Hester Creek Riesling and Rosé
Hester Creek Riesling 2024 Columbia Valley Collection
Pale straw in colour with a lime tint; spicy, minerally, lemon-lime bouquet; dry, light-bodied, lime and green apple flavours with bracing acidity and a honeyed note in mid-palate; well-balanced, with a long finish. (90)
Hester Creek Rosé Noir 2024 Columbia Valley Collection
Pale coppery-pink in colour; wild strawberry bouquet; light to medium-bodied, slightly tart, rhubarb and strawberry flavours. (89)
Hester Creek reds
Hester Creek Syrah 2022 (Okanagan Valley)
Co-fermented with Viognier, in Rhône style. Deep purple colour; peppery, smoky, mulberry nose; full-bodied, richly extracted, savoury, black fruit flavours with oak spice and note of smoked meat; well-balanced with well-integrated oak; long fresh finish with an engaging floral fragrance on the end taste. (93)
Hester Creek Garland 2022 (Okanagan Valley)
77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet franc, 9% Petit Verdot, 4% Malbec. Deep ruby-purple colour; cedary, spicy, blackcurrant and blueberry nose with a floral top note; full-bodied, dry, black fruit and dark chocolate flavours carried on a fine spine of acidity; firmly structured and powerful with evident but ripe tannins. (93)
Hester Creek The Judge 2022 (Okanagan Valley)
47% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Franc, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Petit Verdot, 1% Malbec. Deep ruby-purple in colour; cedar, vanilla, blackcurrant bouquet with oak spice; full-bodied, dry, firmly structured, muscular but elegant, tobacco and black fruit flavours; beautifully balanced and firmly structured. Lovely mouth feel. (94)
Thursday, July 10th:
Deborah and I were invited to the Rowe Beef dinner at Southbrook. Rod Rowe brought along a bunch of well-aged Bistecca alla Fiorentina, which were grilled outdoors and expertly carved by John Nadeau, who organized the event. I ran into an old friend there, Al Carbone, who used to own the Kit Kat Italian Bar and Grill on King Street West in Toronto – memorable not only for his food but for his protest against City Hall’s proposal to make King Street a one-way street. He installed an ice sculpture that spoke volumes about his feelings for the council’s decision:
Al Carbone’s ice sculpture outside KitKat
Also present was my old friend Barry Brown (who started the Spanish Wine Society forty-odd years ago and is still its president). Barry bought along a bottle of 1970 CUNE Viña Real Gran Reserva from his cellar, which he shared with us after the meal.
The guests started with canapés and a cocktail of Southbrook Sparkling Vidal and their Framboise.
Southbrook cocktail
Grilling T-bones
John Nadeau carving
The wines for the dinner had been re-labelled Rowe Beef to match the occasion: Southbrook Poetica Chardonnay 2016, Southbrook Triomphe Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, and Southbrook whimsy la nuit tombante, a Pineau des Charentes–style dessert wine made from fortified Vidal.
Friday, July 11th: Dinner at George’s Greek Village, 535 Queenston Street in St. Catharines. I ordered smoked cod with pasta and a small bottle of Kechribari Retsina. Deborah is not a fan, but I am even though Retsina is an anagram of nastier.
