Osoyoos Larose – what a great memory. A friend and I traveled to Penticton, British Columbia, for the 2013 Wine Bloggers Conference and soaked up the fantastic wine and scenery there. Osoyoos Larose was one of our favorite reds out of more than 200 wines.
The winery is a partnership between Vincor Canada and Group Taillan of Bordeaux, owners of Chateau Gruaud Larose. The goal is to produce world-class Canadian wine from Bordeaux grape varieties. In our opinion, they have succeeded wonderfully.
Osoyoos is located at the far south of the Okanagan Valley and is Canada’s only “pocket” desert with mountains shielding it from wet and cold weather systems. The soil is a mix of sand, clay, rocks and gravel. The hot and dry climate makes it ideal for grape growing.
The 2008 blend is 60% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec and 3% Petite Verdot. A proper Bordeaux blend indeed. The wine is barrel aged for 18 to 20 months. The wine could age for 10 to 12 years – but we just couldn’t wait.
Osoyoos Grand Vin is rich and wonderful. The nose has raspberry, toast and vanilla. On the palate there is dark blackberry with spice. It also had herbal notes and I could sense the flavor of the sage that grows plentifully on the hills of the region. There are tannins that will help this wine age gracefully, but they are not intrusive now.
This is a delicious bottle of Old World goodness from Canada’s most unique VQA. I paid $45 Canadian for this and would gladly buy more if I could get my hands on it in Ohio. This wine is highly recommended as is the Oliver Osoyoos wine region in British Columbia.
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Value: 4 of 5
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