Hester Creek burnishes its Tuscan branding

Winemaker Mark Hopley (courtesy Hester Creek)

The labels of the two whites released this summer by Hester Creek have a golden, Tuscan hue that underlines the direction this brand is taking. The vineyard was first planted by Joe Busnardo, who came from Northern Italy – but close enough to Tuscany, perhaps, to support this branding. Joe did plant a number of Italian varietals here in the late 1960s in an effort to find out what would succeed in the Okanagan at a time when almost no one else was even trying to grow vinifera.

The most successful of those varietals was Trebbiano, arguably now the flagship white from Hester Creek. It does so well here that it is puzzling no one else has planted the varietal. Perhaps sources of plant material are limited. I doubt Hester Creek would volunteer cuttings to competitors. The other Italian varietal that has succeeded in this vineyard is now identified as Italian Merlot. It may well be a Merlot clone, imported to Canada in Joe’s suitcase at a time when that could be done. No one talked about clones in the late 1960s.

I don’t know whether Hester Creek has spent the money to determine what the clone is, or even if it is Merlot or an obscure Italian red that tastes a lot like Merlot. Ian D’Agata’s fine book, Native Wine Grapes of Italy, profiles about 500 varietals; and Ian has said there may be as many more hiding under local names. It is understandable that Hester Creek has decided to brand the wine from Italian Merlot as Joe’s Block. Winemaker Mark Hopley, now joined by new assistant winemaker Brooke Jesus, does an excellent job with the Italian varietals.

I am not quite sure what a French varietal like Sémillon doing in this Tuscan lineup, except that the vines are mature and the wine is too good to pull out the vines.

Here are notes on the wines.

Hester Creek Sémillon 2022 ($23.99 for 550 cases). The fruit is from vines planted at Hester Creek in 1997 and 1998. The wine was fermented for 32 days at 12◦C and then aged on the lees for four months in stainless steel. It begins with aromas of lemon, leading to bright flavours of lemon and pineapple around a supple spine of minerality. The finish is crisp and refreshing. 91.

Hester Creek Pinot Bianco 2022 ($21.99 for 350 cases). Some 86% of this was fermented cool in stainless steel; the rest was fermented in two-year-old French oak barrels. The wine is fresh and light, consistent with the Pinot Bianco style, with aromas of citrus and flavours of pear and melon. 90.

Hester Creek Joe’s Block 2021 ($39.99). This wine is made from a block planted in 1968 by Joe Busnardo, the original owner of the property. He sourced the vines from his native Italy. The ampelography is obscure. The grapes are now called Italian Merlot. They yield a fine red wine. This was aged in French oak barrels for 18 months. The wine is rich and concentrated. It begins with aromas of dark fruits leading to flavours of plum, blackberry, black olive and spice on the long finish. 92.