WEEKEND WINE PICKS
Spearhead Riesling 2019, Okanagan Valley
$21 | 89/100
UPC: 626990367987 Winemaker Grant Stanley gets Riesling, and his work here is essential — keeping the knife-edge acidity and freshness front and centre. The fruit is a mix from Seven Mountain Vineyard on Mount Boucherie in West Kelowna and Gentleman Farmer Vineyard in southeast Kelowna. The fresh, 12 per cent, green apple, lime flavoured white is balanced with a dusting of sweetness at nine grams, pulling you into the yin and yang of this wine. It finishes with a stony, mineral undercurrent. Mouth-watering now, and will be for several years under screw cap. Winery direct.
Tantalus Riesling 2019, Kelowna, Okanagan Valley $21.74 | 91/100
UPC: 626990067412
We have said it before, and we will say it again — there is nothing regular about the “regular” Tantalus Riesling. The site is very much a trigger for this variety, not to mention Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, making East Kelowna a highly sought after corner of the Okanagan Valley. The Tantalus signature is a purity of fruit and electricity that takes your breath away. Grapefruit, limes, Meyer lemons, citrus zest, nectarines.
Add in a stony, mineral backbone, and why would you drink anything else? Drink or hold this for a decade and beyond. The price is a rare mistake in your favour. Back up the truck. Winery direct, private wine shops.
Moraine Riesling 2019, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley $22 | 91/100
UPC: 626990176602 Winemaker Dwight Sick has found his mojo on the Naramata Bench after a fine run in Okanagan Falls, as evidenced by this 2019 clone 49 Riesling that is 90 per cent Red Row Vineyard and 10 per cent Anastasia Vineyard. The fruit was “boot-stomped and allowed to cold-soak for 5 hours to maximize extraction.” The result is an amazing mineral, citrusy Riesling with a sheen of botrytis, lending it a lush mouth feel and complex finish. Winery direct.
Tightrope Winery Riesling 2018, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley
$22 | 88/100
UPC: 626990153856 Tightrope picks twice about a week apart in search of maximum ripeness. After a cold ferment, the wine is left with a small amount of residual sugar that has a subtle balancing effect with a wine that presents as otherwise dry. The all-naramata Bench fruit is clean with white and green fruit aromas and a touch of orange. The palate is crisp with citrus, mineral, nectarine, pink grapefruit and a tart finish. Match with fish tacos, halibut with fruit salsa, or lightly spiced sushi rolls. Winery direct.
Martin’s Lane Simes Vineyard Riesling 2016, Okanagan Valley $45 | 91/100
UPC: 776545992338 Simes Vineyard is a steep, north-facing site in East Kelowna with granite-based soils planted to Pinot Noir and a small amount of Riesling — Alsace clone 49. In 2016, the Riesling was the last to be picked between Oct. 4-12 and arrived rich in aromatics, freshness, and bright acidity. The result: a lively, lemon-lime fruit, rich in minerality, dusted with a light covering of wild Okanagan sagebrush. The style is less extreme, with more texture and less aggressive acidity. An approachable food-friendly Riesling you can drink now. Winery online.