At the beginning of my Okanagan wine tour, I visited one of B.C.’s original wineries. Back in 1968, it was called Divino.
Now 51 years later, it is owned by Curt Garland and called Hester Creek. The winery along the Golden Mile has seen major improvements such as new plantings and a drip irrigation system.
Plus there’s a new 23,000 square foot winery with state of the art equipment along with a new hospitality centre. An Italian restaurant, Terrafina, was opened as well as luxury Villa accommodations. Nowadays, Hester Creek is much more divine than its humble origins. It’s literally a destination winery with meets all the needs of its guests.
Last week I reviewed Hester Creek’s white wines and this week it’s the reds’ turn. I spent an hour in the capable hands of Jacqueline Davidson, Wine Shop Manager enjoying the wines of winemaker, Rob Summers.
Davidson first poured the Hester Creek 2017 Character Red ($18.99). “This is our blend of four varietals: Syrah, Malbec, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. Very flavourful, it’s quite the spaghetti red. Our winemaker wants to go for a character profile to keep the blend consistent so the percent of each varietal will change from year to year,” explained Davidson.
Aged in French and American oak, it’s fragrant with black pepper, licorice and smoked meat. On the palate there are ripe cherry flavours with pepper and cedar. Davidson added, “It will go nice with pizza or spaghetti. Anything with a little bit of spice in it, like Indian food.”
We then proceeded to the Reserve Merlot Block 2 ($25.99) and the Reserve Cabernet Franc Block 3 ($25.99). Davidson explained, “They’re both 16 months in oak barrel, French and American, both on cork. They can both be aged up to seven years but you can enjoy them tonight. They’re both 2016’s, the difference is Merlot has softer tannins and is full bodied. So think of him with roast pork or roast chicken,” she added.
“Cab Franc, he’s Mr. Personality. He has a lot of pepper and spice. He’d be awesome with grilled lamb, steak, rib-eye, duck… anything with fat in it. Beautiful with Cab Franc from our 51 year old vine!”
To end our marathon tasting, Davidson poured Hester Creek’s iconic red, the 2015 The Judge ($43.99). Its name is derived from a double entendre that applies both to courtrooms and to the location of the winery, “Approach the Bench!” In Hester Creek’s instance, it means that when you taste this red, you’re about to taste the Golden Mile Bench where the grapes are grown.
Davidson revealed, “The Judge is a blend of our three best reserves: Merlot, Cab Franc and Cab Sauvignon. We put them in French oak in separate barrels for 16 months. Then they take the best, blend them, roughly a third, a third and a third. They put the blend away for a year.”
She added, “And then they bottle it and let it rest for four months before opening it. The 2015 in this bottle is designed to age 10 years. This is very balanced, very soft!”
Hester Creek’s The Judge is one of my favourite B.C. reds. Now it’s your turn to sample it and then you can be The Judge!
Eric Hanson is a retired Richmond educator and a roving wine reporter.
