Summerhill Pyramid Winery whites
Summerhill Pyramid Winery Estate Grown Biodynamic Chardonnay 2021 (Okanagan Valley)
Straw-white gold in colour; lifted nose of baked apple and oak spice; medium to full-bodied, dry, apple and pear flavours with a note of caramel. Rich mouth-feel. Drink now or though 2024. (89)
Summerhill Pyramid Winery Organic Reserve Pinot Gris 2022
Pale straw colour; toasty, peach pit nose; full-bodied, dry, slightly bitter, dried apricot and lemon flavours, finishing on zesty acidity. Drink now and through 2025. (88)
Summerhill Pyramid Winery reds
Summerhill Pyramid Winery Reserve Barrel Red Wine (Multi-vintage, British Columbia)
A blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zweigelt, Syrah, and Pinot Noir grapes from vintages 2012–2015. Mature ruby in colour with a tawny rim; cedary, spicy nose of black fruits; full-bodied, savoury, black plum flavour carried on lively acidity. Drink now or hold 1–2 years. (89)
Summerhill Pyramid Winery Organic Heritage Series Marechal Foch 2021 (Okanagan Valley)
Dense purple in colour; cedary, earthy, dark chocolate and tobacco leaf nose with oak spice; medium-bodied, dry, cranberry and plum flavours; well-integrated oak and fresh acidity. Drink now or hold 1–2 years. (89)
Summerhill Pyramid Winery Organic Cabernet Franc 2020
Deep purple-ruby in colour; cedary, oak-driven nose of blueberries with oak spice; medium-bodied, dry, blueberry and plum flavours with a herbal note on the finish. Hold for a year or two to round out the tannins. (89–90)
Summerhill Pyramid Winery Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2020
Dense purple-ruby in colour; vanilla, tobacco and blackcurrant bouquet with oak spice; medium-bodied, dry, richly extracted black and redcurrant flavours with rounded tannins and fresh acidity. A nicely balanced wine. Will reward cellaring for 2–3 years. (90–92)
Wednesday, December 6th: Watched a 51-minute film on Zoom, entitled The World’s Most Expensive Wine. It’s about a messianic wine grower in Bordeaux named Loic Pasquet who has tried to replicate wine in the Graves region of Bordeaux that tasted like pre-phylloxera claret. (In the late 1800s the Bordeaux vines were grafted onto North American rootstock to prevent a recurrence of the pest that laid waste the vineyards of Europe.)
To do this, Pasquet had to replant a vineyard with 14 ancient varieties on their own rootstock that would have been native to Bordeaux at the time of the 1855 classification. He planted at a density of 20,000 vines per hectare – double that of the usual Bordeaux plantings – to give low yields. The wine is called Libre Pater, and it can sell for as much as 30,000 euros a bottle. Pasquet says, “What’s the price we are willing to pay to have dinner with Napoleon?”
Friday, December 8th: Dropped in at the Archives pop-up wine bar at 17 Lock Street in Port Dalhousie for a tasting of Wending Home wines with winemaker Ron Giesbrecht. The wine bar is open Wednesday to Sunday: 1–7 pm Wednesday and Thursday, noon to 9 pm Friday and Saturday, noon to 4 pm Sunday. See myarchives.ca.
Robbie Raskin in his wine bar
Other wines tasted this week:
Henry of Pelham Chardonnay 2022 (Short Hills Bench, Niagara; $15.95 CSPC #291211)
Bright, light straw in colour; toasty, apple with citrus notes; medium-bodied, dry, apple and lemon flavours. (89)
