“On a cool spring morning in 1929, a small crew from Okanagan Falls set off to a deserted mining camp some 16 miles away from home. Their mission: to dismantle an old wooden church and bring it back to Okanagan Falls.” The Blasted Church story is well-known but if you are not familiar, you can read how the adventure turned out here.
Here are the winemaking and tasting notes for these Blasted Church Vineyard releases.
Blasted Church Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2022
The first harvest of Sauvignon Blanc for this wine came from the Sitrus Hill Vineyard on the northern shores of Osoyoos Lake on September 30th. The estate Sauvignon Blanc was harvested next on October 10th. The Semillon portion of the blend was harvested on October 19th.
The fruit was whole cluster pressed before being racked to second, third, and fourth-fill French oak barrels and puncheons for fermentation and aging on lees for six months. At the six-month point, all of the wines were racked to stainless steel for a couple of months to bring the tension back into the wine. The two picks of Sauvignon Blanc and the Semillon provided a great palette from which to blend the final wine, with herbaceous notes and a bracing acidity as well as a rich tropical profile.
12% Alcohol. Citrus and green apple aromas. Flavours of honeydew melon, lime and green apple with a rounded mouthfeel. 90 points
Blasted Church Viognier 2022
The 2022 Viognier brings together fruit from the estate vineyard, Redbrick Vineyard on the Osoyoos East Bench, and Crespo Vineyard on the Osoyoos West Bench. Each block was hand-harvested at its ideal balance of sugar, acid, and phenolic ripeness and handled separately until blending in the weeks following harvest.
A few hours of skin contact on some batches to increase the aromatic intensity and the mouthfeel, while the remaining fruit was whole-cluster pressed directly to the tank for overall freshness and balance. A portion of the juice (25%) was racked to the barrel for fermentation and aging to bring more richness to the blend, while the remaining juice (75%) was fermented in stainless steel tanks.
Vibrant aromatic aromas of apricot, white florals, and tangerine. A gorgeous rounded complex mouthfeel with well-balanced acidity. Flavours of apricot jam, peach, mango, and Anjou pear lead to a satisfyingly long finish. 90 Points
Blasted Church Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
The Cabernet Sauvignon was sourced from the Jose Vineyard (clone 191 and 169) on the western edge of Osoyoos, Inkameep Vineyard (clone 169) on the Oliver East Bench, and the estate vineyard on the Skaha Bench. The Petit Verdot portion of the blend was sourced from the Lloyd Vineyard on the west side of Osoyoos. Each individual lot of fruit was hand-harvested separately at its optimal balance of sugar, acidity and tannic ripeness. At the winery, the fruit was destemmed but not crushed and transferred to tanks for 5-day cold soaks before the fermentations kicked off. The separate fermentations were each managed according to their specific needs, with pump-overs ranging from 1 to 3 times daily depending upon the status and stage of the ferments.
After 18 to 28 days on skins, the free-run wine was drained from the tanks to barrel for malolactic fermentation. The oak was all French (30% new), with the balance being made up of second, third, fourth-fill, and neutral barrels. The wines were in barrels for 12 months before being racked to a tank for blending. They were returned to barrels for an additional 6 months of aging before bottling.
14% Alcohol. 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot
A gorgeous deep ruby colour. Delightful aromas of cassis, ripe dark berries and leather. A medium-plus-bodied cabernet with flavours of blackberry, blueberry, plum, dark chocolate and a hint of tobacco. The grippy tannins dance on your tongue and the finish goes on forever and ever. The 2021 “Heatdome” vintage is definitely a winner. 93 Points
Blasted Church Small Blessings Nebbiolo 2021
The grapes were hand-harvested from the Mariposa Vineyard in the Similkameen Valley. In the winery, the 350 kilograms of fruit was destemmed into a clay amphora before it was sealed and left for fermentation with an occasional hand punch-down throughout the course of fermentation and post-fermentation maceration.
After three months on the skins, the amphora was drained using gravity and the skins were pressed using a small, ratchet-driven basket press to neutral French oak barrels for an additional 16 months. The wine was racked in preparation for bottling unfined and unfiltered. Only 25 cases were produced.
14.5 % Alcohol. Classic pale ruby colour with orange undertones. A medium-bodied but bold red, with the classic Nebbiolo characteristics of tannins on steroids, so be sure to decent before serving. Lovely red fruit aromas. Flavours of red cherry, ripe plum, raspberry and leather with a hint of herbs. The wine was born to age. 91+ points.
Blasted Church Merlot 2021
The fruit for the 2021 Merlot was sourced exclusively from the estate vineyard on the Skaha Bench. The low-yielding, 30-year-old vines produce fruit with a beautiful ripeness, freshness, and a rich mouthfeel. We have seen that the block has several distinct zones related to the various soils within it. We manage these micro-blocks individually throughout the growing season, harvest the fruit separately, and keep the wines separate until blending in the cellar.
The fruit was hand harvested and destemmed into the tank without crushing. After five days of cold soaks, during which time the juice was pumped over once daily, the fermentations kicked off and pump-overs were increased to two to three times per day, depending on the needs of the individual fermentations.
Maceration was completed between 21 and 26 days. Free-run wines were drained from each tank directly to the barrel for malolactic fermentation. The oak was all French, with 30% of the oak being new and the balance being third-fill barrels. The wine was aged in the barrel for 18 months.
14.5% Alcohol. Deep ruby red colour. Gorgeous aromas of black fruit with a hint of floral. The full-bodied wine has a rich mouthfeel with fine-grained tannins, balanced acidity and a long finish, Flavours of black cherry, blackberry, ripe plum, dark chocolate, espresso, leather and baking spices. 92 Points.
To purchase these premium BC wines please visit the Blasted Church Vineyard website.