Try This, Cellar That - South African Cab Sauv

This week we feature Cabernet Sauvignon from South Africa:

Try This...

Graham Beck Wines 2011 The Game Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon - $18
Over-delivers for the price with a uniquely South African Cabernet Sauvignon blend of smoky incense, mocha and spicy plum fruit aromas on the feminine nose. Acid is quite fresh, keeping the mouth feel vibrant and alive, while graphite tannins help frame the fruit and add some structure. 
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Cellar That...

Nederburg Wines 2011 Manor House Cabernet Sauvignon - $19
Offers a pleasing mixture of ripe berry fruit, mocha, smoky oak and allspice aromas. The palate has a hint of residual sugar, thus, not truly 'dry', and the fruit from the nose takes a back seat to the smoky oak and mineral flavours on offer while smooth, mannered tannins mingle with wild berry acidity adding structure. A refreshingly balanced Cabernet Sauvignon for the under $20 price-point and one with which you can easily afford to experiment with mid-to-long term cellaring to reveal mature Cabernet flavours and further tannin integration.
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 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2014 IconWines.ca

Try This, Cellar That - BC Cabernet Franc

This week we feature BC Cabernet Franc:

Try This...

Cassini Cellars 2011 Cabernet Franc - $29
Cabernet Franc opens with a perfumed, instantly enjoyable nose of blackberry, black plum, violet and Christmas cake aromas. The dry palate that follows is medium bodied with similar fruit and savoury flavours offering excellent continuity from the nose. Ready to go now with several years of enjoyment ahead.
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Cellar That...

Church and State Wines 2011 Cabernet Franc - $25
After 2 hrs of decanting, this youthful Cabernet Franc will begin to reveal sweetened pot-pourri and crushed fresh flower notes which float delicately above the blueberry, black cherry and vanilla aromas. Despite the brightness of the fruit, the finish is long and measured with lingering, grippy tannins and dusty cocoa powder. Another year+ of bottle age will do nicely.
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 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2014 IconWines.ca

Monthly Picks: July '14 - Tinhorn Creek

Earlier this Spring, Tinhorn announced the hiring of a new head winemaker from Ontario, Andrew Windsor, who has taken over leading the long established winemaking team from co-owner and CEO of the Tinhorn enterprise, Sandra Oldfield. This frees-up the amiable Oldfield to spend less time on grunt work in the cellar and more time on the business at large - a key component to the long-term viability of Tinhorn, one of the Okanagan's most visited and popular wineries.

The white wines of this year's Spring release will be the last to be made under the day-to-day direction of Oldfield and should make an interesting comparison to next year's wines that will have seen Windsor at the helm for a full year. How will the style change or evolve? We shall see.

Tinhorn Creek Vineyards 2013 Gewurztraminer - $17
An incredibly consistent Gewurztraminer, year-in, year-out, which, for 2013, sees the wine's profile edge slightly 'plumper' than the 2012 edition, yet remains, true to its stonefruit roots.
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Tinhorn Creek Vineyards 2013 Pinot Gris - $19
True to the house style, the latest edition of Tinhorn's popular Pinot Gris is lush and juicy, though, in a slightly more subtle way for 2013 than in previous years, especially on the orchard and tropical fruit-infused nose. The palate offers a nice balance between ripe fruit flavours and cool mineral'n'citrus characters with apple, pear, kumquat and river stone notes leading the way.
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Tinhorn Creek Vineyards 2013 Chardonnay - $19
A fairly austere Chardonnay on the finish with some juicy, orchard and tropical fruit notes starting the proceedings off but they quickly yield their time to the stonefruit and citrus layers on the subtle nose and the mouth-watering palate.
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Tinhorn Creek Vineyards 2011 Pinot Noir - $22
Savoury notes like wild sage, cedar and spices comes to the forefront with stewed plum and spearmint aromas rounding out the developing bouquet. The light bodied, though, potent dry palate follows with moderate, fine tannins and layers of raspberry, cherry, river stone, graphite and oak flavours.
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Tinhorn Creek Vineyards 2013 Oldfield Series 2Bench White - $23
The 2013 edition sees 31% Sauvignon Blanc, 29% Chardonnay, 28% Semillon, 9% Viognier and 3% Muscat blended to create a charming bouquet of exotic, tropical fruit and fresh-off-the-tree orchard fruit aromas supported by some rich, lees and perfume notes.
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Tinhorn Creek Vineyards 2013 Oldfield Series 2Bench Rosé - $23
he colour, texture and delicacy suggest a Provence inspiration, but this blush is pure BC with a focus on expressive, tangy red fruit aromas and flavours supported by light mineral and savoury notes. Dry and mouth-watering with lime rind and rhubarb acidity, this is a Food-Friendly wine with double Capital 'Fs'!
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Tinhorn Creek Vineyards 2010 Oldfield Series Pinot Noir - $30
Both earthy and fruity on the full-ish palate with layers of raspberry, blackberry, spicy plum and warm rocks. Fine tannins and nicely balanced acidity structure the wine with finesse. Ready to drink now with already 4 years of age and should last another 3-4 years with proper cellaring.
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 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2014 IconWines.ca