Fairview Cellars 2016 Mad Cap Red - 89+pts

Fairview Cellars 2016 Mad Cap Red (Okanagan Valley) BC

Availability: Sold out at the winery but available in private wine shops
Cost: $27.90 + taxes
Alcohol: 14.8% (est)
Date Tasted: July 4th, 2018

Tasting Notes: Fairview's Madcap Red is a blend of (roughly) 50% Merlot and (mostly) equal parts Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon from contracted vineyards in the Southern Okanagan Valley. Though an early drinking wine with approachable tannins, this blend will hold and evolve in your cellar, should you choose  to put one or two away. Older vintages make appearances in the Fairview tasting room as library releases and show well.

If you can't wait, today you'll uncork (or rather, crack open, as it's sealed with a Stelvin cap) a sensual, feminine wine with ripe'n'spicy blue fruits: plums, blueberries, blackberries and cassis. Aforementioned approachable tannins and blackberry acidity support the full bodied and nicely layered and concentrated palate where additional notes of toasted oak, anise, cardamom and mint add depth. Ready to go now or hold for another 3-4 years for further development. Drink 2019-2023.

 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2019 IconWines.ca

Fairview Cellars 2011 Mad Cap Red - 90pts

Fairview Cellars 2011 Mad Cap Red (Golden Mile Bench) Okanagan Valley - BC

Availability: Released in September. Direct from winery here and select VQA stores
Cost: $26.90
Alcohol: 14% (est)
Date Tasted: August 16th, 2013

Tasting Notes: Fairview's answer to a Merlot-driven blend with Cab Sauv and Cab Franc contributing complexity and added tannin to a fruit-forward, yet, "serious" red wine offering concentrated blackberry, boysenberry, vanilla bean, light mint and cedar aromas. Sees more time in oak than the winery's popular Two Hoots (a Cab Sauv driven blend) resulting in more perceptible oak influence on the ripe, full-bodied, mouth-watering palate where dark berry fruit mingles with toasted oak flavours nicely through to the lightly spiced finish. Drink now-2016.
 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2013 IconWines.ca

Fairview Cellars 2003 Merlot-Cabernet - 91pts

Fairview Cellars 2003 Merlot-Cabernet (Golden Mile Bench) Okanagan Valley - BC

Availability: Sold out. Contact winery for library release info here
Cost: $50-60
Alcohol: 14.9%
Date Tasted: July 7th, 2012

Tasting Notes: From the cellar. More recent admirers of Fairview Cellars will know this wine better as "Madcap Red", winemaker and proprietor Bill Eggert's ode to a Merlot-leading blend, but back in 2003, prior to receiving marketing advice, the label simply read Merlot-Cabernet. 2003 was a particularly hot year with intense heat waves made infamous by the terrible wildfires that raged throughout the Province during the Summer. The wine smells of intensely ripe dark berry fruit, dried herbs, light mint, anise, caramelized oak and a hint of scorched earth. The palate is equally intense and surprisingly fresh and vibrant with layers of ripe berry fruit and mouth-watering acidity. Tannins have mellowed seductively and flavours have matured resulting in the perfect cellared wine experience: palpable evolution.

This wine has aged extremely well and shows great promise for Fairview fans who have been diligently holding onto Bill's blends. Next year would see this beauty turn ten, a significant milestone for BC red wines that few achieve, yet it feels like it has yet to begin its inevitable decline and will drink well through 2013 and beyond. Drink now-2014.
 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2012 IconWines.ca

Fairview Cellars 2008 Madcap Red - 88pts

Fairview Cellars 2008 Madcap Red (Golden Mile Bench) Okanagan Valley - BC

Availability: Direct from winery, select VQA and private stores.
Cost: $26.90
Alcohol: 14.1%
Production: 400 cases
Date Tasted: October 10th, 2010

Tasting Notes: Fairview Cellars' winemaker and proprietor, Bill Eggert, constructs his wines with longevity in mind. He even adds a "best after" date to the back to give guidance to the consumer as to when the wine should be opened (of course, it's just a guide). For fans of the winery, the release of the latest Madcap Red is always something to look forward to as it is the one red wine Bill makes that has been built to be drunk early, in its youth. It's the first indication as to what Bill's terroir, a 6 acre sight on the Golden Mile Bench, has produced in any given vintage. A litmus test for Fairview fanatics, if you will.

The 2008 yields a cooler, more masculine character of dark berries and fruits with earthy minerals notes and savory flavours. Compared to the 2007, which was warmer and more feminine, the 2008 Madcap, a Merlot-heavy blend, is more serious and conservative. Add creative and mysterious and you have the Don Draper of red blends (the 2007 would be the Peggy Olson - more earnest). Flogging the analogy to death, the 2009 (still in barrel and to be released in Fall 2011) shows the character of Roger Sterling - boisterous and charming. Ok, enough Mad Men references for one review.

Enjoy now on its own or pair with a nice plate of extra-dark chocolate for desert. Drink 2010-2013.
 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2010