Photo: Painted Rock's John Skinner
The Syrah from Painted Rock is a consistent gold medal winner. The two vineyard blocks (along with the rest of the vineyard) survived the 2024 freeze, which means more gold medal Syrahs in the future.
I can claim some personal authorship in those blocks. Some years ago when I was working on one of my books, I interviewed John Skinner, Painted Rock’s founder, when the Skaha Bench vineyard planting was still incomplete. John recounts – and I don’t remember the conversation – asking me what varietal he should put in the remaining unplanted area. Apparently, I replied: “Have you ever thought of Syrah?” He took my suggestion.
I think we were both lucky. I was not trained in viticulture and had little qualification (not counting the four hybrid reds in my front yard) to be handing out vineyard planting advice. But Syrah was, and remains, my favourite red wine. I am glad my spur of the moment advice was actually good. Painted Rock’s Syrah is one of my favourite Okanagan wines, even though it has become a bit pricey.
But then, Painted Rock does not cheap wines. Its wines can compete with the best wines from California (if we could get them) or France. Painted Rock is among the few B.C. wineries distributing wines in Europe.
On reading the specifications for these wines, I picked up detail about Painted Rock’s winemaking I had not noticed before. Most of the red wines are processed in small batches kept separate from the vineyard through barrel aging before final blending takes place. This enables to winemaking team to identify the very best lots to assemble into Red Icon, the flagship wine. It also allows them to craft the other wines to be top quality.
I don’t know what happens to batches, if any, that do not make the cut. They would be hot items on the bulk market.
Here are notes on the latest releases.
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($32.99). This is a blend of 71% Syrah, 15% Malbec, 9% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc. The grapes were pressed gently and the juice was fermented in stainless steel. The wine is crisp and refreshing with aromas and flavours of watermelon and wild strawberry. 92.
($49.99). The winery has four blocks of Merlot at its Skaha Bench vineyard. Each block was picked and kept separate during four days of skin contact, 21 days of ferment on the skins and 18 months of aging in French oak (30% new). The four lots were then blended and bottled. This is a bold and richly-textured wine with aromas and flavours of dark cherry, black currant and spicy oak notes. 92.
($58.99 for 370 cases). The winery has a single 3.1-acre block of this varietal. The fruit was hand-picked, sorted into small batches, soaked on the skins for four days and fermented 21 days on the skins and in stainless steel. The wines were then aged 18 months in oak (30% new) before bottling. Once again this is a rich and bold wine with aromas of cassis and blackberry. The palate delivers mouth-filling flavours of cherry and plum with a hint of chocolate. The long and well-managed tannins suggest a wine capable of aging well. 94.
($51.99). The wine was aged 18 months in oak (30% new). The barrels were primarily French, with 20% of the new oak being American. This is a rich and satisfying wine with aromas of plum, black cherry and licorice. The palate echoes the aromas, along with added notes of fig and chocolate. 94.
($79.99). This is a blend of 49% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec, 11% Syrah, 9% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc. The winery believes that 2022 is one of its best vintages and I agree. The wine is drinking well now and will age well. To make this wine, vineyard blocks were fermented separately, with four days on the skins prior to a 21-day ferment on the skins in tank. All lots were barrel-aged for 18 months in French oak (30% new). The wine has aromas of cassis, dark cherry and chocolate. On the palate, the wine – with breathing – displays intense flavours of dark fruits with a hint of chocolate and fig. The wine should be decanted. 95.
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