Bartier Bros. has a solid portfolio

Photo: Michael Bartier at work (Shari Saysomsack Photography)

I first met Michael Bartier in 1995 at Hawthorne Mountain Vineyards (now See Ya Later Ranch) where he was beginning his career in the cellar. I had arranged a meeting with the winemaker. When I arrived, he was not there and no one wanted to tell me where he was. I learned later that the winemaker had just been fired. Michael was summoned and I got the interview I needed. (The winemaker landed on his feet elsewhere and still has a successful career). I have had the privilege of tasting Michael’s artistry as his career blossomed at several other wineries, including Township 7 Vineyards, Okanagan Crush Pad and now at the winery he and his brother launched. The wines have gotten better and better, especially after Michael got control over his own vineyards.

Here is an excerpt from my 2020 book, Okanagan Wine Tour Guide.

The wine-industry verity that “it’s all about the dirt” is nowhere more obvious than at Bartier Bros. The winery’s 14½-acre Cerqueira Vineyard produces wines with complex flavours with a spine of minerality. The vineyard is on the Black Sage Bench’s gravel bar where the last glacier, as it was retreating 10,000 years ago, laid down a calcium-rich layer of gravel. The vineyard was planted in the early to mid-2000s with Sémillon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah. It began selling fruit to Township 7 when Michael Bartier was the winemaker there. “I loved the grapes and coveted the property,” Michael says. When the Cerqueira family’s contract with Township 7 ended, they offered it to Michael and his older brother, Don, when Michael began making wine for the brothers’s label in 2009. Subsequently, the brothers bought the vineyard.

They were both born in the Okanagan Valley, Donald in 1958 and Michael in 1967, the sons of an accountant, and initially pursued careers outside of the valley. Don, an Alberta oil-industry executive, planted a small Gewürztraminer vineyard at Summerland in 2010. Michael, after getting a degree in recreational administration and working five years with a Victoria wine agency, returned to the Okanagan to start his winemaking career at Hawthorne Mountain Vineyards in 1995. Over the next two decades, he made wine at Township 7, Road 13, and Okanagan Crush Pad, as well as providing consulting work with other wineries. The brothers began selling their wines in 2011 and established their winery and tasting room after buying the coveted Cerqueira Vineyard in 2015. The vineyard’s mineral content makes it singular. “All our rocks are crusted white [with calcium], and the small feeder roots from the vines are ‘hugging’ those rocks,” Michael says. “Every vintage, the wines are fresh, fruity, and minerally . . . That limestone ends up in every glass of our wine.”

Here are notes on the current releases from Bartier Bros.

Bartier Bros. Muscat 2021 ($19.99 for 229 cases). There is 8% Gewürztraminer in this blend. The wine was aged five months in stainless steel. The wine, which begins with spicy aromas, is light and fresh. The floral aromas carry through to the palate. 90.

Bartier Bros. Grüner Veltliner 2021 ($29.99 for 105 cases). There is 11% Chardonnay in this blend, which was aged four months in stainless steel. The wine is crisp and fresh, with herbal notes mingled with flavours of honeydew melon and green apples. 90.

Bartier Bros. Chardonnay 2021 ($24.99 for 290 cases). This was aged in stainless steel for six months. The wine begins with aromas of citrus and peach. On the palate there are flavours of apple. Bright acidity makes for a crisp, refreshing finish. This is a classic unoaked Chardonnay. 91.

Bartier Bros. Rosé 2021 ($18.99 for 3,402 cases). This wine is 41% Gewürztraminer, 30% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Gris and 4% Syrah. The rose petal hue comes from skin contact on the Pinot Gris and the Syrah. The wine was aged three months on the lees in stainless steel. There are aromas and flavours of strawberry and plum. The wine is dry, and refreshingly lean in texture. 90.

Bartier Bros. Cabernet Franc 2020 ($29.99 for 908 cases). There is 9.6% Merlot in this wine. The wine was aged 14 months in neutral French oak barrels. This wine begins with aromas of cassis and blackberry, leading to flavours of dark cherry mingled with blackberry and chocolate. Long ripe tannins give the wine a fine, supple finish. 91.

Bartier Bros. Syrah 2020 ($29.99 for 374 cases). The wine, which was aged 16 months in neutral French oak, has aromas of deli meats mingled with plum, fig, black cherry and pepper. The flavours echo the aromas. 92.

Bartier Bros. Orchard Row 2020 ($39.99 for 267 cases). The composition is 55% Pinot Noir, 38% Cabernet Franc and 7% Merlot. The wine was aged 16 months in neutral French oak. This unorthodox blend is a satisfying, very drinkable, red wine. The fruity aromas deliver notes of strawberry, plum and spice. On the palate, the spice translates to polished tannins, with flavours of cherry and strawberry. The finish persists. 92.

Bartier Bros. The Goal 2020 ($39.99 for 222 cases). This is 56% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Franc, aged 16 months in neutral French oak. The bold character of this wine is in keeping with its name: the wine honours the 1955 Penticton Vees world champion hockey team. The wine begins with aromas of spice and dark fruits. The flavours are intense – black currant, black cherry, blackberry. There is an earthy note on the long finish. 92.

Bartier Bros. Grenache Syrah Mourvèdre 2020 ($44.99 for 193 cases). The composition is 43% Grenache, 38% Syrah and 20% Mourvèdre. The wine was aged 16 months neutral French oak. The wine begins with aromas of cherries, red currants and spice. On the palate, the fruit flavours are bright and fresh, with notes of cherry, blackberry and hints of cinnamon and pepper on the finish. 92.