Lakeside Cellars: No bells, no whistles

Photo: Lakeside's Ricky Dhaliwal

Ricky Dhaliwal’s covering letter with the current releases from Lakeside Cellars in Osoyoos has me already looking forward to next spring’s releases. “Sauvignon Blanc for sparkling and Cinsaut for rosé are the first to hit the crushpad,” Ricky writes of the 2021 harvest.

I do not recall tasting a sparkling Sauvignon Blanc. And I certainly have never tasted a Cinsaut rosé from the Okanagan. Ricky planted that variety in 2019 specifically for rosé. This two-acre block might well be the first Cinsaut planting in the Okanagan. According to the book, Wine Grapes, by Jancis Robinson et all, Cinsaut is an “underrated Mediterranean-loving variety making characterful rosés and flirtatious reds.” The book says the varietal is native to southern France, “possibly Languedoc-Roussillon.” Ricky was inspired to plant his block after tasting rosé wines during a wine vacation in the south of France several years ago. The vine grows in many other viticultural areas, notably South Africa where it once was the most widely planted red and where it also was one parent of Pinotage. (The other parent was Pinot Noir.) “It is … ideally suited to the production of fresh, perfumed and fruity rosé wines,” the Robinson book asserts.

It will be interesting to taste what Ricky’s consulting winemaker, Jason Parkes, does with Cinsaut. “Jason’s approach to our small-production wines is minimalism,” Ricky writes. “Our reds go into an oak program of neutral and new American and French Oak and are allowed to age leisurely in the cellar prior to blending and bottling. Our 2020 whites are fermented separately in stainless steel and assembled prior to bottling. No bells, no whistles, just the best possible expression of our single vineyard wines.”

Lakeside Cellars is located beside the lake at the southeast corner of Osoyoos, based on a 14-acre vineyard. The property was once part of the Haynes Homestead, where Judge J.C. Haynes had built a 10-room house in 1882. By the time the Dhaliwal family bought the property in 2015, the heritage home was in sufficient disrepair that it could not serve as a tasting room. It has been replaced with an elegant new wine shop.

Here are notes on this fall’s releases from Lakeside.

Lakeside Cellars Portage White 2020 ($19.04 for 315 cases). The wine is a blend of 35% Sauvignon Blanc, 34% Pinot Gris and 31% un-oaked Chardonnay). Each varietal was fermented separately in stainless steel. The wine begins with aromas of apple and nectarine, leading to flavours stone fruit, apple and papaya. 89.

Lakeside Cellars Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ($22.52 for 361 cases). The wine was fermented cool with lees contact. It begins with aromas of herbs and lime, leading to zesty flavours of lime and grapefruit. 90.

Lakeside Cellars Portage Red 2020 ($24 for 600 cases). This is a blend of 50% Cabernet Franc, 30% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine was aged 24 months in neutral French and American oak barrels. The wine begins with aromas of cherry, plum and chocolate which are echoed on the palate. 90.

Lakeside Cellars Cabernet Franc 2017 ($26 for 300 cases). This wine was aged 24 months in neutral French and American oak barrels. It begins with the brambly, peppery aromas classic to the varietal. The palate delivers a medley of spice and fruit: blackberry, black currant, cherry mingled with herbs. 91.

Lakeside Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 ($26 for 297 cases). The wine aged 24 months in oak. The wine has aromas of black currant and cherry, leading to flavours of dark fruit mingled with leather, tobacco and sweet oak. 91.

Lakeside Cellars Syrah 2017 ($23.39 for 266 cases). This wine is made with fruit from the Hahn Vineyard on the Osoyoos East Bench. It was aged 24 months in American oak. The full-bodied wine has aromas and flavours of dark cherry, blackberry, fig and white pepper with dark, chocolate and baking spices on the finish. 91.