WEEKEND WINE PICKS
Project B Sauvignon Blanc 2019, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
$25.99 | 89/100
UPC: 6280551475722
Project B is a David and Goliath collaboration involving wine grower Michael Bartier, co-owner of Bartier Bros., a south Okanagan boutique estate, and acclaimed English négociant / winemaking force, Boutinot Wines. I’m delighted to say the first release is a delicious, highly affordable ($20-$25), humble, Sauvignon Blanc. It was sourced from a premium, single-vineyard in Oliver and is blended with some four per cent barrel-aged Semillon from the same site. The fruit is picked twice, 10 days apart, to catch both the fresh version and the ripe version of this grape. It’s not exotic or showy, but as is the Boutinot wont it is suitably restrained with the emphasis on minerality supporting a delicate pear peach flavour profile. Sold in select private wine shops and at Bartier Bros. tasting room.
Bartier Bros. Rosé 2019, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada
$17.99 | 88/100
UPC: 628055147312
The colour is a perfect pale pink/orange, at least for me a result of 38/33/29 mix of Merlot, Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer, the latter an off-site addition from Summerland. The 2019 is restrained, dry and elegant and all you could want in a rosé to sip in the late day with a bite of food or for dinner, given its freshness and ability to pair well with food. Delicate with dry cranberry, citrus pomegranate flavours that finish crisp and clean. There is just the perfect hint of fatness or texture to help it slide down. Ready to drink and priced accordingly.
Boutinot Les Cerisiers Côtes du Rhône Rosé 2019, Rhone Valley, France
$26 | 90/100
UPC: 3430560001570
The Boutinot rosé recipe is Grenache Noir (85) for the body, Cinsault (10) for freshness and a small amount of Syrah for spice. It is a delicious bottle of pink. Juicy, elegant fresh and fruity but never over the top. It’s always farmed from specific plots that deliver the finesse and texture that give this wine its interest. Boutinot uses the Provence rosé de presse method employed as soon as the grapes are picked, grabbing the most aroma and flavours with the least amount of tannins. Roses, wild berries, citrus and crushed red raspberries make for a delicious dop. Vegetarian dishes, summer kinds of pasta and fresh cheeses all work here.
Bartier Bros. Chardonnay Cerqueira Vineyard 2019, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada $19.99 | 89/100
UPC: 628055147169
The Cerqueira Vineyard is located on the Black Sage Terrace, a bench full of granite glacial till with widely occurring calcium sulphate precipitates, southeast of Oliver. The Bartier Chardonnay turned the corner in 2019, adding a creamy character and a touch of fatness that amps up the texture and staying power of this wonderfully mineral, stony affair. There is no wood here, but six months in stainless steel, in contact with its lees, adds to its stylish finish. This year. the limy, apple, pineapple citrus notes take a back seat to the texture and flinty notes.
Boutinot Les Coteaux Côtes du Rhone Villages 2017, Rhone Valley, France
$19.99 | 89/100
UPC: 3430560001556
Boutinot puts a twist on the common Côtes du Rhône practice to bottle the best Cuvées as a single, named, village wine and the rest as more basic Côtes du Rhône Villages. They source wine from named village vineyards and enhance them with a small proportion of barrel-aged wine from Sablet, Séguret and Cairanne. Les Coteaux is a mix of the best Grenache Noir and Syrah from some of the 17 named Côtes du Rhône Villages. The wine is mostly unoaked, with a small proportion, some 20 per cent is aged for 22 months in a few new, but mostly older, oak barrels to add depth. The style is soft and charming, the fruit a subtle mix of sweet spices, oak and peppery, smoky, savoury black raspberry and licorice fruit.