Painted Rock's excellent wines

Photo: Painted Rock's John Skinner

In previous reviews of wines from Painted Rock Estate winery, I have recounted that I had advised the winery to plant a block of Syrah, which happens to be my favourite red varietal. I don’t recall being so presumptuous as to give planting advice to John Skinner, the winery owner, but I have always liked Painted Rock’s Syrah. The winery managed to plant the rest of its Skaha Lake Bench vineyard without any advice from me, as if I was needed. The winery had hired Alain Sutre, a famous Bordeaux consultant who advised a number of the best wineries in the Okanagan. He also participated in blending the wines, most notably the flagship wine, Red Icon. I profiled the wine in my 2017 book, Icon: Flagship Wines from British Columbia’s Best Wineries. Here is an excerpt from that chapter.

“I will tell you how Alain found me,” says John. “Alain heard about me from the nursery in Bordeaux. I had contacted the nursery directly because I wanted to get very specific clones. A year later, Alain showed up at the vineyard one day when we had just planted. He introduced himself and said, ‘I love what you have planted here, but no one in the Okanagan knows how to blend these clones.’ That was the beginning of the journey.”

John needed such expertise to fully realize his wine-growing ambitions. Born in 1958, he had been a successful Vancouver investment adviser. His growing passion for wine triggered a decision to retire from the investment business at 50 and take up wine-growing. In 2004, after a careful study of potential vineyard sites, he bought a 24-hectare (60-acre) former apricot orchard near the Skaha climbing bluffs. The site was shaped to produce an ideal southwestern vineyard exposure that he began planting in 2005.

He had a clear vision for his wines. “This journey is not about making a Bordeaux blend,” he told Alain. “This is about making an Okanagan wine with clones I sourced from Bordeaux.” Alain, he discovered, was on the same page. The consultant has had a hand in making Okanagan wines at other distinguished producers including Osoyoos Larose and, latterly, Culmina Family Estate Winery.

To date, Alain has blended every vintage of Red Icon. The blending decisions reflect the strengths of the Painted Rock vineyard in any given vintage. “Our 2012 Red Icon is kind of an inverted Bordeaux blend because it leads with 31% Malbec,” John says. “It’s Okanagan.” The blends vary from year to year and are somewhat unorthodox, with higher percentages of both Malbec and Petit Verdot. In most Okanagan red Meritages, Petit Verdot is a minor portion of the blend, bringing a touch of spice. Not so at Painted Rock. “I have never tasted a Petit Verdot like this,” Alain once said, advocating that the variety play a significant role in the blend.

The varietals all have roles to play. The Cabernets provide structure; Merlot fleshes out the mid-palate; Malbec brings bright flavour notes. “Petit Verdot,” John says, “is the attack and the finish.” While the components move around from vintage to vintage, Red Icon is united in style year after year by its harmony, as John discovered when tasting a vertical of the first five vintages. “Those five wines, all different blends, were all quite similar because they were complete wines,” he explains.

Here are notes on recent releases, including a very fine 2023 Red Icon.

Painted Rock Chardonnay 2025 ($44.99). This is a complex blend from four micro-harvests picked over two weeks. Some 83% of the wine was aged for six months in French oak (33% new) while 17% was aged in stainless steel. In the glass, the wine delivers aromas of peach and apricot. The palate is rich with flavours of pear, apple, tangerine and vanilla. The finish is long. 92.

Painted Rock Malbec 2023 ($59.99 for 190 cases). The winery grows just 1.15 acres of Malbec and most of the fruit is dedicated to the Red Icon blend. For some vintages, however, the winery releases a small lot Malbec. This wine was aged 18 months in oak (30% new). The wine has aromas and intense flavours of dark fruits mingled with spice. 93.

Painted Rock Cabernet Franc 2023 ($54.99). The winery has a 2.15-acre block of Cabernet Franc. The fruit was broken into small batches; each was given four days of the skins and 21 days of fermentation on the skins, with twice-daily punch-overs. The batches were all aged 18 months in oak (30% new) before being blended. The wine begins with aromas of dark cherry and blackberry mingled with spice. The well-textured and full palate delivers flavours of blackberry and plum mingled with hints of chocolate and tobacco. 93.

Painted Rock Red Icon 2023 ($79.99). This is a blend of 55% Merlot, 20% Petit Verdot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Malbec. The lots were all broken into small batches for skin contact (four days), fermentation (21 days on the skins with twice daily pump-overs) and aged 18 months in French oak (30% new). The best barrels were chosen for this elegantly polished blend. It begins with aromas of dark cherry, chocolate, coffee and spice, all echoed on the palate. The long, ripe tannins support flavours that are exceptionally well-balanced and persistent. 95.