Lariana's fine Cabernet and its friends

Photo: Lariana's Dan and Carol Scott

Lariana Cellars is a tiny Osoyoos winery just east of the Canada-U.S. border crossing. If this winery is not on your radar, it needs to be because the wines are exceptional. Lariana’s 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the best Okanagan Cabs I have ever tasted.

For background on the winery, here is an excerpt from The Okanagan Wine Tour Guide.

The winery name is a tribute to Larry and Anna Franklin, the parents of Carol Scott, who owns this winery with her husband, Dan. Larry Franklin was a shareholder in Shannon Pacific Vineyards, a large Black Sage Road vineyard until it was broken up after the 1988 vine pullout. During one vintage, Carol was assigned to keep the starlings away from the grapes with a bird gun. In another vintage, she helped pick grapes. She also hauled grapes to the family home in Burnaby where her father made wine. Those experiences planted the seed for this winery even as the Scotts, both born in 1963, pursued careers in Burnaby. Don is a millwright, while Carol has been a travel agent. They moved to Osoyoos in 1989, taking over a campground that her parents had established in 1968. The recreational-vehicle sites, which they still operate, take up the lakeside half of the 4-hectare (10-acre) property. The vineyard, which replaced apple and cherry trees in 2007, occupies the top half.

Planting vines was Carol’s passion. “It took a few years to get Dan on board,” she admits. “It was kind of a dream to plant grapes. I finally convinced Dan, and we cleared the land. It was a new tractor that convinced him.” They planted Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. When the hard winters of 2008 and 2009 mortally damaged the Syrah, that variety was replaced with 2,500 Carménère vines. Now, they purchase Syrah for Lariana’s red blend. Lariana is the Okanagan’s southernmost winery, tucked snugly against the 49th parallel, just east of the massive Canada-US customs post. The Scotts produce limited volumes (less than 1,200 cases a year) in a plain-Jane winery with a modest tasting room. They invested instead in top-flight equipment, including the California-made concrete eggs in which Carol and consulting winemaker Senka Tennant make Lariana’s Viognier.

The winery’s flagship red, usually anchored with the vineyard’s ripe Cabernet Sauvignon, changes its name every year because the wine is named simply for the vintage. The first release was Twelve, succeeded by Thirteen, and so on. Adding 10 to the name should give you the year when the wine will be ready.

Here are notes on the releases this year. The Viognier and the Carménère are sold out – I was slow in tasting them – but the notes might be of interest to those cellaring these wines.

Lariana Viognier 2020 ($23.49 for 345 cases). The wine begins with floral aromas mingled with peach, apricot and pineapple. On the rich palate, there are flavours of apricot, pineapple and pear. The wine, which is dry, has a lingering finish. 92.

Lariana Carménère 2018 ($44.99 for 371 cases). There are just three or four examples of this varietal in the Okanagan and all are interesting. Lariana has just planted an additional half acre. The wine was aged 17 months in oak (70% French, 27% new). It begins with spicy dark berry and plum aromas mingled with pepper. The fruit is ripe and concentrated, with flavours of plum and fig along with pepper and dark chocolate on the finish. 92.

Lariana Eighteen 2018 ($40.99 for 418 cases). The blend in this vintage is 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Syrah and 20% Carménère, aged 17 months in barrel (85% French, 30% new). This is an age-worthy wine that should be decanted for consumption now. It has aromas of pepper, cassis and vanilla. The wine is full-bodied with flavours of dark plum and fig mingled with pepper. There is a hint of licorice on the finish. 93.

Lariana Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 ($44.99 for 291 cases). This wine was aged 17 months in barrel (85% French, 30% new). It is a wine of power (with 14.9% alcohol) and elegance. It begins with aromas of cassis, black cherry and chocolate. Flavours explode of the palate, with notes of plum, cassis, black cherry and chocolate. The long, ripe tannins give the wine great length and a persistent finish. 95.