Hester Creek delivers affordable wines

Photo: Winemaker Mark Hopley

Every day, we hear of, or experience, rises in food prices. There is no doubt that the trend is real. But if Hester Creek Estate Winery is any example, wine prices are still stable. The cost of the wines reviewed here have not changed since the previous vintage, and perhaps not for several years. Winemaker Mark Hopley and his team continue to quality wines that we can afford. My advice is stock up on these wines, because they are good value and because several are from the 2019 and 2020 vintages, two of the best recent Okanagan vintages.

Prices might well be revisited by the industry when wines begin to be released in 2022, if only because overall wine production was down somewhat in 2021 – and not just here but in other wine regions as well, due to climate change issues. And then there has been the phenomenol success of wine clubs among the wineries in the Okanagan and the Similkameen valleys. If you don’t belong to a club, you will not even have access to many wines. While Hester Creek has a wine club, all of the wines reviewed here are available at the winery, on-line and at liquor stores, including in several examples, at the BC Liquor Distribution Branch stores. Here are notes on the wines.

Hester Creek Select Vineyards Merlot 2020 ($17.99). To make this wine, the winemaker put whole berries into Hester Creek’s Ganimede fermenters for a two-week ferment. The wine was then aged eight months in barrel (60% French, 40% American). Juicy and easy drinking, the wine begins with aromas of dark berries. On the palate, there are flavours of cherry and black currant mingled with a hint of chocolate. 90.

Hester Creek Select Vineyards Cabernet Merlot 2020 ($17.99). This is a blend of 48% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc and 22% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine was aged eight months in barrel (75% French, 25% American). The wine has a full, generous texture, beginning with aromas of plum and cherry. On the palate, there are flavours of plum, black currant. 90

Hester Creek Character Red 2020 ($18.99). This is a blend of Italian Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Malbec. The lots were blended after fermentation and aged eight months in barrel (75% French, 25% American). This wine has always overdelivered and does it again from the superb 2020 vintage. It begins with aromas of spice, cherry and blueberry. On the palate, the wine delivers rich flavours of plum, cherry and black pepper. 91.

Hester Creek Old Vine Merlot 2019 ($25.99). Fruit from vines that are about a quarter of a century old has produced a concentrated wine with dramatic aromas of plum, black currant and vanilla. The palate delivers generous fruit flavours, with plum, and dark cherry mingled with a hint of sweet oak. The barrels in which this wine was aged for 18 months included new French oak. The wine is delicious now but will age to even great elegance over the next five to seven years. 93.

Hester Creek Old Vine Cabernet Franc 2019 ($25.99). By limiting production from old vines (some dating from 1968), the winery has crafted a wine that is concentrated and complex. The wine was aged 18 months in barrel (75% French, 25% American. The wine begins with classic brambleberry and spice aromas. On the palate, the wine delivers flavours of raspberry, cherry and blackberry. 92.

Hester Creek Old Vine Late Harvest Pinot Blanc 2019 ($16.99 for 200 ml bottle). The flavour intensity of this dessert wine is because the grapes remained on the vines until November 11, 2019, after a cold snap created near icewine conditions. The wine delivers luscious honeyed flavours of nectarine, peach and pineapple. Bright acidity balances the residual sugar, so that the wine has a long, refreshing finish. The ideal pairing for this wine is soft blue cheese. 93.