B.C.'s 2022 vintage was big and may even surpass the quality of the storied 2020 vintage.

Photo: Hester Creek's Mark Hopley (courtesy Hester Creek Winery)

The 2020 vintage, in my judgment, produced the best red wines from the Okanagan that I have ever tasted. Hester Creek wine maker Mark Hopley agrees with that – and then adds a surprising comment: The wines from the 2022 vintage are even better.

Other winemakers weighing in with similar comments include Andrew Windsor at Maverick Estate Winery. “The 2022 wines will be exceptional,” he wrote recently. “Merlot and Syrah had achieved a level of quality that I had not seen in BC previously and the Cabernets were not far behind.” Chris Carson, the winemaker at Meyer Family Vineyards, says: “Backed by a moderate and a long autumn, 2022 will be a vintage to watch.”

Not only was 2022 a high-quality vintage; it was also a big vintage. After the small vintages of 2020 and 2021, most wineries reported production substantially higher than expected. “It was a bigger harvest after two lighter ones,” Hester Creek’s Mark Hopley says. “Crop estimating is not an exact science. Walking through the vineyard, I thought we were heavy. But I did not realize it was going to be as much of a bumper crop as it was. I would say 20% to 25% higher than” the two previous years. No one was predicting such a high-quality crop last spring, when the weather was both cool and wet. “We got a late start,” Mark says. “Going into summer, it was unusually cool. Everyone was saying we were two or three weeks behind. And summer was also a little cooler.”

“No matter what level of experience you have, or how much knowledge you may have, nothing could have prepared the BC winegrower for what we’ve gone through the past two years,” writes Maverick’s Andrew Windsor. “2021, now known as the year of the heat dome, where we smashed previous high record temperatures across the province in June, baked vineyards and inundated the province with oppressive heat and wildfire smoke. Global warming was hitting us between the eyes, and the BC wine industry seemed to be in the crosshairs.” “2022 was the opposite,” he continues. “Winter was long, spring even longer. Cold and wet all the way into July. We didn’t even start summer until July. The vineyards by this point were weeks behind typical maturity levels and growers were very concerned that we may not achieve even a marginal level of ripeness this year.”

What saved the vintage was the finest weather in September and October in recent memory. Ajay Chavan, the winemaker for Mayhem Wines, said: “This slow and steady growing season reminded me of being back home in New Zealand.” While the season started with a cool, wet spring, “the summer delivered our usual glorious Okanagan weather without the heat dome we had in the previous year,” he adds. “The latter half of the season presented great weather for slow and gradual flavour and phenolic development in the fruit, without sugar levels getting out of hand. It seemed like the Fall would never end, with above average temperatures right through October.”

The vines had caught up from a late spring and the grapes ripened to perfection. Most wineries did not finish the harvest until November but, for once, there was no hard October frost to shut down the vines (unlike 2020). In fact, the growing degree days in October – a measure warmth and sunlight – were close to a record for the month. “The last week of October is always intense, and this year was extreme,” Andrew Windsor writes. “Due to the long late growing season, the Bordeaux varieties were all still hanging and snow was in the forecast. We picked as much and as quickly as possible and successfully filled every single tank in the winery. A full month later we pressed off the last batch.” “This year, because we waited so long, the fruit really bagged up,” Mark Hopley says. “It was somewhat raisined. That will give somewhat higher alcohols but there will be a lot more structure, a lot more mouth weight, and a lot more colour, because there is a higher ratio of skin to liquid when you are fermenting on the skins.”

Regarding the 2020 vintage, Mary McDermott, the winemaker at Township 7 Vineyards & Winery, writes that the year “brought just about everything mother nature could throw at us, although on balance [it] turned out quite well.” A poor fruit set in the cool spring of 2020 led to yields that were down 20% to 30% from average. The favourable weather after that cool spring, allowed the vines to catch up. Mary adds: “Overall, the grapes from this harvest were really nicely balanced, with good acidity and slightly lower sugar levels, making for wines with excellent balance, finesse and ageability. However, lower yields meant that there is not as much wine made as we would have hoped.” My advice is cellar as many 2020 wines as you can; buy the 2021s for earlier drinking while you anticipate the great 2022s.

Here are notes on recent Hester Creek releases.

Hester Creek Select Vineyards Merlot 2021 ($18.99). The note on this wine says that the winery used a new French destemmer to destem the grapes. “This process is extremely gentle on the fruit, enabling the berries to remain whole, helping foster the natural fresh fruit aromas.” It shows in this wine, which was aged only eight months in oak. The body is concentrated and there are aromas and flavours of dark cherry, vanilla, sage and even a hint of licorice. 92.

Hester Creek Select Vineyards Cabernet Merlot 2021 ($18.99). This is 50% Cabernet Franc, 38% Merlot and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine was aged eight months in barrel (75% French, 25% American). The wine has aromas and bright flavours of blackberry and blueberry, with vanilla and sage on the finish. 91.

Hester Creek Character Red 2021 ($19.99). This is a blend of Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Malbec, aged eight months in oak (75% French, 25% American). The varietals were fermented separately and the wine was blended after fermentation. The wine is full in texture, with aromas of dark fruits, pepper and spice. The palate delivers flavours of cherry, blueberry, coffee and licorice. 92.

Hester Creek Old Vine Merlot 2020 ($27.99). The aromas of this dark wine telegraph depth and richness. It begins with aromas of dark cherry mingled with cassis, spice and hints of oak. Full on the palate, the wine delivers flavours that echo the aromas. The long, ripe tannins lead to a lingering finish. 93.

Hester Creek Old Vine Cabernet Franc 2020 ($27.99). This wine begins with aromas of blackberry, cherry and spice. On the palate, the fruit is bright with flavours of cherry, red currant, a hint of blueberry and spice. 93.