Clear, pale gold appearance. Clean, medium intensity honey-floral-lemon nose. Off-dry, high acidity and light-plus bodied, the palate is dominated by citrus and ripe pear with mineral and licorice notes. Medium length; very sharp 14.6% alcohol, a bump up from their 2009, which I think I preferred. But this is straightforward and enjoyable. $22.90 at Crosstown (will they ever build an actual site?). See Dirty Laundry.
Clear, very pale gold with a touch of green. Nose is medium intensity citrus—grapefruit and lemon—along with ripe apple/pear and a subtle grassy quality. Off dry, high acidity, and medium bodied, the palate is dominated by apricot, again with ripe apple and just a bit of citrus which comes through in the finish along with a hint of petrol. Medium length. 12.2% alcohol. This is a good BC Riesling; recommended. $21.70 at Crosstown. See Dirty Laundry.
I somehow neglected to post notes on this one. I really enjoyed the 2007; the 2008 was also solid.
In the glass we have a clear, light-plus lemon-gold. The nose is, if I recall past vintages correctly, a bit of a departure from the Joie style: this seems to have a bit more of a European Riesling quality, more mineral, a bit of floral, and some citrus qualities, clean and medium intensity. Palate is off-dry, high acidity, and medium body. Honey and apricot, grapefruit, and a touch of an earthy-slate quality. Medium length with the sweetness and citrus dominating. 11% alcohol. It is straightforward, but very enjoyable; I think this is probably their best Riesling to date. Recommended.
$27 at Crosstown. See Joie Farms (warning: Flash, so won’t work on iPad; and required an upgrade the latest version for some reason, but still wouldn’t work in Safari—Joie, please do an HTML site!).
Several people have suggested the Tantalus Riesling to me and I was a little underwhelmed, but I hadn’t tried the Old Vines. This is a clear, pale-plus lemon-gold with a clean, medium intensity lime, mineral, and petrol nose with a hint of sweetness. Dry on the palette, though, with high acidity. Medium body with green apple and mineral dominating with a touch of tropical fruit. Good long finish. Recommended; far superior to the regular Riesling from Tantalus. 12.1% alcohol. $30 at Taylorwood. See Tantalus Vineyards (warning: Flash); wine maker’s notes. Tantalus has gone organic, which is great news.
Clear, pale lemon-gold appearance. Nose is clean, medium intensity citrus-floral nose. Off-dry; high acidity, medium body. Mineral, lime, and spice flavours with that bit of Okanagan sage. Medium length; 12.9% alcohol. See Gray Monk; winemaker’s notes (PDF).
This was a gift from my father (as was the 2008) and retails for $16.99 according to the winemaker.
Clear, near-medium lemon-gold. Clean, light nose of yeast, apple, and vanilla. Dry with an initial hint of residual sugar at the tip of the tongue; high acidity, medium body. Medium intensity citrus, floral-spice, sage, and subtle oak flavours with medium length. 12.5% alcohol. Overall good. About $26 at Crosstown. See Mission Hill Winery; winemaker’s notes.
Clear, pale gold with a bit of green. Clean, light nose, lemon and lime nose with a hint of oak. Dry, high acidity, medium body, smooth with spice and even floral notes; apple, citrus, and a hint of vanilla. Medium length. 13% alcohol. Overall good; very enjoyable, and well balanced. See Blue Mountain Vineyard.
Haven’t had much Chardonnay recently. I’ve enjoyed the recent Blue Mountain Pinot Blanc (2008, 2009). This has a nice rich gold colour, and a straightforward, light apple nose with a hint of oak. Medium body dry, citrus predominating, nicely balanced with a bit of oak. Satisfying finish. Quite nice. 13% alcohol. $31.20 at Crosstown.
Medium lemon-gold with a nice full apple, pineapple, and floral nose. Off-dry medium body and balanced ripe apple, pear, and a touch of honey on the finish. Very nice; Hainle is becoming one of my favourites (I recently enthused about their 2007 Riesling). Recommended. 13.5% alcohol. See Hainle Estate Winery.
I enjoyed the 2008. This one is similar in colour, medium gold with a bit of a greenish tint (or maybe it’s the trees outside my window). Mellow citrus-steel nose with that OK dry hills quality. Strong acidity, very dry, green apple and lime. Perhaps a bit lighter than the ’08, but quite consistent with it. Lengthy finish. Very nice; definitely recommended. 13% alcohol; $21.90 at Marquis Wine Cellars. See Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars.