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Wine Recommendation
Mission Hill Winery
2005 Reserve Chardonnay(Okanagan Valley)
The style of the Reserve Chardonnay contrasts, logically, to the S.L.C. version largely through the use of American oak, not French. Forty-nine percent of the wine was fermented in American barrels. The Reserve style traces its lineage back to the first Chardonnay that John Simes made at Mission Hill, shortly after becoming winemaker in September, 1992. With vintages just weeks away, American oak was the only new oak he could get fast enough. The wine famously went on to win the Avery’s Trophy at the International Wine & Spirits Competition in London – besting Chardonnays done in French oak.
The Reserve’s bold style, along with the appealing price, makes it one of Mission Hill’s top sellers. The wine's buttery, fruity aromas lead to flavours of pineapple and tangerine, attractively layered like a good marmalade. The oak flavours add a spicy sweetness to the well-balanced finish. The natural Okanagan acidity contributes to a fresh and lingering finish. 88 points
Reviewed September 12, 2007 by John Schreiner.
Other reviewed wines from Mission Hill Winery
 2006 Reserve Riesling Fritz Hasselbach Collection (Okanagan Valley)John Schreiner 10/4/2007 |
 2006 Reserve Pinot Blanc, Lakeshore Vineyard (Okanagan Valley)John Schreiner 10/4/2007 |
The Wine
Winery: Mission Hill Winery |
The Reviewer
John Schreiner
John Schreiner has been covering the wines of British Columbia for the past 30 years and has written 10 books on the wines of Canada and BC. He has judged at major competitions and is currently a panel member for the Lieutenant Governor’s Awards of Excellence in Wine. Both as a judge and as a wine critic, he approaches each wine not to find fault, but to find excellence. That he now finds the latter more often than the former testifies to the dramatic improvement shown by BC winemaking in the past decade. |