Top 10 Icon Wines of the Year

For our Top 10 list we are using a subjective approach taking into account availability, collectability and relevance in the world of wine. All Top 10 Icon Wines of the Year were released within the calendar year in the BC market. Reviews based on barrel samples were excluded.

#1 - Icon Wine of the Year

Cassini Cellars 2016 Collector's Series Cabernet Franc

Its trademark menthol and eucalyptus aromas and flavours are on show, in spades, supported by a plethora of blue fruit, toasted oak, spices and savoury notes on the generous, seductive nose and the well-balanced, elegant palate. Ready to go now, with some decanting. Drink 2021-2026.

Full Review

#2

Viñedos Emiliana 2017 Coyam

Dense, yet, gentle and approachable, this is a complex wine offering a range of aromas and flavours of ripe red fruits, blood orange, warm rocks, cigar box, toasted oak and spiced, mochaccino. Finishes dry with lingering notes of cooking spices, black cherry acidity and dusty tannins. Ready to go now, but, should continue to evolve and integrate over the next 2 years. Drink 2022-2027.

Full Review

#3

Rust Wine Co. 2017 Syrah

This Syrah, sourced from the Black Sage Bench, is the most well-rounded and impressive of the three Rust Wine Co. produce. A little more intense than its Golden Mile Bench cousin and more refined than its Similkameen Valley kin. It all seems to come together in this beautiful Syrah with excellent concentration on the ripe berry and potpourri scented nose and the long-lived, elegant, yet, bold palate. Classic Syrah characters are on offer here: dark and red fruits, white pepper and hints of mint and cola. Ready to go now. Drink 2020-2024.

Full Review

#4

Undurraga 2017 T.H. Cabernet Sauvignon

A fresh and vibrant alternative to your pricey, uber-extracted (and, occasionally, overly-serious) California Cab and to the hibernating Bordeaux in your cellar which you aren't yet ready to open, the Undurraga 'T.H.' (standing for Terroir Hunter) delivers the depth and concentration you desire from Cabernet Sauvignon, without the wait or the hefty price.

Full Review

#5

Mt. Boucherie Estate Winery 2017 Summit

The Summit is a proprietary blend of 43% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Syrah and 2% Malbec sourced from what the winery considers its best blocks in its Okanagan and Similkameen Valley vineyards. Both generous and layered on the developing bouquet with a sensual, feminine profile of ripe berries, violets, baking spices and sweet, pipe tobacco.

Full Review

#6

SpearHead Winery 2018 Pinot Noir Cuvée

SpearHead's flagship Pinot Noir is a barrel select blend of multiple clones and vineyard sites and checks all the right boxes for an outstanding BC Pinot Noir; brooding cherry notes, earth and forest tones, smoky tannins and wildberry acidity. Put this beauty down for 2 more years to further integrate and mature. Drink 2022-2028.

Full Review

#7

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery 2016 Meritage

Burrowing Owl's Meritage is a blend of 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc and 1% Malbec sourced from the winery's Oliver and Osoyoos vineyards. Once each component is hand-harvested they ferment in barrel and spend 14 months ageing in oak separately prior to the assemblage whereupon the wine is then aged a further 4 months in oak before bottling. Its a patient, ever-adapting process to deliver the best expression of the vintage whilst keeping with the house style of big, yet, supremely approachable, rounded red wines bursting with New World, bold fruit characters, supporting, savoury notes and feminine, sweet spices.

Full Review

#8

River Stone Estate Winery 2017 Corner Stone

A sensual, rounded and generous, Right Bank inspired blend (Merlot leading with lesser amounts of the remaining 4 Bordeaux reds) oozing with ripe, red and dark fruit, lightly toasted oak, warm vanilla mocha and aromatic spices on the feminine nose and maturing, toasty-tannin palate. Already approachable at 3 years of age, has the bones to age gracefully with some further development, if you're patient. Drink 2021-2026.

Full Review

#9

Winemaker's Cut 2018 Syrah

An uber-spicy, masculine Syrah offering a dense nose pairing white and black pepper with black plum, vanilla, licorice and beef jerky aromas. A meaty, raw palate follow with layers of spice intertwining bright black cherry, cool iron, black and green peppercorn and toasted oak flavours. Ready to go now. Drink 2020-2023.

Full Review

#10

La Frenz Winery 2019 Sauvignon Blanc

Sourced from multiple vineyards in the Central and Southern Okanagan Valley, the La Frenz Sauvignon Blanc bursts out of the glass with intense, pungent aromas of gooseberries, grapefruit, yeasty-brioche, stone fruit, and grass. The palate is bright and lip-smacking with plenty of texture and a hint of sugar, mid-palate, then finishes dry with citrus peel, minerals and a touch of lingering spice. To be enjoyed in its youth. Drink 2020-2022.

