Seven terrific BC wines from Castoro de Oro. The 2021 growing season on the Golden Mile was a scorcher, resulting in vibrant, fruit-forward whites and full-bodied reds.
Here is an update on the harvest before going to the tasting notes.
Harvest 2021
“The 2021 harvest at Castoro de Oro Estate Winery is our sixteenth and it was a wonderful growing season for us with some of our earliest picks ever. The grapes are clean and have lovely intense flavours, with balanced acidity and ripeness, so we are looking forward to the 2021 vintage wines release. While there were several fires on the other side of the valley and near both towns, being the midpoint between the two towns and on the Golden Mile we didn’t have as much smoke. A few days were very smoky overall but we didn’t have a smoky year.
This harvest has been challenging in other ways though, primarily that our full-time staff member has been on compassionate leave since July. Without Bruno’s “right-hand man” helping in the vineyard and on crush we’ve had little time to take pictures this year.
Our tonnage is down from previous years but that is mostly to do with our change in plantings!
In 2020 we pulled out some of our old vines, planted in 1980 and 1981, yes – we felt bad – yikes!! We decided that we could source whites from other Okanagan sites less suited to red wine grape growing than ours. This is why we pulled all of our Gewurztraminer and some of our Pinot Blanc to plant more Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. We were extremely pleased that over 99.5% of the new vines took and grew extremely well in 2020 and also in 2021. The picture above is from August 22, 2021, of some of our new grapevines planted in 2020.
Again in 2021, we pulled out more of our old vine plantings, more Pinot Blanc and some Vidal. We planted Syrah and Merlot and they have made a good start as well. We look forward to being able to produce more of our Pinot Noir, Merlot and Crimson Rhapsody Blend as these newer plantings come into production.”
Stella Schmidt and Bruno Kelle
The Wines
Castoro de Oro Gewürztraminer 2021 ($16.87)
The first breath from the glass is like a walk in an alpine meadow with freshly blooming wildflowers and classic aromas of lychee, kiwi, and gooseberry. This is a dry medium-bodied Gew. Meyer lemon, passionfruit, lychee, ginger and apricot flood the palate with a marzipan finish. A delightful degree of acidity entices the tongue to sip more. 91 Points
Castoro de Oro Heart of Gold ($7.73 per 250 ml can)
The white wine is a blend of Pinot Blanc, Vidal, Siegfried and Viognier and rocks like the song made famous by Canadian Music Icon, Neil Young.
The wine starts with aromatic aromas of ripe fruit. The flavours are an explosion of fresh fruit salad including pineapple, passionfruit, apricot, honeydew melon and more. A smooth rich mouthfeel with a touch of crème brulée on the finish to refresh the palate. 90 Points
A terrific summer wine to enjoy on the patio or paired with light dishes, or charcuterie and cheese.
Winner of Double Gold Best of Category 2021 All Canadian Wine Championships and Judge’s Selection at the 2021 Alberta Beverage Awards.
Castoro de Oro Vidal ($19.04)
A ripe tropical nose with Mandarin orange, apricot, and honey. Flavours of orange, lychee and honey. It is medium-bodied, lusciously smooth and rich, leading into grapefruit and tea and a hint of residual sugar on the finish. The length is very good. 91 Points.
A crisp and breezy white that will be a refreshing hot-weather sipper.
Castoro de Oro Chardonnay ($7.73 per 250 ml can)
A well-balanced dry unoaked chardonnay. Aromas of citrus, creamy caramel, and green apples. On the palate, apples, golden kiwifruit, Anjou pear, butterscotch and crème caramel, with a creamy Meyer lemon finish. 90 Points.
Castoro de Oro Pinot Duetto Rosé ($7.73 per 250 ml can)
The bold dry Rosé is a vibrant red colour made from a blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc. The Rosé exhibits beautiful aromas of cherries and strawberries. On the palate, well-balanced acidity, flavours of red cherries, raspberries, strawberries, blood orange and rhubarb and cranberry notes of the long finish. 91 Points.
Castoro de Oro Pinot Noir 2019 ($24.69)
Aromas of red cherries and leather. Flavours of cranberry, cherries, pomegranate and baking spices with an earthy herbaceous backbone. A vibrant medium-bodied pinot with well-balanced acidity and smooth tannins. 91 Points
A lively wine that pairs well with a rack of lamb.
Castoro de Oro Merlot ($8.60 per 250 ml can)
A big bold wine, full-bodied with a dense garnet red colour. Aromas of blueberry, black cherry and cocoa. On the palate, raisin, blackberries, stewed plum, dark chocolate and leather with a hint of nutmeg. Silky smooth tannins and a long finish. Ready to drink right now. 91 Points
Golden Mile Merlot in a can with Pizza, BBQ steak or Burgers. It doesn’t get any better!
The Merlot was named one of the Judge’s Selection Top Seven Merlot at the 2021 Alberta Beverage Awards!
You can order these excellent value BC wines by visiting the Castoro de Oro Estate Winery website.
Consumer Choice Awards
“We just got some pretty FUN Consumer Taste Awards from the most recent Wine Events we poured at in April, with the new 2020 Merlot and the previous release of Pinto Duetto Rose and TOP (GOLD) “over all” WINERY in Lethbridge and 2nd (SILVER) “over all” WINERY in Red Deer. All of these awards, wines and winery, are done by tracking based on the new-fangled token bracelets data and is based on number of consumers whom tried our wines and then returned for more of the same wines again and maybe again.”
Stella Schmidt
You can find information on previous Castoro de Oro releases here – 2020, 2019 and 2017.