March Meritage Rd3 - Final Four Results

The March Meritage semi-finals took place on Saturday, April 2nd with the winner of the Black Sage Bench Conference, Black Hills 2008 Nota Bene, taking on the Wild Card Conference champion, Mission Hill 2007 Compendium, and the survivor of the Golden Mile Bench Conference, Fairview Cellars 2008 The Bear, versus the Naramata Bench Conference winner, La Frenz 2007 Grand Total Reserve.

The final will take place on Sunday, April 3rd in Langley at the famed Mike Nierychlo Garage and will be recorded (somewhat) Live!

Complete Box Scores

W - (1) FC '08 The Bear: Points: 91-93. Cost: $35
L - (2) LF '07 Grand Total: Points 92-93. Cost $40
Game notes: In what some believed was the true final of March Meritage, the bracket alignment saw The Bear from Golden Mile Bench took on the Grand Total Reserve from Naramata Bench in the hottest contested battle yet seen in the competition. The silky smooth texture and complexity of the Grand Total took on the exquisite expression of terroir from The Bear. The result was a close, back and forth war of superior red wines. In the end The Bear outlasted the Grand Total with its ageability and fierce, man-eating bite.

W - (1) BH '08 Nota Bene: Points: 91. Cost: $53
L - (1) MH '07 Compendium: Points: 91+. Cost: $45
Game notes: The two highest priced remaining wines faced off in the second semi-final of the final four. The elegant and age worthy Compendium took an early lead in the match until the Nota Bene rebounded with an excellent use of its field blend and layers of complexity attacks. The infamy of the Nota Bene's blend proved too popular for the refined upstart Compendium (only in its second vintage) and the Black Hills Meritage punched its ticket to the championship match.

Cellar Update: BC Icon Wines Fall Releases

The long-term value and viability of investing in BC Wine is yet unknown. Without a strong and healthy secondary market for BC Wine sales it is hard to speculate on the future value of any BC produced product. However, Icon Wines believes in the quality and longevity of the wine produced here in our home province and have decided to pick a few select wines for our portfolio.

The wines were selected based on their availability, price-to-point ratio, marketability and longevity. The following wines were added to the cellar:

Blackwood Lane 2006 Alliance

Fairview Cellars 2007 The Bear

Fairview Cellars 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon

Jackson-Triggs 2007 SunRock Shiraz

Joie Farm 2007 Reserve Chardonnay

La Frenz 2006 Reserve

Mission Hill's Legacy Series New Releases

Mission Hill Family Estate put on a tasty show on Wednesday, October 7th for wine and restaurant industry personnel at the amazing Shangri-La Hotel in downtown Vancouver. The winery were pouring their full range of brands but the stars of the show were the four new releases that make up the firm's "Legacy Series": the 2007 Perpetua, the 2006 Quatrain, the 2006 Oculus and the latest addition to the line-up the 2006 Compendium.

2007 Perpetua - $32.99

The winery's mission for the Perpetua label is to showcase a stripped-down, single-vineyard Chardonnay with minimal winemaker or oak influence. They have succeeded nicely. The Osoyoos vineyard growing the fruit produces classic Chardonnay flavours of pears, apple, lemon, minerals and aromas of citrus, butter and honey. This wine will benefit from further aging. 90pts

2006 Quatrain - $45
This is the sophomore vintage for the winery's Rhone-valley inspired blend. This year they chose to promote Syrah to the majority varietal in the final blend and its spicy pepper notes show prominently on the very impressive nose. Disappointingly, the intensity of expression dips on the palate and you are left with a slightly bi-polar wine; intensely complex on the nose and suspiciously-subtle on the palate. 87pts

2006 Compendium - $40
The new addition to the Legacy Series portfolio is an excellent Bordeaux-style blend with a good price-point that is very approachable now and will compete admirably with similarly priced BC Meritage blends. Good fruit intensity on the nose and palate with excellent tannin and acid structure. 1-2 years of aging will improve this wine even further. 92pts

2006 Oculus - $70
The latest Oculus release is a return to form after the disappointing 2005 vintage. Layers and layers of complexity and concentrated aromas and flavours make this a compelling wine. 2-3 years of cellaring is needed to make the most of your $70 investment and the excellent tannin and acid structure should allow you to enjoy this wine for a decade. 93pts

For full reviews of these wines please visit our Icon Scores website HERE.