Full Review

 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2020 IconWines.ca

Best of BC: Icon Wines

What makes a wine an Icon Wine? To us, it's a wine that combines the best grapes with the best vineyard and winery practices and becomes a signature of its region. As our Best of BC section attests, there are a lot of great wines being produced in BC. But there's a difference between producing BC's best Chardonnay or Merlot and producing a wine that is the epitome of BC's best, an Icon.

Currently, our list contains Meritage blends only - possibly due to the fact that the style of Bordeaux is revered worldwide and many wineries devote their best fruit, barrels and effort to these wines. This will change in years to come as wineries figure out the best varietals to grow in their different vineyard blocks and signature varietals emerge like Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Blanc.

Updated: 9-9-12

Cassini Cellars 2009 Maximus - $29
Youthful, vibrant and raw may best describe the intense, fruit'n'savoury nose of the latest edition of Cassini Cellars' Meritage blend called "Maximus". This year's blend boasts 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc and 1% of Malbec, aged in new and second fill French and American oak for 14 months. Where to buy: Direct from winery.
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Fairview Cellars 2009 The Bear - $35
Lovers of wines with a refined bite (fine tannins and mouth-watering acidity) will adore this vintage of The Bear. As for development, the sky's the limit. I look forward mightily to re-tasting this wine in two year intervals over the next eight as it melds and evolves. Where to buy: Direct from winery and select private wine shops.
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Laughing Stock Vineyards 2009 Portfolio - $42
The final blend of 36% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Cabernet Franc, 14% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot was aged in French oak (60% new) for 19 months prior to bottling resulting in a structured wine with big, coarse tannins and loads of character. Where to buy: Direct from winery and VQA stores.
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Herder Winery and Vineyards 2008 Josephine - $50
style and in composition, Herder's "Josephine" confidently conveys the essence of a fruit-forward leaning, Right Bank garagiste wine all the while keeping to its Similkameen roots. A blend of 81% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Cabernet Franc, it offers a lovely balance of bold, concentrated dark berry puree characters and savoury, earthy cedar notes with plenty of new French oak tannins and flavours. Where to buy: Direct from winery and VQA stores.
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Black Hills Estate Winery 2009 Note Bene - $54
Higher extraction and more modern vinification techniques have upped the concentration and increased the potential cellar life for this highly collected blend of 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and 16% Cabernet Franc. Where to buy: Direct from winery and select private wine shops ($55-60).
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Painted Rock Estate Winery 2009 Red Icon - $55
The 2009 is a harmonious blend of 30% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Franc, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Petit Verdot and 1% Syrah delivering massive complexity and concentration that never overloads the dry palate rather evolves slowly in the glass to reveal layers of the flavour profile. Where to buy: Direct from winery, select private wine shops and VQA stores.
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Fairview Cellars 2009 The Wrath - $65
Intense, brooding and fantastically complex, this wonderful wine offers loads of dark fruit and French oak at the core of its flavour profile. Big tannins, big mouth feel, big nose, big presence... big everything! Where to buy: Direct from winery.
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Mission Hill Estate Winery 2006 Oculus - $70
Great concentration of flavours on the nose and palate with a final blend of 51% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc and 8% Petit Verdot. Each component is aged separately in 100% French oak barrels for 14.5 months. Where to buy: Direct from winery, select private wine shops and VQA stores.
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Blackwood Lane 2007 The Referènce - $90
This attention to detail and use of elite components is all done to add complexity to the wine. Time must be taken with this wine to fully appreciate the complexity as it evolves in the glass revealing hidden layers and clues to its secrets. Where to buy: Direct from winery and VQA stores.
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Winter Treats

The holiday season is a time to celebrate with family and friends and when those closest to you are as enamored with wine as you are, some very nice bottles get uncorked. This year I decided to get a bit more organized and created a "BC Icons" theme for our Christmas Eve dinner. We tasted three iconic BC wines: Blackwood Lane's Alliance, Fairview Cellars' The Bear and Mission Hill's Oculus.

All three wines were made (primarily) from southern Okanagan Valley fruit, all three were from the 2004 vintage and each wine was very distinctive. I might also add that each wine is sold-out and thus sourcing these wines for your own horizontal tasting may be difficult - but not impossible. Best to talk directly with the winery, in person, and ask if they are willing to sell any of their reserve stock or have a planned "library release" upcoming - you will pay a premium, but the experience is worth it. Mailing lists are also a great way to stay informed about back-catalog releases.

