Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/688647
88 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } JUNE/JULY 2016 Hypothesis (Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon, to be called Thesis when released in the U.S.), which epitomizes the British Columbia approach to "Bordeaux"—tightly wound, the opposite of "big," yet enor - mously concentrated in silky, savory, cassis-like fruit. At our next stop in the Golden Mile Bench, we met with Tinhorn Creek Vineyards winemaker Andrew Windsor, who brings an international flair (Australia, New Zealand, France) to this winery, co-founded by President/CEO (and former head winemaker) Sandra Oldfield in 1993. Among the outstanding bottlings tasted after a barrel tasting with Windsor: a light, herby/strawberryish, Chinon-like Tinhorn Creek 2015 Cabernet Franc Rosé; a gloriously floral, peppery-spiced, off-dry, impeccably balanced Tinhorn Creek 2014 Gewürztraminer; and a Tinhorn Creek 2014 Golden Mile Bench Chardonnay, finishing with the minerally, leesy, citrusy tart, classic qualities of the Okanagan style. As purple skies fell into a bone chilling night, we sat down to a lavish spread of charcuterie and wood oven pizzas with Jesse Cooper, assistant winemaker of Black Hills Estate—another modern day pioneer (est. 1995), primarily focused on wines grown in the warmer, sandy, rugged "desert" terroir of Black Sage Bench, at the south end of Okanagan Valley. "Black Sage Road," Cooper told us, "is the Silverado Trail of Canada." But this is no idle chatter. The Black Hills Estate Nota Bene—blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc—has enjoyed a level of prestige in Canada comparable to a Robert Mondavi or Beaulieu Private Reserve since the late '90s, with the goods to back it up. Cases in point: a gorgeously velvet textured, cassis/cigar box–infused Black Hills 2012 Nota Bene, which we were able to compare to a 2007 Nota Bene that was still dense, meaty and effusive with classic cedar, black tea and blackcurrant complexity. The deep mounds of sand dunes, endless summer days and angry heat of Black Sage Bench also make an ideal incubator for Rhône grapes, which ripen with thick skins redolent with pungent phenolics. The Black Hills 2014 Viognier, for instance, is almost deliriously spicy, fleshy, dense, yet pure and crisply balanced, its honeysuckle and tropical flower fragrances as thick as the proverbial warm South. The Black Hills 2013 Syrah is a chunky yet buoyant, fluid powerhouse, palpable with roasted lardon and smoked bacon woven with pristine violet perfumes. Our final morning started at Okanagan Crush Pad in Summerland, an unofficial sub- region on the western shores of Okanagan Lake's south end. While founded in 2011 by Christine Coletta and Steve Lornie as a cus - tom crush facility, Okanagan Crush Pad has emerged as an industry leader in organic viticulture (incorporating sustainable ele - ments of biodynamic farming) as well as a systematic adherence to a level of natural winemaking that would be considered extreme, even dubious, in, say, most parts of California, Oregon or Washington. In a formal presentation by Okanagan CAMP [ ] [ ] Twilight in British Columbia: the winery at Black Hills Estate. PHOTO COURTESY OF BLACK HILLS ESTATE Tinhorn Creek Vineyard's winemaker Andrew Windsor pours for Kristina Long, Rob Renteria, Jienna Basaldu and Diego Garcia. Summerland, Similkameen Valley and Osoyoos Lake DAY 3 Dried Cabernet Sauvignon in Passion Pit Vineyard in Similkameen Valley. Okanagan Crush Pad consultant David Scholefield shows calcareous slope and native sagebrush vegetation at Garnet Valley Ranch.