“This series features both the BC Wine new vintages and a few favourites”
Generally speaking, our white wines are meant to be drank within two years of release and our red wines have cellaring potential of 7 to 10 years. While monitoring your wines, we always suggest that if you have several bottles, try a bottle once in a while to see how it’s developing according to your own palate and preferences. courtesy of the winery website.
Now that sounds like some good advice I could follow. I especially like the suggestion of having several bottles! The trying part also sounds pretty good. Visit the Laughing Stock Vineyards website for more suggestions and wine options, including magnums and double magnums.
portfolio 2018
wine profile
Just like a finely balance stock portfolio, putting together a blended wine takes finesse and judgement so that the experience of the whole will be greater than the sum of the individual parts. Our Portfolio is a wine that marries the art and science of winemaking with a blend of Bordeaux varietals. For the past decade, Portfolio has routinely won top accolades from wine competitions and wine critics alike: a proven chart-topper.
Dark fruit, herbaceous notes, and baking spice meet your nose first. On the palate this wine has some sweet tobacco, dark cherry, a touch of cocoa powder, and a commanding finish. This full-bodied blend has big tannins and a long finish with lots of aging potential. This wine could cellar for a decade.
winemaking notes
The 2018 vintage combines the five classic varietals: 45% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec, and 3% Petit Verdot to create a multilayered, complex wine.
Using double sorting tables to sort grapes first by cluster and then by berry allows us to put meticulous attention on using only the best grapes in our wines. The whole berry fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks as well as in oak. Portfolio sees 21 months in French oak barrels with 42% new French oak and 58% second fill French oak.
vintage notes
2018 was a long, moderate vintage. The winter was mild and spring cool resulting in a late bud break, followed by healthy flowering. The summer was hot and dry allowing for optimal fruit development. In August, the temperature dropped and the smoke from local wildfires blocked sunlight and delayed véraison but luckily did not have an impact flavour. September was cooler, which extended growing season and allowed for a steady pace of harvesting. Harvest commenced on Sept. 19 with Pinot Gris from OK Falls. Fall continued to be warm, until November. Expect nice flavour complexity, and balanced acidity and freshness.
vineyards
Sourced from 3 sites on the Naramata Bench and from the Perfect Hedge Vineyard in Osoyoos.
syrah 2018
wine profile
Syrah has become a powerful varietal for BC winegrowers, both in terms of its success in growing well in the south Okanagan, and for what it has been delivering in the glass. Estate grown on our Perfect Hedge vineyard in Osoyoos, the style is inspired by Cote Rotie in Northern Rhone, blending 97% Syrah with 3% Viognier. This classic technique gives the nose a slight floral lift and softens the pepper note ever so slightly.
Dark Violet both on the nose and in its colour, this wine grabs your attention. It’s well structured and has notes of confectioned dark berries with a slight floral lift. Contrasting the ripe fruit is a hint of pepper and some warm clove. This plush wine is rich and textured, with a long finish. It can easily be tucked away in the cellar for 5-7 years
INSIDER TIP – 22% of this wine is not just aged, but also fermented in French oak puncheons, which imparts silky tannins and a lush roundness to the Syrah.
winemaking notes
The Syrah was fermented in two separate lots: 1 lot co-fermented with Viognier in stainless steel fermenters and another lot was fermented in 500 L open top French oak puncheons and stainless steel tanks. All the fermentation happened as whole berries. After pressing, the wine was barrel aged for 20 months in 28% new French oak, 72% older French Oak.
vintage notes
2018 was a long, moderate vintage. The winter was mild and spring cool resulting in a late bud break, followed by healthy flowering. The summer was hot and dry allowing for optimal fruit development. In August, the temperature dropped and the smoke from local wildfires blocked sunlight and delayed véraison but luckily did not have an impact flavour. September was cooler, which extended growing season and allowed for a steady pace of harvesting. Harvest commenced on Sept. 19 with Pinot Gris from OK Falls. Fall continued to be warm, until November. Expect nice flavour complexity with balanced acidity and freshness.
vineyard
The Perfect Hedge Vineyard on East Bench, Osoyoos, Okanagan Valley .
winemaking
Our Founders, Cynthia and David Enns instilled a passion that we carry on today, to continuously be to explore and create the best wines that showcase the Okanagan Valley. Laughing Stock Vineyards is a team driven and hands-on operation – we take pride in diligently tending to every stage of the winegrowing and winemaking processes.
We are fortunate to work with top-of-the-line winery equipment like double sorting tables to ensure that only the best fruit clusters are used. We can also regulate how much whole berry fruit goes into the fermenters. We aim to always improve the wines year to year and as such we have been exploring a variety of fermentation vehicles over the past few years including temperature regulated stainless tanks, and the addition of eight concrete eggs with nicknames such as “Free Range,” “Scrambled”, “Fabergé” & “Benedict”. We have also acquired six clay Amphorae from Italy, in which we make a variety of limited production wines. Complexity is added to the red wines through an extended barrel-aging program using 100% French oak in both standard barrels sizes and 500 liter puncheons.
Tasting notes, bottle shots and information courtesy of the winery. I received complimentary bottles of wine that will be reviewed to facilitate another feature to be published at a future date on MyVanCity.ca.
