CedarCreek wines are the bees' knees

Photo: CedarCreek winemaker Taylor Whelan 

This summer’s media release from CedarCreek Estate Winery consists of six exceptional wines.

The winery has designated them all as “Platinum” – the winery’s term for its reserve wines. It is not a designation that CedarCreek uses idly, but keeps just for its best wines.

Always a strong producer, CedarCreek has become even better since it was acquired in 2013 by Anthony von Mandl, the proprietor of Mission Hill Family Estates. Among other changes, the CedarCreek vineyards are transitioning to organic practices (as are all the vineyards owned by von Mandl).

One of those practices involved introducing bees to the winery’s Home Block Vineyard – with a startling result in the 2016 vintage. Winemaker Taylor Whelan takes up the story:

“Grape vines are self-pollinating, but bees help with the promotion of wild flowers, beneficial plants (such as crimson clover and mustard), and beneficial insects. The bees happily worked our site over the summer. I had kept bees in an amateur capacity in the past and was thrilled to now have around a million of the little ladies working for us.

“But there was a side benefit that we didn’t expect. As our harvest dates for Pinot Noir approached, we were hit with a lot of rain. This can be devastating in a Pinot vineyard as the delicate skins can split, resulting in infection and reduced quality. And splitting did happen across our Pinot blocks – 2 and 4 included.”

Then Taylor and his viticulturist, Kurt Simcic, noticed something that Taylor had never seen.

“Our fruit was absolutely covered in honey bees – hundreds of thousands of them – and they were methodically cleaning the fruit which had split, removing the sweet grape juice from the skins. For them it was a quick sugar hit, but for us it was life-saving as it greatly reduced the chance we would have a botrytis infection and be forced to pick early.

“Ultimately, the bees’ hard work gave us at least another seven days on the vine without disease pressure and allowed us to wild ferment the wines without concern for fruit health.”

Indeed, the 2016 Pinot Noirs are as good as any I have tasted from CedarCreek.

The winery is far along in becoming organic. The transition will be complete with the 2019 harvest. Taylor promises to deliver CedarCreek’s first organic wines next year.

Here are notes on the current releases.

CedarCreek 2018 Platinum Ehrenfelser Block 9 ($29.99 for 268 cases). Fruit salad in a glass is the phrase that comes to mind with this wine. CedarCreek has always taken pains to produce it in that style. Most of the wine was fermented in stainless steel but 11% was fermented in neutral oak and spent four months on the lees. The wine begins with aromas of nectarine and mandarin orange. On the palate, there is a medley of fruit flavours including nectarine, peach and orange. A touch of residual sugar broadens the texture. The finish just won’t quit. 92.

CedarCreek 2018 Platinum Border Vista Sauvignon Blanc ($29.99 for 429 cases). Fifty per cent of this wine was fermented in stainless steel. To give the wine more texture and length, 40% was fermented in foudre and 10% in concrete. The wine begins with aromas of lime, peaches and herbs. On the palate, the lime and lemon mingle with herbal notes. The finish is crisp and dry. 91.

CedarCreek 2017 Platinum Chardonnay Block 5 ($34.99 for 412 cases). This is an elegant and complex Chardonnay. It was fermented with wild yeast in French oak and aged 10 months on the lees in barrel. However, the oak is very subtle. The wine shows great fruit purity, with aromas and flavours of citrus, apple and nectarine. 93.

CedarCreek 2018 Platinum Pinot Noir Rosé Block 1 ($29.99 for 759 cases). CedarCreek dedicated all of Block 1 Pinot Noir for rosé. There were two picks: an early one to get the herbaceous notes, along with grapefruit and watermelon; and a second pick to get strawberry from the riper fruit. The wine is fashionable pale, the fruit having spent just an hour on the skins before being pressed. The wine has delicate aromas of strawberry and watermelon, leading to delicate flavours of grapefruit and strawberry. The finish is crisp and refreshing. 91.  

CedarCreek 2016 Platinum Pinot Noir Block 2 ($54.99). The wine begins with almost floral aromas of spice and cherries. It is full on the palate, with savoury and juicy flavours of cherry and plum mingled with spice. 93.

CedarCreek 2016 Platinum Pinot Noir Block 4 ($54.99). Fruit from 21-year-old vines accounts for the rich depth of flavour in this wine. The grapes were fermented with natural yeast. Aromas of plum and cherry are echoed on the palate. There is dark, earthy fruit on the lingering finish. 93.