LaStella 2015 Fortissimo (Osoyoos Lake Bench) Okanagan Valley - BC
Availability: Direct from the winery here
Cost: $29.99 + taxes
Alcohol: 14.5%
Production: 1711 cases
Date Tasted: May 2nd, 2017
Tasting Notes: LaStella's ode to the tradition-challenging blends of Tuscany, the Fortissimo sees 63% Merlot blended with 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Sangiovese and 9% Cabernet Franc and strives for harmony and balance.
This is a pretty wine, with delicate fruit and pleasing herbs and sweet pipe tobacco aromas on the nose and good balance between fruit and savoury flavours on the food-friendly palate.
Missing a little depth and length compared to recent, outstanding vintages, but we're nitpicking, nothing is out of place. There's oak and spice and everything nice. Drink 2018-2021.
- Liam Carrier ©copyright 2017 IconWines.ca
LaStella 2014 Fortissimo (Osoyoos Lake Bench) Okanagan Valley - BC
Availability: Direct from the winery here
Cost: $29.99 + taxes
Alcohol: 14.2%
Production: 1374 cases
Date Tasted: April 20th, 2016
Tasting Notes: The 2014 edition of the Fortissimo sees 57% Merlot, 21% Sangiovese 11% Cabernet Franc and 11% Cabernet Sauvignon blended to create a beautiful wine combining brambly berry fruit flavours and acidity, lush tannins, savoury notes and spicy oak. The finish is oh, so long and well balanced with cherry, dried herbs, vanilla and pipe tobacco lingering.
Ready to go now, but will improve with another 2 years of ageing. Drink 2018-2021 for best results..
- Liam Carrier ©copyright 2016 IconWines.ca
LaStella 2012 Fortissimo (Osoyoos Lake Bench) Okanagan Valley - BC
Availability: Direct from the winery here
Cost: $35
Alcohol: 14.9%
Production: 833 cases (750ml), 113 cases (375ml), 96 magnums, 12 dbl magnums
Date Tasted: November 2nd, 2014
Tasting Notes: I never like to quote a winery's marketing material, but Fortissimo's tag line "Old world meets the New World" is hard to beat. The wine is equal parts, ripe, BC Meritage and savoury, traditional Chianti. When combined, the result is an Okanagan version of a modern, 'Super-Tuscan', with fragrant, feminine aromas of sweet berry purée, floral incense, anise and oak spice coupled with comforting notes of tapenande and tomato stock.
The palate offers good continuity from the nose and showcases flavours and structural elements from each of the blended components: 39% Merlot (juicy, mixed-berry fruit, alcohol viscosity), 38% Cabernet Franc (plum, vegetal, rustic tannins, texture), 17% Cabernet Sauvignon (dark berry notes, extra tannins) and 6% Sangiovese (savoury, huckleberry acidity).
The wine is aged for 19 months in French and Hungarian oak prior to bottling. Be sure to decant properly for 2+ hours if you plan to open a bottle this year. Drink 2015-2020.
- Liam Carrier ©copyright 2014 IconWines.ca
LaStella 2011 Fortissimo (Osoyoos Lake Bench) Okanagan Valley - BC
Availability: Direct from the winery here
Cost: $35
Alcohol: 14.2%
Production: 857 cases
Date Tasted: February 27th, 2014
Tasting Notes: Sweet, warm and feminine on the nose, LaStella's ode to establishment-challenging Tuscan wines is a blend of 71% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc and 5% Sangiovese. The sweetness comes from ripe red fruit and fragrant oak aromas that put a smile on your face instantly, setting the stage for the dry palate to follow with similar fruit and oak flavours and added complexity from coffee grind, tapenande and light mineral notes. Fine, smooth tannins and mouth-watering acidity structure the wine well and will help it age and improve over the next 2-3 years. Be sure to decant properly for 2+ hours if you plan to open a bottle this year. Drink 2015-2018.
- Liam Carrier ©copyright 2014 IconWines.ca
