Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin: a vertical tasting

Photo: Osoyoos Larose general manager Michael Kuhlmann

While I was hosting a recent vertical tasting of wines from the Osoyoos Larose winery, I heard of an episode illustrating how the winery’s low profile over the past two decades has impacted its sales. As the story goes, a keen amateur winemaker and wine judge found Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin discounted to $20 a bottle in a provincial liquor store in Parksville on Vancouver Island. She asked why the wine was selling at less than half its normal retail price. (The current release is listed at $57.99). The clerk said that no one in his market was buying the wine. She promptly bought a case and sent her husband to buy a second case, reducing the liquor store’s inventory to three or four bottles of Le Grand Vin. The couple got a terrific bargain. Since the first vintage in 2001, Le Grand Vin has been among the best and most collectible red wines from the Okanagan, as was shown by this vertical tasting.

Osoyoos Larose was launched as a joint venture between Bordeaux’s Groupe Taillan and Vincor International, the largest Canadian wine company at the time. Vincor’s purpose was to enlist its French partner in a transfer of expertise from Bordeaux to the Okanagan. The French sent over a viticultural expert to plant the vines; a seasoned winemaker to make the wines; and the production equipment for the winery.

The spot set aside at the top of the vineyard for winery proved impractical because it lacked the necessary infrastructure (water and sewage lines and heavy-duty electrical connections). The new Osoyoos Larose winery was set up in the back corner of the Jackson Triggs winery north of Oliver. It was well equipped but there was no public access for a tasting room. Vincor’s successor, Constellation Brands, was not committed to the partnership, so Group Taillan bought the remaining 50% of Osoyoos Larose. That triggered the need for the winery to move out of the Jackson Triggs facility. For the last five years, the winery has searched for a new site while renting production space at Bordertown Vineyards just north of Osoyoos. Last year, Osoyoos Larose purchased a former fruit packinghouse on the eastern edge of Osoyoos which, after renovations, will enable the winery to process the 2023 vintage there.

The winery’s profile in British Columbia is so low that the major market for Le Grand Vin, a leading Okanagan wine, is Quebec where consumers appreciate Bordeaux-style blends. That low profile has finally begun to change. Last year, Michael Kuhlmann, a London-born but French-schooled viticulturist and winemaker, took over as the general manager of Osoyoos Larose. One of the first things he did was set up a wine club. Osoyoos Larose was almost the only winery in British Columbia without a wine club. Most wineries discovered over the past decade how effective a marketing tool these clubs are. Some wineries even have waiting lists. Osoyoos Larose should have a waiting list, too, given the quality and the value of the wines. Michael is also expected to have a tasting room open in Osoyoos, making it easy for the first time in 20 years for wine tourists to taste and buy the wine on site.

I recognized from the very start that Le Grand Vin was an affordable and collectible premium blend which, like most of red wines from Bordeaux châteaus, was capable of aging well. But even I was surprised at how well the wine ages when I dipped into my modest cellar for a vertical of the vintages from 2002 to 2010. (I no longer have the inaugural 2001 vintage). All the wines are drinking well; the fruit flavours and aromas are still appealing and the colour of the wines, while a touch bricky around the edge, are remarkably dark. When it came to choosing my favourite, it was a toss-up between the 2002 and the 2005. The tasting group, members of the Vinovan winemaking club in North Vancouver, also favoured the 2007 and the 2010.

Here are some notes.

Le Grand Vin 2002. Blend: Merlot 57%; Cabernet Sauvignon 19%; Malbec 12%; Cabernet Franc 7%; Petit Verdot 5%. The wine showed aromas and flavours of cassis, dark fruits and spice. The wine is hardly showing its age.

Le Grand Vin 2003. Blend: Merlot 75%; Cabernet Sauvignon 11%; Malbec 6%; Petit Verdot 5%; Cabernet Franc 1%. This wine, from a hot vintage, shows slight browning and maturity of fruit flavours.

Le Grand Vin 2004. Blend: Merlot 68%; Cabernet Sauvignon 21%; Petit Verdot 5%; Cabernet Franc 4%; Malbec 2%. Hints of browning; hints of cassis mingle with strawberry compote. Appealing aromas.

Le Grand Vin 2005. Blend: Merlot 67%; Cabernet Sauvignon 23%; Cabernet Franc 4%; Petit Verdot 4%; Malbec 2%. There is remarkably juicy sweet fruit on the palate.

Le Grand Vin 2006: Blend: Merlot 69%; Cabernet Sauvignon 20%; Cabernet Franc 4%; Petit Verdot 4%; Malbec 3%. The wine shows a hint of browning but has aromas and flavours of cassis and dark fruit.

Le Grand Vin 2007. Currently listed in the BCLDB at $160 a bottle. Blend: Merlot 70%; Cabernet Sauvignon 21%; Cabernet Franc 4%; Petit Verdot 3%; Malbec 2%. This wine was the consensus favourite of the tasters, slightly ahead of 2002 and 2005. It is a lean, elegant wine, very much a classic Bordeaux blend. These are the BCLDB’s tasting notes: “Typically the nose is a mix of smoky coffee, black cherry and olive aromas and the '07 is no different. The entry is dry, but with density and richness that will need five years to fully develop. The finish is long with bits of dark chocolate and that south Okanagan savoury thread.”

Le Grand Vin 2008. Blend: Merlot 60%; Cabernet Sauvignon 25%; Cabernet Franc 7%; Malbec 5%; Petit Verdot 3%. There is lots of life in this wine, with dark fruit on the nose and palate and savoury spice on the finish.

Le Grand Vin 2009. Blend: Merlot 58%; Cabernet Sauvignon 26%; Cabernet Franc 7%; Petit Verdot 7%; Malbec 2%. This bottle may have suffered in my cellar. The cork fell apart (as did the corks on 2002 and 2003) and the fruit was fading. It should not have been, since the 2009 vintage in the Okanagan was strong.

Le Grand Vin 2010. Blend: Merlot 67%; Cabernet Sauvignon 20%; Petit Verdot 6%; Cabernet Franc 4%; Malbec 1%. This was one of the biggest surprises of the tasting – a wine from a cool vintage which is dark and concentrated, with flavours of dark fruit, chocolate and even licorice. Superlative viticulture was practised for the winery to pull off such a powerful wine in a cool year.