-55 + taxes
Alcohol: 13%
Date Tasted: January 17th, 2019

Tasting Notes: Fineness and effortless balance drive this blend of 57% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, 5% Mourvedre, 2% Syrah and 6% other regional grapes from the famed, and still family-run, Domaines Ott. The Chateau De Salle rosé, though muted and subtle on the strawberry skin and fresh pineapple scented nose, the dry-ish, lively palate is both vivid and restrained, which sounds like posh, mumbo-jumbo wine-ponce jargon, yet, once you take a sip, you'll know exactly what is meant; intensely satisfying and at the same time, harmoniously mellow. Finishes long with texture to spare. Drink now-2020.
- Liam Carrier ©copyright 2019 IconWines.ca

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