Fort Berens succeeds with Lillooet grapes

Photo: Heleen Pannekoek and Rolf de Bruin (courtesy Fort Berens)

The current releases from Fort Berens Estate Winery include five reserve wines made with grapes from the winery’s Lillooet estate.

This confirms the success of the “gamble” that Fort Berens’s founders, Rolf de Bruin and Heleen Pannekoek, took when they planted grapes near Lillooet a decade ago. While there were trial plantings in the region, there had never been a commercial vineyard.

The terroir has now proven itself. Additional planting this year by Fort Berens has doubled the estate vineyard acreage to 38 acres. As well, four smaller vineyards have been developed in the region and provide fruit to Fort Berens. Lillooet has now earned its own sub-appellation.

“All of this means,” Rolf writes, “that we can continue our transition from sourcing grapes in the Okanagan, Similkameen and Thompson appellations to our goal of being 100% Lillooet-grown in the future.”

One beneficiary of well-grown estate grapes is James Cambridge (below), the winemaker who rejoined Fort Berens in 2019. He had made the Fort Berens wines in 2012 when the vines had just begun producing and when the winemaking facilities were primitive.

James, who spent the intervening years at Backyard Winery in Langley, returned to an established vineyard and the $7.5 million winery that Fort Berens built in 2014.

The wines currently released by Fort Berens are from the 2017 and 2018 vintages. They were made by Danny Hattingh, a talented South African winemaker who produced five or six vintages here before leaving.

The wines are very well grown and very well made. In my judgement, these are the best wines so far from Fort Berens.

Here are my notes.

Fort Berens Chardonnay 2018 ($19.99 for 1,115 cases). Some 83% of the fruit for this wine was estate grown; the rest was from a vineyard in the Similkameen. Most of the wine was fermented and aged in stainless steel, with a small portion fermented and aged five months in French oak (new and used). This is a refreshing fruit-driven wine with aromas and flavours of citrus, apple and pear, with very subtle oak adding complexity. 91.

Fort Berens White Gold 2017 ($25.99 for 183 cases). The fruit, entirely estate-grown, was fermented with wild yeast in French oak barrels; and aged about nine months in barrel. The oak is very well integrated and supports the aromas and flavours of butter and mandarin orange. The wine is well-balanced with bright acidity leading to a long and fresh finish. 93.

Fort Berens Riesling Reserve 2018 ($23.99 for 328 cases). Made entirely with estate fruit, this wine was fermented cool with wild yeast for seven weeks in stainless steel. This technique preserved the fresh fruit aromas and flavours. The wine was aged nine months in bottle before release. Savvy consumers should lay this away for another year or two to further soften the bracing acidity and to fully develop the flavours. In its youth, the wine has aromas and flavours lemon and lime. 91.

Fort Berens Cabernet Franc 2017 ($27.99 for 765 cases). The majority of the fruit is estate-grown. The wine, which was aged nine months in French and American oak, begins with aromas of black cherry, blackberry and mint. On the palate, there are flavours of black currants and blackberries. Long, ripe tannins give a lovely texture to this delicious wine. 91.

Fort Berens Cabernet Franc Reserve 2017 ($31.99 for 174 cases). The fruit for this wine was entirely estate grown. The wine’s mouth-filling concentration results from the “passimento” technique adopted by the winemaker: a portion of the grapes were air dried for about six weeks, losing about 30% of their liquid volume. These raisined berries were fermented in open-top French oak barrels for a month to extract even more flavour. The final wine was aged in French and American oak for 10 months. The result is a powerful wine with aromas and flavours of blackberry, raspberry, cherry and liquorice. 93.

Fort Berens Pinot Noir Reserve 2017 ($29.99 for 228 cases). The fruit for this wine is entirely estate grown. Fort Berens has five clones in its vineyard and each clone was fermented separately before being blended and aged 10 months in French oak. The wine is rich, with aromas of cherries and spices. On the palate, there are more spicy cherry notes mingled with earthy forest floor notes. The texture is silky. 92.

Fort Berens Meritage 2017 ($29.99 for 1,146 cases). The fruit is both from the estate and from vineyards in the Okanagan and Similkameen. The blend is 65% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Cabernet Franc. The wine was aged about a year in French and American oak barrels. The wine begins with aromas of cherries, blackberries and spice, which are echoed on the palate. There is a hint of chocolate and vanilla on the finish. 90.

Fort Berens Meritage Reserve 2017 ($31.99 for 173 cases). The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon (from the Similkameen), 30% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. The three varieties were vinified separately, blended, and aged in French and American oak for 10 months. This is a full-bodied wine that benefits from decanting. It begins with aromas of cassis, black cherry and chocolate. On the palate, there are flavours of plums and cherries. The finish lingers. 92-94.

Fort Berens Red Gold 2017 ($44.99 for 138 cases; $99 for 78 magnums.) This is 67% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Franc, all of it grown on the estate. The latter grapes were airdried for six weeks prior to fermentation to enhance the concentration. The wine’s initial aroma signals its richness, with notes of plum and blackberry. The fruit on the palate is luscious, with flavours of black cherry, plum, chocolate, liquorice and vanilla. The finish is persistent. 94.