Blue Mountain tantalizes its friends again
By John Schreiner
March 8, 2005
The stories are legend about how hard it is to get the wines of Blue Mountain Vineyards, one of British Columbia’s most consistent wineries.
And sometimes the stories are just that: legend. A quick glance at the Blue Mountain web site shows that five of the winery’s 10 wines are available now to anyone prepared to order a case. Perhaps a dozen bottles are too much for one person. However, if you can’t find someone to share a case of Blue Mountain wine with, then you don’t have any friends!
Well, Blue Mountain has plenty of friends. Once a year, they pay to come out to a Vancouver charity fund raiser where they get to taste Blue Mountain’s portfolio, paired with food from 10 of the city’s best restaurants. The 2005 event was held this week, yielding valuable insights into both the wines that you can buy and those that will be released over the next few months.
Since opening in 1992, Blue Mountain has acquired a cult following, and deservedly so. Blue Mountain’s proprietors, Ian and Jane Mavety and their son, Matt, decided that their vineyard near Okanagan Falls was best suited to the Burgundian grapes. By doing so, they set themselves the big challenge of making Pinot Noir, one of the most difficult of wine grapes.
There is no question that they succeeded. Blue Mountain is the only Canadian winery to get a full profile in North American Pinot Noirs, the fine book by John Haeger that the University of California published last year. ( I think Haeger should also have profiled CedarCreek, Inniskillin, Quails’ Gate and Kettle Valley; perhaps in the second edition?)
At this week’s tasting, the most impressive wine was Blue Mountain’s 2002 Pinot Noir Stripe Label Reserve, which is not yet released to consumers. The 2001 vintage of that wine, now sold out, was priced at $32 a bottle. It is an elegant wine with concentrated fruit, starting with the perfume of strawberries and continuing to a rich palate of bright, spicy and yet earthy flavours that is quite Burgundian. I scored the wine 92 points.
Also on show was the unreleased little brother, the 2003 Cream Label Pinot Noir. The Cream label style is lighter than the reserve (as one would expect). Still, this is a charming wine with sweet spicy fruit and a silken texture. 86 points. If the price remains unchanged from the previous vintage, it will be $22.95.
Blue Mountain’s other red is a Gamay, the grape of Beaujolais. In previous years, Blue Mountain Gamay came off as a substantial wine, like one of the top-rated Beaujolais Cru wines. The 2003 vintage, while pleasing, seemed lighter, more like a cheery Beaujolais Village. 83 points. The wine is available at $19.95.
Among the white wines, the reserve bottlings were especially impressive. The yet-to-be released 2002 Pinot Gris Striped Label shows lovely elegance, with aromas and tastes of pears, melons and tropical fruits and with a lingering finish. 90 points. The previous vintage and of the reserve Chardonnay each sold for $25.
The 2002 Chardonnay Stripe Label, also not yet released, is subtle and restrained, with a note of citrus, the textural feel of the lees and a bright acidity to give the wine life now and the ability to age for several years. 90 points.
The 2003 Chardonnay Cream Label, available for $19.95, shows a little more obvious fruit – citrus and melon with just a hint of butter. Clean and fresh with good acidity, this is the wine to drink while the reserve is aging. My suggestion: try ordering a mixed case of both Chardonnays. 88 points.
The Pinot Gris 2003 Cream Label is also available at $19.95. This is clean and fresh, like slices of pears and apples, with fruity aromas. 87 points.
The Pinot Blanc 2003 Cream Label, available for $16.95, is crisp, with flavours of green apples but almost a candied fruit intensity on the nose. 86 points.
Blue Mountain also two bubblies. Blue Mountain Brut, a crisp clone of Champagne at a better price, is available for $20.95 and can be found in a few private wine stores.
The show stopper is Blue Mountain Brut Rosé, which should sell for $27 when next released. This salmon-hued bubbly has a creamy texture, with an array of fruit flavours including raspberry that linger. This is a serious food wine and then winery illustrated this at the tasting by pairing the wine with a tasty slice of veal prepared by the Parkside Restaurant. I scored the wine 88 points, plus.
There is one overall comment to be made about Blue Mountain’s well-made wines. Among many Okanagan producers, there has been a trend to wines with ever higher alcohol. There is a comparable trend in California, to the point where some wineries are extracting excess alcohol with reverse osmosis.
Blue Mountain, on the other hand, seems to be getting its wines finished around 13%, give or take a bit, while preserving good fresh acidity. The significance is two-fold: consumers can drink more than one glass of Blue Mountain’s wines without tiring the palate or getting hosed; and they can age them longer than they can cellar fat and flabby wines.
John Schreiner
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