Ann Sperling

Wines tasted this week:

• Black Hills Carmenère 2016 (Southern Okanagan): deep purple colour; savoury, herbal nose of blackcurrants; medium-bodied, dry, blackcurrant flavour carried on lively acidity. (89)
• Franciscan Estate Chardonnay 2015 (Napa Valley, $25.95): Bright straw in colour; buttery, toasty nose of apples with oak spice; medium to full-bodied, apple and pear flavours with well-integrated oak. A well-balanced wine. (90)
• Tinhorn Creek Cabernet Franc Oldfield Reserve 2015 (Okanagan, $31.99): deep ruby colour; blueberry and blackcurrant nose with oak spice; medium-bodied, dry, well-structured and firm with ripe blackcurrant and blueberry flavours. (90)

Sunday, July 15^th: Ann Sperling and Peter Gamble came to the house to let me taste Ann’s wines from the family vineyard in Kelowna, BC, and the wines they make together from their Versado vineyard in Mendoza.

• Sperling Vineyards Sper…itz 2017: pale straw, orange blossom, fresh and lively, light spritz, peach, orange and lemon flavours, beautifully balanced. (89)
• Sperling Market White 2017 (Pinot Blanc, Bacchus, Pinot Gris and Vidal): straw colour; white peach and apple bouquet; medium-bodied, fruity but well-balanced and easy drinking. (89)
• Sperling Market Red 2017 (Marechal Foch planted in the 1960s): ruby colour with a rusty hue; earthy, plum nose, lightly floral with a savoury, herbal note; medium-bodied, sour cherry flavour with lively acidity. Very Italianate in style. (88.5)
• Sperling Vineyards Pinot Gris 2017: light straw in colour; minerally, peach pit nose; medium-bodied, well-extracted white peach flavour, well-balanced with an engaging note of bitterness on the finish for added interest. Lovely mouth-feel. (90)
• Sperling Vineyards Old Vines Riesling 2014 (planted in 1978): straw colour; minerally, honey, grapefruit and apple on the nose; medium-bodied, just off-dry, honey and grapefruit flavours with a finish of lime. Great tension between sweetness and acidity. (90)
• Sperling Vineyards Pinot Noir 2016: ruby coloured with a rusty hue; high-toned, earthy, rust and raspberries on the nose; medium-bodied, dry, strawberry and raspberry flavours, firmly structured and well-balanced, finishing on a note of violets. (91)
• Sperling Vineyards Chardonnay 2016: medium straw colour; toasty, spicy, apple bouquet; medium-bodied, dry, apple and tangerine flavours, beautifully balanced with a light oak influence; apple and pear flavours with a long lemony finish. (90)

• Versado 2014 (Malbec – white label): dense purple in colour; cedary, tobacco, lightly peppery nose of plums with oak spice and a floral top note; full-bodied, dry, fruity and well-balanced with black fruit flavours and a firm structure. (92)
• Versado Reserva 2014 (Malbec – green label): dense purple colour; spicy, lightly peppery, plum and tobacco bouquet; full-bodied, richly concentrated, black fruit flavours with a mocha chocolate note. A beautifully harmonious wine. (94)
• Versado Reserve 2013: dense purple colour; plum bouquet with a barnyard note lifted with vanilla oak aromas; medium to full-bodied, richly extracted plum flavour and nicely balanced. (92)
• Versado 2015: dense purple in colour; earthy, blackberry and blackcurrant on the nose; medium-bodied, fresh on the palate with lively acidity and a firm tannic structure; red and black fruit flavours. (90)

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