Four new releases from Hester Creek Winery including the premium Joe’s Block made from old Italian Merlot clone vines and more great value 2022 white and sparkling wine releases.
You can find winemaker Mark Hopley’s comments on the 2022 harvest here – Hester Creek’s 2022 Whites & Rosé.
Here are the background and tasting notes for the four wines.
Hester Creek Sémillon 2022 ($23.99)
“The grapes are from Block 12 of the estate Golden Mile Bench vineyard. The vines were planted in 1997 and 1998. The grapes for this small-lot wine were hand-harvested and sorted before being gently whole cluster pressed. The free-run juice was settled for two days, then racked into stainless steel tanks for a 32-day-long fermentation at 12°C. Once fermentation was completed, this 2022 vintage was aged for four months on fine lees.”
Sémillon is a prevalent white grape in the country of my birth, Australia. I fondly remember my youth quaffing Hunter Valley Sémillon with fresh oysters and steamed mussels. Sémillon can produce wines that are low in acid and without a distinctive taste, so it is often blended with the more aromatic and flavourful Sauvignon Blanc. Not the Hester Creek version though, it stands out as a single varietal.
13% Alcohol / pH 3.12 / TA 7.2 / RS 5
Citrus aromas – lemon, lemongrass, mandarin orange. The palate is crisp, vibrant and well-balanced with lemon, orange and apple flavours and a long finish. The wine should pick up honey notes as it ages but is fabulous now with seafood. 91 Points. The Sémillon can cellared for up to three years.
Hester Creek Pinot Bianco 2022 ($21.99)
“Handcrafted with Pinot Blanc grapes from our historic estate property, 67% of the grapes came from Block 4 and 33% from Block 9. The fruit was hand sorted and whole berry pressed before 86% went into stainless steel for fermentation, while the remaining 14% was fermented in two-year-old French oak barrels. The fermentation ran at 12°C for 32 days to retain the fresh and zesty aromatics. The wine was blended in early spring of 2023 and subsequently bottled on April 27, 2023.”
12.4% Alcohol / pH 3.4 / TA 6.9 / RS 2.5
Aromas of apple and pear with a hint of floral scent. The refreshing dry wine has a creamy mouthfeel with flavours of ripe apple, Meyer lemon and key lime pie. 91 Points
Hester Creek Ti Amo 2022 ($21.99)
“Harvest of our 2022 Ti Amo commenced on September 9th with the Gewürztraminer component followed by the Pinot Gris, Sémillon, Viognier and Chardonnay. This is the first year that we have added Viognier and Chardonnay to the blend. The Viognier contributes lifted and fruit-forward notes and the Chardonnay adds complexity and ageability. The berries were hand-harvested, sorted and then gently pressed using a combination of whole cluster and whole berry pressing. The resulting juice was cold-settled and racked before the initial fermentation at 12°C for 30 days. Created in the traditional Charmat method, the second fermentation took place in stainless steel before being bottled in March of 2023.”
Alcohol: 11% / pH 3.02 / TA 7.68 / RS 12 g/L
A gorgeous mouthfeel of soft but persistent bubbles, with aromas of citrus, peach and floral notes. A creamy texture and flavours of apple, Bosc pear and lemon. Off-dry but still crisp and refreshing. A wine that should be enjoyed while young. 91 Points
It is a quintessential wine for entertaining family or friends. Enjoy the sparkler with cocktails, brunch or desserts.
Hester Creek Joe’s Block 2021 ($39.99. Wine shop only)
“Planted in Block 13 of our estate vineyard is a vine of unknown variety and origin, but the grapes it produces make for a luscious, old-world-style wine. Italian immigrant, Joe Busnardo first planted the vines on the property in 1968, and though we have asked him what they are; as well as, sent cuttings to UC, Davis and McGill University, all the results have come back inconclusive.
What we do know is that the fruit from the vines do very well in the Okanagan climate and given this knowledge, we can deduce that they may have come from the northern Italian region of Piemonte. In honour of Joe, and his prophetic vision that these vines would do well on the Golden Mile Bench, we named the wine, Joe’s Block.
The production of this wine is limited to four French oak barrels for aging, making it an estate-exclusive wine.”
14.8% Alcohol / pH 3.9 / TA 5.9 g/L / RS 0.3 g/L
The wine opens like a walk through a blackberry jam factory. This is a bolder wine than the 2020 vintage due to the extreme heat of the 2021 growing season. The soft full-bodied wine has ripe super-smooth tannins and flavours of blackberry, black cherry, black olive tapenade, leather and baking spices. A delightfully long and lingering finish. 93 Points.
Be sure to visit Hester Creek Estate Winery to purchase their premium BC wines.
Library Wines
Given the ageability of the Sémillon and Pinot Bianco wines, Hester Creek has decided to put aside a few cases of the 2022 vintages to be re-released as Library Wines. This is the first time the winery has chosen to do this for white wines and it speaks well to the work of Mark Hopley and his vision to have more age-worthy white wines.
Here is a list of all the white wines being put aside for the first time:
- 2019 Old Vine Brut (the traditional method sparkling)
- 2022 Sémillon
- 2022 Pinot Bianco
- 2021 Chardonnay