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Wine Recommendation
Mission Hill Winery
2004 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon(Okanagan Valley)
Considering how far north the Okanagan is, it is always a little surprising that late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon vies with Pinot Noir as the second most widely-planted red in British Columbia. Of course, most Cabernet is grown in the hot vineyards of Oliver and Osoyoos. Mission Hill, now the owner of more than 800 acres of vineyard, grows most of its vines in the south Okanagan. With professional viticulturist Valerie Tait on its staff, the winery clearly has mastered the art of ripening Cabernet.
This mid-tier Cabernet Sauvignon (middle of Mission Hill’s three tiers) is especially appealing for the core of bright, sweet fruit on the middle of the palate. That bright fruit is a fingerprint of the Okanagan terroir with this variety. The wine begins with aromas of mint, plums and blackberries and continues with flavours of currants and chocolate. A medium-bodied wine with a firm finish, this is a satisfying Cabernet. 87 points.
Reviewed September 28, 2006 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. |