Looking back at 2023 (yes, I am going there, we are more than halfway through November for heaven’s sake) one of my favourite wine discoveries has been Blasted Church (and yes, I am a little late to the party, about twenty years late to be exact).
In April I had the good fortune of being invited to a sit-down tasting with Evan Saunders, the winemaker at Blasted Church, and Tanya Martin, the General Manager (a very special thank you to Town Hall Brands for facilitating this).
Evan and Tanya spoke about the story behind Blasted Church (more about that here), winemaking and, of course, their wines. They also touched upon the hardships faced by many wineries, especially over the past several years.
Like many businesses, local wineries are still recovering from the impact of the pandemic. Inflation has driven-up operating costs on basic needs such as boxes, bottles, labour and transport. Then factor in the effects of a heat dome, fires and other extreme weather events, such as early cold-snaps, and you have a recipe for disaster.
It is fair to say that it has been a tough year for BC wineries, so this festive season why not make an extra effort to support your favourites. Whether it be a special bottle for gifting or the wine on your holiday table, make sure our wonderful BC wineries are included in the celebrations. To get you started here are four great BC wines to choose from.
2022 Renaissance Series Viognier $24.99
The grapes for this wine were harvested from Redbrick Vineyard (an estate vineyard) on the Osoyoos East Bench, and Crespo Vineyard on the Osoyoos West Bench. Each block was hand-harvested and handled separately until blending. Some batches had several hours of skin contact in an effort to increase the aromatic intensity and the mouthfeel of the wine. The remaining fruit was whole cluster pressed directly to tank to create freshness and balance. A portion of the juice (25%) was racked to barrel for fermentation, while the remaining juice (75%) was fermented in stainless steel tanks.
Aromas of wet slate, yellow grapefruit and peach pits. This is a dry, medium bodied wine with medium+ acidity. The palate offers peach, apricot, pear, lemon and yellow grapefruit with hints mandarin on the medium+ finish.
2022 Small Blessings Bible Thumper Viognier $30
Grapes were hand-harvested from the Blasted Church estate vineyard on the Skaha Bench and were whole cluster pressed to tank. After settling for 48 hours, the juice was racked into French oak barrels (50% new and 50% 2nd-fill) for fermentation and aging on the lees; spontaneous malolactic fermentation followed. The lees were stirred periodically for the first several months to help increase the mouthfeel of the wine. After 8 months in barrel, the wine was blended into tank. It was put back to barrel for a final 2 months of aging prior to bottling.
After three hours in the decanter there are aromas of butter, rose, gala apple, tangerine, peach, yellow grapefruit pith, sweet spice and plain Greek yogurt. This is a dry, medium bodied wine with medium+ acidity with a long finish. The palate offers butter, peach, lemon, yellow grapefruit and a saline finish with notes of nutmeg and clove.
2021 Renaissance Series Merlot $34
Grapes were sourced from low-yielding, 30-year-old vines in the Blasted Church estate vineyard on the Skaha Bench. This block of vines has several distinct zones due to soil and each is managed separately, from vine to wine, until blending in the cellar. The fruit was hand-harvested and destemmed into tank without crushing. After a five-day cold soak, during which the juice was pumped over once daily, the fermentations started and pump-overs were increased to two-to-three times per day. Maceration was complete between 21 and 26 days. Free run wines were drained from each tank directly to French oak barrel (30% new and the remainder 3rd fill) for malolactic fermentation. The wine was in barrel for 18 months before being racked to tank in preparation for bottling.
After four hours in the decanter this case-worthy wine has aromas of ripe black cherry, dark chocolate, black plums and liquorice pastels. This is a dry wine, medium+ in body, with medium+ acidity and medium velvety tannins. The delicious palate offers concentrated flavours of black cherry, black plum, mocha, vanilla and clove with salinity on the medium finish.
2021 Small Blessings Mourvèdre Syrah Grenache $40
35% Mourvèdre, 33% Syrah, 32% Grenache
The Mourvèdre and Grenache were harvested from the Moksha Vineyard in Osoyoos, while the Syrah was harvested from the House Vineyard, just south of Oliver. The fruit was destemmed but not crushed to tank for a co-fermentation of all three varieties. After a few days of cold soaking the fermentation began and pump-overs occurred twice daily. After twenty days on skins the wine was drained directly to barrel and puncheon (a mix of third-fill, fourth-fill, and neutral) for malolactic fermentation and aging for 16 months.
Another case-worthy wine here. After three hours in the decanter there are aromas of black pepper, dried cherries, red plums, raspberries and liquorice pastels. This is a dry, medium bodied wine, with medium+ acidity and medium- tannins. The satiny palate offers savoury black pepper notes perfectly balanced by all kinds of red fruit (cherries, plums, raspberries, cranberries and strawberry jam). The palate also offers notes of liquorice pastels, mocha and an almost raisiny quality with a long finish.