Hand-picked from a single block of 1985 “Clone 93” Pinot Noir, this wine has emerged as quite the charming bubbly in our growing sparkling program. Perfectly suitable for special celebrations or everyday enjoyment!
A delicate rose gold in the glass and pouring with a fine textured mousse and persistent bead, aromas of red apple skin and tart raspberry coulis, blanched almonds, and toasted brioche emerge from the glass. The palate is unctuous yet focused with fresh acidity. Bright notes of Gala apple, raspberries and a blood orange zestiness shine through and take the wine from its fruity upfront expression to a more mineral-driven finish. Great length.
WINEMAKER'S NOTES
The grapes for our 100% Pinot Noir sparkling are typically the first harvested from our estate vineyard each year, picked early to allow for low alcohol and elevated acidity. The wine was fermented in old oak puncheons with a Champagne specific yeast culture.
The base wine then spent 7 months on fermentation lees in barrel before going “en tirage” for secondary fermentation in bottle. After 22 months on lees in bottle the wine was disgorged in February of 2024 with a small amount of dosage wine from the 2022 Maija Pinot Noir added to bring out the aromatics and toasty character present in the wine.
ACCOLADES
SILVER MEDAL - National Wine Awards of Canada 2024
91 points - Treve Ring, Gismondi On Wine
"Hand picked from a single estate block of 1985 planted clone 93 Pinot Noir, this was fermented in older puncheons over 7 months prior to moving to bottle and 22 months sur lattes. It was disgorged in February 2024 with a dosage from their 2022 Maija Pinot Noir, bringing the RS to 7.2 g/L. Light wild strawberry, cherry is lit with pink grapefruit pith and peel, tightening this through a stony finish. Smart and friendly, which isn't the easiest combination, seek this out *if you can find it."
90 points - Michaela Morris, Wine Align
"Copper-tinged, this leads with tempting scents of almond pastry. A lifted, autumnal apple note hovers in the background. The bubbles are sprightly and persistent joining forces with tangy acidity to cleanse the mouth. Replete with sweet Okanagan orchard fruit but finishes dry."
TECHNICAL INFO
100% Pinot Noir
Alcohol: 12.7%
Residual Sweetness: 2.95 g/L
pH: 3.06
Total Acidity: 7.20 g/L
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VINTAGE NOTES
After a few recent winters with remarkably cold weather events, we managed to emerge from the 2020/21 winter without much cold damage to our vineyards. Bud break fell on the early end of the long-term average, fueled by warm spring temperatures and marginal rainfall, conditions that would persist until summer. The 2021 heat dome (we measured a temperature high of 48.5C on site) coincided with flowering in the vineyard. The extreme heat at such a sensitive time in the grapes’ development resulted in smaller than average berries and clusters and
lower yields.
Smoky August skies slowed berry ripening and pushed harvest back from what would have been a record early start on our site. Harvest kicked o in early September and the weather stayed warm with little precipitation for the rest of the month, allowing us to pick our fruit at peak ripeness and flavour and wrap up harvest on October 5th, two weeks earlier than our average end date, making for a remarkably short and busy harvest season!
