Do you remember the weather in the spring, summer and fall of 2022?
Me neither.
But, by all accounts, it was spectacular for grape growing and winemaking in the Okanagan.
So incredible, in fact, that Hester Creek Estate Winery in Oliver has declared the reds from the 2022 vintage 'Epic 22'.
Four of Hester Creek's top reds fall into the 'epic' category — the 2022 Garland ($65), 2022 The Judge ($50), 2022 Old Vine Cabernet Franc ($30) and 2022 Syrah ($30).
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"This vintage of Garland is the finest we have ever created," boasts winemaker Mark Hopley.
"It has amazing concentration of fruit while remaining elegant. We are eager to gather reviews and scores that will complement this exceptional wine."
By the way, the Garland is named after Hester Creek owner Curt Garland and it's the winery's signature (and priciest) wine.
The 2022 Garland is a Bordeaux-style red, a blend of 77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 9% Petit Verdot and 4% Malbec.
It's big and bold and complex and elegant with aromas and flavours of blackberry, clove, cedar and pencil shavings — yes, pencil shavings — the hallmark of an excellent Cabernet Sauvignon.
Back to 2022's weather.
A long growing season saw Hester Creek harvest 30% more grapes than originally expected and those grapes hung on the vines longer than usual, developing flavour intensity, structure and colour.
The last of the grapes to be harvested enjoyed a Nov. 2 snowfall that caused the grape skins to raisin slightly, only adding to the fruit's concentration and quality.
The 2022 Judge is also a Bordeaux-style red blend, but Merlot dominant (in this case, 47%) with 34% Cabernet Franc, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% of each Malbec and Petit Verdot.
The Merlot gives this wine a more plum-and-cherry profile with notes of dark chocolate.
The 2022 Cabernet Franc has aromas and flavours of raspberry, vanilla and white pepper.
The 2022 Syrah offers up blackberry, black pepper and violet flower.
Fort Berens reds
Let's keep the red wine theme going with these three beauties from Fort Berens Estate Winery in Lillooet.
The top wine in the trio is the 2021 Meritage Reserve ($44) made from the finest Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from the estate's Dry Creek and Red Rock vineyards in Lillooet.
The result is full-bodied and elegant with a plum-raspberry-blackcurrant-
The 2022 Meritage ($30) is made of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc grapes from both the Lillooet estate and grapes sourced from Osoyoos.
It's also intense and smooth with aromas and flavours of plum, cranberry, vanilla and dark chocolate.
The stand-alone 2022 Cabernet Franc ($33) is labelled such, but actually includes 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, with all grapes coming from the estate's Red Rock Vineyard.
The profile here is blueberry and vanilla with some of that aforementioned pencil shavings.
Have an awesome red-wine weekend.
Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Reach him at smacnaull@nowmediagroup.ca. His wine column appears every Friday afternoon in this space.