We tasted in order from lightest to heaviest:

Fairview Cellars 2004 The Bear - $70-80 (est)
With a fresh and vibrant bouquet of both red and dark berries, orange peel, minerality and mellowed oak, the nose offers impressive complexity. The palate of the 2004 is reletively light for a Meritage blend - not uncommon for wines of the vintage. Red fruits dominate the palate. This wine has peaked and is drinking beautifully now. Don't wait too much longer to open yours if it's waiting patiently in your cellar.
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Blackwood Lane 2004 Alliance - $80-90 (est)
The Alliance, a Cabernet Sauvignon-leading blend, surprised with its youthful, vibrant nose that suggested a wine that was still years away from its peak. Cassis and other dark fruits mingled on the developing bouquet with aromas of graphite (a Blackwood Lane signature), fig, stewed plums and licorice. A very complex nose. The palate wowed everyone with its intense concentration and complexity. Full bodied and powerful, but not over-extracted. Dark fruits, plums, cassis and savoury oak flavours with mulled-wine spices. The wine has aged beautifully and effortlessly. Drinking well now and suggests, with its fine structure of tannins and near perfect balance, it won't peak until 2014 and then hold for further 5 years.
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Mission Hill Estate Winery 2004 Oculus - $80-90 (est)
The group agreed that the Oculus is an exceptional wine worthy of one's cellar but one that it is slightly dishonest. The high tannins, crucial to longevity, seemed a bit too "by design" rather than a more natural by-product of the oak treatment and extended skin contact. Right Bank Bordeaux is certainly served well here in tribute with a brooding, Merlot driven blend, but not in an organic, effortless way. Should your cellar already contain a bottle, I recommend another 2-3 more years - an exceptional incubation time for a BC wine. How long will it last beyond that? Will it hold once it has peaked? Hard to say with certainty.
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The only "winner" at the tasting was each guest as all of the wines were fantastic but the consensus was that the Alliance stood above the rest and stole the show. It was the wine everyone wanted a second serving of before revisiting the other wines and the wine everyone was eager to try and source for futures wine tastings. A fun and tasty horizontal tasting of true BC icon wines.

 - Liam Carrier (with tasting notes from Hugh Carter and Jordan Carrier) ©copyright 2011 IconWines.ca

Profile: Hugh Carter

Hugh was born and raised in Niagara Falls Ontario Canada at the doorstep of the Niagara Wine region. Upon completing high school he attended the University of Waterloo where he completed his BSc in Biology where he focused most of his studies on plant and wildlife ecology. In 1999 Hugh moved out to Vancouver British Columbia with his girlfriend (now wife) and attended the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) where he studied forestry and renewable resource management and obtained a diploma in Forest Technology and an advanced diploma in Land and Resource Management. Hugh joined the work force in 2001 and did field inventories and measurements up and down the BC coast. Hugh started his MSc in forest biometrics in 2004 and completed it in 2007, where he focused on resource sampling while working full-time for with a natural resource consultant.

A trip to Okanagan Lake and the surrounding region in 2004 sparked a passion for BC wines. With such easy access to these wines it is hard not to love them. Anyone who lives in Vancouver knows how hard it is not to be a Canuck’s fan, this same logic could be applied to someone who has visited this gem of a wine region and not fall in love with the unique flavours that come out of this gorgeous landscape.



Through Icon Wines I hope to explore the economics and technical aspects of wine. I hope to help promote BC and Canadian wines and get people excited in drinking them, as well as investing in them. I am confident that there is a viable secondary market for the Canadian grape and good opportunities to make some money over time through the purchase of investment grade wine. - HC

Profile: Liam Carrier

Liam’s interest in wine was ignited at a quiet dinner party at the age of 25 in the form of a fine Alsatian Riesling matched perfectly with spicy Thai food which awakened his curiosity. To that point, wine had been but a drink to have with dinner, never an integral piece of the gastronomic puzzle. From then on, he gradually sought out more wines with which to challenge his late-blooming palate and thus began a life-long love-affair with wine.

Liam has studied with the International Guild of Sommeliers to further his wine education and increase his enjoyment of wine. He hopes to turn iconwines.ca into an internationally renowned website on Canadian wine and the icon wines of the world.

Born in London, Ontario he moved to British Columbia with his family at the age of six and has called both White Rock and Vancouver home. Currently residing in Okanagan Falls, BC with his own, growing family, he splits his time as a wine reviewer and novelist.

IconwinesBC@gmail.com