Mission Hill's Rosé and friends

Photo: Mission Hill chief winemaker Corrie Krehbiel

A dozen years ago, the winemaking team at Mission Hill Family Estates had to be leaned on by management before agreeing to make a rosé. How times have changed! Rosé wines have become so popular that most winemakers clamor to make them. Corrie Krehbiel, the current chief winemaker at Mission Hill, has just released two (one of them a sparkling wine) and very likely has more to come.

Rosé fans need to snap up they favourite pink wines when they have the opportunity. Most will sell out quickly because the supply is limited. The restraint on any winery’s volume of rosé this spring was the shortage of grapes in the 2021 vintage. That was one of the hottest years in the last two decades, with extreme heat in late June and early July. The grape crop was reduced by drought but even more so by the heat dome. Vines basically shut down, stopping nourishing grapes just to preserve water. The resulting grapes are also smaller. As a result, the 2021 crop in the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys was about 30% below normal. However, a yield of small berries meant more concentrated flavours and more tannins. Some winemakers are predicting the wines will be of high quality. Time will tell.

I would have thought it a challenging year to make refreshing and delicate rosé wines. If that is so, it was not the case with these two Mission Hill rosés. These are well-grown wines, a compliment to the vineyard practices in the Mission Hill vineyards. In this era of a warming climate, most viticulturists leave a canopy of leaves on the vines to shield the grapes from sunburn. That was almost certainly done with the grapes for these rosé wines. The other two wines sent by Mission Hill are from the 2020 vintage. That was a more moderate year, producing well balanced wines.

Here are notes on the wines.

Mission Hill Exhilarat!on Sparkling Brut Rosé NV. ($40). This is a beautifully-packaged Charmat method sparkling wine. Except for being a little paler in colour than I prefer, this is an appealing wine. It has delicate aromas of strawberries. On the palate, there are flavours of strawberries and pink grapefruit. The bubbles give it a creamy texture but the finish is refreshingly crisp. 91.

Mission Hill Reserve Rosé 2021 ($25). This wine is also fashionably pale. It is a blend of Merlot, Shiraz and Pinot Noir. The aromas of cherry and strawberry lead to mouth-filling flavours of strawberry and rhubarb. The finish is dry. 91.

Mission Hill Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ($25). This is a restrained and lean wine in the style of a dry Graves white. There are flavours of herbs, lime and gooseberry. 90.

Mission Hill Reserve Meritage 2020 ($30). This is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot, with the fruit from vineyards on the Black Sage Bench and Osoyoos. The wine is concentrated and benefits from being decanted. The aromas of black currant and spice lead to flavours of black cherry, black currant and fig. 91.